Chapter 14

Han Shuo rested his elbow on the table, chin propped up with a smile as he watched Meng Yuxiu eat with refined manners.

"Meng Yuxiu".

"kindness."

"To be honest, I really admire you after this incident. I'm completely impressed with you now." Han Shuo gave him a thumbs up. "If it were me this morning, even if this was unexpected, I would definitely have given you a good beating. I really didn't expect you to be so sensible at such a young age."

Meng Yuxiu snorted softly, "Don't flatter me. Aren't you just afraid I won't do missions with you?"

"Damn it!" Han Shuo was worried about this matter, but if Meng Yuxiu saw through it, it would seem like he was being hypocritical after delivering the tea eggs and saying those things. Han Shuo was not happy about this. He was sure that at least three-tenths of the words he said praising Meng Yuxiu were sincere.

"Is that how you see me? What do you mean? You think I'm just using you and trying to appease you?"

Meng Yuxiu remained silent, but glanced at Han Shuo with the corner of his narrow eye, his meaning clear.

Han Shuo was convinced. Although the two were partners, he was a straightforward and blunt person who couldn't figure out Meng Yuxiu's personality. So he always felt that Meng Yuxiu could easily control him with just a look or a word.

"Yes, yes, I didn't like you before, but we've been kissing for so long. Even if there's no affection, there's at least... you know, physical intimacy, right?"

"Cough cough cough..." Meng Yuxiu was so startled by his words that he choked and patted his chest.

Han Shuo quickly patted his back, "Eat slowly, I'm not going to take it from you."

"..." Meng Yuxiu paused for a moment, then frowned and said, "Can't you think before you speak? Are you really twenty-two years old?"

"Well, I'm just proving to you that I wasn't just saying those things to flatter you; I genuinely admire you. Let me put it this way: from now on, if you don't want to do a mission, I definitely won't force you!"

Han Shuo thought that this statement was too absolute, so he softened his tone and continued, "Actually, I didn't like you very much at first. When I found out that you were my business partner, I almost fainted. But after getting to know you, I found that you are actually a pretty good person."

Just for your understanding nature and not taking your anger out on me unjustly, I've decided to consider you my brother! Even if we go back to the 21st century, I won't forget you; I'll definitely bring you gifts to visit you at school. Of course, in this world, it goes without saying that if anyone ever messes with you, just tell me, and I'll take care of them for you. And if I ever have anything good to offer, I'll remember you.

After saying that, Han Shuo raised an eyebrow at Meng Yuxiu.

"..." After Han Shuo finished speaking, Meng Yuxiu was at a loss for words.

Meng Yuxiu rushed off in the morning and only took his bicycle, leaving his schoolbag at Han Shuo's house. He's currently using his deskmate's books to review his studies.

Having eaten the eggs and received a lot of kind words, Meng Yuxiu's anger from the morning had completely dissipated. He then went back to the dormitory with Han Shuo to retrieve his schoolbag.

Han Shuo's dormitory was very lively, especially the large communal bunk above where more than a dozen male students were playing cards.

When Han Shuo brought him to the dormitory door, everyone in the dormitory was stunned.

Immediately afterwards, the group on the upper bunk started howling and wailing, and even whistling and jeering.

This made Han Shuo think he had brought a girlfriend instead of Meng Yuxiu. Sure enough, the world's gay cancer struck again.

They all took turns teasing Han Shuo and Meng Yuxiu.

"Han Shuo, are you two dating?"

Han Shuo: "Go away, stop thinking about these things all day long. Can't Meng Yuxiu and I have a pure friendship?"

Meng Yuxiu had originally planned to retrieve his schoolbag and then return to the classroom to study for a while. But Han Shuo wanted to befriend him and get closer to him, so he wouldn't let him leave.

"We're going to the cafeteria for lunch soon. Going to the classroom would be a waste of time. If you want to study, just read here."

Meng Yuxiu lowered his eyes and thought for a moment. He did not refuse, then took off his shoes and climbed up to the upper bunk with Han Shuo.

While the others were playing cards, Han Shuo, who rarely shared a single interest with these kids, joined in, while Meng Yuxiu sat to the side, opening his schoolbag and taking out books.

He's the kind of person who, once he's focused, won't be disturbed by the noise around him. However, after what happened this morning, Han Shuo is now very loyal; during breaks in his card game, he'll turn to ask Meng Yuxiu if he's been disturbed.

But whenever Han Shuo and Meng Yuxiu spoke, the group of male students playing cards would start making faces and squealing like monkeys, making Meng Yuxiu very uncomfortable.

Perhaps because he had actually kissed Han Shuo, he always had the illusion that his affair with Han Shuo had been exposed.

"You play your cards, don't worry about me."

"OK."

Han Shuo continued playing cards, but after a while, the card game suddenly stopped in the dormitory, and they started talking about other things.

"Xiaodong." Han Shuo, holding a card, gestured with his chin towards his classmate who had just climbed up. "Did you lick lard? Your lips are so greasy and shiny."

The tall, thin boy with wheat-colored skin, named Pan Xiaodong, was also a playful student. He said smugly, "What are you licking lard for? You're so ignorant, aren't you? I just came back from kissing a guy."

As soon as he said that, the dormitory erupted in noise again. They were all teenage boys, and in this era, they weren't as precocious as people today, so after hearing his words, they immediately pulled Xiaodong aside and bombarded him with questions.

