Chapter 25 Sitting next to me makes you feel uncomfortable...

Jiang Luo originally only had a slight stutter, but after Gu Shiyue pointed it out, she became a complete stutterer: "I, I... no, no, no... I'm not uncomfortable."

After saying that, she angrily pinched her own lips, thinking to herself, "Jiang Luo, what's wrong with you?"

Someone was in the dorm, so Jiang Luo took his phone and went to the balcony. The weather was getting cooler, and a cold wind was blowing outside. Jiang Luo's cheeks were burning, and he tried to cool himself down by blowing in the cold wind. His windbreaker was so warm that he was sweating.

There was no sound from Gu Shiyue on the other end of the phone. Jiang Luo whispered, "...Senior?"

Gu Shiyue responded with a "Mm".

Why aren't you saying anything?

"I'll give you some time to recover."

Jiang Luo rubbed her cheeks, remained quiet for a moment, and then changed the subject, asking, "...What are you doing?"

"Reading a book," Gu Shiyue asked him, "Are you feeling better?"

The topic didn't seem to have been successfully shifted. Jiang Luo tugged at her earlobe, already resigned to her fate: "I don't know either."

It's understandable that Jiang Luo felt uncomfortable in that situation. Normally, two boys helping each other get dressed wouldn't do that; it completely exceeded normal social distancing.

Gu Shiyue knew perfectly well what was going on.

"It seems you've recovered," Gu Shiyue said. "You're not stuttering anymore."

Jiang Luo lowered her eyes and smiled, then pulled on her ear and mumbled, "I'm not a stutterer, I can talk a lot."

Gu Shiyue's gaze fell on the pages of the book, and he smiled silently.

"Senior," Jiang Luo looked down at his clothes, "Can I talk to you about something?"

"Okay, go ahead and say it."

"Can I return these outdoor gear you bought for me?" Jiang Luo quickly explained after speaking, "It's not that I don't like them, I just think they're a bit expensive, or I can transfer the money to you... I can't just take your money for free."

“These payments already cover the cost of feeding the cats for free, so it’s not like you’re getting them for nothing,” Gu Shiyue said. “Unless you stop feeding the cats for me.”

Gu Shiyue accurately grasped Jiang Luo's psychology, and Jiang Luo immediately said upon hearing this, "I'll do it, I can keep feeding the cat for you."

Gu Shiyue raised an eyebrow slightly and asked, "How long has it always been?"

"As long as you need me..." Jiang Luo suddenly fell silent before she could finish speaking.

That's a really strange thing to say.

Gu Shiyue's fingers, which were resting on the spine of the book, twitched. He turned his head to look at the phone next to him, hummed in agreement, and said, "I remember what you said today."

Before Jiang Luo could even process what was happening, she heard Gu Shiyue say, "Go to sleep early. Bye."

The hiking trip this weekend was scheduled for Saturday morning, and Gu Shiyue had told Jiang Luo about it a few days in advance. They agreed to meet at the school gate. When Jiang Luo walked out of the school gate, she saw a minivan parked not far away. The car horn sounded once, and then the back door opened automatically.

Jiang Luo walked over. This hike wasn't just between him and Gu Shiyue; there were five people in the car. Gu Shiyue was sitting in the last row, with an empty seat next to him. Jiang Luo stood by the car door with his bag on his back, and everyone's eyes were on him.

Xiang Qin was also there, sitting in front of Gu Shiyue. Gu Shiyue only said that he was bringing someone this time, without saying who it was, so Xiang Qin guessed it was Jiang Luo. Therefore, he wasn't too surprised to see Jiang Luo and greeted him with a smile: "Long time no see, junior."

Jiang Luo smiled and said, "It's been a long time, senior."

"Huh? You know him too?" The boy wearing a baseball cap sitting next to Xiang Qin glanced at him.

"I know him," Xiang Qin said.

Jiang Luo glanced at the back seat and met Gu Shiyue's gaze. He quickly lowered his eyes and then heard Gu Shiyue say, "Get in."

Jiang Luo got into the car, which was very spacious. He paused in front of the empty seat next to Gu Shiyue, but didn't sit down immediately. He hadn't expected that after a week, he would still feel a little awkward seeing Gu Shiyue in person.

Gu Shiyue seemed to see right through him: "Where would you like to sit?"

Jiang Luo's lips moved slightly. She sat down next to him with her bag on her back and called out, "Senior."

The people in the front seats turned to look back, and Gu Shiyue introduced Jiang Luo to them.

Jiang Luo smiled politely at them and said, "Hello."

Gu Shiyue also introduced the people in the car to Jiang Luo. The introduction was very simple; he just read out their names.

