Are All You Straight Men Like This? - Chapter 3

Student Union Activity Room.

The school’s Recruitment Festival was approaching, and it was the critical period for department leadership transitions. The Student Union was a hive of activity—noisy voices, desks scattered with pens and paper, and various bits of trash littering the floor.

The Minister of Public Relations was slamming the desk while arguing with the President, questioning why the Art Department’s expenditures were so high. Two girls were locked in a sharp, intense verbal battle, each standing their ground with their own logic.

“Minister An, our Art Department needs to decorate the venue and rent formal wear. All of that costs money…”

“Then please exercise some restraint before spending! Our PR team pulls in sponsorships for the entire Student Union. Now the Life Department doesn’t have enough funds—what are we supposed to do?”

“Quality has always been the hallmark of our Peking University’s reputation. I will not agree to using inferior products!”

Amidst the helpless peacemaking efforts of the surrounding staff, Shen Shi lowered his head in boredom. He took out his phone and saw a message sent five minutes ago.

Ye Ran: [Shen Shi, are you coming back to the dorm at noon?]

The boy, who had been leaning lazily against the back of his chair, paused. He sat up straight inconspicuously.

Shen Shi: [Coming back.]

After sending the message, nearly ten minutes passed without a reply.

Shen Shi pulled the brim of his hat lower. He sat at the corner of the long table, dressed in a black T-shirt and black pants. His forearms, visible beneath the short sleeves, were pale and powerful. Though he remained silent, the many wandering glances cast his way were enough to prove his heavy presence.

His long fingers tapped lightly on the phone as he looked up Xiao Pang’s WeChat.

Shen Shi: [You there?] Xiao Pang: [?] Xiao Pang: [This is so sudden, bro. I thought you didn’t even have my WeChat.] Shen Shi: [Where are you?] Xiao Pang: [Dorm.] Shen Shi: [I haven’t been in the dorm much this week. Has anything happened there?]

There was a moment of silence on the other end before a long string of text appeared:

[What kind of question is that? With you gone, the dorm has obviously been peaceful. But speaking of which, Ye Ran has been a bit strange lately.]

Shen Shi paused, his typing speed quickening: [How so?] Xiao Pang: [Strangely cute, hehe.] Xiao Pang: [You have no idea how good Ye Ran is to me. He’s been buying me Duck Leg Rice for a whole week. Duck Leg Rice, man! Our classes are all in the morning this semester; I don’t know how long it’s been since I’ve tasted meat for lunch. Ye Ran felt bad for me and actually bought it for me seven days in a row!] Xiao Pang: [Seriously, you guys don’t understand how touched I am. First time in years someone has taken my preferences to heart. I’m so happy; from now on, Ye Ran is my brother of a different surname! He just ran out to buy me lunch again in this scorching sun. Sigh.] Xiao Pang: [How should I repay him—]

[The user has not added you as a friend. You can send messages once they accept.]

Xiao Pang: [?] [The user has not added you as a friend…] Xiao Pang: [???]

Shen Shi simply turned off his phone. He stood up, his hat brim pressed very low, his cold eyes hidden in the shadows as he walked straight through the chaotic crowd toward the exit.

“Junior, leaving already?” A girl walked up to him. She was petite and delicate, wearing an apricot-colored camisole, asking with a smile, “Have you thought about what I asked before? Do you want to join our Publicity Department?”

“If you’re willing to join, we can give you administrator permissions for the forum and Tieba. You could personally delete those photos of you that were spread around before, and you wouldn’t have to do free labor for us just to return favors…”

“Not interested,” Shen Shi said before she could finish.

His figure was tall and lean, outlined by the light. His messy black hair was flattened under his baseball cap as he vanished around the corner of the stairs in an instant.

“Wow, so cool,” a young staff member swooned, face in hands.

