Brother, you smell good - 34

 

| BYSG | Bent | 34

No one likes to be controlled or have their social interactions interfered with—no matter how good the relationship is, even between family, let alone friends.

He had crossed the line.

It was clear that Shen Yu and Ning Que got along well; otherwise, they wouldn’t have been chatting and laughing together at the hot pot restaurant. Given the connection through his mother, it was inevitable that Shen Yu would have some interactions with Ning Que.

His request was undoubtedly making things difficult for Shen Yu on purpose.

Not only had he done so once before, but now he was doing it again.

Shen Yu had always considered his feelings, yet he was the one who insisted on sticking close, only to feel uncomfortable afterward and then expect Shen Yu to accommodate him.

"I'm sorry."

Cheng Mofei blurted out the three words faster than his brain could process, as if afraid that even a second’s delay would make Shen Yu never forgive him.

He had said so much just to avoid losing Shen Yu as a friend. But if his overstepping behavior made Shen Yu unhappy and distanced them, what difference would that make in the end? 

Wouldn’t that be missing the point entirely?

Shen Yu was momentarily stunned before a small smile bloomed on his face.

Whether it was out of stubborn awkwardness or a little pride in his nature that refused to bow his head, many people instinctively avoided saying “I’m sorry,” always choosing to replace it with more tactful words.

But Cheng Mofei was different, he is honest and direct, like an adorable little puppy.

"You don’t need to apologize. I’m not upset," Shen Yu said. "I just think, if something is affecting your life, shouldn't you consider overcoming it instead of avoiding it?"

Cheng Mofei's disgust of homosexuality stemmed from the unpleasant experiences with bad gay individuals around him in high school, not because he was born with it. 

It was something that could gradually change once he encountered normal gay people.

Constantly rejecting and avoiding it would only reinforce the fixed impression.

Cheng Mofei was silent for a long time after hearing this.

The night breeze brushed against the tree shadows, swaying gently over the two of them.

Indeed.

He shouldn’t have been anxious about the possibility of Shen Yu getting involved with that circle and potentially being seduced or “bent” into something he wasn’t—something that hadn’t even happened.

Even if it did happen, it wouldn’t be Shen Yu’s fault. 

Why should he restrict Shen Yu here and there?

It was like when some girls wear short skirts on the street and get flirted with or harassed—does that mean the girl in the short skirt is at fault?

If any guy dared to flirt with Shen Yu, Cheng Mofei would immediately chase him away. 

If anyone tried to "bent" Shen Yu, he wouldn’t be polite about it at all.

After all, he and Shen Yu had the best relationship, and it would only get better. He would be the first to notice anything wrong.

After figuring it out, Cheng Mofei suddenly seemed enlightened. "I get it now."

Seeing him like this, Shen Yu finally smiled in relief.

As long as he was willing to try to overcome and change, that was enough.

...

In the following week, Shen Yu didn’t notice much improvement in Cheng Mofei’s disgust of homosexuality, but he did notice that his relationship with Cheng Mofei seemed to have gotten even better.

The specific changes were:

He ate all three meals of the day with him, and even if there was no 8 AM class, Cheng Mofei would get up on time and sometimes even buy breakfast for him.

Having meals together meant that when Shen Yu had his last class of the day, Cheng Mofei would always arrive early to wait outside the classroom for him. He never missed it.

Cheng Mofei constantly invited him to various activities—campus runs, library study sessions, digestive walks, late-night snacks, club events, and more.

At night, he would crawl into Shen Yu's bed to watch movies, and before they knew it, he had "stayed the night" in his bed.

...

In fact, Shen Yu had even come across posts on the school forum discussing his relationship with Cheng Mofei.

[I don't know if anyone's noticed, but suddenly there's this pair in our school who are just so fun to ship... Keywords: Finance and Chemistry]

[I also think there’s something going on between them. Otherwise, why are they always sticking together? I wouldn’t be this clingy with my best friend.]

[He picks him up from class every day—how is that not obvious? Even if they’re not officially together, Cheng Mofei is definitely pursuing Shen Yu.]

[But I heard Cheng is homophobic?]

[Homophobic means deep in the closet, don’t you know?]

[When you meet someone you really like, you naturally stop being afraid.]

[Maybe they just have an exceptionally close friendship? You girls don't understand the brotherhood between guys.]

[Hmm, is it really just a simple brotherhood?]

[These two really are a great ship—who knows?]

[Waiting for an official announcement.]

...

After reading the posts, Shen Yu couldn’t help but laugh.

The speculation was so exaggerated.

Cheng Mofei wasn’t pursuing him. If he were, they would have been together by now.

It wasn’t like Cheng Mofei hadn’t pursued him before. Shen Yu knew exactly what it looked like when Cheng liked someone—buying tons of flowers, writing lots of love letters—cheesy and cliché to the extreme. 

It was definitely not the “brother” vibe they had now.

Shen Yu guessed that it was more likely that after their conversation that night, their brotherly bond had just grown deeper.

After all, that experience from high school was something Cheng Mofei found extremely difficult to bring up. Even Xiao Xiong and Sun Xinghe, who had known him for longer, were unaware of it. 

