By the time Qiao Muyu stole another glance at Lu Zhen’s seat, it was already empty.
He hurriedly shoveled a few mouthfuls of rice, made an excuse about needing to buy stationery at the shop, and slipped away from Du Jingfei and Xu Rongcan.
Walking out of the noisy cafeteria, he found that twilight had settled over the campus. A thin crescent moon hung in the night sky, and the warm glow of streetlamps lined the school paths. Students strolled in pairs and trios, chatting and relaxing—a rare moment of leisure in their busy study schedules.
Qiao Muyu rounded the small flowerbed next to the cafeteria and headed for the campus convenience store.
Since it was dinner time, the shop was bustling. The aroma of instant noodles wafted through the air, and a long line waited at the checkout. Qiao Muyu spotted Lu Zhen at the very end of the line.
He crept up behind Lu Zhen’s right side, intending to play a small prank. He reached out to tap Lu Zhen’s left shoulder, but Lu Zhen happened to turn his head to the right, looking straight into Qiao Muyu’s mischievous eyes.
“Hey, why didn’t you fall for it?” Qiao Muyu asked, disappointed.
“I saw your shadow.”
As he spoke, Lu Zhen opened his palm to reveal two chocolate candies. “I looked around but couldn’t find any plum candy, so I bought these instead.”
Qiao Muyu hadn’t expected him to actually come buy candy. Being the “easy-to-please good boy” he claimed to be, he said, “It’s okay, I love these too.”
Before long, they paid and stepped out of the store. As they passed the entrance, Qiao Muyu saw a rotating sausage machine. The crispy sausages were roasted until their skins were slightly bursting, releasing a tempting aroma of oil and cumin. He couldn’t help but steal a few glances.
“Want one?” Lu Zhen asked.
Qiao Muyu, who hadn’t eaten much earlier due to Du Jingfei’s interrogation, was still hungry. He admitted, “A little, but never mind. The line is so long again, it’s a hassle.”
But Lu Zhen said, “It’s no trouble. Wait outside for a bit; I’ll go line up.”
Qiao Muyu suddenly felt the sensation of being pampered by a partner, which left him a bit flustered. He nodded, “Oh, okay.”
…
Across from the store was an open-air basketball court fenced off by netting. A group of boys were playing a game under the streetlights, surrounded by a few spectators cheering occasionally. The atmosphere was youthful and lively.
While watching the disorganized basketball game, Qiao Muyu leisurely waited for his post-dinner snack. A few minutes later, Lu Zhen approached him with two steaming sausages.
Just as Qiao Muyu reached out to take one, Lu Zhen stopped him. “Wait, it’s oily.”
He pulled a tissue from his pocket and carefully wrapped it around the bottom half of the bamboo skewer before handing it over. Qiao Muyu had never been looked after with such attention to detail in his life. He smiled, “Thanks. My boyfriend is so thoughtful.”
Lu Zhen raised an eyebrow. “I thought I was the ‘cousin’?”
“Mmph…!” Qiao Muyu happened to burn his tongue on the first bite. He stuck his tongue out, thinking: Does he have to be this petty?
As they ate, they strolled slowly toward the teaching building. Qiao Muyu peeked at Lu Zhen’s face. Seeing no obvious anger, he tested the waters: “Are you mad?”
“Not really,” Lu Zhen said.
Qiao Muyu understood. It wasn’t enough to be truly angry, but he was definitely annoyed.
“I only said that because I’m afraid we’ll get caught. We have to avoid suspicion, you know?”
Lu Zhen didn’t reply but stared straight ahead. Qiao Muyu followed his gaze and saw a couple leaning against the fence by the basketball court. The boy had his arm around the girl’s shoulder, whispering in her ear while she laughed shyly.
Wow, do campus couples not even bother hiding in the woods anymore? They’re just sticking together in broad daylight.
Qiao Muyu felt nervous for them. “How bold.”
