When Yun Ci got home, Yan Yue was still at school busy with preparing questions.
Dad: [Make yourself something to eat and get some rest early.]
He stood in the kitchen and casually made a bowl of noodles, standing by the pot waiting for the water to boil.
His phone chimed again.
He thought it was still Yan Yue messaging him, reminding him about something.
However, this time the phone rang for a bit too long. After half a minute, he looked down and swiped open the phone to find it was a video call.
[‘Boyfriend’ invites you to a video call].
…
Yun Ci’s first reaction was to find a mirror to check if his hair was messy.
He went to the bathroom mirror, tidied his hair, and then nonchalantly answered the call.
As soon as the call connected, Yu Xun’s face appeared on the screen.
It was still the carefully selected angle, still that flawless face – he probably just got home as well. From the video, Yun Ci saw the familiar living room decor from last time.
Yu Xun looked at his background: “Are you taking a shower?”
“…,” Yun Ci said, “Cooking noodles.”
Yu Xun raised an eyebrow: “Cooking noodles in the bathroom?”
Then, his gaze fell on Yun Ci’s wet bangs.
And then he chuckled lightly: “Did you specifically fix your hair for the video call with me?”
“Understandable,” Yu Xun continued, “Facing such a handsome boyfriend like me, it’s indeed a bit stressful to answer a video call.”
What stress.
Yun Ci, being called out, was expressionless and flustered.
“The bathroom has bad signal,” he said calmly but still said, “I can’t hear you, I’m hanging up.”
Yu Xun raised his hand, did something unknown, and then looked at him: “Then what to do when I miss you.”
Yun Ci’s ears turned a bit red, and he hesitated to hang up.
Yu Xun: “Can you hear me now?”
Yun Ci responded with an “oh”: “The signal suddenly got better.”
Yu Xun: “What noodles are you cooking?”
Yun Ci took the phone back to the kitchen: “Tomato and egg noodles.”
Although they were separated by the internet, in the video, the distance between them seemed to shrink, as if they were living together despite the holiday separation.
Yu Xun: “Xiao Ci can cook.”
Yun Ci wanted to say, “I’ll cook for you next time,” but it came out as, “I’ll let you see next time.”
After saying it, he realized it sounded like a “challenge.”
“I’ll remember that,” Yu Xun said, “Next time.”
Yun Ci turned the camera to the boiling pot, and while scooping the noodles, he chatted intermittently.
“Can you cook?”
“I can,” Yu Xun said, “What do you want to eat? I’ll make it for you.”
Yun Ci: “What can you cook?”
Yu Xun: “Depends on what you want to eat.”
Yun Ci casually said: “Buddha Jumps Over the Wall.”
Yu Xun: “Then I’ll just jump over the wall.”
“…”
Yun Ci, facing his bowl, paused his hand holding the chopsticks and smiled slightly when he heard this.
They chatted for a while, and the camera on Yu Xun’s side shook as he moved to another room, opened the closet, and took out a set of clothes.
“Is your aunt not at home?”
“In the hospital.” Yu Xun’s camera was still shaking, only his voice came through.
Yun Ci watched the shaky camera and asked, “Going out?”
Yu Xun, still holding the clothes, continued moving: “Going to the bathroom, to take a shower.”
“…”
Yun Ci stopped talking.
When Yu Xun entered the bathroom, the camera stabilized. He then asked: “Do you want to watch?”
Yun Ci was really about to hang up this time.
As if guessing his next move, Yu Xun said: “Wait a moment.”
Yun Ci paused.
Yu Xun suddenly leaned closer on the screen, so close that only half of his face was visible. He lowered the camera a bit, focusing on his prominent nose and then his lips.
Then, he suddenly leaned in.
He kissed him through the video.
[Video call ended.]
Yun Ci was stunned by Yu Xun’s move.
He rubbed his face against the phone screen.
…
It’s just a kiss.
Just a kiss.
He thought so, and only realized he was holding the chopsticks the wrong way after taking the second bite of noodles.
–
The winter break was not long, but in the first week, Yun Ci and Yu Xun would video call each day.
But Yu Xun looked more tired each day on the call.
“Just got back from the hospital,” this day, Yu Xun said while taking a video call in the car, “Going to tutor afterward.”
“I found a family, a neighbor’s kid from before, who used to call me brother in high school and I helped him with a few questions. Now he’s about to take the high school entrance exam and asked me to help with tutoring during the holiday.”
Yun Ci listened, thinking that Yu Xun had quite a variety of part-time jobs.
Yu Xun then asked, “What about you?”
