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Join the ServerLin Chuji felt a bit ticklish from his uneven breathing, only aware of being enveloped by an overwhelming citrus scent—very comfortable, very reassuring.
He was so comfortable he didn’t want to wake up, unconsciously turning his head, wanting to get even closer to the source of the scent.
“So nice, like it so much…” he murmured.
Xie Yan had been only inches away from him; with this movement, the distance suddenly shrank, almost touching.
He immediately turned his head away, dodging Lin Chuji’s lips that nearly pressed against his.
“Again?
Didn’t you hear what I just said?”
Afraid that Lin Chuji might do something even more excessive, Xie Yan was forced to tighten his grip on his wrists, his breathing uneven, chaotic bursts hitting Lin Chuji’s neck.
Once again, he repeated, enunciating each word, “I said, if you keep moving, I’m going to do something bad.”
Lin Chuji mumbled something, unclear whether it was agreement or not.
Xie Yan looked down, his gaze fixed on that patch of fair skin—so pale it was almost translucent, faint blue veins visible, revealing the other’s unsettled emotions.
“Be good, I’ll let you go.
Tonight, I’ll pretend nothing happened,” he said quietly.
He didn’t know how they had gotten to this point, but stopping now, he wouldn’t bring it up again.
But Lin Chuji couldn’t hear what he was saying at all.
He just felt uncomfortable with his wrists pinned and started struggling again.
As he moved, he bent his calves and kicked randomly, accidentally grazing his knee against an inappropriate place.
Xie Yan, already on edge from this direct provocation, tensed up completely, his sanity on the verge of collapse.
He pressed down harder, his lips brushing against the fair skin he had noticed earlier.
“Lin Chuji, settle down,” he warned one last time.
Yet the other’s calves continued to kick indiscriminately, growing more intense, like deliberate provocation.
After so many warnings, he still wouldn’t listen.
Xie Yan’s thoughts were thrown into chaos by his restlessness, the suppressed fire inside him igniting as well.
Without thinking, he turned his head again and bit down on the skin that had come to him.
He caught the skin of Lin Chuji’s neck, his teeth sinking in slightly, applying a bit of pressure as a warning.
“Please don’t move anymore, Lin Chuji,” he said, his voice muffled, breathing uneven, deeply hoarse.
Lin Chuji’s kicking leg froze in midair.
Stunned by the slight pain on his neck, his whole body went rigid, his breathing growing faster and faster.
He raised his hand and tentatively rubbed Xie Yan’s palm, indicating he would stop moving.
Feeling his submission, Xie Yan slowly released him.
He carefully pulled back, releasing the restraint bit by bit.
First the neck he had been biting, then the tightly held wrists, finally the pressed calves.
Drenched in sweat, Xie Yan felt a moment of daze and confusion.
His gaze fell back on Lin Chuji’s neck.
He hadn’t used much force, yet the skin had already turned a noticeable red, like a territorial bite mark—so obvious it was hard to ignore.
That entire patch of pale skin had turned an ambiguous pink, easily provoking other associations.
Lin Chuji lay with his head tilted back, lips slightly parted, breathing heavily.
Nothing had even happened, yet he looked like he had already been ruined.
Xie Yan slowly came to his senses, running his fingertip over the bite mark, feeling a slightly uneven indentation.
How can he be so delicate?
He didn’t even think he had used that much force.
“f*ck.
What am I doing?
I’m going crazy.”
Xie Yan grabbed his messy hair, as if doused with a bucket of cold water, the fog of alcohol suddenly clearing.
And now, by the moonlight, he noticed that Lin Chuji seemed to be sleeping, never having been awake.
He couldn’t tell if the other’s actions were drunken mischief or deliberate, but the fact was, he had been the one to lose control first.
Just now, he had bitten Lin Chuji’s neck—something that shouldn’t happen between any non-couples.
This truth hammered at his heart like a little mallet.
Xie Yan got up awkwardly, strode back into the bathroom, and took a three-minute cold shower, slowly calming down.
When he came back out properly dressed and returned to Lin Chuji’s bedside, the other had already quieted down, looking very soft in the moonlight.
Xie Yan stared blankly at the bite mark on Lin Chuji’s neck.
It was clearly not a mark that would fade anytime soon—it might even be deeper tomorrow.
But how would he explain this to him?
No matter how he looked at it, it seemed like he had taken liberties with the guy.
This behavior was really too perverted.
Xie Yan rubbed his face hard, dug a band-aid out of his suitcase, carefully stuck it over the mark to hide it, then lay down on his own bed, staring at the ceiling, completely sober.
