Chapter 68: A Trip to the Mall

You Chong fastened his belt and got up to open the door.

Zhou Xuan leaned against the doorframe, twirling his keys between his fingers with a mischievous smile. “I didn’t interrupt your fun, right?”

Since he was the one who called Zhou Xuan back, You Chong could only step aside with a sullen expression, letting him in without saying anything.

Zhou Xuan walked into the dorm room, and seeing Lin Hexi fully dressed and sitting at You Chong’s desk playing on his phone, he turned back with a teasing look on his face. “Or maybe you two are already done?”

You Chong scoffed lightly, “Am I that fast?”

“How fast you are isn’t something you should be asking me,” Zhou Xuan said, always eager to stir the pot. “You should be asking your ‘wife’ instead.”

You Chong shot him a glance and spoke coldly, “I haven’t even come to settle the score with you for telling others about me and Lin Hexi.”

Zhou Xuan replied, “I wasn’t the first to find out.”

You Chong furrowed his brows, feeling puzzled himself. “Who was the first?”

Zhou Xuan purposely kept him in suspense. “You’ll find out soon enough.”

He turned around and opened his wardrobe. Seeing the empty space inside, he suddenly remembered that after wearing his spare undershirt last month, he hadn’t brought it back since.

He tilted his head and looked at You Chong, “Lend me one of your shirts.”

You Chong wore a leisurely expression, “Lending my clothes to another man? That’s not something I can decide on my own. I’d have to ask my ‘wife’ first.”

Zhou Xuan choked on his words, his face showing an expression of disbelief.

Although he understood that You Chong was just countering his earlier remarks, he hadn’t expected that his previously straight-as-a-rod childhood friend could now bend this thoroughly.

You Chong’s words hit Zhou Xuan with the same force as when he first saw the photo on Yang Juan’s phone of You Chong and Lin Hexi kissing by the seaside.

Reluctantly, Zhou Xuan turned to Lin Hexi, who was watching from the sidelines, and urged, “Say something, will you?”

Still thinking about Zhou Xuan’s sudden knock on the door, Lin Hexi gave him an innocent smile.

Zhou Xuan’s expression softened slightly, expecting him to nod.

However, Lin Hexi quickly wiped away his smile and coldly spat out two words: “Not lending.”

Zhou Xuan was so frustrated that he gritted his teeth, then called Zhao Du to borrow some clothes.

After Zhao Du went to shower, You Chong and Lin Hexi’s focus returned to the first person Zhou Xuan had mentioned.

Logically speaking, the person closest to You Chong at school was Zhou Xuan. They originally thought Zhou Xuan had figured it out himself, but unexpectedly, he was also informed by someone else.

“Aren’t you having lunch with your roommates?” Lin Hexi said casually. “Since he mentioned you’d find out soon, the first person who discovered it is most likely Zhao Du or Yang Juan.”

Given Yang Juan’s straightforward and honest personality, they immediately ruled him out without much thought and instead narrowed their guess down to Zhao Du.

After Zhou Xuan finished his shower, it was almost lunchtime.

They called the two who were in the library, inviting them to join for a stir-fry meal on the third floor of the main campus cafeteria.

From the moment Yang Juan saw You Chong and Lin Hexi in their changed clothes outside the cafeteria, his gaze became somewhat evasive, and the tips of his ears subtly reddened.

When the five of them sat down on the third floor and started ordering, Lin Hexi asked if anyone wanted spicy chicken, and Yang Juan immediately looked up, hesitating as if wanting to say something.

Noticing his expression, Lin Hexi rested his chin on his hand and looked at him, “You don’t eat spicy food?”

Zhao Du interjected, “Don’t be fooled by Yang Juan’s look; he can handle spicy food really well.”

Lin Hexi glanced at Yang Juan’s face and raised his eyebrows slightly in surprise. “I wouldn’t have guessed.”

Flushed from being stared at, Yang Juan lowered his head and responded a bit awkwardly, “I can eat spicy food.”

Lin Hexi casually asked, “Then who here can’t eat spicy food?”

No one else responded.

Yang Juan softly said, “You.”

Zhou Xuan put on a look as if he was about to watch a good show.

Lin Hexi looked puzzled. “Me?”

Yang Juan glanced at You Chong first, then at Lin Hexi, and finally hesitantly reminded, “Lately, you should probably eat less spicy food.”

Following his gaze, Lin Hexi looked at the clothes You Chong was wearing, then back at his own, and his lips twitched slightly, realizing what Yang Juan meant.

It turned out Yang Juan wasn’t the one unaware—it was Zhao Du.

Without thinking much about when Yang Juan had figured it out or explaining why he and You Chong had swapped clothes, Lin Hexi lightly nudged You Chong’s knee under the table, lazily lifting his eyes to signal that it was time for You Chong to speak up.

