Maybe it was because Huang Wenjie scared the hell out of him, but Meng Xin couldn’t calm down for the rest of the night.
His heart was racing—so loud, so fast, he couldn’t sleep.
He tossed and turned in bed, convinced that the scent of that hug was still lingering on him. Lifting his arm, he took a cautious sniff. And there it was—the culprit behind his completely derailed heart rate.
A faint, clean fragrance he must’ve picked up from Bian Ting.
Do all gay guys care this much about smelling good? Even their body wash is this nice?
Meng Xin shot upright in bed. Then, he grabbed his own shirt and sniffed.
It smelled like Bian Ting too.
Actually… it smells pretty good.
Then, all of a sudden, he realized what he was doing.
He froze.
Then quickly dropped the shirt like it burned him.
He flopped back down onto the bed.
Flat on his back, arms stiff at his sides, lying there like a corpse in a coffin.
Well, great. At least his heart wasn’t beating like crazy anymore.
Because it had completely stopped.
Meng Xin stared blankly at the ceiling, his mind spiraling into a truly terrifying thought—
Is it normal for a straight guy to keep thinking about a hug from a gay guy for this long?
That question was so terrifying that he didn’t dare to dig any deeper.
Fifteen minutes later, Meng Xin, feeling extremely guilty, secretly pulled up his phone and typed into the search bar:
“Signs that someone might be gay.”
He didn’t want anyone seeing his search history, so he logged into an alt account and even switched to incognito mode.
Only after doing all that did he finally feel safe enough to scroll through the results.
He clicked into some ancient forum post from god-knows-what decade. The thread had a “comprehensive” list of signs that someone might be gay.
Or, more accurately—just a bunch of ridiculous stereotypes.
Meng Xin went through them one by one, checking himself against each one.
First on the list: “Gay men are usually skinny and weak.”
Meng Xin pinched his arm.
Okay, he wasn’t exactly a gym bro, but he wasn’t weak either. Just a normal straight-guy build.
Next: “Gay men usually have high-pitched voices.”
Meng Xin scrolled through his chat history, found a voice message he’d sent the class president two days ago, and put on his headphones to listen.
Phew. It sounded perfectly normal. Like a straight dude’s voice.
Then: “Gay men have delicate, feminine mannerisms.”
Meng Xin immediately spread his legs out into a wide, slouched, unmistakably straight-man pose. Just for extra measure, he threw one leg up onto the bed railing like a total savage.
…
One by one, he went through the whole list.
And none of them fit.
Meng Xin finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Thank god.
Still straight.
Meng Xin said to Fan Da, “I really am straight. I looked it up online. I’m nothing like a gay guy.”
Fan Da immediately caught the key point. “Why were you suddenly searching for that?”
Meng Xin: “That’s not the point. As long as you know I’m straight, that’s all that matters.”
Fan Da hit the nail on the head. “I don’t think that’s the issue here. The fact that you’re desperately seeking validation from a gay guy is way more suspicious.”
Meng Xin was horrified. “Nonsense! I’m not seeking your validation!”
Fan Da: “Alright, then. Tell me, why do you think you’re different?”
Fan Da: “Go ahead, I’m listening.”
Meng Xin briefly summarized the content of the post he had read and how he had compared himself against it. He laid out his reasoning clearly, listing his points one by one, each with solid logic.
However, Fan Da only needed a quick glance to see through everything and replied, “What kind of outdated stereotypes are these? Where did you even find this? Some ancient Qing Dynasty post? Did your village just get internet access? Do you even know that Beijing successfully hosted the Olympics?”
The post was indeed a little old. Feeling slightly guilty, Meng Xin replied, “So what? The depth of knowledge isn’t determined by how new it is. Spring and Autumn Annals is ancient, but it still carries profound meaning, doesn’t it? I think this post makes a lot of sense.”
Fan Da: “Alright, alright, profound wisdom.”
Fan Da sent a smiling emoji and then added, “Why don’t you compare that post to Bian Ting and see how it holds up?”
Fine. A comparison it is.
Meng Xin reopened the post.
The first point stated that most gay men are physically slender and weak.
Meng Xin quietly moved behind Bian Ting and gave him a once-over from head to toe. Bian Ting was wearing clothes, of course, but it was obvious that he wasn’t the thin and fragile type.
Meng Xin suddenly recalled the hug from that day—Bian Ting had broad shoulders, and leaning against him felt incredibly safe, making him oddly reluctant to move away. Back when Meng Xin didn’t know Bian Ting was gay, he used to lean on him all the time just to slack off.
