Chapter 47 A kiss would be enough

…Hold.

Song Zhenshu looked at the long cigarette that had fallen to the ground at some point. The cigarette butt was stuck in the snow, and the unburnt tobacco had stopped burning due to the sudden drop in temperature, emitting wisps of black smoke that then dissipated in the cold wind.

Song Zhenshu coughed violently.

Proposal?

Who proposed?

"Fine, it's my fault," Song Zhenshu said through gritted teeth.

Damn it, twenty minutes is too much, it should be two minutes.

No, he shouldn't have left. He should have gone inside and sat on the sofa to wait.

"Don't leave your ID card and passport with Tongtong anymore, bring them over and put them here with me," Song Zhenshu was really afraid that one day he would open his eyes and see Ji Tong holding a marriage certificate and saying to him, "Uncle, I got my marriage certificate," so he said irritably, "Put Tongtong's here with me too."

Song Zhenshu took out a handkerchief from his pocket, picked up the fallen cigarette, and threw it into the trash can along with the handkerchief. He walked back and after a short while, he continued, "He was frightened and wanted to tie you up with something, which is why he spoke recklessly."

Gu Lin stubbed out his cigarette: "I know."

“Since you know that, then try to see him less and contact him less these next few days,” Song Zhenshu said seriously.

"Once he realizes his place, looks at you from a different perspective, and thinks things through, he won't regret it later."

“Gu Lin,” Song Zhenshu turned to look at him directly, “the root of the problem is that you spoil him too much.”

"He's allowed you to remain a 'friend' for so long, and he's allowed you to blur the lines between love and friendship."

"You should be glad he likes you."

"Since you've tasted the sweetness, you should also taste the bitterness."

Gu Lin rubbed his fingers, which still smelled of smoke.

suffering.

Which one?

He had already tasted it.

The two fell silent again, each understanding the other's feelings.

Song Zhenshu finally spoke his mind.

"There's one more thing I must tell you in advance."

"If one day, Tongtong and I can't go on together, I really have to break up with you."

I don't care whether you let go or not.

"I will take him away immediately."

The surroundings were eerily quiet. In the dead of winter, Song Zhenshu looked at the snowflakes on Gu Lin's shoulder, thought of the will, and realized that she had spoken a bit too harshly.

"Of course, I'm not the kind of elder who only protects their own and is unreasonable. If the fault lies with Tongtong..."

Gu Lin looked up at him.

"You will receive a large sum of money."

"Name your price."

Gu Lin: "I need people."

Song Zhenshu: "..."

Everyone knows you need people.

He is completely unresponsive to reason.

Song Zhenshu rolled her eyes: "So you'd better not let him have that idea."

Having said everything he needed to say, Song Zhenshu knew that Gu Lin hadn't come specifically to wait for him. He was just worried about Tongtong, so he glanced at the time and said, "I have an appointment later, so I won't see you off today. It's just a short walk, so you can walk back by yourself."

Song Zhenshu appeared incredibly righteous, but deep down, both he and Gu Lin knew the real reason.

—After hearing that Tongtong proposed to Gu Lin, he now finds Gu Lin extremely unpleasant.

Song Zhenshu didn't even bother with pleasantries. He unlocked the car, strode over, and yanked open the driver's side door. Just as he sat down, the passenger side door was yanked open with a "bang."

Gu Lin took a long stride, sat down abruptly, turned to the side, pulled on his seatbelt, fastened it, and said slowly, "Thank you, Uncle."

Song Zhenshu: "You're only a few steps away..."

"The apartment's security cameras are still on," Gu Lin interrupted him calmly, taking out his phone to check the time.

Song Zhenshu interpreted his actions as meaning, "He's been out for a while, and he'll check the surveillance footage later. He'll get anxious if he doesn't see me." Her lips twitched.

Half a minute later, he stepped on the gas with a grimace.

"I told you not to contact him! Including by monitoring him!"

"...Couldn't we just take that piece of junk apart???"

-

As Song Zhenshu's car drove towards the peninsula, an eerie atmosphere permeated Room 411, Building 8, Zone 5 of the boys' dormitory.

After Song Zhenshu left, Ji Tong said he was a little sleepy and wanted to go to bed for a while. He told Li Yuan and the others not to worry about him and to go about their business. Then he took off his coat, grabbed a diffuser, and went to bed.

