Male College Student
When the alarm went off, Zhao Ci was in the bathroom, lifting his T-shirt and blushing as he looked at his upper body in the mirror. He felt a wave of shame and speechlessness.
Zhao Ci was born intersex, with both male and female characteristics, but he always considered himself a man.
Surgery was an option, but he was frail and often ill as a child, so it was postponed until he was thirteen or fourteen. When his parents wanted to take him abroad for the surgery, he was too embarrassed and refused to go.
He also felt that having an extra feature made no difference and didn’t affect him at all.
However, after finishing the college entrance exams this summer, at eighteen, he was horrified to discover that the area that should have been flat for a man had reached a point where he had to wear a jacket.
Now, having surgery was even more out of the question.
Zhao Ci couldn’t help but ask aloud, “System, can you help me go back to how I was before…?”
An electronic voice echoed in his mind: [I can’t, but I can help suppress the growth.]
Zhao Ci nodded eagerly. “Okay.”
Once the system confirmed it was done, even though there was no immediate effect, Zhao Ci still breathed a sigh of relief. He left the bathroom, turned off the still-ringing alarm clock, put on his jacket, and headed out with his backpack.
He had a task to complete…
The voice he had just spoken with belonged to the “cannon fodder system.” Two days ago, he had a car accident, and when he woke up, he found himself in an endless black space. The system told him he was a cannon fodder character in several novels.
The world he now lived in was that of a novel called “My Junior Is Super Sweet,” a story with one bottom and many tops.
He was the foolish supporting character who coveted the three lead tops.
If he wanted to be revived, he had to obediently follow the plot.
Zhao Ci felt extremely embarrassed. Among the three lead tops, he didn’t know one, but he knew the other two: one was the older brother he had grown up with, Pei Mingjing, and the other was his fake brother-in-law.
Especially Pei Mingjing: even though they weren’t related by blood or on the same household register, they had grown up together like brothers.
And his first task was Pei Mingjing.
Pei Mingjing’s house was right next door. Zhao Ci entered the password to open the door. The August sun was glaring and scorching. After closing the iron gate, he jogged towards the main entrance.
The door was open, and as soon as he stepped inside, he saw Pei Mingjing coming down the spiral staircase.
It seemed he had just returned from outside.
He wore a moon-white shirt, gray trousers, and a pair of frameless square glasses perched on his high nose bridge.
This ascetic look would surely have the girls at school screaming with excitement again.
“…Brother Mingjing.” Because of what happened yesterday, Zhao Ci felt a bit guilty facing Pei Mingjing.
Pei Mingjing nodded, his fingers, with their distinct knuckles, holding a clear glass cup. He walked to the kitchen, opened the fridge, and took out a box of ice cubes, dropping a few into the glass.
“Do you want some?” His voice was as cool and indifferent as his demeanor.
Zhao Ci nodded. “Yes.” Auntie Aorong wasn’t home, and Pei Mingjing seemed to have just returned. The air conditioning in the living room was off.
It was at least 38°C today, and he was wearing long pants and a jacket. The fabric clung to his skin, making him feel stiflingly hot.
Pei Mingjing clearly noticed, opened the cabinet of neatly arranged glass cups, and took one out. “Why are you dressed so warmly?”
Zhao Ci unconsciously pursed his full lips. In the book, he wasn’t intersex, but he had dressed like this to come to Pei Mingjing’s house today… He hesitated and said, “Because, because I have skin hunger. If I don’t dress like this, I’ll really want a man…”
Pei Mingjing paused in the middle of dropping ice cubes into Zhao Ci’s glass, raising his eyes to look at him calmly.
Zhao Ci immediately lowered his head, his pale cheeks seemingly stained with freshly squeezed pomegranate juice.
The air was silent for a while before Zhao Ci heard the sound of ice cubes being dropped again.
He stood there awkwardly, catching a glimpse of the finished glass. He went over to take it, took a sip of the lemon-infused water, and asked softly, “Brother Mingjing, did you go to the company?”
Pei Mingjing was the same age as him and had been interested in finance and stocks from a young age. After the college entrance exams, he partnered with a relative who had just graduated from university to start a finance company. Zhao Ci didn’t really understand what they did.
Pei Mingjing replied, “Yes.” He seemed a bit cold, which was unusual for him.
Zhao Ci knew that Pei Mingjing was angry.
He had started his task yesterday. In the book, he had lusted after Brother Mingjing’s body… He lied to Brother Mingjing, claiming he had skin hunger to get close to him.
