| BYSG | Perfection | 84
The New Year had ended, and there was little time left of the winter vacation.
Several dormmates had already left Yancheng early, and Cheng Mofei took the rest of them on a trip to the nearby seaside.
After the winter break, Xiao Xiong had visibly lost some weight—an admirable feat of perseverance.
This year, Sun Xinghe and his partner had also met each other's parents during the New Year. The two were from the same hometown and had known each other for many years.
Their parents were also acquainted, but in the past, they hadn't dared to reveal their early romance to their families. Now that they had both been admitted to university, they could finally date openly.
Winter had passed, but the temperature remained low. Still, there was a subtle hint of spring in the air.
The seaside scenery was beautiful, and the four of them took many photos together.
Later, these photos were printed and stored in a photo album.
With each passing year, the number of photos in the album slowly grew.
Shen Yu loved the sea.
Although Cheng Mofei always said he was like a little hamster, Shen Yu felt that before meeting Cheng Mofei, he was more like a fish drifting aimlessly in the vast ocean. He had no home, the sea was full of dangers, and he was always covered in wounds.
But now, he no longer felt that way.
Now, he just wanted to be a happy and healthy little hamster.
…
At the start of the new semester, Han Xuan brought them a lot of spicy rabbit meat from his hometown.
After Cheng Mofei found out that Han Xuan had drawn the artwork of him and Tan Feng as a couple, he specifically commissioned a matching couple illustration of himself and Shen Yu. The payment was simply too generous to refuse.
The illustration depicted a chibi-style little hamster hugging an orange. Shen Yu cropped out the hamster part, while Cheng Mofei kept the orange. It was incredibly adorable.
Later, the four of them found time to play a round of mahjong together.
As expected, President Cheng and Professor Shen went "bankrupt" again.
…
With the new semester, Shen Yu declined all tutoring jobs except for the one at Cheng Zhiyu’s, freeing up more time for himself—to experience university life, enjoy his relationship, and spend time with family.
Not long after school started, Shen Yu urged Shen Xunyan to go to the hospital with him for a full-body check-up.
There had been too much going on at the end of the previous year, causing delays, but he would never forget something this important.
Due to past psychological struggles, Shen Xunyan had always been somewhat fearful of hospitals. This fear had contributed to her passing in their previous life—many illnesses, if caught and treated early, wouldn’t have been serious, but procrastination could lead to irreversible consequences.
For Shen Yu’s sake, Shen Xunyan gritted her teeth and went through with the check-up.
The results turned out to be quite good.
Thanks to improved nutrition over the past six months, Shen Yu was found to have only mild anemia. Shen Xunyan had some health issues as well, but nothing too severe—she just needed to take care of herself and go for regular check-ups.
After returning home, Shen Xunyan made plenty of blood-nourishing meals for Shen Yu and bought him lots of red dates and goji berries to brew in tea.
Shen Yu had already bought some health supplements for himself, and now he had so much that he could barely keep up with it all.
Luckily, Cheng Mofei was around. Every morning, when Shen Yu prepared his tea, he would also prepare a share for Cheng Mofei’s thermos.
Cheng Mofei carried that thermos everywhere, looking smug and pleased with himself. He might forget his textbooks for class, but his thermos can never be left behind.
…
Later, when the pandemic broke out at the end of 2019, Shen Yu stocked up early on masks, medicine, and snacks.
He didn’t dare to act as the butterfly wings might change the world, but at the very least, he could make things a little more comfortable for himself and the people around him.
After the lockdown measures were in place, the four dormmates spent their days cooped up in their room, attending online classes. With nothing better to do, they often played with their little hamster.
Xiao Xiong, apart from running his social media accounts, focused on exercising and losing weight. Since the start of his sophomore year, he had successfully lost 30 pounds.
Sun Xinghe and his partner, despite being on the same campus, were forced into a long-distance relationship of sorts, only able to see each other briefly while lining up for daily COVID tests. Wearing masks, they could only exchange quick glances, they often feeling envious of Shen Yu and Cheng Mofei, the lucky couple who lived in the same dorm.
