The stage lights flickered, and after changing the lighting mode, the light became as delicate as the starry sky.
In the hazy light and shadow, Yu Xun opened his eyes.
His pupils were darker than the black hair scattered on both sides, like thick ink. The space in the coffin was really small, he lay for a while and simply bent his legs, looking more like a student sneaking out for a nap during a break than a princess poisoned by eating a toxic mushroom.
Their eyes met.
Yun Ci’s heart was completely chaotic.
“Get a little closer.”
Yu Xun’s typically laid-back voice sounded somewhat seductive in Yun Ci’s ears, “The camera is filming, the angle might not be quite right.”
“……”
Yun Ci suppressed his erratic heartbeat, afraid that getting a little closer would expose the sound of his heart.
If it had been before, he would have said, “The angle is fine, no need to get closer.”
But at this moment, he didn’t refute.
In the next second.
He deliberately forced himself to get closer, almost self-destructively, as Yu Xun had suggested, getting nearer to him.
Yun Ci’s hand rested on the edge of the coffin, fingers tensed, forcing himself in a rather rough manner to confirm once more—just now when he got closer, he had thought about kissing Yu Xun.
Yu Xun seemed surprised that he really got closer, startled for a moment.
The distance between them suddenly shortened.
This time, it was so close that if either of them moved slightly, they would really touch.
Yun Ci could clearly feel their intertwined breaths and heartbeats, as well as a certain gravity between them that wanted to get closer but dared not.
……
Any previous actions could be glossed over with other reasons.
Only the “kiss” that Yu Xun mentioned to him back in the dormitory was different.
Apart from liking, there was no other possible reason.
Yun Ci’s mind was in chaos, a lot of thoughts flashed through his head, and finally, like the Big Bang, returned to calm.
For a moment, he had no thoughts at all.
Only one sentence remained.
He had fallen for Yu Xun.
The last scene was already over, but Peng Yiyuan hadn’t called cut for a long time, not because he deliberately wanted an extra-long ending, but because Li Yan and Liu Zi had started arguing again, and he was busy trying to mediate.
“Damn,” halfway through, Liu Zi couldn’t hold back and wanted to rush over, “Why did he get so close? Just make a gesture, does he covet my brother’s beauty?”
Li Yan: “Who covets whom???”
“Look in the mirror, okay,” Li Yan pointed to the mirror beside him, “There’s one right there.”
Li Yan continued, “I know my brother, he’s just barely holding back from hitting someone, he’s probably just can’t hold it in anymore.”
Liu Zi spat, “You think my brother doesn’t want to hit people just because he’s lying in there? Damn, he’s also feeling terrible right now.”
Li Yan, holding the poison pot, said, “Then our prince is even worse off, visually harmed by princesses like yours.”
Liu Zi drew his assassination sword, “…F*ck you, get your eyes checked.”
Peng Yiyuan was frantic, “Stop arguing.”
“……” Peng Yiyuan collapsed, changing his tune, “Argue if you want, just don’t start fighting, if the props break, I can’t explain it to the club.”
As soon as he finished speaking.
Just as Li Yan and Liu Zi were drawing their swords, the “prince” with the ornate decorated hat on his head suddenly stood up straight.
Yun Ci took two steps back, then raised his hand to take off the hat and threw it into Peng Yiyuan’s hand, “Are we done filming?”
Peng Yiyuan was stunned for a moment, “Yes, we’re done.”
Yun Ci’s breathing was uneven, he didn’t know if his whole face was flushed with heat, he took a breath and said, “Since we’re done, I’m going back.”
Peng Yiyuan sensed something was wrong, “Weren’t you done reviewing for today before you came out?”
“Haven’t finished memorizing the vocabulary,” Yun Ci pulled out some ridiculous excuse again, “I’m preparing for CET-4 and CET-6.”
*
At night, in dormitory 608.
After returning to the dormitory, Yun Ci didn’t memorize any vocabulary, he washed up and then lay in his top bunk, motionless.
This was his usual way of adjusting his emotions.
Burying himself in the quilt, forming a soft enclosed space, then aimlessly browsing his phone under the covers.
In fact, his attention wasn’t on the phone at all, his hand was scrolling, but his mind was elsewhere.
For example, at this moment, his mind was filled with the name Yu Xun.
……
He liked Yu Xun.
Yu Xun also liked him.
This person was still pursuing him.
Then, this simplest equation still left him at a loss.
In the dormitory, Luo Sifang hadn’t gone to bed yet, he was chatting with Yu Xun off and on, and Yun Ci was listening to the sounds from the lower bunk with his ears pricked.
Luo Sifang: “We left early, how was the rest of your filming?”
Yu Xun had just finished washing up, “It was good.”
Luo Sifang: “But why did Peng Shao look a bit off?”
Yu Xun: “Oh, he has to pay for damages.”
Luo Sifang: “?”
