In dormitory 608, the noise continued.
Luo Sifang wanted to take his computer out of the metal box: “Give me the key, Zhuang-ge.”
Wang Zhuang held the key and refused: “No, we agreed, you wouldn’t touch this computer until the exams are over—”
Luo Sifang: “Think about it from another angle, moderate gaming might increase my focus for the exams.”
“Then fifty-one times,” Wang Zhuang said, “Just right, I’m out of living expenses for the month, transfer it to me now.”
Luo Sifang: “… You’re more expensive than an internet cafe, I might as well go there.”
Everyone in the dormitory was doing their own thing.
Liu Sheng was holding an acoustic guitar, strumming.
When Yun Ci and Yu Xun returned to the dormitory one after the other, Liu Sheng happened to be in the middle of playing.
The melody was slow and lingering, and the sound of the strings was crisp.
“……”
Liu Sheng glimpsed the two returning; Yun Ci’s face was almost red to his neck, and his entire ears seemed to be burning. Yu Xun wasn’t as obvious, but after he closed the dormitory door, he leaned against it, bowed his head, and took a moment before looking up to greet the others.
“Yu-ge, you’re back?” Liu Sheng said.
“Your guitar playing is pretty good,” Yu Xun replied.
Liu Sheng: “You went out this morning without saying a word, I thought you were in a bad mood.”
“No,” Yu Xun said, “I’m in a great mood.”
He added, “In fact, it’s the best day ever.”
Yun Ci, who was about to go to the washroom to wash his face: “……”
Even though they had just confessed and were now dating.
That tense and awkward feeling hadn’t dissipated. He didn’t even dare to look back, afraid of being noticed by the others.
Liu Sheng casually asked: “So happy, did you win the lottery?”
Yu Xun’s voice lowered, suppressing some emotions, but they still leaked through his words: “It’s much more precious than a lottery ticket.”
Liu Sheng didn’t quite understand, thinking it must be some good news from Yu Xun’s family, then saw Yun Ci push open the washroom door and go in. Shortly after Yun Ci entered, Yu Xun also squeezed into the washroom.
[608 Brothers Group (Without Yun Ci and Yu Xun)]
Liu Sheng: [Why do I feel those two are acting weird?]
Luo Sifang, focused on the computer: [What? No, they’re perfectly normal.]
Liu Sheng: [Just a feeling.]
But he couldn’t pinpoint it exactly: [It feels like their relationship got better?]
Luo Sifang: [It’s definitely thanks to my persistent efforts, finally maintaining harmony in the dormitory. I’m saying, there’s no obstacle we can’t overcome!]
Wang Zhuang: [It probably has nothing to do with the dorm leader’s efforts. I think it’s more because we’ve been roommates for almost a semester, it’s normal for relationships to improve.]
After a while, Liu Sheng posted in the group again: [That’s true.]
He always felt that this feeling wasn’t just that.
…
In the bathroom.
Yun Ci had just squeezed out the toothpaste when Yu Xun stood next to him and also reached for a toothbrush.
Both of them had felt a bit unsteady during the confession, as if lifted by some sudden gust of wind, with the lights in the hallway flickering, giving a strong sense of unreality.
It wasn’t until now, in this very ordinary daily life, that they settled down.
“But,” Yu Xun leaned one hand on the edge of the countertop and suddenly asked, “why was the first thing you thought of was changing the note?”
Yun Ci turned on the faucet and said casually, “Isn’t that how relationships are supposed to be?”
Yu Xun gave an “oh” and immediately demonstrated what it means to have a boyfriend’s sensitivity: “…Who else have you dated?”
He continued, “Although back in West High, you shouldn’t have dated anyone, otherwise, I would know. But it doesn’t rule out the possibility that you secretly got involved with someone—”
“Which one?”
“Was it the student council president who always invited you to join activities, or the study committee member from your class who always pestered you with questions, or the one from the neighboring school who asked for your contact at the district competition finals?”