Meanwhile, Cheng Mofei was constantly on edge, worried that either he or Shen Yu might test positive. If one of them got infected, they’d be isolated separately, unable to be together.
Thankfully, they both remained COVID-free until the holidays.
However, shortly after the break began, Shen Yu developed a fever and a sore throat so painful it felt like swallowing knives. Cheng Mofei was frantic with worry but had no way to go over and take care of him.
Shen Yu insisted that Cheng Mofei stay put—he didn’t want to risk passing the virus to him.
But it didn’t take long before Cheng Mofei also fell sick.
The two of them, as if their voices had been stolen by the virus, could barely speak, yet they stayed connected on voice chat 24/7.
Ning Que, who had been accepted into medical school for graduate studies, volunteered to join the frontlines of pandemic control after the outbreak. By the end of 2021, he couldn’t even come home for the New Year, he was only able to see his family through video calls.
In the video, Ning Que was wearing full protective gear, smiling as he said, “No pine nuts for me this year.”
Almost instinctively, Shen Xunyan blurted out, “Next year, Mom will buy you plenty. I’ll make sure you have your fill.”
The moment the words left her mouth, both of them froze—especially Ning Que on the other end of the call. But soon, his eyes curved into crescents as he grinned and responded, “Alright, Mom.”
Shen Xunyan’s eyes grew hot with emotion.
That night, Shen Yu shared the story with Cheng Mofei.
Cheng Mofei chuckled and said, “What a coincidence—one’s a squirrel, the other’s a hamster.”
Later, Shen Yu couldn’t quite remember when it happened but he called Uncle Ning “Dad’ now—perhaps it was in one of the countless times he introduced himself to others.
…
Time flowed on in happiness.
During their senior year, Momo, their beloved hamster, passed away.
A hamster’s lifespan is typically only around two years, and Momo peacefully reached the end of its life during Cheng Mofei’s last semester of college, just shy of its third birthday.
But since hamster years couldn’t be directly compared to human years, Momo had already lived a long and fulfilling life in hamster terms.
On the day of Momo’s passing, the four of them buried the little hamster under a tree in the greenery outside their dorm building.
After returning to the dorm, Cheng Mofei and Shen Yu carefully packed away all of Momo’s belongings.
The memories of their little hamster lingering in the dorm remained vivid.
Back before he and Shen Yu got together, Cheng Mofei would often talk to the tiny creature as if it could understand him.
After realizing his feelings for Shen Yu, there was even a night when Cheng Mofei sneaked into the bathroom to do something bad, and accidentally left the hamster locked in its travel case until morning.
Later, even during their first time together, the little hamster had been smuggled along to the hotel, hidden away in an unseen corner.
…
After Momo’s passing, they both decided never to keep a pet with such a short lifespan again.
Having to endure a farewell every two years was simply too heartbreaking.
That night, Cheng Mofei held Shen Yu tightly in his arms and murmured in a muffled voice that he would never compare him to a hamster again.
He didn’t want Shen Yu to be like a little hamster, with a life that was too short.
Shen Yu naturally understood what was on his mind. He lifted his head and kissed Cheng Mofei’s chin.
Idiot.
In this life, he would go for regular check-ups, exercise, and take care of his health. He would surely live a long, long time.
…
Though they said that, neither of them ever replaced the chibi-style couple illustration of the hamster hugging an orange that Han Xuan had drawn for them years ago.
Cheng Mofei’s phone lock screen also remained the same—a photo of Shen Yu, using a hamster-ear filter, holding Momo in his hands.
Momo had been their first little “child” they raised together, and they would never forget it.
…
Later, on campus, the two of them found themselves hit by a tiny stray kitten.
By then, the pandemic had fully subsided. Sun Xinghe and his partner had held their wedding, Shen Yu had been accepted into his university’s graduate program, and Cheng Mofei had taken over the family business, now officially being addressed as "President Cheng."
