Brother, you smell good - 75

 

| BYSG | Close Your Eyes | 75

Cheng Mofei had a stern face as he analyzed bit by bit for Shen Yu: "Clearly, it's a reaction of someone who is both homophobic and a straight man, who is also afraid to confess to you, yet can't control the urge to get close to you."

He was too familiar with this situation.

Shen Yu stood there, stunned, and concluded: "So, you were in a homophobic straight man state when you first met me in the previous life?"

Cheng Mofei nodded heavily.

Shen Yu continued: "And then in the previous life, you secretly bent yourself without me knowing?"

Cheng Mofei nodded heavily again.

Shen Yu: "......"

This was an answer he had never considered before.

But Cheng Mofei’s analysis made so much sense that there was no way to find fault with it.

"How sheming, he blatantly seduced you into living together," Cheng Mofei muttered to himself. "He’s really full of tricks."

Shen Yu: "......"

Shen Yu smiled and said, "It's okay. This time, I've also used my own little tricks to move in with you. We're even now."

Cheng Mofei immediately switched to his little wife mode, sticking to Shen Yu and mentioning that he wanted to buy bed curtains.

Living together meant more than just sharing a room. The current four-person dorm could only be considered shared living, and it wasn’t very convenient for anything.

Shen Yu didn’t have any objections.

Bed curtains were more commonly found in girls' dorms, since girls often needed privacy for changing clothes and the curtains were more practical. But they weren’t exactly rare in boys’ dorms either.

"Maybe tell them too," Shen Yu suggested.

Cheng Mofei nodded, then shouted over to Sun Xinghe, who was still on a call, and Xiao Xiong, who was still exercising, "Hey, Xiao Yu and I are planning to buy bed curtains. Do you guys want some too?"

Xiao Xiong paused his movements. "Sure, I actually spotted a bed curtain last year, but since you guys don’t use one, it would’ve been weird if I used it alone, so I didn’t buy it."

Sun Xinghe also gave an OK sign with his hand, his expression deadpan as he listened to the yelling of his girlfriend through his headphones: "Aaaahhh, they’re going to put up bed curtains... Hehehe..."

Sun Xinghe thought it might be a good idea to find some time to mention to these two that his girlfriend was a fan of their CP. Otherwise, it might get a little awkward for him when they're all on a call in the dorm. If they didn’t mind, that was fine, but if they did, it could be a problem.

...

As lights were about to go out, Cheng Mofei slowly lay down, preparing to cuddle Shen Yu to sleep, but Shen Yu gently pushed him away.

A cold, merciless voice sounded beside him: "Your injuries aren’t fully healed yet. Go sleep in your own bed."

Shen Yu did want to sleep with Cheng Mofei, but unfortunately, the dorm bed was too small. If the two of them slept together, it would be too cramped, and it wouldn’t be good for Cheng Mofei’s recovery.

Moreover, Cheng Mofei would definitely want to cuddle him to sleep. The bed curtains hadn’t arrived yet, and if their two roommates saw them... it would still be a little embarrassing.

Cheng Mofei knew that Shen Yu considered his health the most important, so he obediently followed his suggestion and lazily returned to his own bed.

And considering his injury was on his waist, Cheng Mofei, who had seen a few films in his time, knew how important the waist was for certain activities. If the injury didn’t heal properly and caused any issues, how could he ensure Shen Yu’s happiness in the future... Ahem, getting sidetracked here.

The ears of the man who hadn’t even kissed yet turned red as he buried his face in the blanket.

On the other side, Shen Yu lay in bed, he subconsciously opening his dating app, planning to write a little diary entry about today. But he found that there was already an orange-colored message left for today.

[I will continue to love you.]

Shen Yu hugged the little hamster plush Cheng Mofei had given him, his heart racing wildly. A thin layer of mist seemed to blur his vision.

...

The next morning, Cheng Mofei woke up and checked his phone to find a post from Shen Yu, which he had shared after the lights went out the previous night.

[Spending winter with Senior Orange.]

The accompanying picture was from the way back last night, showing Shen Yu’s breath fogging up the car window, where he had drawn a round orange with his finger. The reflection of the two of them could also be seen faintly on the glass.

At the time, Cheng Mofei had only thought Shen Yu was taking a picture of the orange drawn on the glass, not realizing he had also captured their reflection.

Cheng Mofei immediately pressed and held the photo to save it, storing it carefully.

The other photo accompanying the post was a screenshot of their dating app profile, identical to the one in his previous post, making it immediately obvious that this was an official announcement of their relationship.

