Senior, beg me—if you beg me, I’ll let you go

Jian Yixun had always believed he was a straight man—one that absolutely couldn’t be bent no matter what.

His attitude toward sexual minorities was one of polite distance.

After entering university, because of certain incidents, he began to feel repulsed by that particular group, and thus rumors spread across campus that “Jian Yixun is homophobic.”

But even if he wasn’t particularly into romantic adult films, it was absolutely impossible for him to feel aroused by another man.

Yet just now, at the bathroom door, in that brief instant, a surge of heat had suddenly swept through his entire body.

His mouth went dry, his tongue parched, and he had almost developed a mysterious physiological reaction.

Jian Yixun hugged his head and sat at the desk, trying hard to recall that fleeting glimpse from a few minutes ago.

But he realized there was hardly any concrete image left in his mind—only the impression that Xu Shuche was very white.

How could a guy be that white?

He rolled up his sleeve and carefully examined his own arm.

Spending every day running around on the basketball court, his skin had already been tanned into a healthy wheat color.

This was what a man’s skin should look like.

This was—

Before he could finish the thought, the bathroom door was pushed open.

Dense steam mixed with the scent of body wash slowly drifted into the dorm.

Xu Shuche had put on the pajamas Jian Yixun found for him.

But he was much slimmer than Jian Yixun, so the pajamas didn’t fit him at all—loose by a whole size.

The left side barely stayed on his shoulder, while the right side slipped down, exposing a大片 of collarbone.

Jian Yixun’s gaze landed on that collarbone.

He shot to his feet.

“Senior, the way you’re wearing those pajamas—”

Xu Shuche was wiping the water from his neck with a towel.

Hearing that, he raised his brows and looked at Jian Yixun.

“What’s wrong with how I’m wearing them?”

“…Nothing.”

Jian Yixun felt that he was being really strange.

He desperately wanted to take a cold shower to calm himself down.

“I’ll go wash up.”

After saying that, he grabbed his change of clothes and rushed into the bathroom.

Xu Shuche slowly walked over and sat at the desk.

He plugged in his phone to charge, then opened his laptop and replied to a few emails.

It was already past midnight.

He’d long passed his usual bedtime.

Feeling sleepy, he rubbed his eyes and stretched, tugging at the right side of his pajamas, which slipped even lower.

Jian Yixun showered quickly, the typical male “rinse-and-done” kind of wash.

He came out with water droplets shaking from his hair, just in time to catch Xu Shuche stretching.

He tossed the towel onto the nearby rack, stepped over, and in one swift motion reached out and yanked the pajama top upward, finally covering that collarbone that had been unsettling him.

Xu Shuche was drowsy.

He squinted at him, his voice full of displeasure.

“What are you doing?”

Maybe because he was sleepy and low on energy, his voice sounded lazy.

The words seemed soft and sticky, like stretched mochi.

He was acting cute again.

Jian Yixun realized that although this senior usually looked cool and aloof, at certain moments, the things he said unconsciously sounded like he was acting spoiled.

He couldn’t exactly admit that he’d just experienced an inappropriate flutter toward a man.

So he answered calmly and officially.

“Senior, it’s cold at night.

I was worried you’d catch a chill.”

“Mm, is that so?”

Xu Shuche sat curled up on the chair with his legs crossed, still holding onto the SpongeBob mug like he didn’t want to let go.

He looked like a cat about to doze off.

He tilted his head slightly and said sincerely.

“I also misunderstood you earlier in the lecture hall.

You’re not the same as that… that guy.

I thought about it for a long time this afternoon.

I wasn’t actually trying to reject you.

Sorry.”

As he said this, Xu Shuche coughed lightly and turned his head away a little awkwardly.

“If—if your project group still needs me, I can join.”

“That’s great!”

Jian Yixun beamed.

“Senior, even though I didn’t know you before, I’ve heard everyone say your academic ability is really strong.

Then we’ll leave the literature translation to you.

Tomorrow I’ll take you to meet the other group members.”

Xu Shuche had wanted to say there was no rush.

But seeing Jian Yixun’s bright, shining eyes, the words stopped at his lips and were swallowed back down.

“It’s late.

Let’s sleep.”

Jian Yixun took off the watch on his wrist and patted the ladder leading up to the upper bunk.

“Senior, you sleep on the inside.

I’m worried I won’t behave myself when I sleep.”

Xu Shuche looked at him.

After a moment, he said softly.

“Are we really going to…?”

“Really.”

Jian Yixun tilted his head at him, his tone as casual as asking what to eat.

“We’re both men.

What’s there to be afraid of?

When our basketball team goes out for matches, three or four of us cram into one room to sleep all the time.”

Xu Shuche moved his lips and sighed lightly.

Definitely a straight man.

And a thick-headed one at that.

He resigned himself and climbed onto the bed, moving as far inside as he could.

Just as he settled in, a hot body dropped down beside him, pressing tightly against his back.

His body reacted before his mind, and he almost bounced right off the bed.

But the culprit didn’t think there was anything inappropriate about what he’d done.

Something hot brushed against Xu Shuche’s thigh.

Xu Shuche felt like he was going insane.

“Didn’t you say you hate delicate-looking guys?

How can you accept sleeping in the same bed as me?”

