This chapter is brought to you Ram, thanks for the ko-fi! （＾ω＾）
Chapter 38: I Like You
Bright sunlight streamed into the room, and a gentle breeze fluttered the curtains.
Qi Xu quietly pushed open the door.
The sleeping beauty on the bed showed no signs of waking up. Qi Xu sat down by the bedside, gently stroking the marks on Xie Yang’s face.
He took a small velvet box out of his pocket, removed the item inside, warmed it in his hand, and then slipped a ring onto Xie Yang’s slender finger.
He silently admired Xie Yang’s hand for a long time. After kissing the back of his hand, he tucked it back under the blanket.
“Sleep well.”
Qi Xu quietly closed the door behind him.
It was two in the afternoon when Xie Yang finally woke up, feeling sore all over. He stared at the ceiling, feeling utterly exhausted.
Even the slightest movement sent waves of pain through his body.
His limbs felt foreign and unresponsive.
Suddenly, his phone vibrated. Xie Yang reached under his pillow, rubbing his blurry eyes, and accidentally scratched his eyelid.
Noticing a strange sensation, Xie Yang raised his hand to look.
A diamond ring sparkled on his ring finger.
A ring?
When did that get there?
Did Qi Xu give it to him?
He was about to call out Qi Xu’s name, but his throat was too dry, so he closed his mouth.
Xie Yang climbed out of bed, his legs trembling, barely able to stand.
He was wearing an oversized T-shirt that just covered his thighs.
It was Qi Xu’s shirt, still carrying the faint scent of gardenias, which was very pleasant.
The room was carpeted with a thick rug. Xie Yang slowly made his way to the door, using the wall for support. Just as he was about to open the door, it swung open from the other side. He staggered back in surprise, his legs giving way, but Qi Xu caught him before he fell.
Qi Xu carried him back to the bed in a few steps and placed him down, kneeling in front of him and holding his leg, asking anxiously, “Did you hurt yourself?”
Xie Yang shook his head, “I’m fine.”
Qi Xu: “Good. Do you feel any discomfort?”
Xie Yang was about to say no, but then he noticed the bite marks on his leg, following Qi Xu’s gaze.
He stared at Qi Xu in shock.
Qi Xu let go of his leg, stood up, and placed his hands on either side of Xie Yang, trapping him.
Looking at Xie Yang’s dazed and cute face, Qi Xu kissed him and laughed, “Why that expression?”
Xie Yang mustered the courage to glare at him, but his voice was still timid, “Why… why there?”
He couldn’t even finish his sentence.
He recalled how his legs had been draped over Qi Xu’s shoulders last night…
Qi Xu, unconcerned, pulled Xie Yang onto his lap, looking at him playfully, “Is there any part of you I haven’t kissed?”
Xie Yang’s mind went blank, flooded with memories of last night—Qi Xu holding his legs, kissing him…
His face turned beet red, his heart raced, and he lowered his head in embarrassment, unable to meet Qi Xu’s teasing gaze.
Qi Xu lifted Xie Yang’s hand and kissed it, smiling warmly, “Do you like the ring I gave you?”
Xie Yang looked at his hand, “I do, but why give it to me all of a sudden?”
Qi Xu: “It’s not a special gift. I just wanted to make you happy.”
Xie Yang’s heart fluttered. He hadn’t expected Qi Xu to say that.
Qi Xu wanted to make him happy?
But he didn’t need to do that because he was already very happy, even if Qi Xu did nothing.
Being in a relationship with Qi Xu made he happy every day.
He wrapped his arms around Qi Xu’s shoulders, hugging him tightly, “I really like it. Thank you.”
Qi Xu: “Don’t take it off, okay?”
Xie Yang nodded. He would always wear it.
Although Qi Xu said it wasn’t a special gift, to Xie Yang, it was very special and meaningful.
Seeing Xie Yang being so obedient, Qi Xu felt a bit restless.
