Yun Ci took a bath first. After a while, Yu Xun came out of the bathroom.
The sky outside was already dark. The sound of cicadas at the end of summer was faint, as autumn was approaching, and there was a hint of coolness in the air.
This was Yun Ci’s second night in this rental house.
Last night felt like a dream. Neither of them dared to sleep, afraid that the person in their arms would disappear if they did. It had been so long since they last saw each other; no matter how much they looked, it wasn’t enough.
It wasn’t until now, after moving everything in, that it finally felt a bit real.
Yu Chichi was sprawled out on its back, sleeping carelessly at their bedroom door.
Yu Xun finished blow-drying his hair and slipped into the bed in the dark.
Then, very skillfully, he reached out to Yun Ci’s waist and abdomen, pulling him into his arms.
Such a slender figure.
His body was burning hot.
“Why are you so hot?” Yu Xun whispered in his ear before pressing close.
“……”
They had already reconciled, and everything that needed to be said had been said plainly.
Yun Ci’s bad habit of saying the opposite of what he felt resurfaced; he would never admit he was nervous: “The air conditioning is too high.”
Yu Xun reminded him, “It’s eighteen degrees, the lowest setting.”
Yun Ci: “The quilt is too thick.”
Yu Xun: “Really?”
Did he have to keep asking?
Yun Ci hid his stiffness and discomfort in the darkness, finally couldn’t hold back, and said sullenly, “Ask again and I’ll hit you.”
Yu Xun chuckled and said a bit lazily, “Go ahead, hit wherever you want.”
As he spoke, he grabbed one of Yun Ci’s hands and guided it onto himself.
“……”
This person had just taken a bath, his body still carrying some coolness.
However, Yun Ci’s hand felt even hotter.
They were so close that their breaths intertwined.
Like back in the dormitory, when they slept in bunk beds, any slight movement would be transmitted to the other.
“I’m cold,” Yu Xun said with an air of righteousness, “Warm me.”
But the coolness on his body dissipated quickly, and soon his temperature became even hotter than Yun Ci’s.
One of Yu Xun’s hands was still gripping Yun Ci’s waist.
“The West High sports meet,” Yu Xun suddenly said, “When you ran the thousand meters.”
“I watched your waist for a long time that day.”
“……”
Yun Ci followed Yu Xun’s words and thought about which sports meet that was.
He had only run the thousand meters once, when Li Yan was the sports committee member. Li Yan couldn’t catch anyone that morning, so when Yun Ci arrived at school, Li Yan patted him on the shoulder and said, “Bro, I really want you to develop comprehensively in morality, intelligence, physical fitness, and beauty, so I signed you up for the thousand meters. No need to thank me.”
Although Yun Ci’s memories of the sports meet were a bit fuzzy, he clearly remembered that Yu Xun’s events were hurdles and relay races.
The West High sports meet was always lively.
Half of the reason for the excitement was that there were no classes, and the other half was watching Class One and Class Seven fight.
They would fight in the broadcasting room, fighting fiercely, bleeding from head injuries, fighting to the death.
——”A submission from Class Seven, Yun Ci from Class One, waiting to come last in the thousand meters.”
——”A submission from Class One, Yu Xun from Class Seven, don’t fall during the hurdles.”
“……”
At that time, Li Yan, standing next to him, commented while listening, “These two sentences put together, how come they actually match quite well.”
Mentioning West High gave Yun Ci a bit of a toothache: “Back then I was seriously watching your running time, and you were just looking at this?”
Yu Xun nonchalantly retorted, “What else should people like us, who are shy and secretly in love, look at?”
They should look at grades.
They should compare times.
They should…
Forget it.
Yun Ci’s competitive spirit temporarily receded in the face of feelings.
Halfway through their conversation, the topic abruptly stopped.
Both of their body temperatures were so hot it was almost scorching. Not knowing who couldn’t resist first, in the tangle of lips and teeth, their positions shifted. Yu Xun braced one hand beside Yun Ci’s ear, leaning down to kiss him from above.
……
During the kiss, he tried to open that box with one hand.
Then, the plastic film on top was torn open.
Yun Ci was kissed until his mind went blank, as if he were oxygen-deprived. His remaining rationality reminded him that maybe they should change positions, turn over, but this rationality soon vanished in the sensations, disappearing completely.
In the quiet night, only Yu Xun’s intermittent voice could be heard: “I’ll be gentle.”
“……”
“Don’t be nervous.”
Finally, a phrase he had heard countless times: “Xiao Ci.”
The first experience wasn’t great. Yun Ci endured the urge to kick him off midway, his fingers tensed. The extreme, overwhelming tremor swept over him, accompanied by pain.
Yu Xun, afraid Yun Ci might hurt his hand, made him put his hand on his waist.
With the faint light from the bedside, Yun Ci, panting, couldn’t remember if he had controlled his strength, if he had left any marks on Yu Xun.
After they both took another bath, Yu Xun asked him, “Does it hurt?”
Yun Ci’s voice was a bit hoarse: “Next time, it’s your turn?”
Yu Xun obviously didn’t ask the question for this reason: “Next time I’ll be gentler.”
“……”
Yun Ci was too tired to argue with him.
They chatted for a while longer, then Yu Xun patted his back to lull him to sleep.
Yun Ci closed his eyes and fell asleep. When he woke up, he found Yu Xun seemingly hadn’t slept at all, typing on his phone.
Yun Ci couldn’t help but let his thoughts wander.
Over the past year, had this person met any new friends?
Otherwise, who could he be chatting with for so long in the middle of the night?
