Chapter 37 Part 1

His eyes were covered, making his other senses unusually sharp.

Pei Ran heard the rustling of the night wind against the leaves, and Yan Zhun's heartbeat.

Not until the door to the adjacent room was pulled shut and the curtains drawn did the hand covering his eyes move away, leaving the lingering warmth of the boy's palm on his eyelids.

“He’s young, and doesn't know how to keep his mouth shut.” After a moment of silence, Yan Zhun suddenly said.

Pei Ran's head was still tilted up slightly, maintaining the angle of their recent kiss, not yet fully back to his senses. “Hm?”

“I have to make it clear to him, so he knows to keep it a secret.” Yan Zhun lowered his eyelids and asked, “Should we keep it a secret?”

Yan Zhun had a very nice jawline. Pei Ran looked at it for a few seconds before looking up at his eyes and saying seriously, “If you want to keep it a secret, then we’ll keep it a secret.”

The two of them sounded like they were reciting a tongue twister. Yan Zhun laughed silently, his voice blending into the night, a little deep. “I don’t want to. I never thought about it.”

When Lin Xuhuan entered the room, he was still clutching his bath towel tightly.

Assaulter was sitting on the sofa in his room, scrolling through Weibo. He looked up and asked, “Who were you just talking to… Are there fans outside? Why are you clutching your bath towel so tightly?”

Their base's address was no secret; team fans often came to check in outside the base.

Lin Xuhuan walked quickly to the sofa and sat down. “Quick, slap me.”

Smack, a crisp sound.

Assaulter’s expression didn't change as he delivered a slap to his face.

Although it didn't hurt, Lin Xuhuan was still stunned by the slap. “Fuck, you really fucking slapped me?!”

“We’re brothers, I’ll definitely satisfy such a small request for you,” Assaulter said. “What on earth happened?”

Lin Xuhuan had been with TZG since before his fifteenth birthday. Every member and coach of TZG, including his older brother, was like family to him.

It was as if he had stumbled upon his eldest brother's romance; he nervously told his second-eldest brother what had happened.

Hearing this, Assaulter was also stunned.

After a long while, Assaulter raised his palm. “Let me give you another slap. I don't think you're sober enough yet.”

Lin Xuhuan said, “Go ahead, see if I don't hit back this time.”

Assaulter's expression was complicated. “Are you sure you saw clearly?”

Lin Xuhuan felt insulted. “Your mom, Laozi's motion perception is world number one! Not to mention the two of them were standing there and didn't even move!!!”

“……”

The two looked at each other in silence for a while, then tacitly lit a cigarette at the same time.

Assaulter: “How should I put this… I don’t know why, but with Pei Ran, I’m actually not too surprised.”

“Me neither.” Lin Xuhuan paused. “But my brother really likes guys? Then all those times I sat shirtless next to him playing games at the base, was that not okay?”

Assaulter stood up and patted his shoulder. “Relax, Brother Zhun probably never even saw you as a person.”

Leaving this sentence behind, he took advantage of Lin Xuhuan's delayed reaction, slipped on his slippers, and dashed out the door.

With such a commotion, it was hard for the room next door not to hear.

The lights were off in Yan Zhun's room. Hearing Lin Xuhuan's yelling and cursing, he frowned and opened his eyes, subconsciously reaching out to cover the ears of the person beside him.

Pei Ran was sleeping on his side. He was a quiet sleeper, not tossing and turning or having any bad habits. Even with Lin Xuhuan's loud voice, he only trembled his eyelashes, his breathing even.

Yan Zhun freed his other hand to grab his phone and quickly typed a line of text.

[Zhun Le: If you’re going to fight, go downstairs and fight]

[Lin Xuhuan: Not fighting anymore, bro. I’ll tape myself to the bed right now.]

Yan Zhun couldn't be bothered to banter with him. Just as he was about to put his phone away, another message came in.

[Lin Xuhuan: Um… Bro, I couldn’t hold it in and told that dumbass. Is that okay? Should I go silence him? Can this be talked about?]

[Zhun Le: Do as you please]

Yan Zhun had still underestimated Lin Xuhuan's ability to spread news.

The next morning, he quietly got out of bed, washed up, and went out for a morning run. When he went downstairs, several members of TZG had just pulled an all-nighter and were gathered around the dining table eating noodles.

The Coach was originally lecturing them, telling them not to pull all-nighters during the competition period. When he saw Yan Zhun come downstairs, he fell silent.

“Up so early?” the Coach asked, clearing his throat.

Yan Zhun bent down to tie his shoelaces. “Mhm.”

Everyone's expressions were rich. They threw out questions one after another, "Did you sleep well?", "Was the heating enough?", until Assaulter asked, "Our training didn't disturb you, did it, bro?", at which point Yan Zhun finally frowned.

“Alright, you all stop talking. Hurry up and finish eating, then go upstairs to sleep.” The Coach took a sip of milk and looked back at Yan Zhun. “Going for a morning run?”

Yan Zhun answered in affirmation and had just pulled open the base's door.

“Hey, wait.” the Coach called out to him again. “Um… does the bed in your room need to be changed?”

Yan Zhun: “?”

The others were going crazy trying to hold back their laughter. The Coach pressed his lips together, but the corners of his mouth were also turned up. “I don't mean anything else by it, that bed is only 1.8 meters. I’m afraid it’ll be a tight squeeze for you two. If you're not sleeping comfortably, I'll have someone change it this afternoon.”

Yan Zhun looked at Lin Xuhuan. “……”

Everyone thought Yan Zhun was going to coldly scold Lin Xuhuan. Lin Xuhuan thought so too; he even lowered his head, trying to play deaf and dumb.

Instead, Yan Zhun paused for two seconds, then took out his earphones from his pocket and put one in. “No need, it's big enough to sleep in.”

On his morning run, Yan Zhun received a call from home.

He stopped by the bridge, waiting for his breathing to calm down a bit before answering, “Mom.”

“Little Zhun,” Mother Yan asked, “have you moved out of the school?”

After all, the person he had a conflict with was his roommate. After returning home from the hospital that time, Mother Yan had told Yan Zhun to either change dorms or move out of the school.

“I’ve moved.”

“Okay, where did you rent a place?”

Yan Zhun gazed at the river view and only spoke after a moment. “I moved into the base.”

There was silence on the other end of the line for a while. It took Mother Yan a long time to understand where the "base" was.

Yan Zhun thought she would express confusion or disapproval. Unexpectedly, after waiting for a long time, he only heard her ask, “Are you used to living there?”

Yan Zhun's grip on his phone tightened. “Mhm.”

“Okay, since you’re living there, you should still pay some rent, more or less, and try not to trouble others too much.” Mother Yan paused at the end. “You must eat on time and take good care of yourself.”

When Yan Zhun returned to the base, Pei Ran was already awake. He had just opened the door when he ran into Pei Ran coming out of the bathroom, carrying the minty scent of having just washed up. Because his sleeping position hadn't changed, the hair on one side was slightly sticking up. He was wearing an oversized T-shirt, looking completely languid.

“You’re awake?” Yan Zhun asked.