| BYSG | Brother Shen | 39
Cheng Mofei: "Don't compare your relationship to us and corrupt our brotherhood."
Sun Xinghe: "Ok fine."
Shen Yu: "..."
Shen Yu lifted his foot and silently wiped off the water on it. "The done soaking."
Their brotherhood was probably on a countdown now.
After the foot bath, Shen Yu read for a while, finished the last bit of his experimental report, and then lay down in bed.
A few minutes later, a figure crawled into his bed, snuggling up to him and squeezing him further into the bed.
"Do you want to watch a movie?" Cheng Mofei held the tablet up to his face.
Shen Yu thought for a moment, clicked on the comedy category, and decided to watch something funny.
After some back and forth, they decided to rewatch ‘Xiao Luo's Troubles’.
In the movie, Xia Luo dreams of time traveling, returning to his student days, where he wins over the girl of his dreams, becomes a music legend, and lives the pinnacle of life—full of luxury and indulgence.
It was only later that he realized the people around him were all using him, and only his original wife, Ma Dongmei, was truly worth cherishing.
Fortunately, it was just a dream.
When the classic line "What’s her name? Ma Dongmei!" appeared, the person beside him laughed foolishly twice.
Shen Yu, however, fell a bit silent.
After his rebirth, he sometimes wondered if all of this was just a dream.
But in another world, his heart had already stopped. Whether this was real or not, it was a gift, and all he could do was cherish it.
At the end of the movie, Xia Luo wakes up on the toilet, looks at himself in the mirror, and without hesitation, runs to Ma Dongmei.
Shen Yu heard Cheng Mofei, who was leaning beside him, chuckle.
Unable to resist, Shen Yu asked him, "If you could really go back to the past, what would you want to change?"
Cheng Mofei thought for a moment, then answered, "When I was in fifth grade, I saw a little orange kitten near the school gate that had just been born. I fed it for a few days, and when I discussed with my parents about adopting it, it disappeared. If I could, I would’ve taken it home the first time I saw it."
"As for high school, if I saw the teacher’s wife, I would’ve told her everything and let her leave that scumbag. I would’ve told her not to be stubborn and to start a new life."
Shen Yu curved his lips slightly.
As expected, Cheng Mofei was a truly upstanding young man.
"And you?" Cheng Mofei tossed the question back to him.
"Nothing," Shen Yu replied softly. "Before this, there was nothing I wanted to change."
This answer was somewhat unexpected for Cheng Mofei.
He didn’t quite understand the phrase "before this," but he caught the latter part, "nothing I wanted to change."
How could a person have no regrets?
Cheng Mofei tentatively asked, "Don't you wish you could’ve grown up with your mom? Or cleared up the misunderstandings with her sooner?"
Shen Yu shook his head.
He didn’t say he didn’t want to, but instead said, "I would have become a burden to her. Perhaps because of my existence, she would have missed out on her current husband and family, and I would’ve dragged her down. Clearing up the misunderstandings earlier might have led to many uncertainties. She would definitely soften and would want to bring me back into her life... But this way, things are just right."
Cheng Mofei opened his mouth but didn’t utter a sound.
He really wanted to ask—what about all the suffering you've been through?
But he actually understood. Shen Yu didn’t care.
In Shen Yu’s heart, the people he loved would always come before himself.
Cheng Mofei inexplicably felt a blockage in his chest.
How could there be such a heart-wrenching little bitter melon...
The movie finally froze on a series of happy moments between Xia Luo and Dongmei.
The ending song played softly in the shared headphones between the two of them.
"I will be by your side, beside you and never let go."
"Whether it’s yesterday, today, or tomorrow, until the very end."
Shen Yu couldn't help but feel a little resonance, and seemingly by accident, his hand brushed against Cheng Mofei's hand, which had moved closer to him.
The thought was buried deeply, hidden well.
But the next second, Cheng Mofei suddenly grasped his hand.
