Su Lian admitted that his mind was currently filled with raging hormones, his senses not entirely clear.
Usually when interacting with Chi Wang, he could easily distinguish the differences between someone in their teens versus early twenties - their speech, mannerisms, expressions, and preferences were quite distinct, noticeable at a glance.
But every time clothes came off, his gaze was involuntarily drawn to that conspicuous mole.
Small and light in color, it was perfectly positioned along the adonis belt, enticing as it moved with each breath.
For some reason, it always evoked many alluring memories of the past.
The former Chi Wang was more composed, not prone to strutting around in a bathrobe like now, but there were still intimate moments alone together.
When that beautiful body would cover his, palms touching firm flesh, hot breath on his ear, all that cultured restraint would crumble away, revealing an intense aggression.
More specifically, it was a desire for control - a sense of dominance rarely glimpsed beneath the usual gentle demeanor.
And now, Su Lian felt that familiar pressure once again.
Chi Wang's breath was especially heated after exercising, enveloping him in a cloud of pheromones. It was like a spark - the slightest touch set his entire body aflame from head to toe, even his fingertips burning.
With flushed cheeks, Su Lian turned his face slightly away, stubbornly insisting: "How could I be blushing? You must be seeing things."
"Oh really?" Chi Wang flicked his bright red earlobe, bluntly stating the obvious, "Not just your face, but your ears are red too, like they've been dyed."
"Don't be ridiculous, I'm not embarrassed." Su Lian lifted his gaze to meet his eyes defiantly, though his whole body was rigid.
"Alright, you're not." Chi Wang's eyes gleamed with amusement as he drawled out the words, clearly unconvinced.
Chi Wang thought to himself that Su Lian was clearly attracted to men, or at least didn't seem averse based on his current reaction.
He knew plenty of guys, and even when shirtless playing basketball, they'd at most compliment each other's muscles - never have this kind of blushing response.
Just moments ago his face had been pale from running, now suddenly flushed red. There was no mistaking it.
Realizing this, Chi Wang's mood lifted as he spoke: "Alright, I won't push you. You're not embarrassed, okay?"
After all, the cool guy was thin-skinned. Push too hard and he might run away.
Su Lian let out a small sigh, adopting a 'win at all costs' mentality as he poked Chi Wang's abdomen.
His fingertip touched that mole, pressing down firmly as he said softly: "My ex had one of these too."
Chi Wang: "?"
He dropped his playful expression, following the touch on his waist to look down, confused: "They also had such perfect abs?"
Su Lian nodded, saying flatly: "They had abs, and a mole just like this, in the same spot."
To be honest, this kind of shocking coincidence was not particularly welcome.
For a moment, Chi Wang was at a loss for how to respond, finally managing to stammer out: "Wait, so your ex was a guy too?"
Blind man, you've discovered the key point.
Su Lian opened his mouth, never expecting that to be his focus. He could only make a vague sound of assent, inadvertently coming out of the closet.
"It was a guy, is that a problem?"
Indeed, it was all the fault of that unclosed closet door, or rather the sudden downpour. Going back further, it was all because Chi Wang had signed him up for the 4x100 relay.
If not for that chain of butterfly effects, the conversation would never have taken such an unexpected turn.
Chi Wang's expression remained neutral: "There's no issue with it being a guy."
Su Lian was surprised: "You're quite accepting of homosexuality."
He had thought such a staunchly straight man would be more repulsed, but it was unexpectedly the opposite.
"What's wrong with being gay? Love is free," Chi Wang pressed his lips together, irritably continuing, "But what kind of scandalous things were you two up to? You seem to have looked quite closely to notice something in that location."
"You just took off your shirt and I can see it clear as day, can't I?" Su Lian blinked slowly, countering with clear logic.
Chi Wang was about to explode with anger, all the previous ambiguity evaporating, replaced by an overwhelming surge of jealousy.
Seeing his whole body, probably even touching it. And the guy even had abs too. Clearly using his looks to seduce Teacher Su - what trash.
He roughly rubbed his thumb over his waist, gritting out: "I don't want to be like him. I'm going to the hospital tomorrow to have it removed."
Su Lian laughed, leaning back against the cabinet door as he asked: "What does it have to do with you?"
Chi Wang was taken aback, his mood plummeting as his face fell: "It has nothing to do with me, but you said your ex was an idiot. I don't particularly want to have a matching set with him."
Su Lian thought to himself that it wasn't just the mole that matched - their looks and build were identical too.
He held back a laugh as he replied: "Mm, do as you like. So can you let me go now?"