He traced Xie Yang’s waistline and whispered in his ear, “Does it still hurt?”
Xie Yang froze, then struggled to get off Qi Xu.
“It hurts.”
“Brother, it hurts.”
He wriggled but couldn’t break free from Qi Xu’s embrace, so he resorted to acting spoiled.
Qi Xu wrapped his long arms around Xie Yang’s waist, holding him tightly in his embrace, a faint smile playing in his eyes. “Why aren’t you calling me ‘husband’ anymore?”
Xie Yang instantly blushed a deep red.
It was clearly Qi Xu who insisted he call him that last night, even deliberately teasing him until he said those two words.
Qi Xu: “Say it again for me to hear?”
Xie Yang felt Qi Xu’s aura changing bit by bit, his gaze becoming more suggestive, as if he was still savoring the sight of him.
Before Qi Xu could proceed to the next step, Xie Yang quickly pleaded softly in his arms.
“I’m hungry.”
“So hungry my stomach is caving in.”
Qi Xu could only speak with regret, “Let’s change clothes and eat first?”
Although the house was heated, having bare legs would still lead to catching a cold.
Qi Xu: “Do you need my help?”
Xie Yang quickly slipped out of his embrace and said, “I can do it myself.”
Qi Xu chuckled softly and carried him to the wardrobe.
In the end, he still helped him change into a set of pajamas.
…
Time passed quickly.
Today was the final exam. Xie Yang handed in his paper early and stretched lazily as he walked out of the exam room, feeling even his steps become lighter.
The holidays were finally here.
Qi Xu was waiting for him downstairs.
He was leaning lazily against the wall, looking down at his phone.
His tall and handsome figure attracted a lot of attention.
Xie Yang hurried to him, grabbed his hand, and smiled, “Have you been waiting long?”
Qi Xu looked at his bright smile and teased, “Shouldn’t we celebrate finishing the exams?”
Xie Yang’s eyes lit up, “Of course.”
At the school cafeteria.
Xie Yang chose a nice spot and obediently waited for Qi Xu to get their food.
After all, he was quite poor, so he could only treat Qi Xu to a hearty lunch at the cafeteria.
As expected, Qi Xu’s choice of food for him was all bland dishes, not a single bit of chili in sight.
Xie Yang bit his chopsticks, feeling conflicted.
Qi Xu raised an eyebrow, “Does it still hurt?”
Upon hearing this, Xie Yang’s face heated up, and memories of last night’s study session in the study room flooded his mind…
He glared at Qi Xu.
Clearly, Qi Xu was the one at fault.
Xie Yang bit into the beef ball Qi Xu had given him, his expression instantly turning grim.
He forced himself to swallow the unpleasant taste.
Before Qi Xu noticed anything amiss, he held the bitten beef ball to his mouth.
Qi Xu didn’t hesitate and ate it in one bite. As he chewed, he paused, looked at the slightly smug Xie Yang, and smiled faintly.
It turned out the beef ball contained dried tangerine peel, which Xie Yang disliked, so he wanted Qi Xu to get rid of it.
Xie Yang didn’t know that their sweet interaction in the cafeteria had already been posted on the forum.
After numerous deletions by the administrator, the forum users knew exactly what could and couldn’t be discussed.
A post was trending rapidly on the homepage, climbing to the top in just a few minutes.
[Did you see that? I’m shocked.]
1F: [Let me give you some keywords: cafeteria, feeding each other, Computer Science × Finance.]
2F: [Great, I know who you’re talking about because I was right there watching. Smoking.jpg]
3F: [This information is too obvious. It’s that couple, right? What did they do in the cafeteria?]
4F: [Are you talking about: “I don’t like men,” “I’m not gay,” “Profile picture background,” “Exposing relationship gossip,” “I have a cleanliness obsession,” “Eating boyfriend’s leftovers,” “Wanting to stick to my boyfriend 24/7,” “Turning into a lovestruck fool” and other grand face-slapping love scenes of the aloof god?]
