Lu Che used to be someone who loved to sleep in on weekends, but ever since he started shamelessly staying over at Xu Xing’s place every Saturday night, he hasn’t had a chance to sleep in on Sundays.

Xu Xing’s family starts their weekends early, around six or seven in the morning, and they all have breakfast together around eight. After figuring out their routine, Lu Che began setting an alarm for 7:45 a.m., just enough time to get up, wash up quickly, and be seated at the table with Xu Xing right on time.

For breakfast, they had millet porridge along with dumplings and shrimp dumplings that Xu Xing’s mother had picked up early that morning.

Xu Xing picked up a translucent shrimp dumpling, enjoying its smooth texture and fresh flavor.

Sitting next to him, Lu Che was also eating with great enjoyment.

Xu Xing’s father asked Lu Che, “Did you sleep well last night?”

Lu Che responded with a cheerful smile, “Very well, I slept like a baby.”

Feeling guilty, Xu Xing sensed a hint of teasing in Lu Che’s answer and lowered his head, sipping his porridge with mixed feelings.

After breakfast, Xu Xing and Lu Che headed back to the bedroom. Xu Xing sat at his desk working on practice sheets, while Lu Che lay on the bed playing on his phone. They settled into their usual rhythm, each comfortable with the other’s presence. The only difference was that Xu Xing, sitting at his desk, couldn’t focus and found himself staring blankly at the test papers in front of him.

Xu Xing’s gaze wandered over the small printed text on the page, but his mind was miles away. Unconsciously, he kept pressing the retractable button on his ballpoint pen, making a steady clicking sound.

Last night, in a moment of impulse, Xu Xing and Lu Che had ended up wrapped in each other’s arms, kissing passionately. At the time, he hadn’t thought too much of it, but looking back now, he felt a hot flush spread across his face and chest.

Xu Xing couldn’t help but touch his lips, realizing he was replaying last night’s heated kiss in his mind. Feeling self-conscious, he shook off those lingering images, trying to focus on his test papers and silently repenting.

As for Lu Che, he was leaning against the headboard, his gaze fixed on Xu Xing’s back, his eyes unable to hold anything else.

Last night had been sweet, putting Lu Che in a great mood, but he knew that with Xu Xing’s personality, today was bound to be filled with mixed feelings—embarrassed yet angry, and then angry yet embarrassed again. If Lu Che got too carried away and tried to snuggle up now, he feared Xu Xing might get mad.

Lu Che understood Xu Xing’s emotions very well, feeling both helpless and blissfully content.

Hoping to “explore life” further with Xu Xing was clearly wishful thinking. Lu Che sighed as his phone stayed on the same screen, and his left hand absentmindedly traced the contours of his pants.

At that moment, Xu Xing suddenly got up, startling Lu Che, who scrambled to hide his hand and nearly dropped his phone. He quickly moved his hand behind his head, coughing to cover up his awkwardness.

But Xu Xing just walked straight out of the room, not even glancing at him.

Unable to focus on his homework, Xu Xing wandered around the living room and came back with a container of dried shrimp. Squatting by the trash can, he skillfully cracked open the shells, biting into the chewy shrimp and savoring the flavor more with each bite.

“Lu Che,” Xu Xing suddenly called.

Lu Che looked up immediately to see Xu Xing’s back still turned to him, squatting by the desk, and heard him say, “Come over.”

Lu Che’s mind blanked, but his body obediently scooted to the foot of the bed.

Looking unusually well-behaved, Lu Che’s eyes lit up as Xu Xing turned and fed him a peeled shrimp. His lips curved into a smile, and he opened his mouth, curling his tongue around the shrimp and accidentally grazing Xu Xing’s fingers.

“…”

Lu Che could already sense a storm coming.

But Xu Xing simply curled his fingers slightly, without glaring or telling him to get lost. He pulled back his hand, his gaze down, and said lightly, “You lick everything. Don’t you think that’s dirty?”

Xu Xing’s tone was calm, his emotions steady, but Lu Che felt a hint of sweetness in his words.

Xu Xing was implying that Lu Che licked everything. And what had Lu Che licked? Nothing more than Xu Xing’s lips, cheeks, neck, and fingers…

Lu Che’s mind raced, quickly reaching a conclusion: was this Xu Xing flirting with him???

Excited and eager to test his theory, Lu Che waited for Xu Xing to feed him a second shrimp, only for Xu Xing to set down the container, say “peel it yourself,” and walk out.

“…”

Lu Che watched Xu Xing’s back with a sense of regret.

---

After washing his hands, Xu Xing returned to his desk to work on his homework, keeping his distance from Lu Che for the rest of the morning. His cool attitude left Lu Che wondering if he’d just been imagining things.

It wasn’t until the two of them were on the bus back to school in the afternoon.

The bus was crowded, with Lu Che leaning against the bus window, while Xu Xing stood in front of him, holding onto a handle.

