After The Beautiful Woman Moves Into The Jock's Dorm Room - Chapter 80

Chapter 80: “What? Is my body too good, are you feeling self-conscious…?”

The academic building was colder than Shen Qingyu had imagined. The cold wind seeped through the window cracks, penetrating his bones. He bundled up in his thick coat, his movements becoming clumsy, and his fingertips felt stiff when turning book pages.

He couldn’t sit still for more than one morning. But since he was the one who suggested coming, he couldn’t bring himself to call it quits now. He kept secretly glancing at Cheng Che, hoping the other person would understand his hint.

After Shen Qingyu was caught peeking at Cheng Che for the third time, Cheng Che put down his pen, cupped his head, and asked in a low voice, “What’s wrong? Can’t sit still?”

He was surprised that Cheng Che understood him so well. Shen Qingyu giggled sheepishly and nodded: “I can’t focus anymore. I want to go back to the dorm and lie in my warm bed.”

Cheng Che looked a little helpless. He reached out and ruffled his hair, then immediately began packing his things. “Then let’s go.”

Shen Qingyu didn’t have to worry about anything; he just followed obediently behind him.

Standing in the hallway, Shen Qingyu thought of Song Yu again. He wondered which classroom he was in. If he had known the academic building was this cold, he should have told him to stay in the dorm to study.

Passing a small classroom, the wind blew the door open. Shen Qingyu looked up and saw Song Yu sitting in the first row. He was wearing headphones, focusing intently on his book. The knuckles of the hand holding the gel pen were white, looking somewhat stiff.

Shen Qingyu stopped. One of the back windows in this classroom seemed to be broken and couldn’t be closed properly, making the room temperature almost the same as outside.

Seeing Shen Qingyu hadn’t followed, Cheng Che quickly stopped, returned to his side, and followed his gaze to see Song Yu. His expression froze slightly. He cautiously observed Shen Qingyu and found a trace of struggle in his eyes. Cheng Che sighed and put his arm around his shoulder, asking:

“What is it?”

Shen Qingyu snapped back to reality, pointing in Song Yu’s direction: “Isn’t he cold in that classroom?” And he was wearing so little.

“Should we call him back to the dorm?”

Shen Qingyu was taken aback.

“The library is closed. If he wants to study, besides the academic building, the only other option is the dorm,” Cheng Che explained. He vaguely guessed that Shen Qingyu might know about Song Yu’s feelings for him, and he could see the struggle and hesitation in his eyes.

Cheng Che always put Shen Qingyu first; he supported whatever Shen Qingyu wanted to do.

Shen Qingyu mustered his courage and tapped the door. Song Yu slowly looked up when he heard the sound. He was surprised to see Shen Qingyu. Just as he was about to say something, he couldn’t help but cough a few times.

Shen Qingyu frowned, “Song Yu, come back to the dorm to study. It’s too cold here.”

Song Yu abruptly stood up, wetting his dry lips, his tone cautious and tentative: “Can I?”

“You’re still paying the bed fee; who can stop you from returning to the dorm?” Shen Qingyu snapped. He even suspected this was why Song Yu paid the bed fee despite registering as a commuter.

“Okay.” Song Yu lowered his head slightly and followed the two, maintaining a respectful distance. He never got close to Shen Qingyu, which surprised Cheng Che somewhat.

However, his gaze remained fixed on Shen Qingyu’s face, filled with lingering affection.

Passing the school pharmacy, Song Yu went in to buy two boxes of medicine. Cheng Che suddenly turned to Shen Qingyu: “You know everything, don’t you?”

Shen Qingyu was initially confused, but then he understood what Cheng Che meant. He nodded awkwardly: “I eavesdropped on your conversation in the library last time.”

Cheng Che had thought Song Yu had confessed to him, so he was surprised by this. He gave a soft laugh and held Shen Qingyu’s cold hand.

Feeling the warmth of Cheng Che’s palm, Shen Qingyu quietly asked, “Will you think I’m…”

Cheng Che reached out his other hand, covered Shen Qingyu’s mouth, shook his head, and then said seriously, “No. I just think you’re too soft-hearted.”

