Chapter 1: The First Day of School

Chapter 1 The First Day of School

In the hotel, Cheng Miao squinted and slowly leaned closer to Lu Yu. Before he could get a clear look, he was suddenly pressed down onto the bed by an unseen force.

A firm, warm body pressed tightly against him, one hand firmly locked on his waist.

Lu Yu's familiar voice sounded by his ear, cold and low, "What are you doing?"

"Just looking, that's all." Cheng Miao instinctively tried to turn his head, the breath brushing past his ear made him nervous.

But before he could turn his head, Lu Yu's other hand firmly pressed against the back of his neck, forehead against forehead, the tip of his nose brushing across Cheng Miao's cheek.

"Get a closer look, see clearly." Lu Yu let out a soft laugh.

"Okay, I looked, I saw clearly!" Cheng Miao didn't dare move a muscle, his slightly parted lips brushing against Lu Yu's face as he spoke.

He tried to shrink back, but there was nowhere to go, so he pushed at Lu Yu, "Get up first."

"I won't." Lu Yu gave a light snort.

"You're crushing me—it's uncomfortable." Cheng Miao struggled to pull one arm out from under the blanket, pushing at Lu Yu's shoulder.

Lu Yu let go of his neck, took Cheng Miao's hand, and laced their fingers together.

"Cheng Miao." He murmured.

"Hmm?" Cheng Miao felt a bit nervous.

Lu Yu sighed softly. "I like you." He relaxed and rested his head on Cheng Miao's chest.

Listening to the steady, strong heartbeat beneath him, he murmured, "What about you? Do you like men? Could it be me?"

Moments later, the blanket was tossed aside. Cheng Miao lay on the bed, the back of his head firmly pressed down by Lu Yu, his warm lips pressing down on his in a heavy kiss.

Their tongues tangled, and his lips were bitten and nibbled over and over. Amid the soft, ambiguous sounds filling the room, Cheng Miao's breath grew ragged, his mind too muddled to think.

Until a hand slid under the hem of his shirt to his waist, and the ticklish feeling made him laugh out loud.

Lu Yu finally ended the kiss, staring at Cheng Miao with intense eyes, his fingers still tracing his lean waist, "Are you ticklish?"

"Obviously, you know that." Cheng Miao gave him a light kick.

Lu Yu lifted the hem of Cheng Miao's shirt, pressing kiss after kiss to his pale waist, mumbling, "Be good, you'll get used to it."

If he could go back a year, Cheng Miao couldn't have imagined that he and Lu Yu would end up in this kind of relationship.

The cold, distant roommate he hated most had actually confessed to him.

One year ago.

Summer in the south was always stifling, suffocating. The cicadas chirping in the tall trees outside the window sounded like pulled caramel, sticky and cloying.

Cheng Miao hunched over his desk, staring at the screen in the weak cold air from the struggling air conditioner, letting out weird chuckles.

Suddenly, the door creaked open, and Cheng Miao looked up, smiling.

"This show is so...", his cheerful voice cut off abruptly when he saw who walked in.

Cheng Miao was stunned for a moment. The newcomer was as cold as ever—slightly upturned phoenix eyes, a straight, handsome nose bridge, thin lips that seemed cold and unfeeling at first glance, a sharp, angular jawline, and every muscle on his tall frame radiating a self-righteous arrogance.

Though he didn't want to admit it, this person was indeed very handsome, Cheng Miao thought to himself.

But I still hate him. Good looks don't make up for coldness.

Cheng Miao lowered his head and pretended to watch the video, acting nonchalant. The other guy didn't pause at all, walking straight to the desk across from him and turning on his computer.

In the spacious dorm, only the laughter from the variety show filled the air.

Cheng Miao quickly put in his earphones, but his mind drifted back to the first day of school.

September. Cheng Miao, fresh off the ordeal of the college entrance exam, had gotten into university as he'd hoped, leaving behind the hometown he'd lived in for over a decade and heading south for a new life.

The moment he stepped out of the station, the suffocating heat hit him, making his head spin.

September in the south still carried the lingering heat of high summer—unlike the dry, oven-like heat of the north, this was more like a steamer.

After just a few steps, Cheng Miao felt his whole body break out in a sweat.

The school was still a ways from the station. He dragged his suitcase, squeezed onto a packed bus, and felt like he was about to suffocate at any second.

Between the bus's constant starts and stops, he was jostled into a daze.

Cheng Miao held onto his suitcase with one hand and the overhead grab bar with the other, looking up at the electronic display: Tenth stop, one more stop to school.

He forced down the churning nausea in his stomach and gripped the handle even tighter.

