Chapter 22
When the video link was connected, Wu Ye was in a study room at Tsinghua University Library, a mountain of reference books piled high in the background. Li Ruiyuan focused the camera on a crumpled love letter on the table: "Look, junior high students nowadays are much wilder than we were back then."
Wu Ye pushed up his glasses, the reflection from the lenses unable to hide the corners of his mouth that curled up: "The handwriting is ugly. I've secretly written for you before."
"Have you written it?" Li Ruiyuan almost knocked over the cold tea in his hand.
"I stuffed it inside your motorcycle helmet." The boy tapped the screen with his pen. "But someone can't read, so they used it as waste paper to pad their instant noodle bowl."
They both laughed out loud. Li Ruiyuan flipped the love letter over to reveal a mathematical formula scribbled out with correction fluid. "This idiot is trying to teach Xuanxuan how to solve a linear equation?"
"Early love promotes learning." Wu Ye said seriously.
From outside the window came the mother's voice scolding Li Xuan: "What a shame to have your skirt so short!"
Li Ruiyuan quickly turned down the volume, but the camera showed a half-ripped school uniform skirt. Wu Ye raised an eyebrow: "Auntie, you have a strong hand."
"That's right..." Li Ruiyuan lowered his voice, "Xuanxuan's boyfriend really came to dinner today. He dyed his hair yellow and sat there shaking his legs."
A muffled laugh came from the other end of the video. Wu Ye took off his glasses and wiped them: "Didn't Auntie hit him?"
"……without"
The mother suddenly popped her head into the picture: "Has Aye eaten? Is it cold in Beijing?" Her tone was as natural as if she was greeting her own child.
Wu Ye nodded obediently: "After eating, Auntie, the heating is sufficient." The camera quietly turned to the window - the first snow in Beijing fell on the eaves of the library.
After his mother walked away, Li Ruiyuan curled his lips and said, "Wow, you really act like a decent person."
"I learned it from you." Wu Ye put his glasses back on. "What were we talking about? The yellow-haired man shaking his legs?"
"My mom gave someone ten pieces of braised pork," Li Ruiyuan gestured. "The kid was so scared he didn't dare to chew, and Xuanxuan kicked me under the table."
The picture shook, and he was imitating the scene. Wu Ye looked at the camera and smiled, but did not say anything.
"And then?"
"Then my mother asked about his future plans." Li Ruiyuan held his forehead. "That guy is really awesome. He said he wanted to apply to Guangya University and even said he would marry Xuanxuan after graduation."
A suppressed burst of laughter echoed from the library. Wu Ye coughed, covering his mouth. "Very... pragmatic."
"Pragmatic as hell. Forcibly separating them isn't a good idea, but not separating them is even worse. My mom is really distressed right now anyway."
The video suddenly froze, freezing at the moment the two of them were laughing until tears came out. When it reconnected, Wu Ye whispered, "Better than us."
"What?"
"At least they can hold hands in public." The boy touched the screen with his fingertips, as if stroking the other person's smile lines.
Li Ruiyuan suddenly turned the camera to the moonlit Guangzhou skyline outside the window. Neon signs cast smudges of light in the humid air, like some kind of unspoken tenderness.
After hanging up the phone, Wu stared at the black screen for a while.
What if my aunt doesn’t agree after she finds out?
Wu Ye rubbed his brows, turned around and tugged at the quilt. He heard his roommate Wang Lei suddenly whine from the bed opposite him: "My girlfriend is being naughty again. She insisted I buy her some cosmetics."
The other two roommates laughed and threw pillows at him: "Get lost!"
Wang Lei dodged the attack and suddenly looked at Wu Ye: "Oh, by the way, Old Wu, you've never answered a girl's phone call before, are you a single mother?"
Wu Ye paused twirling his pen. The light from the desk lamp cast a fine shadow beneath his eyelashes, and the tip of his pen spread a tiny dot of ink on the draft paper.
"I have a boyfriend." He said softly, "boyfriend"
The air suddenly froze. Wang Lei, mouth open, remained in the pillow-throwing position. Roommate Zhang Chengrui's dumbbells struck his instep. Chen Hao's coffee cup tilted, brown liquid spilling over the postgraduate entrance exam papers.
It turns out this guy is gay!!
Chen Hao was the first to react. He pushed up his glasses and said, "I was saying... you never look at girls."
"Holy shit!" Wang Lei jumped off the bed. "Is this true? When did this happen?"
Wu Ye smeared the ink on the draft paper into the outline of a motorcycle: "Just in the first few days of college..."
Liu Yang came over, rubbing the back of his foot: "Is... is he from our school?"
"No, he's in Guangzhou." The tip of the pen sketched the rearview mirror. "But he's planning to open a small supermarket in Beijing."
The three of them looked at each other in bewilderment. Wang Lei suddenly slapped his thigh and said, "Oh my god, is that the one on your screensaver?"
The phone screen lit up - Li Ruiyuan was squatting in front of the shelf, sorting the goods, his face was wet with sweat, and there was a small scar at the corner of his mouth.
"Wow..." Liu Yang leaned in closer to take a look. "Those muscles...Old Wu, you really are quite good at hiding your true strengths."
Chen Hao suddenly asked, "Does your family know?"
"I haven't said anything yet," Wu Ye said with a slight smile, "but I was the one who helped persuade his sister to stop dating prematurely."
In the silence, Wang Lei suddenly put his arm around his shoulders and said, "That's awesome! From now on, our dormitory will have a 100% chance of finding singles!"
Liu Yang took out some potato chips and said, "Tell me in detail, who's chasing who?"
The night chat lasted until two in the morning. Wu Ye talked about the rooftop of Guangya Middle School, the night market by the Pearl River, and the first snow beneath the red walls of the Forbidden City. When he mentioned "he picked me up from a gang of hooligans and brought me home," Wang Lei suddenly threw him a pack of tissues.
"What?"
"Your eyes are red, idiot."
Chen Hao turned over in bed: "So last time you said you were going to Guangzhou to visit relatives..."
"Yeah." Wu Ye crumpled the tissue into a ball. "Look at him."
Moonlight filtered through the gaps in the curtains, illuminating the shadows of four boys huddled on a bed. Wang Lei suddenly said, "Let him come to Beijing next time! I'll treat him to some braised pork."
"Come on." Liu Yang complained, "When you treat people, you only take them to the cafeteria."
Wu Ye lowered his head and sent a message to Li Ruiyuan: "I'm coming out"
The other party replied immediately: "? With whom?"
"roommate"
"No fight, right?"
He smiled and typed: "They said you are handsome"
The message "So tasteful" popped up.
When the dormitory lights went out, Wang Lei suddenly asked from the upper bunk, "Old Wu, what's your partner's name?"
In the darkness, Wu Ye's voice was filled with laughter.
"Call me Brother Yuan."
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