“Which cafeteria are we going to later?”
Through the bathroom door, Yang Liang asked Dong Xi, who was out on the balcony, “One or three?”
Dong Xi scooped up some water and threw it onto his face with a loud splash: “Either is fine. But someone in the group chat just posted a picture saying Cafeteria Three steamed zongzi this morning…meat zongzi.”
“Meat zongzi! Wuhu!” Yang Liang cheered loudly and opened the door with one hand, his other hand holding the waistband of his pants: “Then we’re going to Cafeteria Three for zongzi!”
“What are you yelling for?” Yan Chen came out from inside. “Keep it down.”
“Huh? Oh, oh, right.” Yang Liang finally realized and quickly covered his mouth: “I forgot again. Did I wake Wenyu?”
Usually, first period classes started at eight, but it was different for sports majors. Morning training started at 7:30, so they had to wake up half an hour earlier than other students.
Before, everyone in 508 was in the sports department, so their schedules were the same and no one thought much of it. But now it was different, there was Ye Wenyu.
Yan Chen was about to say no, but Dong Xi stretched his neck to peek inside, then lifted his chin: “He’s up. But whether it was because of you, I don’t know.”
Yan Chen turned around and saw that the person who had just been sleeping soundly on the bed was now standing in front of the closet in a daze, looking for clothes.
As autumn deepened, the nights grow longer, and getting up became more and more painful, not to mention adjusting the biological clock that had taken over two years to develop and getting up half an hour earlier.
Ye Wenyu’s body was awake, but his brain wasn’t. He held the clothes in his hands, unsure of what to do next. He only felt very sleepy and his eyelids were about to stick together, so he instinctively raised his hand to rub them.
But just as he raised his hand, a large hand appeared from beside him and gently pulled his down. Yan Chen held his hand and pressed into his palm: “Don’t rub your eyes with your hands.”
Ye Wenyu lifted his face. The light from the balcony made it hard for him to fully open his eyes. The corners of his eyes drooped slightly, and he looked listless and dazed. Standing there, he looked very obedient.
Yan Chen felt a pang in his heart, wanting nothing more than to pull him into his arms and let him lean against him to sleep some more. But the timing was wrong, and the place was wrong, so he could only suppress the urge.
“If you’re tired, sleep a little longer,” Yan Chen gave his hand another squeeze before letting go. “Your classes don’t start for a while.”
“It’s okay.” Ye Wenyu covered his mouth and yawned. “I’m not sleepy anymore.”
Student Ye, who said one thing and meant another, was very cute. Yan Chen raised his eyebrows but considerately didn’t expose him.
After getting ready, they went downstairs for breakfast. Ye Wenyu held a book and followed them to the sports field by the south gate.
He had stayed up late last night finishing a group paper, so he was very sleepy this morning. They had only walked halfway before he started yawning again and again.
Yang Liang looked at him again and again before he couldn’t hold back and asked, “Wenyu, why do you keep torturing yourself by getting up so early with us? Wouldn’t it be better to sleep in?”
Ye Wenyu paused for a moment and gave an even more puzzling answer: “I want to take a morning walk.”
Yang Liang: “?”
‘Young man, why are you like this?’
When they reached the entrance of the sports field, Yang Liang and Dong Xi waved at Ye Wenyu and went in first.
Yan Chen stayed a bit longer. He saw Ye Wenyu’s gaze still following them as they disappeared, so he reached out and pinched his face, turning it back toward him: “What class do you have this morning?”
Ye Wenyu answered obediently, “History of French Literature.”
It sounded like a required course, so no chance for a nap.
Yan Chen: “Will you fall asleep in class?”
Ye Wenyu wanted to shake his head, but given his current state, it wouldn’t be convincing. So he changed his answer: “I can send you a message.”
Yan Chen: “Hm?”
Ye Wenyu said seriously, “If I talk to you during class, I won’t be sleepy.”
A smile flashed in Yan Chen’s eyes, but he still said: “I can’t check my phone at any time during training.”
Ye Wenyu was very understanding: “Okay, then just remember to check and reply when you have time.”
On the other side, Yang Liang turned back to look every few steps, hooking his arm around Dong Xi’s neck: “Why do I feel like ever since Wenyu moved into our dorm, he’s been very attached to Yan-ge? Do you think I’m imagining it?”
