Chapter 19 Indeed Very Soft

Chapter 19: So Soft

Gu Shiying chose the liberal arts track in high school. As a male student, his major options after the college entrance exam were limited, so he opted for New Media.

The first year of university was largely theoretical, but by sophomore year, many hands-on technical courses were introduced.

This week, their teacher assigned group projects with self-selected topics—ranging from scriptwriting to shooting videos or photos—to be published on a simulated platform. The task involved monitoring and analyzing data to complete the entire mock process.

Gu Shiying never treated his assignments lightly. His major also gave him a clear direction when helping Yang Shuhang with his band’s affairs.

He usually teamed up with Zhang Zhi. This time, the group needed about five members, so they had to recruit three more classmates. The girl who had learned to swim with him that day proactively joined their group, and Zhang Zhi invited another girl and a guy.

There was a wide array of topics available: some focused on agricultural aid, others on entertainment, and many other diverse themes. They could also propose their own topics, provided they reported them to the teacher.

During the group discussion, Gu Shiying suggested writing a script and producing a video themed around campus and local food spots. The initial script and necessary materials were largely settled through discussion.

Du Zhihan said, "So it’s settled? Who’s going to handle the filming? Just to be clear, I’m still learning—my friends all complain about my photography skills."

Zhang Zhi replied, "Ying Er can handle it. His videos and photos are excellent. I can take care of the post-production editing."

Gu Shiying nodded. "Sounds good."

Luo Siwei said, "I’ll reach out to the well-regarded eateries to arrange filming."

Du Zhihan added, "I’ll post on the forum to gather alumni recommendations for the best places to eat."

Gu Shiying suggested, "That works, but I think we should broaden our scope—not just our school, but also nearby areas or even other schools in the same city."

Zhang Zhi agreed, "That’s very feasible. It’ll expand the range of material we can choose from."

Gu Shiying asked, "Shall we set a time for the shoot? Are all five of us going together?"

Du Zhihan replied, "Of course, all of us. Five pairs of eyes are better than one—we can capture more interesting moments."

Their group of five included Zhang Zhi, Du Zhihan, and Luo Siwei, who were quite outgoing, and another quieter girl who, despite being introverted, had strong ideas and excellent copywriting skills, diligently recording everyone’s suggestions.

Gu Shiying tended to be more reserved around unfamiliar people.

For this new assignment, they spent two evenings on preliminary work, meeting in empty classrooms each night to discuss.

Due to the mind-reading incident, Gu Shiying hadn’t picked up his phone to film his daily life for a while. The last thing he’d filmed was the cat named Youtiao.

Over the past couple of days, to regain his touch, he tried shooting some practice videos.

Luo Siwei had already coordinated with the shops, and they were scheduled to go out and film the following evening. Having spent two evenings barely in the dorm, Gu Shiying returned with an urge to try filming something. He spotted the pink gift box with a bow that still hadn’t been given away.

Gu Shiying set up lighting, adjusted angles, and even created a small scene for it, taking close-up shots from various perspectives. However, the box was too pink, and the items on his desk were too utilitarian and masculine, lacking softer elements to complement it. No matter how he shot it, he wasn’t satisfied.

He muttered to himself, "How can I make this look better?"

When Fu Huan returned, he saw Gu Shiying agonizing over the pink gift box.

He pressed his lips together, thinking to himself that the gift still hadn’t been given away. Was he planning to surprise the recipient on their birthday?

As Gu Shiying held up the gift, Fu Huan walked past him quickly, creating a gust of wind as if he were angry about something.

Gu Shiying glanced at the gift box in his hand. The pink box didn’t seem suitable for Fu Huan, and given that Fu Huan had *those kinds* of feelings for him, giving him a gift like this would definitely lead to misunderstandings.

But he didn’t want to have a meal alone with Fu Huan.

Ever since finding out about Fu Huan’s peculiar feelings for him, Gu Shiying occasionally noticed Fu Huan secretly observing him. The look in his eyes was somewhat intimidating, as if he wanted to devour him. However, these were only occasional glimpses—most of the time, Fu Huan maintained a blank expression to hide it.

Gu Shiying asked, "You’re back?"

Since the others hadn’t returned yet, he thought he might as well give the gift to Fu Huan now.

"Yeah," Fu Huan nodded, then bent down to change his shoes without even glancing at Gu Shiying.

"Fu—" Gu Shiying was about to call out to him but saw him push open the balcony door and walk out. "In such a hurry to use the bathroom?"

Fine, he'd wait until Fu Huan came out to give it to him.

Ten minutes passed, and Fu Huan still hadn’t emerged from the bathroom.

"Seriously, how long does it take to use the bathroom?"

The balcony curtains were drawn, so Gu Shiying couldn’t see what Fu Huan was doing. The guy had a heavy smoking habit, so he might have been smoking.

Just as Gu Shiying was about to take the knee pads out of the box, he heard Yang Shuhang and Guan Yu talking outside. He quickly stuffed the knee pads back into the box.

Never mind, he’d find another time to give it to him.

Fu Huan returned to the room at that moment. Seeing that the others were back, he sat down in his chair and opened his laptop to study data.

Yang Shuhang, sharp-eyed as ever, spotted the box on Gu Shiying’s desk early on.

"Well, well, Ying Er, do you have something going on? Is this for some girl?"

"No, it’s not for a girl," Gu Shiying’s explanation sounded like an excuse as he put the box away in a drawer.

Yang Shuhang looked unconvinced. He slung an arm around Gu Shiying’s neck and tried to grab the box. "I don’t believe you. Let me see what you’re giving away!"

Gu Shiying quickly pushed the drawer shut. "It’s nothing, really. It’s not for a girl. The store sent the wrong thing."

