25

 Zhou Yanming was drooling a lot.

Song Yu looked up, his expression somewhat painful. He struggled to break free, his whole face was wet with tears, his chin was wet, and his lips were rubbed dark red.

He must have been kissed very deeply, because he couldn't stand it and made a trembling sound.

...

He didn't know how much time had passed.

When he was released, Song Yu was completely stunned, his expression became blank and dull, and he forgot to close his mouth, revealing a small piece of his tongue that was kissed bright red.

Zhou Yanming wanted to continue, but he held back when he saw that the boy's lips were rubbed so hard they were almost broken. He took out a tissue from his pocket and wiped the wet and messy face clean little by little.

"You've turned into a little kitten." He couldn't help but say.

Song Yu: "...!" He

was just trying to annoy him!

He awkwardly turned his face to the side: "Don't touch me..."

His originally fierce words became like a coquettish plea because his voice was so soft. The anxiety and restlessness he felt from not being able to contact the boy for several days gradually subsided, and Zhou Yanming lifted him down from the wardrobe.

Touching his warm, soft thigh through the clothes, Zhou Yanming's fingers stiffened slightly, but he subconsciously tightened his grip.

Startled by the sudden lift, Song Yu, fearing the other would discover the photos behind him, immediately reached out and closed the wardrobe door.

His grip wasn't strong, but in the quiet dressing room, the sound was particularly noticeable.

Seeing Zhou Yanming glance at the wardrobe, Song Yu frantically grabbed his clothes, trying to figure out how to distract the boy.

What...what should he say?

As he thought, Song Yu subconsciously bit his lip, but ended up making a soft "uh" sound because the kiss was too painful.

Zhou Yanming asked with concern, "What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell?"

Song Yu seemed to remember something, licking his lips, which quickly became moist and full. He shook his arm, his fingers gripping Zhou Yanming's clothes turning white from the force.

It sounded like a complaint, yet also like a pitiful plea.

"Why did you suddenly kiss me... My lips are so sore."

"They're cut inside too."

Zhou Yanming's eyelids twitched incessantly.

The boy had no idea how damaging these words were to a sports student who had been left out for days and had just been kissed. His mind was a mess. Pressing his wildly beating heart, he absentmindedly said, "I'll take a look when we get back," and then took Song Yu's hand and left the locker room.

*

A light snow began to fall outside, and a cold wind swept in as soon as they stepped outside.

Zhou Yanming pulled the hood of Song Yu's down jacket over his head and tied his scarf, wrapping the boy up until only half his face was visible. Then he wrapped Song Yu's hands in his coat pocket.

Zhou Yanming's body temperature was high, and the warmth radiated from his palms, so Song Yu didn't feel cold at all on the way back.

Going back to the hotel was unlikely in this situation, so he simply gave up struggling and went back to the dormitory with Zhou Yanming.

Having not returned to the dorm for many days, Song Yu's sheets and blankets were covered in dust. Instead of tidying them, he asked Zhou Yanming, "Have you guys finished your exams?"

"Yeah, we just finished our last one this afternoon." Zhou Yanming pulled up a chair and sat down next to Song Yu, staring at his face as if he couldn't get enough of looking at him.

"Then the team has an activity tomorrow, right?"

"Yes."

The team members should be able to see those photos tomorrow. To let everyone know who took those photos, Song Yu had specially written the time and name on the back of the photos.

He even added some sexually suggestive remarks.

That should be fine.

Song Yu breathed a sigh of relief, only to find Zhou Yanming staring intently at him. He remembered the kiss from earlier and awkwardly looked away.

Zhou Yanming suddenly spoke up: "You promised me last time that you would reply to my messages no matter what. But I called you so many times and sent countless messages."

"When you didn't reply, I almost died during that time."

The boy's voice was low and hoarse, his eyes downcast and his expression forlorn. Song Yu felt guilty: "I'm sorry..."

