How could a Puppy-like Boy Ever Have Any Bad Intentions? - Chapter 2

Su Lixu hadn’t expected the students at the Academy of Fine Arts to be so enthusiastic. After class, they swarmed him with questions. By the end, they were even asking for his contact information. He wasn’t sure if their thirst for knowledge was truly that intense.

He eventually managed to excuse himself by claiming he had another class. It was only after he stepped out of the classroom that he found room to breathe.

It wasn’t that he disliked students asking questions; he simply disliked being crowded. The physical contact and accidental bumping triggered his germaphobia. It wasn’t exactly that he disliked people being near him, but rather it was an obsessive-compulsive need for cleanliness.

In the restroom, Su Lixu stood at the sink, running water over his hands continuously. He applied soap and washed them over and over, meticulously cleaning even the gaps between his fingers. He washed until his skin turned red, yet he felt no pain.

“Teacher Su, your hands are red. Doesn’t it hurt?”

Suddenly, a somewhat familiar voice sounded from behind him. His scrubbing hands froze, and he turned around.

It was the boy who had asked him earlier if he had a boyfriend.

The boy was looking at him with a worried gaze, as if Su Lixu were doing something self-destructive.

Perhaps because of the proximity, Su Lixu looked at the boy’s face and felt a strange sense of overlap with someone else. The feeling was fleeting. He lowered his eyes, turned back to shut off the faucet, and smiled.

“It’s nothing. Just washing my hands.”

Just as he reached for a paper towel, the boy moved faster and handed one to him.

As Su Lixu’s arm brushed against the warm, sturdy chest behind him, his body stiffened. Simultaneously, his nose caught a scent he knew all too well: the fragrance of August osmanthus on a summer night.

It was the perfume he had used for nearly five years. Naturally, he was sensitive to it, and he felt surprised that someone else would use the same scent.

However, he didn’t have time to dwell on such trivialities. His mind was occupied by the paper towel. Should he take it or not?

If he didn’t, it might be awkward for the student, which felt inappropriate for a teacher. If he did, he would be struggling with his own internal boundaries.

“Teacher Su, why are you dazing off?”

Just as Su Lixu was about to take the towel and endure his own discomfort, the boy’s tall frame leaned in, effectively encircling him. From behind, the boy took hold of his hand.

Strong, powerful arms pressed against his body. The boy’s large hands were nearly a size bigger than his own. His left hand was grasped first, and then the boy used the paper towel to carefully dry every drop of water. He missed nothing, not even the spaces between his fingers.

Then, he moved to the other hand.

Su Lixu found the entire situation surreal. He felt he had never encountered such an embarrassing moment in his life.

Actually, that wasn’t true. Something even more embarrassing had happened once before.

The man’s long, fair hands were as beautiful as works of art, yet they were slightly flushed from the friction. Despite that, whether it was the reddened fingertips or the faint pink of his nails, they were triggers that made one’s blood race.

Seeing that Su Lixu remained silent in his embrace, Fu Xingran looked up at the mirror. He saw Su Lixu staring at him blankly, as if astonished that such a thing was happening.

As expected, the man’s upbringing ensured that even when faced with something incomprehensible and humiliating, he didn’t lose his composure.

He was clearly a serious, professional psychiatrist, yet he would inadvertently show a look of bewilderment. That contrast was so cute it was impossible to resist.

This reaction reminded Fu Xingran of four years ago, back when Su Lixu was his attending physician at the psychiatric hospital.

The man would wear a white coat and smile with such tenderness that he truly looked like an angel. During his year-and-a-half hospitalization, Fu Xingran had looked forward immensely to Su Lixu visiting his ward to chat. The man was like a big brother, guiding and comforting him with boundless patience and gentleness to help him slowly find peace.

And in Su Lixu, he found the one thing that could soothe his emotions.

A year and a half later, he was discharged in stable condition. However, one thundery night, he suffered an emotional collapse due to fear and reached out to Su Lixu for help. In the end, he had lost control and bitten Su Lixu. It was vicious, to the point of drawing blood, and even to the point where Su Lixu fainted from the pain.

Yet, he clearly remembered Su Lixu’s eyes. Whether it was the moment he bit him or the moment the man woke up from the pain, Su Lixu wasn’t angry or panicked. He was just stunned.

It was that same stunned look that now caused Fu Xingran to drown in a trembling, obsessive love. No medicine could calm his agitation or loss of control; only Su Lixu could.

During the days he couldn’t find Su Lixu, he had called out his name day and night. It was as if “Su Lixu” were the only words he was still capable of speaking. The name was the only proof that Su Lixu had once existed in his life.

He had collapsed when he couldn’t find him, yet he could tremble with madness just from those three characters of his name.

