Chapter 8: The Ambitious Homophobic Attacker Reborn 8

Chapter 8: The Ambitious Homophobic Top Reborn (Part 8)

It was the sixth day after Pei Junze's rebirth, and his first weekend.

While his roommates were either at internet cafes, heading home, on dates, working part-time, or preparing for social mixers, Pei Junze was... doing homework.

Beyond group assignments, a pile of miscellaneous tasks from his club awaited him. These tasks weren't particularly difficult, just fragmented and numerous.

Even though Pei Junze had submitted his club withdrawal request on Tuesday, he still had to complete these materials since the application hadn't been approved yet.

When Si Qian called, Pei Junze was engrossed in typing at his computer and naturally didn't hear the phone ring. By the time he realized, Si Qian was already sitting beside him.

Si Qian wasn't in the computer science department, so he couldn't understand what was on Pei Junze's screen. He simply watched Pei Junze intently, observing his focused expression.

"When did you get here?"

"A little while ago."

Pei Junze kept his eyes on the screen, not looking at Si Qian, and instinctively responded, "Mm."

*

After a moment, Pei Junze stopped what he was doing and turned to the side: "What are you looking at, anyway?"

Being stared at with such an intense gaze made Pei Junze uncomfortable, yet the person in question seemed completely oblivious.

"Just looking at how handsome you are," Si Qian said sincerely, his eyes lingering on Pei Junze's profile. "Keep writing, I won't disturb you... just pretend I'm not here..."

How could that not be disturbing? Anyone being watched like that would find it impossible to ignore.

Finally, after hitting enter several times, Pei Junze paused his work. Remembering his role as the host, he casually asked:

"Do you want some water?"

Si Qian quickly nodded, his eyes following Pei Junze as he took a disposable paper cup, filled it at the water dispenser, and handed it to him.

Then he took small sips until he finished the entire half-cup. Pei Junze wondered to himself: *Was he that thirsty?*

*

After providing the water, Pei Junze returned to typing at his computer for a while. During this time, Si Qian moved closer and closer to him.

Eventually, he was almost leaning on him.

Faced with such intimate contact from another man, the homophobic Pei Junze still felt physically uncomfortable. But after a moment’s thought, he controlled himself, sighed, and turned to look at Si Qian:

"...Don't you have anything else to do?"

"I do."

Si Qian held the cup Pei Junze had given him, drank the last bit of water at the bottom, and continued staring at him without blinking.

"Don't worry, I won't bother you for long today. I have to leave soon—my driver is waiting downstairs. I just made some time to come see you."

As he spoke, he glanced at his watch:

"I can still spend thirteen... no, twelve more minutes with you. I have some business to take care of in Hong Kong later and might stay there for a few days. We probably won't see each other again until next week."

"Oh."

"Is Jun Ze happy?" His eyes fixed on Pei Junze's lips, and his Adam's apple moved unconsciously. "Are you thinking that this annoying pest will finally leave you alone for a few days, huh?"

Pei Junze's fingers paused briefly on the keyboard before resuming their usual speed: "...No."

Thinking about it, Si Qian really wasn't idle.

He was usually very busy with work. The reason Pei Junze got the impression that he had nothing to do all day and was just loafing around was mainly because Si Qian would come see him whenever he had free time.

Sometimes, just to catch a glimpse of Pei Junze or spend a few minutes with him, he would go out of his way to make the trip.

Whether in his past life or this one, Pei Junze never understood it—truly never understood.

Out of the corner of his eye, seeing Si Qian gazing at him eagerly, Pei Junze sighed inwardly and racked his brains to find a topic to chat about, not wanting to make things too awkward.

But after a few stiff attempts at conversation, the atmosphere didn't ease—it became even more awkward.

Watching Pei Junze struggle to find things to talk about, Si Qian suddenly laughed: "It's fine, Jun Ze. I said I wouldn't disturb you, and you don't have to worry about me..."

*

That day, Si Qian really didn't stay long—he truly had things to do. But when he left, he clearly seemed reluctant, turning back every few steps as if he were leaving forever.

"......"

Pei Junze sighed, stood up from his chair, and pretended he had been sitting for too long and needed to stretch his legs.

"Come on, I'll walk you down."

Given how many times Si Qian had been to Pei Junze's dorm, he probably knew the way better than Pei Junze himself. There was no need for anyone to escort him.

But would Si Qian refuse?

He was overjoyed.

Pei Junze strode ahead, his hand just touching the dorm door handle when someone tightly embraced him from behind. Warm, moist breath brushed against Pei Junze's ear.

"I've never liked anyone before—this is the first time I've pursued someone. Maybe I'm really not good at it..."

Si Qian's voice was heavy with frustration, his arms wrapping around Pei Junze's waist like vines: "Jun Ze, am I really that terrible?"

Not at all. Si Qian was about the same height as Pei Junze, and his looks... well, though Pei Junze rarely paid close attention to the appearance of other men, Si Qian was certainly not unattractive.

He was a bit older than Pei Junze, with regular features. When he wasn't smiling, he might seem very serious. But he never scowled in front of Pei Junze—the corners of his mouth were always lifted in a smile, making him seem more approachable.

Though wealthy, he carried himself modestly and never threw his weight around. How could someone with looks, money, and such a background be considered "terrible"?

Pei Junze closed his eyes briefly, trying hard to ignore the sour ache spreading in his chest: "...It's not your problem—it's mine."

*

He thought they would go back and forth for a long time that day, but they didn't say much. Si Qian knew time was short and didn't want to dwell on whose fault it was. Before Pei Junze could react, he cupped his face and planted a firm kiss on the corner of his lips...

