Yan Chen’s feelings toward Ye Wenyu weren’t just obvious, they were overflowing so much they spilled out in all directions.
In the dorm, even though everyone was busy with their own things and Ye Wenyu didn’t say a word, Yan Chen could always tell the first moment Ye Wenyu got sleepy.
When Ye Wenyu was reading with his head down, and before he even yawned, he felt a light touch on the top of his head.
Yan Chen passed by like it was a coincidence, rubbed his head, and said casually, “It’s cold down here. If you’re sleepy, go to bed.”
His tone was mild, but it always carried a sense of warmth and care.
He started bringing breakfast for Ye Wenyu every day.
The Sports department always had to get up thirty minutes earlier than other majors, and whenever Ye Wenyu had morning classes, Yan Chen would shift his schedule up by another twenty minutes to go to the cafeteria and back.
Whether there was a morning class or not, Ye Wenyu would always see a steaming hot breakfast on the desk when he got up.
Although by that time, there was usually no one else left in the dormitory except him.
Before, it had been Ye Wenyu trying hard to squeeze out free time to accommodate Yan Chen. Now, it was completely the other way around.
If there was training, that was one thing. But if there wasn’t, or there were no classes, then if you wanted to find Yan Chen, you first had to find Ye Wenyu. They were always together.
Yan Chen gave all his private time to Ye Wenyu; eating with him, attending class with him, going to the library with him, and even the most trivial things, he was always by Ye Wenyu’s side.
The autumn temperatures in Xuan City changed more than a child’s mood. It could be 16 degrees today and drop to just 6 degrees tomorrow.
Many students from other regions couldn’t adapt to such weather. More or less, they would all show some symptoms of a cold, Ye Wenyu included.
It wasn’t serious, actually. There was no fever, no dizziness, and he was not so sick that he couldn’t get out of bed, just a little sneezing, a little coughing, and looking a little listless.
But Yan Chen didn’t think so.
From the moment Ye Wenyu sneezed the first time, he watched over him to add clothes when it got colder, made sure he ate properly, and made sure he slept on time.
He thought of everything in meticulous detail, coaxing, spoiling and caring for him so thoroughly that even Ye Wenyu started to feel like he was seriously ill and couldn’t function without Yan Chen.
Realizing that, he immediately felt something was wrong.
This couldn’t go on. Yan Chen was pampering him to the point of turning him into a delicate little prince.
Their interactions weren’t particularly rare or special, especially in front of their roommates or classmates. They never did anything overly intimate.
But somehow, whenever the two of them were in the same space, just one simple line of conversation, one brief exchange of glances, gave people the illusion that no one else could fit between them.
Even if they were simply in the same room doing nothing and saying nothing, there would still be this quiet, unspoken wave of ambiguity.
As someone living under the same roof with them, Yang Liang had gone through many emotional stages. From initially being extremely shocked, to very shocked, to mildly shocked, and finally to completely numbness.
He was not just numb, his numbness carried a tinge of envy and confusion.
“But why, Old Dong. Why is it like this?”
He took advantage of the fact that the two heart-wrenching people weren’t around and pestered Dong Xi endlessly: “I don’t get it. You said Yan-ge is chasing Wenyu now, but Wenyu said he confessed first to Yan-ge. So why aren’t they together already? Is chasing each other around like this going to boost the national GDP growth?”
Dong Xi: “You don’t get it?”
Yang Liang: “I don’t get it! It’s exhausting!”
“You’re the only one who thinks it’s exhausting,” Dong Xi said. “To them, it’s not exhausting at all.”
Yang Liang: “Then what is it?”
Dong Xi: “It’s fun. It’s that kind of ‘he’s mine anyway so no matter how roundabout it gets, he’s still by my side’ kind of fun.”
Yang Liang: “?”
Yang Liang: “Do you even hear what you’re saying?”
“It’s fine, I’m single anyway, it doesn’t really matter if I get it or not.”
Dong Xi picked up his phone, which had started vibrating on the desk. He glanced at the caller ID, then signaled to Yang Liang: “My girlfriend’s calling so I’m heading out. You can have fun in the dormitory by yourself.”
Yang Liang’s eyes widened: “Why am I playing alone in the dormitory? Didn’t you promise to queue up for ranked matches with me?”
Dong Xi: “Next time, next time for sure.”
The dorm door opened and closed again, a cold draft swept through, and in the blink of an eye, only the lonely and desolate Yang Liang remained.
Damn, he was even more envious now.
Another week passed in a flash, and the results of the dubbing competition finally came out.
The results were even better than expected. They had originally thought just getting into the top ten would be difficult, but they had shot straight ahead, beating the second and third place teams by nearly 2,000 votes and taking the championship directly.
This honor was no longer just the achievement of their dubbing team, it was an honor for the entire Foreign Language Department and even the whole of Xuan University.