Meng Xin decided he needed to stop thinking about this.
Anyway, first point—doesn’t match.
The second point stated that most gay men have high-pitched voices.
Meng Xin called out from behind Bian Ting, “Bian Ting.”
Bian Ting responded, “Hm?”
“Say something to me,” Meng Xin said.
Bian Ting wasn’t sure what Meng Xin was up to this time, but he still replied, “What do you want me to say?”
From those few words alone, Meng Xin could already tell—Bian Ting’s voice wasn’t high-pitched at all. It was deep and pleasant, like the plucking of strings in the hands of a musician.
That same voice had murmured in his ear the other day, saying he missed him.
Meng Xin instinctively rubbed his ear.
Snapping himself out of it, he forced his thoughts back on track.
Second point—also doesn’t match.
The third point stated that most gay men had delicate and gentle movements.
Meng Xin grabbed a bottle of Coke from Huang Wenjie’s snack box, then deliberately strolled past Bian Ting, casually holding the bottle out in front of him.
“I can’t open this.”
Bian Ting took the bottle, twisted the cap with a flick of his wrist, and smoothly popped it open.
He placed the cap lightly back on to prevent dust from getting in, then handed the Coke back to Meng Xin. “Here.”
His movements were quick and efficient—the entire process took no more than three seconds.
Meng Xin was utterly defeated. “Bian Ting, can’t you be a little gentler?”
Couldn’t he at least press his legs together, twist the cap with a dramatic struggle, bare his teeth a little, and then pout while saying, “Ugh, this is so hard to open~”?
Could he not act a little more like a gay guy?!
Bian Ting: “?”
He looked at Meng Xin in confusion. “Do you need to sweet-talk the bottle cap before opening it?”
Meng Xin: “…”
Third point—also doesn’t match.
Meng Xin kept comparing, going through each point one by one. The more he checked, the more alarmed he became.
— Terrifying. Bian Ting doesn’t match a single one.
This post is complete nonsense!!!
Ten minutes later.
Fan Da hit him with a soul-piercing question: “Still think it makes sense?”
Meng Xin: “.”
Meng Xin: “No.”
That word was incredibly difficult to type. On the surface, it was just a simple, indifferent “No,” but in reality, his heart was screaming, “NOOOOOO——!!!!!!!”
Fan Da sent him a meme—bold red text on a golden background, spinning in glorious 3D animation.
“BREAKING NEWS! YOU’RE GAY.”
Meng Xin: “…”
He was exhausted. But this time, he didn’t even have the energy to say he disliked gay people anymore.
Yet, he still refused to believe it.
A ridiculously outdated post full of stereotypes didn’t prove anything. All it meant was that Bian Ting was a unique gay guy who didn’t fit into any cliché.
Fan Da’s words didn’t prove anything either. They just proved that Fan Da was an annoying gay guy.
What did a gay guy know about being straight?
Asking Fan Da for validation was pointless.
So Meng Xin switched gears—he decided to ask Gao Yinghang, a certified straight guy.
Meng Xin: “Bro, do you think I’m still straight these days?”
Gao Yinghang: “What are you even talking about, bro? Haven’t you always been straight?”
Gao Yinghang: “What happened? Someone calling you a toxic straight guy again?”
For some reason, seeing the words “toxic straight guy” actually made Meng Xin feel kind of emotional.
Meng Xin sent a teary-eyed meme and asked: “Do you really think that term still applies to me?”
Gao Yinghang saw the crying emoji and thought Meng Xin had taken a serious hit. He quickly reassured him:
“Dude, it’s fine! Being straight is whatever. Some people even prefer them super straight—you know, the straighter, the better.”
Meng Xin had some serious doubts about that last part.
He focused on the first half instead: “Really?”
Gao Yinghang: “Really.”
Gao Yinghang: “Nothing to stress about. There are way straighter people than you out there.”
Meng Xin: “Really?”
Gao Yinghang: “Really.”
Meng Xin: “Swear on it.”
Gao Yinghang: “I swear.”
Meng Xin: “If you’re lying, I’m never talking to you again.”
Gao Yinghang thought Meng Xin was just being dramatic again. Without hesitation, he shot back:
“Enough with this cheesy crap. I already told you, you’re straight. Stop acting like a gay dude—are you sick or something?”
“…”
Meng Xin stared at that one particular word in Gao Yinghang’s message for a full ten minutes.
He felt like his whole world was crumbling.
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