Yu Xun: “The pot and the sword are broken.”
Luo Sifang was shocked: “How could the pot and sword—” He stopped halfway, realizing who owned these two props.
Then, he asked, “Is your long hair and Ci-ge’s hat okay?”
If Liu Zi and Li Yan fought, wouldn’t Yu Xun and Yun Ci also have fought, maybe one pulling hair and the other pulling the hat?
Yu Xun said casually, “They’re fine.”
Luo Sifang: “You two are still rational…”
Peng Yiyuan interrupted, very distressed, “The drama club senior is asking me why the pot and sword broke, how should I respond to show that we’re not rough people?”
After all, it was Liu Zi who broke them, Yu Xun said, “Give me your phone, I’ll reply for you.”
Peng Yiyuan was still hesitant, “How about I just give him your contact and you talk to him?”
Yu Xun probably went to add the contact.
After a while, Yun Ci heard Peng Yiyuan ask again, “What did you say?”
Yu Xun put away his phone and said casually, “I said our director Peng—that’s you—designed a lot of high-difficulty action scenes, immersed in artistic performance, and was momentarily negligent.”
“……”
Yun Ci listened, not knowing what to say.
He didn’t even know how to talk to Yu Xun anymore.
The initial reaction to liking someone, it turns out, is to become extremely cautious.
Yun Ci thought about his relationship with Yu Xun and his attitude towards him over the years. To suddenly say “I like you too” felt impossible.
It was too sudden.
There never seemed to be a suitable moment.
Yu Xun hadn’t asked him again if he “had started to like him.”
…
Maybe say it over WeChat.
As Yun Ci thought about it, his hand already clicked on the black avatar.
Ten minutes later.
He hadn’t typed a single word and exited the chat box directly.
…
It seemed too informal.
Forget it.
He would find an opportunity between classes tomorrow.
*
Plans couldn’t keep up with changes. The next day, as soon as the class bell rang, someone sat down next to Yu Xun.
A tall, slender boy in a gray sweater, with gentle and delicate features, who had a soft and friendly smile, and seemed very good at socializing.
He wasn’t from their department, but came in during the break specifically to find Yu Xun. The two of them sat together, chatting about something.
“Although there are usually a lot of people looking for Yu-ge,” Wang Zhuang said as he came over to ask about a problem and followed Yun Ci’s gaze, “but he’s the first one who can sit down and chat for so long.”
Yun Ci clenched his pen, looked away, and didn’t want to admit he actually cared: “Who is he?”
Wang Zhuang: “This question I know, he’s the senior from the drama club, the one Peng Shao added as a friend last night.”
Wang Zhuang continued: “He came to the dorm looking for Peng Shao once when you guys weren’t around, I remember him.”
Drama club. Senior. Added as a friend.
All the words Yun Ci had prepared got stuck in his throat.
…
There’s no opportunity between classes.
He didn’t want to talk to that person all day today.
After a while…
Yun Ci couldn’t hold back. He tapped on the desk in front of Wang Zhuang, pursing his lips, and said, “What are they talking about?”
Wang Zhuang: “I don’t know, maybe it’s still about last night. Liu Zi broke the club’s prop, didn’t he?”
Yun Ci: “That sword?”
Wang Zhuang: “Yeah.”
Yun Ci was silent for a moment.
Then he said: “Li Yan also broke a pot, why didn’t they look for me?”
“……”
Wang Zhuang sensed a strange atmosphere, then thought for a moment and said, “…You want to compare this? I think it’s probably because the sword is more valuable, a pot isn’t worth much. Anyway, it’s good they didn’t look for you, what if they came to hold you accountable?”
Only Yun Ci knew; he wasn’t comparing at all.
Yun Ci said again: “Holding accountable, can they laugh so happily?”
Wang Zhuang: “…Smiling while hiding a knife isn’t impossible either?”
“……”
Yun Ci stopped talking.
He held his pen, trying not to care about the two seats on the other side of the classroom.
But after a few seconds, he couldn’t help glancing over, seeing Yu Xun leaning on his chin, looking lazily at that senior.
Ten minutes later, before the bell rang for class.
Yun Ci’s phone vibrated, and he received a new message.
yx: [I’m going to the store this afternoon, want some cake?]
Yun Ci’s first reaction was not to reply.
After a while, he opened the message and typed two emotion-laden words on the screen.
yc: [Don’t want.]
*
The drama club senior had been looking for Yu Xun for two days straight, even becoming somewhat familiar in their department.
During these two days, students from both class one and class two were secretly discussing: “So handsome, that kind of handsome with a lot of charm.” When they discussed, they added, “Totally different style from Ci-ge.”
…
Damn it, he has no charm?
Yun Ci’s face was so cold it could freeze.
Others continued discussing: “I heard he’s very famous in sophomore year.”
“I knew about him even before I started school.”
“His stage plays win first place every year, and he has many followers on his personal online account.”