Cheng Mofei was as happy as a dog with its tail wagging all the way up to the sky.

"Senior Orange" sounded so much better than "Little Orange"... it was his exclusive nickname!

Not only were they going to spend the winter together, but they were also going to walk through every season side by side.

...

While Shen Yu was in class, he suddenly received a message from Cheng Mofei saying he was going home for a while. Shen Yu knew it was most likely to explain things to his family about their relationship, which made him feel a bit uneasy.

His mother had also liked the post Shen Yu shared last night and left a comment: [Little treasure, I hope you’re happy.] 

It seemed like she was accepting his sexual orientation.

He had hardly worried about his mother’s reaction. He knew she would always prioritize his feelings.

What he had always been worried about was Cheng Mofei’s side.

When Shen Yu returned to the dorm after class, Cheng Mofei still hadn’t come back. He had only sent a message on WeChat saying that he was talking to his family and that everything was going smoothly, so Shen Yu didn’t need to worry.

How could he not worry?

Cheng Mofei was only nineteen in this lifetime, still at an age when his family had a lot of control over him. Being with someone of the same sex would certainly be hard to accept, and there was a chance they might even try to "correct" him.

He hoped it was really going smoothly and not just a lie to comfort him.

Shen Yu crouched in front of the hamster cage, opened the door, and gently picked up the little hamster, rubbing it in his hands. His mind started to wander uncontrollably.

But even though his thoughts were spiraling, there was no internal conflict. No matter what happened, he had already prepared himself to face it all with Cheng Mofei.

In the evening, when the sky had already darkened, Cheng Mofei finally returned. He didn’t change his shoes but instead stood by the door, calling out to Shen Yu to come out with him.

Shen Yu was startled, instinctively thinking that Cheng Mofei’s family had come to see him.

To his surprise, Cheng Mofei led him all the way down to the fifth floor, then into a car parked downstairs. There was no one else in the car.

“Where are we going?” Shen Yu tightened his grip on the seatbelt.

“You’ll find out soon enough,” Cheng Mofei replied, stepping on the gas. It wasn’t that he was trying to tease Shen Yu, but rather that he couldn’t tell him in advance.

Soon, the car stopped at a quiet, open area. The sky had completely darkened by then.

Cheng Mofei got out and went to the trunk, retrieving the prepared fireworks.

He quickly lit the fireworks, then took Shen Yu’s hand and walked a little farther. 

Turning to him, he said, “My family saw that post. The news spread quickly. They knew I was coming home, and some of my relatives who are close to me came over. One of my uncles is in the fireworks business, so I went to pick out some really beautiful ones from his collection. What do you think? It’s not worse than the ones in the car trunk, right?”

Staring at the clusters of beautiful fireworks blooming in the night sky, Shen Yu couldn’t help but drift off for a moment. Suddenly, he lost the ability to think or respond.

Seeing how absorbed Shen Yu was in watching the fireworks, Cheng Mofei didn’t rush for an answer. He tightly held Shen Yu’s hand and stayed by his side, enjoying the view together.

It was still a bit cold outside. The snow had stopped, and an unknown wind whistled past. Cheng Mofei didn’t pick out many fireworks, he picked the most beautiful one out of worry that Shen Yu might get cold.

Finally, the last firework faded, the crackling sounds ceased, and the surrounding quiet returned, with only the sound of their heartbeats unchanged.

Feeling the strength and warmth of the hand holding his, Shen Yu slowly found his voice again and asked, “Did your family say anything unpleasant when you went back today?”

“There was nothing unpleasant. At first, they were a little surprised and asked me a lot of questions, but after seeing that I really liked you, they didn’t say much. My mom was the quickest to accept it. I guess she had already talked to the relatives before I even got home. You know, she’s a music teacher, and she has a lot of gay students, so she’s used to it. Plus, she really likes you. If I were with another guy, she’d probably still be worried. But since it’s you, she’s actually quite happy. She even told me to bring you back for dinner every weekend,” Cheng Mofei explained honestly.

Shen Yu, who had been anxious for most of the day, finally felt his heart settle.

Cheng Mofei then added, "I wanted to give you fireworks, so my uncle specially provided the best ones from his collection. What do you think? You haven’t answered me yet, aren’t they better than the ones in the car trunk?"

So, he was competing with his previous self from the past life. The reason he came back so late was because he went to pick out fireworks.

Shen Yu gazed at him silently, not answering. Instead, he softly said, "Close your eyes."

Cheng Mofei was momentarily stunned but didn’t ask any questions. He obediently closed his eyes.

The next second, soft lips pressed against his.

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