The driver and the two people in the passenger seat were Gu Shiyue and Xiang Qin's senior classmates, who have now graduated and are working.

The passenger in the front seat was Yao Zhiqing, who wore thin-rimmed glasses and smiled warmly. He glanced at Gu Shiyue and said, "When you said you were bringing someone, I thought you were bringing your girlfriend, but I didn't expect it to be a handsome young man."

Xiang Qin squinted and smiled: "What kind of talk is that? Just because someone brings a girl along doesn't mean they're a boyfriend? And why can't a handsome young man be a boyfriend? That's homophobic."

Yao Zhiqing chuckled: "Oh my god, you'd better watch your mouth, or A-Yue will beat you up."

Xiang Qin smiled but remained silent.

Jiang Luo's smile froze slightly; what was all this about?

"How old are you, junior brother?" Yao Zhiqing asked him.

"Sophomore year."

"You look so young."

Xiang Qin laughed: "What are you saying? They're only a sophomore, they're young."

"I mean, he looks young. When I first saw him walking over, I thought he was a high school student. His face looks so young."

The driver, Yan Yang, was still wearing a T-shirt this month, and the muscles in his arms were very prominent as he gripped the steering wheel. He was chewing gum and didn't say much.

The boy sitting next to Xiang Qin wearing a baseball cap is Xia Yi. He used to be in the same college as Gu Shiyue and Xiang Qin; the three of them were classmates in their first year. Xia Yi is the son of Professor Xia from their department. Under pressure during the college entrance exam, he chose the path his father had arranged for him. After a year, he ultimately transferred to his preferred major, doing so without consulting his father first, almost causing his father to be hospitalized. His current major is on another campus, so he doesn't see Gu Shiyue and the others often. Xia Yi is a year younger than them and has a rather childish and boisterous personality.

Xia Yi sat in front of Jiang Luo, turned around and said to him, "Hello, junior."

Jiang Luo smiled and said, "Hello."

"You're so handsome, a real heartthrob!" Xia Yi was very outgoing and straightforward in praising Jiang Luo. He asked Jiang Luo, "Is this your first time hiking?"

Jiang Luo nodded: "Yes."

"No wonder, I was wondering why A-Yue chose such a short and easy route this time." Xia Yi stared at Jiang Luo's face for a while, then hissed, "Junior, I feel like you look familiar. You haven't acted in any TV shows, have you?"

Jiang Luo chuckled: "Of course not."

Hearing this, Xiang Qin chuckled and said, "He looks familiar because you've seen him before."

Xia Yi turned to look at him: "What?"

"That cosplayer A-Yue saw last time, with silver hair and a white shirt, don't you remember her?"

Xia Yi suddenly looked at Jiang Luo: "Oh, it's you! No wonder you looked so familiar!"

Jiang Luo remembered that when he first met Gu Shiyue, there was a van parked outside the window, and these people were probably sitting inside.

Xiang Qin laughed and said, "You have a good memory; you recognized me after just one meeting."

“That’s right.” Xia Yi clicked his tongue. “No wonder the cosplay looked so cool. It turns out the original model is just that good.”

Gu Shiyue remained silent, and Jiang Luo never looked in his direction. She just sat there stiffly with her backpack on, looking a little reserved.

The people in the front seats were chatting amongst themselves, making quite a racket, but the two of them didn't exchange a single word. The small, open space was so quiet it was as if a barrier had been erected, separating them from the people in the front seats.

"Planning to sit with your bag on the back until you reach your destination?" Gu Shiyue broke the silence.

Jiang Luo paused for a moment, then immediately took the bag off his back. The back seat wasn't actually that small; it could seat three people, with some space between Jiang Luo and Gu Shiyue. Jiang Luo simply placed the bag on the seat, positioned perfectly between him and Gu Shiyue.

He didn't do it on purpose; it was just a casual gesture. There was already space between him and Gu Shiyue, enough to put his bag down.

Gu Shiyue turned to look at him. Jiang Luo put his hands on his knees, looked straight ahead, and sat like a soldier.

Gu Shiyue said in a nonchalant tone, "Does sitting next to me make you feel uncomfortable?"

Jiang Luo turned her head abruptly and immediately shook her head: "No!"

Gu Shiyue glanced down at the bag on the seat: "Move the bag away."

Jiang Luo picked up the bag, looked around, and was about to put it on the ground when Gu Shiyue took the bag from him, carried it behind him, and stuffed it into a corner.

Jiang Luo was worried that Gu Shiyue would feel cramped, so she whispered to him, "Senior, please move over here, it's a bit crowded over there."

