"Haha, I was just joking, baby" Shang Jue explained.
Lu Yuxing didn’t respond, but the self-doubt in his eyes lingered for quite a while.
When they arrived at the school delivery station, Shang Jue picked up the package. The declared value alone was over a thousand, and the contents were likely expensive.
He opened the package before leaving the delivery station. Inside was a light gray watch—Jaeger-LeCoultre.
Seeing Shang Jue furrow his brows, Lu Yuxing sensed that the watch was probably quite pricey and asked, “Is it expensive?”
Shang Jue estimated, “Pretty expensive; at least tens of thousands.” It could even reach six figures.
His family was relatively well-off, but the most expensive birthday gift he had received from Shang Xinrong didn’t come close to this.
He touched the cold gray watch face; it was a style he would like, and the color matched most of his outfits. Who could have sent it?
Lu Yuxing quietly waited for him to sort through his thoughts, his gaze also falling on the watch that Shang Jue held in his palm. The gray contrasted with Shang Jue's cool white skin, creating a simple yet noble beauty that suited him well. Shang Jue really suited cool tones.
Lu Yuxing recalled seeing Shang Jue in the class photo from Class 7, wearing a bright blue-and-white school uniform. That vibrant color made Shang Jue look much more alive.
Shang Jue looked good in anything, but Lu Yuxing preferred to see him in bright clothes; there was an indescribable, gentle vitality about him.
Shang Jue lowered his head to take a photo of the watch in his palm and sent it to He Yang.
【Shang Jue】: Did you buy this?
Among his friends, He Yang was the only one who could casually spend that much on a watch.
After waiting for a few minutes without a reply from He Yang, who seemed to be busy with something, Shang Jue quickly looked up and forced a nonchalant smile, though he didn’t meet Lu Yuxing’s eyes. He said, “I’ll check with the list later.”
Lu Yuxing noticed Shang Jue’s gentle smile but pressed his lips together.
He could tell that Shang Jue wanted to send him away and understood that the other had a lot on his plate recently, but he still felt a bit deflated.
Not long ago, the person sitting next to him, helping him study, and calling him late at night saying he missed him suddenly seemed to have vanished. All that remained was this gentle and polite Shang Jue, who felt so distant.
After a long silence with no response from Lu Yuxing, Shang Jue finally looked up.
Lu Yuxing was staring blankly at the tips of his shoes, his expression void of any emotion.
Shang Jue instinctively shrank back under Lu Yuxing’s gaze, causing his white-and-blue sneakers to step back a little.
Then he heard Lu Yuxing make a muffled sound in his throat, a quiet "mm," that felt somewhat stifled.
Shang Jue opened his mouth, but for some reason, he suddenly found himself at a loss for words.
—
After parting ways with Lu Yuxing and leaving the delivery station, Shang Jue stuffed the watch back into its packaging and threw the box into his backpack.
As he was nearing the school gate, He Yang called and asked where he was. Shang Jue gave his location, and within a few minutes, he saw He Yang running over from the direction of the sports field.
By the time He Yang reached him, he was still catching his breath.
Shang Jue frowned as he saw He Yang eagerly approaching and asked, "Did you really buy that watch?"
He Yang chuckled, "Of course not! I saw that picture you sent and came over to check it out. Where’s the watch? Let me try it on!"
The corner of Shang Jue’s mouth twitched. “...Is there a watch you can’t afford? A Jaeger-LeCoultre was enough to lure you over?”
He Yang sighed, “My dad doesn’t let me show off too much. The last time I bought a watch was two years ago.”
Feeling a bit irritated, Shang Jue took the watch box out of his bag and tossed it to him. He walked a few steps toward the roadside and leaned against a streetlight, not caring about the dirt, while waiting for He Yang to happily try it on.
He Yang placed the gray watch on his wrist, trying it out. “Aunt Xuerong bought this for you, didn’t she?”
He lifted his wrist, admiring it from several angles. The watch looked great, but it had an ultra-thin face paired with a rather slim silver-gray strap. With his thick wrists, it looked mismatched.
