Are All You Straight Men Like This? - Chapter 16

Ye Ran sat on his bed, feeling drowsy. On his desk was the breakfast Shen Shi had bought for him: hot soy milk and steamed buns.

He had woken up briefly when Shen Shi left this morning, leaning over the edge of his bed to listlessly thank him. He still had a vague impression of last night—it seemed Shen Shi had carried him back on his back.

Ah.

He dazed out for a while. His head throbbed, and his limbs felt weak. He vowed never to drink again.

There was an unread text on his phone sent by Shen Shi half an hour ago, asking if he was awake. Ye Ran replied: [I’m up. Thanks for yesterday.]

Shen Shi didn’t reply immediately; at 10:30 AM, he should be in class.

Ye Ran got up and took a shower. The smell of alcohol on him was almost undetectable, but he still changed all his bedsheets and pillowcases. By the time he slowly finished these chores, twenty minutes had passed. He didn’t have the energy to blow-dry his hair, so he sat in his chair sipping the soy milk.

When Fatty walked in, this was the leisurely scene he encountered. The area around Ye Ran’s eyes was slightly red from lack of sleep, his hair was damp, and his thin double eyelids had folded into single ones, drooping tiredly. His lashes were thick and long.

Ignoring Ye Ran’s “can’t-keep-my-eyes-open” state, Fatty rushed over anxiously, clutching his phone. “Ye Ran, what did you and Shen Shi do last night?”

Ye Ran’s sleepiness vanished. “I wasn’t with Shen Shi yesterday… Oh, wait. My class had a party at the Swan Hotel, and Shen Shi was there celebrating Yu Ting’s birthday.”

“Then how did you two come back together?” Fatty’s tone remained urgent.

Ye Ran gradually sensed something was wrong. “I got drunk. Shen Shi must have run into me by chance and brought me back.”

“You two didn’t do anything else?”

Ye Ran thought hard. He had absolutely no memory of being drunk; he only vaguely remembered his head and stomach hurting, and wanting to throw up. “…I don’t remember,” he said hesitantly.

Fatty let out a long sigh and handed him the phone. “Look at this post. Think carefully—do you have any memory of this?”

Ye Ran took the phone and saw the blue interface of the campus forum. A massive headline jumped out at him: [Logical Discussion: What was the Campus Grass up to last night?]

[L/Z (OP)]: As the title suggests. Last night, just after 11:31 PM, I was playing hide-and-seek with my roommates in the first-floor lobby. Suddenly, a cold wind swept over me. I felt chilled to the bone! I turned around in anger, wanting to ask who was being so unsportsmanlike, only to find our famous Campus Grass entering… carrying a corpse on his back!

1L: I suggest OP join the “Shocking News” department.

2L: Was there. OP is telling the truth.

3L: Bullshit. The one on his back was clearly an accomplice from a gang fight, okay? So cruel. A fine 1.7-meter tall man was actually beaten unconscious!

Ye Ran frowned slightly as he read this, muttering softly, “…I’m 1.75 meters.”

7L: Let me translate for OP. Basically: Last night after 11:30, the Campus Grass came back carrying his roommate. The roommate was unconscious. I suspect they went out for a gang fight.

8L: Thanks, 7L. Never thought the day would come where I’d need a translation for Chinese.

15L: Was there. I’m a “Microscope Boy.” I’m certain the Grass’s neck was red. Could he have been scratched?

29L: The battle must have been intense. One fainted, one wounded… Brothers, the girls from the neighboring Dance Academy are already teaming up to check the surveillance. They’re determined to get justice for the Grass.

40L: Am I the only one who thinks it doesn’t look like a gang fight…

55L: Exactly. It was clearly a large-scale group martial arts event. Stop talking nonsense.

Ye Ran scanned the post, his expression growing solemn. He racked his brain to remember last night. He only recalled leaving the private room and walking on the path, seemingly being bumped by someone, and then his phone hitting the ground.

Could it be… that I’m that violent when I’m drunk? I started a fight with someone just because I dropped my phone?

Fatty said worriedly, “Shen Shi’s mood was definitely off last night. He didn’t say much after coming back. He went to shower and sleep right after taking care of you. You both smelled like alcohol. Did you really go fight? How do you feel?”

Ye Ran: “I feel dizzy and weak.”

“That’s it!” Fatty exclaimed. “Fight after-effects. Usually, after a day or two, the real pain kicks in.”

Ye Ran still felt it was strange. He knew himself well enough and believed Shen Shi wasn’t the type to fight for no reason. But the forum had “photos and truth,” and Ye Ran couldn’t sit still. There were still ten minutes until Shen Shi finished class, so he decided to go ask him directly.

