After The Beautiful Woman Moves Into The Jock's Dorm Room - Chapter 12

Chapter 12: The Match – “Uh… Cheng Che, you’re drinking…”

Shen Qingyu said matter-of-factly: “Yes, he bought me breakfast a few times before, so now it’s my turn to buy him some.”

As he spoke, a gust of wind blew by, and Shen Qingyu felt like he saw Song Yu’s eyes dim for an instant.

“Do you need some? Should I buy one for you too?”

Song Yu refused very directly: “No need. It’s right for you to buy for him. As for me… I can buy my own.”

For some reason, Shen Qingyu detected a faint trace of sadness in his tone.

…

Back at the dorm, Cheng Che was washing up. Lu Xiao was still lying in bed, eyes tightly shut, sleeping soundly.

Shen Qingyu thought enviously: “Does his major not have 8 AM classes? Why does he seem to sleep soundly in bed every day?”

Shen Qingyu placed the breakfast on Cheng Che’s desk and ducked behind his bed curtain to change his clothes.

Cheng Che emerged from the bathroom just as Shen Qingyu’s bright eyes were fixed on him.

He couldn’t help but smile: “What is it?”

“I bought you breakfast.”

“What made you think of buying me breakfast?” Cheng Che took a surprised bite of the wrap. “It’s good.”

“You bought me breakfast often before, so I thought since I was up early and the cafeteria had a full menu, I’d get you a serving too.”

Cheng Che slowed his chewing and his smile faded: “I see.”

“I’ll take care of your breakfast from now on!” Shen Qingyu declared, thinking he sounded very cool. Then he thought of something and quietly added: “If I can keep up with the morning runs.”

Cheng Che didn’t like this kind of “tit-for-tat.” He bought Shen Qingyu breakfast because he liked him, an instinctive desire to be good to him.

If possible, he preferred Shen Qingyu’s actions to also be driven by liking, not just “returning a favor.”

He pondered how to phrase his thoughts appropriately. He didn’t want to scare Shen Qingyu with a crude confession, but he also didn’t want him to continue interacting with him with the mindset of “always ready to reciprocate.”

“What breakfast?” Lu Xiao was awakened by their conversation and, smelling the wrap, was displeased. “Shen Qingyu, where’s my breakfast?”

Shen Qingyu/Cheng Che: “?”

Cheng Che stood in front of Shen Qingyu and said bluntly: “Why should Little Yu buy you breakfast?”

Lu Xiao strongly disliked this “protecting the youngling” gesture, as if he would harm Shen Qingyu. Moreover, what right did Cheng Che, the side piece, have to speak for Shen Qingyu?

“I wasn’t talking to you,” Lu Xiao snapped, his contempt growing for Cheng Che’s “third-party status, main-partner attitude.” “Why only buy for him and not for me?”

Shen Qingyu thought: You sleep so soundly; I haven’t seen you eat breakfast since I moved in. Buying you one would be a waste of money!

He knew that if he said this, Lu Xiao would get angry, and Shen Qingyu didn’t want the dorm atmosphere to be so tense early in the morning.

So he opted for a very reasonable explanation: “I have a limited allowance.”

This was true. Although his deceased parents left him an inheritance, Shen Qingyu still tried to save money whenever possible, ensuring every penny was spent wisely.

“Besides, Cheng Che often buys me breakfast. Is there a problem with me buying one for him?” Shen Qingyu lowered his head, bit the straw, and took a big sip of soy milk.

He loved the cafeteria’s soy milk; it was pure, with a little ground soy residue at the bottom.

Lu Xiao automatically ignored the latter half of his sentence and mocked: “How much is one breakfast? Five dollars? Ten dollars?”

Cheng Che sneered: “What, five or ten dollars isn’t money?”

“One meal is at least five dollars. Ten days is fifty dollars.” This wasn’t much money, but Shen Qingyu felt there was no need to spend it on Lu Xiao. He had a bad temper and personality, and their relationship wasn’t good. Why should he spend money on him?

Lu Xiao turned, grabbed his phone from the bed, and tap-tap-tapped stubbornly on the screen. He said: “I’ve transferred five hundred. Including the running fee, that covers the first fifty days.”

The phone vibrated twice, the chat showing Lu Xiao had transferred five hundred yuan to him.

