Chapter 2

The rain intensified, the young man’s clear voice muffled within the downpour.

Zhou Shiru’s eyes seemed to flicker, but he remained silent.

Le Cheng nervously gripped the umbrella handle. The more anxious he became, the more he wanted to talk, afraid of the awkward silence. So, he blurted out everything at once: “Actually, I don’t mean anything else. It’s just, we’re in a relationship now, and I just want to see you earlier. Is that not okay…”

After he finished speaking, Le Cheng’s earlobes felt warm, and his head was a bit dazed.

He had actually said all those embarrassing lines.

Not only had he said them, but it also wasn’t at all how he had imagined it would sound!

With nothing left to lose, Le Cheng anxiously awaited Zhou Shiru’s reaction.

Zhou Shiru showed no expression and instead slightly lowered his eyelashes.

His gaze fell on Le Cheng’s fair and soft earlobes.

They had a hint of pink, a pink that seemed to come from beneath the skin, looking tender like the new buds of a willow branch, making one want to pinch them.

Zhou Shiru stared for two seconds, paused for a moment, and then shifted his gaze away. “Hmm, I understand.”

Huh?

Understand what?

Le Cheng looked up and heard Zhou Shiru say, “But I’m very busy.”

The implication was that he couldn’t always be available. Extending further, it was a polite refusal.

This response wasn’t surprising. Le Cheng blinked, sighed with relief, but felt a bit dejected.

Relief because Zhou Shiru seemed very cold, and Le Cheng was somewhat apprehensive about Zhou Shiru actually getting angry. Although Zhou Shiru was distant, his attitude was still quite normal… It didn’t seem like he was upset with him at all.

But there was nothing to be done. Le Cheng wasn’t naturally good at causing trouble, and with his inherent thin-skin buff, he could only respond honestly, “…Alright.”

Zhou Shiru didn’t say anything more. When they arrived at the cafeteria, Le Cheng folded up the umbrella. It wasn’t mealtime yet, so the cafeteria was only sparsely populated with a few tables, most of which were occupied by young couples.

It felt quite strange. In his previous life, Le Cheng hadn’t just avoided relationships; he hadn’t even had feelings for anyone while being preoccupied with drawing every day.

But now, he was one of those young couples.

Le Cheng tilted his head and stole a glance at Zhou Shiru. Zhou Shiru had no expression on his face as he shook off the water from the umbrella, revealing a long, slender wrist with well-defined bones and long fingers.

This hand would make a great reference for drawing…

Lost in thought for a moment, Zhou Shiru had quickly finished shaking off the umbrella and folded it up.

Le Cheng snapped back to attention and followed him closely. Seeing Zhou Shiru pull out his meal card, Le Cheng suddenly had an inspiration. Clearing his throat, he hesitated and said, “Um… Why didn’t you wait for me? You just went ahead to get the food.”

Zhou Shiru glanced up at him.

Le Cheng felt a bit guilty under his gaze, while internally he muttered—if Zhou Shiru showed even a hint of impatience, he would immediately back off, and he would consider the day’s quota of causing trouble fulfilled, without any further attempts…

Zhou Shiru’s dark eyes were inscrutable, showing no sign of emotion. He remained still and silent. Le Cheng felt a flicker of joy, but then quickly felt deflated, about to back out. But before he could, Zhou Shiru asked in a low voice, “Window 3, is that okay?”

“Huh?” Le Cheng was momentarily stunned, “Window 3?”

“Mm.” Zhou Shiru replied, “I want to eat there. Do you want to?”

Le Cheng: “Oh, um, sure.”

Zhou Shiru then turned and went to get the food.

Le Cheng felt a bit disoriented for a couple of seconds in the wind before silently sitting down.

Thinking about his previous actions, Le Cheng closed his eyes in frustration.

…He was too timid; how could he be a troublemaker like this!

Alright, he decided to change his approach. He steeled himself—Window 3 was for bibimbap. He decided that when Zhou Shiru brought the food, he would complain. He didn’t like carrots, so when Zhou Shiru served the bibimbap, he would say, “What?! Carrots in bibimbap! I don’t like carrots. Hmph, you really don’t care about me at all if you don’t even know I don’t eat carrots!”

Hadn’t seen a pig run but heard of it?

