Chapter 27

Post Views: 376

The winter break lasted thirty-six days. During that time, Meng Xin and Bian Ting had thirty-four video calls.

Somewhere within those thirty-four calls, something between them had subtly shifted.

Meng Xin couldn’t quite put it into words. He only knew that Bian Ting felt different from his other friends now. Maybe it was because of those thirty-four calls—because they got to know each other better than before.

On the day they returned to school, Meng Xin thought to himself: Since we’ve been video calling every day, it basically feels like we’ve seen each other every day.

There’s no way I’d actually miss him… right?

But when he finally saw Bian Ting in person again, he realized—real-life and video calls weren’t the same.

And maybe, just maybe, he did miss him.

Of course, for a straight guy, saying “I missed you” out loud felt way too sentimental. Especially to another guy. That would be weird, right?

So instead, he kept it casual and said, “Long time no see.”

Bian Ting smiled warmly and played along. “Long time no see.”

Other than that, Bian Ting didn’t say much else.

It was as if they were just ordinary friends who hadn’t spoken all break—not two people who had called each other thirty-four times over the past month.

Meng Xin opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but nothing subtle came to mind. In the end, he let it go.

When he turned his head, he saw that Huang Wenjie and Gao Yinghang were already hugging.

The two of them clung to each other like long-lost brothers, yelling, “Bro! I missed you so much!”

Right after, they made gagging noises at each other and added, “Dude, that was so gay. Disgusting.”

Then, just to be extra annoying, they hugged even tighter and started smacking each other’s backs.

Meng Xin frowned at their over-the-top antics, but his mind drifted elsewhere.

…Could he hug Bian Ting too?

Would that be weird? But then again, Huang Wenjie and Gao Yinghang are hugging.

And they’re both straight.

…But Bian Ting isn’t.

Still, school just started again. A bro hug should be totally normal, right?

—So… is it okay for a straight guy to hug a gay guy at the start of a new semester?

Just as he was lost in thought, a warm body crashed into him.

Meng Xin snapped out of it.

Huang Wenjie threw his arms around him with a dramatic wail of “Broooo!”

The second Meng Xin saw it was just Huang Wenjie messing around, an inexplicable wave of disappointment washed over him.

Still, he played along and scolded, “What the hell is wrong with you?”

Huang Wenjie, thinking Meng Xin was joking back, took things up a notch. He clung to him like a slippery eel, dramatically pounding his chest. “Yeah, yeah! I’m lovesick! I missed you so much, bro!”

Meng Xin used to mess around like this with his straight friends too. Without hesitation, he shoved Huang Wenjie off him and grimaced. “Ugh, dude, stop being so gay!”

The moment the words left his mouth, his gaze—almost instinctively—flickered toward Bian Ting.

He had no idea why.

Bian Ting’s expression was unreadable, showing no reaction at all. Then, he slightly tilted his head and glanced at Huang Wenjie.

For a split second, Meng Xin thought he saw a faint crease between Bian Ting’s brows.

Regret immediately hit him like a brick.

Why the hell did I say that…?

Before he could dwell on it, Gao Yinghang came flying in like a tornado and pulled him into another crushing hug.

“Bro! I missed you too!”

Having just learned his lesson, Meng Xin wisely kept his mouth shut this time.

Gao Yinghang pulled back and stared at him in shock. “Dude, you’ve changed. One winter break and you’re acting all distant now?”

Meng Xin: “…”

Meng Xin: “Fine. I missed you, okay?”

Saying it to Gao Yinghang was easy. Probably because Gao Yinghang was definitely straight.

But Gao Yinghang just shook his head. “You don’t really mean it. That was so half-assed. I’m hurt.”

So Meng Xin gave him a much more sincere reply: “Are you dumb? Knock it off.”

Gao Yinghang: “Too late. I’ve already finished being annoying.”

Gao Yinghang: “But you were still half-assing it. I’m still hurt.”

Meng Xin: “…”

Right then, Huang Wenjie turned toward Bian Ting and called out, “Godfather, I missed you too!”

The second Meng Xin realized what Huang Wenjie was about to do, his instincts kicked in.

He immediately rushed forward and blocked Bian Ting.

“Nope. Not happening. You’re not touching him.”

Huang Wenjie blinked in confusion. “Why not?”

Meng Xin had no good reason.

It’s not like he could say, “Because Bian Ting’s gay, and you dumbass straight guys shouldn’t randomly touch him.”

So he just stood his ground and declared, “Because I said so.”

Huang Wenjie gawked. “Bro… are you the dorm tyrant now?”

Meng Xin nodded. “Yep. I am.”

Huang Wenjie had never seen someone be this blatantly unreasonable. He pointed at him in disbelief. “You—you—you—”

From the side, Gao Yinghang added dryly, “I told you. This guy’s going to rebel one day and overthrow the system.”

“Godfather, do something!” Huang Wenjie dramatically craned his neck, calling for backup from Bian Ting.

Bian Ting simply raised his hands in surrender. “Can’t help you.”

Winter break was over. Everything was back to how it used to be.

After three days of school, everyone had more or less settled back into their routine, fully immersed in their studies.

Everyone—except Meng Xin.

He was still regretting it.

Regretting the fact that, on the first day back, when Huang Wenjie was being an idiot, he had blurted out, “Dude, stop being so gay.”

