At 11:30 AM, Meng Xin was still lying in bed, playing dead.
He had actually been awake for a while, but he had no idea how to face Bian Ting, so he pretended to still be asleep.
His original plan was to wait for Bian Ting to leave before getting up.
Bian Ting usually left for the library at 7:30 AM every morning, but for some unknown reason, he was still here today.
Meng Xin had been lying there so long that he felt like he was turning into a vegetable.
Everything else was bearable, but the real problem was—
It was lunchtime.
And he was starving.
He couldn’t take it anymore. Pressing his ear against the edge of the bed curtain, he listened carefully to determine whether Bian Ting was still in the room.
Bian Ting’s footsteps had a distinct rhythm, different from everyone else’s. Meng Xin could recognize them.
After confirming multiple times that he didn’t hear anything, he gathered his courage and lifted the bed curtain—
Just ten centimeters.
Just enough to peek out with his head.
—And locked eyes with Bian Ting.
Bian Ting was standing nearby, watching him calmly, as if he had been waiting for quite some time.
Meng Xin froze.
His heart also froze.
Two seconds passed.
Meng Xin: “…”
Without a word, he lowered the bed curtain.
Then, he pulled his blanket over his head—
And imagined himself getting buried alive.
I should’ve never peeked!
Now what? This is so embarrassing I want to die.
But fortunately, Bian Ting didn’t say anything either.
Meng Xin remained motionless for five more minutes, continuing to play dead.
Then, he heard Bian Ting’s voice—
“I’m heading out,” Bian Ting said.
“Huh? Oh, okay,” Huang Wenjie replied.
A moment later, the sound of the door opening and closing echoed through the room.
Huang Wenjie was utterly confused. Even after Bian Ting left, he was still puzzled.
“Why did he suddenly say that to me?”
At the same time, the so-called “vegetative” person lying in bed suddenly threw off his blanket and sat up straight. The entire scene was nothing short of a medical miracle.
He cautiously lifted the bed curtain again, scanned the surroundings, and confirmed that Bian Ting had really left.
Then—
He swiftly got out of bed.
After freshening up, Meng Xin noticed that Bian Ting still hadn’t returned.
He let out a sigh of relief and sat down on a chair, finally feeling at ease.
“Meng Xin, you went to bed so early last night, yet you still got up so late today,” Huang Wenjie asked curiously. “What were you up to? So exhausting?”
“Nothing.” Meng Xin had no idea how to describe the rollercoaster of emotions from last night. Plus, Huang Wenjie still didn’t know that Bian Ting was gay. He couldn’t just blurt things out and accidentally out him.
Meng Xin’s stomach rumbled with hunger. He reached into Huang Wenjie’s snack box and grabbed a handful.
“Give me a bite.”
That “one bite” ended up taking away a third of Huang Wenjie’s snack stash—consisting of a bag of chips, a pack of biscuits, and a Snickers bar.
Huang Wenjie felt the pain deep in his soul. “Damn! You call that one bite? That’s a billion bites!”
Meng Xin tore open the bag of chips and tilted his head back, pouring them straight into his mouth.
He seemed to be in a rush—within five minutes, everything was gone. He tossed the wrappers into the trash can.
Huang Wenjie was stunned. “Were you that hungry?”
Meng Xin nodded tearfully.
“You want more? I have a pack of premium instant noodles.”
Meng Xin didn’t hesitate. “Hand it over—”
But before he could finish his sentence, he froze.
Because—
He heard familiar footsteps outside the door.
There was no need to guess. He already knew who it was.
The moment Meng Xin heard those footsteps, he dashed toward his bed at lightning speed.
Huang Wenjie was shocked by his agility. “Whoa, what are you doing?!”
Meng Xin executed a perfect diving motion onto his bed, rolled himself up in the blanket, and muttered, “I just remembered I left something on my bed.”
Huang Wenjie was baffled. “What could you have left on your bed? Your face?”
Meng Xin said nothing.
At this moment, he had fully committed to playing dead. And the dead don’t speak.
Until—
Someone knocked on his bed frame.
“It’s noon.”
Meng Xin remained silent, continuing to play dead.
Bian Ting didn’t call him again.
Instead, the next thing Meng Xin heard was the crinkling sound of plastic being opened.
Shortly after, the sound stopped.
Then—
A heavenly aroma filled the air.
