Chapter 7

Zhou Shiru’s expression froze for a moment, then his face suddenly darkened.

He took a step forward suddenly, closing the distance until he was close enough to see Le Cheng’s long and thick eyelashes clearly. Tilting his head slightly, his nose almost slid over Le Cheng’s smooth cheek.

His warm breath sprayed into Le Cheng’s ear, causing a slight tickle. Le Cheng stood there dumbly, as if lifted by the scruff like a puppy. After a moment, he heard Zhou Shiru ask, “Are you drunk?”

Le Cheng reacted a beat late, but nodded honestly, “I-I had a little.”

His voice was small and sounded somewhat guilty. Zhou Shiru had already stepped back, his tone cold, “Are you like this to everyone when you’re drunk?”

Le Cheng was stunned. He wasn’t drunk, although he was slower than usual, he realized it after a moment’s thought.

“N-no, not at all,” Le Cheng nervously licked his lips, “I’m not drunk.”

“Not drunk?” Zhou Shiru questioned, clearly unconvinced.

Le Cheng realized again that Zhou Shiru was a serious straight guy who might now think he was being lewd because he was drunk.

Le Cheng composed himself and said carefully, “No… I’m only like this with you, really. I just wanted to touch you.”

Zhou Shiru’s expression softened slightly, but remained cool.

“So, I think you’re very good-looking,” Le Cheng blinked slowly, perhaps because of the alcohol, making him unusually candid, “You have a handsome face… and really nice muscles. So I asked if I could touch you. If I can’t, then forget it.”

Zhou Shiru frowned, “I refused, so are you going to find someone else?”

What kind of logic is that?

Le Cheng choked up, quickly waving his hands. His face was slightly flushed with nervousness, as if he were a poor soul being checked up on by a boyfriend. “No…” He actually felt a bit wronged; he just wanted to touch, why did it have to be taken so far?

He sniffed, not bothering to hide his feelings, and said very quietly, “I didn’t mean it like that, I only like you.”

This was the truth. What Le Cheng wanted to convey was simple: he only liked Zhou Shiru’s body. But this statement could be interpreted as a confession.

Zhou Shiru paused and looked at Le Cheng.

The young man had his eyes slightly lowered, his long eyelashes fluttering lightly, looking as if he was sincerely confessing, very honest and very cute.

“…Hmm.” Zhou Shiru didn’t ask more and after a moment of silence, said softly, “Drink less next time.”

Le Cheng felt that he still thought he was drunk.

He nodded quickly and said, “Thank you. Can I go upstairs now?”

“Mm.” Zhou Shiru turned and left.

Le Cheng stood in place for two seconds before preparing to go upstairs himself.

“Le Cheng!” Tan Xiaobai’s voice suddenly came from behind.

“Eh? Xiaobai?” Le Cheng turned around, “When did you get here?”

“I’ve been here for two or three minutes,” Tan Xiaobai said. “I saw you two talking at the door, so I didn’t come over. What’s up, did your boyfriend bring you clothes?”

“Yes,” Le Cheng nodded. “Let’s go upstairs.”

“It looks like your relationship is going well…” Tan Xiaobai smiled. “He even brought them to you.”

“It was on his way,” Le Cheng said as he walked upstairs, unable to help but complain, “But I’m never trusting TikTok again.”

Tan Xiaobai asked, “What happened?”

“Nothing.” Le Cheng silently wept inside, “Just felt like saying it.”

After returning to the dormitory, taking a shower, and lying back in bed, Le Cheng kept replaying the embarrassing scene from earlier.

He must have been poisoned by alcohol to say something like asking if he could touch.

Le Cheng turned around in shame, his inner self screaming—so awkward!!

How did it end up like this? He was just a young boy wanting to practice anatomy.

After calming down for a while, Le Cheng started to feel something was off.

Well… if it was just about touching, wouldn’t a straight guy not care that much?

Since Zhou Shiru cared so much… the main reason must be his fear of homosexuality, or maybe he thought Le Cheng was being frivolous?

Le Cheng thought about it seriously and came to a bold conclusion.

Because of his fear of homosexuality, Zhou Shiru didn’t want any intimate contact with him, including any slightly ambiguous physical contact.