Ji Tong's expression was actually fine, and his tone of voice was just a little lower than usual, but Li Yuan and the others felt that he was about to cry.

"Tongtong." Li Yuan clung to the railing under Ji Tong's bed.

Ji Tong sniffed: "Hmm?"

The three of them: "..."

Li Yuan: "...We're in the dorm. If you need anything or feel unwell, just call us."

Ji Tong: "Mm."

Li Yuan and the other two looked at each other in bewilderment.

The sky has fallen.

She must have had a fight with Lin Ge.

And it was a torrential downpour.

Ji Tong lay in bed.

I didn't actually cry, it's just that my whole body aches.

My heart aches, my nose aches, and my eyes aches.

I can't speak; if I do, that sour feeling rushes up my throat.

Ji Tong closed her eyes, forcing herself not to think about Gu Lin, and forcing herself to sleep for a while.

It felt like a century had passed before Ji Tong opened his eyes, fully conscious.

He picked up his phone and saw that only twenty-three minutes had passed.

Why is time passing so slowly?

Don't A Yuan and the others always say that weekends fly by?

The bed curtains were drawn, creating a seemingly enclosed space around the bed.

Ji Tong turned over and looked at the orange grove aromatherapy diffuser on the railing shelf.

Gu Lin put it in the suitcase.

The scent of orange groves was completely enveloped by the bed curtains, so strong it was almost cloyingly sweet.

Ji Tong suddenly remembered the first time he went to the peninsula. The curtains were drawn and the windows were closed. The air was filled with the scent of orange groves, so strong that it could almost drown you.

What did he say to Gu Lin at that time?

It seems so—

"How many times have I told you, don't always just use the ventilation mode, natural ventilation is best, what a bad habit."

Then I opened the curtains and windows to let the fragrance waft out.

Now he's picked up bad habits too, and all he wants to do is pull the curtains tighter and make the fragrance stronger.

Ji Tong huddled under the covers for a while, not daring to sleep for fear of not being able to sleep at night. So he sat up, got out of bed, and, amidst the mixed gazes of Li Yuan and the others, turned on his computer to type his thesis.

With something to do, it was past five o'clock in the blink of an eye.

Ji Tong hadn't eaten dinner in the dorm for a long time. Just as he was about to ask Li Yuan and the others what they wanted to eat, Song Zhenshu sent him a message.

Your uncle asked the club to prepare some of your favorite dishes; they should arrive soon. You can eat with Li Yuan and the others.

WeChat flashed again.

It's a 7-second voice message.

Ji Tong clicked to listen, but it wasn't Song Zhenshu's voice.

"Tongtong, the food should be arriving soon. Just tell Yao-ge if there's anything you want to eat, and Yao-ge will have someone make it for you anytime. Don't be shy with Yao-ge."

The background also includes Song Zhenshu's吐槽 (tu cao, a form of online commentary) about "calling someone Uncle Yao".

Not wanting Song Zhenshu to worry, Ji Tong replied with an emoji that said "I'm best friends with my uncle." She put down her phone and was about to tell Li Yuan and the others that they didn't need to order dinner when she turned around and saw Li Yuan scratching his head and looking hesitant.

Ji Tong: "What's wrong?"

Li Yuan: "...Tongtong, can we finish two dinners?"

Ji Tong: "?"

Half an hour later, the corridor of dormitory 411 was filled with privately prepared dishes.

One was ordered by Song Zhenshu, and the other by Gu Lin.

They couldn't finish it all, so Ji Tong called over Ah Liang and the others from next door, and they managed to finish it.

After finishing her meal, Ji Tong organized the remaining paper formatting, completed another test paper, washed up, and went to bed.

It was already 11 p.m. when the dormitory lights were turned off.

Ji Tong buried herself in the blanket, clutching her phone.

He didn't say anything for a while.

I've been holding back for a long time.

It's 11 o'clock, Gu Lin should be asleep, so I'll check the surveillance footage... it should be fine.

Ji Tong bit her finger anxiously, but finally couldn't resist and unlocked her phone.

The screen emitted a blinding light in the darkness, but Ji Tong ignored it and quickly found the monitoring app.