Yu Xun could keep listing similar examples endlessly.
Until Yun Ci said, “Stop.”
Yu Xun stopped talking and just stared at him.
“Your new boyfriend has just taken office,” Yun Ci said, “and there are three fires1Implying the multiple challenges or crises he’ll have to face simultaneously in the future., right?”
Yu Xun didn’t deny it and lazily said, “What, can’t I? I’ve been wanting to talk about these people for a long time. Now that I finally have some standing, shouldn’t I go through this list?”
Yun Ci asked, “How many people are on your list?”
Yu Xun counted: “More than just these few. Let me count, there are about ten more.”
“……”
“Li Yan, during his online dating phase,” after a while, Yun Ci explained, “I watched.”
Thinking about it, he decided to elaborate a bit more: “Notes, matching avatars, that kind of thing.”
When he said this, he remembered that just now, he had only changed the note: “But we haven’t changed our avatars yet.”
He really didn’t have much experience.
Dating wasn’t even in his plan.
But he was still trying his best to follow what he knew about dating, even if it was just some extremely naive, high-school-level rituals.
Halfway through Yun Ci’s words, Yu Xun interrupted, “It’s already done.”
“Matching avatars.”
Speaking of avatars, Yun Ci asked, “When did you change your avatar?”
In his three years of high school, he knew almost everything about Yu Xun.
But he knew nothing about Yu Xun’s details about secretly liking him.
“Second year of high school, after I realized I liked you.”
Yu Xun looked at Yun Ci and briefly recalled the past: “At that time, I thought that since I couldn’t add you as a friend, I could at least change my avatar.”
“I also worried if it was too obvious,” Yu Xun remembered how, even though they weren’t friends, he often clicked on Yun Ci’s WeChat profile, comparing their WeChat IDs side by side, “but—later, I realized I was overthinking.”
In the three years of high school, his “hostile” relationship with Yun Ci was widely known across Xigao. So no one ever thought in that direction.
Yu Xun’s gaze passed through the memories and returned to the present.
He saw Yun Ci finish washing his face and stand up straight—he looked almost the same as in high school, except he had grown taller, his shoulders had broadened, but his waist seemed unchanged, looking extremely thin. His eyebrows and eyes were very cold, and a certain warmth seemed to be just a surface illusion, pierced by his sharp features.
Yu Xun looked at Yun Ci in the mirror for a moment, then raised his hand, pressing his palm on Yun Ci’s head, gently rubbing it.
Before Yun Ci left the bathroom, Yu Xun said, “Goodnight, the second most handsome boyfriend in the world.”
“……”
Yun Ci didn’t respond.
Yu Xun waited and waited, “Why don’t you call me?”
He continued, “We’ve changed the notes, can’t you call me?”
“……”
Yun Ci’s ears were slightly red, but he still emphasized with a straight face, “If you take second place, I’ll call you.”
Yu Xun thought seriously for a moment and finally said, “Then forget it, don’t call me.”
“……”
Seeing Yun Ci remain silent, Yu Xun still had to ask, “What are you thinking?”
Yun Ci: “Thinking that my new boyfriend is a bit annoying.”
*
After leaving the bathroom, the dorm members’ voices filled the air again. Luo Sifang, unable to play on his computer, was holding his phone and wailing, “I really can’t study anymore.”
Wang Zhuang: “Look at what we have to study for our major. I’ve been memorizing all this time and have only finished half the book.”
Luo Sifang: “How about we make a cheat sheet for the remaining half?”
Wang Zhuang: “I was just thinking the same. College proctoring shouldn’t be strict, the classrooms are bigger than in high school.”
Saying this, he took a few strips of paper and started preparing for cheating.
The dormitory sounds gradually faded after lights out.
Yun Ci lay on the upper bunk, scrolling through his phone, unable to ignore the movements from the lower bunk. He heard Yu Xun taking off his sweater and getting under the covers.
