Are All You Straight Men Like This? - Chapter 10

Early the next morning, Ye Ran was groggily awakened by the sound of someone climbing down from their bunk.

He hadn’t pulled his blackout curtains the night before, and the faint morning light filtered through the mesh. Outside, a light drizzle was still falling, creating a hazy autumn scene against the dry branches of the old trees.

Xiao Pang was climbing down as quietly as possible. Ye Ran looked at him and noticed his face was deathly pale, with cold sweat constantly breaking out on his forehead.

“…Xiao Pang?”

“Ye Ran, sorry for waking you,” Xiao Pang whispered, clutching his stomach. His voice was hoarse, as if he hadn’t slept well all night. Within seconds, his brow furrowed again. “I’m hitting the head… sorry.”

Ye Ran rolled over and sat up. He stared at Xiao Pang’s retreating back for a few seconds as his sleep-addled brain finally cleared the fog. This reaction of Xiao Pang’s looked exactly like how he had been on the day he ate something bad.

He got dressed and climbed down.

After a quick wash on the balcony, nearly ten minutes had passed. The sound of a flushing toilet rang out, and Xiao Pang walked out of the bathroom looking completely drained, his gaze unfocused.

“Ye Ran?” He finally managed to focus his eyes. “You’re up too?”

“Mhm,” Ye Ran asked. “What’s wrong with you?”

“Must have caught a chill in the rain yesterday,” Xiao Pang said with a bitter smile.

Ye Ran frowned. “I’ll take you to the hospital.”

“The hospital?” Xiao Pang shook his head. “No need. I’ll just drink some hot water and go back to sleep… ugh… yue…”

Before he could finish his sentence, he covered his mouth and dashed back into the bathroom.

A few minutes later, Xiao Pang’s face was a sickly green-white. He shuffled out of the bathroom with weak legs, gasping for air with every step. He reached out a trembling hand toward Ye Ran: “…Ye… Ye Ran… help… help me.”

Ye Ran: “…”

He immediately helped Xiao Pang toward the balcony door. Just as he pulled the sliding glass door open, he saw another figure standing in the center of the dorm.

Zip—

Shen Shi pulled up the zipper of his windbreaker and looked up. His eyes were dark and calm as he glanced toward them.

“Shen Shi?” Ye Ran said.

The scene felt like a repeat of something from long ago.

“Mhm,” Shen Shi grabbed the umbrella and raincoat from behind the door. His voice carried the low rasp of someone who had just woken up. “Let’s go. To the school hospital.”

The Jing University school hospital was nearly empty at this hour.

A fine drizzle fell along the way. Halfway there, Xiao Pang’s legs gave out, and he collapsed to his knees. Shen Shi simply hoisted him onto his back and began striding forward.

Ye Ran walked beside them, holding the umbrella high. The cold wind blew the fine rain into his face; his hair was damp, and water had gotten into his eyes, making his vision blurry. He squinted uncomfortably.

Once inside the hospital, the doctor immediately arranged a series of tests for Xiao Pang. Half-dead, Xiao Pang slumped in his chair and was escorted to various examination rooms, supported by Ye Ran and Shen Shi.

The results came back quickly. Xiao Pang didn’t have a fever; his diarrhea was caused by eating irritating food combined with excessive exposure to the cold. Because he showed symptoms of dehydration, he needed an IV drip.

By the time everything was settled, Xiao Pang was sitting on a chair against the wall, draped in an extra jacket Ye Ran had specifically brought from the dorm. The hospital’s AC wasn’t set very high, so it was a bit chilly, but the jacket blocked the cold draft. Xiao Pang emerged from his daze. Watching Ye Ran’s retreating back as he went to fetch water in a disposable cup, Xiao Pang suddenly let out a choked sob.

Shen Shi also withdrew his gaze and looked at him with a frown. “What’s wrong? Where does it hurt?”

Xiao Pang shook his head with tears in his eyes. “It’s not that.”

He took a deep breath, his expression shifting through several unpredictable phases. Under Shen Shi’s increasingly serious gaze, he closed his eyes and whispered with a look of suicidal resolve: “…I’ve decided.”

Shen Shi raised an eyebrow.

“I’ll just give in to Ye Ran,” Xiao Pang choked out.

Shen Shi: “…”

Having said it aloud, Xiao Pang seemed to have laid down a heavy burden, and his words became more fluid: “Ye Ran saved my life. In ancient times, this is the kind of thing you’d repay with your own body.”

