Chapter 32

Chapter 32

Go down that path with him, i.e., make him turn gay too?

"No!" Jiang Cheng refused almost reflexively. "Shang Zenian, snap out of it, this isn't right!"

"What's wrong? Are you prejudiced against homosexuality?"

Jiang Cheng: "..."

Jiang Cheng really hadn't expected him to say that.

"I'm not prejudiced, but... aren't you homophobic?"

"Who said that?"

"Well..." Jiang Cheng said in a small voice. "A guy confessed to you, and you beat him so badly he ended up in the hospital and had to take a leave of absence."

When he first heard this news, he was so scared he almost dropped out himself.

"That rumor is wrong," Shang Zenian frowned slightly. "That guy was in my class. He confessed to me once, and I ignored him. Then on Lu Xiyuan's birthday, he knew I would definitely be there, so he drugged me. After I was drugged, I pushed him, but who knew he was so weak? His head hit the wall, and he was sent for emergency treatment."

So that's how it was.

He had always thought Shang Zenian looked fierce but didn't seem like a violent person.

After all, no matter how angry he was with him, he never once laid a finger on him.

"So, Jiang Cheng, will you help me?"

"I... I don't know."

Jiang Cheng's head was a mess. The word 'gay' had always been something distant to him before college. Even when he played Chen Yin and was intimate with Shang Zenian, he never thought of being with him as a man.

Falling in love with a man was something that completely shattered his worldview.

He honestly thought they needed some time apart to calm down and not let illusions cloud their judgment.

This was a point of no return. He didn't know what they'd do if, after going down this road, Shang Zenian later realized he still liked Chen Yin—not the person pretending to be Chen Yin.

This could be a bottomless pit they'd never escape from.

But Shang Zenian didn't mean to force him.

His hand, which had been stroking Jiang Cheng's cheek, moved back and landed on his slender neck. He rubbed it for a moment, then pinched the back of his neck firmly.

Jiang Cheng winced and let out a soft 'ah'.

"This is a punishment," Shang Zenian withdrew his hand. "If you ever dare to say something about running away again, I'll kiss you until you can't breathe."

Jiang Cheng: "..."

QAQ He wouldn't dare any more, okay?

The next few days passed without incident.

The senior who had recommended Jiang Cheng for the tutoring job heard about what happened during his tutoring and felt very sorry. She asked him on WeChat whether he would go back for the National Day holiday, and picked out several part-time jobs paying three or even five times the usual rate.

Especially one for a part-time model at a car show. Because they had a sports car targeting female customers, they needed a male model. Jiang Cheng was handsome, and if he went, he could earn 2000 a day. Jiang Cheng's eyes practically glowed with greed.

He really loved money too much.

But he was worried about his grandmother, so he reluctantly declined.

The 30th came quickly.

For many freshmen, this was the first time they'd been away from home for such a long time, so their excitement about going home was off the charts. All day, everyone was too restless to pay attention in class.

Unfortunately, they had a full afternoon of classes. Finally, when the third class ended, everyone could barely contain their excitement. Lin Mo, maybe needing an outlet for his restlessness, came over to talk to Jiang Cheng.

"By the way, did your 'ugly' disguise from last time successfully scare your boss straight?"

Jiang Cheng shook his head. "He got even more into me."

"..." Lin Mo's expression was hard to describe. "Your boss's taste is a bit... ahem, peculiar."

Jiang Cheng gave a bitter smile.

"It's all because you're too good-looking. I think you need to turn him off not just with clothes, but also with your words and actions. Look, you never even swear."

"I don't know how to swear." Jiang Cheng had been well-behaved since childhood; at his angriest, he had only called people 'bastards' or 'scumbags', so he couldn't swear properly.

"So you need to learn! Come on, I have a '108 Ways to Swear' here. I'll send it to you, start learning!"

Before Jiang Cheng could refuse, a cold voice came from behind: "Thanks, but he won't learn."

Both were startled and turned to see a cold, handsome face.

It was Shang Zenian.

Lin Mo hadn't known who Senior Shang was at first, but after a month at Yanshan, how could he not know this campus celebrity? Thinking about the complicated relationship between Shang and Jiang, he felt like he was corrupting someone else's kid.

"Ha, haha, it's Senior Shang. Uh... Are you looking for Jiang Cheng?"

Poor kid, he was so scared he used honorifics.

"Yeah," Shang Zenian glanced at the way Lin Mo was sitting close to Jiang Cheng and said flatly, "I need to talk to Jiang Cheng. Make room?"

"Oh, sure, sure." Lin Mo immediately gathered his books on the desk and moved to another empty seat.

Shang Zenian, a fourth-year senior, was already a campus celebrity. Now that he was in their freshman classroom and apparently knew another rising star on campus, the classmates who had been restless and noisy all quieted down and stared at them.

Under everyone's gaze, Shang Zenian acted as if nothing was unusual and calmly sat down next to Jiang Cheng.

He was tall and broad-shouldered, and the seat was a bit tight for him. Jiang Cheng had to scoot over to give him some space.