The fact that Cheng Mofei was willing to share it with Shen Yu meant that their friendship had grown even stronger.

And Shen Yu understood Cheng Mofei too well. Whenever Cheng Mofei felt he had done something wrong, he would go to great lengths to make amends. 

That night, Cheng Mofei had felt he had said the wrong thing, triggering some painful memories about his biological father. He apologized, and even though Shen Yu had said he didn’t mind, Cheng Mofei still felt the need to make up for his words.

It was because of this that Cheng Mofei had been so clingy with him this past week.

Shen Yu didn’t reply to the post, nor did he exit the thread immediately. Instead, he hesitated for a while, gathered his courage, and decided to share the post with Cheng Mofei.

He had been wanting to find a way to gauge just how much Cheng Mofei’s disgust of homosexuality had improved, and this seemed like a perfect opportunity. 

It also gave him a chance to test Cheng Mofei’s feelings toward him.

Later that night, when Shen Yu returned to his dorm, he couldn’t wait to share the post link. He sent it to Cheng Mofei and said, “Brother Fei, I saw a rumor about us on the forum. Did you come across it? I’ve sent it to you—should we explain it or contact the admin to have it taken down?”

Cheng Mofei immediately clicked on the link and began reading carefully. Shen Yu watched his reaction cautiously.

At first, Cheng Mofei’s expression was somewhat serious, but gradually, the seriousness faded and was replaced by an unrestrained smile.

Shen Yu: “?”

It was especially after seeing this reply that Cheng Mofei truly had his moment of realization:

[Don’t ship them like that. If they’re just good friends, stop putting labels on them, it could affect their other relationships.]

Cheng Mofei suddenly saw the light.

If the rumor about him and Shen Yu kept circulating, maybe no other clueless gay guys would try to hit on Shen Yu. They’d mistake him for being gay, and that would prevent any attempts to “turn” him.

If he could protect Shen Yu from unwanted attention, Cheng Mofei wouldn’t mind one post—he wouldn’t mind a hundred of them.

The only downside was that it could affect their potential relationships with the opposite sex.

But Cheng Mofei didn’t mind at all. He had never been in a rush to date. There were so many things more interesting to him than being in a relationship. 

Even if he never fell in love or got married in his whole life, he wouldn’t feel empty. 

Besides, these things relied on fate—if the right person came along, nothing could stop it; if not, well, he was still single despite the rumors with Shen Yu.

The only thing he wasn’t sure about was whether Shen Yu would mind…

Cheng Mofei looked up and, testing the waters, said, “I don’t think we need to care about it. There’s no need to explain such baseless rumors. If we contact them to delete it, it could be over-interpreted. If we just leave it, the rumors will die down on their own over time. What do you think?”

He handed the decision over to Shen Yu—if Shen Yu minded, they could explain and get it deleted.

Shen Yu seemed a bit dazed, hesitating before replying, “I’m not really bothered, so let’s just leave it.”

A storm of emotions surged inside Shen Yu.

Cheng Mofei didn’t mind being shipped as a gay couple?

Had the advice he gave that night really worked that well?

...

However, Shen Yu didn’t stay happy for long.

With the autumn basketball tournament heating up, Cheng Mofei had been practicing basketball whenever he had some free time.

Shen Yu occasionally found time to watch him play and then they’d grab a meal together afterward.

The afternoon following the forum post incident, after class, Shen Yu decided to take a jog across campus toward the basketball court to catch a glimpse of Cheng Mofei playing. 

He also planned to go to the small square to grab a bite and pick up the necklace he had bought for his mother.

As soon as he arrived, he saw that Cheng Mofei’s team was taking a break.

Cheng Mofei was nowhere in sight. He scanned the area but didn’t see him.

Someone who recognized Shen Yu and knew he was looking for Cheng Mofei pointed in a direction and said, "Old Cheng just went to the bathroom over there."

After thanking him, Shen Yu walked toward the direction he had pointed. He also needed to use the restroom.

However, just as he was about to enter, he heard a voice that caught his attention.

"Or are you and Shen Yu already together?"

It was a male voice he didn’t recognize, though there was something faintly familiar about it.

"We’re just good brothers, we are not that kind of relationship," came Cheng Mofei’s voice.

The person seemed to ask with a sense of resignation, "Well, if Shen Yu turned out to be gay, would you be with him?"

Shen Yu’s heart immediately tightened.

That was the exact question he had wanted to ask but never dared to.

Without hesitation, Cheng Mofei answered, "Impossible."

Shen Yu felt his heart drop violently, the impact so painful it almost took his breath away. 

The overwhelming sense of confusion and pain made it hard for him to breathe.

...

Cheng Mofei was practically radiating "get lost" at this point. He couldn't understand where this person had gotten the nerve to bother him again. 

After all this time, ever since the start of the semester, they hadn't had any interactions. 

Now, of all times, this person chose to run into him in the restroom, and Cheng Mofei couldn’t bear to waste another second on him.

And to top it all off, this person had the audacity to bring up Shen Yu.

What if Shen Yu turns gay...

Impossible.

As long as he was around, no one would be able to bend Shen Yu.

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