After the psychology class ended in the afternoon, Fu Xingran was just about to go find Su Lixu when he was called back by He Shi.
“Come to my office.” He Shi closed his book and looked at the tall boy standing up in the back row of the classroom with a calm gaze. “I mean you, Fu Xingran.” With that, he turned and walked out of the classroom first.
“Professor, I have something to do later,” Fu Xingran said.
He Shi paused in his steps, turning his side profile to meet Fu Xingran’s eyes. Seeing that this fellow still had a dismissive attitude toward this course, he thought him a truly self-righteous fellow. “You don’t have to come, and you don’t need to attend my class next time either. You can skip getting this degree, which will save you the trouble of carving time out of your busy schedule to sit through my lectures.”
After saying that, he walked out of the classroom.
Fu Xingran watched He Shi’s departing back, the look in his eyes deepening.
This man had carried Su Lixu on his back.
He had been to Su Lixu’s home.
He had touched Su Lixu.
In He Shi’s Office
“Tell me, if you’re not going to attend my class, why did you register for it? If you have no heart for studying, I advise you to drop it and leave this spot for someone else. Many people want me to be their undergraduate advisor, yet it had to be you. If you were actually studying, that would be one thing, but you aren’t.” He Shi put away the humorous and witty demeanor he had in the classroom, leaning against his desk as he looked at the expressionless Fu Xingran. “I’m not a teacher bound by the nine-year compulsory education system.”
“I only studied psychology because of Su Lixu,” Fu Xingran said bluntly.
He Shi let out a laugh. “What?”
Fu Xingran continued, “I like him, so I wanted to study psychology so that we would have a common language. But in reality, I don’t like psychology; I only studied it because of him. I didn’t expect to run into Professor He and make you my advisor, and I am very sorry for that.”
Listening to this fellow’s impossibly arrogant tone, He Shi wondered how Su Lixu put up with him. “Fu Xingran, love me, love my dog is not the attitude you’re showing.”
“If the professor feels my attitude is poor, you can reject me, but I will still study it,” Fu Xingran said. “I want to learn so that I can get closer to the person I like.”
Hearing him repeat the word like over and over grated on He Shi’s nerves. Lately, the frequency of Fu Xingran’s name appearing around him had been far too high, especially on Su Lixu’s lips.
“So, Professor, whether you think my study attitude is poor, or whether you dislike me because I like Su Lixu, the fact that I like Su Lixu and everything I do because of him, I will not deny any of it.” Fu Xingran didn’t want to waste time here. He knew what he was doing. With that, he bowed to He Shi. “Troubling the professor to worry, I still have a date with Teacher Su shortly, so I’ll be leaving first.”
He turned and walked away.
Just like when He Shi called out his name in front of everyone in the classroom earlier, he walked out the door without a second of hesitation.
He Shi thought to himself that he was actually pissed off.
What did he mean by targeting him just because he likes Su Lixu?
This fellow really had too much personality.
And he was sharp, too.
So this was the boy Su Lixu couldn’t let go of. He truly had a personality very similar to Su Liyang.
Fu Xingran first went to Su Lixu’s psychological counseling clinic, only to find that there was no one left inside. He immediately took out his phone and messaged Su Lixu to ask where he was.
Tonight, he absolutely had to make Su Lixu go to his place. He couldn’t wait any longer.
Leaning against the wall outside the counseling clinic, he clutched his phone and anxiously waited for Su Lixu’s reply. A few minutes later, a notification popped up.
[I’m at Sam’s Club buying ingredients to make a cake for you. Do you still want to eat donuts?]
The moment he read the reply, joy spread across his brows, and he quickly typed back:
[I do! I’m coming to find you right now.]
Without wasting a second, he headed straight to the parking lot.
Over at Sam’s Club, Su Lixu hadn’t seen Fu Xingran’s text at checkout. By the time he noticed it, ten minutes had already passed, meaning Fu Xingran might already be on his way.