He quickly got ready and, under Fatty’s worried gaze, headed toward the Mingli Building.

Class had just ended when he arrived. Ye Ran pushed against the crowd, taking some effort to climb the small stairs to the third floor. He refused to believe he and Shen Shi would fight someone. He just needed to clear it up with Shen Shi so he could clarify things on the forum.

As soon as he reached the third floor, he saw two familiar figures in the distance.

One wore a black hoodie, his frame lean and upright. The other wore a thick cotton coat, squatting on the ground with his head in his hands, scurrying about.

One was hitting, and the other was dodging.

The smile froze on Ye Ran’s face as he finally recognized them. One was Shen Shi. The other was Yu Ting.

He: “…” He: “…………”

Vaguely, he heard Yu Ting’s wail: “Dammit, last night you… today… again…”

Ye Ran’s pupils shrank. His hand against the wall trembled slightly.

Wait.

…Could it be that the person he and Shen Shi beat up last night was… Yu Ting?

He stopped stiffly, his gaze wandering. He saw Shen Shi’s black cotton jacket lying in a corner, blown toward him by the wind. He instinctively picked it up.

Shen Shi straightened up expressionlessly and shook out his wrist. Yu Ting was “crying” with his head in his hands: “I was wrong, Brother! I shouldn’t have looked for trouble! I promise to be a new man from now on!”

The coldness and impatience in Shen Shi’s eyes gradually faded. He had no interest in communicating further with the “ailing” Yu Ting. He glanced at the corner but didn’t see his jacket. Turning around, his casual gaze suddenly locked onto a target.

At the third-floor stairwell, Ye Ran was holding his jacket, looking at them as if his soul had left his body.

He was dressed warmly, wearing a pure black scarf that covered the lower half of his face. It made his skin look even whiter, almost transparent. His thin phoenix eyes were lowered with fatigue. Because he had just washed his hair, it was soft and messy, making his gentle, clear pupils easily visible.

Standing quietly in the corner, he gave off an inexplicable vibe of “heart-wrenching helplessness.”

Shen Shi’s Adam’s apple bobbed. He straightened up stiffly. After a few seconds of silence, he reorganized his emotions and strode toward Ye Ran. “Why are you here?”

“Your coat,” Ye Ran handed it to him. “I have something to ask you.”

Shen Shi put on the coat efficiently. His eyes beneath his black hair surreptitiously observed Ye Ran’s expression. Seeing Ye Ran staring dazed at Yu Ting, Shen Shi lowered his eyes slightly, straightened up unobtrusively, and said, “We were just playing around.”

Ye Ran: “?” Yu Ting, who had been beaten until he was “calling for his parents”: “?” Say that again, you bastard?

Ye Ran was also stunned, taking a while to recover. “Playing around?”

“Mm. How is your body?” Shen Shi asked.

“I’m okay,” Ye Ran looked at him. “Yesterday after I got drunk… I didn’t do anything, did I?”

Shen Shi’s fingertips curled inside his pocket. He lifted his gaze, his eyes sweeping over Ye Ran’s soft, red lips. His gaze was dark and deep, but his tone remained unchanged: “No. You just went to sleep after you got drunk.”

Ye Ran hesitated: “I didn’t say anything either, right?”

Shen Shi keenly sensed something was off. “Why? Did someone say something to you?”

“Not really, but the forum is discussing you carrying me back to the dorm last night…” Ye Ran’s head ached, but now that he’d recovered, he felt like laughing. “They’re saying we went out for a gang fight.”

Shen Shi: “…”

Shen Shi stared down at him. Ye Ran’s face showed no embarrassment or awkwardness, just a calm narration of the fact that he was carried back. After a few seconds, Shen Shi withdrew his gaze nonchalantly and said, “I’ll handle it.”

He took his phone to the stairwell to make a call, his black bangs hiding the irritation swirling in his eyes.

Ye Ran looked at Yu Ting, who was still squatting on the ground with a look of despair. He walked over to help him up. “Are you okay?”

Yu Ting forced a smile. “I’m fine. Just playing around.”

Shen Shi, you bloodthirsty straight man! You won’t even spare your own brother!

He sighed and groaned as Ye Ran helped him up, feeling like his whole body ached.

“Why are you here?” he asked Ye Ran.

Ye Ran briefly explained the forum situation. Yu Ting had “six points” to say about that (meaning he was speechless). They had even more imagination than he did.