As usual, the certificate and trophy were awarded by the school leaders, followed by a group photo that would be included in the admission brochure.
The team was mostly made up of girls, so they were arranged by height, with Ye Wenyu and Yan Chen standing in the back row.
Song Xiaomian’s boyfriend stood beside Ye Wenyu. He was cheerful and outgoing by nature, and was fooling around with Song Xiaomian in the front. Suddenly, a careless wave of his arm nearly hit Ye Wenyu.
There was a bit of danger in it.
Ye Wenyu was afraid he might really get hit, and was about to move aside when an arm wrapped around his shoulder and pulled him close.
Ye Wenyu turned his head to look at him.
At the same time, the photographer finished focusing and shouted energetically, “Let’s go, champions!” The cheers of several people echoed through the auditorium, and the youthful moment was perfectly frozen in the camera.
After leaving the auditorium, it was announced that the dinner party would begin.
The venue had been decided that morning. They had originally wanted to return to the lawn restaurant from last time, but the weather forecast said it might rain that night, so they had to regretfully switch to a Southeast Asian restaurant in Mixc Mall. The food was said to be good, and there were many private rooms.
They took a taxi from school at 6:30. There was some traffic on the way, and by the time they arrived, it was almost 7:30.
After being led in by the waiter, they discovered that the private rooms here weren’t in the traditional sense. The cushioned sofas and LCD screen on the wall made it feel more like a premium, comfortable KTV room.
Especially with the two microphones next to the screen.
“The online introduction did say it had a bit of a KTV vibe, but I didn’t expect it to be this nice.”
“No wonder they charge a room fee.”
“There’s no song selection machine. Do we use WeChat?”
“Probably. Try scanning the QR code?”
“Here, let me sing one for everyone to whet your appetites.”
After two rather unremarkable opening songs, the dishes began arriving one after another.
The wine was thoughtfully placed by the waiter on a small dining cart to the side. The bottles were kept chilled in an ice bucket to maintain optimal flavor.
A group of students from different majors sat around the table, talking about all sorts of strange things. Every topic imaginable came up; there was no focus and everything was a chaotic mess, but it was fun.
“The school moves so fast, the photos are already up on the admissions brochure! Go take a look, you can even like them!”
“Yan-ge and Wenyu are too eye-catching. I really shouldn’t have stood next to them. So speechless.”
“I don’t think it’s a brochure anymore, it’s just you two alive and kicking.”
“I saw photos of graduates from ten years ago still up! That means ten years from now, I can show my son the school’s official website with my photo on it. Why does it feel like I’m going down in history, hahaha!”
Ye Wenyu wasn’t a talkative person and he talked even less during meals. Usually, he just listened quietly and only when someone asked him something would he give a brief reply.
Once most people had eaten their fill and bottle caps started clinking to the floor one after another, the topic shifted to the only sports department student at the table.
With the help of alcohol and the presence of Ye Wenyu next to him, the handsome school grass no longer seemed so cold and unapproachable. People even dared to crack some harmless jokes at him now.
“Yan Chen, I’ve always been curious, don’t you sports students ever start questioning life after all those intense workouts day after day? I can’t even finish a hike without getting lost in thought, wondering what is the purpose of my life.”
Yan Chen: “It’s fine. If you like it, you won’t.”
“Do you like swimming?”
“Obviously. Why would anyone choose this major if they didn’t like it?”
“A lot of people just get reassigned. And I know many art majors who don’t even like drawing.”
Ye Wenyu knew they were talking about people who tried to get into college through the arts path. But he also knew that Yan Chen wasn’t one of those people. If he made a choice, it meant he truly liked it.
“Now that you mention it, I have a question too. Yan Chen, what’s the heaviest weight you can lift in a princess carry? Can you do 180?”
“Fuc—180?! Go to hell. If someone weighs 180, even the fire department would need a stretcher.”
“Okay fine, I’ll change it. What about 150? Can you handle 150 jin?”
Before the boy who teased him could say more, Yan Chen had already answered, “Yes.”
“Wow! That means your future partner could enjoy princess carries every day?”
Ye Wenyu’s hand paused while drinking soup.
“Are you implying that Yan-ge’s future partner weighs 150 jin?”
“No, come on, of course not. I was just stating the upper limit, don’t twist my words.”
“Actually, being thin isn’t the only standard for beauty. My cousin’s over 170 cm tall and weighs around 130 jin, and she’s still very beautiful.”
“130 jin? Isn’t that a bit too…”
The sentence didn’t end, but everyone could guess what it meant.
Talking about a girl’s weight like this really wasn’t polite. The boy who said it also realized his mistake immediately, “No, what I meant was…”
“Yes.” Yan Chen cut him off, “130 is a bit too thin.”
“…?”
“Huh?”