Yun Ci reported his schedule for the day: “Memorizing text, previewing lessons, and having dinner at a relative’s house in the evening.”
As he listened, Yu Xun said, “But speaking of which, can you point the camera away from your desk?” He spoke languidly, “I want to see you.”
So Yun Ci turned the camera back to himself.
They looked at each other for a while.
Sometimes, there was no need to say much between them, just looking at each other seemed enough.
In the past, when he was hostile with Yu Xun, during holidays, there wasn’t much contact between them. After all, it was impossible for him to take people to Yu Xun’s house to cause trouble.
Except for the occasional incident like PKing in an internet cafe or Yan Yue bringing him home, there was no other interaction between them.
This was the first time they were mutually “involved” in each other’s holiday lives.
Yun Ci thought for a bit, wondering if there was anything else to say, and added, “Li Yan is coming over tomorrow.”
Yu Xun asked, “What is he coming over for?”
Yun Ci replied, “He said he can’t survive at home and is coming to avoid a fight.”
Yu Xun, looking as if he wanted Li Yan to find another place to die, said, “If he can’t survive, he should find somewhere else to go. What’s the deal with going to someone else’s boyfriend’s house?”
Yun Ci: “Yeah, let him find another place.”
Yu Xun, familiar with Yun Ci’s neighborhood, said, “The garbage station nearby isn’t bad.”
“…”
Yu Xun, eyes half-closed, added, “Or the park across the main road, let him take a walk there.”
Even through the internet, the fatigue in Yu Xun’s eyes was evident.
Yun Ci suddenly asked, “Are you very tired?”
Yu Xun didn’t hear clearly, “Hm?”
Yun Ci repeated, “Have you been very tired lately?”
As they spoke, the bus arrived at the station. Yu Xun opened his eyes and said, “Seeing you makes me not tired.”
After the call ended, Li Yan sent a message: [Is your computer usable? Can you ensure I can play games when I come over tomorrow?]
Li Yan: [Don’t let it be like the last summer vacation where we found out your dad had cut off the internet after turning on the computer.]
Yun Ci stared at the messages for a while, but his thoughts were elsewhere.
On the other side, Li Yan was being nagged by his parents at home: “Don’t think that just because you’re in college, your mom and I won’t care about you. College is even more urgent than high school. When you graduate, you’ll need to find a job, and once you enter society—”
Li Yan, shouting, “Can you let me have some peace,” finally received a reply from his friend.
yc: [Busy tomorrow]
Li Yan: [?]
Li Yan: [Didn’t we agree to meet at your place tomorrow?]
yc: [Something came up suddenly.]
Li Yan: [Are you studying law or preparing for the CET-4 and CET-6 exams?]
Knowing his friend well, Li Yan thought there couldn’t be anything else during the holidays besides studying hard under Yan Yue’s watchful eye.
However, Yun Ci’s reply was none of these possibilities.
yc: [Going to find a job.]
Li Yan, still hearing his parents’ nagging about finding a job after graduation, was shocked to see the word “job” in the chat.
He escaped to the bathroom, locked the door, and, in shock, called Yun Ci. When the call connected, he shouted, “You’ve taken cramming to a new level? The ultimate goal of studying is to work, so you’re working ahead of time?”
“…”
Yun Ci answered the call, ears hurting from the shout, “Shut up, keep your voice down.”
Li Yan: “Why are you working?”
Yun Ci: “To make money.”
Yun Ci previously had no concept of making money. Continuing his high school logic, he thought grades were the most important. But things changed after entering college.
Also, he wouldn’t need to rely on Yan Yue for living expenses in the future and could support his boyfriend.
Yan Yue did not approve of Yun Ci’s plan to take a winter job: “You’re just a freshman; you don’t need to worry about living expenses. It’s better to use this time to prepare for your major courses.”
“Dad.”
Unexpectedly, Yun Ci interrupted him.
His tone was calm: “I’m informing you.”
Yun Ci repeated, “Just informing, not seeking your permission.”
Yan Yue was taken aback.
Yun Ci had rarely contradicted him before.
Or rather, Yun Ci hadn’t had many things he genuinely cared about. This was the first time Yan Yue saw a sharp and unfamiliar determination in Yun Ci’s eyes.
Perhaps due to discomfort or feeling his authority challenged, Yan Yue retorted, “What tone are you using to speak to me?”
Yun Ci said, “A normal tone.”
“…”
The temperature at the dinner table dropped suddenly.
Yun Ci didn’t avoid Yan Yue’s gaze. As he got up, he said, “Don’t wait for me for dinner tomorrow.”