The soy milk in Shen Qingyu’s mouth choked him. He coughed twice, covering his mouth: “Anyway, since I’m already going for a morning run, buying two servings isn’t a big deal.”

His slight opportunism amused Lu Xiao. Before he could fully smile, he suddenly felt something was wrong.

—Darn it, this Shen Qingyu! He uses his own money to buy Cheng Che breakfast, but I have to pay for my own breakfast?

—Whatever, it’s not like I’m short on cash.

He gave Cheng Che a show-off glance. Sure enough, seeing Cheng Che’s tightly clenched fist, suppressing his anger, made him feel much better.

Lu Xiao urgently wanted Cheng Che to acknowledge his position: “Cheng Che, you don’t have any objections now, do you?”

Cheng Che lowered his head slightly, his wavy hair obscuring his eyes. He ignored the provocation: “Little Yu, how did you feel after the morning run today?”

“Song Yu led me. The pace was pretty slow.”

“That’s good.” He rubbed Shen Qingyu’s head, finished the last bite of the wrap, and said: “Let’s go to class.”

…

On Friday afternoon, there was a basketball game between the Physical Education department and the Computer Science department.

Cheng Che hesitated for a long time before actively inviting Shen Qingyu to watch the game, also telling him he could bring friends.

Just as he said this, Yang Yu was chatting with Shen Qingyu, asking if he wanted to watch the afternoon match. Shen Qingyu had just replied “Definitely going” when he received Cheng Che’s invitation.

“Don’t worry, I’ll definitely be there to cheer you on.”

Shen Qingyu’s smiling face was like that of a well-behaved cat, making Cheng Che want to reach out and touch him.

“If you’re there, I’ll definitely play better.”

“Oh?” Shen Qingyu teased. “Then it seems I’m very useful.”

Cheng Che didn’t reply. His “usefulness” far exceeded Shen Qingyu’s imagination.

…

The basketball court was surrounded three layers deep. Since Cheng Che was playing today, many people came to watch the excitement. If Cheng Che hadn’t reserved two spots for them in advance, Shen Qingyu and Yang Yu would probably have to stand outside and just listen.

The afternoon sun was strong. Shen Qingyu disliked the scorching heat, so in addition to his mask, he wore a baseball cap.

When they arrived, Cheng Che was stretching with the other team members, his actions somewhat distracted, his gaze occasionally drifting toward Shen Qingyu.

Shen Qingyu subtly raised his hand and waved, specifically pulling down his mask to tell him: “Good luck!”

Reading Shen Qingyu’s lips, Cheng Che was incredibly hyped, as if injected with adrenaline. His mind was focused entirely on ending the game as quickly as possible and then finding Shen Qingyu.

The whistle blew, and cheers erupted, louder and louder, on the court.

Shen Qingyu’s gaze remained on Cheng Che, following him as he chased the bouncing basketball.

During the halftime break, Cheng Che wiped the sweat from his face and neck with a towel, and then drank some water. Seeing that there was still time, he purposefully walked over to Shen Qingyu.

Shen Qingyu was sitting on the ground, and Cheng Che crouched in front of him. “You’re all bundled up. Aren’t you hot?”

Even crouching, Cheng Che was much taller than him. Shen Qingyu had to crane his neck to meet his gaze: “It’s alright. How about you?”

“I’m alright too.” Cheng Che smiled and took another sip of water. Meeting Shen Qingyu’s eyes made him feel hotter than exercising on the court. “I’ll leave my water and towel with you for now.”

With that, he returned to his team, and the game continued.

Yang Yu nudged his arm, saying mischievously: “Oh-oh-oh, you’ve got his towel and water. Looks like you two are progressing nicely.”

Shen Qingyu’s cheeks flushed: “I’m his roommate. What’s wrong with helping him hold things?”

“Nothing’s wrong. Why are you getting defensive?”

“I’m not defensive! Stop talking nonsense!”

“Okay, okay, I’m talking nonsense.” Yang Yu’s tone was dismissive.

Shen Qingyu knew he couldn’t win the argument, so he simply held Cheng Che’s things and watched the game seriously.

Cheng Che on the court gave him a completely different feeling.

He was still sunny and unrestrained, but with an added intensity, like a “beast chasing its prey.”

