Chapter 25

Zhu Yu didn’t even know how he managed to finish the two thousand meters.

He felt that the first-place Abel might have been running with his body ahead and his soul trailing behind.

Meanwhile, he himself was only able to finish the race thanks to his soul pulling him across the finish line.

Bai Chen had been waiting at the finish line for a while, calmly counting the number of runners who had crossed the finish line. A total of twenty-eight people had already finished.

Zhu Yu came in at twenty-ninth.

Seeing Zhu Yu run toward him, hands on his hips and panting heavily, Bai Chen couldn’t help but take a few steps forward.

It was strange. Even though he was completely exhausted, Zhu Yu, upon seeing Bai Chen waiting for him at the finish line, still managed to yell hoarsely with a face full of grievance, “Senior—”

His voice was already strained, showing that he was relying on the last bit of energy he had left to shout.

He staggered past the finish line and, in the next moment, his legs gave out, and he collapsed into a warm embrace.

Bai Chen caught him, receiving the “sun” falling from the sky.

He said, “I’m here.”

The air around his nose was filled with the rich fragrance of locust flowers, and Zhu Yu only felt as though his face was buried in a soft chest, as fluffy as clouds.

Zhu Yu closed his eyes, his furrowed brow immediately relaxing.

Bai Chen held onto Zhu Yu’s arm with one hand, and with the other, he supported his slim waist to prevent him from slipping out of his arms. He quietly asked, “Xiao Yu, are you okay?”

Zhu Yu gently rubbed his face against Bai Chen’s chest, smiling blissfully. “I’m still… alive…”

“Senior Brother, I need you to hold me a little longer… my legs are so weak,” Zhu Yu said, his breath uneven. He was speaking in gasps, fragmented, but he still clung tightly to the fabric around Bai Chen’s waist.

Bai Chen agreed softly.

Then, suddenly, two low chuckles came from the embrace. “Hehe.”

“Hehe, this is so happy, really buried in it… Today, I’m the happiest person!!”

If the prize for running two thousand meters was this, maybe he could do… four thousand meters?

Zhu Yu’s lips curled into a broad smile as he thought to himself.

Bai Chen continued to support him, asking with concern, “Are you dizzy? You should adjust your breathing.”

Zhu Yu shook his head. “I’m fine.”

His tone was light, though his breath was still unsteady.

The sound coming from Bai Chen’s chest was muffled, as if something was being suppressed, mixed with a hint of suppressed laughter.

“How did I rank?” Zhu Yu’s face was buried in Bai Chen’s chest, his hot, rapid breath against Bai Chen’s body, making his chest feel warm.

His abdomen tightened slightly.

He felt that this wasn’t quite right, but if it was Zhu Yu, then it didn’t matter.

Bai Chen tactfully said, “Not in last place.”

“Of course!” Zhu Yu replied with some pride, “I asked you, Senior Brother, to help me train. If I came in last, I’d be too ashamed to face the people of Jiangdong.”

Bai Chen chuckled.

Zhu Yu was optimistic. His goal was to make it into the top twenty, but as long as he wasn’t last, he would already be very happy. So, even coming in second-to-last didn’t matter to him.

The venue was a bit noisy, but Zhu Yu could only hear Bai Chen’s voice speaking to him.

He said, “Senior Brother, I’m a little tired.”

Bai Chen complimented him, saying he had done great.

“Zhu Yu! You are the best!” Suddenly, a jubilant voice filled Zhu Yu’s ears.

Then several voices followed, congratulating Zhu Yu.

Han Geonju had led his large group over.

Zhu Yu had a bad feeling about what was about to happen.

“Let’s all congratulate Zhu Yu for earning a great 29th place!!” If he didn’t know Han Geonju was being well-meaning, Zhu Yu might have thought he was mocking him.

Han Geonju came forward and grabbed Zhu Yu’s arm. “Hellen, come and help me hold him up.”

Then the boy named Hellen stepped forward and, along with Han Geonju, supported Zhu Yu’s arms on either side.

Even though Zhu Yu had tried with all his strength to hold onto Bai Chen’s clothes, Han Geonju and Hellen didn’t give him any chance to resist.

The two of them physically separated him from Bai Chen’s warm embrace.

No one even noticed the reluctant expression on Zhu Yu’s face.

Once Zhu Yu stood steady, colorful flower confetti slowly fell from above his head, some sticking to his hair, like he was wearing multi-colored hairpins.