It's okay, he won't watch the replay, he'll just look at the living room. Ji Tong thought this, but the moment he clicked on it, he froze—

The living room lights and wall lamps were on. Gu Lin had indeed fallen asleep, but not in the guest room or the master bedroom. Instead, he slept on the sofa bed in the living room.

It's as if they knew he would watch the surveillance footage.

The sour feeling that I had been suppressing for so long surged up to the tip of my nose again.

Ji Tong ultimately didn't turn off her phone; she just left the monitoring app running, placed it beside her pillow, and went to sleep.

The difficulty lies in the first time; once you cross that line, there will be a second.

For the rest of Sunday, Ji Tong kept the monitoring software running almost the entire day.

Monday has finally arrived.

The class was supposed to be full, but because the discrete mathematics teacher changed the class to evening self-study, there was free time after the first big class in the morning.

With final exam review week just around the corner, Li Yuan and his friends planned to go to the library and asked Ji Tong if she wanted to come along, but Ji Tong declined.

"I still have classes to attend," Ji Tong said, packing up her books.

Li Yuan and the other two suddenly stopped moving.

Cui Mingying tentatively asked, "Going to... Ji Jiu?"

He didn't even dare to say "Brother Lin".

Over the past two days, Li Yuan and the others have roughly figured out the situation. They didn't have a fight, but something must have gone wrong.

And it's a big problem.

Ji Tong paused subtly, then shook her head: "No."

"I'll audit the elective courses."

Hearing him say that, the three of them nodded.

Ji Tong and Li Yuan split up downstairs in the Lijiao Building. Li Yuan and the others went to the library, while Ji Tong went to the Sixth Teaching Building.

His phone screen displayed a class schedule—

"Entering a World of Diverse Sexual Orientations: Love and Sex" (Sixth Teaching Building, Room 201 - Department of Psychology and Center for Applied Psychology Research, Shi Yinghe)

It's an elective course for third-year students, but you can audit it.

Professor Shi is one of the benchmark professors in the Department of Psychology at Anhui University. His classes are highly sought after, and even during final week, there are many people auditing them. However, despite the large number of auditors, Ji Tong's appearance still caused quite a stir.

Ji Tong ignored him and sat in the last row.

The school bell rang, and Ji Tong was taking out her tablet—

"Excuse me, could you please move over a bit... Ji Tong?"

Ji Tong turned his head and was stunned for a moment when he saw Ke Tongguang.

There were people in the front row looking this way, so Ji Tong moved to a spot in the back, and Ke Tongguang sat down next to him.

"What are you doing here, taking an elective course in your third year?" Ke Tongguang asked.

Ji Tong: "Listen in."

Ke Tongguang was somewhat puzzled, but didn't say much.

On stage, Professor Shi is talking about self-awareness and growth for homosexuals and bisexuals.

"What is homosexuality? It refers to the ability to feel emotional and sexual attraction to individuals of the same sex as oneself, and to establish intimate and sexual relationships with them..."

Ke Tongguang's peripheral vision remained fixed on Ji Tong.

He was very focused and not affected by himself at all.

Ke Tongguang glanced at the PowerPoint presentation on the screen again.

This page focuses on the stereotypes surrounding the LGBTQ+ community.

When Ji Tong suddenly showed up to audit the class, Ke Tongguang couldn't help but think things through.

He took out his phone and found a familiar profile picture.

[Ke Tongguang: What are you doing?]

[Tu Jing: Release it if there's a pee.]

[Ke Tongguang: I took Professor Shi's elective course, the topic of which was "Entering a World of Diverse Sexual Orientations: Love and Sex."]

[Tu Jing: If you drink three kilograms of water every day, you can stay away from interpersonal problems, because you'll be so busy going to the toilet that you won't have time to make friends. Please stay hydrated, my friend.]

[Tu Jing: If you're really free, drink more hot water instead of discussing love and sex with me here.]

[Tu Jing: We called the police.]

[Ke Tongguang: Look at you, you're in such a hurry again.]

[Ke Tongguang: I wanted to tell you that I ran into your precious junior here.]

Tu Jing: ?

[Ke Tongguang: My junior's surname is Ji.]

[Tu Jing: ? ?]

[Ke Tongguang: He came alone and didn't see Gu Lin.]

[Tu Jing: ???]

The first short class ended, the bell rang, and Ke Tongguang walked to the vending machine, intending to buy a hot drink and also get one for Ji Tong. Before he could scan the code, he suddenly heard someone call out behind him—

"Senior."

