| BYSG | Wolf in Sheep's Clothing | 30
At that moment, Shen Yu immediately had an idea in his mind.
Cheng Mofei was homophobic, and would avoid anyone who appeared to be gay.
But what if the person who appeared to be gay was around him?
What would Cheng Mofei’s reaction be?
Even if Cheng Mofei wanted him to distance himself from Ning Que, due to his mother’s relationship with Ning Que, he wouldn’t be able to avoid him. He had enough reason to stay in touch with Ning Que.
And considering Cheng Mofei’s importance on friendship, he definitely wouldn’t push him away just because of that.
As long as he could subtly improve Cheng Mofei's attitude toward homosexuality, perhaps after some time, Cheng Mofei wouldn’t be so disgusted of it.
The theory was sound; time to put it into practice!
Just as Shen Yu was about to step toward Ning Que, he suddenly saw Ning Que lower his head and quickly plant a light kiss on the other boy's face.
They were standing in a corner where the lighting was dim, and no one had noticed the brief kiss—except for the two “familiar faces” who had already seen them.
How stimulating.
Shen Yu immediately glanced at Cheng Mofei’s reaction from the corner of his eye.
To his surprise, before he could fully see, Cheng Mofei suddenly grabbed his hand and pulled him away.
Shen Yu didn't say anything, allowing Cheng Mofei to lead him as he was thinking about what he should say later.
Finally, the two entered the campus and stepped onto a familiar stone path.
If he remembered correctly, this path was where he had bumped into Cheng Mofei being confessed to by a boy the day he signed in.
How could this not be considered a "return to the scene"?
Still under these circumstances.
He wondered if it had brought back some bad memories for Cheng Mofei.
The stone path was uneven, and Cheng Mofei walked briskly. Shen Yu really didn’t want to keep "racewalking" like this, so he pretended to twist his ankle with a dramatic "ouch!"
The acting was rather exaggerated, and Shen Yu himself felt it was a bit embarrassing.
But Cheng Mofei immediately stopped.
"Did you sprain your ankle? Is it serious?" His voice showed concern.
Shen Yu moved his ankle and shook his head, saying, "It's fine, I just need to walk it off."
Cheng Mofei hummed in response and didn't continue to drag Shen Yu along at a fast pace. Instead, he slowed down.
Shen Yu forked a piece of wolf tooth potato from the box in his hand, chewed it, and then heard Cheng Mofei suddenly speak: "Give me a piece too, I feel a little bit disgusted."
Shen Yu was his good brother, so Cheng Mofei spoke his feelings without any pretense, and said what was on his mind.
Shen Yu was startled for a moment, and then hurriedly picked up a piece of wolf tooth potato from the box.
Cheng Mofei didn’t take the skewer from his hand. Instead, he grabbed Shen Yu’s hand, lowered his head, and eagerly bit off the piece of potato from the skewer.
This action inevitably brought the two of them very close.
Shen Yu lowered his eyelashes to hide the emotions in his eyes.
The last time he saw Cheng Mofei like this was at Cheng Zhiyu’s house, when Cheng Mofei had accidentally flipped through a boy's love manga.
But back then, Cheng Mofei had processed it by himself and hadn’t been so straightforward in describing his inner repulsion.
Disgusted...?
After finishing the wolf tooth potato, Cheng Mofei quickly peeled a sugar tangerine, and just as he was about to put it in his mouth, he suddenly paused and seemed to think of something, looked at Shen Yu, and asked without hesitation: "Can I eat this?"
The tone in Cheng Mofei’s voice sounded somewhat pitiful.
He had already eaten his share of sugar tangerines for the day.
Shen Yu couldn’t help but feel a bit helpless and amused. He nodded and said, "Go ahead, eat it."
Cheng Mofei eagerly shoved the tangerine into his mouth.
The sweet juice soothed his taste buds, and he finally felt a bit better.
Shen Yu lifted his other hand and gently patted his back.
Feeling the soft pressure against his back, Cheng Mofei’s fragile gaze met Shen Yu’s, and he slowly spoke, "You should stay away from him in the future."
