Yan Zimi grabbed an umbrella and headed to the storage room where Pei Huan said he would be.

The rain was quite interesting; by the time Yan Zimi reached the ground floor, it had lightened up.

So on the way there, Yan Zimi kept praying that his phone wouldn’t ring and that Pei Huan wouldn’t say, “You don’t need to come over for this little bit of rain; I can manage.”

But how could he trick Pei Huan into coming home?

Pei Huan’s friend’s shop was very close—just beside the residential complex, only a three-minute walk.

Following Pei Huan’s directions, Yan Zimi arrived at the back door, and before he reached his destination, he spotted Pei Huan.

He was sitting sideways on his very cool bike in the only open and illuminated spot among the rows of storage units, one leg resting on the bike and the other on the ground, hands stuffed in his pockets as he looked in Yan Zimi’s direction.

Without saying anything, Yan Zimi smiled first.

As he approached, Pei Huan’s first words were, “The rain has lightened up.”

Yan Zimi replied, “Yeah.”

Pei Huan stood up. “You’re not going to send me away, are you?”

Yan Zimi chuckled and held out the umbrella towards Pei Huan, shielding him from the overhead light. “I said I welcome you.”

Pei Huan stood up. “You can’t raise an umbrella inside.”

Yan Zimi said, “You’re already tall enough.”

Pei Huan replied, “I meant you.”

Yan Zimi protested, “Am I really that short?”

Pei Huan asked, “How tall are you?”

Yan Zimi replied, “178 cm.”

Pei Huan said, “You can put the umbrella away.”

Yan Zimi was taken aback. “…”

He added, “Pei Huan, are you being polite?”

Pei Huan chuckled softly.

Yan Zimi couldn’t let himself lose; he watched Pei Huan’s back as he pulled down the door and said, “I don’t know who’s being foolish, going out in such heavy rain without an umbrella and getting stuck…”

Suddenly, Pei Huan jumped, reaching for the edge of the roll-up door and forcefully pulling it down.

It was a bit cool, and Yan Zimi almost lost his words.

But he still had to finish his sentence.

“Getting stuck in the storage room and unable to go back,” Yan Zimi completed.

With a strong tug, Pei Huan pulled the door down to below his waist, then stepped on it to secure it. With a loud thud, the door closed firmly against the ground.

He dusted off his hands. “My junior is here,” he said, turning to Yan Zimi. “I have a junior to pick up.”

Yan Zimi paused for half a second, then slowly smiled. “Then let’s get to the junior’s umbrella quickly.”

The unpredictable rain intensified again. Once they were under the umbrella, the first thing Pei Huan did was take it from Yan Zimi.

The umbrella was of standard size; it was enough for one person, but with two men underneath, it felt a bit cramped. If they weren’t careful, one of them would definitely end up getting wet from the rain.

As they walked, Yan Zimi suddenly felt a tightening around his waist, and then he was pulled closer by Pei Huan.

“Why are you standing so far away?” Pei Huan shifted the umbrella closer to Yan Zimi. “Your shoulder is already wet.”

Yan Zimi turned to check his shoulder, and sure enough, it was damp.

Pei Huan changed his grip, resting his hand on Yan Zimi’s shoulder and pulling him in a bit closer.

“Your frame is quite small,” Pei Huan remarked.

Yan Zimi asked, “Hmm?”

Pei Huan replied, “I’m saying you have a slim waist.”

Yan Zimi responded, “Oh.”

After saying that, Pei Huan suddenly realized something and looked down briefly.

The streetlights cast a dim light, making it hard to see clearly, and Yan Zimi also kept his head down, but Pei Huan could sense that Yan Zimi’s face was turning red.

However, Pei Huan didn’t say anything more. Instead, he lifted his hand and gently pinched the nape of Yan Zimi’s neck.

Yan Zimi must have understood, as he mumbled, “What are you doing?” but he didn’t lift his head.

Pei Huan chuckled softly. “It’s nothing.”

Before long, they arrived at the entrance of Yan Zimi’s apartment building, and the two took the elevator upstairs together.

After unlocking the fingerprint lock, they entered the apartment and were greeted by a series of paintings lining the walls.

Yan Zimi rented a two-bedroom apartment, but now it had turned into a master bedroom, an art studio, and a study, effectively losing its living room.

So, upon entering, they had to walk past all the paintings that Yan Zimi had displayed around the house.

“An artist,” Pei Huan said, changing his shoes.

“Just someone who paints,” Yan Zimi replied hastily, pushing Pei Huan gently. “Go inside; you should shower first. Your clothes are all wet.”

Pei Huan was being nudged along by Yan Zimi but suddenly stopped as he noticed something.

Yan Zimi gasped, trying to push Pei Huan forward again.

