After Yun Ci received that piece of candy with the chill of the first snow, he unsurprisingly suffered from insomnia that night.
On New Year’s Eve, a video of the dormitory building spread online.
Even old classmates from West High forwarded the video to ask him: “Is this your Nanyang University? Such a great atmosphere.”
Yun Ci casually replied with a few words, then clicked on the video. The shooting angle seemed to be from the building opposite them. It was too dark, so the video quality wasn’t very clear, and the camera kept shaking, but the ‘starlight’ formed by the flashlights was still dazzlingly bright.
…
Yun Ci watched for a while and clicked “Save Video.”
He looked at the phone screen, and the sounds from the lower bunk were magnified without reason.
In the dark dormitory, he stared at the pitch-black ceiling. His left ear caught the occasional sound of Yu Xun’s blanket, while his right ear heard Yu Xun’s light breathing.
…
This person sleeps very close to him every day.
Yun Ci remembered that sometimes Yu Xun would skip afternoon or evening classes to catch up on sleep. He would sit at the desk doing practice problems, and there was a short distance between them. When he looked up from his book, he could see Yu Xun sleeping.
He wore very little. When they first started school, sometimes, due to the weather, he would even take off his T-shirt to sleep.
He didn’t take it off in front of people, but sometimes while sleeping, the blanket would slip down a bit.
In a boys’ dormitory, there’s no privacy in each other’s lives.
Thinking of this, Yun Ci turned over.
Damn.
Why was he thinking about Yu Xun not wearing clothes while sleeping???
Whether he wore clothes or not, what did it have to do with him?
After a while, he told himself.
It was because this person was too eye-catching at the time, so he remembered.
Yun Ci couldn’t sleep. When people can’t sleep, they tend to poke someone for a chat, so Yun Ci sent a message to Li Yan: [Are you asleep?]
Night owl Li Yan replied: [It’s just past twelve, it’s too early, of course, I’m not asleep.]
yc: [Early?]
Li Yan: [Before three in the morning is early.]
yc: [Healthy.]
Li Yan: [But why aren’t you asleep???]
Li Yan then remembered a very important question: [Who finished the self-reflection first, you or Yu Xun? Who was faster? Who had better writing skills? Did Gao Pingyang give you two separate scores? What were your scores?]
yc: […]
Yun Ci typed under the blanket: [What scores? Am I that childish?]
After typing, he didn’t send it and deleted it.
Because he remembered that he used to do such things to compete with Yu Xun.
Back at West High, there was one time when he and Yu Xun had the same score on a composition, out of a full score of sixty. He and Yu Xun were the only two in their grade who scored fifty-eight.
When Yu Xun, who was bored, came to their class’s back window to chat with him, he suddenly asked, “Did you bring your composition?”
Yu Xun, well-prepared, took out a stack of photocopied paper from his school uniform pocket. The paper was folded into squares. He held it and asked, “How many pages do you want?”
“…” Yun Ci said, “It’s just one composition, how many pages do I need?”
Yu Xun: “It’s hard to say. Someone printed over forty copies of his report card when he was three points higher than me.”
“I only printed three copies,” Yun Ci found his composition from the drawer and, with the two compositions, coldly knocked on the Chinese teacher’s office door.
At that time, their first-year Chinese teacher was a middle-aged woman with glasses.
Yun Ci put the two sheets of paper in front of the Chinese teacher: “Teacher, these two compositions, although both are fifty-eight points, who do you think is better?”
The Chinese teacher’s hand holding the thermos cup slightly trembled: “?”
The Chinese teacher carefully considered her words: “It’s hard to compare specifically…”
Yun Ci immediately made the question more specific: “From the perspectives of writing style, structure, and content, which one is better?”
Chinese teacher: “…”
Now, thinking back, it was a bit embarrassing.
Skipping over this past event, Yun Ci thought for a while and finally typed a new line:
[What does it mean if a person’s heartbeat suddenly quickens around someone else?]
Yun Ci added: [Not the kind of fast from wanting to fight.]
Li Yan: [….?]
Even though Li Yan knew Yun Ci well, he still couldn’t understand these sudden words: [What are you talking about?]
