09 : Really straight

 Song Shi leaned back in his seat, the light from his phone shining on his face. The screen displayed the weather in Xia City; it would rain for the next two weeks, meaning Chen Zhoumu's blankets wouldn't dry, and the two of them would have to share a bed for almost two weeks.

Although the other person was a good sleeper—no kicking off the blankets, no snoring, and no teeth grinding—Song Shi still wasn't used to it. After all, school beds weren't like home beds.

The narrow bed was difficult for him alone, let alone the two of them, so touching was normal. He sighed; it seemed he'd have to prepare two sets of blankets from now on.

Song Shi put his phone away and looked at the person sitting next to him. Ever since he learned that Chen Zhoumu was the top student in the entire grade, he hadn't done two sets of study notes.

Because, to atone for his mistake, Chen Zhoumu had done them all. Watching him write with his head down, he had to admit that his handwriting was very similar to his personality—somewhat wild, but at least the content was legible.

He Xi, sitting across from Song Shi, had been frowning and holding her phone for several minutes. It was during the long break, and most people were catching up on sleep. Before Song Shi could look away, He Xi glanced over. Song Shi's

cloudy, anxious eyes opened immediately as if they had seen light, and then she nodded.

Song Shi was bewildered by the stares when He Xi opened his mouth: "Brother Song, you have such an extraordinary air about you, so energetic, kind-hearted, and handsome..."

"...Spit it out."

"Alright, the other day I rescued two lives not far from the school gate. I was thinking of raising them myself, but I'm short on cash and currently living in a humble abode, so I was thinking of entrusting them to a good family."

Song Shi: "...Are you crazy?"

"Speak properly."

He Xi said seriously: "It's just that a few days ago I rescued two cats from the trash can at the school gate, and I also posted adoption notices on the campus wall, but no one has contacted me. I thought since you and Brother Mu don't live in double dorm rooms, and the faculty and staff there won't check."

"...So I was thinking, could you two take them in?" "They

're very well-behaved, and I took them to get checked out; they're healthy."

"No." Song Shi decisively refused. It wasn't that he was heartless, but raising cats would cost extra money and be troublesome.

"Okay." Chen Zhoumu had stopped writing and was listening to their conversation.

The two spoke at the same time.

Song Shi frowned and looked over. Chen Zhoumu also looked over, his tone puzzled, "Why not get one? Kittens are so cute." He even winked.

"Yeah, yeah, kittens are so cute," He Xi said, handing Song Shi a photo on his phone.

The picture showed two kittens of different colors, small and pitifully wrapped in a towel, their wet fur matted together, their eyes large and showing blue pupils.

The kittens were adorable, but Song Shi was adamant about his stance.

"No."

"Get one then," Chen Zhoumu leaned closer, his voice low and husky.

He Xi, watching this scene, found it very strange.

This strangeness was like when his father, who had no say in the family, wanted to buy something, but his mother, who held the real power, forbade it, and his father would beg his mother to agree.

Had they gotten this close?

For the first time, He Xi felt that his eldest son seemed to have a boss now.

"Let's keep it."

Song Shi felt his clothes being gently tugged and said impatiently, "One, and you'll be responsible for all its daily needs."

"Okay, sure."

He Xi listened to the result of their discussion: "Alright, one is fine too."

*

Song Shi sat at the table looking at the little creature on it. It had just been bathed by Chen Zhoumu and smelled of shower gel. It was lying on the table looking at Song Shi.

Its blue pupils reflected his image.

His hand on the table was gently rubbed, the soft fur tickling his fingers, but Song Shi didn't move away.

Chen Zhoumu came out of the bathroom and saw this scene. Under the light, the person was staring at the cat on the table, seriously. Both the person and the cat were beautiful.

He suddenly felt a little itchy and thought that keeping this cat would be really nice.

He walked over and wanted to reach out to pet the cat, but the cat on the table jumped directly into Song Shi's arms, found a comfortable position, lay down, and closed its eyes.

Song Shi felt a weight on his legs as something furry appeared above him. He heard Chen Zhoumu laugh, "Looks like the cat likes you too."

He squatted down, his warm breath brushing against Song Shi's knees, and gently stroked the cat's head. "By the way, let's name it, Song."

"You name it yourself."

Chen Zhoumu pondered for a moment, "I feel this cat has an unusual air about it; it needs a powerful name to match."

Song Shi immediately had a bad feeling.

"How about 'Big Brother'? Powerful!"

Sure enough... but does this guy just have a thing for those two words?

"Whatever you want."

"Then let's call it Big Brother, what a great name."

He reached out and stroked its chin, and the kitten purred as if satisfied with the name.

Big Brother was very quiet, not meowing even in its new environment, but it had to jump onto the bed to sleep. Even after Song Shi ordered Chen Zhoumu to take it down countless times, it clung tightly to Chen Zhoumu's hand and refused to get off.

Song Shi gave Big Brother a speechless look; this cat acted just like its owner.

He begged and pleaded.

Finally, he got him onto the bed, and the older brother curled up peacefully in the corner.

As he said, Chen Zhoumu took care of all of his older brother's daily needs, though Song Shi occasionally helped out. Fortunately, the older brother wasn't naughty at all.

He always stayed obediently in the dormitory.