—This was too cruel. Bian Ting was actually trying to lure him out with mini hot pot noodles!
Another knock on the bed frame.
Bian Ting asked three simple words: “Are you eating?”
Meng Xin shamefully wavered.
The rich, savory scent of hot pot noodles lingered in the air, and his stomach betrayed him by growling twice.
Meng Xin took a deep breath but ultimately couldn’t resist the temptation.
He peeked out from the bed curtain, looking pitifully at Bian Ting. “Can I have some?”
Bian Ting said, “I brought it for you.”
Meng Xin was deeply touched as he climbed out of bed.
While eating, Meng Xin secretly observed Bian Ting.
Two voices were battling in his head.
One said: Great, Bian Ting doesn’t seem to have any reaction. I can pretend nothing ever happened!
The other said: Why doesn’t Bian Ting have any reaction? Does this mean he actually doesn’t like me?
Bian Ting suddenly looked his way.
Meng Xin immediately avoided eye contact and lowered his head, sipping his soup.
“Your face is about to dive into the bowl,” Bian Ting remarked.
Meng Xin quickly lifted his head. “Oh, oh.”
Meanwhile, the voices in his head were fighting even harder.
One said: Bian Ting really doesn’t care. Perfect! We can just keep being friends as if nothing happened!
The other said: Why does Bian Ting really not care? Did he lose his memory? Or was he abducted by aliens and replaced with a different person inside his body?!
Until Meng Xin finished his bowl of mini hot pot noodles, Bian Ting didn’t show any particular reaction.
Meng Xin let out a sigh of relief—but at the same time, he felt a little weird about it.
…
Everything seemed to go back to the way it was.
Bian Ting never brought up the topic of “liking” him again, as if it had never happened.
He even continued bringing Meng Xin mini hot pot noodles like before.
But as the number of times increased, Meng Xin started to feel a little guilty.
Before, it hadn’t seemed like a big deal. But now, the situation was different.
—Bian Ting liked him.
Yet, he was a straight guy. Not only could he not return Bian Ting’s feelings, but he was also still eating the noodles he brought for him.
Was he even human?
Meng Xin confessed his guilt to Fan Da:
【Sigh, I’m a terrible person.】
Meng Xin: 【I rejected him, but I’m still eating the mini hot pot noodles he brings me.】
Fan Da coldly replied: 【Then marry him to make up for it.】
Meng Xin: 【That’s not an option. I’m seriously straight.】
Fan Da: 【Actually, your problem is easy to solve.】
Meng Xin: 【Oh? How?】
Fan Da: 【Listen to my analysis.】
Fan Da: 【Straight guy, straight + guy. “Straight” is from “straight man,” but “guy” is also in “gay guy.”】
Fan Da: 【So from a linguistic standpoint, straight guys are often half gay.】
Meng Xin immediately replied: 【I’m the other half.】
Fan Da: 【Exactly, you’re the gay half.】
Meng Xin: 【.】
Meng Xin: 【You solved nothing!!!】
Since Fan Da was clearly unreliable, Meng Xin had to figure it out on his own.
Last time, he asked a bunch of straight guys and didn’t get a single useful answer.
This time, he decided to switch strategies—he’d go ask in a gay community.
So, using his top-tier research skills, he scoured the internet for places where gay people gathered.
His efforts paid off—he found a gay forum.
He typed “straight guy” into the search bar.
Over ten thousand results popped up, spanning nearly a decade.
A quick glance told him that most posts were about gay guys falling for their straight friends.
He hadn’t expected so many people to be in the same boat.
Meng Xin clicked into a random post.
Sigh. Liking a straight guy is a rite of passage for us. Three years ago, I gathered the courage to confess to my straight crush, only for fate to play a cruel joke—on that very day, he fell in love at first sight with another girl. Everything stopped before I could tell him I liked him. In his life, I was just an unchosen detour. Five years ago, we watched the sunset by the sea together. In the glow of the evening light, the way he looked at me felt like the way I looked at him. He’ll never know that before the sun fully set, I had already understood what love was.
“I totally understand how you feel. I’ve liked a straight guy for ten years. We grew up together, and I was there for every important moment in his life. We weren’t family, but we were closer than family. But one day, he brought a girl home. He was so happy as he introduced me to her, saying, ‘This is my best friend.’ After that, I walked away from their lives. The day I left, I gathered my courage and confessed to him, telling him that I had liked him for ten years. He said I was disgusting and told me never to show up in front of him again.”
