Chapter 41: Distress

“Alright… that is all for today. Every group can head back and divide the workload amongst yourselves. Next week, we will go up to the stage to present according to the order of the list in the group chat.”

As the dismissal bell chimed, the daydreaming Yu Xi woke up as if from a dream, raising his head rather blankly to look around his surroundings.

How was class already over…?

Right then, a notebook was slid over from beside him, its pages displaying every single knowledge point the professor had just covered in class. The strokes were sharp and incisive, forming a stark contrast against his own neat, square regular script.

Following the notebook, Yu Xi’s eyes met the gaze of Meng Shen beside him. A pleasant surprise surfaced as he smiled. “When did you take it over to write this?”

“Seeing that you had things on your mind, I just did it for you in passing,” Meng Shen replied, unscrewing the thermos resting on Yu Xi’s desk and handing it over.

“…It’s not really anything on my mind.” Yu Xi lowered his head, using the motion of drinking water to mask his inner panic.

Ever since returning from Lin Shuhuai’s place, his entire being had been somewhat dazed and muddled. He hadn’t processed a single thing throughout an entire day of classes, his brain completely occupied by the few kisses Lin Shuhuai had stealthily bestowed upon him that night.

He couldn’t sort it out, nor could he think it through. Or perhaps, he was terrified of the answer.

Unable to bring himself to confront it on the spot, he had feigned sleep, struggling to maintain the facade until the next morning when he departed from the Lin residence.

His heart was in utter chaos, and with no one to confide in, he could only bottle it up inside, constantly fearful that someone might ask.

Fortunately, Meng Shen was inherently a person who wouldn’t pry. Even if he picked up on some clue, he would merely wait quietly for Yu Xi to speak up on his own.

“Let’s go. It was hard on you to accompany me to class, how about I treat you to the claypot chicken soup rice at the cafeteria?” Yu Xi suggested.

Speaking of which, the amount of time he spent accompanying Meng Shen recently had grown scarcer, leaving him inevitably guilt-ridden.

Back when Meng Shen moved out of the Meng residence to rent an apartment, Yu Xi had promised he would visit frequently to keep him company. Yet, he was forced to allocate more of his time to Lin Shuhuai and Zhang Xingkuo. In reverse, it was now Meng Shen who came over to accompany him through lectures and even helped him take notes.

“Do you find my classes very dry? My classmates are all terrified of this lecture, always claiming the professor is speaking gibberish.”

Yu Xi chatted with Meng Shen, occasionally smiling and waving at classmates who greeted him.

As the two figures materialized together on the Peking University campus, anyone who knew them had long grown accustomed to the sight. When they ran into roommates at the cafeteria, they would occasionally sit together to eat. However, Meng Shen still disliked interacting with others; if anyone else was present, he would rarely utter a word.

Consequently, whenever Meng Shen came looking for him, Yu Xi would coordinate in advance with the roommates or classmates he frequently shared tables with, ensuring he accompanied Meng Shen to eat entirely in private.

“Not dry.” Meng Shen lowered his head slightly, but his gaze remained fixed steadfastly on Yu Xi’s profile. “Doing anything is fine.”

During the meal, Sheng Yunjuan dialed in. Upon hearing that Meng Shen was also present, she remarked, “He certainly knows how to play his cards. Since he can’t get your extracurricular time, he changed his strategy to monopolize your class hours, huh? Next time, I’m coming to audit the lecture too.”

Yu Xi didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, telling her to stop messing around.

He originally wanted to chat a bit longer, but Meng Shen reminded him that he still had afternoon classes and that the lunch break was brief. Ultimately, he had no choice but to hang up and focus on finishing his lunch.

He was escorted by Meng Shen all the way down to his dormitory building. Telling the other youth not to leave in a rush, Yu Xi dashed upstairs to grab some bread and handmade chocolates before running back down.

“These were gifted by the owner of the cat café. It would be a waste to throw away what the shop couldn’t sell out, so they were distributed to the staff. Take some back to eat.” Yu Xi took Meng Shen’s hand, looping the bag’s handles over his wrist. “I eat them constantly at the shop and am practically sick of them, so just accept it.”