He felt like he had missed out on something important—maybe a simple I missed you, or maybe even a hug.

But once you miss something, there’s no getting it back.

As a straight guy with clear personal boundaries, he obviously couldn’t just randomly go up to Bian Ting three days after school started and say, “Hey, it’s been so long. I really missed you!” before hugging him out of nowhere.

Hugging at the start of the semester? Totally normal.

But now that those first few days had passed, there was no reason left. If he hugged him now, it’d be straight-up suspicious, maybe even highly questionable.

Meng Xin groaned and lightly banged his head against the wall in frustration.

Even when he was showering, the songs he sang had changed from the passionate “Fight? Then fight!” to the mournful “Everything is beyond saving.”

That evening, after stepping out of the bathroom, Meng Xin glanced in Bian Ting’s direction.

Once again, his mind wandered to those messy, jumbled thoughts.

Why was Bian Ting so unaffected?

Bian Ting was sitting at his desk, reading a mystery novel, looking as calm as ever.

Meng Xin made a point to cough twice as he passed by.

Bian Ting lifted his head from the book and asked, “Throat hurting?”

“…”

“No.”

Bian Ting nodded and went right back to reading.

Is that book really that interesting?

Meng Xin circled around behind him, peering at the pages from different angles. Eventually, he recognized a few familiar character names.

…Wait, he’d read this one before.

And if he remembered correctly, it wasn’t even that good.

When he had recommended it to Bian Ting, he had clearly said, “I mean, I finished it, but it was just okay. Like, if you’re really bored, maybe check it out.”

Yet now, Bian Ting was reading it so intently, as if it were the most captivating book in the world.

Meng Xin stared at his back, a storm of thoughts swirling in his mind.

“Why is Bian Ting acting like nothing happened?”

“We had thirty-four video calls over break!”

“It’s been three days, and he hasn’t said anything special to me?”

“Even if he was just messing around like Huang Wenjie, that’d be something.”

“But he’s completely unfazed. He’s not joking around, not acting different at all. Is that normal?”

“He must not have missed me at all!”

The thought made Meng Xin glare daggers at the back of Bian Ting’s head.

…Only for Bian Ting to suddenly close his book and stand up.

Meng Xin flinched, quickly averting his gaze.

“What are you doing?”

At this moment, the dorm was empty—Huang Wenjie and Gao Yinghang had gone out.

Out of nowhere, Bian Ting asked, “Can I hug you too?”

“Huh?” Meng Xin thought he had misheard. “What did you say?”

Bian Ting patiently repeated, “Can I hug you too?”

Meng Xin, completely caught off guard, just stood there in shock. “Where did that come from…?”

Bian Ting said calmly, “Huang Wenjie hugged you.”

Meng Xin hadn’t forgotten. “That was on the first day back…”

It had already been three days.

“You didn’t hug me when school started,” Bian Ting said.

That reasoning was weak at best. Meng Xin reminded him, “Yeah, but school already started. It’s not the first day anymore.”

Bian Ting seemed to realize how flimsy his excuse was and didn’t argue. “Oh, I see. Alright then.”

Then he asked, “So he can, but I can’t?”

Huang Wenjie was straight. Bian Ting wasn’t.

A hug between two straight guys was normal. But a gay guy hugging a straight guy… was that okay?

Meng Xin didn’t say those thoughts out loud.

“F-Fine,” he stammered. “Just… just for a second, alright?”

Bian Ting opened his arms and pulled Meng Xin into an embrace.

The moment their bodies touched, their breaths mingled in the air. Heat transferred between them, and Meng Xin could feel Bian Ting’s warmth—his temperature, his breathing, the faint scent of laundry detergent on his clothes. A scent that couldn’t be transmitted through video calls.

Meng Xin felt weird with his face pressed against Bian Ting’s chest, so he shifted, standing on his toes slightly to rest his chin on Bian Ting’s shoulder.

But even then, it still felt… off.

He suddenly remembered the romance dramas his mom loved to watch—this was exactly how the male and female leads hugged.

And right now, he was the one in that position.

…Maybe it was just because he was a little shorter than Bian Ting.

Not wanting to feel like the passive one, like some romance drama heroine, he instinctively wrapped his arms around Bian Ting’s waist.

Bian Ting’s body stiffened for a moment.

He tensed up briefly, but quickly relaxed.

The atmosphere grew silent.

So quiet that Meng Xin started to feel weird about it.

Are we supposed to hug this long?

Even Huang Wenjie hadn’t hugged him this long that day.

Meng Xin didn’t move, but he couldn’t help speaking up. “Bian Ting, maybe… say something?”

If he didn’t, the silence would make this hug feel like something else.

The arms around him tightened slightly.

Then Bian Ting said, “I missed you too.”

“Why did you say ‘too’?” Meng Xin immediately caught that extra word.

Bian Ting let out a quiet chuckle. “Because Huang Wenjie missed you too.”

“That guy was just being annoying,” Meng Xin scoffed. “Over break, the only times he messaged me were either to stab me in a game or ask when school was starting.”

He thought for a second before adding, “Oh, and one time, to ask for a red envelope. He didn’t miss me at all.”

Bian Ting hummed softly, then murmured, “Then I missed you.”

“…”

Damn.

No hesitation. No awkwardness. Just straight-up I missed you.

That’s how you knew he was really gay.