Lu Zhen took a somber bite of his sausage and sighed like a resentful wife. “I’m jealous.”
Qiao Muyu: “…”
Hey, don’t make me look like some cold, heartless scumbag.
Qiao Muyu chewed on his skewer, feeling troubled. It was only the first day of dating; if Lu Zhen was already dissatisfied, it wasn’t a good sign. What if Lu Zhen thought he was too cowardly and broke up with him? How would his plan to distract Lu Zhen from studying work then?
It seemed a bit of proactive movement was necessary.
With that in mind, Qiao Muyu peeked around. It was dark, the streetlamps were dim, and visibility was low. There were very few people behind them. If they held hands secretly, they probably wouldn’t be seen.
Why not… give it a try?
He glanced at Lu Zhen’s hand hanging naturally at his side. After a few seconds of hesitation, he reached out. His fingers twitched, and he could almost feel the heat radiating from Lu Zhen’s skin across the few centimeters of air. Suddenly, a loud voice boomed from behind: “Yu-er!”
Qiao Muyu’s hand jerked in fright, and—SLAP—he accidentally smacked the back of Lu Zhen’s hand. The sound was incredibly crisp.
Lu Zhen, having been slapped for no apparent reason, turned to him with a look of utter confusion. “?”
Qiao Muyu didn’t have time to explain. He turned around to face the suddenly appearing Du Jingfei. “Haha, what a coincidence.”
Du Jingfei walked up. “Didn’t you head back ages ago? Why are you still here?”
“I…” Qiao Muyu bluffed, “I ate too much. My stomach feels a bit off, so I’m just wandering around to help digestion.”
“Stomach’s upset?” Du Jingfei asked with immediate concern. “Want some digestive tablets? My deskmate has some. I’ll go get them. You should go back and drink more hot water.”
“Got it, got it!” Qiao Muyu pushed him away. “Are you my mom? Stop worrying and go back!”
Once Du Jingfei was far away, Qiao Muyu apologized to Lu Zhen, feeling both awkward and amused. “I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to hit you. My bad. Does it hurt?”
“What do you think?” Lu Zhen had a row of metaphorical black lines on his forehead. “But why did you hit me? You scared me.”
Qiao Muyu hesitated for two seconds. Under Lu Zhen’s puzzled gaze, he lowered his head and gently hooked his finger into Lu Zhen’s. An electric current seemed to travel up his wrist. He felt Lu Zhen stiffen for a moment.
Lu Zhen didn’t pull away. He let Qiao Muyu’s slender fingers slide into his palm, then curled his own fingers to hold them tight.
“Actually, I wanted to do this earlier,” Qiao Muyu whispered.
His response was Lu Zhen firmly intertwining their fingers. Lu Zhen’s palm was dry and warm—almost hot. Where their skin touched, Qiao Muyu felt like he could feel the pulse thrumming beneath the thin skin.
Qiao Muyu was too embarrassed to look up, and Lu Zhen didn’t speak. The two of them just walked in the night, silently and tightly holding hands.
About thirty seconds later, two laughing students walked past. Fearing he’d be seen, Qiao Muyu instinctively tried to pull away, but Lu Zhen gripped him tighter. Qiao Muyu looked up to tell him to let go, but he bumped into a pair of dark, intense eyes.
Under the streetlamp, Lu Zhen’s features looked even more profound. If one could ignore his slightly reddened ears, he looked almost effortlessly seductive.
“Can we hold hands a little longer, please?” he said.
Qiao Muyu fell silent. After a moment, Adam’s apple bobbed. “…Ten more seconds.”
Lu Zhen bargained: “Thirty seconds.”
Qiao Muyu was amused by the request for an extra twenty seconds. “Is this all the ambition you have?”
“There’s more.” Lu Zhen, evidently an ambitious man, rubbed his thumb against the back of Qiao Muyu’s hand, sending a shiver of itchiness through him. “In the future, I want to sit with you during meals.”