Shen Yu's heart skipped a beat. For a moment, he thought he might have exposed something.
However, he saw Cheng Mofei gently tuck his hand into the blanket while saying, "Don't leave your hand outside, it'll get cold."
Shen Yu's heartbeat slowed slightly.
The movie ended early, and it wasn’t even 24:00 yet after finishing the two-hour film.
"Let’s sleep," Cheng Mofei said naturally, turning off the tablet and lying down.
Shen Yu, however, stayed in the same position, leaning against him, he said, "It’s still early. You go back to your bed and sleep."
In the past, after watching a movie together, they would fall asleep naturally, drifting off in the same bed without much thought.
But tonight, it was still early, and Cheng Mofei could easily go back to his own bed to sleep.
It wasn’t that Shen Yu didn’t want to sleep with Cheng Mofei; it was just that he had already decided to confess his sexual orientation to him, and he needed to lay the groundwork for that.
— How could a gay person sleep in the same bed as a straight guy?
Cheng Mofei looked at him with disbelief, like a wife who had been wronged. If it weren’t for Shen Yu buying him oranges earlier, and soaking their feet together, watching movies, and joking around, he would’ve thought Shen Yu was still being cold towards him.
Shen Yu’s heart softened a little, so he brought up the excuse from before. "My illness hasn’t fully recovered, and you have a basketball game coming up. You can’t risk any accidents."
Cheng Mofei really wanted to say that his body was fine and it wasn’t a problem, but when he met Shen Yu’s gaze, he obediently grabbed his pillow and went back to his own bed.
He promised himself that after next week’s basketball game, he would sleep in Shen Yu's bed for sure.
...
The next day.
Just before the last class ended, Shen Yu suddenly heard a faint conversation coming from the corner of the classroom.
He could vaguely catch words like "behind," "so handsome," and "senior."
When Shen Yu turned his head, he immediately spotted Cheng Mofei sitting confidently in the last row, clearly waiting for him to have lunch together.
Yanda University didn’t prohibit students from auditing courses in other majors, so Cheng Mofei's presence was perfectly fine as long as he was quietly sitting and not disturbing the class.
It seemed that he had arrived early today, and since there was a seat in the back row, he had simply sat down there.
When Cheng Mofei saw Shen Yu turn his head toward him, he gave a small wave.
"......" Shen Yu quickly turned his head back.
No wonder his high school teachers always insisted that dating affected studying—he hadn’t heard a word the teacher said on the podium. He just mechanically copied down the notes on the board, his mind in complete disarray.
At least he was in university now, not high school.
Finally, the bell rang to signal the end of class.
Shen Yu intentionally avoided looking toward the back row, focusing instead on packing his bag.
Fang Xiaoming, who was sitting beside him, had already packed up his things, but didn’t leave immediately. Instead, he stood beside Shen Yu, waiting for him.
These past few days, Shen Yu had been eating lunch with Fang Xiaoming, and today, as usual, he waited for him.
It wasn’t until Cheng Mofei appeared in front of him, pushing against the flow of people, his gaze flicking between Fang Xiaoming and Shen Yu, that Shen Yu finally realized—he had forgotten to tell Fang Xiaoming that he was meeting someone else for lunch today.
Shen Yu slowed his movements, his face showing a bit of hesitation.
It didn’t feel right to stand someone up.
Besides, all three of them were heading to the cafeteria anyway, and after eating, they would just head back to their dorms. There were no other plans, and they were all guys.
Maybe it would be fine...
Shen Yu looked up and said to Fang Xiaoming, "This is my roommate. He’s going to the cafeteria too. Is it okay if the three of us go together?"
Fang Xiaoming, being his usual outgoing self, didn’t mind at all and nodded with a smile, "No problem."
Shen Yu then looked toward Cheng Mofei.
Before Shen Yu could say anything, Cheng Mofei, hands in his pockets and looking cool, said, "I’m fine with it."