5F: [The summary above is very apt. By the way, being willing to eat food bitten by your partner is undoubtedly true love.]
6F: [“Cleanliness depends on the person” — it’s just that you’re not someone special.]
7F: [So what kind of charm does someone special have to turn a cold-hearted god into a lovestruck fool?]
8F: [Rumor has it they met through a game.]
9F: [That’s impossible. They were in the same school before, and both were top in their year. How could they not know each other? It’s just strange that they didn’t spark anything in three years of being schoolmates, but suddenly got together in college.]
10F: [It’s said to be an online romance.]
11F: [That sounds a bit far-fetched. The finance guy doesn’t seem like the type to engage in an online dating. With so many people pursuing him in real life that he doesn’t care for, why would he go online to date a stranger? It makes no sense.]
12F: [If you understand the epic drama described in post 4, you’d find this isn’t far-fetched at all.]
13F: [What to do? If it’s an online dating, it’s even more adorable.]
Xie Yang was packing his luggage in the dormitory when he saw this post. Suddenly, he received a message from Su Huai. He clicked it open and felt a bit helpless.
Any little thing between him and Qi Xu would end up on the forum.
However, the contents of the post made Xie Yang laugh. Before he got together with Qi Xu, he also knew Qi Xu was a clean freak.
It seemed he was indeed an exception.
Qi Xu didn’t mind sharing a cup, eating from the same bowl, or sleeping in the same bed with him.
As for why Qi Xu chose to be with him, not only the forum but many former classmates had indirectly asked him about it.
Some even asked Su Huai, Sheng Fei, Xi Rui, and Song Xingyu.
Su Huai: [By the way, our high school classmates are planning a class reunion over the winter break. How about you come with me?]
A class reunion?
It seemed some classmates had hinted at this when they were probing about his relationship with Qi Xu a few days ago. But at that time, he was busy with exams and didn’t pay much attention to it.
Su Huai: [This year, it’s still karaoke. It’d be boring if I go alone. Please come with me.]
Xie Yang agreed.
Actually, he had never attended such reunions with old classmates before.
He opened the old class group chat and saw many people had mentioned him, inviting him to join. This had never happened before.
He wondered if it was just his imagination, but since he started dating Qi Xu, it seemed many people’s attitudes towards him had changed.
They seemed warmer, though some approached him with strange intentions.
An old classmate suddenly became so enthusiastic towards him, making Xie Yang feel a bit troubled, but he ultimately didn’t refuse.
His personality was very soft, and he couldn’t decline such warm hospitality, so he could only agree.
Xie Yang’s luggage fit into a single bag; in fact, he didn’t have much to take. Naturally, Qi Xu’s home wouldn’t lack anything for him, so he could basically just carry his laptop and be ready to go.
Qi Xu said, “Move in next semester.”
Xie Yang held his laptop and stayed silent.
If the lock on the guest room door hadn’t been broken, he might have considered it.
If the house didn’t have so many mysterious potions and little squares, he might have been able to believe it.
Moreover, Qi Xu’s so-called “chatting under the covers” seemed to have impure motives.
Xie Yang didn’t agree, and Qi Xu wasn’t surprised; he wasn’t in a hurry.
That evening, while taking a bath, Xie Yang discovered that the cute bear pajamas Qi Xu had previously bought him were all gone, and the clothes in the wardrobe had been replaced with a new batch.
He even saw many unopened sets of sexy lingerie.
He didn’t think Qi Xu had brought another woman home; rather, he felt these clothes were prepared by Qi Xu for him.
He rummaged through the wardrobe but couldn’t find a single piece of normal clothing, so he finally had to pick a shirt.
Looking at himself in the mirror, Xie Yang felt something was off.
He quietly opened the bathroom door, intending to go back to the bedroom to find another set of pajamas, but before he could run far, Qi Xu hugged him from behind.
A deep voice whispered in his ear.
“In such a hurry, where are you going?”