This kissing posture lasted for a few seconds, and Yu Xun heard the violent beating in his chest.
He hadn’t spoken for a long time.
Carefully, not daring to move.
The whole world quieted down at this moment, all sounds receding, leaving only Yun Ci’s words, “Can you help me get him back?”
After the silence, the whole world seemed to trigger a silent, massive explosion, followed by an overwhelming burst of fireworks.
The person in front of him.
He had secretly loved him, been together with him, and reluctantly pushed him away.
Yu Xun’s hands slowly tightened, but this time he couldn’t bring himself to push him away again.
He didn’t know if he cried or not. Probably not; it was just that his eyes were too hot.
After a moment, he raised his hand, pressing his palm against the back of Yun Ci’s neck, deepening the kiss fiercely. It was torrential, almost pathological, as he took all of Yun Ci’s breath.
When they stopped, his eyes were red, and he said, “He’was never lost.”
“Always there.”
Yun Ci didn’t go back that night.
In the dorm group chat, he sent a message to Luo Sifang and the others.
Luo Sifang: [Not coming back? Where are you staying? Are you planning to move out too? I’m really lonely as the dorm leader now, like a lone commander.]
Wang Zhuang: [Agreed, the dorm is getting quieter and quieter…]
[……]
When they were sorted into dorms in sophomore year, the 608 dorm had no personnel changes, but many things changed over time.
Liu Sheng no longer lived in the dorm; he went to perform with a band and gradually moved his stuff out.
Peng Yiyuan also moved out in his sophomore year, using his living expenses to rent a luxurious apartment with a gaming room. He invited them over to celebrate when he moved in, but Yun Ci excused himself, saying he was busy in the study room and hadn’t gone.
The once lively 608 dorm started to cool down bit by bit from the moment Yu Xun moved out.
The changes were just like that.
However, today’s unexpected events felt like a miracle, making him realize that what he thought had changed hadn’t really changed.
Next to him, Yu Xun was helping him find some clothes in the wardrobe, his movements as natural as if they had always been living together off-campus.
Yu Xun found a piece of clothing, held it up, and asked, “Wear this one?”
He was holding a white T-shirt.
Yun Ci glanced at it and said, “Whatever, the size isn’t much different.”
Only then did Yu Xun say what had been lingering in his heart for a long time, his voice very low: “It is different. You’ve lost a lot of weight.”
“A lot?”
“Yes.”
Yun Ci himself didn’t feel that he had lost much weight.
Maybe he had lost five or six pounds compared to before.
In his memory, Yan Yue had also hesitated to mention it, telling him to eat more, but he hadn’t paid attention.
“Not eating much?” Yu Xun had no standing to say this before, but once he started, he found there was too much he couldn’t hold back. “No appetite? Or too busy?”
Before Yun Ci could answer, he continued, “Have you eaten today? What do you want to eat? There are vegetables in the fridge. I’ll make two dishes; you go take a shower first.”
Yu Xun, out of habit, ended with a somewhat cheeky remark: “…Otherwise, at this rate, when will you ever surpass me in abs?”
“…”
Yun Ci cracked his knuckles and “oh-ed.”
“Less than an hour after meeting,” he said, “and you’re already mocking me, huh?”
Yu Xun handed him the clothes and said, “It’s not mocking; it’s reverse psychology.”
But Yun Ci was no longer the impulsive kid who used to be provoked easily. The time since high school graduation had passed, and the year-long gap had made both of them much more mature.
After a whole day of running around in the sweltering summer heat, squeezed in a crowded bus, sweating all over, Yun Ci took the clothes and went to the bathroom for a quick shower.
When he came out after the shower, his hair still wet, he saw the kitchen glass door half-open, with the smell of cooking oil and food wafting out through the gap.
Yu Xun was indeed cooking for him. He was very tall, almost reaching the range hood.
Looking at his back, Yun Ci thought that if they hadn’t separated back then, their life renting an apartment off-campus would probably be just like this.
In the kitchen, Yu Xun covered the pot and waited for the last dish to simmer.
He had half a cigarette between his fingers, took a puff, and was about to throw the remaining half into the trash while Yun Ci wasn’t around. But before he could, he looked up and met Yun Ci’s eyes: “…”
The half-cigarette paused in his fingers.
