Chapter 2

Chapter 2

"Did you pack everything?" Yan Mei asked.

Ye Jishu nodded in response.

He double-checked to make sure he hadn’t forgotten anything, then shouldered his backpack, indicating they were ready to go.

However, Yan Mei took a step forward, bent down, and picked up a pen from his desk.

"This," he said with a smile, "you forgot again."

"...Yeah."

Ye Jishu looked away guiltily.

For some reason, he was always forgetting little things.

Pens, especially.

He always told himself to remember them, but they always ended up left behind in the classroom.

Yan Mei capped the pen, tucked it into his coat, and then effortlessly reached for Ye Jishu’s backpack, slinging it over his shoulder. "Feel like grabbing something to eat?"

Yan Mei’s actions were so smooth that Ye Jishu didn’t have time to stop him.

After a moment’s delay, he replied, "I need to drop off my books at the dorm first."

While Yan Mei studied folklore, Ye Jishu was in the School of Mathematical Sciences, with a full schedule and a ton of required textbooks. A typical day meant lugging around several heavy textbooks and notebooks.

It’d be a hassle to eat like this, let alone head straight to a movie afterward.

"Sure," Yan Mei replied.

Ye Jishu had planned to go alone, but Yan Mei seemed intent on joining him.

The campus was huge.

Because of its size, there was a campus shuttle.

They walked out of the building side by side, and a bus stop was just a short walk away.

Ye Jishu could feel the lingering stares all around.

Whenever he was with Yan Mei, it felt like everyone around them grew extra eyes, their necks craning as if desperate to catch every detail.

...This was what it meant to be a heartthrob.

It had to be exhausting.

At this thought, Ye Jishu couldn’t help but glance at the person beside him.

From where he stood, he could see Yan Mei tuck a strand of hair behind his ear, his jawline sharp and smooth. His profile was like the most exquisite piece of art, exuding a fatal attraction that drew people in.

Although he was barely a supporting character, or more accurately, a nameless background character, there should still be some height difference. But in comparison, Yan Mei was even a few centimeters taller than him... was that fair?

But from this angle, Yan Mei's perfectly structured face was fully visible.

Beautiful, but not overly so.

Instead, the sharp contours gave off an air of arrogance and aloof indifference.

This face made you really want to kiss it.

But after staring at the face for just a few seconds, the other person noticed his gaze and immediately turned to look at him.

"Crackle, crackle."

It felt like electricity was crackling in the air.

Ye Jishu felt like he'd been burned and quickly looked down at the ground.

There’s nothing worse than being caught staring at someone’s face, completely entranced.

Turns out, when people are embarrassed, they suddenly act super busy—and it’s true.

Like right now.

Under the gaze of those pitch-black eyes, Ye Jishu’s heart skipped a beat, then started pounding. Once he’d barely regained his composure, he realized his reaction might’ve been over the top, so he quickly looked up at the sky.

The sky was overcast—not exactly something you’d want to stare at.

Then, he tried to casually glance at the bus’s electronic screen, which showed how many stops were left.

He really did have something to do right now.

He hadn’t meant to keep staring at the other person.

But he could still feel the other person’s intense gaze, stronger than anyone else’s.

Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a faint smile on the other person’s lips.

"..."

It’s always like this—if he doesn’t say something, the other person just keeps staring.

"You looking at me?"

"...Yeah."

He hesitated for a moment.

But in the end, he just admitted it.

Yeah, he was just like those people, zoning out because of the other person’s face.

"Something wrong?"

"Nah, nothing."

"Jishu, you can tell me anything, you know."

"Yeah."

"Anything you want, really."

"...Yeah."

Usually, that’s where the conversation would’ve ended.

However, the other person did not look away, still staring at him intently and fixedly.

Is he waiting for me to say something? But wasn’t the conversation over?

Ye Jishu wasn’t sure, but he didn’t want to come off as presumptuous, thinking the other person was waiting for him to make some request.

His hesitation made him miss the perfect moment to keep talking.

To the other person, it looked like he wasn’t interested in talking.

"..."

Preoccupied with his thoughts, Ye Jishu was only half-paying attention, his mind wandering to the game he was halfway through, completely missing the fact that the person next to him looked upset.

A while later, a familiar voice suddenly broke through his thoughts.

"Was that guy your friend?"

"Huh?" Ye Jishu blinked, snapping out of his thoughts.

Who?

"The guy from the classroom."

"No, not a friend."

Yan Mei: "Hmm."

"Why do you ask?"

Yan Mei: "Just curious."

"Just someone from the same lecture."

"Hmm."

Ye Jishu glanced at the bus. Two more stops to go, and it would take some time. Seeing Yan Mei drop the conversation like he had earlier, Ye Jishu pulled out his phone again and checked the release news of the game he had been following recently.

He had his own way to unwind—

Video games were his go-to.

Even though Ye Jishu was just a freshman, he’d been a gaming streamer on a popular platform since high school.

But he wasn’t in it for the money—it was just a hobby. So, he streamed and uploaded videos whenever he felt like it, without signing any contracts or sticking to a schedule. No one in his real life knew about it.

Lately, his fans had been begging him to stream the game, so he had been paying some attention to the news.

The sound of the bus tires snapped him back to reality.

The campus bus rumbled closer, swaying slightly.

The hot summer breeze mixed with the bus’s motion, making everything feel a bit disorienting. A few minutes later, it pulled up in front of them.