From Shen Yu’s mother’s perspective, that person was like Shen Yu’s older brother. A younger brother is easily influenced by his older brother.
If Ning Que brought Shen Yu into that circle, what would happen if he bent Shen Yu?
Moreover, they had no blood relation at all.
Love inevitably involves ups and downs, and if Ning Que ends up single again in the future...
Cheng Mofei didn’t dare to think any further.
Although Shen Yu’s appearance was very popular in the gay community, Cheng Mofei wasn’t foolish enough to think that just because someone was gay, they would automatically like Shen Yu.
He just thought Shen Yu was a genuinely good person, someone who naturally attracted others. People often couldn’t help but think of the worst-case scenario, and he was no exception.
...What if?
Shen Yu inwardly thought to himself, as expected.
He didn’t agree nor refuse, but simply said, "Mm, I won’t contact him unless it's absolutely necessary."
Cheng Mofei felt a little relieved.
...
What Cheng Mofei didn’t expect was that—this Friday, the "necessary situation" Shen Yu had mentioned would actually arise.
On Friday afternoon, the second-year students updated and confirmed their academic information.
The roommates logged into Yanda University’s official website, checking and modifying their details while discussing whether they should take some time to go out for a meal together.
After Shen Yu finished military training, the four of them went out to eat together, but there hadn't been another group meal since then.
As the weather grew colder, barbecue and hot pot seemed like perfect options.
Shen Yu had also earned a decent amount of money from his part-time job, so he was much more financially comfortable now.
Being a first-year student, Shen Yu didn’t need to update any of his information. Instead, he casually stood behind Cheng Mofei, pretending not to pay attention while sneaking a glance at the contents of his computer screen.
He quietly noted down the names of Cheng Mofei’s middle school and high school, then discreetly searched them online.
He had long suspected that Cheng Mofei’s homophobia might be related to something that happened during his middle school years.
However, Cheng Mofei almost never spoke about that period of his life, and Shen Yu didn’t dare to probe too directly, so he had left it alone for a while.
After spending nearly an entire afternoon, Shen Yu finally found a small clue.
It seemed to have happened during Cheng Mofei's second year of high school.
There had been a suicide incident at the high school Cheng Mofei attended, but the person who jumped wasn't a student or a teacher—it was the wife of a male teacher.
The male teacher was the homeroom teacher for Cheng Mofei’s class. He was a closeted gay man who had married a woman under false pretenses, then had affairs with several underage male students.
Unable to accept the betrayal, his wife chose to jump from the school building, and despite efforts to save her, she died. The male teacher was sent to prison.
Most high-achieving students tend to get closer to their homeroom teacher, and Cheng Mofei had always been a top student.
Shen Yu guessed that the teacher probably never dared to make any advances toward Cheng Mofei, especially since Cheng Mofei had a powerful background, and the teacher wouldn’t have dared to entertain any such thoughts.
Cheng Mofei must have seen him as a good teacher or as a friend. But when the truth came out, it disgusted Cheng Mofei so much that it left deep psychological scars.
The underage students involved with the male teacher were probably people Cheng Mofei knew, or even friends of his that were closer than just ordinary classmates.
The truth was almost exactly as Shen Yu had guessed. It was nothing more than being disgusted by the behavior of a few morally corrupt gay people.
After all, homosexuality is a minority sexual orientation, and one bad apple can spoil the whole bunch. Same-sex couples can’t legally marry in the country, and they are still hard to accept by society.
Many are forced to compromise and hide their sexual orientation and marry women.
Some manage to maintain a respectful relationship after marriage, keeping the secret until their death, while others, like that male teacher, turn morally corrupt, becoming disgusting beyond measure.
But it’s the bad people who ruin it, not the whole group, and certainly not everyone in that community.
Even straight people have their share of scumbags—husbands who kill their wives for insurance money, or people who abandon their partners after marriage.
Shen Yu knew that he needed to improve Cheng Mofei’s impression of the gay community.
Immediately, Ning Que came to mind.
He still remembered the scene from that day.
