A Gentle Smile and a Chilling Joke

Lu Lin naturally extended a hand, gently stroking the top of Su Yan’s fluffy hair, before calmly turning his gaze to Song Xingyu. Before Lu Lin, Song Xingyu appeared as inconsequential as an ant, easily crushed beneath a heel.

Lu Lin gently pressed Su Yan’s shoulder, prompting him to cling even tighter. He had spoken to Chen Xubai far more frequently than he ever did to Song Xingyu.

The reason was simple: Chen Xubai, the only son of the Chen family, had been pampered since childhood, resulting in a simple mind devoid of ill intent when approaching Lu Lin.

At most, he merely wished to flaunt his connection at school, boasting that Lu Lin was his close friend.

Song Xingyu, however, was a different story entirely; his malice practically oozed from him. Moreover, he reveled in playing the victim before Su Yan.

The card he had tossed to Song Xingyu had certainly not been used sparingly.

Looking up, Su Yan caught sight of Lu Lin’s gentle smile and, believing himself forgiven, instinctively released his grip, gazing up at the standing figure.

Only then did he realize Lu Lin wasn’t looking at him at all, but was instead gazing indifferently at Song Xingyu, his eyes fixed on Song Xingyu’s hands. Unable to bear the intense scrutiny, Song Xingyu instinctively moved his hands behind his back.

It wasn’t that Song Xingyu hadn’t noticed the warning, threatening gaze. He was certain that if he dared to approach Su Yan again without permission, his fate would be grim, perhaps mirroring exactly what had happened to that guy in high school.

“Why are you two gazing so lovingly at each other?” Su Yan picked up the cake from the table once more, spooning a small bite into his mouth. A closer look would have revealed his hand, holding the cake, was trembling.

Su Yan wasn’t truly foolish; he merely wished to ease the tension. He hadn’t expected his first words to be such an outrageously awkward statement.

Lu Lin’s face darkened considerably, the remark almost making him lose his appetite. He turned his head to look at Su Yan, who wore an innocent expression, and snapped, “Are you trying to break up with me again?”

“That’s five times today.”

“You know I don’t have that much patience.”

Lu Lin’s dark pupils were unfathomable, making it impossible to discern his true thoughts. Yet, his cold, unyielding expression alone was enough to reveal that his mood had plummeted to rock bottom once more.

Su Yan had worked tirelessly to cultivate a good relationship with Lu Lin, and he certainly couldn’t allow it to revert to its previous frigid state. However, Lu Lin’s words left him somewhat perplexed; when had he ever suggested breaking up five times today?

“I suggested breaking up?”

That was a question.

“You know what you know.”

That was a cold, declarative statement.

Although his attempt was somewhat counterproductive, the focus had indeed shifted—only it had shifted directly onto himself. For instance, at this very moment, Lu Lin’s icy gaze swept over him.

Lu Lin lowered his eyelids, and just as he was about to speak, Su Yan quickly uttered a few “eh” sounds, as if to interrupt a spell.

Su Yan sat on the stool, glancing at Lu Lin standing before him. A brilliant idea to save himself suddenly surfaced in his mind, and upon this thought, he flashed an innocent smile.

As he raised both hands, his bracelet jingled, and he quickly extended his index fingers to poke his cheeks, his voice trailing off.

“Gege, could you bear to scold me?”

What Lu Lin saw when he lowered his gaze was this scene: Su Yan, suppressing his embarrassment, blinked his moist, deer-like eyes, smiling as he poked his own cheeks with his fingers, calling out “Gege” in a coaxing tone.

Su Yan maintained this pose for a full minute. Receiving no reaction from Lu Lin, he found himself utterly engulfed by a wave of embarrassment.

“Actually, I was just kidding. I just saw those idols doing this kind of move and tried to imitate them.”

“Haha…” It only grew more awkward.

Even after Su Yan’s pale explanation, he still received no response from the obsessive man. He stared at Lu Lin suspiciously, only then noticing the unusual expression on Lu Lin’s face.

‘Was he shy?’