But Pei Mingjing was too smart not to see through his ploy.
Although neither had spelled it out, both of them knew exactly what was going on.
Today, he was using the excuse of asking Brother Mingjing to help him with English tutoring to get close to him.
Zhao Ci suffered in silence, unsure of what to say, and quietly followed Pei Mingjing upstairs.
On the second floor, Pei Mingjing said, “Wait in the study. I’ll go change my clothes.”
System: [To Zhao Ci’s ears, Pei Mingjing changing clothes after returning from outside meant taking a shower. Zhao Ci was itching to act; once Pei Mingjing was just about in the bathroom, he turned the doorknob.]
“…” Zhao Ci’s ears turned red instantly. Was there something wrong with the character in the book? He couldn’t help but take two steps forward.
His initial intention was to go downstairs, but then Pei Mingjing shot him a sharp look.
Zhao Ci awkwardly watched the bedroom door close, then heard the sound of a lock clicking.
Zhao Ci was stunned. What was this? After a moment, he tried to turn the doorknob. The door was locked!
Zhao Ci breathed a sigh of relief. With this plot cut off, he didn’t have to continue.
He carried his backpack, feeling a lingering sense of unease, and went to the study. At the same time, a worry flashed through his mind. Brother Mingjing’s attitude… Sigh, reporting this to his parents was a minor issue, but damaging their brotherly bond was a major one.
Zhao Ci waited in the study, but even after a long time, Pei Mingjing still hadn’t come.
He had forgotten to bring his phone, and the book he brought was English, a subject he disliked. If he hadn’t been an art student, he certainly couldn’t have gotten into A University like Brother Mingjing.
The books on the shelf were all beyond Zhao Ci’s comprehension. He didn’t dare go and see what Pei Mingjing was doing and wished Pei Mingjing wouldn’t come so he wouldn’t have to follow the plot.
Feeling bored, Zhao Ci started drawing in his notebook. Over the past two days, he hadn’t slept well because of his role as cannon fodder and the issue of his growing chest. As he drew, he became drowsy, yawned, and eventually laid his head on the desk to sleep.
In the bedroom, Pei Mingjing sat on the sofa, working on some data files. Occasionally, he glanced at the time, noting that it had been almost an hour, and thought of Zhao Ci in the study.
He hadn’t heard the sound of the door opening, so he assumed Zhao Ci hadn’t left.
Pei Mingjing frowned, then sighed lightly. He closed his laptop, took it out of the bedroom, and entered the study, where he saw Zhao Ci sleeping on the desk, his face flushed with a light pink hue.
Pei Mingjing quietly exited, fetched a piece of clothing, and when he re-entered the study, he was greeted by a faint, sweet milk scent.
The only greenery in the study was a fiddle-leaf fig in the corner, so there was no need to guess; he knew it was Zhao Ci’s natural scent.
Pei Mingjing had always known that this younger brother had a natural body scent. It used to be faint, only noticeable up close.
Now, it seemed stronger?
Pei Mingjing approached Zhao Ci, gently draping the clothing over him, trying not to wake him to avoid any more antics.
Yet Zhao Ci still jolted awake, his black eyes hazy. “Ming… Brother Mingjing.”
“…” Pei Mingjing didn’t speak, his gaze flicked aside as he sat next to him, picking up his English textbook. “Let’s start.”
Huh? Zhao Ci was bewildered, only realizing after a moment. Studying English right after waking up?
Zhao Ci quickly said, “Brother Mingjing, no, let’s rest a bit first…” His voice was soft and drowsy from just waking up.
Pei Mingjing caught sight of his endearing, sleepy look and suppressed a smile, maintaining a neutral expression. “Haven’t you rested long enough? If you don’t want to study, go home.”
Zhao Ci was at a loss for words and could only steel himself, opening his notebook and picking up a pen with a wronged look.
Seeing this, Pei Mingjing felt both speechless and a bit angry. He had suspected Zhao Ci’s intentions when Zhao Ci brought up Auntie Xinlan last night and asked to study his least favorite subject, English, with him. But he didn’t want to believe it.
Now it seemed to be true.
Meanwhile, Zhao Ci’s side.
System: [During the study session, Zhao Ci, whose mind was not on the lesson, was restless and couldn’t resist touching Pei Mingjing’s clean, white fingers pointing at the sentences.]
Zhao Ci felt at ease. Compared to other things, touching a hand was simple, especially since they were both male.
System: [To maintain the pretense of skin hunger, after touching, he let out a seductive sigh, “Mmm, comfortable.”]!