After The Beautiful Woman Moves Into The Jock's Dorm Room - Chapter 46

Chapter 46: So well-matched.

Besides Song Yu, Cheng Che also contacted Shen Qingyu during his few days of travel.

Cheng Che once again invited him to his house. This time, he said his parents weren’t home, and they could play games together.

Shen Qingyu looked at Lu Xiao beside him and felt a strange sense of guilt, as if he was having a secret affair behind Cheng Che’s back.

He instantly felt he owed Cheng Che, and without thinking, agreed to visit his house next time.

Cheng Che was delighted, wishing Shen Qingyu could come tomorrow, but since Shen Qingyu was out of town, he couldn’t rush back. He could only make an excuse and say he’d go in a few days.

“Are you done chatting?”

Shen Qingyu was startled by Lu Xiao’s voice, his hand shaking, and the phone dropped onto his body.

He looked over. Lu Xiao’s hands were clasped behind his head, staring at him eagerly, like a puppy seeking its master’s attention.

Shen Qingyu said, “I’m done.” He quietly turned off the phone screen.

“Then let’s sleep.” Lu Xiao waved his hand and turned off all the lights in the room.

This was Shen Qingyu’s first time sleeping in the same bed with someone else. Although the bed was large, and they had two duvets so they wouldn’t touch each other unless there were sudden movements, Shen Qingyu was still a bit nervous.

Especially after the lights were turned off. In the dark room, his hearing was magnified infinitely. Lu Xiao’s breathing was right next to him, and it was the first time he found someone’s breathing to be so “noisy.”

Shen Qingyu rubbed his hair, turned onto his side, and tucked himself tightly into the duvet.

“Shen Qingyu.”

“…What.”

“Are you asleep?”

Shen Qingyu rolled his eyes fiercely, completely condemning this attempt at making conversation: “Yes, I am.”

Lu Xiao, however, ignored him: “I can’t sleep. Talk to me.”

“Why?” If you can’t sleep, fine, but I can. If I talk to you, I won’t be able to sleep either, will I? Shen Qingyu grumbled internally.

Lu Xiao analyzed: “Maybe I’m not used to the bed.”

“But you don’t seem like you have trouble sleeping at school at all.”

Lu Xiao choked, seemingly a little embarrassed, and grumbled: “I’m used to the school beds, so it’s just normal.”

Shen Qingyu: “…”

“Are you happy today?” He was originally lying flat. As he said this, he carefully turned to face Shen Qingyu. This seemed to be what he truly wanted to say.

Shen Qingyu instinctively nodded, then realizing Lu Xiao couldn’t see, he said, “Yes, I’m happy.”

“Mhm.” Lu Xiao let out a satisfied sound from his throat. “Then I’m happy too.”

Shen Qingyu felt a warmth in his heart. Setting aside the matter of whether he liked him or not, Lu Xiao was actually quite suitable to be a friend.

…

The next day, they visited all the attractions in the city center. Because the decision was sudden, they couldn’t book tickets for the provincial museum, which Shen Qingyu regretted slightly. However, this just gave him an excuse to visit the city again someday.

The attractions were quite clustered, and the recommended way to travel was mostly walking or riding shared bicycles.

Shen Qingyu suggested they each scan a bicycle, but Lu Xiao refused.

“I don’t want to ride a bike.”

“Why? If you don’t want to ride a bike, we can take a taxi,” Shen Qingyu offered his analysis. “But it’s peak season now, and it’s so congested here. We could cycle to our destination in the time it takes for a taxi to arrive.”

Lu Xiao held up his index finger and shook it in front of Shen Qingyu. He was wearing a white T-shirt and black cargo pants. Doing this motion with a straight face made him look cool, but what he said made Shen Qingyu exasperated:

“Because I don’t know how to ride a bike.”

Shen Qingyu didn’t believe him: “Don’t be ridiculous. You can ride a motorcycle but not a bicycle?”

“I really can’t,” he said with a sad face.

Shen Qingyu: “…Then let’s rent two electric scooters.”

Lu Xiao seized the opportunity: “Since we’re doing electric scooters, why rent two? One is enough. I’ll drive you.”

Shen Qingyu suspected this was his ultimate goal! He looked Lu Xiao over critically. Actually, Lu Xiao hadn’t planned to wear this outfit this morning, but seeing that Shen Qingyu was wearing black and white, he changed into this to match.

There was a rental place for electric scooters nearby. Lu Xiao was quick. He soon put on a helmet, rode a scooter to Shen Qingyu, and handed him the other helmet.

“Get on,” Lu Xiao said confidently.

Shen Qingyu looked at the pink electric scooter, pursed his lips, and straddled the seat, putting on his helmet with Lu Xiao’s help.

“Find the navigation and show me the way.”

Shen Qingyu hummed in response: “Ride slowly.”

“I know. Don’t worry, I guarantee you’ll be satisfied.”

Shen Qingyu: “…”

When they arrived at the attractions, Lu Xiao insisted on taking pictures of Shen Qingyu, but his photography skills were quite cringe-worthy. He didn’t get angry even when Shen Qingyu rolled his eyes, happily continuing to take “ugly” photos of him.

In his words: “What’s ugly about them? You look good no matter how I photograph you.”

“Empty flattery.”

“Feel my conscience,” Lu Xiao grabbed his hand without hesitation and pressed it against his chest. “I’m telling the truth.”

