“…” Zhao Ci quickly lowered the hand he had been about to raise, feeling extremely embarrassed. His cheeks burned as if on fire. Did the version of him in the book really have to be… so strange?
No wonder he was only the foolish cannon fodder who served as a foil for the lead bottom. Who would ever like someone like that?
“Xiaoci, focus,” Pei Mingjing said, noticing Zhao Ci’s distraction. Even though Zhao Ci’s motives for seeking tutoring were likely less than pure, Pei Mingjing still wanted him to study seriously. Otherwise, he wouldn’t even pass the college English exams.
Zhao Ci blushed and nodded haphazardly.
Pei Mingjing glanced at Zhao Ci’s flushed face and then at his clothes. He hesitated, wanting to suggest Zhao Ci take off his jacket, but he didn’t want to give him an excuse to bring up his so-called skin hunger.
Pei Mingjing found the air conditioner remote, lowered the temperature, and pointed at the problem they’d been working on. “This question’s grammar…”
Zhao Ci’s thoughts were all over the place. He nervously fidgeted with his fingers until the system prompted him. With a flushed face, he softly said, “Brother Mingjing, please don’t hate me…”
After speaking, Zhao Ci raised his hand and touched Pei Mingjing’s fingers. Under Pei Mingjing’s puzzled gaze, Zhao Ci trembled, his long eyelashes fluttering as he parted his lips in embarrassment. “Mmm.”
“Brother Mingjing, it feels so good.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Zhao Ci wished he could disappear on the spot. He didn’t dare to look at Pei Mingjing’s expression.
After who knew how long, just as Zhao Ci’s anxiety peaked, he finally heard Pei Mingjing’s calm voice say, “If you want to study, do it seriously. If not, just go home.”
There was a sense of an impending storm. Zhao Ci, anxious and afraid to look up, whispered, “…I’ll study.”
He still had to follow the plot…
In the book, after Zhao Ci acted like this, Pei Mingjing coldly scolded him and told him to leave. The book’s Zhao Ci was shameless and angry, refusing to leave. After studying diligently for over an hour, he started acting up again.
During that hour, Zhao Ci felt like he was sitting on pins and needles. He couldn’t concentrate on studying, and the atmosphere hadn’t improved since the earlier incident.
Pei Mingjing assigned him some problems to solve there, planning to check them in twenty minutes.
Zhao Ci looked at the problems in frustration. He couldn’t solve them at all. For some reason, he just couldn’t learn or understand English.
When Zhao Ci was young, his parents were busy with work, so his grandma took care of him. In her time, the foreign language taught was Russian, so Zhao Ci, having grown up hearing it, could speak fluent Russian.
A few minutes later, Pei Mingjing, who had been keeping an eye on him while doing his own work, frowned. “You can’t do any of them?”
Zhao Ci felt embarrassed, too ashamed to nod.
At this moment.
System: [Zhao Ci noticed Pei Mingjing’s anger had subsided, and his thoughts became active again. For now, if Pei Mingjing disliked him, so be it. Zhao Ci’s goal was simple: to completely change the previous relationship between him and Pei Mingjing.
So he pointed at a problem, not handing over the notebook. When Pei Mingjing leaned in to look at the problem, Zhao Ci took the opportunity to kiss him on the cheek.]
Zhao Ci’s heart raced. At any other time, even if they were both men, a kiss on the cheek wouldn’t be unusual.
But in this setting… Zhao Ci instinctively glanced at Pei Mingjing, who was waiting for his answer, then quickly averted his gaze, gripping his pen tightly. He pointed at a problem and whispered, “This one…”
Pei Mingjing waited a moment, and when Zhao Ci didn’t hand over the notebook, he had no choice but to lean in.
Suddenly, Zhao Ci turned his head and kissed Pei Mingjing on the cheek, then quickly turned back, lowering his head. Even without looking, he could feel the oppressive atmosphere.
With a loud “bang,” the table was slapped.
Zhao Ci flinched, his face turning bright red. He didn’t dare to look up and weakly said, “Brother Mingjing, I’m sorry…”
Pei Mingjing’s voice was icy. “Time and again, and you still remember that you call me brother?”
Zhao Ci’s nose stung with the threat of tears. He didn’t want this either… Just like in the book, he argued, “We’re not even blood-related…”
“And that makes it okay?” Pei Mingjing found him utterly unreasonable.
He felt he needed to give Zhao Ci a stern lesson, but looking at Zhao Ci’s originally pale face and ears now tinged with red, and his delicate fingers fidgeting, he couldn’t bring himself to do it.
Finally, Pei Mingjing said, “I don’t have those kinds of feelings for you.”
Zhao Ci looked at his fingertips, which had turned pink from his grip, and didn’t plan to respond.
System: [Zhao Ci was frustrated. Am I not attractive?]
Why was there still a plot to follow? Zhao Ci suppressed his discomfort and said, “…Am I not attractive?”
“Xiaoci, don’t play dumb,” Pei Mingjing said sternly. “Setting everything else aside, have you forgotten we’re both men?”
To be fair, Zhao Ci was attractive. His skin was like fresh milk, visibly tender, and his features were so exquisite that there wasn’t a single flaw. His lips were naturally red, and his brows were naturally dark.
Rather than the usual words used to praise men like “handsome” or “dashing,” the word “beautiful” suited Zhao Ci better.
Especially his eyes, with long, thick lashes and irises of pure black.
Like a young deer, clear and pure.
But was that really the issue here?
Zhao Ci remained silent again, his cheeks turning another shade of red, even the corners of his eyes reddening, as if he were about to cry.
Seeing this, all of Pei Mingjing’s anger dissipated. He wanted to comfort Zhao Ci but knew he couldn’t be soft-hearted now. He took Zhao Ci’s notebook and pen, writing out the methods in detail, intending for Zhao Ci to take them home and work it out himself.
Suddenly, Zhao Ci spoke up. If it hadn’t been so quiet, his voice might not have been heard at all.
He said, “What’s wrong with being a man? Men are fine too…”
“Men, men are made of water too…”
“If you don’t believe me.”
“I-I’ll prove it to you?”