Le Cheng tightened his fingers under the table. Soon, he would definitely say just that!

Zhou Shiru quickly returned with two servings of bibimbap. Le Cheng prepared himself, lowering his gaze to inspect the dishes.

…The bibimbap was colorful, with glossy sausage, tender green vegetables, and a bright yellow fried egg. It looked so appetizing.

Considering he hadn’t eaten for almost half the day…

Le Cheng swallowed hard, trying to control his hungry stomach. He pointed at the bibimbap and asked assertively, “Why are there carrots in here?”

Zhou Shiru looked up at him.

They were sitting face-to-face now, with no rain curtain in between, making everything very clear.

Le Cheng hadn’t noticed before, but with the thin glasses, it was evident that Zhou Shiru had long, slightly upturned eyes with deep double eyelid folds and half-lowered lashes. Although his expression revealed no emotions, it was intimidating.

Le Cheng’s bravado instantly wilted: “…Didn’t you know I don’t like carrots?”

Zhou Shiru’s voice was flat: “I didn’t know.”

“Oh, alright.” Le Cheng blinked a few times and awkwardly asked, “…So… now you know, right?”

Zhou Shiru: “…Mm.”

“…Alright.” Le Cheng nonchalantly lowered his head, “Let’s eat.”

“…”

After their meal, Le Cheng, feeling dejected, followed Zhou Shiru back to the dorm.

The dorm buildings for their respective departments were quite far apart, but Le Cheng had recently been assigned to a mixed dorm due to conflicts with his previous roommate. He had only been there for two weeks and didn’t even recognize his new roommates’ faces yet.

The mixed dorm was on the third floor of Building 4, while Zhou Shiru was on the second floor of Building 5.

The two buildings were very close. Le Cheng waited in the lobby of Building 5 for Zhou Shiru to bring him the cleaning agent.

As Zhou Shiru came down from the second floor, Le Cheng was looking up at the fire safety notices on the lobby wall.

From the side, Le Cheng’s long, thick eyelashes, slightly upturned nose, and rosy lips were visible as he studied the notice intently.

Zhou Shiru slowed his pace.

He actually didn’t know much about Le Cheng, only that he seemed unreliable, shrewd, and a bit playful.

The first time Zhou Shiru had any interaction with Le Cheng was when he was recruiting a graphic designer on the campus forum. Le Cheng called him and directly asked, “How much will you pay?”

Zhou Shiru mentioned the salary and requirements and asked Le Cheng if he could meet them. Le Cheng hesitated for a long time and then hung up.

Later, Zhou Shiru learned that Le Cheng was studying visual communication and had recently been financially tight, looking for part-time work in various places.

Zhou Shiru had shown a talent for programming in middle school. After self-studying, he received systematic training, and with his high aptitude and quick mind, he earned nearly three million from developing web games in high school. He made headlines at school and gained significant attention.

After starting college, Zhou Shiru and a few friends formed a studio to develop games together.

The studio had four people. When the game they were working on needed a UI redesign, Zhou Shiru rejected all three proposals and decided to recruit a “professional” graphic designer.

After Le Cheng hung up his call, Zhou Shiru didn’t think much of it.

It wasn’t until a few days ago at a club-organized gathering, where he unexpectedly lost a game and had to start at least a month-long relationship with the other party, that he really remembered Le Cheng.

He had never considered dating someone of the same sex. Although he had never liked a girl, his sexual orientation was naturally stable, and he had never been attracted to boys, considering himself straight.

Despite the trouble, Zhou Shiru agreed to the terms, acknowledging the rules of the game. Such social events were familiar to him from earlier years, and he assumed Le Cheng was probably just curious and didn’t really like him. He believed they could quickly and amicably end the relationship if needed.

Zhou Shiru thought that since he didn’t have any feelings for the same sex, he wouldn’t develop any other feelings for Le Cheng.

—

Le Cheng was daydreaming about the things in front of him.

He felt it was necessary to go back and research how to be more dramatic or, perhaps, to learn what couples should do.

He had never been in a relationship before and felt completely clueless when facing Zhou Shiru.

Of course, that wasn’t the most pressing matter at the moment.

Le Cheng’s major was visual communication, and he was currently a sophomore, just like the original character.