"Still cooking up ideas to turn me off?" Shang Zenian asked.

"I didn't..." Jiang Cheng quickly denied. Under the curious and watchful gazes of the whole class, he felt extremely uncomfortable and asked in a low voice, "What are you here for?"

Shang lowered his voice: "I won't see you for seven days. I need to get a few more looks at you before you go."

"..." Two eyes, one nose, and one mouth—what was there to see?

"Going back today?" Shang Zenian asked.

"Yeah, the bus at 9:30 p.m., arriving early tomorrow morning."

Shang Zenian frowned. "That long."

"It's already very fast. I bought a high-speed rail ticket. When I came, I took a slower high-speed train, which was even slower."

When they came to school, they took a slower high-speed train for nearly twenty hours and were exhausted, so this time Jiang Cheng learned his lesson and bought a high-speed rail ticket, which was seven or eight hours faster than the slower high-speed train.

Although he is frugal, he also takes time and comfort into account; otherwise, he could save even more by taking a regular train for over thirty hours.

"I'll take you to the station later."

"No need, there's a direct bus from school. It's very convenient."

Shang Zenian didn't speak, just looked at him.

Jiang Cheng: "..."

"Alright then." Jiang Cheng, being stared at by the whole class and by Shang Zenian, felt his scalp tingle. He figured if Shang wanted to send him, fine—it would save him two yuan on the bus fare.

Shang Zenian was finally satisfied.

Jiang Cheng pushed him: "Class is about to start. You should go."

As soon as he finished speaking, the bell rang. Jiang Cheng pushed Shang Zenian twice but couldn't budge him. The teacher for the next class walked in, immediately spotted Shang Zenian—there was no avoiding it, he was too conspicuous.

The teacher smiled and asked: "Are you a new student? I didn't see you last class."

Shang Zenian replied calmly: "I'm here to audit the class."

"Oh? Are you planning to take a double major?"

"I've run into some issues recently. I want to study law and see if I can find a solution."

The teacher became interested: "Would you mind sharing what kind of issue? It could be used as a case study for the class."

"Relationship issues."

As soon as Shang Zenian said those four words, the classroom erupted in chatter. No one expected that the campus heartthrob, known for being aloof, would have relationship issues and even conflicts. Everyone turned their gossip-filled stares toward him.

Under the desk, Jiang Cheng pressed down on Shang Zenian's hand.

This little liar was clearly afraid he would reveal the whole thing about him pretending to be Chen Yin, so his hands were cold from nerves. Shang Zenian held his hand back before speaking: "I'd rather not say."

The teacher was a bit disappointed but let it go. He just said: "We're learning basic courses now. You should sit in on sophomore-year classes or talk to the teachers of those courses privately."

"Okay, thank you, teacher."

The teacher began the lesson. Shang Zenian held Jiang Cheng's hand, and Jiang Cheng tried to pull away but couldn't.

Jiang Cheng didn't dare make sudden movements, fearing the classmates and teacher would notice. Shang Zenian seemed to have grasped his weakness; holding his hand, he slowly slid his fingers between Jiang Cheng's, interlacing them completely.

"..."

When Jiang Cheng was still Chen Yin, holding hands like this with Shang Zenian was routine. Even after his identity was exposed, they had a deep kiss, and he didn't think much of it.

But now, knowing Shang Zenian was probably bent by him, he felt like sitting on pins and needles, as if landmines were wedged between his fingers, not Shang Zenian's fingers.

Unable to break free, he opened his notebook and wrote on a blank page: "Let go of me."

Shang Zenian looked at it with a roguish expression as if he couldn't read the words.

Jiang Cheng was furious!

He bit his lip, then a lightbulb went off. He wrote on the paper: "Please, big brother."

Shang Zenian's eyes fixed on the line, a fire seemed to kindle in his dark eyes. After a moment, Jiang Cheng felt the grip loosen, and he quickly pulled his hand out.

Shang Zenian looked at his relieved expression and smirked.

He thought he could escape.

He couldn't. No one could escape. They were meant to be tangled together forever.

After class, they naturally went to eat together. Time was running low. Jiang Cheng went back to the dorm to get his luggage, and Shang Zenian went to drive them to the station.

Taking this opportunity, Jiang Cheng quickly messaged He Jun on WeChat, telling him that Shang Zenian was going to send them off.

He Jun was shocked for a moment, but then happily accepted that Jiang Cheng and Shang Zenian had become good friends instead of enemies.

Little Cheng was such a cute boy; who wouldn't want to be his good friend!

He Jun was naturally outgoing and loved making friends. Plus, he liked playing basketball and sports, so he shared common interests with Shang Zenian. They hit it off quickly, and he didn't even notice he was being tricked into spilling info.

Jiang Cheng was relieved Shang Zenian was only sending them off this once; otherwise, He Jun would have even sent Shang Zenian photos of him as a toddler in split-crotch pants.

Because He Jun was there, when they parted, Shang Zenian didn't go overboard. He only asked Jiang Cheng to message him when he arrived.

Jiang Cheng was secretly delighted at the thought of seven days apart. He gladly agreed.