But he couldn’t move him.

“What’s this?” Pei Huan asked, stopping in front of a few paintings.

Yan Zimi felt himself flush with embarrassment.

There were four paintings displayed side by side. One depicted Yan Zimi and Pei Huan buying water at a convenience store, another showcased the lollipop wrappers and a little bee that Yan Zimi had collected, the third illustrated an anime-style Pei Huan jumping to take a shot, and the last featured a portrayal of Pei Huan that Yan Zimi had struggled to draw.

Yan Zimi hoped that Pei Huan wouldn’t recognize what they all were.

But how could he not?

Pei Huan was already admiring the paintings directly.

Yan Zimi stood behind him, feeling lost and anxious, fearing what Pei Huan might say.

“Your paintings are really good,” Pei Huan said first.

“Why is it that the one you gifted me is the only one that’s just begun?” he added as his second comment.

Yan Zimi felt a surge of nervousness but kept his demeanor calm. “It’s a bit difficult to paint yourself.”

Pei Huan turned to him, asking, “Did I make it difficult for you?”

Yan Zimi hesitated, unsure whether to say “not at all” or “it was a bit challenging.”

In the end, he randomly chose, “Not at all.”

Pei Huan responded with a thoughtful “Hmm,” then pointed to the painting of himself taking a shot and asked Yan Zimi, “Can I have another one?”

Yan Zimi’s mind didn’t process the question in time, and he blurted out, “No, that’s mine.”

Pei Huan seemed surprised by the refusal and turned back to look at Yan Zimi.

Yan Zimi quickly changed his mind, “Actually, it’s fine. I can give it to you.”

Pei Huan smiled, “You seem a bit nervous?”

Yan Zimi shook his head, “Nope.”

Pei Huan didn’t say anything further but instead scanned all of Yan Zimi’s paintings with his gaze, looking up and down.

He noticed that the characters Yan Zimi had painted—aside from the ones from books and those that were clearly homework—were all Pei Huan.

“You’ve been secretly drawing me,” Pei Huan remarked, glancing back at that painting.

Yan Zimi swallowed hard.

Pei Huan chuckled and suddenly reached out to ruffle Yan Zimi’s hair. “So you really like me.”

Yan Zimi froze, his mind blank.

Pei Huan continued, “I thought I was just your average senior.”

The way Pei Huan said it was playful and light-hearted, like how boys often tease each other about liking someone, much like how Zhao Di had joked about liking Pei Huan the other day.

But Yan Zimi was a bundle of nerves.

He felt stuck; saying “yes” felt too forward, and “no” seemed impossible.

Fortunately, Pei Huan didn’t linger on the topic. He walked further inside and asked Yan Zimi, “Do you have any clothes I could borrow?”

Yan Zimi immediately replied, “I do.”

When Pei Huan went to take a shower, Yan Zimi felt like his heart was about to be scared to death, thumping wildly.

He first stepped outside to put away the several paintings, but after finishing, he felt something was off and put them back up again.

“So you really like me that much.”

Pei Huan’s playful words suddenly flashed into Yan Zimi’s ears.

With his head lowered, Yan Zimi grabbed at the air.

But soon after, he heard Zhao Di’s words: “Pei Huan is just so straightforward.”

He really was straightforward.

Yan Zimi arranged the four paintings back to their original positions.

Nothing happened.

A few minutes later, Pei Huan emerged from the bathroom while still on the phone.

He was wearing Yan Zimi’s long-sleeved shirt on top and Yan Zimi’s long pants on the bottom, the scent of Yan Zimi’s shower gel enveloping him.

Yan Zimi stared blankly, noticing that the pants seemed a bit short, yet somehow just right. Seeing Pei Huan dressed in his clothes gave him a strange feeling.

The phone call had already started, and Pei Huan was drying his hair with the towel Yan Zimi had given him while asking the person on the line, “What’s up?”

It was Zhao Di calling, and at that moment, the three people in the dorm were gathered around the phone, on speaker mode.

“Hey, Huan,” Zhao Di asked, “Why aren’t you back yet? What time is it?”

Pei Huan replied, “It started to rain.”

Zhao Di asked, “So are you coming back tonight?”

Pei Huan glanced at Yan Zimi and said, “I’ll see.”

Zhao Di exclaimed, and Xiao Dong next to him kept nudging him, urging him to get to the point.

That guy had made a phone call in the evening, hurriedly grabbed his coat, and left, and now he still hadn’t returned.

“What’s this? This!”

Zhao Di coughed and asked, “Does ‘I’ll see’ mean you’re planning to sleep outside?”

Pei Huan replied, “What’s wrong? Is there an issue?”

Xiao Dong nudged Zhao Di again, annoyed by his hesitation.

