Are All You Straight Men Like This? - Chapter 5

Thursday.

The second period of the morning was a combined English lecture.

Ye Ran stood at the back door of the classroom with a solemn expression. He took a deep breath and stepped forward… only to immediately step back.

Students attending the same lecture passed by him from time to time. After the heavy rain, the weather had turned sweltering again. Inside the large lecture hall, the air conditioner was running, its blades making a faint whirring sound.

Ye Ran held his books, feeling dejected.

Although he had resolved a few days ago to sit next to Shen Shi during the next class, his resolve crumbled the moment he saw the crowd surrounding Shen Shi.

Shen Shi was like a light source; no matter where he went, followers trailed behind him. The Finance Department students sitting around him seemed to be talking to him, and the atmosphere appeared quite harmonious.

…Maybe someone will actually sit next to him this time? Ye Ran couldn’t help but wonder.

If someone truly wanted to sit with Shen Shi and he clumsily tried to squeeze in, it would be so embarrassing.

He looked up at the clock; there were still ten minutes until class started.

I’ll just wait a bit longer.

Yu Ting flipped through his book, occasionally glancing at Shen Shi, who sat diagonally in front of him.

Shen Shi was sitting lazily, his long legs resting loosely against the seat in front of him.

He was wearing a black jacket today. His narrow, deep phoenix eyes were narrowed nonchalantly, and his long fingers tapped rhythmically on the desk. This appearance reminded Yu Ting of a hunter waiting for his prey to take the bait.

“What are you doing?” Yu Ting finally couldn’t hold it in and asked. “You’ve been acting weird these past few days.”

Shen Shi flipped a page. “Have I?”

“Of course you have!”

Yu Ting and Shen Shi both came from the same provincial experimental high school in Province A, and they had been classmates in the “Rocket” (accelerated) class since their first year. He knew exactly how cold Shen Shi was beneath his outstanding exterior. Ever since he saw the commotion Shen Shi caused upon entering the university, Yu Ting had been worried that one day he’d hear a campus-wide announcement about Shen Shi—for something like fighting, brawling, or bullying classmates.

“You didn’t go to the gathering organized by the seniors a few days ago. Fine. But the day before yesterday, you were late and left early. Don’t tell me you’re letting college get to your head,” Yu Ting glanced at the empty seat beside Shen Shi again. “And I’ve never seen you be so high-maintenance before; you won’t even let people sit next to you.”

“I’m saving it for someone,” Shen Shi said.

Yu Ting almost slipped off his seat. “Holy crap! What’s the situation with you…?”

He was actually saving a seat for someone?

Yu Ting hadn’t noticed him treating any other classmate differently.

Shen Shi didn’t reply.

Yu Ting curled his lip, his peripheral vision catching a figure in the front row. “Hey, do you see that guy four rows ahead of you?”

Shen Shi looked up.

The boy had semi-long hair and wore a black choker. Sensing a gaze from behind, the boy turned around, and a small smile immediately appeared on his cold, world-weary face.

Shen Shi indifferently looked away, but his eyes remained tightly focused on a figure crouching on the floor by the back row.

Ye Ran was fiddling with the watch on his wrist.

He took the strap apart and put it back together repeatedly. After a few seconds, he suddenly stopped and let out a troubled sigh.

“…What are you smiling at?” Yu Ting’s voice pulled his attention back.

Shen Shi retracted his gaze. “What’s wrong?”

Yu Ting said, “Did you see the guy I told you to look at? He’s a sophomore in the Art Department. He failed his exams last year and is retaking the course this year. The person sitting next to him is his boyfriend.”

Shen Shi’s gaze paused. “…Boyfriend?”

“Yeah, they’re boyfriends. A few days ago, he even tried to add my roommate on WeChat, saying he wanted to hook up with him,” Yu Ting shivered slightly. “Art students are different; they really play around.”

“Don’t generalize,” Shen Shi couldn’t help but frown. His gaze swept over the two figures leaning against each other in the front row looking sweet, and his voice slowed down. “Not all art students are like that.”

“How are they not? Out of ten guys in the Art Department, nine are gay, and the last one is a switch (0.5). It’s common knowledge.”

Shen Shi’s frown deepened.

His reaction led Yu Ting to a sudden realization.

“Holy…” Yu Ting gasped. “You’re not homo/phobic, are you?”