That’s it, that’s the main reason.

Le Cheng suddenly wondered if this meant he could push boundaries a little in daily life?

For example, holding hands or hugging…

He might get rejected if he brought it up, but that’s okay. The most important thing is that this could make up for the contrast in his real-life cowardice, right?

With this dual approach, he could ensure Zhou Shiru would break up with him beautifully within three months.

But he did indeed overstep a bit earlier. For a straight guy with a fear of homosexuality, directly asking to touch seems pretty perverted.

Le Cheng closed his eyes in shame.

Although his goal was to break up with Zhou Shiru, he didn’t want to be seen as a pervert.

So, Le Cheng opened his phone and went to Zhou Shiru’s chat.

[Orange: Initiating a transfer]

This was the money he should have paid for the taxi ride earlier.

After sending the message, Le Cheng turned off the screen and waited until he heard a “ding” before picking up his phone.

[Your transfer has been refunded]

[Brother: No need]

Le Cheng tried to transfer the money again.

[Your transfer has been refunded]

Le Cheng was silent for two seconds. Fine.

[Orange: Are you still angry?]

[Orange: Sorry, I was at fault earlier. I wasn’t actually drunk. I just suddenly remembered a video I saw on TikTok.]

Le Cheng opened TikTok and sent the video link.

[Orange: Puppy crying.jpg]

On Zhou Shiru’s side, he opened the video and scrolled down.

“Today I want to reveal a secret about fitness influencers. Actually, people who work out just look fierce and bulky, but don’t be afraid. If you want to touch, just go ahead. They are all very happy to be touched.”

And in the comments section, people were sharing their experiences:

[Yes, a few days ago at the gym, I asked if I could touch, and they let me.]

[That day at the community gate, I saw someone and asked if I could touch him, and he agreed.]

[Previously, I made eye contact with a very fit guy for a few seconds, and he asked if I wanted to touch him, haha.]

[And I, I’ve experienced that too…]

Zhou Shiru: “……”

[Brother: Yeah, I know]

Le Cheng couldn’t figure out what “I know” meant in this context, so he decided to ask directly.

[Orange: Are you still angry?]

[Brother: Not angry]

Le Cheng had been quite pushy recently, especially online, so he asked again.

[Orange: Really? Then why are you so cold?]

Zhou Shiru stared at the text, randomly recalling Le Cheng’s usual intonation.

Very light, very soft, like a pout.

[Orange: Why aren’t you speaking? Did I make you uncomfortable?]

[Brother: No.]

It was Saturday. The other two roommates were out, leaving only Le Cheng and Tan Xiaobai in the dorm.

Tan Xiaobai was playing a game with headphones on. Le Cheng, too lazy to type, sent a voice message.

[Orange: Voice message]

Zhou Shiru paused for a moment before opening it.

[Really? You’re not lying to me, are you? I’m pretty easy to fool.]

As soon as he opened it, the sound almost matched the voice he had imagined in his head. Zhou Shiru could even picture Le Cheng’s slightly parted, rosy lips and his faintly visible teeth. A feeling of mild agitation surged within him, but he couldn’t grasp or identify it.

He played the voice message again.

[Really? You’re not lying to me, are you? I’m pretty easy to fool.]

The tone was light and airy, with a very soft and clean voice.

“Whoa, who’s talking?” Cheng Yufei suddenly looked up. “Sounds so nice!”

Zhou Shiru tugged at the corner of his mouth: “Shut up and play your game.”

“Huh?” Cheng Yufei, alert, asked, “Is it Le Cheng? Are you two on the phone?”

Zhou Shiru neither denied nor confirmed it.

Cheng Yufei, with a teasing tone, said: “Oh, I knew it. Damn, he wouldn’t hear me, would he? Le Cheng, I didn’t say anything else, just complimented how nice your voice is! It really is nice!”

Zhou Shiru felt inexplicably irritated: “We’re not on the phone. Stop shouting.”

“Damn, you should have said so earlier.” Cheng Yufei raised an eyebrow, drawing out his words. “I didn’t know who was saying they didn’t like the other person, but now they’re chatting late into the night~”

Zhou Shiru, expressionless, threw a pillow at him: “Get lost.”

