After The Beautiful Woman Moves Into The Jock's Dorm Room - Chapter 34

Chapter 34: “If You Like Him, Go for Him. I Support You.”…

On the return trip, Cheng Che volunteered to drive. As usual, Shen Qingyu sat in the passenger seat, drifting in and out of sleep.

He had only fallen asleep around 4:00 AM and woke up close to 11:00 AM. The other three were already awake but had tactfully not woken him up.

The noon sun was warm, and Shen Qingyu dozed under the gentle heat.

But his sleep was shallow; he would suddenly wake up almost as soon as he drifted off.

The feeling of unsettled sleep was uncomfortable, so Shen Qingyu simply forced his eyes open and secretly watched Cheng Che’s focused profile as he drove.

He certainly hadn’t forgotten that hug with Cheng Che in the early morning, but he wasn’t bringing it up, and Cheng Che didn’t seem to plan to either. They seemed to have reached an unspoken agreement on the matter.

Cheng Che felt the stare and asked, “Can you drive?”

“I have a license, but I haven’t gotten any real practice.” Shen Qingyu pushed back the bangs on his forehead. He hadn’t trimmed them recently, and the long fringe sometimes covered his eyes.

“Then I’ll accompany you to practice next time.”

“Sounds good,” Shen Qingyu accepted readily.

Lu Xiao, who was feigning interest in his phone but secretly eavesdropping with a heavy heart, let out a sneering chuckle, disrupting the atmosphere.

Shen Qingyu’s attention was immediately drawn to him. He pouted and asked, “What are you laughing at?”

“What? I’m not allowed to laugh? Are you that bossy?” Lu Xiao really wanted to directly confront Cheng Che. Who the hell does he think he is, saying he’ll teach Shen Qingyu to drive? His parallel parking skills aren’t even as good as mine!

Shen Qingyu was left unable to counter Lu Xiao’s sarcasm, so he rolled his eyes forcefully at the rearview mirror.

…

The Wenda University anniversary celebration officially kicked off at the end of June, with hype starting several days in advance. They even opened an online viewing channel for the celebration gala.

And Cheng Che’s class’s choral performance had actually made it through the auditions and been successfully selected.

Shen Qingyu found this absolutely unbelievable.

On the day of the celebration performance, a notice was sent in the English major Class 3 group chat, saying each class had an allocation of tickets for the live performance, and those who wanted to go could get a ticket from the class president.

Most students weren’t interested in joining the commotion, but Shen Qingyu was different; he was quite keen to go and watch.

Of course, mainly to see Cheng Che.

The viewing tickets were designed by the School of Fine Arts and were quite beautiful, primarily in the deep crimson color symbolizing Wenda University.

Shen Qingyu had a quick dinner and headed to the gymnasium. The performance had already started by the time he arrived with his ticket.

Fortunately, Cheng Che’s class was scheduled for the second half.

He sat in the Foreign Language Department’s section, looking around. He spotted several familiar classmates and, after greeting them one by one, he settled down to watch the show.

“You’re from the English department, right?” A familiar stranger sat next to him, arriving a while after Shen Qingyu had taken his seat.

Shen Qingyu replied with an “Mhm,” not paying much attention.

“I’m from the Japanese department. My name is Jiang Yan.” The boy had delicate features and looked cold when he didn’t speak, but his voice gave off a very approachable vibe.

Shen Qingyu vaguely felt that this Jiang Yan was a combination of Cheng Che and Song Yu.

“Hello,” Shen Qingyu replied politely.

Shen Qingyu’s attitude towards strangers was consistently cool but respectful.

Clutching the glow stick the school had handed out, he suddenly remembered where he had seen this boy before.

Fearing he might be mistaken, Shen Qingyu turned his head to look closely and was absolutely certain that Jiang Yan was the top student in the Japanese major.

He had seen Jiang Yan at several Japanese-related competitions.

“Can I add your contact info? I want to ask you some questions about the English major.” Jiang Yan held up his QR code and smiled as he shook it slightly.

Shen Qingyu hesitated, but seeing how polite he was, he agreed and asked casually, “What do you want to know?”

“I want to transfer to the English major.” This one sentence completely disturbed Shen Qingyu’s inner calm.

“Why?”

“Japanese isn’t quite right for me.”

“But you…” Shen Qingyu wanted to say, You’re the top student in your grade, and it’s not right for you? But he held back in the end.

The announcer’s voice introduced the next performance, which was Cheng Che’s class chorus. Shen Qingyu instantly sat up straight, raised his phone, and prepared to record the whole thing.

Jiang Yan saw that Shen Qingyu’s attention was fully focused on the stage and didn’t disturb him, instead carefully watching Shen Qingyu’s profile.

He had noticed Shen Qingyu when he first started university.

He was the best-looking boy he had ever seen.

Perhaps gays all have highly accurate detection radar, but Jiang Yan was very certain that Shen Qingyu was also one of them.

At the start of this semester, he learned that Shen Qingyu had moved into a physical education dorm. After some inquiry, he found out that someone had coincidentally run into him at a gay bar, and he had an argument with that person in the group chat. Not long after, Shen Qingyu submitted an application to change dorms and, by chance, moved into a dorm full of P.E. students.

Jiang Yan had observed Shen Qingyu for a long time and noticed he wasn’t in a relationship. His plan to give up suddenly reignited with passion.

He found out at the last minute that Shen Qingyu was also coming to the celebration gala, quickly secured a ticket, and by coincidence, the only seat left in the designated area was next to Shen Qingyu.

The seating area for the Foreign Language Department was quite far from the stage, and since Cheng Che was tall, he stood in the back row. Shen Qingyu had to zoom in several times to see Cheng Che clearly.