He opened the chat window and typed what he hadn’t said earlier on the screen.
yc: [Goodnight.]
But actually, neither of them was asleep.
Late into the night, they both heard the faint sounds from each other’s beds.
The others were already asleep, and Yun Ci couldn’t speak aloud, so they started chatting on WeChat in the middle of the night.
yx: [Why aren’t you asleep?]
Yun Ci replied:
yc: [You aren’t asleep either.]
Yu Xun replied quickly, and Yun Ci could vaguely hear the sound of his fingers typing on the phone screen.
yx: [Can’t sleep.]
yx: [Looking at the note you changed.]
After sending these two messages, Yu Xun also sent a screenshot.
He took a screenshot of his own phone screen, and the newly changed note was clearly visible in the screenshot.
yx: [What about you?]
Yun Ci slowly typed with his fingers: Thinking about you too.
Before sending it, he paused, feeling a strange sense of shame. These words were too straightforward, and he felt like he had said all the straightforward things in his life in the past two days.
So, through the network, he took a detour, deleted the four words he had typed, and sent: [Not sleepy yet.]
On the other side of the chat window, Yu Xun typed for a long time and sent a long message.
yx: [Although I am handsome and charming, indeed very attractive, it’s quite normal for you to like me.]
But the next sentence following this string of words was:
yx: [Still worried that when I wake up tomorrow, I’ll find out it was a dream.]
…
Yu Xun didn’t know when he fell asleep, maybe after four o’clock. He only knew that the next morning, after he turned off the alarm, he stayed in bed, but the one sleeping in the upper bunk got up.
After Yun Ci came down in a few moves, he propped one hand on the edge of Yu Xun’s bed, bent down, and leaned in close to say, “Do you want to go to the cafeteria for breakfast?”
“?”
After saying that, Yun Ci suddenly added something unrelated, “It’s not a dream.”
He pursed his lips and, when meeting Yu Xun’s gaze, still felt nervous, continuing, “You don’t have to worry even after waking up.”
Yu Xun’s hair was messy, slightly curling in places, and he looked a bit dazed as he slowly realized why Yun Ci said that.
It was because of the last sentence he sent in their chat last night.
At a bit past seven in the morning, the cafeteria was crowded. Students, carrying textbooks, rushed to have breakfast before class.
Including New Year’s Eve, this was the second time he and Yu Xun had breakfast alone in the cafeteria.
Yun Ci bought two breakfasts.
Sitting opposite him, Yu Xun, after getting chopsticks, asked, “How did you know what I wanted to eat?”
Yun Ci: “Unsweetened soy milk and meat-filled buns.”
“Sounds familiar.”
Yu Xun thought for a moment and recalled that he had specifically mentioned his food preferences in a previous chat, “Did you go through the chat logs last night because you couldn’t sleep?”
Yun Ci stubbornly denied it, insisting, “I have a photographic memory.”
“Mm,” Yu Xun played along, “photographic memory.”
After a simple meal, they headed to the classroom together.
It was rare for them to enter the classroom together, attracting some attention: “They came together today?”
“They live in the same dorm, seeing each other all the time, maybe it’s just a coincidence.”
“……”
During the class.
Yun Ci’s phone kept vibrating lightly.
yx: [Can I sit next to you in the next class?]
yx: [Boyfriend.]
The professional class teacher had never strictly enforced seating by class, but since the beginning of the term, Yun Ci and Yu Xun had a fierce fight on the basketball court, leading to an unspoken agreement among classmates to sit separately.
Yun Ci replied with a “We’ll talk after class,” so during the break, right after the bell rang, Yu Xun immediately took his books and crossed most of the classroom to sit next to him.
Yun Ci’s seat was in the back row.
Yu Xun put down his books and casually explained, “Class is over.”
Yun Ci: “But I said we’ll talk after class.”
