In the second week of the new semester, everything had fallen into routine.
Ji Mian woke up a bit late today, and on the way to school, he happened to run into Xie Heng, who was carrying his breakfast.
“Xie Heng.” Ji Mian walked over.
When Xie Heng saw him, he handed over the breakfast he was holding without a word.
Noticing that Xie Heng seemed deep in thought, Ji Mian casually asked, “What’s on your mind?”
“…I’m thinking about whether to cancel my dorm bed,” Xie Heng said. Although the school’s dorm fees per semester weren’t high, over four years, it still added up.
If he planned to cancel, he needed to decide soon.
“Oh.” Ji Mian took a sip of his soy milk. “Makes sense. You only go back to the dorm occasionally to nap anyway. Spending a few hundred extra every semester to keep the bed doesn’t seem necessary.”
“Mm.”
Ji Mian walked with Xie Heng, finishing breakfast as they walked, downing the last of the soy milk right before stepping into class.
The moment Ji Mian entered, he sensed something was off. There were still about five minutes before class started, yet the room was unusually quiet.
Only He Zhikai was laughing loudly, talking to himself in a strange tone in the back corner.
What’s going on?
While Ji Mian was still confused, his gaze landed on Song Yu, sitting in the front row to the right. His face looked awful.
Song Yu gripped his pen tightly, his knuckles white. He was staring at his textbook, but it was clear he wasn’t actually reading; he hadn’t moved for a while.
Ji Mian’s brows immediately furrowed.
Just a few days ago, everything was fine when he’d gone to the library with Song Yu.
He threw his empty plastic bag in the trash and walked over. “Song Yu.”
Xie Heng’s eyes followed Ji Mian but he didn’t take a step forward.
Song Yu looked up, his lips trembling slightly.
“Are you not feeling well?” Ji Mian asked, concerned.
As he spoke, he noticed several people in the class looking over, and He Zhikai’s voice had stopped.
“No.” Song Yu forced a slight smile. “Go find a seat; class is about to start.”
There were still five minutes—why hurry?
The more Ji Mian thought about it, the more he felt something was off, but he could hear the dismissive tone in Song Yu’s words, so he reluctantly went to sit with Xie Heng.
Beside him sat Fan Tao, the class monitor from Class Four. She had tightly pursed lips, and her slightly chubby cheeks held a hint of anger.
Ji Mian asked quietly, “Taozi, what’s going on? The atmosphere feels weird…”
Fan Tao’s expression softened a little when she saw it was him.
She lowered her head, covering her mouth with her hand, and whispered, “Didn’t you check our department’s group chat?”
“No, what happened?”
Fan Tao said, “You… go take a look yourself. Check the messages after 8 p.m. last night.”
Ji Mian took out his phone and opened the group chat for the freshman Economics Department.
He scrolled back to around 8 p.m. the previous night.
The group chat had only been active during the first few months of freshman year. After winter break, it had gone quiet.
After 8 p.m., the most active user was someone with an anime avatar, but their comments were anything but cute.
[There’s a gay guy in our dorm. Gross.]
Ji Mian’s heart sank when he read this line, recalling Song Yu’s expression earlier.
In the chat, people replied with question marks, some asking who he was talking about.
[Song Yu. Damn, I’ve been living in the same dorm with him for half a year!]
[Disgusting. I always thought he acted all dainty like a girl in the dorm…]
What followed was a slew of vulgar remarks that made Ji Mian feel sick.
Some people in the chat tried to defend, saying that sexual orientation was private, but that only provoked the original poster to escalate.
[Private? If he likes guys, I can’t talk about it?]
[You’re not even in the same dorm; you’re so eager to defend him?]
[Don’t try to lecture me on morals.]
Some people, disgusted by the comments, tried to argue back, but they were quickly shut down, targeted with personal attacks by the same guy.
Probably fed up, people eventually stopped responding.
Ji Mian took a deep breath, anger boiling within him.
Holding back his temper, he asked Fan Tao, “Is that guy He Zhikai?”
“Mm.” Fan Tao nodded.
No matter how nasty He Zhikai’s words were, Ji Mian would just take it as a lack of character, but now, He Zhikai had posted these comments in the department’s group chat. Song Yu had been terrified when he was forced to come out to his parents, and now, over a hundred people in their department all knew.
Ji Mian clenched his jaw, veins bulging on his neck.
“Lu Zhou, calm down.” Xie Heng gently placed a hand on his shoulder, his brows furrowing.
That group chat wasn’t very active, so it was unlikely that everyone in the department had seen it. If it were just He Zhikai speaking in the chat, the class atmosphere wouldn’t be this tense.
He was pondering this when, about ten seconds later, he heard He Zhikai from the back row say, “Man, I’m tempted to switch dorms.”
Clearly, He Zhikai had been spreading rumors like this even before they walked in. Normally, he skipped class, yet today he’d come early—just to humiliate Song Yu.
Some girls in front of He Zhikai wore expressions of disgust, but their reaction wasn’t directed at Song Yu; they were simply repulsed by He Zhikai.
