| BYSG | Dark History | 45
After receiving a message from his mom asking when he would be free to go home for hotpot, Shen Yu thought for a moment.
He carefully looked at the schedule that Cheng Mofei had originally sent in the group chat.
Getting up from the bed, he walked to the foot of the bed and asked Cheng Mofei, "Brother Fei, when do you want to go to my mom's place for hotpot?"
Earlier, he had mentioned the hotpot to Cheng Mofei and was worried that after telling the truth, Cheng Mofei might not go as promised.
But it turned out that his worry was unnecessary.
However, Cheng Mofei had been experiencing some stomach issues lately, so he definitely wouldn't be able to survive within the next week.
Cheng Mofei put down the tablet in his hand, thought for a moment, and replied, "After next week's sports meet, let's go after it ends."
The basketball game would be followed immediately by the sports meet, which all the students in the grade would participate in.
Shen Yu didn't have much athletic talent, so he didn't sign up for any events. He only joined as a volunteer for the logistics to earn credit.
Cheng Mofei, on the other hand, had signed up for running and high jump.
"Okay, then rest well," Shen Yu said as he snuggled back into his pillow and started replying to his mom's message.
Cheng Mofei glanced at him before reopening his tablet.
The tablet screen displayed a picture of the most famous hot spring resort in Yancheng City.
It was owned by his uncle, and last year, when the weather got cold, he had taken Xiao Xiong and Sun Xinghe there several times to soak in the hot springs. It was incredibly relaxing.
This year, it was about time to go again.
He decided to bring Shen Yu along this time. It would serve as a kind of apology for his previous bold actions.
...
Before going to bed after the lights were turned off, Shen Yu went to the bathroom.
When he returned, he passed by Cheng Mofei's bed and, after a moment's thought, reminded him once again, "Be careful of the heat pad, they can burn you."
Under the effects of the medicine, Cheng Mofei was already drowsy. He mumbled a vague response.
The next morning, when Cheng Mofei woke up, he turned over in bed and suddenly furrowed his brows. He lifted his hand and reached into his shirt to touch a spot.
It wouldn’t have mattered if he touched it, but once his hand touched a certain patch of skin, the pain made him hiss, and all his sleepiness disappeared.
He sat up from the bed and lifted his shirt. As expected, he saw a red mark and a small blister on his skin.
Cheng Mofei: "..."
The words Shen Yu had repeatedly reminded him of last night instantly flashed through his mind.
No way... Did I really get burned?
When did I become so delicate?
He had rarely used a heat pack, and subconsciously thought that this small thing that was similar to a steam eye mask would not be dangerous.
He had listened to Shen Yu’s warning yesterday, but didn’t feel any burn, so he just fell asleep without thinking.
Cheng Mofei quickly searched for related information on his tablet.
...
It turned out to be a case of low-degree burns.
He realized that he had been ignorant about it.
Compared to the discomfort caused by the pain, the emotion that enveloped Cheng Mofei the most at that moment was guilt.
It was similar to the last time when Shen Yu had bought him sugar tangerines, and he couldn't resist eating them all, which resulted in a sore mouth.
The warmer was something Shen Yu had bought for him, and he hadn’t taken Shen Yu's warning seriously, which led to him getting burned.
It was clear that Shen Yu had bought it out of kindness, but he always seemed to disappoint Shen Yu's good intentions.
...He absolutely couldn’t let Shen Yu know about the burn.
Shen Yu had already left, and the other two roommates were still sleeping.
Cheng Mofei immediately went to the bathroom, intending to follow the online instructions to clean the burn with lukewarm water.
Later, when he went to the store to have his phone repaired, he would also stop by the pharmacy to buy some burn ointment.
He first checked the wound in the mirror, lifting his shirt to examine the exact condition.
Fortunately, it wasn’t too serious.
Just then, he grabbed his thermos from under the table, mixed in some cold water, and began to slowly clean the burn.
Unexpectedly, halfway through, the door to the dormitory was suddenly pushed open from the outside.
Cheng Mofei’s hand trembled in panic.
The only person who could be coming back at this time was Shen Yu.
He remembered that Shen Yu had said he would bring porridge back this morning.
When he had gone to get the thermos, he had only slightly closed the bathroom door, not fully shutting it.
As if to confirm this, the door to the bathroom was pushed open from the outside.
In a reflex, Cheng Mofei quickly shoved the door back, ensuring that the person outside couldn’t see the scene inside.
Shen Yu outside was momentarily stunned, retracting his hand.
Shen Yu had only noticed that the bathroom light was on and the door wasn’t fully closed, so he had intended to peek in and see who was inside.
"I... I was about to use the bathroom, my clothes aren't on properly," Cheng Mofei's voice came through.
"Mm," Shen Yu responded lightly.
He naturally interpreted Cheng Mofei's reaction as an attempt to avoid awkwardness after learning about his sexual orientation.
After all, Cheng Mofei had never been so cautious about changing clothes in front of him before.
"I bought you breakfast. It's on your desk. Remember to take your medicine. I'm going to class now."
"Okay."
Shen Yu walked over to Cheng Mofei's desk, placed the breakfast down, and turned to leave.
A hint of disappointment flickered in his eyes, but it wasn’t too bad.
It was normal for Cheng Mofei to start setting some boundaries now that he knew about Shen Yu's feelings.
He would take it slow.
Once he heard the sound of Shen Yu leaving, the tension in Cheng Mofei's body finally started to ease.
It was a relief that he hadn't been caught…
Cheng Mofei quickly took care of his burn, washed up, and then pushed open the door, walking to his desk to unpack the warm breakfast.
There was porridge, steamed buns, and a boiled egg. It was all light and nourishing on the stomach.
Cheng Mofei finished everything, followed the instructions on the medicine box, and took his medication obediently. After sending Shen Yu a message on his tablet, he left the room.