As he pushed his cart toward the escalator to head down to the basement floor, he suddenly heard a shout from behind.
“Brother!”
He stopped in his tracks and turned around in surprise.
Sam’s Club was very large, and there were a lot of people at this hour. Right there amidst the crowd, Fu Xingran stood not far away, tall, handsome, and smiling brightly as he waved. He was an eye-catching, dazzling presence that grabbed your attention instantly.
Su Lixu was dazed for a fleeting second, but quickly came to his senses.
Fu Xingran ran right up to Su Lixu and smoothly took over the shopping cart.
“How did you find me?” Su Lixu asked, somewhat surprised. They had just finished messaging not long ago; he couldn’t believe Fu Xingran had arrived so fast and even managed to track him down. Seeing the careful way Fu Xingran took over the cart, his heart couldn’t help but stir.
He had improved a lot.
Fu Xingran’s gaze never left Su Lixu. “I knew I’d find you no matter what.”
Hearing such a confident statement from Fu Xingran, Su Lixu chuckled. “Is that so?”
He was also much more confident than before; that was the most obvious change of all.
“Of course.” Seeing Su Lixu smile, Fu Xingran’s bad mood from being summoned by He Shi vanished in an instant. “Because the only person in my eyes is you.”
Su Lixu was momentarily left speechless and gave him a suspicious look.
Fu Xingran, however, just smiled with complete composure.
Su Lixu was left speechless.
Returning to Romance, Su Lixu had Fu Xingran come over to his apartment first.
“Today is your birthday, so I’ll cook you something good. Can you help me prep?” Su Lixu placed his car keys on the shoe cabinet and bent down to take off his shoes.
Fu Xingran’s gaze landed on Su Lixu’s slender waist, outlined by his casual suit trousers as he bent over, and the curve wrapped by the fabric. He then watched as Su Lixu unhooked a shoe with one hand and slipped off his sock, revealing a fair ankle. The combination of it all was an absolute sniper shot straight to his preferences.
His Adam’s apple bobbed as his mind uncontrollably conjured up more images.
“I can.” He could even help Su Lixu put on an apron.
Then, he noticed Su Lixu getting ready to step onto the floor barefoot again.
Su Lixu was used to walking on the wooden floors barefoot. Just as he was about to step into the apartment, his ankles were caught by a pair of hands. He froze, looked down, and collided directly with Fu Xingran’s ink-black eyes as the younger man crouched before him.
Why was this guy doing this again?
“Didn’t I tell you not to go barefoot? It’s easy to catch a cold,” Fu Xingran said, taking a pair of slippers from the cabinet and putting them on Su Lixu’s feet. He then slipped into another pair that was identical to Su Lixu’s, and finally stood up with a satisfied expression. “There, all done.”
Su Lixu was left between laughter and tears. “Okay, thank you.”
He wanted to pick up the shopping bags, but Fu Xingran beat him to it.
“I’ve got them.” Moving faster than anyone else, Fu Xingran picked up all the bags and carried them straight into the kitchen.
Watching Fu Xingran’s retreating figure as he walked into the kitchen, Su Lixu couldn’t help but sigh inwardly. Even though Fu Xingran’s borderline personality disorder was difficult to fully cure, his progress was visible to the naked eye.
Although he learned from Mr. Fu that Fu Xingran hadn’t seen a doctor over the years, for patients with borderline personality disorder, companionship was sometimes much more effective than medication and psychotherapy.
Or perhaps it was the person Fu Xingran liked who had helped him.
The best psychologist in the world is none other than a patient and gentle lover.
That person must be very good to Fu Xingran.
Lowering his gaze, he tucked away all his thoughts.
In the open-plan kitchen, Fu Xingran felt that tonight had already fulfilled many of his fantasies.
He helped Su Lixu put on the apron once more, watching the person he loved make the desserts he liked in order to celebrate his birthday. As Su Lixu bent over to carefully draw a pattern on his cake, his handsome and tranquil profile made Fu Xingran’s heart race.
