016. What’s Going On?
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As soon as Lin Nan stepped out of the private room, Tu Junhui quickly shoved two bottles of booze under the table like a magician performing a disappearing act.
Chen Yao, filled with existential dread, returned to his seat, not because he was bothered by taking care of the drunk Lin Nan, but because he found himself questioning his own sexuality.
The two had known each other for ages, kind of like those pairs of socks that never seem to get lost in the wash—they took care of each other, and over the years, they’d gotten quite used to it. But he had never felt this strange feeling when hanging out with Lin Nan before.
“Don’t let Lin Nan drink again,” he muttered, shoving a piece of meat into his mouth and glancing over at Tu Junhui and the other whispering guy, his brow furrowing. “What dirty little secrets are you two sharing?”
“Nothing at all! Just talking about games!” Tu Junhui declared with false righteousness.
He knew Lin Nan and Chen Yao were childhood buddies. If Chen Yao found out they were gossiping about Lin Nan’s increasing femininity, who knew how mad he would get? Chen Yao had a reputation for being fiercely protective.
“What games?” Chen Yao shot back, a skeptical look plastered across his face.
“You wouldn’t understand our anime games!” Tu Junhui declared triumphantly.
If their dorm represented the true essence of the anime world, it would only be Xiong Da—a stoic fellow who prioritized buying figures over eating meals. But even if occasional anime watching counted, all three of them dabbled in it to some extent.
Chen Yao’s interest had faded. He merely stole a glance at Xiong Da, whose expression was telling him that Tu Junhui and this guy were definitely gossiping about him or Lin Nan.
He rolled his eyes, took a few bites, and sipped on his cola. Suddenly, he paused, “Is the bathroom really that far? It’s taking forever.”
“What if he fell in?” Tu Junhui said, opening his mouth for more snarky comments.
“I’ll go check,” Chen Yao declared, standing up and striding toward the entrance of the private room.
At that moment, Lin Nan was already anxiously fidgeting at the door, a mix of nerves and excitement making him tremble. His head was a chaotic storm of emotions.
He had already washed his face in the bathroom, trying to suppress the drunken haze. He had planned on just returning, but then he remembered the mission he had embarked on.
Kiss a boy…
He swallowed hard. Trying to find a little boy seemed risky—it could lead to being labeled a creep. So, here he was, ready to make his move on his roommate.
He had once seen a prank compilation where friends would deliberately kiss each other’s cheeks for laughs, and none of them really seemed to mind.
“Yeah, just a prank! And I’m drunk, so they won’t care,” he rationalized, squatting at the door, ready to ambush his “victim” as they stepped out from the private room.
Given how big the private room was, Lin Nan figured it would be easier to hide at the door and surprise them than to run around inside. He just needed to catch them off guard!
Just as he was deep in thought, he heard the door creak open.
His eyes lit up, and without a moment’s hesitation, he dove at the person coming out!
The lanky boy leaned forward, but as the door swung wide, everything went dark for a moment. All he felt was his body flying backward uncontrollably.
“Ah!”
“Holy smokes!”
Lin Nan stumbled back, quickly ducking to protect his head, tears threatening to spill. The person who emerged from the room had a dazed expression and was clutching their jaw, looking utterly terrified.
Wait a minute, this wasn’t how it was supposed to go!
Rubbing his sore forehead, Lin Nan looked up to see—was that Dong An? What was he doing in his room?
“Lin Nan, sweetheart?” Dong An said, shaking his head, a smirk on his lips. “Tsk, if you were just two centimeters shorter, you’d have landed right in my arms!”
“Who’s the sweetheart? You and your entire family are sweethearts!” Lin Nan shot back with a tear-streaked face.
Who knew how much courage it took for him to build up to this moment only to end up headbutting someone’s chin?
Then it hit him—he had overestimated his height. Standing at a lofty 165 cm, with shoes on, he might stretch it to 170 cm but—thanks to some spirit meddling—it seemed he was down a few centimeters.
At that height, diving into someone’s arms was no easy feat; he’d be lucky not to slam face-first into their chest. Miraculously, he had only bumped his forehead against Dong An’s chin.
At that moment, another private room door swung open. Chen Yao poked his head out, looking perplexed. “Lin Nan, what are you doing?”
“Oh, Chen Yao? You’re here too? Having a dorm party?”
Only then did Chen Yao register Dong An in the other room, but he didn’t have time for pleasantries. He noticed Lin Nan crouched down, looking like he was in serious pain, prompting him to go a bit pale. “Lin Nan? What happened? Did Dong An hit you?”
“Why would I hit him?” Dong An retorted, a mock look of offense.
Lin Nan looked up at Chen Yao, then back at Dong An, realizing he had entered the wrong room. Taking a deep breath, he stood up tall and walked over to Chen Yao.
Chen Yao stared at him in confusion as Lin Nan suddenly gestured to himself, trying to show off his height.
If all went well, even if it was Chen Yao, he would likely bump heads rather than land a kiss.
From the very start, the plan had derailed spectacularly.
Lin Nan’s face fell even further.
“What’s wrong with you?” Chen Yao asked, baffled as Lin Nan remained silent, turning to Dong An. “What on earth happened?”
“He got drunk and decided to ambush me at the door,” Dong An blurted without a hint of remorse, indignantly adding, “Good thing my chin has never seen surgery or I’d be making him pay!”
Chen Yao was still staring at Lin Nan, his head swimming with confusion as he looked back and forth between Lin Nan and Dong An, finally giving in. “He’s drunk; don’t hold it against him.”
“I know.”
He glanced at Lin Nan’s forehead, which had a small bump but was probably no cause for concern. Still, Lin Nan’s pouting lips made it clear he wasn’t happy.
“Are you guys having a dorm party?” Chen Yao pressed on, seeking clarity.
“Yeah, you gonna let me swing by for a drink later?”
As soon as those words left his mouth, Lin Nan perked up, excitement lighting his eyes as he turned to Chen Yao. But the next second, a large hand pressed him back down.
“Forget it; we have a drunk here. No booze for you.”
After a few more minutes of chit-chat, Dong An turned to head further down the hallway to the bathroom, leaving Chen Yao to look at the still glum Lin Nan. “Let’s go; you’re never drinking again, or I’ll personally see to it.”
“Hmph~” Lin Nan huffed dismissively but then suddenly looked at him and said, “Get down a bit.”
“Huh?”
“Now!”
Chen Yao complied, crouching down to Lin Nan’s level. At that moment, he suddenly realized, chuckling, “Are you actually upset about your height?”
But before he could finish that thought, Lin Nan lunged forward, arms spread wide like a startled rabbit.
In the next instant, Chen Yao felt a wet, soft contact on his cheek.
When he finally processed it, Lin Nan was already darting back into the private room, leaving him blinking in surprise, scratching his head in confusion.
“What the heck just happened?”