Shen Qingyu felt his nose sting and his eyes tear up. He quickly looked down at the ground, his feet restlessly shuffling on the snow, making a crunching sound. He had never met someone so gentle. Even knowing he had many flaws, Cheng Che still chose to be tolerant, even framing his flaws as virtues.

Cheng Che squeezed his cheek, comforting him: “Did you forget? I told you I’d love you no matter what.”

Shen Qingyu nodded heavily to show he remembered and hadn’t forgotten.

Just then, Song Yu came out of the pharmacy. Cheng Che used his thumb to wipe away the tear track at the corner of Shen Qingyu’s eye, put his arm around his shoulder, and walked away.

…

When Shen Qingyu arrived at the dorm, Lu Xiao was already awake. He probably hadn’t expected Shen Qingyu to return suddenly. He was only wearing underwear, his hair sticking up messily. He was wearing only a pair of black underwear and was bent over picking up the shirt he had casually tossed on the floor last night. From Shen Qingyu’s angle, he could see the bulge of his thigh muscles and the very defined lines of his back.

The highly impactful sight instantly made Shen Qingyu freeze in place before Cheng Che, who reacted first, covered his eyes:

“Put on some clothes!”

Lu Xiao raised an eyebrow, slowly putting on his shirt while saying, “What? Is my body too good? Are you feeling self-conscious?”

Shen Qingyu swallowed and carefully peeked at Lu Xiao’s body through the gaps in Cheng Che’s fingers.

Mhm… his butt is quite firm, and his chest muscles are big, too. Shen Qingyu silently assessed.

Cheng Che only let go after Lu Xiao had finished dressing. Shen Qingyu’s cheeks were slightly flushed, whether from being covered by Cheng Che or from seeing Lu Xiao’s body, he wasn’t sure.

Cheng Che’s face was grim. He threw his backpack onto the desk. Shen Qingyu, pretending he hadn’t seen anything, followed him.

“Oh, you’re back,” Lu Xiao was in a good mood, so he greeted Song Yu when he saw him.

Cheng Che’s mouth twitched. He really wanted to see Lu Xiao’s expression if he knew that Song Yu also liked Xiao Yu. Would he still be smiling then?

Shen Qingyu peeled off his clothes layer by layer, like an onion. He took the clean, dry pajamas to the bathroom to change. When he came out, he felt refreshed and light. Song Yu was already quietly sitting at his desk studying. Afraid of disturbing him, Shen Qingyu deliberately lowered his voice while talking to Lu Xiao:

“Are you going out?”

Lu Xiao responded with a listless “Mhm.” “My dad told me to go home.”

“Well, bye then.”

“You come home with me,” Lu Xiao blurted out.

Shen Qingyu: “?”

“I told him last night that I had someone I liked, and he told me to bring the person I like home to meet him,” Lu Xiao’s tone was very natural, completely unaware that anything was amiss. “My dad is a lot of work, but don’t worry, I definitely won’t let you be wronged.”

Shen Qingyu momentarily didn’t understand his thought process and decisively refused: “I won’t.”

“Why?” Lu Xiao asked, scowling.

“I should be asking you why. Why should I go home with you? Are you going to come out to your dad? Besides, we aren’t in that kind of relationship.” Shen Qingyu believed his reasoning was very clear, but Lu Xiao was clearly not on the same page.

Lu Xiao said, “I didn’t say we were in that kind of relationship. It’s just that my dad said he wanted to meet the person I like, and aren’t you the person I like?”

His matter-of-fact tone made Shen Qingyu doubt himself.

Shen Qingyu closed his eyes, his head throbbing.

“Come back with me,” Lu Xiao urged.

Shen Qingyu opened his eyes and said firmly, “I won’t. I… I didn’t ask you to tell your dad you have someone you like. It has nothing to do with me. You figure it out yourself.”

Lu Xiao looked a little disappointed, but he didn’t press the issue further. He quickly got dressed and left the dorm.

With Lu Xiao gone, the dorm was much quieter. Cheng Che came out of the bathroom and saw Shen Qingyu still standing on the floor. He smiled and asked why he wasn’t in bed. “Didn’t you say you wanted to lie in bed?”

“Going now!” Shen Qingyu smiled and climbed into bed, pulling the curtains shut and burrowing under the covers to play on his phone.