He successfully convinced himself and even sought validation from Shen Shi: “Right, Shen Shi?”

Shen Shi stood up expressionless, watching Ye Ran walk back toward them from a distance.

Ye Ran was wearing the same clothes from yesterday; the black jacket suited his complexion well. He held a steaming cup of water, the vapor curling upward. As he got closer, Ye Ran looked up and saw Shen Shi’s dark, brooding eyes.

“What is it?” He stopped hesitantly. Why did Shen Shi look a bit terrifying?

“Nothing,” Shen Shi took the warm water from his hand and shoved it into the hands of the eagerly waiting Xiao Pang. “You should rest for a bit too. Yu Ting will help us sign in for the morning class, so don’t worry.”

Only then did Ye Ran remember he had a class this morning. However, college English attendance wasn’t too difficult; although the teacher liked to ask questions, many students in the class would raise their hands to earn participation points.

After a busy morning, Ye Ran was also a bit tired. He glanced at the nearby chairs—a four-seater bench. There were empty spots next to both Xiao Pang and Shen Shi. He was about to sit next to Xiao Pang when Shen Shi suddenly called out to him: “Ye Ran.”

“Hmm?” Ye Ran looked over.

Shen Shi held his phone and said, “Yu Ting is asking for your student ID number.”

As Ye Ran was about to answer, Shen Shi sat down on the bench and handed the phone to him: “Type it in yourself.”

“Okay.”

Ye Ran sat down beside him and began typing. Out of the corner of his eye, a cup of warm water was offered to him—it was the same water he had just fetched for Shen Shi. Shen Shi held the cup with his long, pale fingers. “Drink some to warm up.”

“No need,” Ye Ran smiled. “I already drank at the water dispenser before coming back.”

On the contrary, Shen Shi had spent the morning carrying Xiao Pang and being blasted by the cold wind; he was the one who should drink something to warm his body.

After a long moment, he heard Shen Shi respond.

“Okay.”

Gradually, the school hospital began to fill with people.

The AC temperature was turned up accordingly. After a night of agony, Xiao Pang began to nod off. Ye Ran held out for a while but eventually closed his eyes groggily. The blurred voices of people around him sounded like they were behind a barrier, muffled and indistinct.

At some point, something was placed over his half-dreaming head. A hood blocked out the harsh hospital lights. He leaned against the firm shoulder of the person beside him, his breathing growing deep.

People came and went in the hospital.

Shen Shi looked down at his phone, the dim light from the screen illuminating the profile of his cold, sharp features. Strangers nearby were discussing something, and some girls excitedly pulled out their phones to take photos.

His expression remained cold as he reached out to pull Ye Ran’s hood lower, incidentally blocking the view of Xiao Pang, who was sleeping with drool at the corner of his mouth. He continued to scroll through his phone calmly.

Partway through, a nurse came to check the IV.

Xiao Pang woke up and rubbed his eyes. “It’s good, my stomach doesn’t hurt as much.”

“Watch your diet for the next few days. Eat bland foods—millet porridge or plain white porridge are fine. Drink plenty of water and don’t touch anything spicy or irritating. What was it you ate before? Extra spicy snail noodles, right? If your stomach is weak, don’t eat stuff like that. Be responsible for your own body,” the nurse said.

Xiao Pang nodded sheepishly. “Right, right, I got it. I definitely won’t eat that again.”

(Translation: I’ll only eat medium spicy from now on.)

After the nurse left, he was fully awake. After sitting bored for a while, he realized his phone was in the pocket on the side where the IV was. “Shen Shi, grab my phone for me.”

Receiving no response, Xiao Pang turned his head and was immediately stunned.

On the bench beside him, Shen Shi was leaning against the wall, and Ye Ran was leaning against Shen Shi’s shoulder. Both were sound asleep.

A square window was set into the wall. Outside, beneath the grey, dim sky, the fine rain continued to fall relentlessly. Occasionally, a person would pass by in a hurry, their feet treading on withered yellow leaves.

He slowly withdrew his gaze, lost in thought.

They spent the entire morning at the hospital. Around 11:00 AM, the three of them returned to the dorm from the cafeteria.

In the dorm, Shu-ge was watching a variety show, laughing his head off at a celebrity’s antics. Hearing the knock, he looked back: “Eh? Why did you three come back together?”

