He Yang took a while to emerge from Shang Jue's ghost story. It wasn't that he was scared; he simply didn't understand it.
"Ah?"
Shang Jue shook his head, a lingering flush on his face. "It's nothing, you should head back to the dorm."
He Yang responded with another "ah," looking confused. "Didn't you want me to stay and wash the dishes?"
He sniffed, as if washing the dishes was an incredibly challenging and humiliating task for him. It wasn't that it was difficult; he just had never done it before.
Shang Jue shot him an exasperated glance. "Young Master He is so spoiled. Your parents never made you wash dishes, so how could I dare to?"
"That’s not a fair comparison. I would definitely help my brother in need! I have that much determination!"
He spoke beautifully, but Shang Jue understood that this guy was genuinely spoiled. Even though He Yang's parents scolded him often, they had never truly been harsh, which led He Yang to grow up often acting like a ridiculous nouveau riche fool you’d only see in the news.
He was the type who, if forced to eat hot pot alone at home, would get too lazy to clean up afterward and just throw all the dirty pots and bowls away.
Could he really expect such a young master to wash dishes? Shang Jue felt he couldn’t burden him with that.
He sighed, unwilling to drag this out any longer. "Hurry up and go. If you take too long, no one will eat the cake."
He Yang hesitated for a moment, then picked up the cake he had brought, still perfectly intact, and slowly walked away.
Shang Jue stacked the dishes neatly and took them to the kitchen, only to find it had already been cleaned up, and Lu Yuxing had even washed the pot.
Shang Jue thought, That guy is really something. What kind of normal person washes the pot before a meal?
But this habit did save him some trouble. He remembered when Lu Yuxing first came to his house, he reorganized the living room table and coffee table into a completely different style before leaving... It was clear that his daily life was very orderly, perhaps with a touch of mild obsessive-compulsiveness.
What a weirdo, really a weirdo.
I don’t have a wife with such issues!!
—
After a birthday dinner that turned out to be a bit too much, Shang Jue woke up an hour later than usual. Thankfully, his first class the next morning was during the second period, so he managed to sleep in a little.
He did nothing all morning, inexplicably unable to focus on anything. After idling away nearly an hour at home, he suddenly realized he was wasting time and quickly gathered his things to head to school.
Arriving at the classroom about twenty minutes early, he found that the students in the first class hadn’t finished yet. Since entering his sophomore year, the front row had gradually become vacant. No matter when he arrived, that first row was always left empty for him, so he stopped coming too early and only entered a few minutes before class.
Once the classroom cleared, he sat down in the front row. Arriving too early and being well-liked meant he had to greet each student who came in after him with eye contact.
He spotted Tian Miao and smiled lazily at him.
Tian Miao stiffened for a moment before turning away with a serious expression.
Shang Jue squinted. He hadn’t kept up with Tian Miao’s personal life, hoping this guy would remain self-aware and keep to himself.
Just as he was about to look away, two long legs appeared in his line of sight, the pants neatly hanging down to the ankles.
Shang Jue blinked, raising his eyelashes to meet Lu Yuxing's gaze. Their eye contact was almost too accurate, as if Lu Yuxing had walked in specifically looking for him.
Lu Yuxing slowed his steps, his gaze lingering on Shang Jue's face, a smile creeping onto his lips.
He didn’t smile often—one could say he rarely did—but in the past few days, he had smiled at Shang Jue more frequently.
Shang Jue turned his face away, raising his right hand to cover the dimple that usually showed when he smiled, while his index finger pressed against the tip of his nose, partially obscuring half of his face.
But Lu Yuxing walked over, bending down to ask, “Is anyone sitting here?”
There is someone.
Go away.
Annoying dog.
Shang Jue replied, “... You can sit.”
Lu Yuxing took the seat to his right.
After a while, Shang Jue lowered his hand, revealing a red mark left by his thumb on the center of his right cheek. “Where are your two roommates? Aren’t you sitting with them today?”
Lu Yuxing caught sight of the red mark out of the corner of his eye. “Hmm.”
In his freshman year, Lu Yuxing got along well with his dormmates, so he didn’t want to stand out too much. He usually attended classes with them. However, he wasn't particularly fond of hanging out in groups; outside of classes, he preferred to go to the library alone.
He continued, “I said my progress in class is too slow and I need to sit in the front to concentrate, or I might fail at the end of the term.”
The front row of the classroom, right under the teacher's nose, was a notorious danger zone for getting picked to answer questions on a whim... If called upon, one could stutter for minutes without being able to respond, a prime example of social death.
After he mentioned this in the dorm, Ge Zhi Cheng and Lin Xu Ying immediately backed off, hesitating for a while before deciding to go their separate ways from then on.
Lu Yuxing could have easily just said he wanted to sit apart from them, but thinking of Shang Jue, he felt that if it were Shang Jue, he would likely choose a more indirect and considerate way to say it. So, he rephrased his statement instead.
Shang Jue stared at him in a daze.