Recalling Cheng Che’s passing mention of having to quit the provincial team due to an injury, Shen Qingyu felt a pang of sympathy.

Shen Qingyu began to analyze what kind of emotion this was when a male voice suddenly came from behind him.

“Shen Qingyu?”

He turned his head in response, his eyes full of surprise: “Senior?”

“I didn’t expect you to be interested in basketball, too.” A gentle-looking guy sat down next to Shen Qingyu, his hand brushing against the back of his hair. “I knew it was you just by looking at your back.”

Shen Qingyu was very surprised: “Long time no see, Senior.”

“It has been a long time. Was the last time we met during your freshman orientation?”

Gu Ye was Shen Qingyu’s senior in high school, and one of the few people who knew his sexual orientation. Shen Qingyu didn’t hesitate to admit that half the reason he applied to Wen University was because of him.

Just thinking that a gentle, humble person like Gu Ye was at the same school made Shen Qingyu feel secure. To Shen Qingyu, Gu Ye was like an “anchor” in his heart.

Shen Qingyu nodded, smiling: “Yes.”

Gu Ye was a sophomore in the Computer Science department. When he heard Shen Qingyu was accepted into Wen University, he sent congratulations, and he was the one who accompanied Shen Qingyu through the enrollment process during orientation.

However, military training started soon after, followed by increasingly busy schedules, and the two hadn’t seen each other for a long time. Perhaps in Gu Ye’s eyes, they were, at most, casual friends who liked each other’s posts on social media.

“The number 18 is my roommate. I came to cheer him on,” Shen Qingyu actively pointed to the figure running on the court.

After Cheng Che made a three-step layup and scored, he expected to see an admiring look in Shen Qingyu’s eyes, but instead saw him smiling warmly and talking to a strange guy.

He had even taken off his cap.

Cheng Che frowned, forcing down his irritation to continue the game.

Gu Ye had seen Cheng Che and Shen Qingyu’s interaction earlier. Cheng Che was a regular on the confession wall, and Gu Ye was familiar with him. He just hadn’t expected him and Shen Qingyu to be so close.

“I remember you’re from the Foreign Languages department. How did you get to know someone from the PE department?” Gu Ye’s tone was very gentle, making Shen Qingyu want to open up to him.

“He’s my roommate… there was a problem when I changed dorms. Anyway, now I’m sharing a room with three PE students.”

Gu Ye nodded thoughtfully: “Are you used to living there?”

“It’s pretty good. I wasn’t used to it at first, but now I even go morning running and exercise with another roommate every day!” Shen Qingyu said excitedly, his tone full of pride.

Gu Ye smiled and rubbed his head. Just like he remembered, his hair was soft and fluffy.

“Wait for me here.”

Gu Ye was tall and easily squeezed out of the crowd. After operating the vending machine a few times, he returned with three bottles of water.

Yang Yu was surprised, not expecting one for himself. He quickly said thank you.

Shen Qingyu put Cheng Che’s water aside, then raised both hands to obediently accept the bottle. He twisted the cap and drank two sips: “Thank you, Senior.”

“Don’t be so polite with me.”

“When are you free? We should go back to the high school together sometime,” Shen Qingyu then remembered he hadn’t introduced Yang Yu to Gu Ye, saying, “He’s Yang Yu from the Arts department, also a student from High School No. 18.”

Yang Yu immediately became alert, quickly saying: “I don’t have any sentimentality for high school. You two go back.”

Gu Ye’s gaze swept over Yang Yu: “Okay, then the two of us will go back.”

For the final short segment of the game, Shen Qingyu chatted with Gu Ye until the game ended, when he finally remembered to look at the scoreboard.

Shen Qingyu said triumphantly: “Senior, your college lost.”

Gu Ye laughed softly: “The PE department won, not the Foreign Languages department. Why are you so proud?”

Oh, right! Shen Qingyu quickly stopped smiling.

Cheng Che, who had ended the game as quickly as possible, suddenly appeared behind him. He skillfully took the water bottle from Shen Qingyu’s hand, twisted the cap open, and drank while saying: “What are you talking about?”

His hand felt empty. Shen Qingyu was stunned for two seconds. He looked down and saw an identical water bottle: “…”

His cheeks felt like they were on fire. He stuttered: “Uh… Cheng Che, you’re drinking my water.”