Somehow, the more he explained, the more it seemed like he really was giving it to a girl. Even Guan Yu joined in on the fun.

Guan Yu said, "Yang Shuhang, stop teasing him. He’s shy."

Gu Shiying retorted, "Shy my ass."

Yang Shuhang said, "I don’t believe you. You look like a virgin."

Gu Shiying shot back, "What, you’re not a virgin anymore?"

Yang Shuhang replied, "Nope."

Gu Shiying gave a thumbs-up. "Impressive!"

Yang Shuhang laughed heartily, arm still around his neck. "Want me to tell you all about it?"

Gu Shiying pushed him away. "No thanks, I don’t need to hear you show off."

Yang Shuhang and Guan Yu thought he was genuinely embarrassed and laughed even harder.

*Snap!*

The three of them heard a sharp cracking sound.

They all turned to look in Fu Huan’s direction. Only his phone could make such a crisp noise when dropped—theirs all had protective cases.

Gu Shiying and Guan Yu both used phone cases for protection, while Yang Shuhang preferred them for their stylish look. Only Fu Huan's black phone remained uncased, and the sound of it hitting the ground was harshly real and made you wince—like the shattering sound of money vanishing.

Yang Shuhang: "Brother Huan, why don’t you use a phone case? It’s easy to break this way."

Fu Huan calmly picked up his phone: "I'm just not used to using one."

Gu Shiying didn’t join the conversation. Before, he hadn’t sensed Fu Huan’s crush on him—not because he lacked perception, but because Fu Huan hid it well and Gu Shiying never considered the possibility. Now that he thought about it, he wondered if Fu Huan’s phone “accidentally” dropping might actually be a sign of jealousy?

He rubbed the back of his hand. Stop overthinking, he told himself. Way too much overthinking!

Wait, wouldn’t it actually be a good thing if Fu Huan knew he was trying to date a girl?

How did he almost get sidetracked? He shouldn’t have been so honest with Yang Shuhang earlier—he should’ve just admitted it outright. Why couldn’t he master Zhang Zhi’s smooth way with words like that?

He was too honest for his own good. He needed to change.

The following evening, Gu Shiying and his group members went out to film on location.

The place they chose wasn’t some large, famous restaurant—it had foot traffic and some ranking on food review platforms, though most of those were paid promotions. They were looking for low-key spots or street food stalls, the kind that only students frequented.

Their first stop was a mobile fried rice stall at the east gate of the campus.

It was run by a couple. Every day, many students lined up to buy fried rice there. While the husband cooked, his wife stayed by his side, smiling at customers and warmly offering small stools for them to sit and wait.

There were five people in Gu Shiying’s group, but only three showed up. The introverted girl wasn’t feeling well, and Luo Siwei, who was in the student council, got called into a meeting. That left just Gu Shiying, Zhang Zhi, and Du Zhihan.

With the others absent, Gu Shiying was actually relieved.

The stall owner set up late, and the street was crowded. Gu Shiying couldn’t get a clean shot without people, but he could film the bustling crowd, the surrounding shops, and other stalls catering to students.

The increasingly hot weather and the lively summer night vibe made the city feel more energetic and a little less cold.

Gu Shiying captured the couple arriving on their electric tricycle stall.

The husband was a shy man who wasn’t much of a talker, so Zhang Zhi took the lead in chatting. Zhang Zhi’s family ran a supermarket, and he was naturally good at chatting with customers. Gradually, the stall owner relaxed.

However, halfway through filming, Gu Shiying’s phone popped up a "storage full" warning.

Gu Shiying: "Lao Zhang, we’ll have to use your phone for the rest. Mine still has old videos and not enough space."

Zhang Zhi: "The camera on my phone isn’t great, and it has a built-in beauty filter. I’ve tried—it doesn’t look realistic."

Gu Shiying asked Du Zhihan: "Zhihan, what about yours?"

Du Zhihan shook her head: "Mine won’t work either. I dropped it a couple days ago and the camera lens is scratched."

Gu Shiying tried filming a couple of clips with Zhang Zhi’s phone, and the footage really wasn't as good as his phone's. He had no choice but to delete some unnecessary videos right then and there.

Suddenly, Zhang Zhi waved toward the distance: "Ying Er, we’re saved! I see Fu Huan and Liang Qi!"

Hearing Fu Huan’s name, Gu Shiying’s heart did a nervous flip: "..."

Zhang Zhi, completely unaware, called out: "Brother Huan! Brother Huan! Ying Er needs your help!"

Fu Huan and Liang Qi heard them and walked over.

Gu Shiying wasn’t looking forward to this at all. He lowered his head and continued deleting videos.

Just as Fu Huan reached them, a middle-aged man suddenly bumped into Gu Shiying’s right arm.

At the same time, a strange inner voice—one he hadn’t heard in a long time—suddenly forced its way into Gu Shiying’s mind:

*"I’ve drugged the fried rice from the guy named Wang. Once those college students eat it, they’ll end up in the hospital. He’s finished!"*

Gu Shiying stumbled, losing his balance, and swayed toward a scalding hot pot of soup. In his daze, Fu Huan pulled him into a protective embrace, yanking him away from the danger.

Fu Huan’s inner voice overpowered the stranger’s thoughts:

*"I got to hold him. Gu Shiying really is soft."*

Gu Shiying felt Fu Huan seize the opportunity to give his arm a subtle squeeze: "..."

Buddy, my fist can be pretty hard too.

**Author’s Note:**

Fu Huan: [Throws confetti] Got to hold my wifey. [Qixi Festival special.jpg]

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Ying Er and Little Fu wish everyone a happy Qixi Festival!