The next morning, Xie Chengnan went for his customary morning run.
When he returned, he found the breakfast on the table untouched. Little Young Master Jiang, who had vowed the night before to get up early, had overslept again.
Jiang Yuan was a freshman at Nanda. Xie Chengnan had only discovered this from his course schedule while helping him install some programs on his phone.
Over the past two days, the image of the "troubled youth" who raced cars, got into fights, drank, and frequented bars had become so deeply ingrained that Xie Chengnan raised an eyebrow in mild surprise upon discovering the brat’s grades were actually quite good.
Jiang Yuan had wilted at the sight of his 9:00 AM Marketing class. He had spent a long time complaining to Xie Chengnan about how "perverted" the professor was, how much he loved taking attendance, and how frequently he failed students. Before going to bed, he had specifically instructed Xie Chengnan to make sure he got up today.
Xie Chengnan glanced at the clock on the wall. It was already eight o'clock. He decided to go upstairs and retrieve the boy himself.
Only a dim bedside lamp was lit in the master bedroom. The youth on the bed was fast asleep, huddled tightly in his duvet. From the doorway, one could only vaguely see his closed eyes and the soft, dark hair scattered across the pillow.
Xie Chengnan walked to the bedside and called Jiang Yuan’s name.
The youth’s crow-wing lashes fluttered, but he only buried himself deeper.
Xie Chengnan was at a bit of a loss.
The alarm, which had been snoozed who knows how many times, vibrated again. Xie Chengnan watched as Jiang Yuan frowned and retreated further into the covers with no sign of waking. He could only sigh and move to peel back the duvet, unearthing the Little Young Master hidden within.
The weather was turning chilly, and the heating wasn't on yet. Jolted by the sudden rush of cold air into his nest, Jiang Yuan shivered involuntarily and finally woke up.
His eyes were half-lidded and bleary. When he finally recognized the culprit still clutching the corner of the duvet, he lashed out with a weak, listless kick and rasped a curse, "Fuck... you want to die?"
Xie Chengnan caught the restless foot and looked down at him, composed as ever. "It’s already eight-ten. Do you want to retake your Marketing class?"
Perhaps the deterrent of the "perverted professor" was too great; Jiang Yuan bolted upright. However, he forgot his foot was still in someone’s hand. Losing his balance, he tumbled backward.
His momentum dragged Xie Chengnan down with him.
In his haste, Xie Chengnan let go of the foot, narrowly avoiding crushing the newly awakened boy.
Now, with one knee on the edge of the bed and his elbows braced beside Jiang Yuan’s ears, he had the boy pinned beneath him in a near-confining posture. Their faces were so close that the entire space seemed filled with their mingling breath.
The atmosphere turned strangely heavy.
Jiang Yuan felt a flicker of awkwardness, but seeing that Xie Chengnan looked even more embarrassed than he did, he couldn't help but feel a surge of mischief.
The youth reached out, his oversized pajama sleeve sliding down to his elbow to reveal a stretch of pale skin.
As his cool skin pressed against the burning heat of Xie Chengnan’s nape, Jiang Yuan let out a satisfied sigh. "Xie Chengnan, are you a human furnace?"
Xie Chengnan’s body went rigid. With a wooden expression, he said, "Let go."
Instead, Jiang Yuan tightened his hold, looking up with a playful glint in his eyes. "Aren't you going to give your boyfriend a morning kiss, Mr. Xie?"
Xie Chengnan looked down at the person immersed in his prank and felt compelled to remind him: "It takes at least twenty minutes to drive from here to Nanda. It is currently 8:20 AM, Beijing time."
"Fuck!" Jiang Yuan finally remembered he was in a rush. He shoved Xie Chengnan’s shoulder. "Move, move! Can't you see I'm in a hurry?"
Xie Chengnan didn't even bother making an expression anymore. As soon as he pushed himself up, the Little Young Master slipped out like an eel and bolted for the bathroom.
***
Jiang Yuan clutched his backpack in one hand and his breakfast in the other. The moment he got into the car, he urged Jason to drive faster. Finally, by the skin of his teeth, he made it.
"Bro, over here!" Zhang Siyi waved from the back row of the lecture hall. There was an empty seat beside him, clearly saved for Jiang Yuan.
More than half the people in the tiered classroom turned their gaze toward the door, whispering and stealing glances.
Jiang Yuan was tall, long-legged, and exceptionally handsome; not long after the semester started, he had been voted the new "Department Grass" of the Management Department.
Add to that the Little Young Master’s array of luxury goods and his million-dollar car, and he had a line of girls chasing him despite the cold expression he wore every day.
Jiang Yuan was used to being stared at and didn't care. He sat down next to Zhang Siyi with a blank face, stretched out his long legs, and leaned back with a yawn.
He hadn't been able to resist gaming until the middle of the night, and now he was forcing himself to stay awake, feeling quite irritable.
Zhang Siyi nudged his arm and gave him a suggestive look. "Bro, did you not sleep well last night?"
Jiang Yuan answered listlessly, "Yeah... played until three before sleeping. I'm dying of exhaustion."
The look Zhang Siyi gave him turned strange—a mix of surprise and envy. He asked with concern, "You don't feel... unwell anywhere, do you?"
"I'm fine, just sleepy." Jiang Yuan yawned again and slumped onto the desk, his expression weary. He didn't understand why his cousin was being so attentive today.
Seeing Zhang Siyi’s hesitant expression, Jiang Yuan said impatiently, "If you have something to say, say it."
Zhang Siyi scratched his head. "Bro, you’ve never had a boyfriend before, right?"
Jiang Yuan looked at him as if he were an idiot. "What do you think?"
"Hehehe." Zhang Siyi’s laugh was borderline neurotic as he whispered a compliment: "Then you're really impressive. The first time I played like that, I couldn't get out of bed the next day."