Qiao Muyu choked. That was a difficult request. Setting aside whether the teachers would notice, Du Jingfei and Xu Rongcan would drown him in questions.
“That… might not work out.”
Lu Zhen didn’t speak, just stared at him with an “I knew it” expression of grievance.
“Can you pick a different request? I’ll agree to anything else.” Qiao Muyu swung their joined hands slightly, attempting a clumsy “spoiled” act. “Hmm? Big cousin? Brother Lu? Baby?”
Lu Zhen’s expression softened significantly. He changed his tune: “Then go on a date with me this weekend.”
Qiao Muyu’s heart stirred. “To that art exhibition you mentioned?”
“Mhm. Is that okay?”
A week ago, Qiao Muyu was making up lame excuses to refuse him. Now, he was more than happy to waste every second of Lu Zhen’s study time. He smiled and nodded, “Okay, let’s go on a date.”
…
While it was right to be cautious at school, avoiding Lu Zhen constantly wasn’t the result Qiao Muyu wanted. Otherwise, what was the point of dating?
He decided to use the time after school to flirt with Lu Zhen and disrupt his focus. That night, after showering, he grabbed his phone and sent a flirtatious message to his “scammed” boyfriend.
[Qiao Muyu]: [Your cutie suddenly appears.gif] [Qiao Muyu]: What is my baby doing?
The reply was almost instant.
[Lu Zhen]: Reading the love letter you wrote me.
Qiao Muyu smirked. Excellent. Successfully wasted five minutes of your life.
The next second, an image came through. Qiao Muyu opened it; Lu Zhen had taken a photo of the cartoon sketch on the envelope.
[Lu Zhen]: What does this mean? [Qiao Muyu]: It’s obvious. The little fish (Yu) is me, the pillow (Zhen) is you. It means I’m sticking to you.
He followed up with a GIF of two cats cuddling.
[Lu Zhen]: Oh. [Qiao Muyu]: What did you think it meant?
The “Typing…” notification appeared for a long time without a response.
[Qiao Muyu]: Baby, you’ve been typing for three minutes. [Qiao Muyu]: Are you planning to write an 800-word essay on a children’s illustration?
The other side finally gave up on being subtle.
[Lu Zhen]: Nothing. [Lu Zhen]: I thought it meant… you wanted to sleep with me.
Qiao Muyu: ???
He threw his phone onto the bed and buried his face in his actual pillow. Help! I was supposed to be the one flirting with him, so why did I get flustered first?! This wouldn’t do. He needed a “Guide to Seducing Guys” immediately!
He grabbed his phone and opened the browser. Just as he was about to type, his eyes were caught by the search history already there:
– How to write a good love letter? – Ten tips for writing a love letter – Five steps to writing an irresistible, god-tier love letter! …
Looking at these familiar search terms, Qiao Muyu’s brain stalled. He exited and refreshed, checking the phone over and over to make sure it was the one Lu Zhen had given him.
Why would Lu Zhen search for these things? Unless…
An idea surfaced in his mind. He went back to the chat and asked directly.
[Qiao Muyu]: Did you write a love letter for me too? [Lu Zhen]: How did you know?
Qiao Muyu sent a screenshot of the search history.
[Lu Zhen]: Oh. I hadn’t written one before. It was harder than I thought, so I searched for a tutorial. [Lu Zhen]: I was planning to finish it and give it to you in a few days. I didn’t expect… [Qiao Muyu]: Didn’t expect what?
There was a long pause before a new message popped up.
[Lu Zhen]: That you would confess first.
Qiao Muyu was speechless. “…”
Damn! What a loss! I walked right into the trap myself! If he had known, he would have let the guy suffer through his crush for a few more days.
A “dating rookie,” Qiao Muyu recorded a line in his mental diary: Sometimes, being too proactive isn’t a good thing. ORZ.