Chapter 33

Unlike their earlier kiss through a mask, Pei Ran could clearly feel Yan Zhun nibbling his lips, neither too gently nor too hard. Only when he felt a little pain did Yan Zhun release his lips.

Pei Ran thought it was over, and his tense shoulders were just about to relax, but the large hand on his neck showed no intention of letting go. Yan Zhun lightly rubbed the back of his neck, then deepened the kiss gently, soothingly.

Pei Ran could no longer hear the rain. The kiss left him dizzy, even a little short of oxygen. He clutched Yan Zhun's clothes tightly, and when Yan Zhun pried his lips apart, he instinctively responded a little.

Pei Ran lightly licked the tip of Yan Zhun's tongue.

Yan Zhun felt as though someone had tugged at his heart.

There were few pedestrians on the street, all hurrying along beneath umbrellas. No one noticed them.

Their breaths were both hot, tangling together in the rainy night.

Clutter piled on the other side of the convenience store's glass window blocked the view both ways, with only light seeping through the gaps. By the time Yan Zhun let him go, Pei Ran's face and ears were completely red.

Even swallowing made Pei Ran feel shy. He released Yan Zhun's clothes and blinked several times in quick succession. Just as he was about to speak, Yan Zhun raised the back of his hand and wiped his lips clean.

Yan Zhun lowered his eyes and asked hoarsely, "What did you mean by kissing me, Mr. Pei?"

Only then did Pei Ran remember that he had initiated this kiss.

His face grew even hotter. It was a long time before he said, "I just wanted to kiss you. Sorry."

His tone was no different from usual. Yan Zhun could barely hold back. His Adam's apple bobbed several times before he murmured, "Mm. Kiss me whenever you want, however you want."

Yan Zhun looked down and casually brushed at his rumpled clothes. "Was this shirt comfortable to grab? If not, I'll wear a different one next time."

Pei Ran closed his eyes, looking rather resigned. "It was... pretty comfortable."

The rain eased. Quite a few people were already walking through it, and the shopkeeper had put up umbrellas outside.

Yan Zhun had straightened up. Their thighs touched through their clothes, and neither moved away.

A phone suddenly chimed. Pei Ran instinctively reached into his pocket, but his elbow accidentally struck the table. His phone slipped to the ground with a dull thud.

Pei Ran was about to pick it up, but Yan Zhun bent down first.

"It's dirty. Wait." Yan Zhun picked up the phone, pulled out a tissue, and wiped the screen.

Another message arrived just then. Yan Zhun's gaze swept over the preview on the screen before he quickly looked away and handed the phone to Pei Ran.

[Luo Qingshan: Xiao Yang and the others told me they ran into you at the internet café. I didn't get a chance to tell them. I'm sorry.]

[Luo Qingshan: I was playing basketball just now. I didn't know what was happening in the group chat.]

[Luo Qingshan: I'm sorry.]

[Luo Qingshan: Can we still be friends?]

Pei Ran had only just finished reading when the person beside him suddenly stood up.

"I'm going to buy umbrellas."

By the time Pei Ran came to his senses, he had already caught Yan Zhun's hand.

Yan Zhun stopped and looked down at him. "Do you want anything?"

Pei Ran looked at Yan Zhun's hand, which carried a faint medicinal scent. After a long while, he finally looked up and asked, "Can I be friends with him?"

Yan Zhun froze for a moment, a rare occurrence. He looked into Pei Ran's eyes, as though he had sensed something. "I get to decide?"

Pei Ran said, "Yes."

"Why?"

Pei Ran kept his expression under control, his face so red it looked ready to bleed.

Just as Yan Zhun was about to speak, he answered quietly, "You can... tell me what to do."

The person in front of him fell silent.

Pei Ran regretted it the moment he said it. He had never said anything like that before, and shame and embarrassment nearly drowned him.

He was just about to let go of Yan Zhun when the other man clasped his hand tightly in return.

"Pei Ran," Yan Zhun said. "I don't want you to be friends with him. I don't want you to stay in touch with him, because I like you."

"You're asking what I think, letting me tell you what to do..."

Pei Ran said, "Because I do too."

Yan Zhun pressed his lips together, his heart silently bursting at the sound of Pei Ran's voice.

He released Pei Ran's hand and reached up to ruffle his hair. "Mr. Pei."

Pei Ran said, "...Hm?"

"Will you go out with me?"

Pei Ran's lashes trembled slightly. First he murmured, "Mm." A few seconds later, he added, "Yes."

Yan Zhun rubbed strands of his hair between his fingers, holding himself back again and again, but in the end he couldn't resist. "Lift your head a little. We'll be sneaky."

Pei Ran seemed to know what was about to happen. His heartbeat hadn't settled since they arrived at this convenience store.