And now, after four years, Su Lixu had appeared before him again. He was no longer the weak, thin teenager of the past. He had grown up, changing so much that Su Lixu didn’t even recognize him.

He desperately wanted to demand why Su Lixu had disappeared, but in what capacity could he ask? In Su Lixu’s mind, he was likely just one of many psychiatric patients.

“You…” Su Lixu brushed the boy’s hands away and stepped aside, escaping the intrusive embrace. “I can do it myself, thank you.”

With that, he grabbed two more paper towels and left the restroom without looking back.

In his fluster, he didn’t even realize his hands had been touched. It wasn’t by accident, but deliberately and thoroughly. He didn’t even think to re-wash his hands. It felt as if there were a monster behind him that might grab him again at any moment.

Su Lixu was entirely unaware that after he left, Fu Xingran’s eyes were clouded with deep disappointment.

“Did you forget me? How heartbreaking.”

A moment later, hope returned to his eyes. Fu Xingran brought the hand that had held Su Lixu’s to his lips, his gaze filled with infatuation. He kissed his knuckles, imagining Su Lixu in his mind.

He imagined the man trembling.

“It’s okay. Let’s get to know each other all over again, Teacher Su.”

Su Lixu spent a week adjusting to his university teaching job. Perhaps because he had spent so many years on campuses, he adapted quickly. Compared to hospital work, he preferred the simple academic atmosphere of a university. Although his mentor had suggested he stay in a clinical setting, he had ultimately chosen the school.

After work, he drove to Sam’s Club to buy some daily necessities and ingredients for dinner.

Likely due to his medical background, he was exceptionally sensitive about food hygiene. If he could eat at home and cook for himself, he would never eat out. He didn’t even use grocery delivery apps because he didn’t trust them. He preferred the trouble of going out to shop so he could see the quality for himself.

After picking out green vegetables and some live shrimp for a poached dish, he headed to the household section to restock some items for his apartment.

Eventually, his cart was full.

He pushed the cart to the parking lot alone. Loading the items into his trunk took quite a bit of effort, as most things at Sam’s Club come in large, heavy packaging.

Just as he was about to lift three bundled boxes of apples from the bottom of the cart, a hand reached out and lifted them for him. He froze and looked over in confusion.

It was that boy again.

Fu Xingran looked at Su Lixu with a bright smile. “Teacher Su, what a coincidence! Are you shopping too?” He placed the apples in the trunk and proceeded to help load the rest of the items.

Su Lixu realized the frequency of this boy appearing before him was becoming suspiciously high.

This past week, the boy had appeared in almost every one of his classes, in almost every hallway he walked through, and even on the stairs. Now, he was even bumping into him at the supermarket.

What were the odds of such a coincidence?

“Quite a coincidence. Are you here for shopping too?” Su Lixu smiled politely and stepped forward to organize his trunk. “I can handle it, thank you.”

“It’s fine. Your hands shouldn’t be doing this kind of work. These things are too heavy.” Fu Xingran pressed his hand down on Su Lixu’s as he tried to move a box. He looked at him sideways. “In the future, if you need anything from Sam’s, you can contact me directly. My family owns this store. I can arrange for them to deliver to you, no matter how small the item is.”

Su Lixu quietly pulled his hand away, wondering if kids these days were always this enthusiastic toward their teachers.

“All done.” Fu Xingran finished tidying the trunk and stood up to look at Su Lixu.

Meeting the boy’s burning gaze, Su Lixu felt a brief moment of daze. An indescribable sense of familiarity washed over him, but he dismissed it as impossible. After all, that boy’s father had told him they might not return to the country for a long time.

Moreover, they didn’t look alike.

That child had been terrified of the outside world, even afraid of the light. He was so scared that if the curtains were drawn, he would cling to Su Lixu and refuse to let go. He wasn’t like this tall, handsome, radiant young man.

Even if they were of a similar age.

“Thank you very much. Do you need a ride back to school?” Su Lixu asked with a smile. He figured a young student couldn’t have any ulterior motives. He was likely just being helpful.

Fu Xingran shook his head. He pulled out a car key and pressed a button. A Lamborghini hidden in the shadows flashed its lights. “I drove here, so I can get back on my own. See you tomorrow, Doctor Su.”

With that, he turned and walked toward his car.

Su Lixu had intended to ask for the boy’s name, but the boy left so quickly he didn’t get the chance, and he felt it would be awkward to shout after him.

He didn’t think too much of it, got into the driver’s seat, and drove off.

“He’s probably just a helpful, energetic kid,” he thought.

The evening sky was painted with pink and purple hues like an oil painting. On the busy highway, with only a few cars between them, the Cadillac never noticed the Lamborghini following behind.

Everything appeared to be a mere coincidence.

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