RSK Chapter 5

Waking up the next day, my head felt heavy, all thanks to those forum posts that kept me up until my phone died. I was genuinely shocked by the real-life stories and wild ideas shared by those guys. Although most of the methods were puzzling, there were a couple that seemed worth trying.

That afternoon, on my way back from class, I ran into Wen Xu. His ever-expressionless, ice-cold face remained unchanged even under the blazing sun. Seeing that he was also heading back to the dorm, I approached him and said, “Wen Xu, there are a few points in the notes from yesterday I didn’t get. Can you help me out later?”

Wen Xu stopped, nodded slightly, and agreed with a simple “Hmm.”

Jeez, this taciturn guy acts like talking more than necessary could kill him.

Once we were back in the dorm, and seeing that the others hadn’t returned yet, I turned on the AC with the remote and asked Wen Xu to come over to help me with my questions. Truth be told, his notes were exceptionally clear and easy to understand, and I had almost figured everything out on my own. The main reason I asked for his help was, of course, to test him a bit.

One of the simpler methods I read about last night involved getting close to the person when speaking, to observe whether they frequently glanced at you, blushed, or showed any signs of nervousness. Wasn’t this the perfect opportunity?

The cool breeze from the AC was a relief to my warm skin, and it lifted my spirits. In the empty dorm, all I could hear was Wen Xu’s deep, magnetic voice as he explained the material, diligently highlighting key points in my textbook. We were sitting very close, close enough that a slight movement would mean touching his skin. But I refrained, only occasionally glancing at him to see if there were any signs of nervousness. However, I noticed something strange…

He wasn’t even looking at me!

There was no blushing, no awkwardness—his face was as impassive as ever, just his mouth moving. His demeanor was like that of an emotionless tutoring machine.

What the heck? Was I mistaken?

Frustrated, I purposely complained, “You’re making it so complicated.”

Wen Xu didn’t show any signs of impatience upon hearing this. Instead, he explained the algorithms even more patiently. As he was nearly done explaining, the dorm door opened, and in came Gu Yang, carrying his sketchpad. He curiously walked over to us after Wen Xu finished explaining, and I turned to chat with him.

Gu Yang mentioned he’d be going out for a week-long outdoor sketching trip tomorrow. He said he’d miss seeing me around and ended his announcement with a tight hug, which I squirmed out of because it was too warm.

Just then, Wen Xu suddenly stood up and said in a cool tone, “I need to go home for a bit. I won’t be staying here tonight.”

I responded with a simple “Oh,” and thanked him for helping with the problem. “Thanks for helping me out.”

Wen Xu nodded, then left, looking somewhat unhappy.

Wen Xu is a local from A City, so it’s quite convenient for him to go home. He moved into our dorm during our sophomore year. Speaking of which, I also moved into this dorm in my sophomore year. I had lived in my class dorm in freshman year, but something happened back then.

Towards the end of my freshman year, a classmate stole my work and entered it in a computer design competition, winning second place. I was furious. No wonder my USB drive had suddenly disappeared. No wonder that classmate had been so eager to submit my registration form, only to return and tell me it was lost, causing me to miss the registration deadline.

That classmate, Bu Yaolian, was also my roommate. I had shown off my work to everyone in the dorm, which might have caught his eye. After discovering the plagiarism, I confronted him in the dorm, and it became widely known. Bu Yaolian denied everything and slandered me everywhere.

Ultimately, to keep us apart, the dorm supervisor had me move to Room 305, the mixed dorm where I am now. I didn’t want to stay in that situation, so I moved out quickly and had to find time to gather evidence to report that jerk.

But all my files were on that stolen USB drive, and I had no idea how to prove the work was mine. Just when I was at a loss, someone anonymously reported Bu Yaolian to the school authorities.

The anonymous reporter provided evidence I could never have imagined. I had uploaded a video of my work to a social media platform, and the school officials quickly verified that the account was mine. Also, a particular material used in my work was purchased from a well-known commercial material website, and somehow the anonymous reporter discovered that only my account, and not Bu Yaolian’s, was listed as a buyer of that material. Bu Yaolian couldn’t produce any proof of purchase.

In the end, Bu Yaolian’s award was revoked, and he was formally disciplined by the school. To this day, I still don’t know who helped me out big time, nor have I had a chance to thank them in person. I also wanted to ask them how they knew about my secondary social media account because I hadn’t told anyone about it; I hadn’t even remembered it myself at first.

Since it was an anonymous report, the school, protecting the reporter’s identity, naturally wouldn’t disclose who it was. All I could do was silently thank them in my heart.

So, after moving to Room 305, Wen Xu and Gu Yang eventually joined, while the dorm head and Qi Yiming had already been there.

The next time I saw Wen Xu was in the classroom during a club activity. I had just stood up to chat with the senior girls in front of me about a movie they had recently watched when the other members gradually came in, and I was about to sit down.

But then, a reckless junior playfully bumped into someone else and accidentally pushed me, causing me to fall right onto the seat next to me. But…

I remembered someone was sitting there.

Which meant, right now, I was sitting on someone’s lap!

Crap!

I quickly turned to apologize to the person. But when I did, I saw Wen Xu’s magnified handsome face, his expression quite ambiguous.

As I observed his subtle expression, my mind flashed back to the forum post I had seen the night before, specifically Method 4: [Sit directly on his lap and see if he reacts.]

Right, I needed to test if Wen Xu was gay.

So, I leaned into him, rubbing against his clothes to make it easier to check.

Come on, let’s see if you’re hard or not.