Chi Wang still had his elbow propped against the cabinet, arm bent to maintain a slight distance. Just as he was about to step back, the dorm room door suddenly opened.
Outside stood not only his roommates, but also a confused-looking Li Guoqing holding a plastic bag, his entire face a giant question mark.
For a moment, several pairs of eyes met in a deathly silence.
Gu Anjiu took in their intimate posture, practically pressed together - one flushed and damp, the other completely shirtless, discarded clothes scattered messily on the floor. No matter how you looked at it, it seemed they had interrupted something indecent.
Excuse us, it seems the closet door isn't quite shutting.
Su Lian: "..."
Chi Wang: "..."
Before they could explain, Gu Anjiu slammed the door shut with a bang, turning to Li Guoqing in panic: "Teacher, they were... they were..."
Fuck, what were they doing? His mind blanked, unable to finish the sentence.
The second teammate, Lin Yan, tried to smooth things over: "It must be because of the run. Su Lian got rain in his eyes and Chi Wang was helping get it out."
Gu Anjiu: "..."
Bro, that excuse isn't much better. Tell me, how exactly was he getting it out? With a straw?
One look and they all knew it was hopeless. Better to just die now.
Li Guoqing mumbled: "But why isn't Chi Wang wearing clothes, and why is he holding him like that? Is this normal for you boys?"
"It's be-because the rain soaked their clothes. They might ca-catch a cold," Song Jiaci said innocently, looking around at everyone. "Is that strange?"
"I suppose so. They both look drenched," Li Guoqing knocked on the door, calling through it, "You two change into dry clothes and come out. I brought you some ginger tea."
Inside the room, the two were silent for a moment before quickly springing apart.
Though delayed, the social mortification had arrived. Su Lian hurriedly grabbed his clothes and rushed into the bathroom, peeling off his soaked outer layer and hastily toweling off before changing.
Chi Wang paced the room naked for a bit before suddenly realizing: "Teacher Su, my clothes are in 404."
Su Lian: "...Then why did you take them off so fast? Just wear some of mine."
"Alright, but your size is a bit small." Chi Wang picked up two dress shirts, holding them up to his body to compare.
Su Lian was five centimeters shorter with narrower shoulders. The white dress shirt looked like it would strain at the buttons if he put it on.
Chi Wang stood in place, looking in the mirror with a troubled expression.
Su Lian emerged changed, tossing over a loose t-shirt from the closet: "This should fit."
Chi Wang caught the towel and dried himself off before bending to pull on the shirt: "What about pants?"
"The uniform pants should work." Su Lian sighed, eyeing those long straight legs as he lent out his school uniform.
Finally presentable, they reopened the dorm room door to find four gossip-hungry faces lined up with varying expressions.
Chi Wang cleared his throat, muttering vaguely: "Why are you all back?"
"The rain was too heavy so today's events ended early. We all headed home," Gu Anjiu's gaze flicked between the two of them, hesitating to speak further.
Li Guoqing handed over the ginger tea with a smile: "This is for you two. I just wanted to check on you before I go."
Su Lian reached out to accept it with a slight nod: "Thank you, teacher. It's nothing serious, no need to worry."
"Alright then, tidy up and come to evening self-study later. I'll head out now." Li Guoqing ran a hand over his thinning hair before turning to leave.
Once the homeroom teacher was gone, everyone relaxed.
Gu Anjiu's gossip radar officially activated as he spun around on the spot, his expression turning ambiguous: "What were you two doing just now? Did I interrupt something? Oh, Wang's clothes look quite familiar. Whose are they, I wonder~"
"Lian's," Song Jiaci answered quickly with sharp eyes.
Chi Wang tugged at the hem of the T-shirt, leaning lazily against the desk. He wasn't in the mood for flirtatious talk at the moment.
Su Lian turned to look at the chubby boy and said wearily, "Clear those strange thoughts from your mind."
Gu Anjiu said with a grin, "Lian, how do you know I have strange thoughts in my mind? I thought you guys were just helping each other change clothes. Is there more to it?"
Su Lian: "....There wasn't even any mutual assistance."
These straight guys, always expecting something all day long.
Gu Anjiu nudged Chi Wang with his elbow, somewhat puzzled: "Why are you so quiet today?"
"Maybe the rain messed up my brain. I don't feel like talking," Chi Wang said with an unfriendly expression, his mind full of thoughts about that ex-boyfriend scumbag. He picked up the bowl of ginger soup and took a big gulp.
It tasted awful and bland. This wasn't even as refreshing as Teacher Su's health porridge.