It was Ji Tong's voice.

To be honest, Ke Tongguang was a little surprised when he heard Ji Tong call him.

Since that confession on the playground, Ji Tong has rarely met him. Occasionally, they would bump into each other and exchange a polite nod. This was only when Ji Tong was alone. Whenever Gu Lin was nearby, Ji Tong would pull Gu Lin behind her, practically writing "I will not let you get close to Gu Lin" on her face.

Most of the time, Ji Tong was with Gu Lin.

It was already a rare occurrence for Ji Tong to appear alone in the Sixth Teaching Building today, let alone for him to call out to him.

Ke Tongguang turned around and looked at Ji Tong.

That works too, we shouldn't miss this opportunity.

I'll take this opportunity to clarify things with Ji Tong.

Otherwise, he gets goosebumps every time he thinks about Ji Tong misunderstanding that he likes Gu Lin.

Ji Tong walked over to Ke Tongguang and handed him the bottle of hot cocoa in her hand.

Ke Tongguang was flattered: "For me?"

Ji Tong: "Mm."

Ke Tongguang clicked his tongue twice.

It wasn't easy; I finally got to drink the water Ji Tong handed me that I missed at the basketball game.

Ke Tongguang reached out and took it—

"Senior, you're gay, aren't you?"

Ji Tong's words were handed over along with the bottle of hot cocoa.

The topic that suddenly came up didn't seem too strange to Ke Tongguang.

Perhaps because the two had just come from that class, Ke Tongguang still had a sense of anticipation, as if "it's finally here": "Yes, it's obvious."

Ji Tong remained silent for a few seconds.

How did the senior determine his sexual orientation?

"Does that even need to be confirmed? Actually, it's not that different from being heterosexual, except that the object of my affection is a boy. I don't have that kind of impulse towards girls."

Ji Tong: "What... impulse?"

Ke Tongguang smiled.

If someone suddenly stopped him and asked him if he was gay, or what "that impulse" was, Ke Tongguang might feel offended.

But Ji Tong is different. Putting aside the fact that he was once the object of his affections, his eyes are too pure, containing nothing but doubt and a "desire" for knowledge.

So Ke Tongguang answered truthfully: "It was just some close contact."

"Having thoughts of holding hands, hugging, or sleeping together with someone of the same sex."

"I feel palpitations and excitement during close contact."

Ji Tong remained silent for a long while.

"Are only homosexuals doing this?"

“Ji Tong, two straight men might give each other a symbolic hug, but they would never hold hands, let alone sleep together.”

Ji Tong slowly lowered her head, lost in her own thoughts.

Holding hands, hugging, sleeping together.

Both he and Gu Lin did it.

So he must be gay?

But Ji Tong felt that something was wrong.

He looked up again.

"Senior, you've dated so many boyfriends, do you feel this kind of impulse towards every single one of them?"

“Of course,” Ke Tongguang raised an eyebrow. “Junior, although I lose interest quickly, I’m always serious when I’m pursuing someone.”

"I am a feeling-first person."

Ji Tong's eyes were full of confusion and doubt, and his brows furrowed.

Apart from Gu Lin, he didn't seem to have any other urge to hold hands or hug anyone else.

But when she held hands and hugged Gu Lin, she didn't seem to feel any heart palpitations or excitement...

Professor Shi's voice and Ke Tongguang's answer were like a blurry spot of light, constantly sinking deeper and deeper into Ji Tong's mind, as if they were about to touch something, but always just a little bit short.

Ji Tong thanked Ke Tongguang and didn't attend the second class, heading towards the dormitory.

Ke Tongguang stood quietly by the vending machine for half a minute, finding it quite interesting. He then took out his phone and sent Tu Jing the exact question Ji Tong had just asked him.

Tu Jing: Okay.

Ji Tong walked towards the dormitory with the blurry light spot in her hand. Before she even reached the dormitory building, her phone suddenly rang.

The caller ID displayed four words: Tu Jing, a senior student.

Ji Tong answered the phone, the word "hello" still lingering in her mouth, before she could even say it, Tu Jing's voice crashed over her like a tidal wave—

"Tongtong, if you want to know the answer, it's actually very simple."

"A kiss will suffice."