Unable to help himself, he leaned in closer.
“Can you help me grab that water?” Su Lixu was piping cream and looked up, wanting to ask Fu Xingran to hand him some fruit, when he was caught completely off guard by Fu Xingran being right in front of him. His heart skipped a beat, and the piping bag in his hand forcefully squeezed a dollop of cream right onto Fu Xingran’s face.
Fu Xingran was caught off guard as well, getting a face full of cream that landed on his lips and even stained his clothes. Clearly, he was also startled for a second by Su Lixu’s action, but upon tasting the milky sweetness on his lips, he instinctively licked them.
As he licked his lips, his eyes locked onto Su Lixu.
This sight was entirely too evocative, not to mention the fact that Fu Xingran had just eaten the cream right off his own lip line.
“I’m sorry, I wasn’t paying attention.” Su Lixu froze for a few seconds before snapping back to reality. He quickly dropped the piping bag, intending to wipe the cream off Fu Xingran.
Fu Xingran grabbed his wrist, pinning his hand in place. “It’s fine. I’ll go back and take a shower, then I’ll be right over.”
“Oh, okay.” Su Lixu tried to pull his hand back, only to find he couldn’t break free. He gave Fu Xingran a puzzled look.
Fu Xingran smiled nonchalantly and let go of his hand. “See you in a bit.”
With that, he headed back toward his own apartment.
Once he turned around, safely out of Su Lixu’s line of sight, he used his index finger to wipe the cream off his face and popped it into his mouth.
Ready to eat.
Su Lixu found himself completely speechless.
What kind of unnamable, subtle feeling was this again?
The apartment floor had a layout of two apartments per elevator lobby, and it didn’t really matter whether the two front doors were left open since nobody could come up without a key card anyway.
“Bro! Can you help me grab my clothes? I forgot to take them!”
Just as Su Lixu finished decorating the cake, he heard Fu Xingran’s voice calling out from next door. Although it wasn’t crystal clear, he could still make it out. This guy actually hadn’t closed his front door.
Sighing helplessly, how could someone forget to grab their clothes just from taking a shower?
Walking into Fu Xingran’s apartment next door, the interior was spacious, bright, and had the exact same layout as his own.
“Where are your clothes?” Su Lixu asked, walking up to the bathroom door.
“In the walk-in closet.”
Su Lixu headed toward the room with the half-ajar door nearby, assuming it was the walk-in closet since that was where it was located in his apartment.
The moment he pushed that half-open door wide, his mind went completely blank.
The walls inside the room were covered entirely with photographs of him, taken during consultations, during lectures, while shopping, and all of them recent.
And there was that oil painting.
The oil painting depicted a man straddling a chair, his hands restrained by a stethoscope, with a white lab coat half-slipped off and hanging over the crooks of his arms. It was painted with exquisite detail; even the fine sweat pooling along the man’s shoulder blades was meticulously captured.
The man’s suppressed expression in the painting, the taut lines of his body due to the restraint, every single detail was exceptionally vivid, as if one could experience it firsthand just by looking at the canvas.
If that wasn’t him, who else could it be?
His heart hammered violently, sending shockwaves through his eardrums.
“Ah, you found out, huh?”
A voice full of amusement and light reproach came from behind him.
He slowly turned around.
Fu Xingran, wearing only a bathrobe, stood behind him. Water droplets dripped from his damp hair, sliding down his chest. The milk-white skin and muscle lines were clearly visible, and the tattoo right over his left chest was on full display.
Blatant and out in the open, bearing the initials SLX.
Su Lixu’s pupils constricted. In that single instant, he finally understood everything.
Fu Xingran leisurely tied the belt of his bathrobe, smiling brilliantly. The amusement in his eyes didn’t look like the censure of someone whose secret had been exposed; rather, it was the excitement of a long-conceived plan finally coming to light.
“You’ve finally found out, Brother. There’s no running away now.”