Su Lian didn't notice Chi Wang's suppressed anger and looked up to ask, "Does it taste good?"
Chi Wang's lips twitched slightly as he replied flatly, "It's alright."
He looked displeased, in a bad mood.
It was really hard to understand how this person could go from being flirtatious one second to suddenly changing his expression the next. He must have learned Sichuan opera.
Su Lian didn't ask any further questions. He bent down to take a hair dryer from the drawer and went into the bathroom.
Gu Anjiu was silent for a few seconds, sensing the strange atmosphere, but unable to put his finger on it. It seemed more like a one-sided sulk.
He took small steps closer and lowered his voice: "What's going on?"
Chi Wang lowered his eyes, reluctantly admitting: "I'm jealous of his ex."
"His ex is a girl, why are you jealous?" Gu Anjiu glanced carefully towards the bathroom and continued, "You're a grown man, be more generous."
Chi Wang hadn't intended to out Su Lian, so he held back his frustration: "Every time I hear him mention it, I just feel really upset."
Oh, he's jealous. It seems like an old, festering jealousy, surprisingly sour.
Master of guidance Gu Anjiu came online, offering heartfelt advice: "Think about it, once you win him over, he'll be all yours in the future. The past will be nothing but a fleeting cloud, dispersed by the wind."
Seeing that the other didn't respond, he added, "Think about it more deeply. Su Lian suffered emotional trauma, and you can heal that. Won't he love you more than his ex then?"
Chi Wang looked up, seriously pondering this statement over and over in his mind. Suddenly, enlightenment struck.
He threw an arm around the chubby boy's shoulders, smiling: "Son, usually I think your brain doesn't work well, but at crucial moments, you actually have something in there."
"You can praise me, but don't casually claim kinship, thank you. I'm sorry, but Su Lian is my only dad. You haven't made it yet, don't try to force a relationship," Gu Anjiu expressed his principles.
Chi Wang laughed, glancing up at the person struggling with the hair dryer, and quickly walked over: "Let me help you dry it."
After sulking for less than a minute, Gu Anjiu clicked his tongue. His Wang really had no backbone.
-
Due to several consecutive days of heavy rain, most of the events for the second day of the sports meet were cancelled, leaving only the class relay.
The entire field was wet and soggy. Everyone was forced to participate in a perfunctory run, bringing a hasty end to the two-day miserable experience of being drenched like drowned rats.
But as a CP fan, Liu Youyou felt that these two days were full of sweet moments, enough to make her swoon.
She found No. 27, who was in charge of photography, and whispered: "Hurry up and edit the photos so you can post them. Everyone is eagerly waiting to save them!"
"No problem. The way these two look, they're photogenic no matter how you shoot them. They don't even need much editing. It's just that the weather wasn't great, so I'll just adjust the colors a bit," No. 27 said, flipping through the photos with a doting smile. "When your class goes up to receive the award later, remember to give them a little push."
Liu Youyou gave an OK hand sign: "Leave it to me."
Below the stage, a sea of colorful umbrellas spread out as all the students stood in the rain, listening to the closing speech of the school leaders, feeling drowsy.
Principal Song held the microphone and looked around: "Next, we'll begin the overall class rankings awards, starting with the third-year students. When your class name is called, please send student representatives to the stage to receive the award."
The crowd below remained lifeless, the atmosphere quite awkward, with little interest being shown.
Chi Wang held an umbrella behind Su Lian, helping to shield him from the rain, and said in a low voice: "What shall we eat tonight?"
"How about braised pork?" Su Lian answered without hesitation.
Chi Wang chuckled: "Alright, the ever-unchanging braised pork."
"What, do you have an objection?" Su Lian glanced back at him, noticing the damp patches on his shoulders. He moved the umbrella handle back a bit, "I told you to bring two umbrellas, but you insisted on sharing one."
"I just wanted to share an umbrella with you. It makes me happy," Chi Wang tilted the umbrella forward again, covering the other thoroughly.
Su Lian pressed his lips together, not responding further, and looked towards the stage.
These two days had been quite an effort, and he was inexplicably looking forward to the final overall rankings. It would be a shame if they didn't get first place.
"Now announcing the overall team scores for the second-year students. First place, Class 6 of Year 2; Second place, Class 9 of Year 2..."
Hearing the familiar class name, Su Lian breathed a sigh of relief, showing a faint smile.
As soon as the results were announced, a burst of cheers erupted from the crowd. People kept turning to look at the two high-scorers standing at the back of the line, everyone shouting that Class 6 was awesome.
