Chapter 6

When Luo Qingshan woke, dawn was just breaking.

He lay squinting into space for a long while before bracing himself against the bed and struggling upright. His head felt as though someone had stirred it viciously with a wooden stick, and the pain made him grimace.

Luo Qingshan looked around and found himself in a hotel room. He was bare-chested, wearing only a pair of underwear, and his body lacked the sticky feeling of a hangover. Someone must have helped clean him up.

A faint sound of something falling came from the bathroom. Luo Qingshan managed a strained smile. "Baby, what are you doing? My head hurts so much... Fuck, that shitty karaoke place must be selling fucking fake booze."

Luo Qingshan raked a hand through his hair. He had just thrown back the covers when footsteps came from the bathroom.

"You're awake? Do you feel sick? Want me to get you some water?"

Luo Qingshan froze and turned his head blankly. "Why is it you?"

Su Nian held a freshly washed glass. "Who else would it be?"

"My ba... Where's Pei Ran?"

"He left last night." Su Nian smiled. "I'll get you some water. Hurry up and get out of bed. We have class this afternoon."

Luo Qingshan sat with his legs drawn up, resting his forehead against his knees for a long time before he vaguely recalled what had happened last night.

When he had returned from the restroom, Pei Ran was already gone from the private room. No amount of coaxing had brought him back.

The thing was...

Luo Qingshan couldn't help glancing toward the bathroom again. He raised his hands and scrubbed his face hard twice.

Fuck, I think I kissed Su Nian.

Fake booze was dangerous.

To Luo Qingshan, this had simply been an accident. After fretting over it for a while, he forgot about it. His phone finally lit up after charging for ages, and he hurriedly picked it up.

The moment he opened WeChat, he couldn't help laughing-he had sent Pei Ran over thirty voice messages last night. The short ones lasted two or three seconds, and the long ones a full forty or fifty.

Pei Ran must have been annoyed to death.

Luo Qingshan crossed his legs and typed.

[Luo Qingshan: Hahaha, baby, did my messages keep you awake?]

[Luo Qingshan: Why didn't you take me back to the hotel last night? [Slapping belly and crying]]

[Luo Qingshan: You're so heartless. All those messages, and you didn't reply to a single one.]

Su Nian brought him a glass of water. Luo Qingshan picked it up and took a gulp. "Thanks. How's your leg? You didn't hurt it carrying me yesterday, did you?"

"It's fine. It was pretty much healed ages ago." Su Nian smiled, a dimple appearing beside his mouth.

After washing up, Luo Qingshan checked his phone again. There was still no reply, and he couldn't help frowning.

When Luo Qingshan opened the bathroom door, Su Nian was standing beside it, fussing with his bangs in the mirror.

Luo Qingshan asked, "You stayed all night? Where did you sleep..."

He swallowed the rest of his words when Su Nian suddenly leaned over, lifting his head toward him.

Luo Qingshan hurriedly backed away several steps. "What are you doing?"

Su Nian thought for a moment. "A good-morning kiss?"

Luo Qingshan's eyes widened slightly, his expression shifting from bewilderment to shock. After a long while, he said, "Su Nian, are you still drunk?"

The phone rang in the room for nearly twenty seconds before the person under the covers stirred.

Pei Ran opened his eyes and took a few seconds to pull himself out of the dream he had just been having.

He answered two seconds before the call would have ended. Sleepy, he managed only a single syllable. "Mm."

"Baby, it's me... You're still asleep? Oh, you don't have class today, right?" Luo Qingshan sounded full of energy. "My classes aren't until this afternoon. What do you want to eat? I'll bring it over."

Pei Ran said, "No need."

"Yes, there is. I want to bring you food. What do you want?" Luo Qingshan looked at the shops around him. "Did you see my messages? Why didn't you answer? You didn't answer last night, either. You're really heartless. You don't care about your boyfriend at all..."

"Luo Qingshan," Pei Ran interrupted.

"Hmm?"

Pei Ran paused for two seconds before saying, "Bring me some wontons. Thank you."