Ring—

The bell for class rang just in time.

Ye Ran stood up at the back door. After a moment of hesitation, he walked over.

He walked through large patches of sunlight. His hair was jet black, his skin pale and clean, and his physique had the slender, tall look of a youth.

In a flash, Shen Shi smoothed his furrowed brow and gave Yu Ting a cold glare. “Shut up.”

Gay or not gay—nothing in the world was that absolute.

Ye Ran had already reached the aisle next to him.

The English teacher shouted from the podium, “Students, hurry up and find a seat…”

“Shen Shi.”

Shen Shi’s fingertips trembled involuntarily as he heard Ye Ran ask in a low voice, “Can I sit next to you?”

“You can.”

He stayed quiet for two seconds before standing up naturally to let him in.

As Ye Ran passed by him, his wrists holding his books were thin and fair. The black watch strap wrapped around it looked like a simplified version of a choker.

“Thanks.” Ye Ran turned his head and smiled at him.

He looked beautiful when he smiled; the aegyo-sal under his eyes was clear and pretty, and his gaze was pure, like gentle stream water spreading outward.

Shen Shi sat back down.

A few seconds later, he closed his eyes.

“It’s fine.”

English was a combined lecture, with two periods back-to-back.

When the bell rang for the break, Ye Ran’s body, which had been tense for the entire first period, slowly relaxed. He wanted to find a topic to chat with Shen Shi about. After all, since Shen Shi walked him back to the dorm last time, he hadn’t found a chance to say thank you.

He opened his mouth. “Shen—”

“Do you want water?” Shen Shi suddenly asked.

Ye Ran was startled and looked at his empty water bottle. “Are you going to get water? Let’s go together.”

“No need,” Shen Shi said. “I’ll help you.”

Before Ye Ran could speak, he asked again, “Hot or warm?”

Ye Ran: “…Warm.”

Shen Shi hummed in response, took both bottles, and left the classroom.

As soon as he left, the air around seemed to start flowing again.

Ye Ran was a bit confused. He didn’t understand what was wrong with Shen Shi today; it was as if he had encountered a difficult problem. The air pressure around him was extremely low, and he would frown from time to time.

“Hey, classmate.”

His shoulder was lightly tapped. Ye Ran turned around to see a fair-faced boy staring at him curiously with a friendly smile. “Hi, I’m Yu Ting, Shen Shi’s classmate. You are…?”

“Oh, I’m Ye Ran, Shen Shi’s roommate,” Ye Ran smiled. “I’m not from the Finance Department; I’m from the Art Department.”

As soon as he said this, Ye Ran noticed the boy’s expression change several times, finally settling into an expression of “sudden realization.”

“…Art Department,” Yu Ting said. “What a coincidence. I heard most of the Art Department dorms are on the north side.”

Ye Ran nodded. “Most of them are, indeed.”

He was the only exception in the entire Art Department.

Yu Ting: “Are you the only one from the Art Department in your dorm?”

“Yeah, there are two others in my room; one is in Computer Science, and the other is in Literature,” Ye Ran said thoughtfully, looking at Yu Ting. “Everyone is very nice.”

Yu Ting burst out laughing. “Everyone is nice… Is Shen Shi nice too?”

Ye Ran was finally certain now.

This Yu Ting was very interested in Shen Shi. Every sentence seemed to be about something else, but in reality, it never left the topic of Shen Shi.

However, he could also see that this interest was friendly, not the malicious curiosity found on forums and BBS boards where people wanted to dig up Shen Shi’s entire family history.

Thinking of this, Ye Ran sat up straight and tried to help Shen Shi gain some “favorability points” with his classmate. “Yes, although Shen Shi seems hard to approach, he’s actually a very good person.”

He spoke the truth: “Last week I suddenly had a fever in the middle of the night, and he took me to the hospital. A few days ago when it rained heavily, he was also the one who walked me back to the dorm…”

Yu Ting’s mouth slowly fell open, his fair face twisting into an expression that could only be described as “shattered.”

Ye Ran sensed something was wrong and gradually stopped talking.

“What are you talking about?”

Shen Shi had returned. He placed the water bottle on Ye Ran’s desk. It was about eighty percent full of warm water, the surface shimmering. The blue glass bottle reflected Shen Shi’s face. Having just stepped out for a moment, his body temperature seemed a bit high.