Gu Shiyue moved a little closer to him, and his scent slowly enveloped Jiang Luo.

"Have you had breakfast?" Gu Shiyue asked him.

"have eaten."

"Yeah, it'll take an hour to drive there. I can take a nap first."

Gu Shiyue knew that Jiang Luo had to work part-time on the weekend, so he didn't choose a place that was too far away and planned to finish early that day.

Although the journey was only an hour, it still involved taking the highway. Jiang Luo had gotten up early that morning and hadn't slept well the night before due to some excitement. He fell asleep shortly after getting in the car and woke up to find that they had already arrived at their destination.

Jiang Luo opened her eyes groggily. She was covered with a coat, half of her face was hidden under the coat, and a familiar and pleasant scent lingered in her nostrils.

The scent made him feel safe and comfortable. Jiang Luo was half asleep, so he closed his eyes and shrank his face under his coat, completely covering his face. He was still planning to continue sleeping.

"Haha, you're sleeping so soundly." Xia Yi's hearty laughter came from the front, and Jiang Luo suddenly opened her eyes.

"We've arrived." Gu Shiyue's deep voice rang in my ears.

Jiang Luo slowly peeked half her face out from behind her coat, revealing her eyes. She blinked and met Gu Shiyue's gaze.

Gu Shiyue was wearing only a single layer of clothing; his coat had been taken off and was now covering him.

Xia Yi draped his arm over the armrest and turned to look at Jiang Luo: "You slept soundly, didn't you sleep well last night?"

Jiang Luo nodded, sat up straight, and her coat slipped down to her lap.

"Look how considerate your senior, Yue, is, even covering you with a blanket." Xia Yi said, looking at Gu Shiyue, "When I used to fall asleep next to you, I didn't get this treatment. Is it too late to switch majors and become your junior now?"

Xiang Qin added, "Then you'll have to repeat a year."

Everyone burst into laughter upon hearing this.

Jiang Luo is actually quite witty and can usually keep up with jokes, but he couldn't today. It's probably because he and Gu Shiyue were the ones being joked about, and he was a little overwhelmed and also a little... embarrassed.

Jiang Luo put away his coat and handed it to Gu Shiyue. Gu Shiyue had just woken up and his voice was a little hoarse: "Thank you, senior."

Jiang Luo didn't know how long Gu Shiyue had taken off his coat. Although it wasn't cold inside the car, the air conditioning wasn't on either. He was a little worried that Gu Shiyue might get sick like last time.

"Senior, are you cold?" Jiang Luo asked.

Gu Shiyue put on her coat and glanced at him.

Jiang Luo said in a low voice, "It's not very warm today, and you were only wearing this one piece of clothing. I was worried you might get sick."

Gu Shiyue's previous fever probably gave Jiang Luo the impression that he had a poor constitution. Gu Shiyue didn't say anything, but just gently touched the back of Jiang Luo's hand with the back of his hand.

Jiang Luo was taken aback.

"Are you cold?" Gu Shiyue asked him. "My hands."

Jiang Luo shook her head: "...Not cold."

"Are you relieved?"

Jiang Luo nodded.

The group got out of the car, and Gu Shiyue was the last to get out. He went to the trunk to get his bag, and Xia Yi only noticed the Q-version wool felt keychain hanging on his bag when he put it on.

It's so out of character for Gu Shiyue to hang such a cute thing on his bag.

"What the heck is this?" Xia Yi was quite surprised. He picked up the keychain on his bag and looked at it. "It's so cute."

Jiang Luo looked over when she heard the sound and then noticed the charm on Gu Shiyue's bag.

Xia Yi pinched the face of the chibi-style figure. Nine times out of ten, when a boy hangs a keychain on his backpack, it's a gift from his girlfriend. He'd never seen Gu Shiyue hang anything on his backpack before, so this keychain's appearance was very strange. Xia Yi sensed something odd: "...Damn, could it be a gift from your girlfriend?"

The word "partner" made Jiang Luo's forehead twitch. Before Gu Shiyue could speak, Jiang Luo seemed to react, stopped in her tracks, and turned around abruptly: "No!"

Everyone was stunned and turned to look at him.

Gu Shiyue was also looking at him.

Jiang Luo's ears turned red, and she stood there motionless, choked with emotion.

Jiang Luo's sudden strong reaction left Xia Yi a bit bewildered: "What's going on...?"

Xiang Qin, trying to make things worse, asked with a smile, "If it wasn't from your boyfriend, then who sent it?"

Gu Shiyue turned his head to look at Jiang Luo and saw that his earlobes were turning red little by little.