Surrounded by Straight Men

Since the last time Jian Yixun barged into the dressing room, Xu Shuche hadn’t spoken to him for three consecutive days.

During these three days, they did meet at the group meetings.

But most of the time, Xu Shuche stood at the front organizing everyone to report their research progress, and never once took the initiative to call on Jian Yixun.

Jian Yixun himself was childish.

Sticking to the principle of “If you don’t come to me, I won’t come to you either,” he stubbornly competed with Xu Shuche on his own.

Everyone could tell that Young Master Jian had somehow been provoked again.

No one dared to cross him.

With nowhere to vent, he could only pour all his resentment out online to netizens.

Compared to Jian Yixun’s irritation and frustration, however, Xu Shuche’s life became much more relaxed without Jian Yixun causing trouble.

Feng Zhou was undoubtedly a good roommate.

Quiet and reserved, aside from a touch of obsessive–compulsive tendencies, he had no other flaws.

Moreover, he and Xu Shuche could talk about academic topics together, and most of their daily conversations revolved around research.

“Jian Yixun isn’t a bad person.”

One day, when Xu Shuche casually mentioned Jian Yixun to Feng Zhou, Feng Zhou smiled and said this.

“He’s very sharp when it comes to his major, but when interacting with people, it’s like he’s missing a screw somewhere.”

After speaking, he paused and coughed lightly.

“I’m not trying to defend him, but he talked to me recently and said you seem to be ignoring him, senior. I was just curious and wanted to ask.”

Xu Shuche had been reviewing a first-year graduate student’s thesis.

When he heard that, his fingers paused on the keyboard, and he softly hummed in acknowledgment.

“He’s probably pretty upset lately.”

Feng Zhou rested his chin on his hand, looking thoughtful.

“People with that kind of young-master personality are always treated like stars surrounded by admirers. It’s rare for someone to surpass them or reject them. Once that happens, they tend to become unusually conflicted.”

Xu Shuche’s fingertips pressed against the keyboard, producing a crisp clicking sound.

“Really?”

“Perhaps.”

Feng Zhou shrugged.

“At least I met such an idiot back in high school.”

When he mentioned that person, a faint smile flickered in his usually emotionless eyes.

Xu Shuche blinked.

By the time he looked again, the smile had disappeared.

Would he really become unusually conflicted?

Thinking about it, that seemed likely.

With Jian Yixun’s looks and family background, the people chasing him since middle school could probably line up and circle the entire campus several times.

Yet here, he had been practically fawning over Xu Shuche, buying him gifts to coax him, only to receive a firmly shut door in return.

But Xu Shuche knew that he was gay.

Ever since high school, he had been filled with disgust toward straight men, keeping his distance from them.

Unlike other gay men who fantasized about “turning” straight guys, he only wished to stay as far away from them as possible.

Yet Jian Yixun, as a straight man, relied on the fact that he wouldn’t develop feelings for another man and casually touched and flirted with him.

To Xu Shuche, that was a source of distress.

But if he were to confess to Jian Yixun that he was gay and ask him to keep proper boundaries, then given Jian Yixun’s deep disgust toward gay people, the bullying and humiliation Xu Shuche endured in high school would almost certainly replay itself.

Xu Shuche let out a soft sigh.

After finishing and saving the junior’s thesis revisions, he logged into his “Jianghu Dream” account and stared blankly at his character.

If he really were “Little Bunny Rice Ball,” that would be nice.

Being liked, being doted on, able to act spoiled however he wished and always have his requests fulfilled, without worrying about whether others might hate him.

Ever since high school, he hadn’t been able to make friends.

After entering university, his relationships with classmates remained distant acquaintances.

He had no extracurricular activities.

What he liked most was curling up in the dorm to play a couple rounds of games.

In fact, he was closer to his in-game friends than to his classmates.

A message floated across the guild channel.

Xu Shuche clicked on it and found that his top-ranked in-game partner was going crazy in the channel again.

Xiao Xiong Qishi: As handsome as I am, now I even have to humble myself just to make friends.

JuJu was online and instantly replied: “People were probably scared off by your narcissism.”

