This time, in the eyes of the other students, and even in his own—Xie Wenxing had completely fallen out with Xu Huai’an.
Bad news travels fast.
Before the morning was even over, the story of Xie Wenxing vomiting on Xu Huai’an’s foot had spread far and wide.
In the eyes of the other students, Xie Wenxing had thoroughly offended Xu Huai’an.
Although Xu Huai’an couldn’t have cared less, it was no exaggeration to say that many people in the school were his obsessive fans. There had once been someone who, because of their infatuation with Xu Huai’an, clung to him relentlessly, causing him considerable trouble. While others were speculating about what Xu Huai’an would do, that person stopped coming to school just a few days later.
When a classmate asked the homeroom teacher about it, they were told that the person had gone abroad to study.
Although that person wasn’t the heir to a massive fortune, their family background was far from ordinary, they were at least from an upper-class family. Many suspected that Xu Huai’an had something to do with the outcome.
Gradually, even those who admired Xu Huai’an dared not pester him anymore. And since Xu Huai’an had never shown special treatment to anyone, over time, people came to realize that, at least before university, Xu Huai’an wasn’t going to fall for anyone.
Although Xie Wenxing’s situation was different from that person’s, the essence was the same: he had offended Xu Huai’an.
They were curious, some even a little expectant.
Would Xu Huai’an make a move this time? And if he did, how would he deal with him?
Xie Wenxing had no idea that, in the eyes of others, the grudge between them was already a done deal.
By the afternoon, Xie Wenxing remained gloomy. Earlier, he had been so restless, constantly sneaking glances at Xu Huai’an under various pretenses.
Now, he was so terrified that he didn’t dare turn his head. His delicate, fair face was clouded with worry.
Song Yuan couldn’t stand it anymore. After racking his brains, he finally came up with a way to comfort his friend.
That evening, when they returned to the dormitory, Xie Wenxing had just sat down when Song Yuan called out to him.
“Xingxing, you’re upset.”
Xie Wenxing twitched the corner of his mouth, wasn’t that obvious?
Song Yuan realized he had stated the obvious and didn’t dwell on it, immediately getting to the point.
“Are you still upset about what happened this morning? Actually, Xu Huai’an might not have been talking about you back then.”
Huh? What does he mean?
Xie Wenxing leaned in slightly, a glimmer of faint hope lighting up his eyes.
“You didn’t see this, but after you left, Chen Yun came out spouting nonsense, and Xu Huai’an directly told her, ‘So annoying.'”
Song Yuan racked his limited brain cells as hard as he could. “Do you think it’s possible that Xu Huai’an was annoyed by the other students chattering away? Like, maybe he wasn’t necessarily talking about you.”
His childhood friend had been listlessly hanging his head, which really broke Song Yuan’s heart.
After being comforted, Xie Wenxing felt a little better, but he was still quite worried about whether Xu Huai’an was angry.
Xie Wenxing wasn’t really into sneakers, but his brother Xie Wenliang followed that sort of thing.
Maybe, if he apologized to Xu Huai’an, could he get him to stop disliking him?
No sooner thought than done. Xie Wenxing only mulled it over briefly before he had an idea.
He shot up from his seat and had barely pulled open the dormitory door when he moved so fast Song Yuan almost didn’t react.
Song Yuan glanced at the time. “Xingxing, it’s already this late. Where are you going?”
It was already past 10 o’clock, just about time to sleep.
Xie Wenxing, having thought of a way to appease Xu Huai’an, felt his spirits lift again. He waved his hand. “Nowhere special. Oh, do you know which dormitory Xu Huai’an stays in?”
Song Yuan was speechless. “How would I know?”
Xie Wenxing’s shoulders immediately slumped in defeat.
Song Yuan added, “But I can ask.”
He opened his chat with Zhou Yuan on WeChat. Ever since they played games together over the weekend, the two had added each other and often teamed up for matches.
Before long, Song Yuan had found out Xu Huai’an’s dormitory room number.
Xie Wenxing immediately rushed off toward his dorm.
A few minutes later, Xie Wenxing stood at the door, his heart pounding with anxiety.
After taking a few deep breaths, he raised his hand and knocked on the door.
The door opened quickly.
It was Zhou Yuan who answered. Seeing Xie Wenxing, he raised an eyebrow in surprise. “What’s up?”
Xie Wenxing was a little disappointed that it wasn’t Xu Huai’an who answered. “Um, can I come in and talk?”
Zhou Yuan stepped aside to let him in. “Come in. You’re looking for Brother Huai? He’s taking a shower.”
Xie Wenxing had already noticed that without being told.
The sound of running water came from the bathroom. Xie Wenxing glanced over, then forcefully turned his neck back, not daring to look again.
Yet the silhouette reflected on the glass door lingered in his mind.
He closed his eyes, then opened them again.
He quickly found what he was looking for.
Zhou Yuan was already back on his bed, and on the other side was Xu Huai’an’s.
Unlike Xie Wenxing had imagined, Xu Huai’an seemed to be a minimalist.
On the desk sat just a few books and stationery. The bed was made with simple gray sheets, neat and tidy, and beside it stood a wardrobe.
Xie Wenxing’s eyes were practically glued to the wardrobe.
Ah, I just want to pounce on his bed and roll around. Wuwu, I also want to open the wardrobe and wear his clothes…
Xie Wenxing exerted tremendous effort to suppress the urge to pull open the wardrobe door.
He forcibly averted his gaze and finally spotted his target.
Against the wall stood a shoe rack with a row of sneakers.
