Misplaced Boundaries

Jian Yixun’s voice came out too suddenly, and far too serious.

Xu Shuche immediately steadied himself and stepped away from Guan Jingshan.

“Brother Xun?”

Guan Jingshan withdrew his hand naturally, as if nothing had happened just now.

“How come you’re here?”

Jian Yixun slowly walked up to them, his tone unfriendly.

“The research room is assigned to our project group.

Why wouldn’t I be allowed to come?”

Compared to his hostility, Guan Jingshan remained calm.

“I didn’t mean it that way.

I just thought that if you were coming, Brother Xun, you could’ve given a heads-up.

I was just telling senior we should go eat together.

If you haven’t eaten either, we can go together?”

A dark gloom filled Jian Yixun’s eyes.

“No need.”

Guan Jingshan shrugged.

“Alright then.

Guess it’ll just be me and senior.”

Xu Shuche covered his mouth and coughed softly, about to refuse.

But Jian Yixun spoke first.

“He’s not eating with you either.”

Guan Jingshan raised an eyebrow.

“Hm?”

“Senior already agreed to eat with me.

I’m here to pick him up.”

As he spoke, Jian Yixun walked over to Xu Shuche and naturally took hold of his wrist.

“Let’s go.”

“But senior already agreed to me,” Guan Jingshan pressed on.

“If he’d already made plans with you, then why did he agree to me just now?”

Jian Yixun’s gaze landed on Xu Shuche’s face.

Xu Shuche sighed quietly in his heart and stepped in to smooth things over.

“I did make plans with him.

I forgot just now.

Sorry.”

“There’s nothing to apologize for.”

Guan Jingshan smiled, understanding.

“Next time then.”

Xu Shuche was about to nod when Jian Yixun tugged his wrist.

“Why didn’t you reply to my messages just now?”

Didn’t reply?

Xu Shuche pulled his phone from his pocket, only to realize it had run out of battery and shut down.

“You just finished your IV and broke your fever last night.

Today you didn’t even eat and ran off to help someone with literature?”

Jian Yixun tightened his grip on Xu Shuche’s wrist.

“Come on.

Let’s go eat properly and rest.”

As he spoke, he dragged Xu Shuche toward the door.

Xu Shuche only had time to wave goodbye to Guan Jingshan before the research room door closed behind him.

Jian Yixun kept pulling him forward in silence.

When they reached the stairwell, Xu Shuche moved his hand slightly.

“Jian Yixun.

It hurts.”

“Now you know pain?”

Jian Yixun shot him a glare and slowly loosened his grip.

“You’re not even fully better, and instead of resting in the dorm you’re running around everywhere.

You didn’t answer my calls either.

Senior, do you know how easy it is for people to worry about you like this?”

Xu Shuche let out a quiet “mm.”

“I’m sorry.”

“You’re not apologizing to me.”

Jian Yixun had been furious when Xu Shuche didn’t answer earlier, but seeing his wronged expression now, most of the anger dissipated.

“You’re apologizing to yourself.

If you don’t take care of yourself, how is your body supposed to recover?”

“But junior asked me to help with the literature,” Xu Shuche said.

“I thought I’d just help out.

It wasn’t a big deal.”

After speaking, he recalled Jian Yixun’s wary attitude toward Guan Jingshan and frowned slightly.

“By the way, Jian Yixun, don’t treat Guan Jingshan like that.

Do you have some kind of grudge with him?

We’re all in the same group.

If things get awkward, collaboration later will be difficult.”

The anger that had just subsided in Jian Yixun began to flare again.

Why was Xu Shuche speaking up for Guan Jingshan?

Before today, the two of them didn’t even know each other.

Why wasn’t Xu Shuche on his side?

Jian Yixun couldn’t quite explain the possessiveness stirring in his chest.

He simply chalked it up to “Xu Shuche not siding with his brother.”

His already sharp features looked even more fierce.

“You’re taking his side instead of mine?”

Xu Shuche shook his head, helpless.

“How old are you?

Why are you still acting like a kid, forming cliques and playing ‘I won’t play with him today’ games?”

“That’s different!”

Jian Yixun’s voice suddenly shot up, drawing glances from two passing students.

He snapped his head back without any apology, scratched his hair irritably, and lowered his voice.

“You don’t know what kind of dirty thoughts he has about you.”

Xu Shuche’s phoenix eyes widened slightly.

“What dirty thoughts?”

“He—”

Jian Yixun lowered his voice, grinding his teeth.

“I’ve seen that look plenty of times.

That’s the look of a scheming gay man.

He’s got his eyes on you.

He wants to hit on you.

That’s why he asked you to come look at this stupid literature over the weekend.”

“These guys are good at this.

Once you agree to look at literature, they push further and ask you out to eat.

Then, naturally, you get closer, become friends, and then—”

Jian Yixun deliberately exaggerated to scare him.

“They drag you into doing unspeakable things.

Someone like you, who looks easy to bully, is the easiest target for gay men.”

Xu Shuche watched him seriously explain these “gay schemes” to himself.