Without any preamble, You Chong directly asked Zhao Du, “Do you remember when I said I’d treat you to a meal?”

Zhao Du was stunned for a second, then showed a look of realization. “I remember. But I never quite understood,” he still seemed a bit confused, “why did you suddenly say you wanted to treat me?”

You Chong replied, “I’m together with Lin Hexi.”

Zhao Du nodded in understanding, “You’re together with Lin Hexi—”

A second later, his expression turned to one of shock, “You’re together with Lin Hexi? Is it the kind of ‘together’ I’m thinking of?”

You Chong said, “Exactly the way you’re thinking.”

It took Zhao Du quite a while to process this, and he instinctively looked at Zhou Xuan and Yang Juan.

But he saw that the two of them were calm, showing no signs of surprise.

Zhao Du asked, “You both knew?”

With a hint of pity in his eyes, Zhou Xuan replied, “Yeah, we knew.”

Zhao Du was at a loss for words for a long time.

While they waited for the food, Yang Juan pulled out some test papers from his backpack and started discussing the real exam questions with You Chong.

Halfway through their discussion, You Chong suddenly asked him, “Are you guys going to the library on Saturday?”

Yang Juan thought for a moment and, confirming he had nothing planned for that day, nodded, “Yeah, we’re going.”

You Chong said, “Save two seats for me in the morning when you go.”

Yang Juan agreed.

Lin Hexi, listening from the side, found it odd and wanted to ask You Chong about it, but seeing the two of them dive back into their discussion about the test papers, he decided not to interrupt.

After finishing their meal, the five of them parted ways at the cafeteria entrance. Zhou Xuan had other plans, while Yang Juan and Zhao Du went back to the dorm for a nap. You Chong and Lin Hexi returned to their rented apartment off-campus.

The two of them took their Alaskan dog for a few laps downstairs. As they were heading back, seeing that it was still early, Lin Hexi suggested, “Didn’t you say you needed to buy some daily necessities? There’s a supermarket in the university town; we can go now.”

You Chong went back first to settle the dog, while Lin Hexi waited for him by the flower bed downstairs.

When You Chong came down, he was twirling his car keys between his fingers. “Let’s go to the home goods mall in the city center.”

Lin Hexi wasn’t in a hurry, so he had no objections.

They drove towards the city center, and during a pause at a red light, You Chong asked him, “Do you have plans this Saturday?”

“No, nothing,” Lin Hexi answered and then remembered his own question. “Why did you ask Yang Juan to save seats at the library?”

You Chong replied, “To review for the exam.”

Lin Hexi straightened up, looking at him with an expression of surprise. “You need to review?” He elongated his tone teasingly, “Didn’t Yang Juan say your English grades are really good?”

You Chong raised his eyebrows slightly, “I really don’t need to review.” He turned his face slightly, the corners of his lips curling up, “But didn’t you also sign up for the CET-6?”

Lin Hexi’s face stiffened, and he slowly turned his head, “I have to review too?”

You Chong looked at him calmly, “You have to go too.”

Just the thought of foreign languages gave Lin Hexi a headache, so he tried to find an excuse to refuse, “I’m going to an art lecture at the Arts College.”

You Chong was unfazed, “The College doesn’t have lectures on weekends.”

Lin Hexi fell silent for a long time.

On a weekday, the home goods mall wasn’t crowded. They grabbed a shopping cart at the entrance and walked inside.

As he casually glanced around, Lin Hexi asked, “What do you need to buy that we had to come to the mall in the city center?”

You Chong stopped and looked at him, “What do I need to buy?” He chuckled, “Shouldn’t the question be, what do we need to buy?”

Finally catching on, Lin Hexi laughed, “You want to buy matching couple’s daily necessities?”

You Chong didn’t say anything, just pushed the shopping cart forward slowly.

As the smile on his face grew wider, Lin Hexi stepped up to catch up with him, deliberately asking, “Why aren’t you talking?”

You Chong lifted his hand to drape over Lin Hexi’s shoulder, and pulled him closer. “You talk too much.” He lowered his head, his gaze lazily sweeping over Lin Hexi’s lips. “If you keep talking, I’ll kiss you right here.”

Lin Hexi, however, didn’t seem to mind. He moved the arm off his shoulder and casually picked up a pillow from the nearby shelf, asking in his usual tone, “What do you think of this pillow?”

You Chong did glance at the pillow in his hand and said noncommittally, “If you like it, then buy it.”

Lin Hexi, however, held the pillow horizontally in front of their faces, leaned in, and gave You Chong a quick kiss on the lips. Then he stepped back, placed the pillow back on the shelf, and raised his eyebrows with a smile at the person in front of him, “Since no one saw, it’s not impossible.”