“Lin Feipeng, why didn’t you go to English class today? Good thing I signed in for you, otherwise you’d be toast.”

Shu-ge and Xiao Pang shared the same English class, and the teacher was very strict about signing in every session. Xiao Pang stared at him silently.

Shu-ge, oblivious, was once again cracked up by the show. “I’ll recommend this show to you guys. I’ve binged three episodes today. It’s called Walking… Holy crap, Lin Feipeng, what’s gotten into you?!”

Xiao Pang dragged his sickly, broken body over and frantically shook Shu-ge by the shoulders.

“Do you know how I spent this morning? Do you?!”

“Huh? I don’t know! Did you three go on a group outing? Without me! Are you isolating me?! I’m gonna expose you on the campus ‘Confession Wall’!”

“Yes! We went on a group outing to the school hospital! Go ahead and expose us!”

Ye Ran took off his jacket, listening to Shu-ge and Xiao Pang frantically accusing each other. He smiled, found a change of clothes, and went to the bathroom to shower.

By the time he came out, the dorm had returned to peace. Shu-ge and Xiao Pang were huddling together watching the variety show, laughing uproariously.

Hearing the balcony door open, Xiao Pang turned his head. Seeing Ye Ran casually dressed in a short-sleeved shirt and shorts, his expression shifted. A few seconds later, he looked away with a look of certainty.

Ye Ran finished his shower, his hair damp. The small mole at the corner of his eye sat against his cool-white skin, looking as clean and clear as if it had been washed. As he dried his hair, he noticed that the aura around Shen Shi was inexplicably cold and heavy.

Following Shen Shi’s gaze, Ye Ran saw Xiao Pang and Shu-ge sitting with their heads close together. His movements paused as he felt a wave of confusion and tension.

What’s going on? Did something I don’t know about happen in the dorm in just twenty minutes?

He hesitantly returned to his seat. After a moment, he pulled out his tablet and found the show Shu-ge said was so funny. He turned back and asked Shen Shi: “Shen Shi, want to watch it together?”

Xiao Pang immediately looked over, his gaze complex.

Shen Shi was silent for a few seconds. He stood up, his tall, upright frame casting a shadow. Within that shadow, he casually withdrew his gaze and nodded. “Okay.”

Sensing the atmosphere around him warming up, Ye Ran nodded to himself. As expected. Shen Shi also wants to integrate into the dorm life.

Dorm 211 had no classes in the afternoon. Everyone had the habit of napping; at 1:30 PM, the lights were turned off on schedule. Ye Ran hadn’t slept comfortably that morning, so he fell asleep as soon as he hit the bed.

Vaguely, he heard the sound of typing from the neighboring bed. Xiao Pang wasn’t asleep yet; his phone screen was bright, and he seemed to be chatting.

[The info was wrong. I’ve realized I had some misunderstandings about Ye Ran.]

Inside his pitch-black bed curtains, Shen Shi looked at the message from Xiao Pang. Shen Shi: [What do you mean?] Xiao Pang: [I realized Ye Ran is straight.] Shen Shi: [.] Xiao Pang: [I did him wrong. He’s just naturally attentive. I can’t believe I made such wild guesses about him. I’m going to apologize to him!]

Seeing this, Shen Shi lowered his eyes: [Don’t.] Xiao Pang: [?] Shen Shi: [Don’t make him feel uncomfortable.]

Xiao Pang contemplated for a few seconds and quickly sent a long string of messages. Xiao Pang: [You’re right!] Xiao Pang: [I still have a lot to learn from you when it comes to being a decent person.] Xiao Pang: [If I hadn’t seen you two sleeping with your heads together this morning, I probably wouldn’t have snapped out of it.] Xiao Pang: [As expected, there aren’t that many twists and turns in the world of straight men.] Xiao Pang: [You two had your heads together and there was zero ‘special vibe.’ Ye Ran didn’t even blush. He’s definitely straight! It’s clearly just brotherhood; I was being too narrow-minded!] Xiao Pang: [Speaking of which, Ye Ran specifically brought me a jacket today. At first, I was embarrassed to wear it, but thinking about it now, his jacket smells pretty good. Maybe I should ask him what laundry detergent he uses?]

Shen Shi closed his phone expressionless, his eyes dark. He suppressed the urge to delete Xiao Pang as a friend. A few seconds later, he pulled back his curtain, intending to get up for his charger.