Finally, the eleventh stop. The bus slammed to a halt at the platform, and everyone on board swayed forward and back, making his head even dizzier.

Cheng Miao held his breath, quickly swallowed, and suppressed the urge to vomit.

He was about to get off with the crowd when suddenly a pile of yellowish-brown gelatinous substance appeared at his feet out of nowhere, and the people around him quickly left a semicircular space.

Cheng Miao's vision blurred. He looked up and saw an elderly woman squatting in the bus, retching painfully.

He looked down at the unknown substance splattered on his pant legs and shoes—he could vaguely make out it was millet pumpkin porridge.

Just then, the door burst open with a bang, and as the driver urged everyone off impatiently, the people around gradually disembarked.

Watching the elderly woman wobble off the bus and the driver grumbling as he prepared to clean up, Cheng Miao silently left as well.

Luckily, he didn't have much luggage. He dragged his suitcase and headed straight for the registration point, not even bothering to exchange pleasantries with the senior students welcoming new arrivals, and went directly to the dorm.

The orange-yellow liquid had slowly dried in the warm breeze along the way, but the faint sour smell of slight fermentation lingered persistently.

Cheng Miao couldn't help but quicken his pace. Panting, he climbed to the fourth floor and made his way to Room 419.

Pushing open the door, the spacious dorm, long unoccupied, still carried a slight dampness.

He set his suitcase down on the floor and headed straight for the bathroom.

He'd originally planned to change clothes and wipe himself down a bit, but the moment he saw the water heater, he decisively decided to take a shower. He hastily grabbed some soap and went into the bathroom.

Clothes off, even water droplets sprayed down, winding across his entire body with a slight chill.

Cheng Miao felt alive again. In the gentle scent of the soap, he had completely escaped the shadow of the millet porridge.

He felt refreshed all over.

Looking at the clothes sprawled on the floor like dead fish, he gave them a disgusted rinse under the showerhead, figuring he'd grab some laundry detergent later to wash them.

Cheng Miao automatically reached for a towel to dry off, but then it hit him—he hadn't brought a towel, and his change of clothes was still outside.

His clothes were in the suitcase outside, and the towel was something he'd meant to buy once he got to school.

Cheng Miao mulled it over for a second, then decided the dirty clothes on the floor were a no-go.

Why not just duck out and grab them while nobody's around?

He crept over to the bathroom door and called out twice: "Anyone there?"

After a long silence, Cheng Miao slowly pushed the door open and poked his head out.

Perfect—the dorm was totally empty. He crouched down and dug through his suitcase, trying to grab a pair of underwear first.

That's when his eyes landed on a square piece of cloth.

Cheng Miao's mind raced: he'd only packed two pairs of underwear—one was already soaked, and if he put on this pair, it'd get wet too. He could use that cloth to dry off...

But he hesitated, his fingers gently stroking the soft fabric.

This cloth had been with him through all of high school, serving a very specific purpose, and he'd carried it all the way from home.

Just as he was hesitating, the door swung open. Instinctively, Cheng Miao covered his junk with the small square cloth.

He whipped around in a panic—a tall figure stood in the doorway, staring straight at him.

For a split second, the air seemed to freeze. Cheng Miao clutched the goose-yellow cloth, the three little white ducks on it trembling along with him.

The towel barely covered his junk, his slender legs crossed awkwardly, his pale toes curling into the floor. Cheng Miao was completely stunned.

Noise from the hallway shattered the silence—loud and chaotic, like parents dropping off their kids, with female voices mixed in.

The guy seemed to snap out of it, slamming the door shut with a bang, his cold gaze sweeping over Cheng Miao.

Cheng Miao scrambled for the bathroom in a panic, but in his rush, he tripped over the luggage he'd just pulled out, and his round thermos rolled under his feet.

He slipped, crashing flat on the ground with a loud thud—the pain of a full-body face-plant.

Cheng Miao gritted his teeth and stayed quiet. He paused to catch his breath, then tried to get up—only to realize the towel was gone.

The fall had sent the towel flying. He quickly pressed his lower half down, lying flat on the floor—better to protect himself first.

He craned his neck slightly and saw the towel lying at someone's feet.

The guy stood completely still, staring down at him with disdain.

"Hey, man, could you grab that for me?" Cheng Miao said awkwardly, his eyes flicking to the guy's face for a second as he instinctively tightened his lower body.

The other guy shot a disgusted glance at the towel on the floor, then looked back, pointed at the bathroom door, and said curtly: "Get in there!"

"Just pick it up for me first!" Cheng Miao really didn't want to get up like this—if he could, he'd still prefer to use the small towel to cover himself.

But the other guy remained unmoved. At this moment, his naked body made him feel humiliated and fragile.