Zhao Di swatted Xiao Dong’s hand away and finally asked, “You’re not alone, right? Who’s with you?”

Pei Huan answered, “Yan Zimi. I’m at his apartment.”

As soon as he said that, the three in the dormitory all simultaneously exclaimed, “Oh!”

Zhao Di said, “So you went out tonight to see Zimi.”

Pei Huan confirmed, “Yeah.”

Xiao Dong chimed in, “I thought you were off on a date.”

Pei Huan said, “He didn’t bring an umbrella, so I’m going to pick him up.”

Zhao Di let out a long “Oh.”

In the background, the scene unfolded.

Yu Nan laughed, “Xiao Dong, pay up!”

Xiao Dong protested, “It’s only five bucks.”

Zhao Di added, “Don’t forget about my share!”

Pei Huan replied, “It’s fine; I’m hanging up.”

Zhao Di responded, “Go ahead and hang up,” then added, “Just don’t come back tonight; I won’t leave the door open for you.”

Pei Huan replied, “Don’t I have a key?”

Zhao Di said, “I’ll lock it from the inside.”

Pei Huan scoffed, “Do I even care about going back?”

Just then, Yan Zimi handed over a cup of hot water. Pei Huan looked into Yan Zimi’s eyes and said to Zhao Di, “The junior really has it good.”

Zhao Di laughed heartily, “Alright, alright, just don’t come back.”

After hanging up the phone, Pei Huan slumped against his phone, glancing at Yan Zimi.

From what Pei Huan had said, Yan Zimi could guess a few things.

So, with the water placed on the table, Yan Zimi raised his proud chin and said, “Beg me.”

Pei Huan chuckled, “What?”

Yan Zimi insisted, “Beg me, or else someone will have to sleep on the streets tonight.”

Pei Huan tilted his head, and Yan Zimi continued, even raising his chin a bit higher, looking quite smug.

However, Yan Zimi couldn’t maintain his bravado for long; his hand was suddenly grabbed.

This man, who could effortlessly pull down the rolling shutter door to his waist, easily pulled Yan Zimi onto the bed and pinned his shoulders down.

“Yan Zimi,” Pei Huan said, pressing one leg against Yan Zimi’s, “you’ve been a bit cheeky lately.”

Yan Zimi could feel heat spreading throughout his body.

Still, he had to retort, “Is this your attitude for staying over at my place?”

Pei Huan actually did adopt an improper attitude, pinning down the host’s hands. “You really need to be taught a lesson,” he said in the most threatening tone, “So, are you letting me sleep here or not?”

Yan Zimi paused, blinking lightly in surprise.

The two locked eyes for a brief second before Yan Zimi looked away first. “Let me go.”

Pei Huan chuckled and brushed aside Yan Zimi’s bangs with his fingers, using Yan Zimi’s own words against him: “Beg me.”

Pei Huan’s fingertip seemed to touch Yan Zimi’s forehead.

In that one motion, Yan Zimi felt a sudden jolt of electricity run through him.

“No,” Yan Zimi struggled again.

Pei Huan still wouldn’t let him go. “Are you ticklish?”

Yan Zimi widened his eyes. “No!”

Pei Huan chuckled, “Looks like you are.”

Yan Zimi twisted his leg, clearly realizing something was off. “If you move again, I’ll get angry.”

Pei Huan teased, “Let’s see you get angry.”

Pei Huan hadn’t even done anything yet, and Yan Zimi went still.

Next, in Pei Huan’s eyes, Yan Zimi’s face turned a deep shade of red, visibly not smiling anymore.

He didn’t look at Pei Huan, staring down with a pout, turning away and ignoring him.

Pei Huan relaxed his grip. “Are you mad?”

After saying that, he finally released his leg.

Yan Zimi got up from the bed, still silent.

Pei Huan laughed, “Uh-oh.”

Yan Zimi still didn’t look at him, saying, “I’m going to take a shower.”

Pei Huan stood up as well, “Then I’ll leave.”

Finally, Yan Zimi turned his head. “Where are you going?”

Pei Huan responded, “To sleep on the streets.”

Yan Zimi couldn’t help but laugh, though he quickly composed himself and pointed at the bed. “Do you want to sleep on the inside or the outside?”

Pei Huan didn’t mind and casually picked, “Inside.”

Yan Zimi let out an exaggerated “Oh, go ahead and sleep then. I’m going to shower.”

Gathering his things, Yan Zimi headed to the bathroom, and before closing the door, he saw that Pei Huan was already in bed.

It was a natural state between friends, nothing much to say about it.

The difficult part was Yan Zimi himself.

He lifted his shirt, glanced down at his pants, and quickly pulled his shirt back down.

He told himself, This is normal. This is perfectly normal.