Are All You Straight Men Like This? - Chapter 11

Ye Ran walked out of the art studio and saw Shen Shi waiting by the door.

Shen Shi was leaning against the wall with a book tucked under his arm. He looked casual and relaxed as he scrolled through his phone with his head down. Students passing by would occasionally steal a few glances at him, but no one dared to strike up a conversation, nor did anyone dare to take a secret photo.

“Shen Shi.”

Shen Shi put away his phone and looked at him. “Class is over?”

“Yeah, I finished my task early today,” Ye Ran said with a smile. “Let’s go. Fatty just sent me a message asking me to bring him a bowl of porridge.”

The two left side-by-side, their figures gradually blurring into the drizzling rain.

More people began filtering out of the studio, whispering as they watched the scene.

“Ye Ran and Shen Shi have a really good relationship.”

“Well, they are roommates, after all.”

“I’ve never seen a roommate who picks someone up after class every single day…”

“Ha,” a girl whispered, her voice laced with unspoken understanding. “Isn’t it obvious who they’re trying to avoid?”

Liang Feng heard these remarks the moment he stepped out of the classroom.

His pace faltered. The roommates surrounding him exchanged glances before one spoke up to change the subject. “Let’s go, let’s go, let’s get some chicken pot. I heard a Chongqing chicken pot place opened near the South Gate—it’s cheap and the portions are huge.”

“I heard about that too. They’re having a promotion these few days: 30 yuan off for every 200 spent.”

“You guys go ahead,” Liang Feng said, his face cold.

“You’re not coming?”

“No, I’m going to the cafeteria.”

His roommates’ expressions turned subtle. Following his gaze, they saw Ye Ran just as he rounded the corner of the stairs. They inwardly lamented the drama but knew Liang Feng was stubborn and difficult, so they didn’t push further.

The group left the corridor laughing and talking. Liang Feng remained where he stood, his gaze still fixed on Ye Ran.

It wasn’t until Ye Ran’s figure completely vanished from sight that he withdrew his gaze. His expression was dark and complex. After a few seconds, he abruptly strode forward to catch up.

“That ‘boyfriend’ of yours is a bit restless, isn’t he?”

Lin Ziqian was leaning against the window. Hearing the voice, he retracted his gaze from Liang Feng.

There weren’t many people in the sophomore art studio. Since class wasn’t in session, everyone was chatting casually.

His friend looked at him with a half-smile. “Aren’t you going to break up with him? Keeping him around for New Year’s?”

“No,” Lin Ziqian laughed. “I’m going to drag this out until he’s miserable.”

“Why bother? It’s not like you can’t find someone better.”

Lin Ziqian’s fingertips itched. He pulled a cigarette from his pocket but didn’t light it, simply sniffing the scent. “It is pretty boring, actually.”

Detecting the hidden ruthlessness in his tone, his friend paused and offered a joking reminder: “From the look of it, Liang Feng is going over there to confess. This is between you and Liang Feng; don’t get other people involved.”

“I know. If I got everyone involved, I’d be exhausted.”

His friend finally felt at ease. “Aren’t you going to follow them and see?”

“No need.” Lin Ziqian curled his lip in a mocking sneer. “He won’t succeed anyway.”

Ye Ran and Shen Shi emerged from the crowded cafeteria. In his left hand, Ye Ran carried Crossing-the-Bridge Noodles, and in his right, he held Fatty’s white porridge.

The rain hadn’t stopped, falling in fine, dense mist that blew against them.

Ye Ran’s clothes were getting damp. The sound of water pitter-pattering in the puddles filled the air. He had only walked a few steps when he heard someone calling his name from under a tree by the roadside.

The tree-lined boulevard was currently shrouded in rain. The evergreens looked withered, their branches crisscrossing and reaching out.

Liang Feng stood under a tree with an umbrella, half of his face hidden in the shadows, making his expression hard to read. “Ye Ran, I have something to say to you.”

Ye Ran was startled and instinctively glanced at Shen Shi.

Shen Shi’s eyes were deep. He looked down at him and asked calmly, “Do you want to go?”

For some reason, Ye Ran felt a bit flustered under his gaze. He thought about it and decided he wanted to clear things up with Liang Feng. Otherwise, being stared at with that inexplicable gaze during class was quite uncomfortable.

“I’ll go,” Ye Ran said. “I happen to have something to say to him too.”