Dong Xi: “Is it possible that he was like that before moving in, but you just didn’t see it?”
“Oh!” Yang Liang suddenly realized, “That makes sense. But why, though?”
Dong Xi glanced at him and smiled mysteriously: “Use your little brain and think…why do you think it is?”
Yang Liang pondered seriously for a moment, then opened his eyes wide: “Could it be because…”
Dong Xi smiled with narrowed eyes: “My friend, boldly say your guess.”
Yang Liang: “Because Wenyu wants to learn how to swim and wants Yan-ge to teach him!”
Dong Xi: “…”
Dong Xi patted his hand: “Go gather already.”
——
Sometimes a course with a specialized name wasn’t necessarily a required one, like History Of French Literary.
The bell for class had already rung, but the teacher was still struggling to set up the multimedia to show them an old film about the French Revolution.
Ye Wenyu pulled out his phone and sent Yan Chen a message: [Are you there?]
Of course, there was no reply. At this time, Yan Chen should already be back at the swimming pool for routine training.
Scrolling up through the chat history, they had been talking a lot over the past few days. Most of the time, it was Ye Wenyu initiating the conversation:
[Are you there?]
[What are you doing?]
[Are you training?]
[Tired?]
[What are you eating for lunch?]
[What’s for dinner?]
[Do you still have training tomorrow?] ….
The vibe of forcing conversation was overwhelming…as if he was just chatting for the sake of chatting.
But he didn’t feel that way himself.
Sending just one message seemed a bit silly, so after thinking seriously for a bit, he added two more:
[What are you doing?]
[What are we eating tonight?]
Chi Dongting, who was sitting next to him, was also sending messages. He was texting his mother, fingers flying and muttering nonstop.
“My mother is too girly, she wants me to take her to Happy World to ride the Ferris wheel. Doesn’t she know that Happy World’s Ferris wheel only has a children’s version?”
“And she wants to eat McFlurry? There’s not even a McDonald’s near campus.”
“Help me, I can’t take it anymore. Can my dad hurry up and come back to take my mom away!”
The revolutionary film finally started playing, and Chi Dongting was mentally drained.
He tossed his phone into the drawer and turned to Ye Wenyu to vent, only to see him completely focused on his phone, his expression more serious than during a final listening exam.
He became a bit curious.
No…very curious!
But his uncorrupted morals wouldn’t allow him to peek at someone else’s phone, so he could only poke Ye Wenyu’s hand and whisper: “Wenyu, what are you doing again?”
Ye Wenyu answered very matter-of-factly: “Typing.”
“…” Chi Dongting was speechless for a moment. “Could you be more specific? I noticed you’ve been like this these past few days…so busy, always staring at your phone, running off right after class, and barely eating with me anymore. What are you so busy with?”
Ye Wenyu sent the latest carefully edited nonsense: “Busy letting friendship deteriorate.”
“…?”
“?!”
Chi Dongting’s pupils shook, and he almost couldn’t control his volume: “What?”
Ye Wenyu added the universal cover-up line: “My cousin.”
‘Oh, cousin?’
Chi Dongting recalled for a while: “Right, I remember. But hasn’t it been a while now? Your cousin still hasn’t caught the person over?”
Ye Wenyu nodded reluctantly.
Chi Dongting: “So what stage are they at now?”
Ye Wenyu quickly defined the current relationship between him and Yan Chen in his head: “They’re really good friends now.”
“Really good friends, huh.”
Chi Dongting rubbed his neck, thinking: “Then why not just go ahead and confess? If things go wrong, just say it was a joke. It’s very normal for good friends to joke around.”
‘You could do that?’
Ye Wenyu tried to imagine a scenario where he suddenly blurted out to Yan Chen that he liked him, and the next second said it was a joke…
Ye Wenyu: “…”
Ye Wenyu: “No.”
Chi Dongting: “Okay, yeah, that might scare him off.”
Chi Dongting: “Since your cousin has already become good friends with him, taking it further shouldn’t be that hard. Spend more time together, keep in touch, and the feelings will probably just naturally ferment.”
Ye Wenyu thought the same. And it wasn’t too difficult to implement, except for one downside…waking up early was really painful.