Through the fabric of his shirt, Shen Qingyu could feel the warmth of his skin and his strong heartbeat.

Shen Qingyu pulled his hand back, changing the subject: “Let me take a few pictures of you.”

“Okay.” Lu Xiao put his hands in his pockets, letting Shen Qingyu take pictures.

But he obviously didn’t care whether Shen Qingyu took good pictures of him or not. He didn’t even look at them, immediately took Shen Qingyu’s phone, switched it to selfie mode, and wrapped an arm around his shoulder, pulling him into a hug: “Let’s take a picture together.”

Click, click. Several photos were saved on Shen Qingyu’s phone just like that.

Lu Xiao admired them for a moment, then said with great satisfaction, “You two look so well-matched.”

Shen Qingyu heard this and unceremoniously gave him an elbow jab: “Let’s go. Next stop.”

Lu Xiao clutched his stomach, feigning pain, and followed a few steps behind him, staggering. Shen Qingyu noticed he hadn’t caught up and looked back to see him already putting on an act behind him.

“Stop faking it. I didn’t even use any force. What are you pretending for?”

Lu Xiao failed at playing the victim and showing misery. He didn’t feel embarrassed, rubbed his stomach, and chuckled: “If you rub it for me, it won’t hurt anymore.”

Such a scamp. Shen Qingyu thought.

But he truly had no way of dealing with a Lu Xiao like this. He felt Lu Xiao knew this about him, which was why he was so reckless.

…

The four-day, three-night trip quickly came to an end. These days were spent almost entirely under the scorching sun. Although Shen Qingyu was very careful with sunscreen, he still felt he had gotten much darker.

Lu Xiao couldn’t see where he had tanned at all. He put his arm next to Shen Qingyu’s for a comparison.

Shen Qingyu: “?” What was the meaning of this?

Lu Xiao said, “Where did you get tan? You’re clearly very fair.”

Shen Qingyu looked down. Comparing the two different skin tones, he did look ridiculously fair next to Lu Xiao.

On the return flight, Lu Xiao, as usual, slept soundly leaning on Shen Qingyu’s shoulder under the guise of airsickness. Shen Qingyu was also exhausted, but sleep eluded him.

The plane landed around noon. Lu Xiao drove him home, dropped off a sentence, and sped away: “I’m going home to sleep. I might sleep for a long time, so don’t miss me too much.”

Shen Qingyu waved his hand: “Go quickly.” I won’t miss you.

The house was exactly as he had left it. It looked the same as when he walked out.

He stood alone by the window, feeling as if the past few days of fulfilling and exhausting travel were just a dream.

Lu Xiao was right; he found himself missing him a bit.

Even Shen Qingyu was somewhat confused himself: did he truly like Lu Xiao, or was he just lonely for too long and craving companionship?

Shen Qingyu quickly pulled himself together and stopped contemplating these abstract thoughts. He squatted down to organize his suitcase, neatly placing the souvenirs he brought back on the table.

These were for Song Yu, these for Cheng Che, these for Gu Ye, and the rest were all for Yang Yu.

Shen Qingyu had initially planned to bring a gift for Chen Qiming too, but Lu Xiao stopped him.

Lu Xiao said he would prepare Chen Qiming’s gift.

The next day, after Shen Qingyu finished tutoring, he received a message from Cheng Che.

He had promised Cheng Che he would visit his house today.

Shen Qingyu bought some fruit and snacks beforehand, feeling it was bad to go empty-handed.

Cheng Che’s parents weren’t home, and he was alone. The living room was filled with sunlight, giving Shen Qingyu a very warm feeling overall.

Family photos were hanging on the wall, arranged by year.

These photos encapsulated Cheng Che’s life for the past decade or so.

The most recent one was taken this year. Shen Qingyu stood in front of the picture, looking at their family’s happy faces, and couldn’t help but think: If his parents were still alive, their family would probably be this happy and wonderful too.

Unfortunately, his parents passed away when he was very young. Over the years, if it weren’t for the old photos, Shen Qingyu would definitely start forgetting what they looked like. They would be like faded old photographs, eventually becoming only black and white images. That’s why Shen Qingyu immediately scanned those old photos into his phone, at least to keep the colors vibrant now.

“Just sit anywhere,” Cheng Che warmly invited him, having already washed and arranged the fruit Shen Qingyu brought.

Shen Qingyu sat down without awkwardness. “This is a little souvenir I brought for you.”

Cheng Che glanced at the packaging bag. He didn’t follow Lu Xiao’s Moments at all, so he naturally hadn’t seen the location Lu Xiao posted that day, but he was a bit surprised that Shen Qingyu had gone traveling.

“Did you go out of town?” he probed.

Shen Qingyu didn’t really want to lie to him, but he also didn’t plan to say he went with Lu Xiao, so he admitted openly: “Yes, I did.”

A vague sense of unease rose in Cheng Che, but he couldn’t pinpoint where it came from. “Was it fun? I’ve actually wanted to visit that city.”

Shen Qingyu looked him straight in the eye and said earnestly: “It was fun, and the food was even better! If you want to go, we can go together next time we have time. I can be your tour guide.”

Cheng Che couldn’t help but reach out and gently stroke his head. “Okay, but since you’ve already been there, how about we go to a new city we haven’t visited before next time?”