Hearing this, Shen Shi gave a soft “Mm.” His tone was neutral. “Give me the things. I’ll hold them.”

Ye Ran handed him the noodles and the porridge, then pulled his own umbrella out of his bag. He walked over to the tree, frowning at Liang Feng.

“Is something wrong?”

“Yes,” Liang Feng bit his lip, his gaze shifting from Shen Shi back to Ye Ran. “What is your relationship with Shen Shi?”

Ye Ran replied, “Does that have anything to do with you?”

Liang Feng paused, then said, “I don’t know why you’re so repulsed by me. We’re the same kind of people. I know my previous attitude was a bit frivolous, but I truly want to be in a relationship with you.”

“If you can accept it, I’ll start pursuing you.”

Ye Ran cringed at the words, looking at him as if he were a strange specimen. “I absolutely cannot accept it.”

“Fine. Then I’ll wait until you can accept it before I pursue you.”

Does this guy not understand human speech?!

Ye Ran was incredibly annoyed. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Shen Shi notice his discomfort and start walking over. Ye Ran was about to end the conversation once and for all when a thought suddenly struck him.

Wait…

A brilliant idea flashed through his mind—one that could both discourage Liang Feng and solidify his “persona.”

A few seconds later, he spoke, his tone exceptionally serious. “I’m sorry, I can’t accept your pursuit. I’m actually straight.”

Liang Feng’s face went blank. “…”

“Wh-what?” He had imagined countless excuses Ye Ran might use to reject him and had rehearsed them all in his head, but he never expected Ye Ran to outright revoke his “gay membership.”

“You’re saying you’re straight?” he asked in disbelief.

Behind them, Shen Shi’s footsteps came to a halt.

Ye Ran nodded, showing no sign of guilt or hesitation. To ensure Shen Shi heard him clearly, he even raised his voice: “That’s right. I have no interest in men.”

Or women, for that matter.

Liang Feng was so angry he laughed. “Ye Ran, even if you want to reject me, you don’t have to use this kind of excuse. You’re straight? You…”

His voice trailed off as he began to doubt himself.

He frowned deeply, looking at Ye Ran, who stood firm in the wind and rain holding his umbrella. Ye Ran looked back at him with the same impatience and repulsion, as if he truly were, as he claimed, a man straighter than a ruler.

Liang Feng mentally reviewed everything since he’d met Ye Ran. From Ye Ran’s cold eyes during club registration to every subsequent encounter where Ye Ran avoided him and remained unmoved… the more he thought about it, the more he actually saw a sense of… moral uprightness in Ye Ran.

It seemed that nothing about Ye Ran looked “gay.” He had clear eyes and a quiet, gentle aura. The only reason Liang Feng had been so sure was based on the so-called “gaydar” magnetic field.

Could Ye Ran really not be gay? He felt suspicious again. Is it just that Ye Ran happens to be exactly my type?

Liang Feng was bewildered. Did my gaydar malfunction?

He wavered. There was a wall between straight men and gay men—a thick, heavy wall that no one could break through. Many had returned in defeat; there was no need for him to kill himself hitting his head against this “Southern Wall.”

Liang Feng fell into deep thought for a long time. When he finally looked at Ye Ran, his voice was full of complexity and disappointment. “…I see.”

“Are you really straight?” After saying that, he still couldn’t give up and asked one last time.

This time, before Ye Ran could speak, Shen Shi, who had walked over, answered for him: “What exactly do you want to do?”

Holding his umbrella with one hand, Shen Shi walked calmly to Ye Ran’s side. His shadow loomed over Liang Feng, casting a heavy pressure. Liang Feng opened his mouth but felt an inexplicably dangerous and cold aura.

He finally shut his mouth. “…I won’t do anything.”

“Then stay away from Ye Ran.” Shen Shi looked down at him, his dark pupils holding a piercing, intimidating chill.

With that, he retracted his gaze and turned to Ye Ran. “Shall we go?”

“Let’s go.”

Ye Ran took the noodles and porridge back from him and left without looking back.

Back at the dormitory, Fatty sat up abruptly like a starving baby bird. “Ye Ran, my porridge… my life-sustaining porridge.”

Ye Ran handed it to him. “I got you some side dishes.”

Fatty was moved to tears. “I declare that from now on, you are my best brother!”

“That wasn’t the case when I brought you food yesterday,” Brother Shu said coolly.

Fatty quickly mended the fence. “No, you are my second-best brother!”