It was funny, and a little heartbreaking.

Funny because Jian Yixun had an almost childish cuteness when he tried to scare people.

Heartbreaking because—

He himself was gay.

Although he hadn’t noticed anything off about Guan Jingshan earlier, after Jian Yixun pointed it out, he did realize the junior’s probing undertones.

He felt a bit relieved that he hadn’t gone to eat with him.

Still, having to work together in the same project group going forward would indeed be tricky.

Jian Yixun clearly saw the troubled look on Xu Shuche’s face.

Thinking he had scared him, his mood brightened.

“So I came to save you.

Senior, you’re too pure.

Don’t let those scheming gay men trick you.

You absolutely can’t be led astray and turn gay.”

Xu Shuche thought to himself that he was already one of those “scheming gay men.”

Unwilling to continue the topic, he changed the subject.

“Didn’t you say we were going to eat?

I’m hungry.

What are we having?”

“Don’t eat at the cafeteria.

Too oily and gross,” Jian Yixun said.

“Let’s go back to the dorm.

I’ll cook for you.”

Xu Shuche hadn’t expected Jian Yixun’s dorm to have ingredients.

Although B University provided each dorm with a small fridge, the one in Xu Shuche’s old dorm was filled with Qu Chao’s face masks.

Xu Shuche couldn’t really cook either, so it had always sat unused.

But Jian Yixun’s fridge was packed.

From rice to vegetables.

From bread to yogurt.

Breakfast, lunch, and dinner could all be handled right in the dorm.

“Both Xiao Feng and I can cook.

When we were both staying in the dorm, we’d make meals together.”

Jian Yixun picked out spinach and Chinese yam, scooping a spoonful of rice.

“Senior, go sit over there and wait.

I’ll be quick.”

Xu Shuche did as told and sat by the table, watching Jian Yixun busy behind the curtain.

He felt that this junior really had many good qualities.

If he weren’t so homophobic, Xu Shuche might actually have fallen for him.

Xu Shuche sighed and rubbed his stomach.

His stomach wasn’t great.

Back in undergrad, he’d often stay in the library, afraid that going to the cafeteria would cost him his seat.

He skipped meals irregularly, and his stomach gradually became very fragile.

The stomach pain hadn’t acted up in a long time.

Today, it suddenly started hurting without warning.

Maybe it was a chain reaction from the fever.

Xu Shuche lay down on the table, sliding a hand under his clothes to press gently against his stomach.

Usually, after ten minutes of this, it would get better.

But today, the burning sensation continued to rampage inside him.

“Senior, do you eat eggs?

I can make you a soft-boiled one.”

Jian Yixun lifted the curtain.

After asking just one question, he saw Xu Shuche lying on the table, his expression pained.

He immediately turned off the stove, untied his apron, and hurried over.

“Senior, what’s wrong?”

“My stomach hurts a bit.”

Xu Shuche frowned, fine beads of sweat forming on his forehead.

“It’s fine.

It’ll get better after I rub it for a while.”

Jian Yixun touched his hand.

“Your hands are this cold.

How could rubbing help?”

“I—”

“I’ll do it.

My hands are warm.”

With that, Jian Yixun rolled up the hem of Xu Shuche’s shirt, exposing his lower abdomen.

Xu Shuche gasped, his face instantly flushing.

“Don’t, Jian Yixun.

I can do it myself.”

“Don’t move.”

Jian Yixun had Xu Shuche lie across two chairs, his calves resting on Jian Yixun’s thighs.

He rubbed his hands together and gently pressed them against Xu Shuche’s stomach.

He felt Xu Shuche’s abdomen flinch.

Then his breathing grew rapid and uneven.

Even the leg resting on him tensed in nervousness.

“Don’t move, senior,” Jian Yixun frowned.

“It’ll be fine in a bit.”

Xu Shuche forced himself to stop struggling, focusing all his attention on the hands kneading his stomach.

His own hands were cold and bony.

Not only had they failed to help, they seemed to make it worse.

Jian Yixun’s palms were calloused, rough but warm, easily covering his entire lower abdomen.

Jian Yixun wasn’t lying.

He’d helped teammates rub their stomachs before in the basketball team.

But those had been rushed, careless motions.

Nothing like now, where he was careful with every movement, afraid of hurting Xu Shuche.

The burning sensation gradually faded.

Xu Shuche didn’t dare look at Jian Yixun’s hands.

He forced his gaze elsewhere, trying not to think.

Yet he still felt hot, his mind hazy, like a fever had returned, making it impossible to think clearly.

“Senior.”

After a long silence, Jian Yixun suddenly spoke.

His voice sounded strange.

“Hm?”

Startled, Xu Shuche moved his leg slightly.

He heard Jian Yixun suck in a sharp breath.

And the place he had accidentally touched—

Really was not somewhere he should have.

“Jian Yixun, you—”

Jian Yixun lowered his head in frustration.

His face, rarely, had turned red as well.

His voice lacked confidence, like a dejected big dog.

“Senior, I told you not to move,” he said quietly.

“I didn’t mean to… to do that.”