"What are you thanking me for?" Luo Qingshan laughed. "Isn't bringing you food what I'm supposed to do..."

Pei Ran hung up.

He rubbed his face and couldn't help thinking back to last night's dream.

It had been a very inexplicable dream. In it, he and Luo Qingshan had been climbing a mountain when a landslide struck. He hid in a cave, and when he turned around, Luo Qingshan had become Yan Zhun.

The Yan Zhun in his dream wore the same cold expression as in real life. He told him not to be afraid, and then they held out until dawn.

Perhaps he had said other things, too, but Pei Ran couldn't remember.

Just as Pei Ran finished washing his face, someone knocked on the dorm room door.

The moment he opened it, Luo Qingshan raised the plastic bag in his hand. "Shrimp wontons, mildly spicy with sesame oil. Satisfied?"

Pei Ran paused in wiping his face, then turned back toward the sink. "Come in and sit down. I'll just wash my towel."

Once everything was tidied up, Luo Qingshan pulled another roommate's chair over beside Pei Ran and sat down, propping up his chin to watch him eat.

Luo Qingshan loved watching Pei Ran eat. Pei Ran had been brought up exceptionally well. Even when he had played basketball all afternoon and was starving, he still ate neatly and elegantly. It was pleasing to watch.

So when Pei Ran put down his spoon and asked to break up, Luo Qingshan was still smiling as he answered, "Mm."

A few seconds later, Luo Qingshan's smile froze on his face. He asked incredulously, "What?"

"I said," Pei Ran repeated, "let's break up."

"Why?" Luo Qingshan couldn't smile at all now. He slowly straightened his back, somewhat panicked. "Baby, are you joking?"

Pei Ran said, "I wouldn't joke about this."

Luo Qingshan's Adam's apple bobbed. It took him a long time to find his voice. "Why? What did I do wrong? Did I upset you... Because I didn't listen to you last night and drank too much? Or did I bother you by sending too many messages..."

Luo Qingshan glanced at the table out of the corner of his eye. "Or are the wontons from this place bad?"

Pei Ran frowned in puzzlement. "I wouldn't get angry over things like that."

"I know, I know." Luo Qingshan licked his lips. "That's why I can't find any reason for you to be angry..."

"I saw."

"What?"

"I saw," Pei Ran fell briefly silent, "you and Su Nian, outside the restroom."

Luo Qingshan was just about to ask what had happened outside the restroom when it suddenly felt as though a thunderbolt had struck him squarely on the crown of his head, leaving him unable to move.

Pei Ran tidied up the wonton container and continued, "In the three years we've been together, you gave me a watch, several backpacks, and seven pairs of sneakers... I remember all of them. When I go home in a few days, I'll check everything and transfer you their value in cash. Oh, and these wontons. How much were they? I'll transfer that now."

Only when Pei Ran opened WeChat's transfer screen did Luo Qingshan realize how serious this was.

Instinctively, he reached out and gripped Pei Ran's wrist tightly.

"No..." Luo Qingshan struggled to put his words together, speaking incoherently. "It wasn't what you saw. Listen to me, baby... You mean last night. Last night, you were there, too... I drank a lot. I was a little dizzy..."

"So you kissed someone else," Pei Ran finished for him.

"Yes... No, that's not it," Luo Qingshan hurriedly said. "He kissed me first. It had nothing to do with me. There's absolutely nothing going on between us..."

Pei Ran said, "I asked Lin Kang. After you went back to the room last night, you kept playing dice with them for a while."

Cut off, Luo Qingshan could only stare at him helplessly.

"You even drank someone else under the table during that time. You only got drunk enough to ramble and act up afterward," Pei Ran stated calmly. "So when you kissed Su Nian, you weren't completely wasted. You had more than enough strength to push him away."

Luo Qingshan was going mad. "It really was an accident! I didn't expect him to kiss me. It was over before I could even react!"

Pei Ran pressed his lips together. "Su Nian's Moments are full of pictures of you."

