Are All You Straight Men Like This? - Chapter 6

The large plaza was ablaze with lights at night. Colorful lanterns hung from the trees, and banners brightly displayed the slogan: “Join a Great Club, Create a Better Tomorrow.”

The early autumn night was stiflingly hot. The plaza was packed shoulder-to-shoulder, filled everywhere with the noisy clamor of voices. Ye Ran was squeezed until he broke into a sweat. Strands of hair stuck to the side of his face, and his watery eyes drooped listlessly; he no longer had any interest in the festivities.

Xiao Pang was drenched in sweat, yet he still stood on his tiptoes to ask, “What club is that over there? Over there, under that tree!”

Ye Ran stood at 178 cm, five centimeters taller than him. Hearing this, he looked over, his gaze pausing. “The Astronomy Club.”

“We’ve been walking for ages and finally found a club,” Shu-ge remarked with a sigh. “This is livelier than the temple fairs back in my hometown.”

Xiao Pang fanned himself with his palm. “A temple fair? I’ve never seen one in my life.”

“I’ll take you guys there during winter break. My hometown is a registered intangible cultural heritage site; there’s definitely enough to keep you entertained.”

Ye Ran casually wiped the sweat from his face and gave a soft “mm.”

In the middle of the noisy crowd, he suddenly felt a gaze on him. The surrounding light flickered between brightness and shadow as the lanterns flashed. The high-energy music from the Street Dance Club drifted over from a distance. He locked eyes with someone.

A boy was staring straight at him, offering a sunny smile. Ye Ran’s footsteps faltered. He searched his memory for this somewhat familiar face… had he seen him somewhere before?

But he couldn’t remember. He shifted his gaze away, his brow furrowing slightly. He was very familiar with that kind of look: interest, flirtation.

This Liang Feng… was a fellow traveler on the same path.

“Ye Ran, hurry up and sign up!” Xiao Pang’s loud shout pulled his attention back. “How come there are so many people at the Astronomy Club?”

Ye Ran followed the sound of his voice. The Astronomy Club shared a large tent with the Extreme Sports Club next door. Seven or eight people were huddled over the writing desks under the canopy, filling out registration forms.

Ye Ran approached at Xiao Pang’s urging and saw Yu Ting. Yu Ting had also just spotted him, and his eyes immediately lit up. “Ye Ran, you’re here to sign up too?”

His natural attitude influenced Ye Ran, causing the heavy mood from a moment ago to relax slightly. “Yeah, I’m here to sign up. Quite a lot of people are joining the Astronomy Club.”

“Psh,” Yu Ting waved his hand dismissively. “There are slackers everywhere.”

Ye Ran: “?”

Yu Ting patted the boy next to him who was filling out a form. “These are all plants—old members who just left the club. They were afraid our booth would look empty, so they came back to offer a second contribution.”

The boy, who stumbled slightly from the pat, glared at him. “Keep it down! The school is demanding healthy competition this year. If our behavior is discovered by other clubs…”

Ye Ran couldn’t help but feel tense. “What would happen?”

The boy said, “We’d be secretly laughed at.”

Ye Ran: “…”

Not exactly a crisis. He could start laughing right now.

Yu Ting was also speechless. “Forget it, as long as you guys are happy.” He gestured to Ye Ran. “Ye Ran, hurry up and fill out the form. Our club is in high demand; including you and me, we already have two new members.”

Ye Ran: “…”

Xiao Pang arrived just in time to hear this. A hint of suspicion appeared on his round, chubby face. “Ah? Ye Ran, maybe you should reconsider. This club sounds like it’s going bankrupt tomorrow.”

“Hey, you little fatty, watch your mouth! Don’t spread rumors,” an old member said, dissatisfied.

A “new” member was also unhappy. “Exactly! Every club has a different constitution. What do you mean ‘bankrupt’!”

Helplessly, Ye Ran took the form from Yu Ting and crouched by the table to fill it out. Beside him, Xiao Pang and Yu Ting were still arguing, debating what kind of “constitution” the Astronomy Club had and how much longer it could hold on.

Suddenly, he felt a puff of cool air against his face. A small electric fan whirred, the sound of current buzzing inside the button.

Ye Ran turned his head. The boy he had seen in the crowd earlier was now standing in front of him. Up close, the boy’s features were sunny and handsome, with an infectious smile, but the sense of purpose in his eyes was too strong. Feeling uncomfortable, Ye Ran shifted to the side.

“Hey, classmate, want to join our Extreme Sports Club?” The boy held the small fan, blowing it toward him. “Our club has plenty of funding. Our first activity will be taking you guys to South City Park for skydiving.”