His parents had arranged for someone to deliver his phone, and it was waiting for him at the front desk. He decided to stop by the nearby phone repair shop to fix his broken phone and also pick up some burn ointment.
The good news was that the phone only had a cracked screen, so after replacing it, it could still be used.
The bad news was that the burn wouldn’t heal quickly, and he would need to apply medicine every day. There was even a chance it would leave a scar, so he’d have to buy some scar treatment ointment as well.
It wasn’t that he cared about the scar—it was more that he didn’t want any "evidence" left behind.
Once everything was taken care of, Cheng Mofei hurried to class.
This class was a major course, and Xiao Xiong and Sun Xinghe had already arrived early and saved him a seat.
As soon as he sat down, Cao Hong sneaked over to his side and asked, "Brother Fei, did you end up going out last night?"
Cheng Mofei: "?"
It took Cheng Mofei a few seconds to realize what he meant—there had indeed been something off about the seafood barbecue from last night.
Cheng Mofei answered coolly, "I ended up at the hospital with gastroenteritis."
Cao Hong: "Are you okay?"
Cheng Mofei gave a brief hum. "It's fine now."
Cao Hong: "The captain already got in touch with that seafood place. They’re definitely going to give us an explanation."
Cheng Mofei nodded again and took a sip of the water in his thermos.
Cao Hong still didn’t leave.
Cheng Mofei glanced at him, already knowing that he was likely hoping to ask about what happened with Shen Yu the night before.
Cheng Mofei didn’t say much, only replying, "Shen Yu and I are fine, don’t worry."
He could understand that Cao Hong was looking out for him, but Shen Yu was an important friend to him, and he didn’t like people discussing his personal matters behind his back.
Hearing Cheng Mofei's vague response, Cao Hong still wanted a more definitive answer, but he understood that this was probably all Cheng Mofei would say, so he didn't press further.
It wasn’t good to meddle too much in other people's affairs, especially since his original intention was only to make sure his friend wasn’t left in the dark.
"Take care of yourself. You signed up for a project in the sports meet too, right? Let's get some points together," Cheng Mofei said with a smile, patting Cao Hong on the arm.
Cao Hong grinned back. "No problem."
With only a few minutes left before class, and the teacher already at the podium preparing the PowerPoint, Cao Hong returned to his seat.
Cheng Mofei casually picked up the old phone he had just received.
It was the one he had used in high school. After he graduated and got a new phone, he hadn’t used it again, and everything inside had never been wiped, it was all still there.
A year had passed, and many things were now a blur to him.
It was like digging for treasures in a familiar yet unfamiliar sea.
It was quite refreshing.
...
On the other side, Shen Yu was reviewing the content for his upcoming class when he suddenly received a message from Cheng Mofei.
Cheng Mofei: 【I found a bunch of ugly photos from my high school days on my old phone. Want to see them?】
Shen Yu raised an eyebrow.
In his past life, he had seen plenty of Cheng Mofei's photos, but almost none from high school, let alone ugly ones.
It was probably because of the unpleasant incident with their high school homeroom teacher that Cheng Mofei had purposely avoided sharing those.
Without hesitation, Shen Yu replied: 【Yes】
Cheng Mofei sent a "little hamster with a mischievous smile" emoji and texted: 【In exchange I want your ugly photos】.
It turned out that there really were some photos.
He had found them on his old phone, the one he had used before switching to his new one.
After getting the new phone, he transferred the photos over, keeping them as a memento.
After he and Cheng Mofei got together in his past life, he had hardly found any traces of his student days.
But the true black history wasn’t a photo, it was a surveillance video from a high school evening self-study session.
In the video, he was so sleepy that his head bobbed up and down, like a little chick pecking at grains. Eventually, his head dropped and hit the desk, startling him into sitting up straight, looking both comical and funny.
He had been the teacher's favorite student, and the homeroom teacher had clearly been amused by his actions. She even went out of her way to send him the edited video.
Shen Yu quickly found the video and sent it to Cheng Mofei.
Shen Yu: 【Your turn】
Cheng Mofei: 【Wait, let me enjoy this first】
Shen Yu: “...”
Enjoy what, exactly?
Shen Yu waited... and waited, until the bell signaling the start of class rang, and the teacher at the podium began speaking into the microphone.
Cheng Mofei's message arrived almost at the same time as the bell.
Cheng Mofei: 【Is the guy sitting behind and to your right, the one in a white T-shirt, with a bowl cut and glasses—interested in you? He’s been staring at you and smiling weirdly.】
Shen Yu: “?”
In high school, students were required to wear uniforms, and in the video, aside from Shen Yu, who was the main character, nodding off and then jolting awake, no one else really stood out. Even if there were small movements, they were subtle.
There were fifty or sixty students in the class, and it took Shen Yu several replays of the video to finally spot the person Cheng Mofei was referring to.
...Was Cheng Mofei some kind of magnifying glass in human form?
Just then, the teacher’s gentle voice rang out from the podium: "Shen Yu, can you answer the question left from the last class?"
...
Meanwhile, Cheng Mofei was in a professional course, but it was a "water" class—one of those where you could pass by just submitting a paper at the end of the semester.
Many students were slacking off.
Xiao Xiong was secretly editing videos under the table. Ever since that day when Shen Yu asked him if he wanted to try working in this field, Xiao Xiong had been spending his free time either playing games or editing videos.
Sun Xinghe was chatting casually with his girlfriend.
Meanwhile, Cheng Mofei was holding his old phone without its case, his brow furrowed as he stared intently at the screen.
Why hadn’t Shen Yu replied?
Was it true?
Was that person really interested in Shen Yu?
What about Shen Yu?
...Could it be that Shen Yu and that person know each other?
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