"Tsk tsk tsk..." Hearing about kissing a man, Han Shuo got goosebumps all over his body, and his face almost scrunched up in a grimace. He wasn't interested in this, so he turned his head to look at Meng Yuxiu's movements.

Doufu pulled Pan Xiaodong aside and asked, "What does it feel like to kiss?"

Century Egg: "What does it feel like to have your lips pressed together?"

Pan Xiaodong: "What do you know? What you're talking about, what kind of kissing is that..."

Meng Yuxiu wasn't interested in any of this and continued reading with his eyes down. But a sentence from Pan Xiaodong interrupted his thoughts.

He suddenly looked up at Pan Xiaodong and asked, "What did you just say?"

Pan Xiaodong was taken aback.

Han Shuo tilted his head, not quite understanding why Meng Yuxiu had suddenly spoken, but he kicked Pan Xiaodong's leg and asked, "Quickly tell my brother what you just said?"

Pan Xiaodong was taken aback and asked, "Which sentence?"

Meng Yuxiu: "What you called that kind of kissing, the part after that."

Pan Xiaodong: "Oh! I mean, what Pidan called kissing? I'm kissing properly. Do you even know what kissing is? Kissing involves your tongues getting tangled together and you're tasting each other's saliva. Pshaw, just touching lips isn't kissing."

Even Han Shuo realized what was happening. He and Meng Yuxiu quickly exchanged a glance, and it was as if the nerves in their brains snapped simultaneously.

While everyone else was wondering why a good student like Meng Yuxiu would be interested in such things, Meng Yuxiu then frowned and asked again.

"If touching lips doesn't count as a kiss, then what is?"

Pan Xiaodong chuckled and said, "That's just kids playing house!"

The next second, the person on the upper bunk stared in astonishment as Han Shuo and Meng Yuxiu quickly climbed off the bed, put on their shoes, and then rushed out of the dormitory together.

Pidan asked, "What's going on between them?"

Tofu shook his head. "I don't know. Maybe the cafeteria is open for lunch."

Han Shuo and Meng Yuxiu tacitly ran to a quiet corner outside the playground.

They had previously thought it was ingenious to complete the task simply by talking, but after hearing Pan Xiaodong's words, they were both disheartened.

Han Shuo asked, "How long have we been playing house?"

Meng Yuxiu said with a complicated expression, "I write it down in my notebook every time I finish a task, it takes three hours."

"Damn it!" Han Shuo exclaimed in despair, "So that means we kissed for three hours for nothing?"

Meng Yuxiu said in a chilly tone, "You should be glad we only worked for three hours, not three hundred hours."

"..." Well, this is a stroke of luck amidst misfortune. If it really had been 300 hours, Han Shuo felt that he would have vomited blood by now.

"What do we do now?"

Meng Yuxiu closed his eyes and then opened them again, then took a deep breath and said, "Let's start over."

Originally, Han Shuo did not plan to bring up the task today, after all, he needed to let Meng Yuxiu recover from the incident of being caught cheating this morning.

Fortunately, Meng Yuxiu brought it up now. There was no other way; kissing is much more difficult. It's not something that can be accomplished by simply touching lips together.

Similarly, two people who had been kissing for a few days and were almost used to it had to start preparing themselves mentally again.

They still arranged to meet under the ginkgo tree on the playground after evening self-study. This time, without Meng Yuxiu reminding him, Han Shuo went to brush his teeth on his own.

"Did you clean it properly?"

"It's all clean!" Han Shuo exclaimed, opening his mouth to show Meng Yuxiu.

Meng Yuxiu didn't even know who he borrowed the flashlight from, but he actually turned it on and shone it on Han Shuo's mouth, checking his white teeth from top to bottom several times.

"Don't worry, I've even cleaned your tongue thoroughly. I guarantee you won't find a single vegetable leaf."

"..." Meng Yuxiu frowned at what he said.

"Alright, it's my turn to check."

After Han Shuo finished speaking, he snatched the flashlight and made Meng Yuxiu open his mouth.

After they finished their checks, they looked at each other and struggled internally once again.

“I’ve never kissed anyone,” Meng Yuxiu said. “And I don’t know how to kiss.”

Han Shuo scoffed, "If anyone's saying they don't know how to kiss, it should be me. At least you can stick out your tongue..."

Before Han Shuo could finish speaking, Meng Yuxiu's gaze swept over again.

"..."

Meng Yuxiu said awkwardly, "Teach me."

"?"

“You’re a few years older than me, you must know a little bit.”

Han Shuo chuckled inwardly, thinking to himself, "Why don't you say I don't look twenty-two now?"

However, Meng Yuxiu changed his arrogant attitude. Since he was so humble in asking for advice, Han Shuo was quite pleased. So Han Shuo said, "That's true. I know a little more than you. Actually, it's not that difficult. Didn't Xiaodong say that you can intertwine your tongues and exchange saliva while also cleaning your mouth?"

Meng Yuxiu was taken aback, then frowned and asked, "Sweep the oral cavity?"

Han Shuo opened his mouth and gestured to Meng Yuxiu, "Look, the palate. I don't know what kind of kissing those crappy novels are referring to. Anyway, since we're going to kiss, we might as well make sure to cover everything and not miss anything, otherwise the mission will be a waste. What do you think?"

Meng Yuxiu frowned deeply and struggled with the decision, but in the end he agreed with Han Shuo's words. Neither of them wanted to waste their efforts and end up with nothing.

But he made one last request to Han Shuo.

“Then you…” Meng Yuxiu seemed to be giving in, “…don’t drool too much…”