With both of them having a background in art, it made things a bit easier.

Before transmigrating, Le Cheng had been taking commissions since his freshman year. His art style was recognizable, and his basic skills were solid. He never took breaks and was highly competitive. He had gained a good reputation in the field and even did commercial art for games.

He was adopted by his foster parents, who treated him well, but he still had a certain dependence on his savings.

Now that he inexplicably found himself in a novel, with the original character spending money extravagantly and being in debt, Le Cheng needed to reconsider taking on commissions.

In today’s competitive field, the way one enters the industry is crucial to making a splash.

Le Cheng furrowed his brows in frustration, deciding he needed to think things over. He had about two thousand left, which should last him for at least a month and a half if he was careful.

The immediate priority was to get Zhou Shiru to break up with him as soon as possible.

He would repay the money to Zhou Shiru, but if his debts caused him to lose credibility, that would be disastrous.

Le Cheng frowned in distress, his anxiety palpable. Out of the corner of his eye, the surroundings dimmed suddenly. When he turned his head, he realized that Zhou Shiru had already been standing there for some time.

“You’re down,” Le Cheng said with a quick smile, trying to sound natural. “So soon?”

“Hmm,” Zhou Shiru handed him the item with a neutral expression, his tone flat. “Do you know how to use it?”

“Yes,” Le Cheng nodded, then hesitated and asked cautiously, “So, can I leave now?”

“Hmm.”

“Well then…” Le Cheng said quickly, “Goodbye, boyfriend!”

He glanced up at Zhou Shiru with a swift look.

Zhou Shiru briefly furrowed his brows, then quickly relaxed, giving a rather indifferent “Hmm” in response.

Oh?

Le Cheng lowered his gaze, showing no reaction. He turned and walked out.

He had just brainstormed and thought that since Zhou Shiru was a straight man, straight men are generally somewhat homophobic. Since the original character was only agreeing to the relationship out of necessity, he probably didn’t like it in his heart.

He had just tested the term of address, and Zhou Shiru seemed displeased, just as the book described—very homophobic.

That makes things easier.

For the dramatic effect, he could focus on the intimate bombardment strategy.

Le Cheng couldn’t help but admire his own cleverness.

Back in the dormitory, only one roommate was in the laundry room washing clothes, as their schedules were different.

When Le Cheng had arrived, the dormitory was empty, so he hadn’t seen anyone.

The roommate, upon hearing the door, didn’t acknowledge him, probably because they weren’t familiar.

The dorm was a four-person setup, with beds on top and desks below. Le Cheng’s bed was at the far end. He walked to his desk, sat down, and then took out his phone.

He opened WeChat and scrolled through the contacts alphabetically, quickly finding Zhou Shiru’s contact.

It was the only contact with a nickname as (older brother).

The term was so annoying that Le Cheng couldn’t help but be curious about what kind of person Zhou Shiru was.

He scrolled through a few lines and confirmed from the chat records that this was indeed Zhou Shiru.

Despite “Le Cheng” being questionable in character, the male-male relationship was pure, and this ambiguous nickname was unique to Zhou Shiru.

Le Cheng clicked on Zhou Shiru’s profile and casually browsed through it. He noticed that Zhou Shiru rarely posted on Moments, only updating simple research progress.

Quite a straightforward guy.

Le Cheng stared at the nickname  (older brother) and suddenly wondered if Zhou Shiru would suffer a -9999 HP magical attack from homophobic straight men if he saw it.

Le Cheng couldn’t help but curl his lips into a smirk.

Heh heh heh.

After browsing his phone for a while, Le Cheng finally straightened up and began to formulate a battle plan.

Currently, he needed to start accepting commissions and earning money quickly while also breaking up with Zhou Shiru as soon as possible.

He had considered initiating the breakup himself, but he feared deviating from the original plot might lead to different developments, making it impossible for him to get the urgent money he needed.

So, the first step was to search online for how to be an annoying drama queen that straight men hate.

The search results quickly popped up:

1. Have a terrible temper and a sharp tongue!

2. Make various unreasonable demands!

3. Challenge a straight man’s bottom line!

Alright, Le Cheng decided to start from the basics, progressing step by step, with the ultimate goal of getting Zhou Shiru to say “break up”!