Meng Shen offered a low murmur of assent, gripping the bag tightly in his hand.

Just as Yu Xi intended to head back inside the dormitory after saying goodbye, he noticed a stray piece of fluff from somewhere caught in Meng Shen’s hair. He gestured with his hand, “Lower your head a bit.”

Meng Shen obediently complied, bowing his back and ducking his head, lowering his tall, large frame to present his crown right before Yu Xi.

“There’s something there.” Yu Xi plucked the fluff from his hair, taking the opportunity to smooth down a few stray strands for him. “Your hair is getting longer and longer, shouldn’t you go get it trimmed? It’s not good if it blocks your vision too much… Hm, do you dislike going to barbershops? If you don’t mind, I can choose a time to help you cut it. Back in middle school, to save some money on haircuts, I always cut it myself. My skills aren’t bad, you can rest assured.”

As Yu Xi spoke, he noticed Meng Shen kept his head lowered and remained completely silent. Bewildered, he leaned closer. “A-Shen?”

Abruptly, the hand he intended to retract was seized.

He witnessed those eyes—hidden beneath the dark hair—slowly lifting, staring over quietly and deeply like a dark well, the bottom pitch-black and fathomless, making it impossible to read.

Perhaps this sort of gaze had always existed, merely masked beneath the brim of a hat or dark hair, rendering it difficult to detect—or perhaps, Yu Xi had simply never paid attention or thought deeply about it.

Yu Xi’s breathing turned constricted, the palm of his captured hand beginning to sweat, feeling uncomfortably damp and cold. When he spoke, the tail end of his voice carried a distinct tremor: “What’s wrong…”

However, the moment he beheld Meng Shen’s bloodless, thin lips parting slightly, a familiar and extremely ominous premonition surged up inexplicably. His body bypassed his brain entirely, his other hand moving instantly to clap over Meng Shen’s mouth.

“Alright, I’ll head upstairs first!”

With that, Yu Xi wrenched his captured hand free, forced an unnatural smile, and didn’t linger for even a single second before spinning around and sprinting into the dormitory building.

He fled back to his own dorm room, gasping for air. Xiao Yang glanced at him, then peered out the window behind him. “Are you being chased by a dog? To be scared like this?”

“N-No…” Yu Xi panted, sitting on his chair for barely a few seconds before remembering something and looking down through the window.

Unsurprisingly, that tall silhouette was still standing motionless below the building.

Yu Xi knitted his brows, unable to resist biting his lower lip in sheer distress.

“Tsk, I knew it.”

Xiao Yang’s voice manifested abruptly behind him. Yu Xi jolted slightly from the fright, letting out a helpless sigh. “What do you know?”

“Haven’t I said it long ago?” Xiao Yang jerked his chin toward the window. “These ‘good friends’ of yours have plenty of schemes up their sleeves, and every single one of them is up to no good.”

“…” This time, Yu Xi could no longer firmly voice a rebuttal.

Yu Xi began to play hide-and-seek.

He utilized various excuses to minimize his meetings with Lin Shuhuai, Zhang Xingkuo, and Meng Shen as much as possible. However, given how busy he naturally was, it didn’t entirely count as lying.

Yet there were times when he truly couldn’t find the heart to refuse, still accompanying Lin Shuhuai to see the doctor, accompanying Zhang Xingkuo to the amusement park, and accompanying Meng Shen for meals.

But the frequency had drastically reduced, and the thoughts hidden in his heart weren’t seamless enough, inevitably drawing the suspicion of all three men.

Without exception, however, all three assumed that someone other than themselves was stealthily monopolizing his time, which was why things had turned out this way.

Yu Xi stammered in response, claiming he wasn’t favoring anyone and was simply occupied with other matters.

As a result, none of the three quite believed him.

Lin Shuhuai let out a sigh. “It’s alright, I don’t wish to put you in a difficult position, Xiao Xi. Going to see the doctor by myself is fine too. At most, I’ll just eat a little less, sleep a little less… It’s truly nothing.”