“We’re going to the podium now!” Han Geonju waved a small flag with a selfie of Zhu Yu printed on it and made a motion to move forward.

So, Zhu Yu was dragged off to the awards podium, looking like a dried-up salted fish.

Bai Chen calmly stared at their backs, then slowly returned to himself. He took Zhu Yu’s phone from the staff, grabbed the jacket Zhu Yu had left behind, and then hurried to catch up.

The school’s award ceremony paid attention to the experience of every participant, and even the last-place finisher received a consolation prize.

The top three stood on the podium, and others stood on their left and right in order of their ranks.

“Zhu Yu! Look at the camera!” Han Geonju held up his phone and started snapping photos frantically.

“Zhu Yu! You’re the best!” The people accompanying Han Geonju chimed in, each one praising Zhu Yu, their compliments flowing non-stop.

Compared to the others at the front, the area around Zhu Yu was much livelier, to the point that the three people standing on the podium couldn’t help but doubt themselves.

Zhu Yu held the flowers Han Geonju had bought for him in one hand and made a peace sign with the other, a small medal from the school hanging around his neck. He didn’t have anything to say now, only posing for pictures with Han Geonju.

It was such a delicate and beautiful face that Han Geonju didn’t even need to find a special angle to take a good picture.

“Are you done taking photos?” Zhu Yu asked, still making a peace sign, feeling a bit tired.

His cheeks, flushed pink from running, hadn’t faded yet, giving him a blush-like glow. His lips were red, teeth white, and his eyes sparkled.

Han Geonju came closer and hooked her arm around Zhu Yu’s, flipping through the photos she had taken one by one and showing them to him. “All done, I’ll send you the pictures later.”

“Where’s my senior?” Zhu Yu glanced at the photos and then looked around. When he didn’t see Bai Chen, he asked.

“Haven’t seen him. Didn’t he follow you?” Han Geonju also looked around.

Zhu Yu pulled his arm out of her hold and ran off the podium. From a distance, he saw the familiar figure standing under a tree, talking on the phone.

“Senior!” He called out as he ran towards Bai Chen.

Bai Chen heard Zhu Yu’s voice and quietly hung up the phone.

He turned around, and Zhu Yu was already bouncing toward him.

Zhu Yu jogged up to Bai Chen and, seeing he had finished the call, asked, “Did I interrupt your call?”

“No,” Bai Chen shook his head and handed him the jacket draped over his arm. “Put it on, the wind has picked up.”

“Oh, okay.” Zhu Yu took the jacket and put it on. He searched behind him for a while, unable to find the sleeves, so Bai Chen reached out and adjusted the collar of the jacket, helping Zhu Yu put it on properly. He then removed the colorful confetti ribbon from his hair.

Zhu Yu, realizing what had happened, touched his hair and smiled at Bai Chen. “Thank you, Senior!”

Bai Chen nodded and asked, “Would you like some water? I bought some soda water.”

Zhu Yu shook his head. “Han Geonju gave me a bottle earlier, I already drank some.”

Bai Chen pressed his lips together and fell silent.

Unaware, Zhu Yu grabbed Bai Chen’s sleeve and started walking in the direction of Han Geonju. He spoke as he walked. “Senior Brother, let’s first say goodbye to Geonju, then we’ll go watch the other competitions.”

After a pause, he felt like he had planned everything, so he looked at Bai Chen and hesitated, asking, “Is that okay, Senior?”

Bai Chen asked, “Aren’t you going with Han Geonju?”

Zhu Yu replied, “Geonju is going to be with his boyfriend.”

Bai Chen instinctively asked, “He has a boyfriend?”

Zhu Yu nodded. “Yeah, actually, I didn’t mention it to you. Is something wrong?”

Bai Chen’s lips curled up slightly, his tone even, “It’s nothing.”

—

Zhu Yu had checked the weather forecast.

The weather during the sports event was the warmest it had been in London for days.

After these days passed, London officially entered the harsh winter.

After leaving the badminton competition hall, the two of them returned to the apartment together.

Zhu Yu lowered his head, examining the medal in his hand, and muttered to Bai Chen, “This is my first time winning a medal in a sports competition.”

“Look.” Zhu Yu handed the medal to Bai Chen.

Bai Chen took it and smiled, asking, “Will there be more in the future?”