“Wait, what? What does that silly dog mean by saying he wants to sit next to me from now on?”
He turned his head back in silence.
Lu Yuxing put down his backpack and took out two books. As he did so, his knee accidentally brushed against Shang Jue's under the table. He paused for a moment, not pulling his leg back.
He opened a book and, after reading only a couple of lines, his mind wandered and he glanced over at the person next to him.
Shang Jue was lightly biting his lips, looking rather unhappy.
Lu Yuxing asked curiously, “Are you not happy?”
Shang Jue reflexively replied, “No, babe.”
His voice wasn't lowered, and after speaking, both of them froze for a moment.
Shang Jue quickly shut his mouth and swept his gaze around the still somewhat empty classroom.
He was still afraid of being overheard.
If he really had something with Lu Yuxing, then calling him “babe” would be fine. The problem was that they didn't have any real relationship, and he was afraid that a prank would force Lu Yuxing to come out in public. Shang Jue didn't want to play such a cruel trick.
Ah...
He lamented internally: Actually, it had already developed into a very serious situation since the moment Lu Yuxing had shoved his tongue into his mouth.
He felt a bit anxious, realizing that he was the one being tormented now.
Shang Jue gently nudged Lu Yuxing's knee with his own and said helplessly, “Hey, this can’t all be blamed on me…”
Lu Yuxing felt a tickle from his little movement, his throat also feeling a bit scratchy. His brain suddenly went blank, unable to filter any useful information, and instinctively, he said in a suppressed voice, “It's not your fault.”
After a few seconds, he slowly accepted the information, thinking that Shang Jue was feeling guilty for accidentally calling him by the wrong name. So, he repeated, “It's not your fault.”
Shang Jue huffed a couple of times and stopped talking.
Can a dog understand when you play the piano?
A minute before class started, Ge Zhicheng and Lin Xuying rushed into the classroom, carrying breakfast.
When they saw the two people sitting harmoniously in the front row, they were both stunned. Ge Zhicheng raised his hand to greet Shang Jue, and Lin Xuying followed suit with a shout of “Shang Jue.”
Shang Jue responded with a shallow smile.
As the bell rang, there was no time for a few words; the two latecomers quickly found their seats in the back row.
After the second class ended, it was lunchtime.
Ge Zhicheng and Lin Xuying had been whispering in the back row for an entire class, and they finally got their chance.
They knew about the improved relationship between Lu Yuxing and Shang Jue. After the initial surprise, they didn’t find it too unexpected.
After school, they packed their bags and walked to the front row, seeing that Shang Jue and their Lu Ge were slowly moving without any urgency. Ge Zhicheng asked, “So, Lu Ge, are you still having lunch with us?”
Before Lu Yuxing could answer, he suddenly turned to look at Shang Jue.
Ge Zhicheng and Lin Xuying were confused.
Shang Jue, of course, hoped that Lu Yuxing would stay as far away from him as possible, and he immediately opened his mouth: “Bab…” An emergency brake stopped the last syllable.
The remaining words, “You go eat with them,” were silently swallowed.
He was stunned, closing his lips tightly, feeling anxious.
Habit. What a terrifying word!
Lu Yuxing fixed his gaze on him, a light smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.
“…” Shang Jue felt that this guy’s gaze had somehow turned flirtatious.
Lu Yuxing turned his head and said, “I’ll eat with Shang Jue.”
“Oh, that’s fine!” Ge Zhicheng said happily as he and Lin Xuying left the classroom.
The classroom quickly emptied, but Lu Yuxing’s smile didn’t fade.
Shang Jue couldn’t stand it anymore, nudging him hard with his knee and forgetting the image of the perfect boyfriend: “Don’t smile.”
Lu Yuxing had to suppress his smile forcefully.
As Shang Jue put on his bag, he thought that in the future, when talking to Lu Yuxing outside, he needed to mentally rehearse what to say first.
The two walked out together.
As soon as they exited the teaching building, a cold wind hit them. November temperatures were quite chilly, but it wasn’t cold enough to freeze their hands after a short while outside. Shang Jue held his phone in one hand, replying to messages that others had sent during class.
Lu Yuxing glanced at Shang Jue's hand, idly thinking: In a month, when the temperature drops below freezing, it will be impossible to hold hands outside. They’ll have to keep their hands in their pockets to stay warm.
They also couldn’t hold hands now because they were the same gender and hadn’t come out; they needed to be discreet at school. Shang Jue would become more cautious if he accidentally called him by the wrong name.
Lu Yuxing lowered his gaze.
But he really didn’t mind coming out; otherwise, he wouldn’t have openly talked about it with his brother not long ago. Lu Yuxing hesitated over whether to tell Shang Jue that he had already had a candid conversation with Lu Yunsheng. But saying it out loud made him worry that it would put pressure on Shang Jue, as if it were forcing him to come out alongside him. Lu Yuxing had no recollection of what Shang Jue's family situation was like.
After thinking it over, he decided to suppress the thought.
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