Zhang Xingkuo fought to vindicate himself. “Stop covering up for them! Just say it! Who is the one pestering you every single day? Seeing me take the lead earlier left them anxious, so they resorted to this kind of disgusting tactic, hmph… Tell me, did that person secretly say bad things about me to you?”

Meanwhile, Meng Shen said nothing at all, merely continuing to track him with those dark, heavy eyes.

…

All three gave Yu Xi an immense headache, yet he had nowhere to hide.

They could show up at both the Pei residence and the university. Sheng Yunjuan and Sheng Yunshu were incredibly occupied managing their own jewelry studio, only able to visit him occasionally, and he didn’t know how to articulate his predicaments to them.

On this particular day, an even more headache-inducing scenario manifested.

Lin Shuhuai, Zhang Xingkuo, and Meng Shen all coincidentally materialized inside his cat café at the exact same time.

Because a continuous drizzle was falling outside, the weather had turned cold, accompanied by a biting wind. Many students were unwilling to venture out, leaving business considerably slow.

The three didn’t cause him any trouble while he was busy, each occupying a corner of a table. One played with the cats, one ate food, and one spaced out, completely unbothered by one another.

The cat café manager instructed Yu Xi to go accompany his friends. Yu Xi shook his head like a repeating rattle. “There’s no need to give them special treatment, they can entertain themselves.”

“Ah, you can’t say that. Every single one of these friends of yours has registered for a membership in our shop and deposited a hefty sum of money. Giving them a bit of special treatment is exactly as it should be. Go along and have fun, don’t be polite!”

Thus, the cat café manager “kindheartedly” dragged Yu Xi to the front of a private booth, pushing him inside.

Yu Xi stumbled onto a soft cushion, his decorative cat ears knocked askew. Hearing the manager wish them a wonderful time, the thought of resigning surfaced in his mind for the very first time.

“Xiao Xi, sit over here.”

Lin Shuhuai, who was closest, extended an arm, hooking it around Yu Xi’s waist to draw him over. He reached out his other hand to adjust the tilted cat ears for him before gently rubbing his knee. “Did you bump it just now?”

“No…” Before Yu Xi could even manage to dodge, he was hoisted up by his underarms the next second, plunging straight into an even more scorching embrace.

Zhang Xingkuo directly abducted him to the furthest position, pinning him within his arms like a wolf with a fiercely dominant sense of territory, glaring at Lin Shuhuai.

On the other side, Meng Shen picked up the cat ears that had fallen off during Zhang Xingkuo’s sudden movement, silently gripping them in his palm.

“…”

Yu Xi remained speechless for a moment. He shoved at the arm resting across his chest, but unable to budge it, he helplessly called out, “Xingxing,” before successfully untangling himself from the restraint. He sat down by himself on one side, keeping his distance from everyone.

He looked back and forth at the three of them, inquiring, “What exactly do you all want to do?”

“I want to invite you to watch a newly released horror movie.”

“I want to take you for a drive up to the mountain peak!”

Lin Shuhuai and Zhang Xingkuo spoke simultaneously, capped off by the low murmur of Meng Shen’s response: “Came to find you to cut my hair.”

Zhang Xingkuo launched an attack against Lin Shuhuai: “Can you get some new tricks? Can’t change that wicked hobby of yours even at your age, huh?”

“Is that so? But it ought to be a bit better than your idea of going for a drive. It’s raining in such freezing weather…” Lin Shuhuai let out a gentle sigh. “Too young, it’s only understandable that you don’t know how to take care of someone. Xiao Xi, you probably don’t want to go, right? Who do you wish to choose?”

The question was hurled right into Yu Xi’s hands.

Stared down by three sets of eyes, a layer of sweat broke out across Yu Xi’s back, and he couldn’t resist shrinking backward.

Right at this critical juncture, the phone tucked inside his apron pocket rang in a timely fashion.

Without even checking who it was, he answered it as if it were a literal lifesaver, utilizing the opportunity to escape the private booth.

“Hello.”

From the receiver, a slightly heavy sound of breathing echoed, accompanied by a cough.

Following that, Gu Chuanzhou’s raspy voice came through: “Xi Xi, cough cough… I’m sick, very heavily sick…”