Gu Anjiu patted his chest, shamelessly taking credit: "It's all thanks to my two brothers being so capable. If it weren't for them taking first place, our team score definitely wouldn't have gone up."
"What does it have to do with you?" Lin Yan retorted, "Did you even participate, Mr. Overweight?"
Gu Anjiu didn't care, shaking his head: "My heart was with you guys, that's what collective honor is about."
Seeing the momentum was good, Liu Youyou seized the opportunity to suggest: "Let's have Chi Wang and Su Lian go up together to receive the award, teacher. They contributed the most in this sports meet. This glory belongs to both of them."
Li Guoqing looked at the other classes, feeling a bit conflicted: "I haven't seen any other class send two people up. It might be too showy."
"We don't care, we're first so we decide," someone in Class 6 chimed in, starting a chant, "Together! Together! Together!"
The voices grew louder, the initially chaotic shouts gradually becoming uniform, almost drawing the attention of students from other classes.
Chi Wang swayed the umbrella handle, negotiating: "Since it's everyone's opinion, shall we go together?"
Su Lian hesitated for two seconds, then nodded: "Alright, let's go."
The two young men in school uniforms, sharing a black umbrella, walked towards the award stage in the falling rain. The breeze lifted the hems of their jackets, and even their steps were surprisingly in sync. It created a kind of hazy atmosphere of campus romance.
A secret intimacy slowly grew in the light rain, the raindrops separating them from the world into two halves, as if no one could intrude into the world under that umbrella.
If this wasn't a match made in heaven, what was? The people below couldn't take their eyes off them, almost swooning from the sight.
As they stood on the stage, Principal Song handed over the certificate, praising them with satisfaction: "You two have really improved. I could see everyone liked you both when you led the exercises before, and you've shown great style in this sports meet too. You're role models for young people."
Su Lian humbly responded: "Not at all, it's the result of everyone's collective effort."
Chi Wang shamelessly said: "You're right, we are amazing."
They spoke at the same time, their content vastly different.
Principal Song gave an awkward laugh, nodding with a smile before continuing with the award ceremony.
After all classes had received their certificates, the photographer directed them to stand in a line for a commemorative photo.
Of course, the first-place winners were arranged in the center.
Su Lian thought holding the certificate against his chest looked a bit silly, so he handed this honor to Chi Wang, while he stood beside him with one hand in his pocket.
No. 27 framed the two in the viewfinder, muttering to himself: "I'll Photoshop out the certificate later. It'll be practically like a marriage registration photo."
The two subjects of this arrangement were completely unaware of what was happening. One expressionless, one with a faint smile, they completed the photo-taking as if going through the motions.
When the two came down from the stage, Li Guoqing took the certificate, happily examining it from all angles, as if afraid the words "First Place" might grow wings and fly away.
"This is the first time our class has won first place. We should frame it and hang it up."
Chi Wang held a black umbrella, responding with extreme arrogance: "Old Li, there'll be more next time, don't get so excited. Learn to stay calm."
"Do you even know how to spell 'humble'?" Li Guoqing smiled broadly, not taking it too seriously. "Alright, come back for evening self-study after you've had dinner."
Gu Anjiu hung his head dejectedly: "I thought there wouldn't be evening self-study today. I was too young and naive."
After two days of rain, everyone ate dinner unhappily, forced to attend classes.
Su Lian didn't mind either way. After all, since coming back, their days were filled with either make-up classes or doing practice problems. There wasn't much difference between being in the classroom or the dormitory.
However, the braised pork was a bit tough today, difficult to chew. He wasn't too satisfied with that.
After hurriedly finishing dinner, they returned to the classroom just as the bell rang.
Li Guoqing entered through the main door, hands behind his back, with a smug expression as he announced: "Well, considering how hard you've all been working for the class's honor these past few days, I'll give you a little reward. We're watching a movie tonight."
The whole class erupted into chaos, with shouts nearly lifting the roof:
"Teacher, you're awesome! I love you!!!"
"As long as we don't have to study, I'd even watch the news broadcast!"
"Sweet! Can I eat snacks while watching?"
"I'm ready to go, so what are we watching? Marvel or Harry Potter?"
Li Guoqing cleared his throat and raised his hand for silence: "Eating is not allowed, and the movie should have educational value. Based on the length of our evening self-study, I've carefully selected a highly-ranked film for you - 'The Shawshank Redemption'."
Hearing the title, Su Lian leaned back in his chair and sighed: "I've seen it three times already, and we have to watch it again."
Chi Wang followed suit, tilting his chin up slightly to complain: "Who hasn't? I've seen it five times."