"That's his own wishful thinking! I never accepted his confession!"

At the word "confession," Pei Ran lowered his eyes.

So after Su Nian had confessed, Luo Qingshan had not only failed to keep his distance, but had even invited him to his birthday party and spent time alone with him.

Perhaps because last night's shock had been too great, he actually felt much calmer now.

"Luo Qingshan." Pei Ran sighed. "Luo Qingshan, let's break up."

Luo Qingshan's eyes instantly reddened.

He gritted his teeth and remained silent for a long time before saying, "No, Pei Ran."

"You can't break up with me over something this minor," Luo Qingshan murmured. "I turned gay because of you. You're the one who made me like men. You can't break up with me."

Pei Ran's back stiffened.

"For you, to get into the same university as you, I studied like my life depended on it. I turned down so many girls. I even broke a finger for you."

The sight of Luo Qingshan's blood-covered hand back then surfaced in Pei Ran's mind, and his face instantly went pale.

Pei Ran stopped listening closely to whatever Luo Qingshan said afterward. It took him a tremendous effort to pull himself out of that bloody scene.

"Pei Ran... I really do love you," Luo Qingshan said. "I know I was wrong last night. I was drunk. Please don't hold it against me... I won't do it again. I'll block Su Nian as soon as I get back, and I won't touch alcohol again. Forgive me, okay?"

Pei Ran looked at him without a word.

Just as Luo Qingshan thought he was about to soften, Pei Ran abruptly withdrew his gaze and tied the plastic bag in front of him into a tight knot.

"I'm truly grateful that you helped drive those people away back then." Pei Ran spoke slowly, word by word. "I'll pay you back five times your medical expenses, okay?"

"Or if you ever need help with anything, you can come to me. I'll help with whatever I can. You can borrow money from me, too." Pei Ran's tone was gentle. "Let's break up, Luo Qingshan."

Luo Qingshan bought a dozen beers and returned to the dorm.

When he opened his third can, his roommate finally glanced at him.

Yan Zhun closed the battle royale game, got up, and placed a gift on Luo Qingshan's desk. "Happy birthday. A belated present," he said flatly.

"Thanks," Luo Qingshan replied in a muffled voice. He glanced at the box out of the corner of his eye. The latest earbuds from a certain fruit brand. They weren't cheap.

He was a little surprised. After all, he and Yan Zhun weren't particularly close. He hadn't expected him to give him such an expensive gift.

Luo Qingshan took another gulp of beer and wiped the corner of his mouth. Suddenly, he asked, "Lin Kang said you went out with Pei Ran last night? Was he... in a really bad mood? Did he say anything to you?"

Yan Zhun stopped walking. "Why do you ask?"

Luo Qingshan felt that his head really wasn't clear anymore. Yan Zhun and Pei Ran were practically strangers. With Pei Ran's personality, he couldn't possibly have told him anything.

"Forget it. It's nothing." Luo Qingshan leaned back and let out a long sigh.

Yan Zhun asked, "What happened?"

Luo Qingshan didn't notice anything unusual about his roommate's concerned question.

"Pei Ran had a fight with me." Luo Qingshan's face crumpled. "He even asked to break up... Fuck! It's all Su Nian's fault!"

Yan Zhun raised his eyebrows almost imperceptibly. After a long while, he said, "It's fine. The next one will be better."

"There is no next one," Luo Qingshan said irritably. "Once Pei Ran calms down, I'll go apologize again."

Yan Zhun said nothing more. He returned to his computer and opened the WeChat messages he had just received.

[Bu Zhongyao: Daddy, you're really done playing? All right, let's play together next time. Carry me up the ranks.]

[Bu Zhongyao: No! Message me the moment you log on next time! I'll come whenever you call! Daddy!]

[Zhunle: Invite me. I'm still logged in.]

[Bu Zhongyao: ???]

[Bu Zhongyao: Didn't you say you were done, Daddy? I'll invite you right now.]

[Zhunle: I'm happy. I'll carry you a couple more rounds.]