AL Chapter11

Just as everyone was wondering, the fourth person in the group, “Shen Hui,” appeared.

 

Shen Hui was also an eccentric in their class back then. He slept on the bunk opposite Zhou Yan, was very thin, and at 1.78 meters tall, he only weighed 55 kilograms.

 

But compared to a wild species like Liang Ruixi, who could still be full of life after an all-nighter in the emergency room, Shen Hui was genuinely frail and delicate. Throughout their four years in university, he would always catch the flu during flu season, and his colds would arrive even before winter.

 

In contrast to his weak physique was his unique personality. Among the four of them in room 326, Zhou Yan was practically glued to Liang Ruixi, and Wei Ran and Lu Jing also often hung out together. Shen Hui, on the other hand, was a lone wolf. He didn’t socialize with other classmates; he would go to class, eat, and go out by himself. He was extremely introverted, rarely speaking in group chats unless there were close friends, but when he did speak, his words were always surprising.

 

Liang Ruixi was good at dealing with all sorts of guys, but in his four years in room 326, the only one he never quite figured out was Shen Hui. He always felt Shen Hui was incredibly cool and unique.

 

After graduation, Shen Hui went abroad to study for a master’s in business administration and then stayed there to work. He was one of those “time difference people,” waking up to a heap of gossip and enjoying the drama immensely. Yet, the first thing he said after appearing was, “I really didn’t expect Zhou Yan to be bad in bed.”

 

How do rumors start? Just like that.

 

How do people die? Just like that.

 

Shen Hui’s ability to directly turn a question into a conclusion made Liang Ruixi give him a thumbs up!

 

He stifled a laugh, as if afraid of being seen by Zhou Yan, and furtively turned his screen away from him.

 

Shen Hui continued, “To be honest, I’m quite surprised.”

 

Lu Jingcheng: “Surprised about what?”

 

Shen Hui: “That Zhou Yan is bad in bed.”

 

Wei Ran: “I thought so too. Liang Ruixi has so much experience, why didn’t he give Zhou Yan some pointers?”

 

Shen Hui: “But from what I deduce, Liang Ruixi isn’t much better in bed either.”

 

Liang Ruixi peered at the screen, secretly muttering, How the hell do you know if I’m good in bed or not?

 

Lu Jingcheng also asked curiously, “Haha, why?”

 

Shen Hui: “Look at how often he got dumped in university.”

 

Wei Ran: “Hahahahaha…”

 

Shen Hui: “Besides, he lost to Zhou Yan when they compared sizes back then, so no matter how bad Zhou Yan is in bed, he’s definitely better than Ruixi.”

 

Liang Ruixi almost spat out a mouthful of blood and couldn’t help but jump in: “Damn it, Shen Hui, after a few years, your ability to lie through your teeth has really improved!”

 

Lu Jingcheng: “Oh, you’re back.”

 

Shen Hui: “Long time no see, Campus Heartthrob.”

 

Wei Ran: “Hey, hey, did you two really compare sizes? So, is Zhou Yan really good or not? @Liang Ruixi”

 

Liang Ruixi angrily retorted, “How would I know if he’s good or not!”

 

Shen Hui: “When you and Zhou Yan squeezed onto one bed to sleep, didn’t you ever touch it? I still remember your gasp of surprise back then; the size must have been quite impressive, right?”

 

Liang Ruixi wished he could jump through the screen with some tape and seal Shen Hui’s mouth!

 

But that one sentence from Shen Hui also made him recall that sole experience.

 

It was during the end of the first semester of freshman year. Liang Ruixi was in Zhou Yan’s dorm looking at his review notes. The winters in Haicheng were damp and cold, and Liang Ruixi couldn’t stand it, so he directly climbed onto Zhou Yan’s bed, huddling under his blanket to warm his feet while studying. After he finished reviewing, Zhou Yan’s quilt was warm, and he didn’t want to leave, so he just squeezed in and slept with Zhou Yan.

 

Zhou Yan had a good constitution; he was warm all over when he slept at night, and hugging him was especially comfortable. Liang Ruixi had enjoyed it once and didn’t go back to his own dorm to sleep until the holiday break.

 

By the winter of sophomore year, as soon as the weather cooled, he remembered Zhou Yan’s warmth again. He endured a few days of cold sheets and pillows before he couldn’t resist. One night, he crept into room 326 and climbed onto Zhou Yan’s bed again.

 

That night, as soon as he got on, he spotted Zhou Yan half-leaning on a pillow, looking dazed, with a large bulge in front of him.