This feeling was absolutely wonderful!

Shen Qingyu woke up when the sky was already dark. The dorm lights were off, with only a warm light glowing at Song Yu’s desk. He quietly pulled back a corner of the curtain. From this angle, he could see Song Yu’s focused profile. The light softened his sharp features, and even the action of turning a page was exceptionally gentle.

Suddenly, Song Yu looked up, the corners of his mouth slightly lifted. His lips silently moved: “What are you looking at?”

Caught red-handed, Shen Qingyu played dumb, tilted his head, then swoosh retreated back into the covers.

His heart was pounding like a drum. He opened his eyes wide in the darkness, listening to the subtle sound of turning pages below. After a while, the chair below scraped, and footsteps stopped right beneath his bed.

“Xiao Yu,” Song Yu’s voice was very soft.

Shen Qingyu held his breath.

“Thank you for still allowing me to come back,” Song Yu paused. “It’s… very warm here.”

The footsteps moved away, and the bathroom door softly closed. Only then did Shen Qingyu slowly let out a breath, a faint ripple spreading through his heart.

…

Shen Qingyu and Cheng Che went to the cafeteria for dinner. When they returned, Song Yu had already left. His spot was clean, as if he had never been back.

A feeling that was hard to describe flitted through Shen Qingyu’s heart—a sense of relief, yet also a faint emptiness.

Not long after, Lu Xiao returned. He violently shoved the door open, making a jarring, loud noise.

Lu Xiao carried a chill with him. His face was grim, there was a visible bruise near his mouth, and his cheekbone was scraped and bleeding. When he walked, he seemed hesitant to put weight on his left leg.

“Lu Xiao? What happened to you?” Shen Qingyu jumped up from his chair in alarm.

Lu Xiao flung his jacket onto the chair. The movement snagged his injury, making him hiss sharply.

“Nothing, just a fight with my dad.”

Cheng Che frowned, noticing the signs: “Your dad hit you?”

Lu Xiao scoffed, which was an admission.

He looked up at Shen Qingyu, his gaze complex: “He asked who the person I liked was. I couldn’t hold back and told him it was a guy.”

He twisted the corner of his mouth into a painful, mocking smile. “He thought I was crazy, that I was sick, and wanted to take me to the hospital to check my brain. I refused, so we fought. Damn, he hits hard.”

“He was the one who insisted I go back, and then he started giving me a hard time. I really shouldn’t have gone back,” Lu Xiao seethed with anger, slamming his fist hard on the desk.

Shen Qingyu looked at the injuries on his face and the bruises on his arm after he rolled up his sleeve. It made him feel very uneasy.

The sight of the fresh blood made his eyes sting, and an emotion called pity welled up. He quietly went to get his first-aid kit and handed it to Lu Xiao.

“Treat it. It’ll be a problem if it gets infected.”

Lu Xiao paused, seeing the clear worry in Shen Qingyu’s eyes. The aggressiveness on his face dissipated somewhat, and he mumbled, “Thanks.”

Shen Qingyu sat back down in his seat, watching Lu Xiao clumsily treat his wounds, his mind wandering.

Lu Xiao’s father reacted so strongly just because his son liked someone of the same gender.

What about… Cheng Che’s mother?

Cheng Che’s mother was indeed very gentle and kind to him. He could feel that Auntie Cheng genuinely liked him. But if she knew her son was with another boy whom she treated like her own child, would she also think this was an incomprehensible illness? Would she also look at him with disappointment, shock, or even disgust?

This thought, like a small needle, sharply pricked Shen Qingyu’s heart, bringing with it a wave of sharp fear and pain.

He involuntarily looked at Cheng Che, who was pouring him hot water. In the light, Cheng Che’s profile was gentle and calm.

Cheng Che seemed to notice his gaze. He walked over with the cup and softly asked, “What’s wrong? Your face is so pale.”

His hand naturally rested on Shen Qingyu’s forehead. The warm touch, however, made Shen Qingyu sharply flinch.

“N-nothing,” Shen Qingyu lowered his head, took the cup, and the rising steam concealed his chaotic emotions.

Worry weighed heavily on his heart, but Shen Qingyu forced a faint smile.