“Most importantly, he just broke up with his boyfriend.”
“Is his ex-boyfriend more handsome or Yu-ge?”
“Of course, Yu-ge.”
“……”
At noon, Yun Ci returned to the dorm to get his textbooks for the study room. In the dorm, Peng Yiyuan was talking about his unrequited love that ended a couple of months ago, now with a completely different attitude: “I lost feelings long ago.”
Peng Yiyuan waved his hand: “Liking someone is so vague, like a gust of wind, liking someone yesterday but not today. Besides, she never responded to me, it’s normal that I couldn’t keep liking her.”
“……”
After he finished speaking, he saw Yun Ci returning with an even colder face.
Yun Ci put down his textbooks and sat at the table.
He took out his phone, opened the chat with Yu Xun, and couldn’t resist bringing up the previous topic, embarrassingly sending: [Is there still cake?]
The black avatar replied quickly.
It was a photo.
yx: [/picture]
In the photo, the familiar store decor was captured, with rows of small cakes neatly arranged in the counter. But Yun Ci’s attention wasn’t on the cakes at all. He noticed in the corner of the photo, half a figure was captured—the gray sweater, gentle-looking senior.
Yun Ci zoomed in on the photo, looking at it several times.
His heart suddenly tightened.
It wasn’t just a matter of timing anymore, or that he hadn’t figured out how to say it, or what to say.
It was that after liking someone, it seemed everything became a problem.
For instance, these past few days, his mind was full of uncertainty, damn it, whether he still liked him.
He might also like someone else, and there might be different people approaching him.
Just like Peng Yiyuan said, he had never responded.
He began to feel uneasy.
Because once you start liking someone, all the tiny possibilities get infinitely magnified, and there’s no such thing as composure and confidence.
After Yu Xun sent the photo, the person on the other side didn’t reply for a long time.
While waiting for a reply, he absentmindedly dealt with the person next to him.
The senior had been pestering him for two days: “Are you really not going to reconsider?”
“I think we’re really compatible.”
“If we were together…”
Yu Xun lowered his eyes, his thoughts entirely on his phone.
He didn’t expect that he wouldn’t get a message, but instead, the person who sent the message arrived.
Yun Ci seemed to be in a hurry when he left, holding his jacket instead of wearing it, with a white sweater underneath. Most of his clothes were white, which made him look even colder.
The end-of-term month was too busy, and his hair had grown a bit longer.
On the day of the stage play, during the last scene, his hair had fallen on his face because they were so close.
Yun Ci entered with four words: “He is not suitable.”
“?”
“Anyway, he’s just not suitable,” Yun Ci looked like he would fight if he said more, “Not suitable at all.”
The senior was a bit confused and turned to Yu Xun: “Who is this?”
Saying “roommate” felt too distant, but other relationships hadn’t been defined yet.
So Yu Xun said, “A very important friend.”
The senior had a bit of an understanding but still wanted to fight for himself: “I really think he’s suitable. Why do you think we are not suitable?”
Yun Ci thought there was no need for a reason.
“Your zodiac signs clash,” Yun Ci said expressionlessly, “I had our fortunes read.”
The senior, having been rejected for two days, was also a bit unstable and took a step back, saying: “If he’s not suitable…” He thought for a moment, then said to Yun Ci, “You are also fine.”
Yun Ci: “?”
The senior: “For the stage play, we need a male princess.”
The senior asked again: “Do our zodiac signs clash?”
“…………”
The senior, realizing Yun Ci might have misunderstood something, said: “What other suitability is there?”
“We have a city-level competition, and the role of the male princess hasn’t been decided yet. Xiao Peng borrowed our props, and when I saw the footage, although it was terrible, your faces added some completion to this terrible work, so I wanted to ask.”
Finally, the senior worriedly said: “Do our zodiac signs clash too?”
Only then did Yun Ci realize his misunderstanding. He stood awkwardly in place, his earlier aggressive demeanor deflating instantly.
Yu Xun sent the senior away: “They clash, extremely. I also had it read.”
He waved his hand lazily, “Take care.”
After the senior, who had been the subject of “gossip” in the class for two days, left, only the two of them were left in the store.
Liu Zi had taken a leave of absence and wasn’t in the store today.
The two of them tacitly remained silent for a few seconds, then Yu Xun looked at Yun Ci, who had run over without even wearing a coat, noticing his slightly red hands from the cold. Yu Xun’s Adam’s apple moved as he couldn’t help but want to ask: “Were you…”
Jealous?
But he didn’t ask, afraid he was overthinking it.
Both of them cautiously guarded something precious, afraid of breaking it by being untimely or careless.
“What flavor do you want,” Yu Xun finally said, “cake.”
Not here to buy cake at all, and usually not eating much cake, Yun Ci averted his gaze and said: “…Chocolate.”
Hahahahaha omg our Xiao Ci completely misunderstood!