“Damn, with that attitude, you’re hurting his feelings.” Cheng Yufei caught the pillow and said dramatically, “Am I no longer your little sweetheart?”

Zhou Shiru felt disgusted and was about to lose his temper when Cheng Yufei said, “Just kidding. But I think… Le Cheng seems to really have some feelings for you.”

Zhou Shiru raised his eyebrows: “How so?”

“Isn’t it obvious? When you first got together, I thought he wasn’t really interested and just wanted to play around.” Cheng Yufei said excitedly, “But clearly, now he’s texting you late at night, which means he’s really into you. Look, he loves to act cute around you, asks you out for meals, and even brings you food. Do you know what this means? This is the behavior of someone who’s infatuated!”

Cheng Yufei continued: “And you’re so handsome! It’s not surprising he fell for you!”

Zhou Shiru listened expressionlessly, not really wanting to engage or agree.

He wasn’t that narcissistic.

And…

A relationship where neither party is serious wouldn’t bring trouble. He hated trouble.

After sending the message, Le Cheng was about to go to sleep when a notification popped up on his phone.

It was from Zhou Shiru.

[Brother: I wasn’t lying.]

–

The next morning, Le Cheng got up early.

Platform submissions should avoid overly complex compositions, so Le Cheng drew quickly and easily.

He quickly pulled out a rough draft, finished the lines, glanced at the time—it was still before lunchtime—and decided to watch some videos for a while.

The other two roommates hadn’t returned yet. Le Cheng stood up to stretch his neck while Tan Xiaobai typed away furiously on the keyboard.

Seeing such intensity, Le Cheng glanced over.

It was a 5v5 battle game that had been popular for years. Le Cheng watched for a while and thought Tan Xiaobai’s skills were pretty good.

This was because he himself was a gaming black hole.

Not only was he bad at battle games, but his luck with even casual games was quite average.

Moreover, Le Cheng wasn’t very interested in games and found playing for more than half an hour tiring.

The setting of this novel world was similar to the real world in some aspects, such as popular games and commonly used software, but with subtle differences, like names of universities and regions.

Tan Xiaobai won the match, and Le Cheng glanced at his ranking and complimented him, “You’re really good.”

Tan Xiaobai was a bit embarrassed, “It’s okay, mainly just a lot of practice and time.”

Le Cheng nodded, and an idea suddenly struck him.

Fan art can quickly gain followers, and this game was quite hot, which could help attract attention.

Le Cheng decided to download the game immediately.

He had played it for a while before, but uninstalled it when he was short on time, and had even drawn fan art of his favorite hero back then.

After installing the game, Le Cheng logged into the Q zone automatically and found that the original owner had also played it.

However, his rank wasn’t very high. He casually scrolled through his friends list, preparing to draw some fan art of his favorite hero.

This was a chance to make up for his previous lack of skill.

After brainstorming for a while, it was just about mealtime.

Le Cheng remembered what had happened yesterday and was still a bit worried.

He wasn’t sure if Zhou Shiru would think of him as a pervert or if he genuinely didn’t care.

After some thought, he decided to send Zhou Shiru a screenshot of the game.

[Orange: Do you play this game?]

He planned to tentatively gauge Zhou Shiru’s attitude.

“Ding dong—”

[Brother: Yeah, I’ve played it.]

[Orange: Have you eaten yet?]

[Brother: Not yet.]

Le Cheng thought for a moment and decided to be a bit bold.

[Orange: I’ve been thinking about you.]

[Orange: You’re going to have lunch with me later.]

Le Cheng eagerly waited for a reply. When he heard the notification sound, he quickly looked at his phone.

The screen displayed just two words.

[Brother: Come down.]

Le Cheng’s eyes widened slightly. What did that mean? Was Zhou Shiru downstairs?

He hurried to the end of the hallway and looked out the window. Even though it was a bit far, he could still see Zhou Shiru’s tall figure beneath the trees, with long legs standing out.

Le Cheng was momentarily stunned. What was going on?

The sun was setting in the west; why would Zhou Shiru come to wait for him?