“What narcissism? I’m not narcissistic at all,” Xiao Xiong Qishi argued reasonably.

“I’m clearly a warm-hearted guy. I even bought him gifts and still couldn’t coax him back.”

Xu Shuche sent a meme in the guild channel.

Xiao Xiong Qishi immediately messaged him privately: “Baby QAQ.”

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s about what I just said,” Xiao Xiong Qishi sounded especially aggrieved.

“I really don’t know how I offended him. He won’t even talk to me now.”

Xu Shuche thought for a moment.

“Is it a boy or a girl?”

“Of course it’s a boy.”

Xiao Xiong Qishi sounded puzzled.

“If it were a girl, wouldn’t that make me a scumbag? I already have you, and I’d still go coax someone else?”

The corners of Xu Shuche’s lips lifted slightly.

“If it’s a boy, invite him to play basketball or something. Then you can talk things out. Anyway, isn’t that how you straight guys are? A bottle of water or a meal, and you’re good again.”

“Okay, wife!”

Xiao Xiong Qishi was overwhelmed with gratitude and sent several crying bear emojis.

“Thank you, wife. What would I do without you?”

“Do you like him?”

Xu Shuche suddenly asked.

“When we became in-game partners, didn’t we agree not to involve real life?”

“In other words, you can have someone you like in real life.”

Xiao Xiong Qishi seemed a bit anxious.

A voice call suddenly popped up.

Xu Shuche hung up and sent him a question mark.

“I don’t like him.”

Xiao Xiong Qishi said.

“I’m straight, okay? I wouldn’t like a man. And I’m too lazy to date anyway. It’s troublesome. But if it’s you, wife, and you’re willing to meet in real life, I’d be very happy to date you.”

Xu Shuche stared at the words “meet in real life and date” in silence.

In the end, he only replied, “Logging off to study,” before closing the chat window.

He had expressed countless times that things in the game wouldn’t extend to real life, and that he wouldn’t meet Xiao Xiong Qishi offline.

But perhaps his hints had been too subtle.

The other party seemed completely unaware of his rejection and would occasionally probe him with talk of “meeting offline.”

So stupid.

Xu Shuche sighed.

The words “I’m straight” from Xiao Xiong Qishi overlapped with Jian Yixun’s countless declarations that he was “steel straight,” making him especially irritated.

Straight men.

More straight men.

Had he been surrounded by straight men lately?

It was hard for him not to hate straight men.

His first awakening of love in high school had been mistakenly given to a straight guy.

Then he was humiliated and bullied by that person’s foul group for three years.

That was why, during the college entrance exam, he recklessly applied to a university in the north, fleeing far from home.

Xu Shuche could reconcile with anyone.

But he would never reconcile with that excessively dark period of his life.

He sat there, calming his emotions for a while.

Just as he stood up to pour himself some water, his phone on the desk vibrated.

“Senior, why are you still ignoring me?” Jian Yixun sent him a message.

“It’s been so many days. You should’ve calmed down by now, right? And I don’t even know what you’re angry about.”

Xu Shuche stared at the chat interface for a long time.

Then he typed, word by word: “I’m not angry.”

He just didn’t know how to face Jian Yixun’s repeated, unconscious flirting.

Jian Yixun replied instantly: “If you’re not angry, why are you ignoring me?”

Because you flirt recklessly.

A trace of embarrassment and annoyance surfaced on Xu Shuche’s usually calm face.

He frowned and clicked his tongue.

“Why are you asking so many questions?”

“I miss you.”

Jian Yixun sent that line without the slightest psychological burden.

“I wanted to chat with you, but I can’t even see you around. After group meetings, you don’t hang out with me anymore either.”

Straight man.

Stop flirting carelessly.

Seeing the words “I miss you,” Xu Shuche nearly bristled.

Alarm bells rang in his head.

Without thinking, he replied: “I don’t miss you.”

“Eh, that doesn’t matter.”

Xu Shuche’s wary words were completely ignored.

As if he hadn’t seen them, Jian Yixun continued on his own: “Senior, will you come watch our basketball team practice tomorrow?”

“I went to watch your event. Out of courtesy, shouldn’t you come experience our basketball team too?”