 

He had no idea what he was thinking at the time, but he excitedly gasped, “Wow!” and exclaimed, “Let’s compare!”

 

Zhou Yan didn’t even have time to react before Liang Ruixi got his hands on him. Liang Ruixi’s eyes widened in shock, and after a gasp, Zhou Yan covered his mouth and pressed him down onto the bed.

 

At that time, Zhou Yan was already with Xiao Zhi, and Liang Ruixi just assumed Zhou Yan was thinking about his girlfriend, which was why he was so visibly aroused. Even with his mouth covered, he laughed uncontrollably: “I get it, I get it…”

 

When Zhou Yan released him, he even leaned close to Zhou Yan’s ear and teased him in a whisper: “Xiao Zhi-meimei[mfn]Little sister[/mfn] is so lucky~”

 

Zhou Yan pressed Liang Ruixi’s neck further into the pillow and threatened him in a voice only they could hear: “If you make any more fuss, I’ll kick you out!”

 

……

 

Even though he was slightly inferior in a certain aspect of male dignity, but Liang Ruixi didn’t want to admit defeat just like that. He retorted, “Does being good in bed depend on size?”

 

Shen Hui said, “Let’s not talk about that for now.”

 

Liang Ruixi had just breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Shen Hui ask again, “How many time is it now? Did you break up?”

 

Liang Ruixi: “……”

 

Is this what old classmates who haven’t seen each other in three years would ask?!

 

And it wasn’t just him; the other two also joined in—

 

Wei Ran: “Did you break up?”

 

Lu Jingcheng: “Did you break up?”

 

Liang Ruixi’s eyes darkened, and he angrily said, “Do you guys f*cking have a grudge against me? Can’t you stand to see me doing well?”

 

While they were teasing him, Zhou Yan also parked the car in the underground garage. Seeing Liang Ruixi grinning one moment and frowning the next, he asked strangely, “Still chatting with Wei Ran?”

 

“En.” Liang Ruixi wanted to cover it up, but Zhou Yan had already reached over and directly taken his phone!

 

“We’re just chatting nonsense! It’s been a long time, we’re just saying whatever…” Liang Ruixi was both flustered and scared.

 

Zhou Yan didn’t look back; he only glanced at the current conversation on the screen, and with a smirk, he replied directly.

 

When Liang Ruixi got his phone back, he saw what Zhou Yan had said—

 

Liang Ruixi: “He broke up, and now he’s with me.”

 

Liang Ruixi: “I’m Zhou Yan.”

 

The three people in the group excitedly exclaimed as if they had accidentally opened an adult film.

 

Wei Ran: “Holy sh*ttt! You two really got together? [smirking emoji][smirking emoji]”

 

Lu Jingcheng: “What kind of ‘together’? Be clearer. [smirking emoji][smirking emoji]”

 

Shen Hui: “Two heartbroken men finally came to their senses and decided to just make do? [smirking emoji][smirking emoji]”

 

……

 

Liang Ruixi felt like he was going to faint on the spot reading those messages; these guys were so mean…

 

And Zhou Yan, too, just dropped that bomb and got out of the car as if it had nothing to do with him.

 

Liang Ruixi pressed the back of his hand to his slightly flushed face in the dark, quickly following Zhou Yan. “That reply of yours was too ambiguous.”

 

Zhou Yan slowed his steps, hands in his pockets, a half-smile on his face. “After all these years in college, I thought you’d be more used to it than me.”

 

Liang Ruixi thought to himself, That was in college, an era of innocence. How could it always be like that?

 

“This group chat was only created by Wei Ran tonight,” Liang Ruixi hinted meaningfully. “They all know about you and Xiao Zhi now.”

 

Zhou Yan let out an ‘en’, showing no other reaction.

 

Liang Ruixi cautiously asked, “Do you want me to add you?”

 

“No need,” Zhou Yan said calmly. “You guys chat.”

 

When they arrived downstairs at Zhou Yan’s place, Zhou Yan said, “You go up first; I’m going to buy something at the shop ahead.”

 

Liang Ruixi stopped. “Buy what? Let’s go together.”

 

“It’s raining, you go up first,” Zhou Yan said softly. “I’ll be right back.”

 

Liang Ruixi was enchanted by Zhou Yan’s tone and gaze. He let out an “oh” and obediently went upstairs. When he opened the door, he smelled that jasmine scent again.

 

Even though it was only his second time back, because of this scent, Liang Ruixi felt like he had returned home.