Zhou Yuan was lying on his bed, already in the middle of a game, playing with great enthusiasm. Occasionally, a few curse words slipped out, and he paid no attention to Xie Wenxing at all.
Xie Wenxing seized this opportunity to walk over and sneak a look at Xu Huai’an’s shoe size.
Mm, size 43, so big!
Unlike him, whose feet were only a size 39, too small, not imposing at all.
If he stepped on Xu Huai’an’s feet, would his own be completely covered?
Xie Wenxing couldn’t help but imagine the scene, his foot pressing down on Xu Huai’an’s instep, their toes overlapping…
He bit his lip, his cheeks growing warm.
Having gotten the information he wanted, Xie Wenxing knew it was time to leave.
He wasn’t ready to face Xu Huai’an yet.
But the moment he turned around, his heart nearly leaped out of his chest.
Xu Huai’an had somehow stepped out of the bathroom without making a sound. What made it worse was that he was only wearing a thin pair of black athletic shorts.
Xu Huai’an’s skin was fair, and a large expanse of his white chest and abdomen was on full display. The slightly pronounced muscles of his chest looked incredibly springy.
His abdominal muscles were sharply defined, one, two, three, four, five, six, six neat rows of them. Beside the V-line, prominent veins disappeared into the waistband of his shorts.
Xie Wenxing rubbed his fingers against his pants.
Those veins look so tempting… I really want to touch them.
He was practically biting through his lip. He hadn’t intended to run into Xu Huai’an tonight at all, he had just been so engrossed earlier that he lost track of time.
And maybe it was his imagination, but why did he feel like Xu Huai’an was looking at his lips right now?
Unable to help himself, Xie Wenxing licked them again.
It was Zhou Yuan who finally broke the silence. “Fuck, lost again. That’s four losses in a row. Did these teammates get kicked in the head by a donkey? Can’t even handle basic moves. I’m so done.”
Xie Wenxing had completely forgotten Zhou Yuan existed just moments ago, as if the whole world had shrunk down to just him and Xu Huai’an.
So when Zhou Yuan suddenly spoke, it startled Xie Wenxing back to reality. He immediately turned to Xu Huai’an and blurted out, “Sorry, um, I… this morning, I didn’t do it on purpose.”
He stammered through his words, unable to express himself clearly. Xu Huai’an didn’t respond, simply watching him quietly.
Xie Wenxing’s eyes seemed to be burned by the sight of his chest; he held his chin high, not daring to look down any further.
He was worried his nose might start bleeding, then there would be no explaining himself.
All nerve, no courage, a total scaredy-cat.
Xu Huai’an glanced at him indifferently. “Yeah.”
Just “yeah”, what did that even mean?
Xie Wenxing couldn’t figure it out, and he didn’t have the mental capacity to try anymore.
His body grew hot from the thoughts running through his mind, and the overwhelming embarrassment made it impossible for him to stay any longer. It was as if nails were pricking the soles of his feet, he couldn’t bear to remain for another second.
“Uh, I just came to tell you that. So, um, yeah, I’m leaving now.”
Flustered, he turned to leave, but with his chin still raised and his eyes not looking at the floor, he very clumsily tripped over something.
A small cry escaped Xie Wenxing: “Ah!”
He immediately braced himself to hit the wall.
He instinctively squeezed his eyes shut. Please, please don’t let me land on my face.
But the expected pain never came. Xie Wenxing let out a confused “Huh?” and opened his eyes to find a fair, clean chest right in front of him.
He even felt like his nose had brushed against Xu Huai’an’s pectoral muscle.
It really did seem quite springy. And there, the color there was surprisingly light.
A wave of heat mixed with a faint hint of minty freshness swept over Xie Wenxing’s senses like a storm, completely overwhelming him.
His brain shut down for a full minute.
He swallowed hard. “Th-thanks.”
He tried to pull away from Xu Huai’an, but the moment he moved, a bigger problem made itself known.
Xie Wenxing had already showered. When he came over, he had been wearing slippers. Somehow, when he fell earlier, both slippers had slipped off. Now, just as he had imagined earlier, he was standing on Xu Huai’an’s feet.
His soft soles pressed against the top of Xu Huai’an’s feet, separated only by the slippers, their faint blue veins slightly raised.
For a moment, Xie Wenxing felt a twinge of regret, if only Xu Huai’an hadn’t been wearing slippers.
Suddenly, Xie Wenxing curled his toes, the pads of them gently brushing against the top of Xu Huai’an’s feet.
Xu Huai’an shot him a glance, and Xie Wenxing immediately fled the room.
Back in his own dorm, Xie Wenxing closed the door and walked blankly to his stool, sitting down.
Song Yuan said, “You’re back? How did it go? Xu Huai’an probably wasn’t—” angry.
He looked up, and the rest of the words died in his throat. “Holy shit, Xingxing, why is your face so red? Damn! And why are you getting a nosebleed?”
Xie Wenxing said, “Huh?”
He touched his nose, looked at the blood on his hand, took the tissue Song Yuan handed him, and stuffed it into his nostril. “It’s nothing. I’ve just been a bit heaty lately. Got too much sun.”
Meanwhile, back in Xu Huai’an’s dorm, Zhou Yuan held back for a moment but finally couldn’t help asking, “Hey, Brother Huai, you don’t like that kid, do you?”
He had clearly seen Brother Huai stick his leg out to trip Xie Wenxing.
Zhou Yuan thought for a moment, then frowned. “But wait, that doesn’t make sense. If you really dislike him, why not just let him fall?”
He shook his head, unable to figure it out. He really couldn’t.