His black T-shirt was warm and inadvertently brushed against Ye Ran’s arm. Before Ye Ran could react, Shen Shi quickly straightened up and said, “Sorry.”

Ye Ran: “?”

Ye Ran: “Huh? It’s fine.”

A weird silence fell between them.

Ye Ran was completely bewildered. What was going on? Why was Shen Shi acting so strange after going out for water?

A few seconds later, Shen Shi asked in a low voice, “What did Yu Ting say to you?”

The atmosphere immediately returned to normal.

“Nothing much.”

Ye Ran looked back. Yu Ting still had an unbelievable, soul-departed expression on his face. Seeing this, Ye Ran lowered his voice. “Is he your classmate?”

He was leaning in quite close.

The air conditioner was blowing cool air above their heads, but Shen Shi felt a hallucinatory wave of heat—light and slow—brushing past the tensed muscles on the inside of his forearm.

“Yes.” His fingers lightly rubbed the rough surface of his book.

“He kept asking questions about you. It seems like he really wants to be your friend,” Ye Ran added.

This classmate Yu Ting might not seem very bright, but he was enthusiastic and extroverted. He was a perfect match for a quiet person like Shen Shi—

“Don’t worry about him,” Shen Shi said flatly.

Ye Ran’s words choked in his throat.

He didn’t quite understand, but he nodded and didn’t say anything more.

Friendship requires the right “vibe,” after all. Shen Shi clearly had his own considerations.

From the corner of his eye, he could see Yu Ting pulling out his phone, tapping the keys frantically as if he were gossiping about something.

Class was about to start, so Ye Ran looked away and began to listen attentively.

[I’m seriously done. When I fell in front of you after finishing the 1000-meter run back then, you didn’t even acknowledge me. What are you doing now? You treat a roommate you’ve only known for a month better than me, a friend of two years!]

[Shen Shi, oh Shen Shi, I never thought you were two-faced! You’ve disappointed me so much. I strongly demand an apology for the “me” from a year ago! Do you know how much psychological trauma your cold attitude caused a seventeen-year-old boy on such a hot summer day under such a big sun!]

[Don’t pretend you didn’t see this. What did you tell me back then? You said you had heatstroke and were dizzy so you didn’t see me! I was so naive to actually believe that crap!]

[I’m going to make your evil deeds public and let Ye Ran and the others know—]

[The other party has not added you as a friend. You can only send a message after the other party adds you.]

[The other party has not added you as a friend. You can only send a message after the other party adds you.]

[The other party has not added you as a friend. You can only send a message after the other party adds you.]

Shen Shi put down his phone and simply set it to silent.

In the evening, the sky was dim. The streetlights below the dormitory building lit up one by one. Students out for a stroll passed by on the forest paths, their voices drifting in through the slightly open window.

The lights in Room 211 were very bright.

Ye Ran came out of the bathroom. He had just showered and was wearing soft gray pajamas, revealing his fair and slender arms.

Xiao Pang and Shu-ge gave them the flyers they had brought from downstairs. “The clubs start official recruitment tomorrow. I saw the path below our dorm starting the promotion tonight. Are there any clubs you guys want to join?”

Ye Ran’s hair was wet, blocking his vision slightly. He casually brushed his hair back. His phoenix eyes seemed washed by water, the corners curving beautifully, filled with a lingering mist.

“…Guitar Club, Taekwondo Club, Extreme Sports Club, Dance Club,” he lowered his eyes and read the flyers. “So many?”

“Yeah, you didn’t see the scene at the main plaza; it’s packed. The Guitar Club and Street Dance Club are even performing live. They say it’ll last three or four days,” Xiao Pang said.

Ye Ran sat in his chair and scanned the flyers.

Xiao Pang continued to ramble: “I plan to join two clubs. I reckon I can earn a lot of extracurricular credits this semester. Our school requires more than 60 extracurricular credits, or you can’t get your diploma…”

Listening to him, Ye Ran’s head began to ache.

“Ah…” He muttered to himself unconsciously, “Are there any more relaxed clubs?”

Shu-ge asked him, “Like the Flower Arrangement Club?”

…Flower arrangement. Ye Ran thought of the horror of painting still lifes.

He said, “I’ll look around more.”