Ye Ran’s expression was flat. “Not interested.”

He lowered his head and continued filling out the form. The flickering spots of light from the lanterns danced across his eyes. Because of the heat, the area around his eyes was slightly flushed, and his eyelashes were like scattered raven feathers—fine and light. A portion of his neck, slender and white, was visible from his black T-shirt, radiating a soft and quiet aura.

Liang Feng’s smile deepened, and he said in a gentle voice, “Student Ye Ran, youth only happens once. It would be a tragedy to lose your courage because of fear, wouldn’t it?”

Ye Ran paused, frowning as he looked at him. “You know me?”

“That’s truly heartbreaking,” Liang Feng said, though his smile didn’t change. “We’re classmates. Student Ye Ran, have you remembered my name yet?”

Ye Ran thought for a moment. “Zhou Qi?”

Liang Feng’s smile stiffened. “Is there anyone in our class named Zhou Qi?”

“Isn’t it you?” Ye Ran asked, looking at him sideways.

Liang Feng gradually pulled back his smile. A few seconds later, he curled his lips. “It seems you really don’t want to join our club. Fine. If you ever feel like it in the future, you’re welcome to come find me anytime.”

Having finished, he didn’t linger and left decisively.

Watching his retreating back, Ye Ran lowered his head to finish the form. Beside him, Xiao Pang and Yu Ting had fallen silent at some point. Both had overheard the conversation, and Xiao Pang was laughing fit to die.

“Who is that guy? Can’t he see you just want to slack off? ‘Be more brave’… Hahaha, he’s killing me.”

Shu-ge was also laughing while looking confused. “He does seem a bit dim-witted, but why do I feel like the way he spoke to Ye Ran was weird? It gave me goosebumps.”

Ye Ran froze, his fingertips tightening on the pen. He had been certain of his sexual orientation since he was very young. After starting school, he deliberately kept his distance from both the same and opposite sexes. Until college, his only true friend was his childhood best friend. He had very few friends, so he cherished them deeply.

Everyone in Dorm 211—Xiao Pang, Shu-ge… and Shen Shi. Even though they had only been together for a little over a month, he truly considered them friends.

There is a “radar” between gay men. Everyone in Dorm 211 except for him was straight. He wasn’t sure if Xiao Pang and the others would still interact with him so naturally if they knew the truth.

…As expected, I shouldn’t have made friends so early, Ye Ran thought quietly.

He was about to be alone again. Doubt, resentment, disgust, suspicion… all these emotions would soon surround him. A white mist suddenly appeared before his eyes; he couldn’t see clearly.

“Was it? What was weird about it?” Xiao Pang’s voice suddenly pierced through the mist, reaching Ye Ran’s ears. “I thought it was just cheesy. My fifty-year-old high school teacher loved saying stuff like that. For a second, I thought I was looking at his son.”

Shu-ge burst into laughter. “I was going to say that too! Total ‘Chicken Soup for the Soul’!”

“It’s not soul soup, it’s toxic soup,” Xiao Pang said. “And I’ve done extreme sports before. Last time I went on a group tour and tried a cliff swing. It was so boring I fell asleep on it; they had to pinch my pressure points to wake me up.”

Shu-ge: “Good thing they woke you up. Otherwise, you’d be dead, but your mouth would still be stubborn.”

Ye Ran unconsciously relaxed his grip. His heart felt like it had landed on soft cotton candy, and a hint of a smile appeared in his eyes. He resumed filling out the form, ignoring Yu Ting’s thoughtful gaze.

10:00 PM

The three roommates returned to the dorm one after another. The air conditioning was set to the perfect temperature. Xiao Pang pushed the door open first, looking surprised to see Shen Shi sitting in his chair instead of being in bed.

“Shen Shi, you’re not asleep yet?”

“Mhm. It’s still early.” Shen Shi put down his phone, his gaze moving past Xiao Pang and Shu-ge to land on Ye Ran. “Did you sign up?”

Ye Ran’s hair was a bit damp, and sweat clung to the tip of his nose. He was the type to sweat easily, but because of his fair skin, he didn’t look disheveled; instead, he had a lazy, listless air about him.

“We all signed up,” Ye Ran said with a smile. “I joined Astronomy, Xiao Pang joined Go, and Shu-ge joined Literature. What about you? Still haven’t decided where to go?”

Shen Shi looked away, seemingly indifferent. “Mhm. I’ll think about it some more.”