As he opened the curtain, he looked up and inadvertently saw Ye Ran in the opposite bed. Ye Ran was sleeping deeply, half his face buried in the quilt and shielded by the light white mesh. His soft, dark hair was spread messily across the pillow, quiet and silent.

Even without seeing his face, Shen Shi could already imagine his raven-feather eyelashes drooping down, casting a thin shadow and hiding those clean, gentle eyes.

He inexplicably gripped the curtain tighter, his knuckles pale and distinct. After a moment of silence, he lay back down. His dark phoenix eyes stared at the top of the bed, where the curtains were so black they didn’t let in a single ray of light. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he slowly closed his eyes.

Suddenly, the phone lit up with a faint glow. Yu Ting: [You there?]

Yu Ting was tossing and turning in his bed. He thought of the news his roommate brought back—that someone had seen Shen Shi at the school hospital. Photos of Shen Shi had already been posted on the campus forum, with many replies following. He had seen that photo too, and it made him increasingly restless.

Shen Shi always maintained a sense of distance from others. Forget sleeping with his head on someone’s shoulder; even years ago when Yu Ting had finished a 1,000-meter run, gasping for air and desperately needing a shoulder to lean on, Shen Shi had pretended not to see him because he was covered in sweat.

Thinking about it made Yu Ting angry. What, does Ye Ran not sweat? He had seen the rain in Ye Ran’s hair; was Shen Shi not disgusted then?

The priority wasn’t whether Ye Ran sweated or not, but the fact that Shen Shi’s current “mysterious state” felt wrong. More importantly, Shen Shi had now learned to “label a straight man as gay,” which was terrifying. Yu Ting could be scared awake in the middle of the night, fearing that one day he’d be “expelled” from the ranks of straight men.

No. As one of Shen Shi’s few friends, he had an obligation to protect his own rights. After agonizing for a while, he rubbed his aching thigh and cautiously sent a message. [You there?]

Just like yesterday, today’s Shen Shi was equally cold. Shen Shi: [.]

Yu Ting sat cautiously against the wall and asked tentatively: [My roommate just said they saw you at the school hospital. Is that why you didn’t go to English class this morning?] Shen Shi: [Mhm.] Yu Ting: [Are you sick?] Shen Shi: [No. I took a roommate.] Yu Ting: […Was it your ‘gay’ roommate?]

The other side was silent for a long time. Yu Ting waited in a panic. Finally, a message came from Shen Shi. Shen Shi: [I had some misunderstandings about him.]

Yu Ting: “!!!” Yu Ting was practically moved to tears. My brother, you finally noticed! How does that chubby guy look gay at all! In your whole Dorm 211, there’s only one gay guy, alright! He took a deep breath, not daring to celebrate too early. Yu Ting: [Hmm? What kind of misunderstandings?] Shen Shi: [He’s not a homosexual.]

Yu Ting let his tears flow freely. The sky over the straight zone is blue again! The chubby guy is finally cleared of all charges! Shen Shi: [He’s just not very bright.] Yu Ting: “…?”

The tears stopped abruptly. Within two seconds, the blue sky over the chubby guy was covered by a dark cloud named “Not Very Bright.” Yu Ting: [?] He wanted to help the guy explain a bit; after all, not everyone was a top-tier scholar. People like Shen Shi were rare—

Before he could finish typing, another message came from Shen Shi. Shen Shi: [Just like you.]

Yu Ting: “?” Yu Ting: “???”

I’m fcking losing it.* Now it’s not just labeling straight men as gay. Now it’s indiscriminate attacks, is that it?!

He gritted his teeth in anger, put down his phone, and climbed down to use the bathroom. As soon as his feet hit the floor, the curtains of the remaining three beds in the dorm were pulled back. His three roommates poked their heads out simultaneously and let out a collective sigh of relief.

Yu Ting: “…What is it?” Roommate 1: “Scared us to death. Thought you were going to fall again today.” Roommate 2: “Exactly. Once or twice is enough, but a third time would be too much. I heard only people with underdeveloped cerebellums fall for no reason.” Roommate 3: “Yu Ting probably isn’t that bad. It just feels like he’s simply not very bright.” Roommate 1: “Hmm? Does an underdeveloped cerebellum mean the same as being ‘not very bright’?” Roommates 1, 2, & 3: “…” Roommates 1, 2, & 3: “Oh, right! Hahahahaha!”

Yu Ting: “…” Just destroy it already. This world.