Yun Ci walked over expressionlessly and took the cigarette from his hand: “Do you think you’re very cool?”
Yu Xun wanted to ease the atmosphere and, on a whim, admitted: “I do look pretty cool when I smoke.”
“…”
This guy dared to say anything.
Yun Ci almost laughed in anger and asked, “How long has it been?”
Yu Xun felt like a criminal being interrogated, putting away his casual attitude from earlier and saying, “Over a year.”
The expected answer.
Yun Ci didn’t ask further; he just said, “Quit.”
“…”
Yu Xun unconsciously rubbed his thumb and finger, still faintly smelling of tobacco, and tried to negotiate, “One cigarette a day?”
“How about this,” Yun Ci said, a bit sarcastically like before, “you might as well change a boyfriend every day.”
“…”
Yu Xun said, “I’ll quit.”
He repeated, “I won’t smoke a single one.”
Yun Ci extended his hand, coldly saying, “Cigarettes, lighter.”
Yu Xun took them out of his pocket, one by one, and handed them to him.
Yun Ci had nowhere to put them, so he stuffed them into his own pocket. The cigarette pack got squashed. After he collected everything, the rising anger subsided, leaving only heartache.
Did he smoke like this every day?
How many cigarettes had he smoked in this past year?
…
Telling him to eat more, what about himself? Did he ever care about his own health?
But too many words got stuck in his throat and couldn’t come out.
Yun Ci finally leaned in and kissed the corner of his lips, coldly saying, “Reward.”
Yu Xun turned off the stove.
Before Yun Ci could leave, he leaned in again, seeking another kiss: “Shouldn’t you reward me twice?”
This man, with his casual yet somewhat cheeky demeanor, had come back a little, a hint of his youthful eyes returning: “After all, I handed over two items, one for each.”
“…”
Yun Ci said nothing; the two of them were very close.
After a few seconds of eye contact; from those two kisses, everything started to spiral out of control.
All emotions were unleashed at this moment, and Yu Xun kissed fiercely, entangling with Yun Ci without any care. Yun Ci’s waist bumped against the marble counter’s edge, but he ignored the pain, tilting his head to return the kiss.
Rationality gradually slipped away, with Yu Xun’s hand uncontrollably moving downward.
Just before things completely lost control, a bit of rationality returned.
Yu Xun’s hand stopped, whispering, “No condom.”
Yun Ci: “…”
“I live alone,” Yu Xun panted, “none at home.”
“…”
In the end, Yu Xun took a cold shower, while Yun Ci sat in the living room, his ears flushed, playing with the cat, Yu Chichi.
He rubbed Yu Chichi’s head, suddenly remembering a crucial question: in their position just now, how did it end up that he was assumed to be on the bottom?
But that question wasn’t the main point for now.
The main point was that he had brought him back.
After more than a year, they were together again.
After his shower, Yu Xun got dressed and glanced at his phone.
He found many unread messages, all from Liu Zi.
Feeling guilty, Liu Zi confessed: [Bro, I think I messed up.]
Liu Zi: [Damn, I didn’t know Li Yan would show the screenshots to that Yun guy. That idiot! Doesn’t he know I was humiliating him? If he had any self-respect, he should’ve silently swallowed the humiliation I gave him.]
Liu Zi: [I was going to change my name, but this stupid game charges fifty yuan for a name change card. Fifty yuan! Enough for two takeout meals.]
Liu Zi didn’t know about the situation between the two after they broke up, but given how they’d avoided each other and never mentioned it in the past year, their relationship was probably not great: [Did that kid come looking for you? If he causes trouble and you need help, let me know immediately.]
[…]
Yu Xun lowered his eyes and read the messages from beginning to end.
In his plan, after giving his game account to Liu Zi, Liu Zi would play the game with girls. That way, even if Yun Ci logged on and saw him again, he wouldn’t have any doubts.
After all, no one would suspect a “number one expert” playing games with girls to be him.
Unexpectedly, this became the opportunity for his discovery.
Yu Xun replied with two words: “No problem,” then put down his phone.
He walked out of the bathroom. Yun Ci, having finished playing with the cat, was standing at the desk with his back to him, holding a flashy box.