“Don’t worry. Shen Shi has forum moderator privileges. This is easy to solve.”

Having resolved the “heart disease” of whether Shen Shi was straight or gay, Yu Ting was fully revived. He stretched his arms, hissed at the cold air with a grimace, and while cursing Shen Shi’s cold-bloodedness in his heart, said to Ye Ran: “Let’s go. Let’s go to the cafeteria for lunch together.”

Ye Ran nodded and looked back at Shen Shi.

Shen Shi was leaning against the stairwell window on the phone. Meeting Ye Ran’s gaze, he paused, said two more short sentences to the person on the other end, hung up, and walked over. “What’s wrong?”

“Are you coming to the cafeteria for lunch?” Ye Ran asked.

Shen Shi said, “Okay.”

As Yu Ting watched them interact, he unconsciously frowned again. He suppressed the doubts in his heart and prepared to head downstairs. Suddenly, Shen Shi, who was in front, turned his body. His gaze lifted slightly, sweeping across the silent corridor.

“What is it?” Yu Ting followed his gaze but could only see the empty classrooms.

“Nothing,” Shen Shi withdrew his gaze and said, “I saw wrong.”

The voices in the corridor gradually faded.

Liang Feng stood expressionlessly at the corner of the stairs, his hands clenched into fists. He waited several minutes before preparing to leave. The next second, a sneer suddenly rang in his ear.

He looked up immediately.

On the stairs, Lin Ziqian was leaning lazily against the handrail, a cigarette between his fingers. He was wearing heavy makeup again today. The four studs in his earlobe sparkled, and there were still un-faded red hickeys on his neck—evidence of an intense battle.

He looked down at Liang Feng with a half-smile. “Watching for so long, aren’t you tired?”

Liang Feng’s face stiffened instantly. He turned to go downstairs without looking back.

Lin Ziqian unhurriedly twirled his cigarette. “What, you don’t recognize me after you’re done with me?”

“Shut up!” Liang Feng turned around, his chest heaving with rage. He squeezed out the words through gritted teeth: “If it wasn’t for you…”

“If it wasn’t for me, what?” Lin Ziqian laughed. “If it wasn’t for me booking the room? If it wasn’t for me taking advantage of you? If it wasn’t for me seducing you? Liang Feng, a drunk man can’t get it up. You’re the one who pinned me down and wouldn’t let go; I didn’t force you.”

Liang Feng choked on his words. His thoughts flashed back to the night of the party. Thinking of the chaotic scene the next morning, he left with a darkened face.

This time, Lin Ziqian didn’t speak to stop him.

The corridor returned to silence. The azure curtains fluttered in the cold wind. Lin Ziqian watched Liang Feng’s retreating, rage-filled back, the smile in his eyes gradually turning cold.

The person topping me was calling out someone else’s name.

Liang Feng, oh Liang Feng…

Distorted, dark emotions surged uncontrollably. Lin Ziqian’s fingers trembled slightly. After a few seconds, he straightened up, closed his eyes to suppress his feelings, and lightly sniffed the cigarette in his hand.

His eyes were chaotic and sharp, like a patient who couldn’t find a cure. He neurotically muttered Liang Feng’s name. “Liang Feng… how dare you…”

Ding-dong.

His phone suddenly chimed.

Lin Ziqian pulled himself out of his morbid mood. He closed his eyes to calm down for a moment before expressionlessly pulling out his phone. The “Astronomy Club Family” group chat was being flooded with messages.

[President Old Liu]: Dear members, I have some unfortunate news. Given that the school allocated too much funding this semester, the Astronomy Club’s small vault can’t hold it all. Our movie activity this week has to be temporarily canceled.

[President Old Liu]: I’ve contacted the person in charge at Lianwu Mountain and rented a mountain villa. We’re going stargazing this Friday. It’ll be a two-day, one-night trip. If everyone has fun, we can extend the rental.

[President Old Liu]: I can’t help it; there’s just too much money. I’m very troubled.

[President Old Liu]: Taking a tally of members who want to go. If you’re in, post “1” in the group. If not, message me privately and I’ll send you an equivalent snack gift pack.

Almost instantly, a string of “1111”s appeared in the group.

Lin Ziqian was about to close his phone, uninterested. The next second, he saw a name.

[Ye Ran]: 1.

The dark shadows of the stairwell swept over his face. He heard the flicker of flames burning in his heart—the pain made him clench his fist tightly, his face twisting for a moment.

Another message popped up.

[Liang Feng]: 1.

All expression left his face. A few seconds later, he pressed the send button.

[Lin Ziqian]: 1.