CS Chapter 1

Lin Wenjing stepped away from the class dinner table and went out to the restroom to smoke.

It was a tradition to have a party at the beginning of the semester. The hotpot restaurant was lively and fully packed—too lively even, to the point it made him a bit annoyed.

After hiding for a moment of quietness, he stubbed out the cigarette, threw it in the trash can, and washed his hand.

Someone entered the restroom, reeking of alcohol. The man stumbled over to the sink and fell on him.

Lin Wenjing unconsciously reached out his hand to support the man.

The stranger leaned on his shoulder, raised his eyes to look at him, and vaguely called out a name.

“Ah Heng…”

Lin Wenjing furrowed his brows. He originally wanted to push him away, but when he saw the man’s handsome face clearly, he tightened his grip.

The man was completely wasted; affectionately calling out “Ah Heng” while also leaning in to kiss him. His lips, which smelled of alcohol, were scorching hot as it pressed against Lin Wenjing’s lips like a branding iron.

“You drank too much.” Lin Wenjing bit his lips, then pushed him away with a cold look.

The man came over once again, wrapping his arms around him tightly, and mumbled the same name in a low voice.

Lin Wenjing was annoyed. He held his wrists and twisted them behind his back, then pushed him under the faucet, and with a lift of a hand, cold water came pouring down.

“Are you sober now?”

Cold water drenched the side of the man’s face and into his eyes, hurting him. He Xingran stood back up with difficulty and wiped off the water on his face.

“Lin…” His eyes were red, but he finally recognized the person standing in front of him. “Lin Wenjing.”

Lin Wenjing took out a packet of tissue from his pocket and tossed it to him.

He Xingran’s gaze landed on his lips stained with blood. It took him a while to react, his Adam’s apple moved up and down, and he stiffly uttered, “Sorry.”

Lin Wenjing looked at him, and it was only after a long time did he lightly respond with an “Mhm,” as if accepting the apology. Then, he turned and walked away.

After returning to the dorms at night and taking a shower, Lin Wenjing lied on the bed and memorized vocabulary words.

One of his roommates slapped the table and spoke with excitement, “Sh*t, He Xingran and Ye Heng broke up.”

“Who? He Xingran from the Computer Science Department?”

“They say Ye Heng hooked up with that young master of the Gu family and cheated on He Xingran. It was exposed by the people from their own department. It’s all on the school forum—I’ll send you guys the link!”

Lin Wenjing didn’t join in on his roommates’ gossiping, he just silently opened the forum link and slowly skimmed through the forum post. Then, he reached out his hand to touch his lower lip.

Thinking about He Xingran’s ink-like eyes, he sighed softly in his heart.

How could Ye Hang bear to…bear to make such a good person heartbroken and sad?

☆☆☆

When he met He Xingran again, it was three months later at the club festival.

He Xingran looked a little thin. On a late autumn day, he only wore the thin club T-shirt. He sat behind the music club’s activity booth, acting as a mascot.

Lin Wenjing greeted the club president, then took off his coat and tossed it to He Xingran. “Hold it for me.”

Then he walked toward the drum set, his back looking especially cool.

He Xingran was dazed. The coat he was holding still had Lin Wenjing’s body heat; it was thick and warm.

The young man always looked cold and indifferent, yet his coat was so warm. He Xingran suddenly felt that he, like the majority of the people in the school, seemed to have a deep misunderstanding of Lin Wenjing.

Although he and Lin Wenjing were both in the music club, they weren’t close, merely exchanging nods in greeting. That drunken encounter with Lin Wenjing that night was an accident. Now, months later, seeing Lin Wenjing again, it felt as though something had changed…

When it was He Xingran’s turn to go on stage, the club member next to him asked, “Do you need me to hold your coat for you?”

The club member was being kind, but He Xingran shook his head. He folded the coat and placed it on the stool. “It’s Lin Wenjing’s coat.”

During a club event one time, Lin Wenjing casually put his coat on a stool and someone helped him hold it. After the event had ended, Lin Wenjing didn’t say anything and threw the coat away in front of everyone.

Lin Wenjing’s coat couldn’t be touched—this line became the unspoken 101st club rule. In an instant, everyone around him looked at He Xingran with a strange look.

He Xingran didn’t speak any further and went on stage to sing “Don’t Ask¹.”

His singing voice was low, and when he stood calmly in front of the standing microphone, his voice was almost drowned out by the loud and lively music from other clubs. Most of the girls standing in front of the music club were there for his looks. Only Lin Wenjing, who was still sitting behind the drums, heard every word clearly. He looked up at him, his gaze gentle.