He hoped these seven days would help Shang Zenian calm down.

This time on the high-speed rail was much easier. Since it was nighttime, they dozed off on the train, waking up every hour or two. The ten-hour trip wasn't too bad.

The next day, they arrived in the prefectural city Tingxi belongs to, then transferred to a regular train back to Tingxi. They got home around noon.

Grandma knew he was coming back and had prepared a table full of delicious dishes for him. They hadn't seen each other in a month. Grandma kept saying he looked too thin and heaped meat onto his plate, making Jiang Cheng shake his head with a helpless laugh.

When school first started, he had indeed been stressed about Shang Zenian and lost some weight. But recently, he had been eating at Shang Zenian's place and felt he'd gained it back.

It wasn't as dramatic as Grandma said—she made him sound like a scarecrow.

After eating, Jiang Cheng wanted to rest. Although he had slept last night, he hadn't slept well and needed a nap to recharge.

When he woke up that afternoon, he planned to look into whether there were any elevator apartments on higher floors for rent in their neighborhood.

He slept deeply and woke up at 3 PM. Shang Zenian had sent him two messages.

Shang Zenian: "Okay, get some rest."

Shang Zenian: "I'm boarding the plane now."

The messages were sent just after he fell asleep. Jiang Cheng lay in bed, groggy, and lazily replied.

Evil Big Orange: "Are you going back to Nancheng?"

Shang Zenian must have been on his phone; he replied quickly.

Shang Zenian: "No, going on a trip."

Evil Big Orange: "National Day trips are crowded, aren't they?"

Shang Zenian: "Not too bad. I'm going somewhere small, not many tourists."

Evil Big Orange: "Oh oh, have fun (•̀ᴗ•́)و"

Hope you have so much fun you get carried away and forget about him.

Shang Zenian: (Smile) "I will."

The chat ended there. Little did Jiang Cheng know that the person he was chatting with was less than a kilometer away from him at that very moment.

Shang Zenian, carrying a single-shoulder bag and holding a few gift boxes, appeared at the entrance of Yinghua Community.

He clearly looked like a rich kid—dressed in an elegant yet trendy way, completely out of place here. Plus, he was tall and strong, which drew attention. Everyone passing by couldn't help but glance at him.

Shang Zenian found the community but couldn't locate the building where Jiang Cheng lived. Spotting a small convenience store at the entrance, he went in, grabbed a bottle of iced water, and walked to the checkout counter, planning to casually ask the shop owner for directions.

No one was at the counter. Shang Zenian raised his voice slightly. "Water, please."

"Coming, coming," someone came out from the back. Seeing Shang Zenian, they froze. "No way! Am I seeing things? Brother Shang?!"

It was He Jun. This convenience store was his family's business.

Shang Zenian hadn't expected the world to be this small either, but he maintained a cool composure. "Yeah, I came to hang out with Jiang Cheng. I was just about to ask how to get to his building, Dongfang Mingzhu."

This community had a weird way of naming its buildings—not with numbers like Building 1 or Building 2, but names like Dongfang Mingzhu or Shanhe Mingzhu, without any clear pattern.

"I was just about to go see him. I'll take you there!"

Shang Zenian still hadn't paid for the water. He Jun waved a hand. "No need to pay for that! Come on, I promised to go look for an apartment with him. He's already waiting. Let me help you carry those."

He Jun enthusiastically offered to carry Shang Zenian's gift boxes.

"Thanks," Shang Zenian said without changing his expression. "He's moving?"

"Yeah, he lives on the first floor now. That place is dark and damp. His grandma has rheumatism, so it's not good for her. He's planning to find a better-lit apartment for her."

"Moving to a better place sounds expensive. He seems to live pretty frugally."

"Well, he earned some money working during the summer break. Speaking of which," He Jun lowered his voice, "Brother Shang, since you're at the same school as him, have you seen... a senior female student, a fourth-year, giving him trouble?"

A fourth-year senior female student, giving him trouble... Shang Zenian narrowed his eyes. "I've seen something. He managed to piss off a fourth-year?"

"Yeah, it's a mess from his summer job. I can't really say, but even though this is really Little Cheng's fault, I'm still worried he might get bullied. He never tells me the bad stuff when I ask about it, so I thought I'd check with you."

Shang Zenian: "..."

Great. He was the fourth-year female student now.

"You mean the thing where he deceived someone emotionally?"

"Wow, you already know? Looks like you and Little Cheng are really close. He actually told you that."

Shang Zenian gave a faint "mm." "That girl seems very reasonable. I doubt she'll mess with him."

"But didn't he get her pregnant and make her have an abortion? That's such a scumbag move. Even the most reasonable person would turn dark!"

Shang Zenian: "............"

So apparently, not only could he get someone pregnant, but he could also get pregnant and have an abortion himself. Shang Zenian laughed out loud at that.

Back home, just about to head out, Jiang Cheng sneezed several times in a row.

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Author's note: Transition chapter. Next chapter lets the straight man Shang successfully crawl into Little Chengzi's bed.