“Hot, hot, hot!” Xiao Pang sweated even more than Ye Ran and couldn’t stand it anymore. He stripped off his shirt and pants, grabbing clean clothes to head into the bathroom.

Shen Shi’s brow furrowed instinctively. Ye Ran was changing his shoes and didn’t see this. Shen Shi’s voice was deep as he called Xiao Pang by his full name: “Lin Feipeng, the window is open.”

“Huh?” Xiao Pang didn’t care. “The building opposite is also a men’s dorm. Don’t worry, no one’s going to take advantage of me.”

Shu-ge laughed. “You? Specifically?”

Ye Ran also looked up, happily listening to their banter.

Buzz, buzz.

The phone on the desk vibrated. Shen Shi’s eyes were dark as he looked away in irritation.

[You there?] The message was from Yu Ting. [Speak.] Yu Ting: [You still haven’t decided which club to join?] Shen Shi: [.] This was his way of showing impatience with the small talk.

Yu Ting tactfully got straight to the point: [You’d better join one fast, or watch out for being isolated by your roommates. When Ye Ran was signing up today, plenty of people from other clubs were trying to lobby him. One guy was especially enthusiastic, chasing after him and even blowing a little fan on him.]

Shen Shi’s gaze froze. His eyebrows furrowed deep enough to crush a fly. He was usually cold and detached, rarely showing such strong emotional fluctuations. The sound of splashing water filled the dorm; Ye Ran and Shu-ge shared a look and quieted their movements.

Receiving no reply, Yu Ting didn’t think much of it and continued: [That guy seemed to be Ye Ran’s classmate. He specifically asked if Ye Ran remembered his name. Haha, I always said people in the Arts Department are just… like that.]

Shen Shi: [He was harassed?] Both of them knew exactly who “he” referred to.

Yu Ting: […] Yu Ting: [How did you jump to that? But that guy looked familiar to me too, like I’d seen him somewhere… Holy crap, I remember now! You remember that Art student who was retaking a sophomore course? That guy is his boyfriend!] Yu Ting: [That circle is so messy.] Yu Ting: […But then again, why would he target Ye Ran?]

In the dorm building across the way, Yu Ting put down his phone and sighed helplessly. Hinting to this extent, Shen Shi should be able to figure it out, right?

Shen Shi had always been a smart person. You could tell by the people around him—each was a standout talent in their field. He was calm, cautious, proud, and knew how to make trade-offs. Yu Ting actually quite liked Ye Ran’s personality, but there was nothing he could do; Shen Shi’s reaction upon hearing the word “homosexual” in the past had been truly bad.

To avoid a potential tragedy, it was best to guide Shen Shi to discover the “truth” himself. This would be better for both Ye Ran and Shen Shi.

Sigh. Luckily he caught it early. Otherwise, given how special Shen Shi treated Ye Ran, it would probably take him a long time to recover once he found out.

Dorm 211

Shen Shi sat expressionless in the shadows. He kept his head down, his hair falling naturally to hide the dark, deep look in his eyes. His aura fluctuated for a moment before he suppressed it.

He looked at the long-winded messages from Yu Ting on his screen. Scenes from the past flashed back as clearly as a movie replay. He thought of how Ye Ran hadn’t looked away just now when Xiao Pang stripped; then he thought of a few days ago when it rained heavily—when they returned to the dorm and Shen Shi took his own clothes off, Ye Ran had only politely and reservedly shifted his gaze…

It was obvious. Ye Ran was straight.

None of his behaviors showed a trace of guilt or awkwardness. In over a month of living together, he hadn’t felt any discomfort from Ye Ran. Like any ordinary roommate, Ye Ran bathed, ate, slept, chatted, and participated in late-night talks normally.

Ye Ran couldn’t possibly be gay. In that case…

That guy who already has a boyfriend still came to harass him—

Shen Shi’s expression became cold and disgusted.

[I’ve decided.]

Yu Ting was about to climb down from his bed to shower when he saw his phone light up. He grabbed it immediately and saw the cryptic message from Shen Shi.

Yu Ting: [?] Yu Ting: [Decided what?] Shen Shi: [I’m joining the Astronomy Club, too.]

Yu Ting: “?” Yu Ting: “???”

Clatter! Startled shouts immediately rang out in the opposite dorm. “Crap, Yu Ting, are you okay?” “How did you fall off the bed?” “Holy sh*t, do we need to go to the hospital…?”

Yu Ting painfully raised his hand and grabbed his phone.

Fck.* The person who needs a hospital is on the other end of the phone!

Shen Shi, you homophobe, did you take the wrong medicine?!