He had found a tutoring job through a former classmate, eventually getting in touch with an “unruly” junior from West High.
“He’s got a big temper,” the classmate said while introducing, “I used to tutor him temporarily, but couldn’t manage him. I heard he fights every day at school, doesn’t study in class. Yet, his parents still want him to get into the top fifty of his grade, dreaming, aren’t they?”
“But they do pay well. Of course, it’s also a lot of work. Think about it, class monitor.”
yc: [As long as it pays well.]
It turned out that the junior from West High was indeed hard to deal with. On Yun Ci’s first day at work, as soon as he opened the door, the junior was sitting on the floor, snacks all around, holding a game console: “Don’t bother me, I want to play games.”
Then he saw the new handsome guy in a white sweater walking over and directly unplugged his power cable.
The junior cursed: “Damn! Are you crazy?”
Yun Ci, letting go of the power cable, said calmly, “I heard you fight every day at school.”
The junior straightened up arrogantly: “Yeah, I’m the school bully. Scared?”
Yun Ci didn’t speak.
He slowly rolled up his sleeves, then raised his chin at the junior, his cold brows now carrying a hint of menace: “Before class, let’s have a fight.”
The junior: “…Huh?”
“To be precise, it’s not really a fight,” Yun Ci continued. “You’re just going to get beaten up.”
…
As Yun Ci’s relationship with Yan Yue cooled down, his contact with Yu Xun also decreased.
Sometimes, they would only chat for a few moments before Yun Ci had to go to work, catch a bus, and hurriedly end the call.
After a few times, Yu Xun seemed to vaguely sense something.
yx: [Busy lately?]
yc: [A bit.]
yx: [Busy with what?]
He definitely couldn’t say he was busy making money to support him.
Yun Ci wasn’t used to announcing things he hadn’t even started doing yet.
Once he arrived at the junior’s house, he finally found time to reply: [Nothing much, preparing for the CET-6 exams.]
“Is that your girlfriend?” The junior lazily propped his legs up, barely giving any respect to the lesson but still seizing every chance to slack off.
Yun Ci: “Less talking, finish the exercises.”
The junior actually looked quite delicate, but his personality was insufferable: “Come on, let’s chat. I have lots of girlfriends too. Let’s exchange some tips.”
Yun Ci: “You?”
The junior jumped up: “What about me? I’m in the top three of the school’s handsome boys list this year!”
When did West High’s list get this pathetic?
He knew about that list. He and Yu Xun had competed on it before.
Yun Ci: “How many fake votes did you buy?”
The junior: “Damn, real votes—thanks to my unruly charm!”
“…”
While they were talking, Yun Ci’s phone rang again on the corner of the desk.
The junior reminded him: “Your girlfriend.”
But this time, it wasn’t a message from Yu Xun. The dorm group chat was buzzing with conversation.
Luo Sifang: [Visited the old school and heard some juicy gossip.]
Wang Zhuang: [What gossip?]
Luo Sifang: [A divine couple from our school actually broke up.]
Luo Sifang: [In short, a guy at our school chased after a girl very hard, and finally got her. But after starting college, the girl grew cold to the guy soon after they began dating.]
Peng Yiyuan: [Did she fall for someone else?]
Luo Sifang: [No, the girl realized she didn’t really like him. She just mistook her feeling of being touched for love.]
Luo Sifang concluded: [Love is really complicated.]
A black avatar chimed in at the end of the chat.
The black avatar sent a line of text.
Black avatar: [Mistaking being touched for love?]
Then Yun Ci received two private messages.
Black avatar: [So you’ve been]
Black avatar: [So distant lately.]
These two lines seemed to carry the implication of “If you don’t love me anymore, just say so.”
Yun Ci: “…”
Damn.
Did these people not have enough winter homework?
Why were they chatting about gossip in the group?
“What did your girlfriend say?” The junior leaned over.
Yun Ci expressionlessly pushed him away, not typing back but going to the balcony to make a video call.
The call rang a few times and then connected.
This time, Yu Xun didn’t show his face.
So on Yun Ci’s phone screen, his own image became more prominent—his face and the head of the junior who had suddenly appeared behind him.
The unruly junior, a second-year high school student, had gotten his ears pierced, looking somewhat “unruly.” He blinked his failing grades eyes and asked, “Why is the screen dark on the other side?”
The next second.
Not only did the screen go dark, but the call also ended abruptly.
yx: [Seems like I interrupted your date.]
“…”
Someone is being a little petty hehe…