Yun Ci didn’t expect a real answer from him.
Mostly, he just wanted to find a chat box to sort out his chaotic thoughts.
yc: [Got it]
yc: [It’s because of the snow.]
It snowed.
He was excited.
After all, it was the first snow since he started university.
Yun Ci turned over in the blanket and imagined another possibility.
yc: [Or didn’t get enough rest]
yc: [Heart problems, too cold, heart palpitations.]
[….]
What was all this?
Li Yan couldn’t understand at all, but he hadn’t said much. Why was his uncle on the other side babbling about heartbeat, snow, and heart problems?
Li Yan: [Your friend?]
Li Yan, focusing on his mobile game, cut back to reply, simply reading and responding: [Hmm, if there’s a heart problem, you should see a doctor.]
There’s no need to go to the hospital.
After talking to Li Yan, Yun Ci felt much calmer.
But the calm didn’t last long. He exited Li Yan’s chat box, and his peripheral vision caught a black avatar below. Then, almost involuntarily, his finger touched the screen and opened Yu Xun’s Moments.
In Yu Xun’s Moments, there were still those few posts, the paper rose tutorial, and that digital love letter that only he could see.
—I have liked you for a long time.
—I am very interested in someone like you.
Yun Ci couldn’t help but look at it twice. After the annoyance faded, other feelings emerged. Before his heartbeat started to race, he quickly pressed the power button on the side of the phone, turning off the screen.
“…Damn,” he said in a voice only he could hear, “I must be too tired.”
Staying up late. Causing a racing heartbeat.
A normal phenomenon.
*
The next day, Yun Ci woke up very late.
He opened his eyes and found there were only a few minutes left before class. Luo Sifang and the others were not there, probably having gone to the cafeteria early.
He put on his clothes and quickly climbed down from the top bunk, planning to go straight to the classroom after a quick wash.
He thought there was no one in the dormitory, but when he opened the bathroom door that was ajar, he ran into Yu Xun, who was washing up.
This person had just wet his face. Hearing the noise, he slightly tilted his head, water flowing down his neck, past his collarbone, and extending all the way into his collar.
Water droplets also clung to his eyelashes. When he opened his eyes, his expression was somewhat sleepy, but his overly beautiful features still made him appear very striking: “…Awake?”
“I was just about to call you,” he said casually while drying his face.
Yun Ci stood at the door, momentarily at a loss: “Are you done?”
Yu Xun: “Yes.”
Since this person was done, it would seem very intentional if he didn’t go in.
So Yun Ci walked in, took a toothbrush from the rack, and prepared to brush his teeth in front of the mirror. The mirror reflected both of their faces: “…”
“…” His hand holding the toothbrush felt a bit stiff, “Aren’t you done?”
Yu Xun nodded: “I am done.”
Yun Ci, with toothpaste in his mouth, coldly said: “Then why are you still standing here?”
Yu Xun took the towel off his neck and even leaned closer to the mirror: “I’m done washing up, which means you can use the sink, but I still need to do some skincare.”
“……..”
Yu Xun’s skincare routine wasn’t serious, just some random stuff he smeared on his face because it was dry in winter.
Yu Xun’s skincare was very slow.
Maybe today it was especially slow because he was there.
Yun Ci couldn’t hold back: “How long does it take you to put on some lotion?”
Yu Xun casually, and not very seriously, said: “Depends on my mood; it could be fast, it could be slow.”
“……….”
This sounded very familiar.
Back in the infirmary, this person said the same thing when drinking medicine.
Yun Ci thought he wouldn’t be done for a while, but he couldn’t directly kick this person out, so they could only share the mirror.
He uneasily lowered his eyes, brushed his teeth, and then quickly washed his face before fleeing the dormitory.
yx: [Even if you don’t want to walk with me, there’s no need to leave so fast.]
In class.
Yun Ci listened to the lecture while checking WeChat messages.
He never did this before; class time was for class, and any important messages had to wait until after class.
But today was different.
When the phone vibrated, as if sensing something, he swiped it open.
yc: [That’s my normal speed.]
yx: [Oh, normal speed.]
The next second, he sent a picture.