[Orange: Are you waiting for me?]

[Brother: Yeah.]

Le Cheng, confused, returned to his dorm and hurriedly changed his clothes.

Tan Xiaobai turned around and asked, “Are you going out? Going to have dinner with your boyfriend?”

“No,” Le Cheng said with a serious face, shaking his head and pulling a puppy-dog face. “I think I’m about to be dumped.”

Tan Xiaobai: “Huh????”

Le Cheng put on his shoes and hurried downstairs, imagining countless possibilities.

He thought Zhou Shiru must have come to find him for some reason, and that reason was likely to break up with him.

Was his first relationship going to end because of an attempted flirtation?

Le Cheng walked down the stairs with a complex mood. He felt that he might have misunderstood Zhou Shiru’s personality. If they broke up now, people would likely say that Zhou Shiru’s ex was someone who liked to make inappropriate advances…

Le Cheng was caught in a whirlwind of thoughts. He felt that breaking up now wasn’t too big of a deal, as long as Zhou Shiru didn’t label him as a pervert afterward.

Distracted, Le Cheng nearly stumbled as he left the dorm.

Just as he was about to twist his ankle, Zhou Shiru grabbed his arm and steadied him, lifting him up effortlessly. Le Cheng was startled and became more alert.

“You…”

“You…”

Both of them spoke at the same time.

Le Cheng cleared his throat, “You go first.”

Zhou Shiru, after making sure Le Cheng was steady, withdrew his hand: “Be careful not to get distracted while going down the stairs.”

“Yeah, I know.” Le Cheng nodded obediently. “…Is there anything else?”

“Where should we go for lunch?”

With his deep voice, Le Cheng looked up and saw Zhou Shiru staring at him seriously.

At such a close distance, Le Cheng suddenly noticed that Zhou Shiru’s eyelashes were very long, almost touching his thin glasses.

Le Cheng felt an inexplicable urge to touch them—they looked so soft.

“Hm… Did you come all the way here just for this?” Le Cheng asked hesitantly.

“Yes,” Zhou Shiru simply replied.

It seemed Zhou Shiru had no intention of breaking up with him.

“Really?” Le Cheng’s mood brightened, more relieved than happy, that he wasn’t being considered a pervert. “This is the first time you’ve taken the initiative to find me.”

Zhou Shiru, with his eyes lowered, looked at him. Le Cheng smiled, his eyes curved in happiness, as if it were a significant event.

Zhou Shiru found it hard to ignore that smile.

Almost as if affected by it, Zhou Shiru slightly curled his lips: “Yeah, let’s go have lunch.”

They eventually decided to go to the cafeteria. On the way, Le Cheng casually asked, “Why did you come looking for me?”

Zhou Shiru was silent for a moment: “I misunderstood you yesterday. Sorry.”

Le Cheng realized and waved his hand: “Oh? It’s fine.”

He actually felt quite guilty.

After all, as a “gay” person suddenly asking to touch, and with Zhou Shiru not liking him, there was a chance it could be seen as an offense.

After lunch at the cafeteria, Le Cheng said goodbye to Zhou Shiru.

On the way back, Le Cheng felt oddly that he and Zhou Shiru were quite like lunch buddies; aside from eating together, they barely did anything else.

This relationship really was all about enjoying meals together.

Le Cheng joked about it to himself. When he got back to the dorm, Tan Xiaobai immediately pounced on him, asking if they had broken up.

Le Cheng remembered the previous misunderstanding and shook his head: “No, we didn’t break up.”

Tan Xiaobai breathed a sigh of relief: “I was thinking, how could there be a sudden breakup? What were you thinking?”

“It’s not like that…” Le Cheng looked at Tan Xiaobai. Recently, Tan Xiaobai had been good to him, so he couldn’t help but share a bit, “Well… yesterday I wanted to touch his muscles.”

Tan Xiaobai wasn’t gay, so he thought about it from a different perspective: “Isn’t this just like… a girlfriend asking her boyfriend if she can touch his muscles? It’s pretty normal.”

Le Cheng agreed: “That’s true…”

“Oh, I get it now.” Tan Xiaobai suddenly understood, “He must have refused, and you were worried he might break up with you over that, so you thought it was a big deal?”