He barely slept all night.
When daylight came, he vaguely heard the vibration of a phone from the other bed.
Lin Chuji woke up groggily, opened his eyes, and saw that it was a video call from Zhan Wanqiu.
He answered, keeping his voice as low as possible so as not to wake Xie Yan.
“Mom, it’s way too early.
I’m not even out of bed yet.”
Probably because it was a special day, Zhan Wanqiu smiled at him, her tone gentler than usual.
“I was afraid you’d already be asleep at midnight, so I wanted to say happy eighteenth birthday early.
Our Xiao Chu has finally become an adult.
I’ve hidden your gift in the very bottom of your suitcase.
Don’t forget to look.”
“Happy birthday, Xiao Chu.
Did you have fun yesterday?”
Lin Zhisong also leaned in, asking with a smile.
“Thanks, Mom and Dad.
I hung out with Xie Yan last night.
I had a pretty good time,” Lin Chuji said, rubbing his eyes.
His head hurt badly, like he had blacked out.
Then he remembered that strange coincidence.
“Xie Yan’s birthday is one day earlier than mine—August 22nd, 2005.
Exactly one day earlier.
So coincidental.”
Hearing his name, Xie Yan sat up and watched him chat away on video, his gaze stopping again on that band-aid.
He had been agonizing over this problem all night and still hadn’t found a way to explain it.
To fully tell the truth, with no evidence and only his word, it would sound like he was making up that Lin Chuji had deliberately seduced him while drunk—Lin Chuji wouldn’t believe it.
If he made up an excuse, he couldn’t think of any situation in which he would bite someone’s neck.
He had no one to consult either.
If he asked the Shen brothers, with their big mouths, within a minute even the cafeteria kitchen staff would be eating fresh, hot gossip.
Could he say a poisonous mosquito had come into the dorm last night?
Would that be at all believable?
Xie Yan suddenly remembered that once before, a senior had mentioned anonymous help posts on the forum.
The wisdom of the masses was infinite.
He took out his phone, registered an account (not yet verified with his student ID), and sent a new post anonymously as a visitor.
[Visitor 8218]: Question: If my roommate, drunk, hugged me and did some intimate things, and to control him, I bit his neck, how should I explain it to him the next day? (Both of us are guys.)
[Only things straight in male dorms are the steel pipes (lights cigarette)]
[Listen to yourself.
Why didn’t you just kick him off the bed if you were resisting?] [Oho ho ho bit his neck, what kind of ABO plot are you two playing?
I need to go catch up.]
[Explain?
How to explain?
I suggest you just consummate directly.]
[This is becoming a daily thread.
For everyone’s info, the forum is not for you to show off your love.]
[Anyone still remember that post about being tied up by a roommate?
Can pair up with this one as a CP.]
[Lol, I remember that one too, Visitor 7217.
Even your IDs are so compatible.]
[I suggest you two abandon your original roommates and pair up.
Second marriages are sometimes pretty sweet.] …
Xie Yan: “……”
[Visitor 8218]: Additional note: I’m asking seriously.
I’m straight and don’t want to make things too awkward with my roommate, but the bite mark is very obvious.
There has to be some reason.
[Serious answer: Say a dog came into the dorm and accidentally bit him.]
[I think it’s more believable to say you had a rabies flare-up.]
[It’s summer, mosquito season.
Poisonous mosquitoes bite pretty fiercely.]
[The mosquito excuse is really lame.
Who can’t tell that’s a hickey?]
…
Xie Yan, who had just been about to use the mosquito excuse: “……”
Meanwhile, Zhan Wanqiu’s tone suddenly shifted from relaxed to serious.
“Xiao Chu, bring the camera closer.”
Lin Chuji, confused, did as he was told and asked, “What’s wrong?”
“What’s with your neck?
Why is there a band-aid?”
Zhan Wanqiu’s brow furrowed.
“What band-aid…”
Lin Chuji leaned closer, using the screen as a mirror, and indeed found a band-aid he had no memory of.
He rubbed it with his fingertip—when had that gotten there?
He had no recollection at all.
Hearing this, Xie Yan immediately sat up and crossed to Lin Chuji’s bed in two strides.
This was definitely not the right time to tell the truth.
In front of his parents, with last night’s over-the-line behavior, he could never clear his name.
His mind in a mess, he helped explain: “He had a bit to drink last night and wasn’t steady on his feet when he came in.
He scraped his neck on the doorframe.
It’s not serious.
I just put a band-aid on it for him.”
Lin Chuji wanted to tear it off to look at the wound, but Xie Yan stopped him.