Su Yan had no idea how intense his scrutinizing gaze was until Lu Lin reached out and covered his eyes.

The touch of Lu Lin’s palm spread throughout his body, sending a shiver through him.

Su Yan’s curled eyelashes brushed against his palm, and the sudden darkness made him unable to resist speaking. “Can’t I just not look at you?”

Without waiting for Su Yan to utter another word, Lu Lin fled as if escaping, scrambling into bed.

Su Yan put the strawberry from the cake into his mouth. ‘How sour,’ he thought. ‘By the way, am I really that scary?’

****

As the dorm room slowly succumbed to an awkward silence, Chen Xubai pushed the door open and entered. He placed the basketball he was holding under the table, and upon seeing Su Yan, naturally leaned closer, yet maintained a slight distance.

Su Yan, who had been lazily leaning back in his chair, found himself growing tense as he watched Chen Xubai stare at him with a serious expression, prompting him to straighten his posture.

If one were to dissect Chen Xubai’s brain, they would find his cerebrum remarkably smooth; such a fool was indeed worth befriending deeply.

Such a person would never concoct malicious schemes to harm you, yet they might suddenly squat down to tie their shoelaces while walking in front of you, causing you to trip face-first.

Having spent time together, Su Yan found Chen Xubai to be quite loyal; he was the type to let you have the freshest bite, even of proverbial shit. Their relationship had slowly improved in this humorous manner.

However, he hadn’t often seen Chen Xubai look so serious. His heart tightened, fearing he was about to hear something ominous.

Unexpectedly, after walking about a meter away from Su Yan, he suddenly grinned, revealing his neat, white teeth. “Mama, where’s Papa?”

Su Yan’s hand trembled, and he almost dropped his phone. “Say that again?”

Chen Xubai, failing to detect the underlying threat, merely assumed Su Yan was hard of hearing and actually repeated the sentence, “Mama, where’s Papa?”

“I need to give him these materials. The professor for our major course asked me to.”

As he spoke, he pulled out several test papers from behind his back.

Chen Xubai was truly so utterly devoid of dignity! Perhaps if you asked him to repeat it a hundred times, he would still madly whisper the same sentence into your ear, like a demonic incantation.

Su Yan’s fingertips twitched as he swiped the screen, and a “perfect” game sound effect emanated from his phone. Chen Xubai’s words from the start of the semester flashed before his eyes: ‘I even shipped it back then.’

“I kept telling the professor you two were a couple, a couple! But he insisted on giving it to me to pass on.”

“That old man is too tactless,” Chen Xubai declared. Su Yan, however, couldn’t fathom the meaning behind his words.

It wasn’t until Chen Xubai’s bright eyes turned to him, and he earnestly said, “Don’t be jealous, Mama,” that Su Yan understood.

Su Yan stared blankly. ‘So,’ he mused, ‘the word “Mama” was meant to be a life-saving charm.’

Su Yan’s expression returned to normal. He pulled his hands further into his hoodie sleeves, finding this dark joke a bit too chilling, and then lifted his chin towards Lu Lin’s bunk.

“Your Papa is sleeping over there.”

****

“So, you’ve become a father just like that?”

“Oh no, a mother,” Qi Zhiyao corrected himself, having just swallowed a mouthful of rice. He almost choked with laughter, tears welling in his eyes.

The noisy environment of the cafeteria did nothing to diminish Qi Zhiyao’s desire for gossip. The events of last night had almost made him double over with laughter, his only regret being that he hadn’t witnessed it himself.

Qi Zhiyao had only been serious that one time after returning from Taishi, speaking so emotionally and treating Su Yan as his best friend. So why, when asked afterward why he had spoken that way that night, did he then pretend to be ignorant and ignore the question?

Su Yan meticulously picked out the condiments he disliked from his plate and wrapped them in tissue paper. Regarding Qi Zhiyao’s mockery, he remained noncommittal. “You’ve been laughing for twenty minutes straight,” he observed.