That day, President Cheng personally drove to campus to pick up his graduate student boyfriend for dinner, only to have a tiny kitten suddenly dart out and run into him by collapsing in front of his car.
As fate would have it, the little one was an orange tabby.
A long-haired, fluffy orange tabby—beautiful, affectionate, and incredibly clingy. Neither of them could resist, so they took it home.
It just so happened that after Cheng Mofei’s graduation, they had moved into a spacious apartment near the university that his family had prepared for them.
With their belongings not filling up the space much, the place felt a bit empty—it was perfect for welcoming a new member.
They named the kitten “Jiujiu,” symbolizing longevity and a long life.
…
Later, Shen Yu became the youngest professor in the chemistry department at Yancheng University.
Some students noticed that Professor Shen's WeChat profile picture looked like a chibi-style hamster, and there was a well-dressed man who would often sneak into his lectures.
He would sit at the back corner of the classroom and, after class, leave with him. It seemed like this man was Professor Shen's partner.
This sparked a lot of buzz on the campus forum, and some old gossip posts from years ago resurfaced.
It turned out that Professor Shen and this man had been together since their student days at Yancheng University. They had been a perfect match, and the campus had long known about their relationship. The post even included some candid photos and stories from their student years.
One account, claiming to be from an older female student, said: "I've been shipping them for years, since they were students, and now I have kids of my own."
Apparently, a few years later, President Cheng and the then-PhD student, Professor Shen, had gotten married. On the company’s external screen, "Congratulations to President Cheng on his marriage" had been displayed all night long.
It was also said that with the generous support from President Cheng, the chemistry building and labs at Yancheng University were completely renovated, leaving chemistry students ecstatic.
It was said that recently, Professor Shen’s coat had been covered with orange cat fur, possibly because of his beloved cat at home. The cat was a long-haired orange tabby, and there was always a faint scent of oranges on Professor Shen, a sign of how much he loves oranges.
It was also said that one day, a student brought their pet hamster to class, and when Professor Shen saw it, he spent a long time playing with the hamster during the break.
There were so many stories, too many to even recount.
…
Another New Year’s Day rolled around.
On New Year’s Eve, Shen Yu curled up with the cat in Cheng Mofei’s arms, listening to the fireworks popping outside the window. The little cat was batting at the small fish-shaped fireworks on the tablet screen with its paws. Each time it touched the fish, a firework would explode, and it was the cat’s favorite game.
Originally, they had planned to go out and set off fireworks, but Cheng Mofei had been traveling constantly between domestic and international trips, wearing himself out. The temperature changes had made him fall ill, and he hadn’t fully recovered yet, so Shen Yu canceled the one activity they had both looked forward to every year.
Anyway, with the ongoing promotion of energy conservation and environmental protection, having fewer fireworks wasn’t a bad thing.
At home, the little cat playing with the fireworks on the tablet was just as good.
Cheng Mofei rested his chin on Shen Yu's shoulder, wrapping his arms around his waist from behind, and they both watched the little cat on the tablet together.
As the clock struck twelve, the fireworks outside erupted like they were all synchronized, bursting loudly to celebrate the arrival of the new year.
A kiss was pressed against Shen Yu’s ear, and a voice filled with a smile said, “Another year gone by, and I’m another year older.”
Shen Yu turned his head with a smile and glanced at him, correcting, “Thirty is the most ‘charming’ age.”
After being sick, Cheng Mofei had been feeling down for a few days, sighing, “I miss being nineteen. I had endless energy back then.”
Shen Yu gave a cold laugh. “You’re still the same now.”
Cheng Mofei lightly rubbed his chin against Shen Yu's shoulder and said, "Tonight, I want to hear you call me 'Orange Senior.'"
…
After a whole night of calling "Orange Senior," Shen Yu was exhausted and fell asleep. But that night, he had a dream.
In the dream, they were back to being 18 or 19 years old, and their story was just beginning.
When they found out their dorm room number was 11 Building, Room 520, the 19-year-old Cheng Mofei looked at the 18-year-old Shen Yu with bright, eager eyes.
"You're Shen Yu?"
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