He recognized Fang Xiaoming. He was the "classmate" Shen Yu had used as an excuse not to eat with him a while ago. Cheng Mofei had seen him from afar in the cafeteria and remembered his face.
So, what was supposed to be a lunch for two turned into three.
On the way to the cafeteria, Fang Xiaoming casually chatted with Shen Yu about interesting things happening in class and the department, calling him “Brother Shen" every other sentence.
Cheng Mofei stood on the other side of Shen Yu like a statue, silent as ever.
Once they arrived at the cafeteria and found a spot, they got their food, and as usual, Cheng Mofei put some of his food onto Shen Yu’s plate.
Shen Yu had lost some weight recently from eating with this classmate, so he needed to eat more to make up for it.
When Fang Xiaoming saw Cheng Mofei serving food to Shen Yu, he simply thought Shen Yu didn’t mind sharing his food with others. Without thinking much, he spoke up, "Brother Shen, I’d like to try your braised eggplant."
With two people, they could try twice as many dishes.
Shen Yu, being generous, picked up a small soup spoon that hadn’t been used yet and served him a spoonful.
And, by sheer coincidence, he scooped up a little of the small chicken mushrooms that Cheng Mofei had just placed on his plate, and it ended up on Fang Xiaoming's plate too.
Cheng Mofei bit his chopsticks, forcing himself to resist the urge to grab back his small chicken mushrooms. He buried his head in a large mouthful of white rice.
Fang Xiaoming, being a chatterbox, ate while continuously talking, not pausing for a second as he kept talking to Shen Yu.
Fang Xiaoming had always thought of Cheng Mofei as a cool guy who was hard to approach, so he didn’t dare to speak to him directly.
"Brother Shen, I heard next week’s chemistry lab is going to be tough, it’s all up to you," Fang Xiaoming said.
"Don’t worry, I’ve already reviewed it, it’s not that hard," Shen Yu replied.
"Brother Shen, you’re amazing. The lab work these next few years is all on you. No one can try to separate us," Fang Xiaoming continued.
Cheng Mofei: "......" Endure it.
"Brother Shen, have you finished your campus runs? This cold weather is getting worse."
"No, I’ve run about half of it," Shen Yu replied.
"Next time, we can go for a cycling run together. I'll grab a shared bike and you can just hold your phone and wave it around behind me," Fang Xiaoming suggested.
"Yeah, we’ll talk about it when we have time," Shen Yu responded.
Cheng Mofei: "......" Endure it.
"Brother Shen..."
"Brother Shen..."
Suddenly, Cheng Mofei stood up, "I’m full."
With that, he picked up his plate, which still had half the food left, and walked off without looking back, heading to the tray return area.
All leftover food had to be thrown into the recycling bin, and the dish with the most leftover food on Cheng Mofei’s plate was, of course, the small chicken mushrooms.
He purposely went to the bathroom, taking his time. When he returned, the two of them had finished eating and were waiting for him.
Cheng Mofei glanced at Fang Xiaoming and then said to Shen Yu, "Come with me to the school gate, I need to buy something."
Shen Yu didn’t think twice and replied, "Okay, Xiaoming, you head back first."
Fang Xiaoming nodded and didn’t follow them, heading back to the dorm for a nap.
Finally, the trio was over.
Without the noise from the third person, Shen Yu finally had the chance to talk to Cheng Mofei.
The friendship of three people was just too crowded; two was just right.
The two of them walked toward the school gate, where the vendors in the daytime were different from those in the evening.
"Brother Shen." Cheng Mofei suddenly spoke up out of the blue.
Shen Yu looked at him, puzzled, unsure what kind of mood swing he was having now.
When their eyes met, Cheng Mofei grew even bolder and more direct: "Brother Shen, I want to eat that candied hawthorn."
"Brother Shen, buy it for me."
Shen Yu: "?"
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