 

He changed his shoes and sat down by the sofa, continuing to look at his phone.

 

He saw what Wei Ran had said after that, “I really want to tell Junior Sister Xiao, let her know that even if she doesn’t want the campus beauty, our President Zhou still has the campus heartthrob to take over!”

 

Shen Hui: “If she knew, she’d probably set off firecrackers on the spot.”

 

Wei Ran: “Now that you mention it, that’s true…”

 

Lu Jingcheng: “But Zhou Yan saw what we were talking about, isn’t he going to clarify it himself?”

 

Wei Ran: “Exactly, if he doesn’t clarify, the rumor will be confirmed. How can he endure this?”

 

Shen Hui: “To be fair, I’ve never met anyone more tolerant than Zhou Yan.”

 

Liang Ruixi also strongly agreed with this point. The first time he realized Zhou Yan’s strong endurance was during their university military training. That year, Haicheng experienced an unusual heatwave, and hundreds of freshmen stood at attention under the scorching sun, looking like dehydrated pickled vegetables.

 

At the end of military training, fewer than ten students received public praise from the instructors, who said that under such harsh conditions, they still stood perfectly straight, not even blinking when sweat got into their eyes. This was the kind of endurance a qualified soldier possessed, and such students were also destined to have extraordinary self-management awareness. Zhou Yan was one of the praised students.

 

Wei Ran continued to relentlessly badger in the group: “Hey, Zhou Yan, we’re old classmates who know each other inside out, it’s no fun for you to keep hiding things now!”

 

Liang Ruixi replied, “Stop tagging him, he didn’t see what you guys were chatting about earlier.”

 

Wei Ran: “Then what do you think?”

 

Liang Ruixi: “Why do you keep asking me? Why don’t you go ask Zhou Yan if I’m good in bed or not?”

 

Wei Ran: “Damn, are you guys really together? Who’s top and who’s bottom?”

 

Shen Hui: “Does that even need asking? It’s definitely Liang Ruixi on the bottom.”

 

Liang Ruixi: “Why me?”

 

Shen Hui: “You’re so thin, are you seriously hoping to be on top and move yourself instead of being on the bottom?”

 

Liang Ruixi: “F*ck, screw off!”

 

There was a movement outside the door; Zhou Yan was back. Liang Ruixi grumbled as he put down his phone: “Those three old virgins, none of them getting girlfriends, and just messing with me all day!”

 

“How did they mess with you?” Zhou Yan held a plastic bag from which a fragrant aroma wafted.

 

“Nothing much,” Liang Ruixi sniffed and asked, “What did you buy?”

 

“Old duck vermicelli soup.” Zhou Yan said as he changed his shoes and came over.

 

Liang Ruixi hadn’t felt hungry, but the aroma made his stomach rumble with craving. He peered into the bag and asked, “Just one bowl?”

 

“Just one bowl.” Zhou Yan went to the kitchen, got an empty bowl and two pairs of chopsticks. He came back, served a small bowl for himself, poured a little soup into it, and pushed the rest to Liang Ruixi. “I’ve had dinner, and I usually don’t eat late-night snacks. I was afraid you wouldn’t have an appetite, so I’ll eat a little with you.”

 

Liang Ruixi was stunned. “You specifically went to buy it for me?”

 

“Otherwise?” Zhou Yan sat cross-legged on the carpet, looking at him. “You only ate a piece of bread for dinner, and it’s already eleven. Aren’t you hungry?”

 

“…Hungry.” A wave of emotion washed over Liang Ruixi. He picked up the bowl and slurped it down. The hot duck soup warmed his stomach, making him feel comfortable from head to toe.

 

Zhou Yan looked at him for a moment, then, seeing the phone on the coffee table vibrating continuously, he asked again, “What else did they talk to you about?”

 

Liang Ruixi froze. From his angle, he couldn’t see Zhou Yan’s crucial parts, but he could see Zhou Yan’s broad chest, the pectoral muscles encased in the gray cashmere sweater, and his long arms…

 

“They guessed that Xiao Zhi was interested in someone else because you’re not good in bed.” Liang Ruixi’s adam apple bobbed as he nervously scrutinized Zhou Yan. “So, how exactly are you?”

 

Zhou Yan: “……”

 

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[Little Interlude]

Liang Ruixi: Let’s compare!

Liang Ruixi: (⊙o⊙) Wow~

Liang Ruixi: Xiao-meimei is so lucky.

Zhou Yan: That luck is for you.