Dai Jiao sighed. “What a pity. It’s rare to find one who actually gets things done.” “So we’re not recruiting Shen Shi anymore?” “No,” Dai Jiao said. “A person like him won’t be easily swayed once he’s made a decision. Get ready for recruitment; there are a few freshmen this year who look promising.”

The “autumn tiger” heatwave was fierce. At noon, the summer heat shimmered, and the evergreen leaves looked wilted from the sun.

Ye Ran carried the Duck Leg Rice back to the dorm. On the way, he checked his phone and saw the message Shen Shi had sent a long time ago: [Coming back.]

Great. Shen Shi is finally in the dorm today.

He breathed a sigh of relief, his steps becoming lighter. As he reached the dorm door, he heard Xiao Pang’s wailing from inside.

“Why, why! Why delete me from your friends? What did I do wrong? Your Majesty, tell me!”

He pushed the door open and saw Xiao Pang holding a tissue, “crying” and wiping away non-existent tears. Shu-ge was watching the show from the side: “Bold commoner, why aren’t you reflecting on your mistakes?”

Xiao Pang grew even angrier: “I, Lin Feipeng, have a clear conscience—”

He caught a glimpse of Ye Ran standing at the door looking bewildered while holding the Duck Leg Rice, and his tone immediately shifted: “—except toward my good brother Ye Ran and the Duck Leg Rice he feeds me, I have wronged no one!”

Ye Ran, suddenly called out, found everyone’s eyes on him. Shu-ge poked his head out and moved aside, revealing Shen Shi, whom he had been completely blocking.

Shen Shi sat in his chair, also looking up at him. His gaze landed pointedly on the Duck Leg Rice that Ye Ran “didn’t wrong” Xiao Pang with. His expression was very neutral.

“Ye Ran, you’re back? It’s so hot, did you sweat? Are you hot? Should I turn the AC down?” Xiao Pang flew toward him like a bird returning to the woods.

“No need,” Ye Ran was enthusiastically welcomed into the room. “The temperature is just right.”

Xiao Pang was about to speak more when Shen Shi suddenly spoke up calmly.

“What are you eating for lunch?”

Ye Ran met his gaze and blanked for a second, then looked down at the food in his hand. “I’m having white porridge.”

Though his fever was gone, his stomach issues hadn’t cleared up. It had been hurting off and on these past few days, and he didn’t dare touch anything irritating.

“You don’t need to specifically buy me lunch from now on,” Shen Shi said.

“…Hm?” Ye Ran blinked. He had a small mole at the corner of his thin, long eyes. When he smiled, his eyes curved slightly, making him look kind and gentle. “You found out?”

“I found out,” Shen Shi looked away from his face. After a few seconds of silence, he said, “Thank you.”

Ye Ran shook his head and placed the Duck Leg Rice on Shen Shi’s desk. “I’m the one who should thank you. The food is still warm; eat while it’s hot.”

The exchange between the two felt like they were speaking in riddles, becoming increasingly incomprehensible to the others.

“I say, you two…” Xiao Pang squatted on the floor, speaking gloomily. “Shouldn’t you give us an explanation?”

Shu-ge joined the united front for once, also sounding gloomy: “All this ‘thank you’ back and forth—sounds like a big deal.”

“Most importantly…” Xiao Pang was immersed in his own world, his teeth aching with jealousy. “Shen Shi even got lunch, why am I—”

A bowl of Crossing-the-Bridge Rice Noodles appeared out of thin air before him. Xiao Pang’s voice stopped abruptly. Shen Shi, who had already opened his own food container, cast a glance over that forced him to swallow his self-pitying words.

“For you,” Shen Shi said.

Xiao Pang accepted the rice noodles with tears in his eyes, finally casting a lingering, longing look at the aromatic Duck Leg Rice. “…Tell me, is my ‘good life’ over?”

“Yes,” Shen Shi said.

Seeing Xiao Pang looking like he was about to weep, Shen Shi lowered his eyes, his tone cold and indifferent: “It should have been over a long time ago.”