The picture was of a book, their textbook for this class, with even their teacher’s name listed among the authors on the cover.
yx: [Your normal speed is forgetting to bring your book?]
yc: [….]
yx: [I’ll pass the book to you.]
yx: [Take it.]
Yun Ci glanced at the rows of people in the next class. Sure enough, he saw them passing something, whispering as they did: “Pass this.”
“To whom?”
“To the class monitor next door.”
“….”
For the first time, the two classes cooperated, passing his book from the other end of the classroom to him.
Yun Ci took it, pressing the book with one hand, and typed on his phone hidden under the book: [I reviewed it last night.]
[No need to look at the book.]
[I forgot it on purpose.]
“…”
After sending it, Yun Ci looked at the three lines of text and fell silent himself.
Damn, is this too deliberate?
…
Forget it.
In the end, he exited WeChat and stopped looking at Yu Xun’s replies.
After New Year’s Day, it was the intense final month. Yun Ci moved his study spot from the dormitory to the study room. Although he remembered most of the material usually, the scope of the final exam was too broad.
The professional teacher hinted at the exam scope: “Our major doesn’t have much to focus on. Don’t worry, because the whole book is testable, so just memorize it.”
The classroom was filled with wailing.
Yun Ci pushed the name “Yu Xun” out of his mind and relied on the quiet study room to memorize. By dinner time, there was a bit of noise as many students packed up to go to the cafeteria.
He put down his pen, pressed his neck, and glanced at the phone, seeing several unread notifications.
yx: [/Picture]
yx: [/Picture]
Two photos, one showing the long street outside the store, not much different from before except for a new ornament at the store entrance.
The next photo was of himself, but without his face. It was his hand—he was also studying, pressing down on a textbook, his fingers slender and well-trimmed.
After sending the photos, Yu Xun waited for a long time without a reply.
So two or three hours later, he sent another message.
yx: [In the study room?]
Yun Ci looked at these four words for a while, then driven by an uncontrollable emotion, he raised his phone, opened the camera, and took a photo of his other hand holding a pen.
The background of the photo also captured a study desk and a self-study room, making it a very life-like photo.
After taking the photo, he suddenly came to his senses just before sending it.
But it was too late. The internet in the self-study room was too fast, and the next second, the photo displayed: Sent successfully.
Thus, the chat box showed a reply from the white avatar with a photo.
yc: [/photo].
This was the first time he responded with a photo.
It wasn’t just a few simple words, but a photo taken in the same manner to show Yu Xun what he was doing.
…
So why did he take the photo???
Yun Ci held his phone, even feeling that the phone in his hand had become incredibly hot, wanting to throw it away.
His brain worked slowly for half a minute before he remembered that WeChat messages could be retracted within two minutes, as long as he retracted the photo before Yu Xun saw it.
But just as he was about to click “retract,” he saw a line of words appear at the top of the chat box: [The other party is typing].
“Boom.”
It was as if something had exploded in his mind.
Yun Ci was in the self-study room staring at his phone, his emotions more chaotic than when he suddenly realized Yu Xun had a crush on him.
However, the line of words appeared intermittently and then finally settled into silence.
In the end, Yu Xun didn’t send anything. Facing the photo that Yun Ci suddenly sent him, he didn’t know what to say, afraid that it might be an illusion and not daring to disturb it.
The two of them maintained a certain false “calmness” over the internet very tacitly.
After a long time, Yun Ci felt his stiff fingers gradually start to move.
With a stiff face, he typed one word at a time into the chat box, trying to create a familiar spark: [You think you’re the only one studying?]
If he could look in the mirror, he would find his ears turning red, but he couldn’t see, only feeling as if his whole body was burning, with his ear tips burning hot.
He didn’t mean to send it.
Although he didn’t know why he took the photo.
But at the last moment, he didn’t intend to send it.
So it was an accident, and being at a loss was because of the embarrassment.
After sorting things out in his mind, Yun Ci felt much better, so he pursed his lips and continued typing, explaining that the purpose of his photo was to declare war:
[For the final exam, I will definitely be number one.]
______
Author’s note:
Who’s in love but doesn’t know it themselves?!!!!