He said in a voice only they could hear, “Do you want to worry your parents?”
Lin Chuji’s hand immediately stopped.
Zhan Wanqiu’s expression did indeed relax.
“Our Xiao Chu has never played outside before.
He only mixed drinks at home for fun.
Sure enough, something happens the moment he goes out.
Good thing Xie Yan is there.”
Lin Chuji mumbled in response, “It’s fine.
It doesn’t even hurt.
I don’t feel a thing.”
Zhan Wanqiu chatted for a bit more, then said, “Xiao Chu, your school is very close to Qin Yi’s.
You absolutely cannot start associating with him again, understand?”
“Mom, you’re really a buzzkill,” Lin Chuji said, visibly displeased.
Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Xie Yan still standing by the bed.
He didn’t want others to know how controlling his parents were, to the point of questioning even his friendships.
Lin Zhisong patted his wife’s shoulder and said, “Don’t blame Mom.
She’s just worried about you.
Alright, go eat breakfast now.
Bye.”
Lin Chuji hung up the call, feeling gloomy.
Xie Yan looked down at his expression and said slowly, “Your parents don’t want you to associate with him, yet you made plans to see him today?
Rebellious, huh?”
“How can you be so blatant about listening to other people’s conversations?”
Lin Chuji said, fuming.
Xie Yan found it amusing.
Hands in his pockets, his expression perfectly open, he said, “I’ve been standing right here.
I’m not deaf.
How could I not hear?”
Lin Chuji glared at him indignantly, his hair messy, looking like a little puppy just pulled out from under the covers.
As they looked at each other, Xie Yan stared into his eyes and inexplicably thought back to last night again.
The time in the bathroom when he had burrowed into his arms, the midnight celebration when his eyes had glistened with tears as he looked at him, the drunk time he had squatted on the floor saying his legs were asleep, and back in the dorm when they had been so close to kissing.
Every time, his eyes were misty, as if made of water.
He had the eyes of a lover—even without emotion, he could make others see passion.
Xie Yan’s heart jumped.
Gay people are really too terrifying.
He’s planted these fragmented memories in my brain without me even noticing.
Every thought circles back to last night.
No.
I need to distance myself.
Starting today, right now, at this very moment.
On top of that, he needed to do something unpleasant, something that wouldn’t cause misunderstanding, to make Lin Chuji’s fondness for him drop to zero as quickly as possible.
Lin Chuji’s finger was still on the band-aid on his neck.
He finally remembered to ask, “Where did I bump myself last night?
How did I get back?
I have no memory.”
Xie Yan said expressionlessly, “You were dead drunk.
I, being helpful, carried you back.
Now I’m going to settle accounts with you.”
Lin Chuji was utterly confused.
“Settle accounts?
Oh, at midnight?
I know that if you want a celebration at a bar at that hour, you have to pay.
For the big screen, the streamers, all that.
How much total?
I’ll transfer it to you.”
“The iodine and cotton swabs for your back injury: twenty.”
“Fifteen minutes of carrying you back, calculated as a taxi ride: twenty.”
“Back after curfew, snuck you in through a side path: twenty.”
“The band-aid on your neck: one yuan.”
By the end, Xie Yan himself was disgusted by his own pettiness, so he added, “As for the money for your birthday celebration, you bought me a gift and a cake too, so we’re even.
No need to pay.”
Saying that, he suddenly remembered that the gift and flowers were still with Shen Yinan.
He hadn’t been able to carry them last night because he was carrying Lin Chuji.
Lin Chuji, oddly, didn’t react strongly.
He looked down, opened the payment code, and even smiled.
“You charge so cheap?
You’re really nice.
Should I give you a hundred?
This is really too much trouble for you.”
Xie Yan: “……”
His roommate’s filter for him might be a bit too thick.
Seeing that Xie Yan didn’t move, Lin Chuji waved his phone.
“Give me a payment code.”
Xie Yan was truly speechless.
He heavily tapped open the code and handed it over.
The next second, he received a transfer of one hundred yuan.
Wait.
He deleted my WeChat and doesn’t plan to add me back?
Lin Chuji didn’t realize anything was wrong.
Seeing that it was almost time to assemble, he hurriedly got up and went into the bathroom.
“I’ll go wash up.
I’ll be quick.”
Xie Yan stood there, expressionless, staring at the cold transfer record.
He clicked his tongue softly.
“Fine.
Don’t add.
Saves the trouble of deleting again.”
The adventure continues! If you loved this chapter, Crow's Golden Fragment is a must-read. Click here to start!
Read : Crow's Golden Fragment