For most girls, 130 jin wasn’t exactly fat, but it definitely couldn’t be called too thin either. Yan Chen’s words almost shocked the souls of the students present.
“Too…too thin?”
“Yan-ge, why do you say that?”
“Yan-ge, if I may be bold, what do you consider the ideal weight then?”
Yan Chen thought for a moment.A “At least 140.”
“?”
“?”
If you looked just at the words, it really sounded like a joke, but it was clear Yan Chen wasn’t the type to joke around, and his expression showed he meant every word.
For a moment, everyone’s confusion and disbelief was written all over their faces.
Except for Ye Wenyu. He was still drinking soup when Yan Chen spoke. As Yan Chen finished speaking, his mouthful of soup got stuck in his throat, and the light spicy taste instantly choked him.
Before he could cough, a hand had already reached out and handed him a cup of tea.
Being taken care of by Yan Chen was nothing new, and he was already used to it. He didn’t think anything of it and took the tea, easing the burning in his throat. When he looked up again, several people were staring at him…or rather, at him and Yan Chen…with curiosity all over their faces.
“What is it?” he asked.
“It’s amazing,” Song Xiaomian exclaimed. “Yan-ge didn’t even look at you, but he knew the moment you were about to cough and handed you tea. It’s like he’s has an eye planted on you.”
“I know this one. Old married couples are like that.”
Song Xiaomian’s boyfriend happened to be one of the people present when that so-called ‘joke’ happened before the post was deleted. He casually picked it up as material to keep the mood going, “Wenyu, Yan-ge is so considerate and thoughtful, shouldn’t you nod your head already?”
“What are you saying? Nod to what?”
“I know! You’re talking about that thing on the forum, right? Where someone pretended to be Yan-ge and said he was chasing Wenyu?”
“Of course I saw it. I almost got fooled…”
The atmosphere quickly turned lively again. People who have been drinking have short memories, and the previous topic was already forgotten.
Only Ye Wenyu, who wasn’t allowed to drink too much cold wine because still hadn’t fully recovered from his cold, remembered it clearly.
It wasn’t that he didn’t want to nod. It was obviously that someone didn’t let him nod.
Yan Chen had drunk quite a bit, so he didn’t drink much anymore towards the end. While everyone across from him chatted away, he leaned back in his chair, one hand under the table lazily tugging at the hem of Ye Wenyu’s shirt now and then.
It was a bit childish, but inexplicably cute.
Ye Wenyu felt tickled by the tugging and wanted to sneak his hand over to tug back. But just as he was about to touch, An Xue suddenly called out, “Wenyu!”
He was so startled he drew his hand back.
Yan Chen lifted his eyes.
Ye Wenyu also looked up. “What?”
An Xue: “I just remembered we haven’t toasted yet. Come on, let’s clink glasses.”
Ye Wenyu picked up his glass, but Yan Chen suddenly said he was going out for a bit, then stood and left the private room.
A drunk person going out alone was naturally a cause for concern. Worried about him, Ye Wenyu quickly found an excuse and followed him out to look for him.
The bathroom was at the end of the hallway, so it was only natural that he wanted to go there to look for someone. But after just a few steps, he saw Yan Chen walking toward him from that direction.
Ye Wenyu stopped where he was, planning to wait and head back together. But just as Yan Chen reached him and he was about to turn around, the latter gently grabbed his wrist and pulled him into the empty private room next door.
Ye Wenyu was caught off guard and pushed backward in a daze. When his heel hit the leg of the sofa, Yan Chen wrapped his arms around him.
“So thin.” Yan Chen measured his waist with his arm. The smell of alcohol made his voice a little sticky. “Soon I’ll be able to princess-carry two Wenyus.”
“…”
Ye Wenyu’s ears turned red again. He was right, this guy was really talking about him earlier.
Yan Chen was like a puppy, he was nudging his nose at his ear, sniffing at his neck, and finally he buried himself in the crook of his neck, clinging and not letting go.
He was drunk. Very clearly drunk. The emotions spilling out of him made Ye Wenyu blush deeply and it was difficult for him to resist.
“Are you feeling uncomfortable?” Ye Wenyu asked softly.
Yan Chen: “Mm.”
“Where? Are you dizzy or feel like throwing up?” The room’s lights were off. Only the neon lights from outside shone in. When Ye Wenyu turned his head to look at him, he was pulled into an even tighter embrace.
“It’s uncomfortable from being anxious.” Yan Chen gently rubbed against him, his voice low like a sigh or a murmur. “When will you be mine?”
Ye Wenyu didn’t understand at first.
But just as he was about to ask “what do you mean, yours,” he suddenly understood.
A warm, fiery sensation shot up his spine to the top of his head, then flowed through his flesh into his chest, where it expanded rapidly…soft, warm, sore, and itchy.
His eyes swelled with heat. He closed them and hugged Yan Chen back tightly.
“Then chase faster.”