Pei Ran lifted his head and received his second kiss of the night.

In the end, they went into the convenience store together. The female clerk gave them a slightly odd look. Perhaps she had seen something.

Although they bought two umbrellas, they shared one until Pei Ran got into the car.

"I'm going back to campus tomorrow," Yan Zhun told him before he got in.

Pei Ran said instinctively, "Tomorrow's the weekend. There are no classes."

Yan Zhun said, "Mm. I'm going back to see my boyfriend."

The car door closed. Pei Ran gave the driver his university's address and turned to look out the window.

It was late at night, and there were few cars on the road. The driver kept his speed right at the limit as streetlights receded past the window one after another.

Pei Ran watched quietly for a while, then raised his hands and covered his face. With his palms against his cheeks, he couldn't tell which was hotter.

Back in his dorm, Pei Ran took a shower. When he picked up his bath towel, he remembered the pressure and touch of Yan Zhun drying his hair with tissues.

He slowly rubbed his hair dry and picked up his phone to check his unread messages. After those few remarks he had made in the group chat earlier, he had received quite a few private messages and even some friend requests. He hadn't opened any of them.

Pei Ran had good habits: he replied to almost every message he received. After he finally finished reading all his unread messages, a new one jumped to the top.

[Yan Zhun: Forgot to say, thank you for the new gift, Mr. Pei.]

Pei Ran dreamed all night. There was rain in his dreams, a convenience store, and Yan Zhun.

He was still a little dazed when he woke and stared blankly at the ceiling for a long time.

After getting out of bed and washing up, he made himself a cup of coffee and had it with biscuits for breakfast.

Only when Luo Qingshan sent another WeChat message did Pei Ran remember that he had closed the chat after reading the messages at the convenience store last night without replying.

He had unblocked Luo Qingshan that night at the hospital, partly because of what had happened to Yan Zhun, and partly because he remembered there were still some things he hadn't repaid.

Pei Ran no longer remembered how much his high school uniform and textbooks had cost, so he simply transferred a thousand yuan.

[Luo Qingshan: ?]

[Pei Ran: For the uniform and textbooks in high school. Thank you for back then.]

[Luo Qingshan: ?]

[Luo Qingshan: What uniform and textbooks?]

[Pei Ran: The ones you put in my desk drawer.]

[Luo Qingshan: ...Have you got the wrong person?]

[Luo Qingshan: I never put a uniform or textbooks in your drawer.]

[Luo Qingshan: I don't even know where to buy that stuff.]

[Luo Qingshan: There aren't any classes today. Why are you up so early?]

Pei Ran held his phone, a little lost in thought.

Thinking it over carefully, he really had never confirmed it. Because Luo Qingshan had been the only classmate to show him obvious kindness at the time, he had subconsciously attributed it to him.

Luo Qingshan's messages came one after another, the vibrations making his palm go numb. Pei Ran remained dazed for quite a while before looking down to read them.

Luo Qingshan seemed to have sensed something and asked a great many questions.

[Pei Ran: Never mind. Also, no.]

[Luo Qingshan: No to what?]

As Pei Ran gathered the crumbs and wrappers and tossed them into the bin, he typed his reply.

[Pei Ran: Being friends.]

Luo Qingshan didn't send any more messages.

On weekends, Pei Ran usually went to the studio when he had nothing to do. Today, a classmate tagged him in the group chat and invited him to go together. He declined in a few words and put on a random movie to pass the time.

After hearing only a couple of lines of dialogue, he looked down at his phone.

The White Rabbit Milk Candy avatar sat quietly in his chat list. The last message was from two in the morning.

He looked at that avatar a little longer, then continued scrolling down and found his high school class group chat.

The group had long since gone quiet. Someone only chatted in it once every ten days or fortnight. Pei Ran opened the member list and scrolled through it one by one, hoping to find the person who had slipped those things into his desk drawer back then.

After going through it over and over without finding anyone who fit, he simply gave up.

When the ninety-minute movie ended, Pei Ran had no idea what the plot had been. He couldn't be bothered to watch it again either, and listlessly moved his mouse around in search of another movie.

His phone suddenly vibrated, and he looked down.

[Yan Zhun: Are you awake?]

[Pei Ran: I'm awake.]

[Yan Zhun: I'm at the campus gate.]

Pei Ran pulled on his coat and went out.

Yan Zhun was tall and slender, his cap pulled low. When he lowered his head, the brim hid his eyes. He was very conspicuous standing at the campus gate.

As Pei Ran approached, Yan Zhun was on the phone with his back to him.

"I'm not free today," Yan Zhun said.

The coach was on the other end, his voice extremely loud. "It's only two practice matches. It won't take up much... It's the weekend. What could you possibly be so busy with?"

Annoyed with him, Yan Zhun said bluntly, "Dating."