“I don’t hate delicate guys.

I hate delicate guys with no sense of boundaries.”

Jian Yixun yawned.

“You’re different, Senior.

You’re pretty good.

And you also…”

Cute.

The word “cute” suddenly popped into Jian Yixun’s mind.

He froze imperceptibly.

That single “pretty good” landed lightly but clearly in Xu Shuche’s heart.

The irritation he’d felt from being so close to someone unfamiliar eased quite a bit.

The dorm was warm.

Outside, the wind picked up again, rattling the window frame with creaks and groans.

Xu Shuche closed his eyes and let himself sink into the warmth created by the pillow and blanket.

Before long, he fell asleep.

Once his breathing gradually evened out, Jian Yixun—lying with his back to him—slowly opened his eyes.

He carefully listened to Xu Shuche’s breathing for a while.

After confirming that he really seemed to be asleep, he turned around very slowly.

Moonlight filtered faintly through the curtains, illuminating half of Xu Shuche’s face.

Propping himself up on one arm, Jian Yixun studied his face closely.

He noticed that Xu Shuche’s eyelashes were long too, like little brushes casting a faint shadow.

He blinked, shifted his gaze away, then cautiously lifted his hand and, like a thief, draped it across Xu Shuche’s waist, loosely encircling him.

It really was a waist he could hold with one hand.

His earlier estimate hadn’t been wrong.

Only then did Jian Yixun feel satisfied.

The question that had been troubling him finally disappeared.

He withdrew his hand, turned onto his side, and gradually fell asleep.

In truth, Xu Shuche didn’t sleep very soundly that night.

He was a bit picky about beds.

Whenever he changed environments, he needed a long time to adjust.

And perhaps because the bed wasn’t often used, Jian Yixun’s mattress felt unusually hard to him, making him uncomfortable.

The main reason he’d fallen asleep so quickly was simply exhaustion.

But during that shallow phase of sleep, he always felt like someone was watching him.

His eyelids were too heavy.

Even if he sensed it, he didn’t have the strength to open his eyes and confirm.

Once he slipped into deeper sleep, Xu Shuche unconsciously relaxed his guard.

He stopped curling up tightly against the wall and instinctively searched for the nearest source of warmth.

That warmth was very cozy.

And quite soft.

Half-asleep, Xu Shuche reached out and wrapped his arms around that teddy-bear-like heat, sleeping peacefully through the night.

Jian Yixun usually woke up at six-thirty in the morning for a run.

But last night, thinking that someone else was sharing his bed, he figured waking up too early would disturb his senior.

So he happily gave himself a day off, sleeping in an extra half hour.

Before he even opened his eyes, the sensation in his arms startled him.

He restrained himself from jumping out of bed.

Xu Shuche was lying on his side in his arms, slightly curled.

His face rested against Jian Yixun’s chest.

He hadn’t woken up yet.

For some reason, Jian Yixun’s heart began beating faster and faster.

He told himself it was just the shock of waking up with someone in his arms.

After taking a few deep breaths, he finally calmed down.

He’d hugged plenty of guys on the basketball team before.

They were all brothers.

After winning a game, they’d bear-hug each other hard, competing to see who could squeeze tighter.

A bunch of rough guys with thick skin—no one worried about hugging someone too hard.

But now, with Xu Shuche in his arms, Jian Yixun felt a strange urge to be careful.

As if what he was holding wasn’t a person, but a delicate, fragile piece of porcelain.

In just the short span of a day, countless details had reminded Jian Yixun that Xu Shuche was different from the guys on the basketball team.

He was exactly the kind of refined, even occasionally “spoiled,” boy Jian Yixun had always hated.

Yet strangely enough, those refined boys who used to throw themselves at him had only annoyed him.

This senior—who had argued with him twice—made him feel more favorably inclined instead.

Xu Shuche twitched his nose lightly.

He caught a whiff of a very fresh toner scent.

It was unfamiliar to him.

He frowned subconsciously and slowly opened his eyes.

What he saw was a yellow pajama top.

The owner’s chin looked quite nice, dusted with faint stubble.

His brain hadn’t fully booted up yet and felt muddled.

But the presence of an unfamiliar man in the bed was an obvious fact.

Xu Shuche instinctively lifted his leg.

Before he could kick, his ankle was grabbed.

A scorching heat pressed against it.

“Senior, you’re the one who hugged me all night.”

A slightly hoarse male voice sounded by his ear.

“Don’t make it seem like I molested you, okay?”

The hand gripping his ankle was rough and hot, with calluses typical of someone who exercised regularly.

Xu Shuche’s face flushed red as he remembered what had happened the night before.

It really was true.

He’d been taken in after being locked out, and the homeowner had even squeezed in to share the bed with him.

“I…”

Xu Shuche tried to struggle free from Jian Yixun’s restraint.

But the other man’s grip was strong.

He couldn’t break free at all.

His ankle—and even his calf—was pressed against Jian Yixun’s lower abdomen.

“What are you doing?

Let go of me!”

He was pale to begin with.

Now, frightened and struggling, the faint pink at the tips of his ears spread outward.

Jian Yixun watched his tensed instep and suddenly spoke.

“Senior, beg me.

If you beg me, I’ll let you go.”