Seeing Brother Shu raise an eyebrow, Fatty didn’t blink. “Shen Shi is my third-best brother! In this Room 211, my brothers are everywhere!”

Brother Shu clicked his tongue. “What a face.” He’ll call anyone ‘mother’ as long as they have milk.

Ye Ran smiled and walked back to his seat. Midway, he glanced at the back of Shen Shi’s head as he ate.

The warm orange glow of the desk lamp hit the side of Shen Shi’s face. His expression was calm, showing no signs of anything unusual, but Ye Ran thought back to the scene with Liang Feng.

…Shen Shi’s mood seemed a bit off?

He hesitantly opened the lid of his noodles and sighed inwardly—Shen Shi really does despise homosexuality.

He had to make sure his “little vest” (secret identity) was tucked in tight and continue slacking off to the end.

For the next day and a half, Liang Feng didn’t even steal a glance at him. The “straight man” speech from the day before had been incredibly effective; Liang Feng’s gaze was now perfectly “straight.”

Ye Ran enjoyed two peaceful days of classes. After class, he would go to the cafeteria with Shen Shi to buy food and return to the dorm; before class, they would part ways at the stairwell. He felt a bit troubled; now that Liang Feng wasn’t causing trouble, there was no need to keep bothering Shen Shi to pick him up and drop him off.

Shen Shi had his own social life and world; they couldn’t be tied together forever.

Furthermore, he felt a bit guilty. Thinking about his “straight man” disguise and Shen Shi’s dislike for gay people, he hadn’t dared to meet Shen Shi’s eyes for the past two days. He was terrified Shen Shi would discover something and look at him with that same gaze of disgust.

He’d had very few friends growing up. Only one childhood friend had stayed by his side. Now that he had a friend like Shen Shi, he cherished it and was willing to do his best to maintain it.

The teacher entered the studio; today was a sketching class.

As the students chatted quietly, Ye Ran absent-mindedly finished the task assigned by the teacher and pulled out his phone to message Shen Shi.

—Shen Shi, you don’t need to wait for me at noon today.

For the rest of the half-session, his phone didn’t vibrate. It wasn’t until class was almost over that the screen lit up with Shen Shi’s reply.

—Okay.

The Finance Department classroom was noisy. There were only twenty people in the class, with more men than women, but the volume of their conversation was not low at all.

Shen Shi closed his phone and looked down at his book.

His fingers gripping the pages were a bit tight, the blue veins visible on his knuckles. After a long while, he looked up, his eyes dark and cold, causing Yu Ting—who had intended to approach him—to back away several feet.

He pulled out his phone again. It showed a “nodding” emoji Ye Ran had just sent. A cute white-haired cat was nodding its head, with the word “Mm” slowly appearing above it.

Shen Shi’s gaze froze. A few seconds later, his fingertip touched the screen—[Add to Stickers].

After another moment of silence, he looked at the cat on his phone and asked:

—Where are you?

Ye Ran’s reply was a bit slow: [Walking downstairs, about to go to the cafeteria to buy food. You?]

—Me too.

“Eh?” A dark figure suddenly stood up beside him, startling Yu Ting so much he could barely speak clearly. “Shen Shi, what are you doing? Didn’t you say you’d help me clear the level in a bit?”

“I have something to do.” Quickly stuffing his book into his bag, Shen Shi glanced at him. “I’ll give you my account, play it yourself.”

Yu Ting’s disgruntled expression instantly transformed into a gentle smile like a spring breeze. “Brother, if you need anything in the future, just give the word.”

Shen Shi ignored him and turned to leave the classroom.

His figure was tall and lean, his fitted black windbreaker outlining his straight shoulders and back. As he strode through the corridor, he caught the attention of many students.

The third-floor stairwell was right ahead. The breeze ruffled the black hair on his forehead. Shen Shi’s expression was calm, but his pale fingers were gripping his phone tightly.

…No one was there.

The next moment, slow footsteps echoed from the corner of the stairs.

“Shen Shi?”

Ye Ran stepped out of the shadows. He held his phone in one hand and had the other in his pocket. The dim light of the stairwell enveloped him, flickering over his slender, clean eyes that held a soft smile. “I was just wondering if I’d run into you.”

“Do you want to go to the cafeteria together?”

“…Yes.” Shen Shi looked up at him quietly, his gaze deep and focused. A few seconds later, he slowly loosened his grip on his phone and said, “Let’s go together.”