Chi Dongting: “But that’s just my opinion, okay. I’ve never dated, so I don’t really know about this stuff. Do you want me to ask my sister?”
“No need.” Ye Wenyu was actually quite confident: “I…he should be fine on his own.”
“Alright.” Chi Dongting didn’t insist. “If you ever need help, just let me know. Oh, right, do you want to go to Happy World tomorrow afternoon? My mom said it’s her treat.”
Ye Wenyu pulled up Yan Chen’s class schedule and checked it, then declined: “No, I have something to do in the afternoon. Have fun with Auntie.”
Ye Wenyu did have something tomorrow afternoon. His plan was to accompany Yan Chen to the swimming pool for training.
That was something his father once told him: companionship is the most sincere confession.
But since they weren’t in the same major, it wasn’t possible to be together all the time. So he had to squeeze out all his free time to match Yan Chen’s schedule.
“Coming to train with me?” Yan Chen’s head popped out of the collar, tugging his shirt down as he looked back at Ye Wenyu: “The swimming pool?”
Ye Wenyu nodded.
Yan Chen: “Why?”
Ye Wenyu: “I don’t have class this afternoon.”
Yan Chen: “So you want to hang out?”
Ye Wenyu nodded again.
Yan Chen: “There’s nothing fun at the swimming pool. I’ll be too focused on training to take care of you. It might be even more boring than staying in the dorm.”
“It’s okay,” Ye Wenyu said. “I just want to take a look.”
In the end, Yan Chen still brought Ye Wenyu along.
The training lasted about two hours. On the way there, Yan Chen stopped by a supermarket and bought him a big bag of snacks. Once they got to the pool, he led him to a resting area and had him sit down, placing the snacks beside his seat.
“The water won’t splash over here, and there’s a charging port. If you get tired or bored, just go back first, no need to wait for me the whole time.”
Inside the swimming pool, a group of “naked men” all leaned on the edge watching curiously, their heads lined up in a neat row.
As soon as Yan Chen changed and came over, they swarmed toward him like tadpoles finding their mother.
“Yan-ge, why’d you bring your family to training?”
“Nonsense, what family, clearly he’s just a roommate.”
“The dormitory is my home, is there a problem?”
“Objectively speaking, I think it looks more like bringing a child along.”
“Then can I bring my girlfriend too?”
“Wake up. You think your girlfriend is willing to sit there doing nothing for two hours?”
“Are you all very free?” Yan Chen stood by the poolside, towering above them as he looked down at the group of heads. “How about adding another 2000 meters to training?”
The scene froze for a second.
The next second, the tadpoles scattered like birds and beasts.
After they ran off, Yan Chen turned around and looked at the “family member” sitting quietly in the seat, a thoughtful look in his eyes.
Training began on time. Ye Wenyu had just watched for a while when he received a wail from his former roommate far away at Happy World.
Chi Dongting: [I’m speechless. My mom’s not afraid of anything, she even dares to ride the drop tower!]
Chi Dongting: [Can you believe it, she’s already been on it twice and is now queuing up for a third time!]
Chi Dongting: [/kneel down/ kneel down]
Ye Wenyu: [What about you?]
Chi Dongting: [I’m just sitting at a hot and sour noodle stall, doing nothing…]
Ye Wenyu: [You could go ride with Auntie.]
Chi Dongting: [Do you think I dare?]
Chi Dongting: [There are so many people today, there’s probably at least a half-hour wait.]
Chi Dongting: [Since I have nothing to do right now, Wenyu, send me your chat history with your cousin, let me and my sister take a look.]
Ye Wenyu: [Chat history with my cousin?]
Chi Dongting: [Don’t get mad when I say this, but I don’t think you’re cut out to be your cousin’s wingman.]
Chi Dongting: [Look, you’ve never been in a relationship, and now you’re teaching someone else? Isn’t that unreasonable? Don’t end up misleading people.]
Actually, Ye Wenyu thought he was doing fine and the start hadn’t been that difficult. But seeing how eager Chi Dongting was to help, he didn’t have the heart to crush his enthusiasm.
Ye Wenyu: [I didn’t save the chat history with my cousin, but if you want, I can send you the conversation between the two main characters.]