However, he accidentally glanced at the screen and, by the phone’s glow, saw three words in the chat box: “Teacher Yan.”
“…………”
Yun Ci’s sleepiness vanished: “What are you sending?”
Yu Xun: “An essay.”
Yun Ci: “……”
Yu Xun added, “To show my sincerity.”
His chat with Yan Yue had stopped a year and a half ago.
When he tried to call before, the line was busy. He figured that Yan Yue probably didn’t want to call him either, but sending a message should still be okay.
After all, he had taken away his teacher’s son; he couldn’t stay silent.
Meanwhile…
Yan Yue couldn’t sleep all night.
He was chatting with Gao Pingyang, who didn’t know what was happening on his end and only said: [Yun Ci’s been in pretty good shape lately.]
Gao Pingyang: [He’s been more active in class.]
If playing with his phone counts as being active.
Gao Pingyang: [I think it’s better for him to be more active. Otherwise, he’s too tense. Nowadays, students easily have psychological issues, so their mental state needs more attention.]
Gao Pingyang said whatever came to mind. Unable to stay awake, he typed one last line before falling asleep: [Oh, during the stamp session, Yu Xun was there too. Their relationship looks pretty good.]
Chatting with Yan Yue, seeing the words “Yu Xun” gave him a headache.
On top of that, his former student named “Yu Xun” sent him a long string of messages: [Dear Teacher Yan, I have something to say to you. I’m serious about Yun Ci, and I can prove it to you with my life…]
Yan Yue: “……”
Yan Yue was very familiar with Yu Xun’s essays. He had received countless apologies and graded numerous Chinese essays from him in high school. He never would have thought that one day, Yu Xun’s essay would appear before him in this form.
And the writing had become so poor.
Yan Yue thought with complex emotions.
In the end, he didn’t reply and logged out of WeChat.
–
The next morning.
They woke up almost simultaneously.
Yun Ci moved a bit, trying to get up. He had just barely moved his arm out of Yu Xun’s embrace when Yu Xun woke up too.
It was already light outside, sunlight streaming through the curtains, filling the room. The light fell into Yu Xun’s just-opened eyes.
In a sleepy voice, Yu Xun said, “Morning.”
“……” Yun Ci also said, “Morning.”
Yu Xun: “Staring at me first thing in the morning, what, did my handsomeness wake you up?”
The scene was a bit too cozy, and for once, Yun Ci didn’t deny it.
And this person’s eyes were bright, just like before.
“Get up, handsome,” Yun Ci said.
Seeing him so cooperative, Yu Xun felt a bit unaccustomed.
All morning, the house was filled with Yu Xun’s voice, asking hundreds of times, “Does it hurt?” “Are you still in pain?” and “What do you want for breakfast?”
Yun Ci, washing his face in front of the mirror: “Anything.”
Yu Xun stood next to him, quickly brushed his teeth, and headed to the kitchen.
Before opening the bathroom door, Yun Ci remembered the three words he saw last night and casually asked, “Didn’t Lao Yan block you?”
Yu Xun: “Not yet.”
He added, “But I’ve already planned a few more essays. After tonight, it might not be the same.”
“……”
Yun Ci finished washing his face, turned off the tap, and remembered that little essay from his WeChat Moments.
“That previous one,” Yun Ci said, “in your Moments, is it still there?”
Yu Xun paused.
He quickly realized which one Yun Ci was talking about.
“It’s there.”
He asked, “Want to see it?”
Yun Ci hummed in affirmation.
So before heading to the kitchen, Yu Xun handed his phone to him: “Password hasn’t changed, fingerprint is still there.”
Yun Ci reached out and took it.
This was the first time he used Yu Xun’s phone to look at his private account.
Yu Xun’s WeChat Moments hadn’t been updated. No matter how much Yun Ci refreshed over the past year, it was always a blank line.
However, when he accessed Yu Xun’s Moments with his account, he saw more than just that essay.
There were also two other self-talk entries, visible only to himself.
One read: “Happy birthday, Xiao Ci.”
Dated November 20th of last year.
His birthday.
Above that, closer in time, on January 29th, he posted: “Happy New Year.”
……
Yun Ci stared at these few entries for a long time.
His memory went back to that New Year’s Eve, when he looked at the fireworks in the night sky, wanting to send but not sending that “Happy New Year” message.
So that day, they had already wished each other a happy new year.
Yun Ci didn’t look any further or check other contents of Yu Xun’s personal account.
He turned off the screen, feeling his eyes warm under the sunlight from outside.
In the kitchen, Yu Xun made two simple sandwiches. While heating milk, Yun Ci returned the phone and suddenly said, “Let’s go public. Today.” Right now.
Yu Xun’s hand paused slightly as he took the phone, and without hesitation, he said, “Okay.”
“I’ve wanted to say it for a long time,” he added, “Why care about what others think?”
He meant those people from West High, including Liu Zi and Li Yan.
Regardless of their reactions, when you love someone, you want to openly tell the world that this person is yours.
So on this seemingly ordinary morning.
Yun Ci and Yu Xun, who rarely posted on WeChat Moments and had been silent for a long time, suddenly came back to life.
They updated their Moments simultaneously.
They posted the same photo of a dining table with two breakfasts.
Everyone on their friends list who was up early was shocked: [……What am I seeing?]
[What did I just see?]
[What are they doing?]
[Have they evolved to a kind of battle I don’t understand?]
[@Li Yan, @Liu Zi]
[Is it possible they both went to New Oriental Culinary School to learn cooking skills?]
If I could use emotes I would just constantly post the face holding back tears one. My babieeees please be happy