16 : Heart pounding

 After everyone had arrived, the car slowly started moving. Song Shi, leaning against the backrest, wasn't feeling very comfortable during his nap.

They hadn't gone far when the driver suddenly made a sharp turn. Song Shi, who had been quietly leaning against the backrest, instinctively leaned against the shoulder of the person next to him.

He frowned and opened his eyes. After the car rounded the corner, he tried to lift his head, but his head was pressed down. A warm hand gently rested on his ear. He felt the vibration of the person's chest: "Just lean here, it's more comfortable. Don't refuse me."

Song Shi unconsciously curled his fingers. Oh well, a free pillow is a good thing, might as well use it. He closed his eyes again; it was much more comfortable this way. Chen Zhoumu's muscles were evenly distributed, and leaning against him didn't feel uncomfortable.

Chen Zhoumu watched as the other person relaxed his brow, and seeing the noisy conversation inside the car, silently took out his earphones and put them on himself, placing the other ear on Song Shi's ear.

The noise in his ears gradually subsided, followed by soothing white noise. Song Shi squinted as he watched the other person intently playing Dou Dizhu (a popular Chinese card game). There was no game sound in his headphones, only the rhythmic patter of rain.

Song Shi slowly closed his eyes, drowsiness washing over him.

It would take a whole morning to get from the high school to the scenic area, so he had plenty of time to catch up on sleep.

He didn't know how much time had passed when Song Shi was woken up. He groggily opened his eyes.

"Get up quickly, we're almost there."

"Okay." Song Shi replied, lifting his head. At that moment, he felt a sharp pain in his neck—he had a stiff neck.

He rubbed the other side of his neck and slowly straightened up.

"A stiff neck?" Chen Zhoumu said, reaching out his hand.

Song Shi felt a warm hand gently touching the other side of his neck, and goosebumps instantly rose all over his body. He leaned back abruptly.

The feeling in his neck seemed to linger.

His neck was quite sensitive; generally, it was very itchy, not just a normal itch, but an itch that made his whole body uncomfortable, even his heart felt itchy.

"It's okay, I can do it myself."

Chen Zhoumu nodded, assuming the other person was just uncomfortable being touched. He watched the car in front of him slowly come to a stop.

Song Shi rubbed the spot where the other person had touched him forcefully, trying to get rid of the strange feeling; pain was better than itching.

"We're almost there! Take your things and get off the bus in an orderly fashion!" Jiang Man turned to everyone and said.

Song Shi carried a bag over his shoulder and placed it on the overhead tray when he sat down. Seeing that the bus was about to stop, he stood up to get it.

"Let me get it." Chen Zhoumu watched the other person stand up.

"No need, I can get it myself."

"Is it convenient? Don't fall."

His arms were long enough to reach him, but the driver braked suddenly, and Song Shi lost his balance and fell onto Chen Zhoumu's lap amidst the driver's curses.

Chen Zhoumu looked at the person who had fallen and instinctively reached out to catch him, thus catching him in a tight embrace.

The body beneath him was warm and hot, with long, strong arms that tightly encircled his waist, pulling Song Shi into a tight embrace. The

clear scent of gardenias filled his nostrils, and for a moment, he was stunned, as if all other sounds had vanished.

Their breaths mingled, their chests rising and falling in unison.

His mind went blank for a moment, and a strange, unpleasant sensation began to rise on his exposed skin.

Because of the sudden stop, many students were jolted against the backs of their seats, shouts, surprise, and curses all mingling together, and no one paid attention to what was happening here.

The cacophony of sounds returned to his mind, and Chen Zhoumu thought the other person would fall back down, but his hands moved faster than his brain, pulling him into his arms. The other person's breath was right next to his ear,

and he could feel the touch of hair brushing against his neck.

Every movement began to affect him; he could hear his own heartbeat amplifying in his chest, vibrating so loudly that his ears hurt, and the other person's presence surrounded him.

That night, he smelled that fragrance when he came out of the bathroom—clear, cool, like lemon-infused soda, just like the person in his arms, detached yet subtly permeating his entire being.

A breeze drifted in through the window, stirring the boy's heart and that inexplicable feeling of liking.

Until Song Shi coldly spoke, "Still not letting go, you bastard?"

the wind stopped, but his racing heart didn't. He snapped out of his daze and slowly withdrew his hand from the other's waist.

Song Shi returned to his seat, not even bothering to take his bag, simply watching the buildings slowly move past the window.

Chen Zhoumu didn't move either, unconsciously glancing at the other's bright red ears, thinking he couldn't look directly into the other's eyes. Then he pursed his lips; what was wrong with two grown men hugging? He and Song Shi were good buddies.

It's nothing serious, just a little awkward, but we can get over it. We can't just stop talking after this, can we? We didn't do anything, but now it's like we actually did something.

He's straight, and Song Shi is obviously straight too, so we can just pretend it never happened. Didn't we kiss last time? It was fine then.

Chen Zhoumu felt like he and Song Shi had had plenty of awkward moments before, and thinking about it, it seemed normal.

After he figured it out, he felt it was nothing, but his heart was still pounding wildly.