Le Cheng widened his eyes slightly, surprised at how accurately Tan Xiaobai guessed.

He sincerely said, “You should write detective novels.”

“Really.” Tan Xiaobai was shocked. “So you guys…” He wanted to say something but stopped himself, all his thoughts condensed into one sentence.

“So pure.”

Le Cheng: “…………”

“Oh my god, you’ve been dating for almost a week. Have you not…” Tan Xiaobai tried to organize his words, “kissed yet?”

Sharp, just too sharp.

Le Cheng: “…No.”

“Alright.” Tan Xiaobai paused and added, “Very pure.”

Le Cheng: “…………”

“You’re taking it too easy.” Tan Xiaobai complained but also comforted Le Cheng kindly, “But don’t be anxious. Maybe you’re just not that familiar yet. Take it one step at a time.”

Le Cheng nodded and then opened his phone to play a couple of games.

In the Gold tier, he ended up losing two matches in a row.

Feeling very frustrated, Le Cheng closed the game, turned on his computer, and exported the drawing process from last night.

He edited it, sped it up, added music, used the final image as the cover, and uploaded it to Tiktok.

This wasn’t difficult for him since he had often edited simple videos before.

[Upload successful]

Le Cheng gave himself a thumbs up.

He logged out of Tiktok and opened Weibo, surprised to find that he had gained around twenty followers from yesterday’s drawing.

He had no idea where these followers came from, but Le Cheng was delighted to see about ten comments.

Of course, some people also found their way to his previous post about the “exclusive male model.”

[Master Qingtang: Hahaha, Laos is so interesting]

[One Hair: Exclusive male model, is it what I think it is? ���]

[Drawing Effort: Laos, let me get two kisses, can I borrow your hand?]

Le Cheng selected a few replies to respond to.

After replying, he went back to working on his drawings.

He worked non-stop until the evening, when Tan Xiaobai called him out for dinner.

Le Cheng thought it would be nice to go; he couldn’t always have meals with Zhou Shiru, it was like having a lunch buddy.

After dinner, Tan Xiaobai suggested they take a walk on the sports field.

Le Cheng had been sitting at his computer all afternoon and was already feeling stiff and sore, so he readily agreed.

Their school had planted a circle of trees around the sports field, and the streetlights cast a dappled light through the leaves, creating a kind of hazy beauty.

Le Cheng took a deep breath, feeling an unprecedented sense of relaxation.

Tan Xiaobai said beside him, “I don’t like coming to the sports field alone at night. It’s always full of couples, and I’m the only single one. It feels awkward.”

Le Cheng tilted his head, “Why?”

Tan Xiaobai replied, “Because the sports field at night is full of couples out for a stroll, and I’m the only single person. It’s kind of awkward.”

Le Cheng laughed a couple of times. Just as he was about to speak, Tan Xiaobai suddenly said, “Hey? Do you see who that is?”

Le Cheng leaned over and asked, “Who?”

“Just to our diagonal left… Don’t look up! Look secretly. Isn’t that Qing… Zhou Shiru?”

Le Cheng squinted and, indeed, saw Zhou Shiru with another guy, probably his roommate.

Tan Xiaobai nudged him, “Hey, he didn’t come with you but with an unidentified guy. What do you think about that?”

Le Cheng chuckled, “I’ll use my two eyes to look.”

Tan Xiaobai also laughed and said, “Oh, I just saw my senior. Why don’t you go find him first? I remember you haven’t gone out with him at night before, right?”

“Ah?” Le Cheng was momentarily confused, but Tan Xiaobai had already patted his shoulder and gently pushed him away.

Le Cheng quickly turned a corner.

Tan Xiaobai had already disappeared. Le Cheng took out his phone and angrily typed.

[Orange: You actually left me behind!! And ran away so fast!]

[Little White Rabbit: [Finger point.jpg]]

Le Cheng and Tan Xiaobai exchanged a few more messages before suddenly realizing something.

He seemed to have rarely done the necessary checking-in in a relationship.

Rule number three for drama queens: Love to check-in, get jealous if your boyfriend talks to someone else!