Jiang Yuan found this baffling. He thought to himself that if he weren't afraid of failing, he wouldn't have gotten up either. He gave a perfunctory "Oh" and couldn't be bothered to deal with him further.
The old professor did indeed take attendance as usual.
As soon as the roll call was over, Jiang Yuan sprawled out and stopped moving. Before drifting off, he remembered he had classes in the afternoon and took out his phone to send Xie Chengnan a WeChat message.
**Your Daddy Jiang:** I’m going back to the dorm to catch up on sleep at noon. Eat lunch by yourself.
A good while later, he received a one-word reply from Xie Chengnan.
**Nan:** Okay.
Jiang Yuan gave a small "tsk" and clicked on Xie Chengnan’s Moments. It was a total blank. He then remembered that Xie Chengnan’s WeChat was a new account registered after returning to the country.
The profile picture was also very casual, looking like something the owner had snapped and uploaded on a whim. It was a corner of a coffee table, showing half of a mug. When Jiang Yuan zoomed in, he realized it was his own mug.
Sitting on the other side of Zhang Siyi was their mutual roommate, He Luolu. He Luolu had a baby face, wasn't very tall, and had a slender build. When he smiled, he showed two little canine teeth.
During the Arts Festival, he had dressed in a Lolita dress as a cross-dresser, stealing the hearts of many Nanda boys. Since then, everyone called him "Baby He."
He Luolu actually quite liked the nickname. Like Zhang Siyi, he was a pure "bottom" and took pride in his delicate, easily-overpowered appearance.
After discovering each other's orientations, the two had quickly progressed from roommates to "gay besties," often chatting in the dorm about R-rated topics that Jiang Yuan and Tang Zhang couldn't join.
Tang Zhang was a junior in the Computer Science department who had been assigned to Room 501 due to a dormitory reshuffle.
He was a true top-tier student, winning scholarships every year at a university like Nanda, which ranked in the top five nationally. Although only a junior, he was already working on projects with department professors and was usually so busy he was rarely seen. Since Jiang Yuan and Zhang Siyi mostly lived at home, the last time they had seen him in the dorm was two weeks ago.
He Luolu had overheard a bit of gossip and was now brimming with curiosity. He leaned over and whispered to Zhang Siyi, "Your brother has a boyfriend?!"
Zhang Siyi stole a glance at Jiang Yuan, unsure if he should tell the truth.
He knew Jiang Yuan didn't like He Luolu. Although he never said it outright, his lukewarm attitude was hardly friendly.
He Luolu was aware of this as well. He usually didn't push himself into Jiang Yuan’s space and only sought out Zhang Siyi privately.
The two maintained a "well water does not interfere with river water" relationship, keeping up a superficial roommate-classmate bond.
Zhang Siyi struggled internally for a moment, but was ultimately defeated by the raging fire of gossip.
Seeing from the corner of his eye that Jiang Yuan had fallen asleep on the desk, he dared to secretly pull out his phone to show He Luolu the family photo. Pointing at Xie Chengnan, he whispered, "This is his boyfriend!"
He Luolu gasped in a low voice, "So handsome!"
Zhang Siyi leaned closer, gossiping in a tiny voice, "My brother said... he uses the extra-large size!"
He Luolu: "!!!"
"For real?!" He Luolu couldn't quite believe it.
Zhang Siyi looked cautiously at Jiang Yuan. Seeing he hadn't been woken up, he dared to continue: "The night before last, we went to a bar, and those two almost crossed the line right there! When he got up to go to the bathroom, I caught a glimpse! I'm definitely not lying!"
He Luolu’s mouth formed an 'O' shape as he exclaimed softly, "Wow!" Then he giggled, "Just hearing that makes my legs feel weak!"
The two exchanged a look and shared a knowing smile.
Jiang Yuan had no idea that his cousin had not only hallucinated an R-rated drama but had also sold him out in the process. He slept until the end of class before being woken by Zhang Siyi.
Zhang Siyi felt a bit guilty. He cleared his throat and asked, "Bro, are you going home for lunch?"
"No." Jiang Yuan grabbed his backpack. As he stood up, he nearly tripped over his chair and cursed under his breath, "Fuck!"
The expression on Zhang Siyi’s face was quite complex. He said tentatively, "Should I help you walk?"
"?" Jiang Yuan looked at him strangely. "I'm not crippled. Why would you help me walk?"
Zhang Siyi didn't dare say.
Jiang Yuan brushed his hair back and frowned. "You guys go eat lunch. I'm going back to the dorm to sleep."
Zhang Siyi nodded and watched Jiang Yuan leave with He Luolu.
He Luolu kept staring at Jiang Yuan’s legs. Only after Jiang Yuan was far away did he dare whisper, "Your brother is really something. You can't tell at all..."
"Tell me about it," Zhang Siyi remarked with a sigh. "I guess that’s what you call being naturally gifted."
***
Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation
---|---|---
南大 | Nanda | Short for Nanjing University (or a fictional equivalent).
系草 | Department Grass | The most handsome male student in a specific academic department.
0 | Bottom | Slang for the submissive/receptive partner in a male-male relationship.
gay蜜 | Gay bestie | A portmanteau of "gay" and "闺蜜" (close female friend).
伪娘 | Cross-dresser / Femboy | A male who dresses or presents in a feminine manner.
Lo裙 | Lolita dress | Clothing associated with the Lolita fashion subculture.
何宝宝 | Baby He | A nickname for He Luolu.
北京时间 | Beijing Time | Standard time in China.
你的江爹 | Your Daddy Jiang | Jiang Yuan's arrogant/playful WeChat handle.
超大号 | Extra-large size | In this context, referring to condom size or physical endowment.