“Are you saying I have to run two thousand meters again?” Zhu Yu blinked and asked in return.

Bai Chen laughed.

As soon as Zhu Yu heard his laughter, he knew Bai Chen was teasing him.

“By the way, Senior Brother, I don’t have to wake up early to run anymore, right? Right?!” Zhu Yu said, excited and happy.

For the past half month, Zhu Yu hadn’t slept in, and when he crossed the finish line, he had already decided he was going to sleep in as a reward.

Bai Chen nodded. “Hmm.”

Zhu Yu said, “Then I can move back in, right?”

“It’s all because of me. You’ve been sleeping on the floor for the past half month because of me.”

Bai Chen replied, “It’s fine.”

“But are you moving out tonight?” Bai Chen’s gaze darkened slightly as he continued to ask.

Zhu Yu said, “No, no, I’ll move out after I get back. I still have a lot of stuff at your place!”

“You can leave it at my place first. No need to rush to take everything back,” Bai Chen said, then reminded Zhu Yu to watch his step.

Zhu Yu smiled and showed his little tiger teeth. “Okay! It feels like since I met you, I hardly stay at my own place anymore.”

What Zhu Yu said was true, especially in the past half month—other than taking a shower at his own place, he had been spending all his time at Bai Chen’s.

Bai Chen didn’t respond, so Zhu Yu continued, “When is your competition? I’ll come cheer for you!”

“Four days from now, but during the competition, they won’t let anyone inside the venue,” Bai Chen replied.

Zhu Yu understood and said, “I know, they’re worried it’ll disturb the athletes’ focus! I’ll wait for you outside the venue!”

Zhu Yu had always been very proactive. He hugged his quilt and brought it back, along with the sunflower pillow he liked to hold while sleeping, which he often found dropped on Bai Chen after waking up.

Bai Chen took the quilt from him and asked, “Is there anything else you forgot?”

Zhu Yu glanced back and exclaimed, “Oh! My pajamas!”

He climbed onto the bed, hugged the pajamas he had changed out of, and took the other pillow from the head of the bed.

He stood by the door, looked back to confirm he hadn’t forgotten anything, and then said to Bai Chen, “All done!”

Bai Chen also turned around and took one last look. After Zhu Yu had taken all his things, the room became empty again. The moment Zhu Yu left, even the only vibrant color in the room disappeared with him.

Except for the fragrance of camellias lingering on him, nothing was left behind.

He lowered his eyelids, his long lashes hiding the thoughts in his eyes, and he didn’t say anything.

Zhu Yu hummed a tune as he opened the door to his room.

Liu Bo stuck close to him, circling around their feet. Zhu Yu put his things on the sofa, bent down to pick Liu Bo up, and said, “Senior Brother, just leave it on the sofa, I’ll go get Liu Bo some cat food.”

Bai Chen listened to Zhu Yu and placed the quilt on the sofa. He asked, “Is there anything I can help with?”

“No need, I’ll come find you in a bit!” Zhu Yu said as he filled the bowl with cat food and turned back to Bai Chen.

Bai Chen said, “Okay.”

After answering, he turned and left Zhu Yu’s house.

For some reason, Zhu Yu suddenly felt that Bai Chen’s mood didn’t seem too good.

And Zhu Yu also felt like his own mood wasn’t too great either.

He didn’t really want to go back to live there, but he couldn’t keep staying at someone else’s place either, especially since Bai Chen had been sleeping on the floor for half a month.

So, Zhu Yu shook his head and brushed off the bad mood.

He picked a few photos sent by Han Geonju and saved them.

When he reached the last one, he paused for a moment, because this wasn’t a picture of him on the podium.

It was a photo taken when he went to find Bai Chen, and Bai Chen was removing the ribbon from his head.

In the photo, he was lowering his head, fastening the buttons of his coat, and Bai Chen’s hand was on his head. If you didn’t look closely, you might think Bai Chen was patting his head.

He checked the messages, and Han Geonju had commented on this photo. He said: 【You two look so good together!】

【Han Geonju: Hehe】

【Han Geonju: 【I ship them.jpg】】

Zhu Yu replied with a question mark, then said: 【Stop joking, he might be straight.】

But after sending the message, he saved the picture, contradicting what he said.

Ding dong.

Han Geonju quickly replied.

【Han Geonju: As long as you give the order, I’ll sell everything I have to cure his heterosexuality!!】

Zhu Yu: ……