The results of the opening exams were out, and unsurprisingly, Chen Zhoumu was first in the grade. He never ranked in the opening exams before because he never participated, but this time, his participation caused the rankings of those behind him to drop one place.

Jiang Man stood on the podium, looking at the rankings: "Not bad, students, keep up the good work! This is just the beginning, you all need to prepare well for the joint exam of the seven major schools at the end of the month!"

She raised her hand: "Don't be so quick to sigh."

"The Provincial Education Bureau considers this joint exam extremely important. It will determine whether you can enter the winter competition class held by the three provinces, so as long as you perform well this time, you won't have to worry about not getting into university."

"Furthermore! If you do well this time, the principal of No. 1 High School will go on a three-day trip at his own expense, limited to the second year of high school only." As

soon as these words were spoken, screams rose and fell: "Oh oh oh, No. 1 High School is awesome!"

"Long live No. 1 High School!"

He Xi asked in confusion: "When did No. 1 High School become so generous?"

Zhang Jingxiao sent out the post she had just edited and casually replied: "It shows how difficult this is, the joint exam of the seven major schools."

"That's true." He Xi touched his chin and accidentally glanced at the other person's phone: "Sister Xiao, what's this?"

"Nothing." Zhang Jingxiao turned around with a somewhat flustered expression.

"Alright, alright, quiet! Everyone study hard and make something of yourselves by the end of the month!" Jiang Man announced before starting the lesson.

Song Shi had already figured out the parts that were progressing quickly on his own. The person sitting next to him was propping his head up, looking somewhat drowsy. He really couldn't understand why this person was so sleepy, even though he had slept quite well the night before.

He Xi, sitting in front, saw Zhang Jingxiao turn away and stop talking, but he was still curious about what she had just seen on her phone, and luckily he remembered a few words from the post title.

When he searched for "sweetness" and "so sweet" in the search bar but found nothing, he clicked on the most popular post at the top of the last 'CP' section.

When He Xi finished reading it, he realized what he had read. He was shocked. The words were Chinese, but he couldn't understand them.

The main characters were his two brothers, and it looked like a short essay someone had written, but why were his brothers together?

When? And what did Omega and Beta mean? What were Sentinel and Guide?

Was Guide a tour guide? But why could Song Shi control Chen Zhoumu here? Why did Chen Zhoumu get pregnant after biting Song Shi? What are pheromones? Perfume?

He Xi frowned as he read through all these essay-like articles. His worldview seemed to have collapsed, turning into a complete mess. He didn't understand that men could have children. Was it mentioned in the biology textbook? Had he missed class and fallen behind?

Strange things entered his brain, leaving him at a loss for what to do.

Just as he was about to ask Zhang Jingxiao what these things were, Jiang Man finished her class, and the bell rang outside. The person in front of him was already asleep on the desk.

He Xi withdrew his hand, and then a voice came from behind him: "What are you looking at? So serious."

Then Chen Zhoumu fell silent, holding his phone.

"You two... are you really together?" He Xi asked uncertainly.

"Get lost, I'm straight!" Chen Zhoumu replied, frowning as he stared at his phone.

Song Shi replied to Zhang Wenwan's message, then looked up at the two of them, who were staring at their phones, and asked, "What's wrong?"

Chen Zhoumu, his eyes somewhat vacant, held the phone close to his face.

A brief silence followed.

Song Shi stared at the rough text on the screen, his ears turning red. Having never watched a movie in his eighteen years of life, Song Shi was stunned.

He remembered back in middle school, some classmates would secretly bring their phones into the classroom.

Even then, boys had those kinds of thoughts; some precocious ones would form small groups in the dorms seeking thrills. Song Shi had been dragged over and only glanced at the screen before feeling utterly disgusted.

The people inside were like animals in heat, intertwined, their sounds mingling with the gasps of surprise from those around them. He fled the dorm.

So, seeing what was on the phone made him feel uneasy, until he saw the main character and his eyes widened completely.

Seeing the other main character, he pushed the phone away.

"What is this?" Song Shi asked, his question piercing the heart.

The person next to him shook their head.

Song Shi clicked into that person’s homepage. The username was “A Quiet and Gentle Girl.” All the posts were fanfics about him and Chen Zhoumu. His finger twitched slightly.

His tone turned cold. “If I find out who she is, she’s dead.”

Sitting in front of him, Zhang Jingxiao’s shoulders trembled. She was doomed. Earlier, when she woke up and turned her head, she had no idea when He Xi had found her posts and shown them to the real people involved.

She looked at Song Shi’s expressionless face and felt that, in his mind, she had already been beaten up several times.

Chen Zhoumu looked at Song Shi’s stiff expression. He reached out and returned the phone to He Xi. A smile rose back onto his face as he slung an arm around Song Shi’s shoulders. “Forget it. You’re my bro. Besides, we’re both super straight. It’s fine if someone writes stuff.”

Song Shi glanced at their shoulders pressed together, yet he was never straight to begin with.

He Xi took the phone back and looked at the two of them. No wonder there were essays written about these two. He’d been with Chen Zhoumu for nearly four years and nothing like this had ever happened. Seeing Mu-ge smiling like that… he couldn’t even bear to look.

At first glance, it really was hard to believe. Was his brother Mu really straight?

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