He paused, “Did you swallow the words ‘after class’?”
Yu Xun leaned back in his chair, looking like he was planning to stay there permanently from that day on: “This is called boyfriend privilege, no need to discuss.”
“I’m going to sleep,” he added, “wake me when the teacher comes.”
This kind of very ordinary “desk mate” conversation appeared between Yun Ci and Yu Xun for the first time.
If it was in the past, Yun Ci would have been the first to report him.
While talking, the bell rang.
Everyone returned to their seats, waiting for the teacher to enter the classroom.
But their classmates noticed something unusual: “Is something different today?”
The classmates whispered, “Why did he go to Class Two’s area?”
“Maybe it’s because of the upcoming final exams, are they preparing for a fight? Observing each other’s revision progress?”
“Your guess isn’t entirely unreasonable…”
…
As the teacher entered the classroom and resumed the lecture with a PPT, the discussions quieted down. The professional class teacher continued teaching, “Today we’ll go over the comprehensive review, but don’t expect to fully cover everything in just one or two classes. You’ll still need to spend time reviewing on your own after class…”
Yu Xun slept through half the class.
Yun Ci had already reviewed the material, so he pulled Yu Xun’s book over and opened it—the book was very clean, almost like new, with hardly any notes.
He flipped to the chapter the teacher was covering and started highlighting and occasionally writing notes in it.
Yu Xun half-opened his eyes and saw this scene.
He didn’t make a sound, watching Yun Ci take notes for him for a while, until Yun Ci noticed he was awake.
“…” Yun Ci directly placed the book on Yu Xun’s head, “Take your own notes.”
“If I knew the boyfriend treatment was this good,” Yu Xun lazily lifted the book from his face with one hand, “I would have pursued you earlier.”
Sunlight streamed through the classroom window, illuminating Yu Xun’s sleepy eyes.
He picked up the book and slowly sat up straight.
In the second half of the class, both of them quietly listened to the lecture.
But Yu Xun’s gaze occasionally dropped, which Yun Ci noticed a few times. Initially puzzled, he thought there might be something under the desk.
Following Yu Xun’s gaze under the desk, he saw nothing.
After a few times.
He suddenly realized there was indeed something under the desk.
—his hanging hand.
Yun Ci held a pen in one hand, while the other hand was not resting on the desk but hanging by his side.
Does he want to hold hands?
Yun Ci was a bit confused.
However, neither of them made the first move.
Yu Xun quietly pinched his knuckles, retracted his gaze, and behaved well for the rest of the class, taking no unnecessary actions.
Yun Ci continued to look at the PPT, but the content taught by the professional course teacher did not enter his mind at all.
“Ding-dong——”
The class bell rang.
After class, the students in the large classroom quickly packed their things and went back to their dormitories.
Yun Ci and Yu Xun walked out from the back door of the classroom. The temperature kept dropping, and after leaving the teaching building, the cold wind hit their faces.
On the long street of the school, there were many campus couples holding hands as they walked into the teaching building.
It was cold, and some boys even directly put their girlfriend’s hands into their own pockets.
Yun Ci walked on this long street leading to the dormitory, wondering halfway whether he should hold hands like the others.
But somehow, his fingers felt as heavy as a thousand pounds.
It was just like Yu Xun, who kept looking at his hand but did not make any move.
Wanting to hold hands, but not daring to.
The two seemed to be secretly observing each other.
Yun Ci made up his mind, planning to gather his courage to touch Yu Xun’s hand.
However, just a second before he was about to touch it.
Yu Xun suddenly moved his hand, disrupting Yun Ci’s action. He was also nervous, but to cover it up, he dragged his tone and said nonchalantly, as if it didn’t matter: “——I remember mentioning before that my hands are quite good-looking.”
He turned his wrist.
Stretched out his hand, palm up, facing Yun Ci.
He continued, “So, do you want to hold hands?”