He pursed his lips, wanting to explain something, but in the end, he said nothing.

But just those two simple words were enough to appease Zhou Yanming. His brows relaxed for the first time, and the boy began to explain other things: "When I saw you suddenly appear in front of me, I didn't think of anything else, I just wanted to kiss you."

Song Yu wanted to say what this had to do with kissing, being stood up for so long should have resulted in a beating.

Before he could say anything, the other side said again: "Open your mouth."

?

Wh-what?

Song Yu was stunned, and the next second he felt a familiar scent rush towards him—Zhou Yanming usually didn't have much of a smell, but when you were close, you could smell a very faint, warm, indescribable but not unpleasant scent.

He thought Zhou Yanming was going to forcefully kiss him again, pulling his tongue out like before, and immediately backed away in fright.

Zhou Yanming stretched out his arm, pressed his hand against the back of his head, and pinched the back of his neck: "I'm not doing anything, I'm just checking if your mouth is bleeding."

He didn't open his mouth.

Song Yu wasn't that stupid. What if Zhou Yanming bit his tongue again after he leaned in? There was no way to avoid it.

"It's not bleeding... it's just a little numb, but it's fine now."

Seeing that Song Yu was unwilling, Zhou Yanming didn't insist: "Are you going back to school for exams?"

Song Yu guiltily hummed in agreement, thinking that he probably wouldn't be able to wait until the exams. Thinking about being exposed for harassment tomorrow, he was silent for a few seconds before asking: "Is Xie Zhiyan coming tomorrow?"

Hearing this name, Zhou Yanming was clearly unhappy. Although unwilling, he still answered: "He hasn't been to school for a long time."

The information 009 gave him said that this period was a low point for Xie Zhiyan, and Lu Xing had been by his side the whole time. The two had become closer because of these hardships.

The boy lowered his eyes, clearly thinking about other men. Zhou Yanming immediately interrupted his thoughts: "You still have several professional courses to take, right? Go take a shower."

Song Yu hummed in agreement, no longer thinking about the troublesome plot, and took his change of clothes into the bathroom.

When he came out, Zhou Yanming had already made his bed: "Your sheets were hanging on the balcony before, I put them in my closet for you. They're all clean, just go up and rest if you get sleepy."

"Thank you." Ignoring the kiss earlier, Zhou Yanming was still the considerate captain. There was still a little progress left before reclaiming this world. Song Yu looked up and asked, "Did Lu Xing give you a talisman?"

"The one you specially asked for for me?" Zhou Yanming smiled, took his backpack from his seat, "I've zipped it up. If you asked for it for me, I'll definitely have no problem with this exam!"

"..."

Song Yu blinked and said seriously, "For the exam, you still have to study by yourself—um..."

Before he could finish speaking, his cheek was pinched.

The soft touch lingered on his fingertips, and Zhou Yanming was reluctant to let go, squeezing a few more times before releasing his grip: "You like the kind who gets good grades? Let me tell you, I'm not bragging, I just haven't studied."

"..."

Song Yu nodded politely.

Zhou Yanming didn't joke around anymore, and seeing that it was getting late, he went to wash up. Song Yu took the soiled sheets to the laundry room on the third floor. When he came back, he felt a little thirsty and wanted some hot water.

He hadn't used his thermos in a long time and was a little disgusted with it, so he knocked on the bathroom door.

The sound of water stopped abruptly, and Song Yu said, "Can I use your thermos to get some water?"

Through the door, Zhou Yanming's voice was a little low: "Go ahead."

"Thank you." Song Yu turned to leave, but the bathroom door suddenly opened a crack, and hot steam rushed out. Zhou Yanming's half-profile was revealed. "Xiao Yu, could you get me a towel? It's in the closet."

"Hmm... okay."

Song Yu went to Zhou Yanming's closet, opened it, and several white towels were stuffed on top of the closet. He reached for the towel, but accidentally glanced at a small, neatly stacked pile of white clothes on his right.