Shang Jue responded with a faint “Mm.” “If it wasn’t from you, it could only be from my mom.”
Being close friends, He Yang picked up on the slight off-tone in Shang Jue’s voice and asked curiously, “Then why do you look so down? Aunt Xuerong remembered your birthday and even sent the gift days early. Shouldn’t you be happy?”
“It’s not about that…” Shang Jue weakly waved his hand forward like a sluggish lucky cat.
“Who upset you? Your little brother? Or your stepmother?”
Shang Jue remained silent.
Normally, if Shang Jue didn’t want to talk, He Yang would respect that and not ask further. But today, he sensed something different—it wasn’t that Shang Jue didn’t want to say, but rather that it was difficult to put into words.
A silent figure carrying a backpack flashed through He Yang’s mind. In a moment of inspiration, he cautiously tested, “Your boyfriend?”
“…”
He Yang’s expression lit up in understanding. “So, you really turned him gay?”
“What… what…” Shang Jue’s voice trembled, “What do you mean I turned him gay? Did I say he was gay?”
He Yang: ...If he’s not, why are you trembling?
Confused but resigned, He Yang asked, “So is he still straight or not?”
“Straight. Definitely straight!”
He Yang nodded, took off the Jaeger-LeCoultre, and stuffed it back into Shang Jue’s hand, along with the watch box. “Alright, when he does turn gay, let me know. Make sure you tell me.”
“…”
Under Shang Jue’s murderous glare, He Yang swiftly ran off.
Shang Jue sighed deeply, pulled out his phone, and forwarded the picture of the watch to Chen Xuerong. He typed a message in the input box, but before hitting send, he hesitated for two seconds, quietly deleted it, and called her directly.
As the ringtone ended, Shang Jue called out, “Mom?”
"Did you receive the package?" Chen Xuerong’s voice was very similar to Shang Jue’s—clean and a bit cold, like snow falling on tree branches.
“Yeah,” he replied.
“I’ll be coming to City A in a couple of days. I’ll stop by A University to see you, but I probably won’t make it in time for your birthday.”
Shang Jue asked, “How long will you stay?”
Chen Xuerong gave a light laugh. “Two days, just to check in on you.”
Shang Jue smiled and said, "Alright."
—
The cake that Lu Yuxing ordered arrived a bit earlier than expected.
Shang Jue still had his last class, so Lu Yuxing had scheduled the cake to be delivered at six. However, the bakery sent it to the dormitory just before five. It wasn’t necessarily bad that it arrived early, but now Lu Yuxing had no idea where to put the cake. The dormitory’s first-floor heating was too warm, and leaving the cake there would cause the chocolate shavings to melt. Bringing it into the dorm wasn’t ideal either; his two roommates had gone out to play basketball earlier, and he didn’t know when they’d return. If they saw the cake, Lu Yuxing wouldn’t know how to explain it.
In the end, he brought the cake up to the dorm and placed it on the desk. He inspected it from the outside to make sure nothing had been damaged in transit.
Just as he was doing that, he heard Ge Zhicheng’s loud laughter in the hallway.
In a hurry, Lu Yuxing shoved the cake box onto the bookshelf and hastily grabbed his backpack to block most of it from view. He then stiffened, feeling an awkwardness creeping up on him.
Why does being in a relationship feel like sneaking around?
Ge Zhicheng and Lin Xuying entered, each carrying shopping bags filled with yogurt and instant noodles.
As soon as they stepped inside, Lin Xuying sniffed the air and asked, “What’s that smell in here? Why does it smell sweet?”
Lu Yuxing remained silent.
“What sweet smell?” Ge Zhicheng asked.
Lin Xuying sniffed again. “It smells like fruit... maybe cherry?”
“Whoa, Yingzi, your nose is too sharp,” Ge Zhicheng said, bashfully covering his collar. “I just switched my body wash to cherry-scented a couple of days ago.”
Lu Yuxing: ...
Lin Xuying rolled his eyes dramatically. “You’re so extra.”