“Ah, a fellow soul adrift in this vast world! I once liked a straight guy too. I was the best man at his wedding. All I can say is that falling for your best friend is already painful enough, but being a gay man in love with a straight guy is absolutely devastating. If I could, I truly wish I had never fallen for him. But after so many years together, he has already become an extension of my body—like an external breathing organ. I can’t stop breathing.”
The way gay men write about their emotions is always so much more delicate and heartfelt than straight men who can only say, “Stay strong, bro.” Every word carries raw, genuine emotion.
That night, Meng Xin read countless stories of gay men falling for their straight best friends. Each one struck deep into his heart.
Meng Xin was on the verge of tears.
He even forgot the reason he had originally come here—to find a solution.
He couldn’t help but think back to that night when Bian Ting got drunk and was feeling miserable.
Did Bian Ting drink because he said he liked someone?
Meng Xin had never felt so guilty before.
He never imagined that his casually made-up online relationship would cause Bian Ting so much pain.
What kind of terrible person was he?!
The next morning, when Bian Ting woke up, he found a carton of milk and a piece of bread on his desk.
There was also a note.
It read:
“Bian Ting, please remember to eat the breakfast that little Meng carefully prepared for you before heading to the library ^_^”
Bian Ting picked up the note and flipped it over, finding another line on the back.
“This is my favorite bread!! I waited in line for a long time to buy it. Eating it will make you happy all day!!”
Bian Ting turned his head and looked in Meng Xin’s direction.
The person hiding behind the bed curtain immediately lay down and stayed completely still.
Bian Ting had no idea why, but early in the morning, he suddenly had the strange feeling of having won the lottery.
Little did he know, this was only the beginning.
At noon, Meng Xin posted on his social media:
“I don’t like anyone anymore!!!!!!”
Fan Da was the first to comment:
“So there’s a real person now? The online one has to step aside?”
Meng Xin told him to get lost.
Gao Yinghang commented:
“That was fast! Already over?? Online relationships really are unreliable!!!”
Huang Wenjie also left a comment: “Brotherhood above all! Congrats on returning to the world of brothers!!!”
Bian Ting saw Meng Xin’s post too.
He didn’t know why Meng Xin felt the need to emphasize it again on social media, but he had to admit—it did make him feel a little lighter.
That afternoon, Meng Xin came to the academic building to find Bian Ting, saying he wanted to treat him to a bowl of rice noodles.
Not only that, Meng Xin ordered Bian Ting the deluxe version and even sacrificed his own toppings, adding them all to Bian Ting’s bowl, turning it into a one-of-a-kind super deluxe version—while his own became a bland, stripped-down version.
Bian Ting stared at the steaming clay pot in front of him, packed to the brim with ingredients, and couldn’t help but wonder—what on earth had he done recently to deserve such an incredible reward?
And that wasn’t all.
Later that night, when Meng Xin was distributing the snacks his family had sent, he made sure to set aside an extra-large portion for Bian Ting.
But in the confined space of their dorm room, favoritism like this was impossible to hide.
Huang Wenjie glanced over and saw Bian Ting struggling to hold onto his massive pile of snacks. He immediately shouted, “Why does Bian Ting have so much?!”
Meng Xin looked a little embarrassed but still stubbornly insisted, “…It’s the same! Exactly the same! It just looks like more because he’s skinnier than you.”
Huang Wenjie wasn’t buying it. He stood up and compared their portions side by side.
“Anyone with eyes can see he has more than both of us!”
Huang Wenjie declared, “Meng Xin, you’re so biased. So fake. So shameless.”
Meng Xin ripped open a piece of chocolate and shoved it into Huang Wenjie’s mouth. “Shut up.”
Gao Yinghang chimed in, “Meng Xin, you’re so biased. So fake. So shameless.”
Meng Xin, as if feeding seagulls, stuffed a piece of bread into Gao Yinghang’s mouth. “You shut up too.”
Bian Ting watched in silence as Meng Xin silenced the two of them. He wanted to say the exact same thing.
But when he looked down, he realized that Meng Xin had actually given him twice as much as the others.
If he complained now, it’d just seem ungrateful.
So he quietly kept his share without another word.