009 abruptly spoke up: [Host, these are your personal belongings.]

Song Yu's fingers trembled as he gripped the towel. He thought of the "bad things" Xie Zhiyan had mentioned, and his ears and neck quickly flushed red.

So many of his clothes were in Zhou Yanming's wardrobe.

Were they all for...?

Probably not. He must have been taking them down from the balcony recently.

009: [The system detected Zhou Yanming's—]

Song Yu immediately covered his ears, unwilling to hear what followed.

009 wanted to remind the host that even covering his ears couldn't block out the system's voice, but remembering the other's embarrassed expression, it remained silent.

"Xiao Yu?"

Song Yu hurriedly closed the wardrobe, handed the towel to the system, and turned to leave with the thermos.

Behind him, Zhou Yanming looked at the boy's reddened earlobes, his expression inscrutable.

*

His mind was in turmoil; it wasn't until he reached the water heater that Song Yu belatedly realized he hadn't brought his meal card. He was looking down, about to go back to his dorm to get it, when someone held out a card to him.

Song Yu paused, turned his head, and saw Lu Xing with a cool, handsome face.

Perhaps seeing the boy's slow reaction, Lu Xing pushed the card towards him again.

Song Yu snapped out of his daze, took the card, and said, "Thank you."

He put the thermos away and swiped the card.

The two waited together, Song Yu staring at the slow flow of water. Even without looking up, he could feel the other's gaze fixed on him.

The corridor was warm, and Song Yu hadn't brought a jacket, only wearing a short-sleeved shirt and shorts.

He wasn't narcissistic enough to think others would stare at his body, but the thought of the other asking Xie Zhiyan for the security footage still made his shoulders stiffen.

Song Yu felt extremely uncomfortable, trying to ignore the other's gaze.

The water flowed slowly, and about half a minute later, Lu Xing suddenly spoke: "This bottle isn't yours, is it?"

His tone was certain.

Song Yu turned around, meeting Lu Xing's gaze: "Your bottle isn't this color."

"Hmm… this is Zhou Yanming's."

Sure enough. Lu Xing's face darkened considerably: "You helped him get a talisman, and you even got him water. You don't seem like his roommate, you're more like his little wife."

Hearing "little wife," Song Yu's cheeks flushed, and she glared at Lu Xing.

This guy always said a bunch of strange things whenever she saw him.

Song Yu turned her face away, ignoring him.

Lu Xing had initially felt quite comfortable with Song Yu's glare, but the other's ignoring him made him even more annoyed. He was already insanely jealous of Song Yu's extra care for Zhou Yanming.

Not just care, Zhou Yanming had seen Song Yu dressed so scantily many times before, but this was the first time he'd seen her like this.

Thinking of this, Lu Xing couldn't help but look at the boy's two slender, white legs. Realizing he was thinking about something inappropriate, he forced himself to look away, his voice stiff: "The water's ready."

Song Yu swiped the card again and returned it to Lu Xing.

Lu Xing took the card and suddenly reached out: "Give me the stopper."

Song Yu looked at him questioningly.

Lu Xing was usually too lazy to explain, but facing Song Yu, he was willing to patiently say more: "The water's hot, I'll get it."

"No—" Song Yu had only uttered one syllable when his hand was suddenly empty. Lu Xing had already stuffed it in, and the hot water from the thermos flask he'd picked up spilled all over the back of his hand.

Song Yu instinctively felt the heat: "Your hand!"

Lu Xing, with his years of special training, had thick calluses on his hands, but he didn't even flinch, speaking sparingly: "Let's go."

Song Yu felt it was unlikely to persuade him, so he simply shut his mouth and quietly followed behind.

The corridor light cast a tall shadow on the boy.

When they arrived at Song Yu's dormitory, Lu Xing didn't go in, but placed the bottle at the door. He looked at Song Yu, his mouth opened and closed several times, and finally spoke.