The two exchanged a knowing glance, laughed, and looked quite resigned.
The classroom lights went out, plunging everything into darkness. Only the projection screen at the front slowly played the opening, with the familiar background music beginning to surround them.
At exactly 140 minutes long, it was truly unbearable for those who had watched it several times before.
Chi Wang could recite the dialogue by heart. After watching for a while, he started to feel drowsy and sprawled out his long legs, sitting improperly.
He yawned and said in a low voice: "Teacher Su, why don't we skip class?"
Taking a little walk, strolling down the street, or even grabbing some kebabs would be better than this.
Su Lian didn't turn his head, his gaze fixed on the screen: "You want to be scolded to death by Old Li? Can't even behave while watching a movie."
Chi Wang leaned his head over, whispering in his ear: "Then how about we pass notes to chat? I'm dying of boredom."
In the pitch darkness, they could barely see the words. Passing notes would be quite stupid.
Su Lian was focusing on the all-too-familiar plot when a note was slipped into his palm.
Squinting in the dim light, he struggled to make out the handwriting: "Teacher Su, I think I like someone."
Liking someone? Su Lian was slightly taken aback. He hadn't heard of Chi Wang being particularly close to anyone.
His curiosity piqued, he found a pen and wrote back: "How did you meet?"
Chi Wang chuckled softly and continued writing: "It's a classmate. Although we haven't known each other long, I just really like them. I find everything they do adorable, and I can't take my eyes off them when I see them. I think I've caught lovesickness."
Su Lian stared at this long string of mushy descriptions, his gaze focusing on the key word: adorable.
Could it be a soft, cute, and obedient girl? Standing next to someone tall like Chi Wang would make quite a matching pair.
The class gender ratio was almost half and half, with a few pretty girls. If it was someone from another class, he never paid attention to female classmates and couldn't think of who it might be.
But the last time he talked about relationships with Chi Wang, the guy had an attitude of "women slow down my money-making speed." How did he suddenly have a change of heart?
Chi Wang spent most of his time with Su Lian, yet he still managed to develop a crush. Impressive.
Su Lian fiddled with the black pen, spinning it between his fingers over and over.
Unable to pinpoint his feelings, he slowly wrote back: "Oh, you like someone. Why are you telling me?"
The movie's light suddenly brightened for a moment. Chi Wang took advantage of the brightness to glance at Su Lian's expression, which remained as impassive as ever, showing no particular emotion.
It seemed as if whether he liked someone or not didn't matter much to Su Lian.
Feeling a bit disappointed, he couldn't be bothered to write another note.
He sighed softly, leaning his shoulder over and whispering: "Don't you have dating experience? I just wanted to ask how to confess properly."
Because his voice was so soft, it tickled Su Lian's ear. Su Lian tilted his head away.
Clutching the note tightly, he said in a calm tone: "If you like her so much, don't you know what her hobbies are?"
"Studying," Chi Wang blurted out without thinking.
As the top student in their grade who loved make-up classes and was always buried in practice problems, Chi Wang felt his answer was perfectly reasonable.
As for the health obsession, it was too torturous to mention again.
This response, when it reached Su Lian's ears, was interpreted differently: "So she's a study genius. Is that why you've become so hardworking lately? Because of her?"
Chi Wang made a sound of agreement, feeling a bit embarrassed to say: "My grades are too poor. I'm not worthy of him."
Su Lian thought to himself that seeing this usually carefree person suddenly become serious, it did seem like he had truly fallen in love.
Given his previous attitude of treating studying like dirt, to change his ways for one person, he must really like them a lot.
Su Lian stared in the direction of the screen: "So when do you plan to confess?"
Chi Wang had been thinking about this for quite a while: "On my birthday. Confessing is a serious matter, it has to be on my birthday to show sincerity."
Su Lian was stunned for a moment, no longer able to focus on the familiar scenes playing out before him.
Chi Wang's birthday was coming up soon. He had been wracking his brains trying to figure out what gift to get, but hadn't come up with anything, which was quite frustrating.
Now it seemed he didn't need to bother with a gift. The guy already had plans for his birthday.
The movie's light dimmed again. Su Lian unfolded the note and, for the first time, wrote a long string of text on it.
After writing, he crumpled it up in frustration and carelessly stuffed it into the hand of the person next to him.
In the second it took to pass the note, Chi Wang gently grasped back, his fingertips brushing over the cool back of Su Lian's hand before slowly letting go.
He lowered his head to unfold the note and saw the beautiful handwriting that read: "A study genius, huh? I'll get you a set of practice books. You can hold those when you confess to her."