Then... he ran off.

The way he kissed him and immediately fled made it seem like he was afraid Pei Junze would come to his senses. What was he... doing? The lingering warmth on his face made Pei Junze freeze instantly: "......"

A few minutes later, when the dorm leader came upstairs carrying a box of hot and sour noodles, Pei Junze was already back at his desk working on his group assignment.

"Hey, I just saw your... your distant cousin downstairs," Zhou Kang thought for a moment. "Tsk, that car of his is really expensive..."

"Mm."

"Did he come to see you again?" Deng Qi looked at the various packages on the table. "Oh, by the way, he asked me to bring this up for you..."

It was an exquisitely packaged gift box, the kind that clearly looked expensive—probably something he had mentioned earlier that wasn't available domestically and needed to be specially ordered, right?

Though he had anticipated this would happen, Pei Junze still felt a strange pang of bitterness in his heart when he actually saw it.

Deng Qi remarked, "I gotta say, your cousin treats you really well…"

Hearing this, Pei Junze's typing slowed unconsciously: "Yeah, he's really good to me."

*

Deng Qi knew Si Qian.

In fact, it wasn't just him—all the other roommates knew Si Qian too. For one, Si Qian came around so often that it was inevitable they'd run into him at least once. Secondly, back when Si Qian had just started pursuing him, he had specifically treated them all to a meal…

At that time, Si Qian had, without batting an eye, introduced himself as Pei Junze's distant cousin, speaking in a parental tone and asking them to look after Pei Junze. After the meal, he even gave them all pricey welcome gifts.

In front of the roommates, the two rarely showed any intimacy, so the others never thought it was anything more than a familial relationship and casually agreed to the request.

"Hey, Jun Ze?"

"Yeah."

"You're really not going to the mixer tonight?"

"No."

Deng Qi was a chatterbox—even if no one talked to him, he could talk his ear off for ages. With Pei Junze around, he had even more to say.

"Weren't a few art school girls interested in you? What happened with that? Oh, and what about that underclassman who asked for your number in the cafeteria? Any updates?"

He tried to pat Pei Junze's shoulder with pretend seriousness, but Pei Junze dodged it. Unfazed, Deng Qi continued:

"I heard her father is a bureau chief, and she's their only daughter. They expect the guy to marry into her family—honestly, being a live-in son-in-law isn't so bad…"

Pei Junze: "…"

Deng Qi rattled off several names in one breath, then said with a tone of exasperation:

"Tsk, tsk, tsk… You really don't know how good you have it. If I had a face like yours, I'd have been off the market ages ago…"

Pei Junze: "…"

Pei Junze stayed focused on the screen but thought to himself, *Well, I guess I am off the market… sort of? But what Si Qian and I have—can it even be called a relationship?*

*

Perhaps work was genuinely busy. Over the next four days, aside from texting around mealtimes, Si Qian left him alone.

By Wednesday evening, Si Qian sent a voice message saying he'd return to Hecheng the next day and mentioned the date night Pei Junze had promised him, wondering where they should go.

Pei Junze replied that they could discuss it when he returned.

"Ah, right, Jun Ze, I prepared a gift for you. Guess what it is?… You'll never guess. I'll take you to see it in person when I'm back…"

Si Qian's voice sounded tired in the message, but when he mentioned the gift, his voice perked up slightly at the end. He added that he'd been waiting a long time for it too.

Pei Junze already had a good idea what it was, but he played along: "Sure, I'll wait till you're back."

As soon as Pei Junze ended the call, several heads popped up by his bed, accompanied by knowing tones, asking who he'd been talking to so sweetly and whether he was hiding a relationship from them.

"Come on, not cool keeping it from us! Especially after all the effort Deng Qi put into setting you up…"

"So, are you dating? Which school is she from?"

"Is she from our school? What's her major?"

"Hmm… Haven't seen you getting close to any girls. When did this happen?"

Pei Junze remembered that in his past life, his roommates hadn't been this nosy. It seemed that after sharing that barbecue meal, they'd started treating him like real brothers.

Pei Junze sighed, neither denying nor admitting: "She's not from our school."

Deng Qi jumped in:

"Then which school is she from?"

"…Not a student. She's already working."

After saying this, Pei Junze felt even more uneasy, as if he'd tacitly confirmed it. He quickly added, "We're not dating."

Right? What he had with Si Qian was, at most, a sugar-coated arrangement—hardly a real relationship. After he said this, he could feel the others go quiet for a few seconds.

"Ah, I get it, I get it. It's just not official yet, right?" Deng Qi said with an understanding look. "…Didn't expect you to like the older-sister type. So, since she's working, how much older is she?"

Pei Junze: "…I'm going to sleep now."

*

Thursday morning was packed with back-to-back classes. After two 100-minute lectures, it was already past noon when class ended. The hungry students streamed out of the classroom only to find it had started raining outside.

Hesitating, they watched as the rain grew heavier. Unfortunately, the building Pei Junze had class in was the farthest from the dorm.

Some students without umbrellas called friends, some messaged their partners, and others just pulled up their hoods and dashed into the rain…

Just as Pei Junze was about to turn back to the classroom, he spotted a familiar figure in the crowd. Almost simultaneously, he instinctively glanced beside the man…

Oh. No one. It was empty.

A middle-aged man in a black business suit walked steadily toward Pei Junze, opened an umbrella, and stood quietly beside him, holding it for him.

"Mr. Pei, President Si is not in Hecheng at the moment. He may not return for a few days—the exact date is uncertain. If you need anything, you can let me know."

"Okay."