"Don't just give the unfinished water to Zhou Yanming."

"I'm thirsty too."

Seemingly unaccustomed to saying such things, Lu Xing's expression was stiff, and he didn't even look at Song Yu as he spoke.

"What?" Song Yu was slow to react; his attention was focused on his thirst, and he didn't realize that the other person's words were tantamount to a confession.

Faced with the obviously clueless boy, Lu Xing sighed resignedly in his heart: "Go in."

After the others left, Song Yu picked up his water bottle and pushed open the door: [He doesn't seem to have filled his water bottle... Should I share half of my hot water with him?]

009: ...

That's not what he wants to drink.

009: [There's water in the protagonist's dorm; he saw you pass by in the corridor and followed you out.]

No wonder it was such a coincidence... Song Yu closed the door. Zhou Yanming hadn't come out yet, so he poured himself and Zhou Yanming a cup of hot water to cool.

After a while, the other two roommates returned. They were surprised to see Song Yu sitting there, then excitedly surrounded him, asking when he had returned.

Song Yu: "Tonight."

"We thought you weren't even going to take the exam."

"It's good that you're back. We were all worried about you."

"Especially Lao Zhou, he's lost so much weight, he has no energy for anything!"

"So where are you sleeping tonight? Your bed's been sitting there for so long, I guess you can't sleep in it anymore."

"How about coming to my bed? I just changed the sheets!"

"I'm thin, otherwise you—"

Song Yu didn't hear the rest of the sentence because someone covered his ears.

Zhou Yanming had just come out of the bathroom when he heard the two of them discussing who Song Yu would sleep with tonight. He let go of their hands, interrupting them: "Didn't you see the bed's already made? Hurry up, go do what you're supposed to do!"

After shooing them away, he took his clothes and went back to his own bed.

But then his clothes were tugged.

Turning around, he saw Song Yu sitting upright in his chair, pointing to the water glass on the table: "Want some hot water?"

So cute.

Zhou Yanming picked up the glass, took a big gulp, his Adam's apple bobbing.

He wanted something else.

Afraid of waking up to use the bathroom at night, Song Yu only drank a few sips before climbing into bed. Everyone quickly tidied up, and lights out was promptly at 11:30.

The dormitory quieted down, and Song Yu gradually felt sleepy. Just as he was drifting off to sleep, he felt the bed move.

Then, someone tightly hugged his waist from behind.

In the boys' dormitory, after an adult had already slept in the single bed, Zhou Yanming had squeezed in.

Song Yu was wearing little clothing, and his skin was constantly burning from the other's heat. He was about to struggle when Zhou Yanming whispered in his ear, "Shh."

"They're all asleep."

Song Yu shivered as the hot breath touched his earlobe.

The next second…

"Xiao Yu, you're so sensitive."

"I kissed you twice, and each time your skin turned pink."

Perhaps because Song Yu disappeared the next morning and couldn't be contacted again, Zhou Yanming disregarded everything and squeezed into the other's bed.

He held the soft, fragrant person in his arms and took a deep breath.

His voice became hoarse .

"I really want to see it."

"Xie Zhiyan has seen it all."

Song Yu's back stiffened and went numb from the other's tone. He was about to say, "What nonsense are you talking about?" but the other seemed to know what he was going to say and immediately cut him off: "The person who sent you harassing text messages is Xie Zhiyan, right?"

Song Yu's breath hitched.

"He treated you like that, and you were still concerned about him today, asking if he was coming to school."

"I'm so jealous, Xiao Yu."

Song Yu turned to the side with difficulty. There was too much information, and he didn't know what to say, so he could only whisper.

"Zhou Yanming..."

That voice seemed to have flipped a switch, making Zhou Yanming hug her even tighter: "Xiao Yu, don't like him anymore."

"I'm very good at taking care of people; I'll do it better than him." (

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