Lu Che was looking down at his phone, steady with his back against the wall, and only slightly swayed with each sharp turn.

As Lu Che was typing out a message, the bus took another sharp turn, and he lost his balance. But instead of stumbling, he felt an arm brace him. Surprised, he looked up to see Xu Xing holding onto the handle with one hand, and the horizontal bar behind him with the other, surrounding him in a protective stance.

Lu Che couldn’t help but chuckle, glancing at Xu Xing, who avoided eye contact and looked out the window with feigned indifference.

Lu Che softly sighed, “Ah~ How could our class monitor be so good to me?”

He then leaned back against Xu Xing’s arm, creating a pose that to others looked as if Xu Xing were holding him.

Xu Xing: “…”

Lu Che grinned, adding, “Limited space; I couldn’t even snuggle up to your shoulder if I wanted to.”

At 6’1, it wasn’t practical for Lu Che to try and “snuggle,” but he said it just to tease, letting it go after speaking.

Xu Xing: “…”

He looked at Lu Che with a mixture of disdain, resisting the urge to pull his hand away. Yet inwardly, he questioned himself: Do you really like him? Or are you just out of your mind? Maybe some red string just clouded your judgment, making you fall for him!

But questioning himself led nowhere.

Xu Xing sighed. Despite his exasperation, he reminded himself of the promise he’d made to himself earlier that morning—that if he didn’t want to “untie” Lu Che’s “bow,” he’d need to take responsibility and treat him well.

Glancing at Lu Che’s phone, Xu Xing noticed his own chat pinned at the top, separated from the others in a lighter gray, symbolizing his unique place in Lu Che’s life.

Xu Xing felt a softening in his heart, his resentment fading as he noticed his own name in Lu Che’s contacts—“Xing Xing said, you can’t wake up.”

“…”

Xu Xing, feeling a bit conflicted, coughed softly and looked out the window.

The bus hit a few bumps, and Xu Xing tightened his grip on the bar behind Lu Che, making sure this person, focused on his phone, wouldn’t lose his balance.

Lu Che grinned as he opened his chat with Fu Dai and sent him a picture of himself with Xu Xing.

In the northern city, Fu Dai replied almost instantly: “Why send me this all of a sudden?”

LC: Didn’t you want to see?

FU: ???

Then, Lu Che sent another picture. In it, he leaned his head on Xu Xing’s shoulder, engrossed in his phone, while Xu Xing turned, placing a gentle kiss on Lu Che’s hair. The photo exuded warmth and intimacy that was hard to ignore.

It didn’t take long for Fu Dai to reply with a series of expletive-filled question marks: WTF???

LC: Shh.

FU: !!!

Fu Dai, baffled, tried to process what he was seeing. He stared at the photo in shock—Lu Che, usually proud and aloof, nestled against Xu Xing, looking unexpectedly gentle and bashful…

“…”

Fu Dai, trembling, began typing.

Ding~

Lu Che glanced down to see Fu Dai’s message:

FU: So… who’s on top, who’s on bottom?

Lu Che smirked, typing back slowly.

LC: I listen to him. I can go either way; what difference does it make?

FU: “…”

Looking at it from a straight guy’s perspective, Fu Dai could only conclude that Lu Che’s love for Xu Xing must be genuine.

Still shaken, Fu Dai recalled the times he’d joked around with Lu Che, teasing him, “You mean you still haven’t managed to win them over?”

Lu Che scoffed, “Aren’t you the same?”

“Aren’t you the same…”

Fu Dai couldn’t help but frown at that.

---

The bus arrived at their stop, and Xu Xing and Lu Che stepped off, two strikingly handsome young men walking side by side down the campus path, attracting admiring glances from passing girls.

Once they reached the third floor of the dorms, Xu Xing and Lu Che temporarily parted ways. Lu Che still had dirty laundry in his backpack and needed to take it to his own dorm first, so he didn’t stick with Xu Xing all the way.

Back at the dorm, Xu Xing found that four of his roommates had already returned. Ignoring the two beds near the door, his gaze landed directly on Wang Zicong’s bed across the room.

Wang Zicong was on his bottom bunk, arranging his backpack. Hearing the door open, he looked over, his eyes lighting up as he saw Xu Xing, his smile revealing two sweet dimples.

“Xing Xing, you’re back~”

“Mm…”

Xu Xing’s tone carried a hint of hesitation as he walked over. He noticed the red string hanging from Wang Zicong’s chest, trailing to the floor and swaying with Wang Zicong’s movements.

The string was a deep, vivid red, floating gently with every motion. Xu Xing frowned. Every time he’d seen a solitary red string, its ending had been tragically bittersweet, as if an ill-fated curse accompanied them. Now that it was Wang Zicong’s string, Xu Xing felt a growing unease.

---

Author’s Note: “You’re not allowed to wake up” = “You’re not Xu Xing.”