“This club seems okay, look at their slogan,” Xiao Pang leaned over. “Astronomy Club… Location: Mingli Building Room 217. Fixed activity once a week. Activity content: watching astronomy documentaries…”

Xiao Pang couldn’t continue: “Is this a retirement club?”

Ye Ran mused, “Looks pretty good.”

“What do you mean ‘good’?” Xiao Pang was shocked. “Ye Xiao Ran, I’ve realized you’re quite a homebody (Otaku).”

The more he thought about it, the more Xiao Pang felt he was right. He stared at Ye Ran intently, making Ye Ran feel uneasy. “Am I?”

“I’m sure of it! Yes!” Xiao Pang said. “You don’t like going out to play or party. How can people our age be cooped up in a narrow classroom watching documentaries!”

Shu-ge agreed: “Exactly.”

Xiao Pang: “Don’t you want to see the great rivers and mountains of our motherland, feel the paths our ancestors walked, and experience the local customs around Jingda?”

Shu-ge: “Exactly, exactly!”

Xiao Pang: “Youth only blooms in struggle; the future only becomes brighter through action!”

Shu-ge: “Exactly, exactly, exactly!”

Ye Ran hesitated. “Then where do you think I should go?”

Xiao Pang didn’t hesitate: “Hiking Club!”

Shu-ge: “Exactly, exactly, exactly, exactly!”

Ye Ran: “…”

Ye Ran: “…………”

As expected. These sales pitches all had similarities.

He waved the Astronomy Club flyer. “No thanks, just let me be a homebody.”

Seeing that he really had no interest in the Hiking Club, Xiao Pang and Shu-ge didn’t pressure him. The two of them huddled together to discuss which second club to join.

Ye Ran looked toward Shen Shi. Shen Shi didn’t have his desk lamp on, so his side of the room looked a bit dark. His profile was hidden in the shadows, with a few stray hairs covering his narrow, deep eyes.

“Shen Shi,” he asked, “which club are you joining?”

Being called, Shen Shi seemed to snap out of his thoughts. He glanced at the Astronomy Club flyer in Ye Ran’s hand, his expression pausing. “I haven’t decided.”

“Then you can go to the plaza with Xiao Pang and the others next time,” Ye Ran suggested. “Do you prefer outdoor clubs or indoor ones?”

Shen Shi said, “Either is fine.”

So he didn’t have any particular preference.

Ye Ran sighed inwardly; as expected, only an idle person like him preferred indoor clubs.

Xiao Pang and Shu-ge had made their decision and turned to them. “The official recruitment is tomorrow night. Let’s go together.”

Club registration could only be done offline.

Ye Ran naturally nodded. “Okay.”

“I won’t be going,” Shen Shi said, looking at the Astronomy Club flyer on his desk, his gaze dropping. “I have department business tomorrow night.”

Xiao Pang’s voice, full of longing, echoed in the dorm again. He was curious about everything in university life—clubs, the student union, department courses—he wanted to experience them all. Shu-ge was much the same. The two of them hit it off and had been wandering around the school quite a bit lately.

Ye Ran had already climbed into bed. He lay on his stomach by the edge of the bed, looking down with a smile. His mosquito net was loosely tied, and the light spilled from his black sideburns, stretching along his slender, supple body into the dark areas where the light couldn’t reach.

Shen Shi suddenly felt a bit hot.

He lowered his head irritably and took Yu Ting out of his blacklist.

– You there?

– My heart is wounded beyond healing. If you need me, burn some ritual paper.

– Which club did you join?

– Didn’t I tell you a long time ago? The Astronomy Club. This club perfectly fits my ‘literary youth’ vibe. They say we don’t even go out once a semester; we just watch movies and variety shows in the classroom. Plenty of funding, plenty of time—the ultimate choice for lazy people.

– I’ve already cleared it with the senior girl ahead of time. I’ll just fill out a form during recruitment tomorrow and I’m in—no interview needed. Why are you asking? You want to join too?

Shen Shi gave an irrelevant answer.

– Are you going to the recruitment tomorrow too?

– Duh, I’m the designated ‘face’ of the club chosen by the senior. I have to go and represent the Astronomy Club!

– Do you want in or not? Our club is very popular; first come, first served!

Shen Shi remained silent for a few seconds, his eyelashes casting a shadow over his face.

His long, pale fingertips tapped the phone screen. After a long time, he said:

– I’m not going.

– Take care of someone for me.