Just as Huang Wenjie and Gao Yinghang turned away, Bian Ting felt someone subtly tug at his hand.
He turned his head and saw Meng Xin slipping an extra handful of candies into his palm—ones no one else had gotten.
Bian Ting raised an eyebrow. “What’s up with you today?”
Meng Xin whispered, “Nothing… Can’t I just want to be nice to you?”
Bian Ting didn’t know what was going on in Meng Xin’s head this time, but he accepted it as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
He curled his fingers around the candy, a faint smile appearing on his lips.
“Sure. Of course you can.”
For three nights in a row, Meng Xin lay in bed reading stories on an online forum—heart-wrenching stories of gay men falling for their straight best friends.
It was a world he, as a straight guy, had never stepped into before.
And the more he read, the heavier his heart felt.
After thinking it over, he knew he couldn’t just pretend nothing had happened.
He had to talk to Bian Ting.
The next day, Meng Xin went to the library to find him.
He sent Bian Ting a message: [I’m waiting for you at the entrance. Come out when you’re ready.]
Unlike last time when he’d set a strict time limit, this time Meng Xin felt nothing but guilt. He didn’t rush him.
He just stood there quietly, waiting.
But Bian Ting didn’t keep him waiting long.
Less than five minutes later, he walked out.
As soon as he stepped outside, his eyes landed on Meng Xin.
For some reason, Meng Xin looked especially well-behaved today—squatting by the entrance like a little cat patiently waiting for its owner.
It made Bian Ting want to reach out and ruffle his hair.
He quickly walked over. “What’s wrong?”
Meng Xin looked up at him.
Bian Ting understood instantly. “You have something to say?”
Meng Xin hummed a soft “mm” and stood up.
“Come with me.”
He grabbed Bian Ting’s sleeve and pulled him toward a small pavilion nearby, away from the crowd.
Bian Ting leaned against the railing. “Alright, go ahead.”
Meng Xin hesitated.
For a long moment, no words came out.
But Bian Ting didn’t rush him.
He simply waited, patiently.
Meng Xin hesitated for a long time before finally forcing himself to speak. “Bian Ting, I think I should make this clear to you.”
“I’m straight. I have no plans to become gay anytime soon.”
Bian Ting knew this better than anyone, so he responded calmly, “I know.”
Meng Xin was still anxious. “Are you… going to be sad?”
Bian Ting chuckled. “Are you afraid I’ll be sad?”
Now he understood.
No wonder Meng Xin had been treating him so well these past few days—it was because he was afraid of hurting him.
How could he be so—adorable?
Bian Ting lowered his head and laughed.
But then he realized that laughing at this moment probably wasn’t appropriate, so he quickly covered it up with two light coughs.
“Mm…” Meng Xin mumbled. “I just don’t want you to be sad.”
“Alright, got it,” Bian Ting replied softly. “I’ll try my best not to be sad.”
Meng Xin opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something more but hesitated.
Bian Ting noticed and asked, “Is there something else?”
“Yeah, also—” Meng Xin hesitated again but still told him seriously, “I don’t have a crush on any girl, and I don’t plan on dating a girl anytime soon.”
“So, you don’t need to be sad, and you’re not allowed to go drinking over this.”
Meng Xin lightly poked Bian Ting’s arm with his index finger. “Do you understand what I mean?”
Bian Ting nodded, seeming to get it.
He paused for a moment, deep in thought.
Then he asked, “So… does that mean I can pursue you?”
Meng Xin: “.”
Meng Xin: “You didn’t understand. Repeat what I just said.”
Bian Ting obediently repeated, “You’re straight. You won’t become gay anytime soon. You don’t like any girl, and you don’t plan on dating a girl for now. I shouldn’t be sad, and I’m not allowed to go drinking.”
His repetition was flawless.
Meng Xin was quite satisfied. “Very good.”
“Now do you understand?”
Bian Ting nodded again and asked even more directly, “So can I pursue you?”
“…”
“…”
Damn it.
Why are gay guys so bad at comprehension?
He literally just said he was straight!
Seeing Meng Xin speechless, Bian Ting asked again, “Can I?”
Meng Xin’s ears turned completely red. He couldn’t help but raise his voice. “No, you can’t!!!”
“Alright then,” Bian Ting said regretfully. “I’ll just keep having a crush on you.”
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