“Be careful you don’t laugh all the moisture out of your body, turning into a dried corpse,” Su Yan stated, his expression completely unchanged.

“Is this what they call a ‘coldly cute’ face?” Qi Zhiyao remarked out of the blue, setting down his chopsticks.

Su Yan: “…”

The food in his mouth suddenly tasted bland; he simply wanted to kick this overly saccharine person back to Taishi.

“Su Yan, are you guys here too?” A familiar shout came from behind.

No, it was a group of shouts.

Chen Xubai and Cheng Ye, along with a few others who were participating in the drama, were carrying their food trays and looking for seats. They coincidentally spotted Su Yan and his companion, and, being naturally familiar, sat down beside Su Yan.

Su Yan put down his chopsticks and glared at Chen Xubai, effectively blocking the words, ‘Mama, where’s Papa?’

Lu Lin wasn’t by his side anyway; he was probably accustomed to appearing and disappearing mysteriously.

“You guys know each other too?” Su Yan’s mind hadn’t fully woken up after class, so he casually threw out a common topic.

To his surprise, Cheng Ye looked at him with a strange expression, pointing to himself, then to Chen Xubai, his slightly agape mouth conveying his current feelings.

“You and Chen Xubai are in the same class.”

“You and I are also in the same class.”

“Which means all three of us are in the same class.”

Su Yan: “…” ‘Oh, they’re implying I’m an idiot.’

“I’m not chatting anymore; Lu Lin asked me out on a date.”

Su Yan often used this tactic when he felt disinclined to socialize, and it always worked, even though others would gaze at him with a complex mix of emotions.

But he didn’t care.

Today was already Friday, and he had no classes in the afternoon. He planned to return to his dorm, pack a few things, and head back to his small apartment.

That apartment was a birthday gift from his parents. They had originally offered him a villa, but he had waved them off, insisting a small apartment would suffice.

Su Yan’s parents, hearing his preference, didn’t press the matter and allowed him to choose an apartment closer to A University.

The moment he pushed open the dorm room door, he saw Lu Lin sitting at the desk, seemingly absorbed in something. Hearing the door open, Lu Lin turned to look at him.

Su Yan’s immediate reaction upon seeing Lu Lin now was one of helplessness. He was somewhat unsure of his own position and could only gradually adapt to this new identity as a boyfriend.

He was already entangled; there was no escape. Perhaps if he played the role of a docile ex-boyfriend, he might still find a way out.

Once the protagonist sub-male lead appeared, he could simply pack up and leave. He refused to believe he could still die even then.

Feeling a bit better after reaching this conclusion, Su Yan considered that Lu Lin had invested so much emotion and money into him that it would be too cold-hearted for him to remain indifferent.

He didn’t return Lu Lin’s gaze, instead striding quickly to his bed and leaning down to pick up a pink plush toy.

This was something he had wanted to do since last night.

“I’m giving this to you. My parents gave it to me when I was very young.”

“Holding it will keep nightmares away.” Su Yan placed the plush toy in his hands before Lu Lin, waiting for him to take it.

This plush toy was essentially Su Yan’s ‘Abebe’; whenever there was thunder, holding it would prevent nightmares. No, logically speaking, he had transmigrated into this book at eighteen, so why would he be afraid of thunder?

Why did he still need to hug a plush toy to fall asleep?

Memories of his childhood were shrouded in a fog in his mind, and the more he tried to recall them, the more he would only get a severe headache.

Lu Lin looked at the ugly, pink monstrosity of a plush toy Su Yan offered him and couldn’t help but chuckle. “Thank you, I love it.”

With that, he reached out, took it, and placed it on his own bed as if it were a treasure.

It was the first time Su Yan had seen Lu Lin smile so gently. He stood rooted for a moment, a strange emotion swelling within him, an inner feeling he couldn’t quite describe.

“Do you want to come with me?”

Su Yan didn’t know why those words had spilled from his lips. Yet, the thought of Lu Lin returning to his cold villa, constantly monitored by servants, with hidden cameras everywhere, filled him with a strange sense of pity.