Ge Zhicheng protested, “What’s so extra about switching body wash?”
Lin Xuying gave him another massive eye roll.
Ge Zhicheng sniffed the air again. “Wait, no, it’s not my body wash. This smell is way too sweet.”
“...” Lin Xuying fell silent.
Realizing there was no way to hide it any longer, Lu Yuxing reluctantly spoke up, “I bought a cake.” He moved his backpack aside.
“Oh!” Ge Zhicheng exclaimed, glancing over at the cake. “It’s so big! Is there enough for me and Yingzi too?”
“...” Lu Yuxing, feeling awkward, replied, “No. I bought it for someone else.”
The room fell into a brief silence.
For someone else? That meant it was a gift.
Lin Xuying asked, “Lu-ge, who’s the cake for?”
Ge Zhicheng chimed in, “Isn’t today Shang Jue’s birthday? I saw Wen Jiayue from his class give him a birthday gift earlier. The two of them are pretty close and both single. Maybe something’s going on between them...”
“Stop gossiping,” Lin Xuying cut him off and redirected the conversation, “Lu-ge, is the cake really for Shang Jue?”
After a two-second pause, Lu Yuxing nodded. “Yeah.”
“Oh, this is to thank him for helping you review last time, right?” Ge Zhicheng seemed relieved. “That’s really nice of you, keeping things friendly!”
Lu Yuxing didn’t know how to respond, so he stood up, grabbed the cake, and walked out to the balcony to chill it. With the cold weather, the outdoor air in the north served as a natural refrigerator.
He stood on the balcony for a moment, realizing there was no reason to be so secretive.
It was just a cake for Shang Jue. Even if Shang Jue woke up naked in his bed tomorrow morning, no one would suspect anything between them. It would draw less attention than a girl talking to Shang Jue.
When the class bell rang, he sent a message to Shang Jue.
[Lu Yuxing]: Done with class?
[Boyfriend]: Just finished. Be there soon, babe.
This time, Lu Yuxing confidently retrieved the cake from the balcony and grabbed the gift he’d bought. Yet, being upfront didn’t make him feel any better than sneaking around earlier.
He headed downstairs and waited by the dorm’s entrance for Shang Jue.
Not long after, he heard a low voice from the side call out, “Babe.”
Lu Yuxing turned his head and saw Shang Jue’s smiling face, which instantly made his heart race.
He handed the gift and cake to Shang Jue, then fell silent.
After all, Shang Jue had been quite busy lately.
But after a moment, he remembered something he hadn’t said yet and spoke softly, “Happy birthday.”
Shang Jue replied awkwardly, “...Thanks, babe.”
After saying that, he paused, looking at Lu Yuxing’s expressionless face for a while. The more he looked, the more irritated he became.
He couldn’t believe he could see hurt in that face—this guy who used to wish he wouldn’t even acknowledge him was now playing the part of the victim.
Everything felt wrong. Being close was wrong, being distant was wrong, being honest was wrong, and hiding it was wrong. Nothing was right.
He wanted to grit his teeth and ask, “What the hell do you want from me?”
But in the next second, his anger deflated: “Ugh, damn it, maybe I deserve this.”
They stood there for a long, awkward, and inexplicable standoff.
Shang Jue lifted his right leg two centimeters but immediately put it back down, as if a muscle in his calf had cramped. Two seconds later, he seemed to cramp again and lightly kicked Lu Yuxing’s shoe.
The kick was soft.
“Spend my birthday with me...” Shang Jue muttered.
Lu Yuxing almost felt like he’d been kicked by a marshmallow.
“Okay.”
Shang Jue turned away nonchalantly and walked ahead.
Lu Yuxing quickly caught up, taking the cake from his hands. “Let me carry it.”
The cake box, filled with the scent of cream and cherries, was sandwiched between them.
After a moment, Lu Yuxing switched the cake to his right hand.
When they left the campus, he used his now free left hand to hold Shang Jue’s.
Shang Jue glanced over at him, his gaze cold, before turning his head back and slightly pursing his lips.
Comments