Yun Ci lowered his head and looked at the contents inside for a long time.
Until Yu Xun approached, he picked up a neatly placed black rope necklace and said, “You didn’t throw it away?”
Back then, this guy had said, “Took it off but didn’t throw it away,” clearly implying he would.
Yu Xun also looked at the black rope.
This black rope was the most precious gift he had ever received, but later he no longer felt entitled to wear it.
Yu Xun felt a slight urge to smoke again, which he forcibly suppressed before saying, “You gave it to me, how could I throw it away.”
Yun Ci said nothing, his fingers hooking the black rope, just like on his birthday, seriously helping him put it on, the silver ring hanging around his neck.
“This time,” he said, “don’t take it off again.”
Yu Xun stood still, letting Yun Ci do as he wished.
While Yun Ci was putting it on, Yu Xun’s eyes glanced inside his collar and found that Yun Ci’s necklace had never been taken off and had been worn for over a year.
After putting it on, the two black ropes once again formed a pair.
–
The next day.
After having breakfast, Yun Ci and Yu Xun left the apartment to go to school together.
Although their classes were in different buildings, they had similar schedules that day.
Before leaving, Yun Ci suddenly remembered that the clothes he was wearing were still Yu Xun’s, but there was no time to go back to the dorm and change.
After arriving at the classroom, he sent Yu Xun a message: [I’m here.]
Yu Xun probably didn’t see it and didn’t reply.
While Yun Ci was waiting for a response, Li Yan came in through the back door of their classroom and skillfully sat down in the seat next to him, still upset: “Liu, Zi, is, an, idiot.”
In their second year, after changing teaching buildings, their classroom was next to Li Yan’s class.
So, Li Yan often came over: “Do you know what he said to me? He said I should silently accept his humiliation and even called me shameless.”
“…”
After venting, Li Yan noticed that his buddy was engrossed in his phone and didn’t even spare him a glance.
Li Yan was about to say something but noticed something unusual: “What’s that on your neck?”
“Why is it so red,” Li Yan exclaimed, “Are the bugs in your dorm that vicious? Did you buy medicine? Put some on quickly.”
Yun Ci raised his hand to cover his neck.
Then he belatedly remembered that he and Yu Xun hadn’t slept at all last night. Every time they said they would sleep, after half an hour, he would open his eyes and find the other still staring at him in the dark.
So, what was supposed to be sleep turned into staring at each other all night.
There were several close calls, with Yu Xun repeatedly burying his head in his neck, panting.
…
Yun Ci covered his neck and said, “It’s not… forget it, let’s just say it is.”
Li Yan glanced over again and noticed something else: “Did you buy new clothes? Why do they look familiar?”
As he spoke, his gaze kept lowering.
He just happened to see a small part of a cigarette pack sticking out of Yun Ci’s pocket.
Li Yan: “You’re acting strange today. Where did you get the cigarettes?”
In Li Yan’s impression, Yun Ci, apart from having the inexplicable bad habit of loving to study, never touched anything else. He was shocked: “Impressive, now you’re smoking?”
This time Yun Ci didn’t avoid the question.
He said, “My boyfriend’s.”
The already shocked Li Yan was even more shocked: “?”
“Where did you get a boyfriend?”
Li Yan said: “A new one?”
Although shocked, it made sense. They had broken up for a while. He had always said there was no need to be hung up on Yu Xun; there were countless men in the world, and with his cousin’s outstanding qualities, finding a new one shouldn’t be…
Yun Ci interrupted Li Yan’s thoughts: “It’s the same one.”
He continued, “We got back together.”
After saying that, he ignored the dumbfounded Li Yan and chased him away: “Class is starting soon, go back to your class.”
At that moment, his phone vibrated. He received a new message.
Yun Ci looked down and saw that the landscape avatar had been changed back to a black one.
Not just the avatar, but also the nickname “yx” had been restored.
The message was a photo.
Black avatar: [/photo]
A very ordinary photo, showing Yu Xun’s hand, a textbook, and the classroom.
Yun Ci realized that Yu Xun was sending a check-in message.
Just like countless times before.
Jfhxdhhxjcjcv at least their separation was short for us readers T_T