The doors opened, showing a crowded interior.

Since it was almost dinner time, the bus was packed, far from empty.

Ye Jishu put away his phone and finally looked at the person beside him who had remained silent since earlier, pausing for a moment.

His face was expressionless.

The smile had completely disappeared from his face.

His dark eyes were fixed on Ye Jishu, unreadable.

Was he unhappy?

Why?

Did something happen just now?

Ye Jishu wondered, confused.

"Let's go," he said, reaching out his hand.

This was their unspoken agreement.

In crowded places, they always held hands.

If one of them stayed silent, they still held hands.

...

If either felt uncomfortable, they had to hold hands.

At first, Ye Jishu wasn't used to it, but Yan Mei made it seem so natural, like it was just what couples do, so he went along with it.

It was like they were together almost all the time, twenty-four seven.

This was probably part of their dynamic.

After all, he was still Yan Mei's one and only official boyfriend.

If a heartthrob didn't have a boyfriend in the passionate phase, how could they weed out the normal people and leave behind the supporting characters who'd defy morality for love, fueling the drama? So it made perfect sense.

Seeing Ye Jishu's gesture, Yan Mei's eyes lit up, and he smiled, as if the earlier coldness had never existed.

He immediately tightened his grip, pulling their joined hands to his side.

Their fingers were interlocked, a little too tightly.

Ye Jishu shifted slightly, hoping Yan Mei would loosen his grip, but instead, he held on even tighter.

"..."

Never mind, it didn't seem to hinder him.

They got on the bus like that.

There were no seats, but the bus wasn't crowded, so they found a spot by the railing to lean against, which was almost as good as sitting.

As they got closer to the crowd, Ye Jishu felt those watchful eyes again.

Ye Jishu wasn't the focus, but he could feel the sticky stares from everyone on the bus.

Those stares made him uncomfortable.

Ye Jishu frowned, wanting Yan Mei to stand on the inside so he could shield him from the outside gazes.

But before he could move, Yan Mei had already wrapped an arm around his shoulder, pulling him close and enveloping him in his embrace.

"Only three stops."

When Ye Jishu looked up, Yan Mei whispered softly, his breath warm against his ear.

It made him shiver.

Ye Jishu instinctively shrank back, curling up, now fully enveloped in Yan Mei's embrace.

The ride wasn't long anyway.

Arguing about it seemed pointless.

Ye Jishu told himself, pulling out his phone again to continue reading the gaming news he'd left off earlier.

In the quiet between them, he felt a hand rest on his head, slowly caressing. It slid from his temple to his cheek, then to his earlobe, gently kneading, before tucking the loose strands of hair behind his ear.

But the hair was too short, so it quickly slipped back down.

"I like it."

"I really like it."

Yan Mei murmured, his voice tinged with quiet excitement.

Then, as if tireless, he repeated the motion, gently stroking his hair, undeterred by its futility.

Ye Jishu ignored him, still focused on his phone.

Since they'd gotten together a few months ago, these intimate gestures had grown bolder.

Though hearing such direct words still made him a little uncomfortable, it was much better than before.

After all, it was just a pat on the head now.

Used to it by now, he didn't notice what was happening on the bus at all.

Outside Yan Mei's embrace, the air seemed to tremble as all the students on the bus stared at them with infatuation. It wasn't the sound of wheels on the road, but the noise of students suppressing their impulses, squirming restlessly in their seats.

They had already lost their minds.

Though they wanted to get closer, they stayed pinned to their seats by an invisible force, unable to move an inch.

Yan Mei watched with a blank expression, his lips curling into a mocking, disdainful smile.

The smile never reached his eyes.

His pure black eyes remained cold and indifferent.

Just sharing the same space with him, these predictable, boring humans had their rationality easily infected.

Unlike the one in his arms.

That was the unique being he had discovered.

With this in mind, he continued to lower his head, gently and attentively stroking their hair, a soft smile playing on his lips.

The stark contrast in his demeanor sent chills down one's spine.

...

Soon, the bus pulled up at the Mathematics College dormitory.

Unlike art colleges, the College of Mathematical Sciences is notoriously underfunded, so the dormitory resembles an old-fashioned apartment building, with sheets hung out to dry by students.

Ye Jishu felt a lingering unease.

But he couldn't quite put his finger on why.

He glanced at the other students on the bus.

Aside from looking a bit dazed, likely from the summer heat, there was nothing out of the ordinary.

...What's happening?

Is it because the story is about to kick off?

So far, only a handful of people have been drawn in.

And in Ye Jishu's mind, the key players from the original story hadn't shown up yet, creating a sense of impending doom, like a bomb about to go off.

"I'll drop my stuff off and be right back."

Recalling the book's plot, Ye Jishu felt uneasy and said to the person beside him, "Wait for me here."

Even if things get complicated, at least wait until he's there.

...

Though he wasn't sure why he felt this way.

Subconsciously, he hoped the other wouldn't be left alone with anyone else.

Those people, every last one of them, weren't exactly models of virtue.

Am I just looking for trouble?

Ye Jishu suddenly regretted his earlier words, thinking they might have been too harsh, but—

"Mm."

The person in front of him nodded obediently.

But also, inexplicably, their mood visibly brightened.

"I'll be here."

"I'll be obedient."

"Look after me, Jishu."