Ning Que seemed to be in a relationship with a male student from Yanda University, or else he wouldn’t have been standing outside the gates of the university.
At the time, Ning Que was holding all the night snacks he had bought, while the other guy was holding his hand with one hand and warming his other hand in Ning Que’s pocket. It was clear that Ning Que was very fond of that guy.
Their relationship seemed to be pretty good?
However, Shen Yu didn’t want to make any assumptions just yet—he would need to test the waters first.
Perhaps Ning Que could be the “breakthrough” in changing Cheng Mofei’s impression of the gay community.
Shen Yu immediately posted a status on his Moments, visible only to his mom.
[Looking for a hot pot buddy]
The link attached was to a hot pot restaurant located in the small square between Yanda University and Yan Medical University.
He was taking a gamble, but there was no real harm on whether it succeeded or failed.
Not long after, Shen Yu received a message from Ning Que.
Ning Que: [Auntie asked me to join you for hot pot, let’s schedule. Are you free tonight?]
Ning Que: [Screenshot]
In the screenshot, Shen Yu’s mom hadn’t shown Ning Que the specific Moments post, but simply asked if he was free to join Shen Yu for hot pot, with her treating them.
Shen Yu felt a soft warmth in his chest. He exited the screenshot, deleted the Moments post visible only to his mom to erase the evidence, and replied: [I’m free, what time?]
Ning Que: [I’m free any time after six.]
Shen Yu: [6:30, see you at the hot pot restaurant door] [link]
Ning Que: [ok]
...
In the dormitory group chat, titled "Relationship Status (1/4)," the three roommates decided to go to a newly opened chain BBQ restaurant near the school.
They heard the food was great, and since it had just opened, there were still plenty of discount promotions.
However, Shen Yu was still in class, so he hadn’t replied in the group chat.
Xiao Xiong: [Can Xiao Shen make it? @Shen Yu]
Cheng Mofei: [He just finished class at this time, he probably hasn’t seen the message yet.]
Sun Xinghe: [I’m free tonight. My girlfriend has plans with her friends, so tonight is perfect for me.]
A few minutes later, Shen Yu finally saw the messages in the group and replied.
Shen Yu: [BBQ is fine, but I have something tonight. I’ll be working part-time tomorrow night. I can go either later tonight or next week on a weekday when I don’t have evening classes.]
Cheng Mofei: [What’s going on tonight? Preparing lessons?]
Shen Yu originally didn’t want to tell Cheng Mofei about this, since his plan was to first understand Ning Que and his boyfriend’s current situation before saying anything.
But since Cheng Mofei asked directly, Shen Yu thought for a moment and then sent the message from Ning Que to Cheng Mofei privately.
He didn’t want to hide this from Cheng Mofei, nor did he want to lie to him. Once something was hidden, there was a risk of it being exposed later, and that could lead to hidden dangers.
Moreover, all the effort he was putting in was to create a "necessary situation" to interact with Ning Que. After all, both of them were just playing along due to their mothers' pressure.
Cheng Mofei immediately furrowed his brows into a “川” shape and asked: [Why did your mom suddenly want you two to have hot pot?]
Shen Yu played it dumb: [I don’t know, maybe because it’s cold recently, and there’s that online trend of having your "first milk tea" or "first hot pot" of the season. It feels warm. Besides, Mom had mentioned before that I could have meals with him.]
Shen Yu reassured him: [It’s fine, it’s just a hot pot meal. I’ll leave right after.]
Cheng Mofei was completely not reassured at all.
In his eyes, Ning Que was like a big gray wolf, and Shen Yu was the little lamb. For Shen Yu to go eat hot pot with Ning Que felt no different than a lamb walking right into the wolf’s den.
The problem was, Cheng Mofei couldn’t stop him. After all, it was Shen Yu’s mom who had arranged it. He saw how much Shen Yu cared about his mom, and even he didn’t want to disappoint her.
Suddenly, Cheng Mofei seemed to have thought of something. He turned around and said to the other two roommates, “How about we go eat hot pot tonight? My treat.”
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