He saw the backpack bag that the other person had pulled off dangling above him, reached out and pulled off the black backpack, then handed it to the person next to him: "Here."

Song Shi didn't turn around, just reached out and took it. He was still a little awkward and felt uncomfortable all over. He needed to calm down for a while. He rarely had direct physical contact with others, and even less so with what had just happened.

What's worse, he wasn't straight, and the other person's constant intrusion was making him misunderstand. Should he mention to Chen Zhoumu that they should keep some distance?

He reached out and grabbed the bag, and Chen Zhoumu, who was also holding a backpack, came over too. He leaned in as if the awkward scene from before had never happened.

"Did you bump into me just now?"

Song Shi glanced at the other man; it would be a miracle if he bumped into someone with that way of holding him.

"Give it to me." He was referring to the backpack.

But the other man didn't let go, and then explained in a low voice, "I was just afraid you'd fall, you know? Don't be so awkward, it's not a big deal for a brother to hug you."

"At worst, I'll take responsibility for you, including what happened last time, okay?"

"Get lost!" Song Shi finally lost his temper and forcefully pulled the strap away from the other man's hand.

The awkward atmosphere was eased a lot by this commotion, and Chen Zhoumu breathed a sigh of relief as he saw the other man back to normal.

The car also stopped smoothly next to the hotel.

Jiang Man counted the number of people, and after everyone got off the car, she distributed room keys. Two people per room, and Song Shi and the other man naturally ended up in the same room. After the rooms were settled, they were free to do as they pleased.

"Keep in touch. Contact us immediately if anything unexpected happens. Don't go too far."

Jiang Man clapped her hands. "Dismissed."

"Which room are you in?" He Xi turned and asked.

Song Shi looked at the number on the room card: "905."

"It's alright, we're not far apart." He Xi looked at Chen Zhoumu: "I remember usually Mu-ge and I would sleep together at times like this."

"Who knew I'd be replaced so quickly."

He clutched his chest as if the other person were some kind of heartless bastard. He Xi was sharing a room with the class representative this time. He hugged the person standing next to him: "Zhuangzhuang, it seems like it'll be just the two of us from now on."

Liao Ming also hugged him back: "It's okay, I'll take responsibility for you to the end."

Song Shi looked at the person in front of him expressionlessly, his disdain overflowing: "Can we switch now?"

He Xi let go of the other person and quickly waved his hand: "Then there's no need. I suddenly feel that being replaced is okay."

Chen Zhoumu looked at the two idiots in front of him with his luggage and smiled, then followed Song Shi who was waiting for the elevator: "Don't pay attention to them, they're sick."

"I can tell."

When Song Shi swiped the door to the room, it was quite spacious inside, with a large bed. The two of them had been sleeping together for the past few weeks, so there wasn't much of a reaction.

After putting their luggage away, the two planned to buy a blanket outside. It was afternoon, and the street stalls were starting to fill up, with tourists coming and going.

They had only eaten breakfast and hadn't had anything to eat on the way, so they decided to grab something to eat.

When they left the hotel, the streets were already crowded. It was lunchtime, and the two were being jostled along.

People were hawking their wares, and every few steps someone would approach them asking for photos.

Fortunately, it wasn't too hot, but Song Shi was getting annoyed by the jostling. He rarely went out, mostly just hiking; he didn't like these kinds of tourist attractions advertised online. They

were crowded and noisy.

Seeing Song Shi's growing impatience, Chen Zhoumu pulled him away to another side, where the crowds thinned out after they left the scenic area.

They ate something quick nearby to fill their stomachs, and as they were leaving, the restaurant owner enthusiastically promoted his homemade wine.

"Is this your first time here, sir?" the owner said with a hearty laugh.

Song Shi wasn't good at striking up conversations with strangers, but Chen Zhoumu readily agreed, and the two chatted as if they'd met before. "Yes, are there any less crowded, fun places around here?"

"The only less crowded places are around here, but there's a photography studio in the alley to the left of my shop. You two could check it out; the prices are reasonable."

"Sure, I'll check it out sometime."

"By the way, young man, would you like to try our homemade wine? It's additive-free, handmade, and very fragrant." The owner immediately went to get the wine from the back and brought it to the table.

Perhaps because the owner was so enthusiastic, Chen Zhoumu drank a little and praised it for a long time. Later, the owner smiled and gave their table a discount.

After leaving the shop, Song Shi took out his phone to look for a place nearby to buy blankets. Suddenly, Chen Zhoumu clutched his stomach and leaned against his shoulder.

"Ouch, my stomach hurts so much..."

Song Shi noticed the other person's pale face and quickly helped him up. "Hey! I told you not to eat so much, are you alright?"

"I'm fine, I just need to go to the bathroom."

"Wait a minute, let me see if there's a public restroom."

"Hurry up..."

"It hurts so much, are we almost there?"

"I'm going to die..."

Song Shi frowned as he looked at his phone. "Don't make a sound."

In the end, he still took him back to the restaurant.

He stood by the roadside waiting for Chen Zhoumu to go in, looking down at his phone, when a voice interrupted him.

"Brother, do you need to buy a flower?"

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