Though Song Yu was usually reserved, he was actually well-liked. Some in the classroom wanted to speak up for him, but they didn’t know how. It takes courage to speak out for others in a large classroom.
Moreover, while everyone knew there were gay people, this small group often kept a low profile. Most had only heard of it online and weren’t sure how to help in reality.
Just then, the teacher entered.
It was last semester’s Microeconomics teacher, who was now teaching their Macroeconomics course.
Since the Macroeconomics class wasn’t held in a large lecture hall, only students from Class Three and Class Four were present.
With the teacher’s arrival, He Zhikai finally shut up.
He hadn’t come to class to actually attend, so he grabbed his cup, pretending to go get water, planning to slip out.
As he passed Ji Mian in the middle row, he sneered in a strange tone, “Better watch out, or you might get too close to someone who likes guys.”
Ji Mian scoffed, laughing in anger.
In front of the whole class, he spoke up, “So what if someone likes guys?”
“I like men.”
He spoke calmly but loud enough for everyone to hear.
The classroom fell silent.
In the front row, Song Yu turned his head in shock, looking at the boy in the center who had just made this bold statement.
The female teacher on the podium didn’t quite understand the situation, but since the one speaking was a student she liked, she didn’t intervene.
He Zhikai was stunned. “You…”
Just then, another voice, even deeper, spoke up.
“I also like men. So what?” This voice, equally calm, came from the middle row.
Ji Mian instinctively looked at the person beside him, blinking slowly.
After a brief silence, male and female voices began to chime in one after another.
“Yeah, what’s wrong with liking men? I like men too.” A straight guy nudged his friend, winking.
“Get outta here. I like men too.”
Both were from Class Three and knew Song Yu.
Fan Tao rolled her eyes. “Some people just meddle too much. With a face like the sole of a shoe, he’s not seriously thinking just because someone’s gay, they’d be into him, right?”
“Pfft—hahaha, the sole of a shoe…”
“Exactly. Does he even know how he looks? Disgusting.”
Now sixty-odd students from both classes were giving him looks of disdain, and He Zhikai’s face flushed red with anger, looking utterly miserable.
He glared at the two who had put him in this position. “Was it necessary to joke around like that?”
“Joke?” Ji Mian raised an eyebrow at this, pulling Xie Heng close in an affectionate gesture, though he bumped into Xie Heng’s chin due to their height difference. “Who said I was joking?”
Xie Heng paused, then naturally lowered his head and gently kissed Ji Mian’s hair.
It was just a light touch, but Ji Mian’s body immediately stiffened.
“Ah!!!”
The classroom erupted in noise, especially from the girls. Even though they knew Ji Mian and Xie Heng had no romantic feelings and were just helping Song Yu out, they couldn’t help but feel thrilled seeing two handsome guys being so close.
A few of the straight guys who had joked earlier about liking men now stood up with goosebumps. Talking big was one thing, but they couldn’t actually do it.
The female teacher on the podium cleared her throat.
A bit of decorum in public.
However, she now had a good grasp of the situation.
The teacher glanced at He Zhikai, who was holding his cup. “This student looks unfamiliar. Are you in our class?”
“…”
Someone snickered below.
He Zhikai had barely shown up for Microeconomics last semester, so of course, he looked unfamiliar.
The bell rang.
“Class has started. Those who need water can go during the break.”
Reluctantly, He Zhikai returned to his seat, looking embarrassed and upset.
Class began.
“Does everyone remember what we covered last time? I’ll ask a few simple questions.” The teacher looked with a smile toward the back. “That unfamiliar student, how about you start?”
The class burst into laughter, and for the moment, everyone’s attention shifted from Song Yu to He Zhikai.
But Ji Mian wasn’t laughing. He was busy with something else.
He had a direct contact with the group’s admin and immediately messaged him, explaining the situation and asking him to delete He Zhikai’s messages from the previous night.
The admin replied quickly.
[Damn, I haven’t checked the group in a couple of days.]
[I’ll take care of it right away. That idiot posted way too much.]
A few minutes later.
[All set. I kicked him out too.]
[Sorry, Lu Zhou. But the group isn’t very active, so most people probably won’t see it. I hope this won’t affect your friend too much.]
Ji Mian replied with a “thank you,” put away his phone, and started listening to the lesson.
Xie Heng, who’d been watching him, asked, “Is it done?”
“Yeah.”
After a couple of minutes, Ji Mian let out a sigh. “It’s no use, Heng-ge…”
“Mm?”
“I’m still so mad I want to hit someone.” Ji Mian said, resting his chin on the table, visibly fuming.
Xie Heng chuckled, reaching over to ruffle his hair.
Ji Mian turned his head to look at him, not avoiding his hand.
Xie Heng gazed at the soft, fluffy black hair under his hand, remembering the sensation when he kissed it earlier.
He had thought he’d be uncomfortable, but when his lips touched the fine hair, inhaling Ji Mian’s light scent, he only felt his mouth go dry.
This guy was clearly sticking up for someone else. So why… was his own heart racing?
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