His class was dressed in neat, uniform white shirts. The boys wore ties, and the three or four girls wore bow ties.

Shen Qingyu had originally planned to leave after their chorus performance, but Cheng Che knew he was there and specifically messaged him to wait.

While waiting for him, he unexpectedly saw Gu Ye directing volunteers to remove props on stage.

Shen Qingyu’s eyebrows rose in surprise.

Even when the lights dimmed, Gu Ye’s silhouette was strikingly obvious. Shen Qingyu could recognize him immediately.

[Yang Yu: You went to the gala?]

Shen Qingyu had sent Yang Yu a photo of the viewing ticket before heading to the gym, and Yang Yu was only replying now.

He took a quick photo of the scene for Yang Yu, and Gu Ye happened to be in the corner of the picture.

[Yang Yu: Oh, isn’t that your senior? (Gu Ye)]

[Yang Yu: You didn’t go to the gala because of him, did you?]

Shen Qingyu was amused by his wildly imaginative guess and quickly explained.

[Shen Qingyu: How could I? You’re overthinking it! I came to see Cheng Che.]

[Yang Yu: Oh~~~~~]

Yang Yu’s series of tildes made Shen Qingyu’s heart flutter lightly. He quickly changed the subject. “But the senior is really handsome, though. He feels like the kind of perfect protagonist you read about in novels.”

[Yang Yu: If you like him, go for him. I support you.]

Shen Qingyu stared at this message for a while, then smiled helplessly.

Seeing that the time was right, Shen Qingyu bent low to exit the audience area, not forgetting to politely wave goodbye to the newly acquainted Jiang Yan next to him.

Jiang Yan, who had been watching the show half-heartedly, noticed Shen Qingyu’s move and immediately said, “Are you leaving?”

Shen Qingyu nodded. “I’m going backstage to wait for my roommate.”

Jiang Yan sounded a bit regretful. “Okay, we’ll talk on WeChat then.”

After a few seconds, Shen Qingyu realized he was referring to consulting about the English major.

[Shen Qingyu: If it were half a year ago, I’d definitely try. But now, forget it. Now, the senior is just a goal for me to work hard and study well every day.]

Shen Qingyu typed this out while walking.

This wasn’t just something he was telling Yang Yu, but also something he was telling his past, regrettable self.

Sensing the cue for gossip, Yang Yu immediately called him. “What did you mean by that last message? What do you mean you’d definitely try half a year ago?”

“Actually, I never told you…”

“What?” Yang Yu’s volume increased on the other end of the phone.

“I had a crush on him in high school. I also felt he might have been interested in me, but he avoided me after I responded.” Shen Qingyu leaned against the wall outside the backstage lounge, looking down at his toes.

In fact, he had analyzed it later and fully understood Gu Ye’s avoidance.

It was impossible not to blame him, but compared to resentment, Gu Ye’s guidance and care were more memorable to Shen Qingyu.

If it weren’t for Gu Ye’s guidance, he might still be agonizing over his sexual orientation.

But often, “the physician cannot heal himself.” Gu Ye could guide him well, but that didn’t mean Gu Ye could accept it himself.

“After all, not everyone can directly face the fact that they’re gay. Maybe he also felt it wasn’t worth it.”

Yang Yu scoffed coldly. “That’s way too irresponsible then.”

“That’s not the right way to see it. A momentary flutter doesn’t define a lifetime. There’s no need to bear a lifetime of pain because of a brief moment of happiness.”

Shen Qingyu analyzed it clearly and logically. He had pulled himself out of that mental rut.

It had happened after he and Gu Ye saw each other again after half a year and shared a meal of barbecue.

“So what’s your relationship now…?” Yang Yu asked cautiously.

“We’re friends, of course,” Shen Qingyu stated emphatically.

He didn’t know how Gu Ye felt about him now, but Shen Qingyu hoped they would only be friends.

Because their relationship could only go this far.

“Well, you definitely have a clear perspective.”

“That’s right.”

Shen Qingyu smiled proudly. He glanced over and saw the lounge door open and Cheng Che walk out.

His tie was loose, and a few buttons on his collar were undone. He looked languid and a bit tired.

“Gotta go, Cheng Che is out!” Shen Qingyu quickly hung up the phone and skipped over to him.

“Have you been waiting long?” Cheng Che ruffled his head. “We were taking a group photo inside just now.”

“Not very long.”

The backstage corridor was narrow, but there were many people coming and going. Cheng Che subconsciously sheltered Shen Qingyu, having him stand against the wall while he stood on the outside.

Shen Qingyu showed Cheng Che the video he had recorded. Cheng Che frowned and said, “Why do I look so goofy?”

He was referring to himself.

“Do you? I think it’s quite…” Shen Qingyu paused, considering the right word to describe him. “…Quite adorable!”

Cheng Che was startled, never expecting this word to be used on himself by Shen Qingyu. He smiled and couldn’t resist ruffling Shen Qingyu’s hair again, making it messy.

Shen Qingyu was busy fixing his hair when he happened to glance towards the audience area and saw Jiang Yan.

Jiang Yan winked at him, then deliberately waved the glow stick in his hand.

Shen Qingyu initially intended to pretend he hadn’t seen him, but since Jiang Yan had greeted him, he couldn’t ignore him, so he reluctantly waved back.

Cheng Che noticed the movement sharply and instantly spotted the unfamiliar boy among the crowd.

“Who is that?” he probed.

Shen Qingyu stammered, unsure how to introduce him, as he was genuinely not close to Jiang Yan and had only just met him. “He might be my future classmate?” He said hesitantly. “He’s a student from another major in our college.”

Hearing this, Cheng Che breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed he had overthought things.