Le Cheng quickly opened Zhou Shiru’s chat window.

[Orange: Where are you?]

Zhou Shiru responded quite quickly.

[Brother: Sports field]

[Orange: Really? Send me a photo! It should be a three-finger one!]

Le Cheng sent the message and looked up at Zhou Shiru’s actions.

His vision was quite good, and since he was close, he could see Zhou Shiru expressionlessly raising three fingers.

[Brother: Photo]

Le Cheng felt like laughing and playfully asked:

[Orange: Is there anyone next to you?]

[Brother: Yes, my roommate]

Le Cheng was surprised by Zhou Shiru’s honesty and felt a bit embarrassed about checking in.

He decided to add a bit of bravado.

[Orange: Alright, since you’re so honest, I’ll let you off the hook today o(*￣︶￣*)o]

As soon as he sent the message, Le Cheng looked up and saw Zhou Shiru suddenly turn off his phone and start looking around.

!!

Le Cheng quickly ducked into the shadows.

“Hey? Le Cheng——!!!”

A loud voice pierced through the distance straight to his eardrums. Le Cheng was jolted and turned to see Zhou Shiru looking at him with a calm expression, while the owner of the voice, his roommate, was grinning mischievously.

Le Cheng’s face instantly turned red. He wasn’t sure what Zhou Shiru had said, but his roommate walked away.

Zhou Shiru strode towards him.

The playful mood from Le Cheng’s screen vanished instantly. He tried to appear calm and greeted him, “G-Good evening.”

Zhou Shiru’s gaze slowly fell on his face. “Were you checking in on me?”

Le Cheng, feeling rather honest, said, “I just saw you here.”

Zhou Shiru, sensing his embarrassment, made a rare joke: “Are you satisfied with the photo?”

“Yeah.” Le Cheng stammered, his face red, “Satisfied.”

Zhou Shiru stopped talking, and Le Cheng followed him. They began walking aimlessly, and as time passed, Le Cheng’s heart calmed down. He glanced at Zhou Shiru and suddenly thought of the phrase “take it slow.”

Why not start with… holding hands?

There’s nothing wrong with holding hands in a relationship…

Le Cheng encouraged himself and sneakily glanced at Zhou Shiru’s hand.

It naturally hung at his sides, with long, slightly bent fingers, and well-defined joints, like they were meticulously sculpted.

Le Cheng looked several times and finally spoke up, “Well, I can read palms.”

Zhou Shiru tilted his head, “?”

Ignoring the skepticism in his eyes, Le Cheng said naturally, “Really, don’t you believe me?”

Zhou Shiru replied, “No, I don’t.”

Le Cheng felt exasperated, “What a typical guy.”

Le Cheng didn’t give up, “Then just let me see your hand, and after I look, you’ll know if I’m accurate or not.”

Zhou Shiru extended his hand, with a hint of curiosity in his eyes.

Le Cheng’s heart raced as he held Zhou Shiru’s fingertips, leaned down, and pretended to be serious, “Hmm, your career line is good, your life line is long, and your wealth prospects are quite promising…”

Le Cheng grew more distracted as he spoke, his hand which had been holding Zhou Shiru’s fingertips suddenly slipped and moved up, slowly covering Zhou Shiru’s slightly calloused palm.

His skin was much paler than Zhou Shiru’s, creating a visual contrast.

Le Cheng’s heart was pounding so hard it felt like it might leap out of his chest. He quickly looked up at Zhou Shiru with a somewhat resigned attitude.

Yes, I’m laying it all out! I’m holding your hand just to hold your hand! I’m an unabashed college guy!!

Le Cheng quickly released Zhou Shiru’s hand.

Zhou Shiru looked down at him, clearly surprised, and realized he had been played. His brow furrowed slightly.

He didn’t know why he didn’t pull away quickly, but Le Cheng’s hand felt like a small fish against his palm—much smaller than his own, soft, smooth, and white.

Using palm reading as an excuse, but suddenly holding hands.

He glanced at Le Cheng’s earlobe peeking through his dark hair, tinged with a hint of pink, as if proof of emotional arousal. For a moment, his feelings shifted completely in another direction, towards the somewhat absurd guess.