Chapter 71 Willing to Give Up
The decathlon construction competition was coming to an end soon, and the student team from the School of Journalism at Huazhong University of Science and Technology organized a live broadcast to introduce the final products of the ten competing teams.
It was originally an industry discussion meeting, but then a group of netizens came in from nowhere and asked in the barrage to see the handsome guy squatting on the roof in the seventh group.
The anchor asked the cameraman to move the camera up, and it turned out to be the signature figure of their Huada University. Although he was wearing glasses and a red helmet from the construction site, and his pants and shoes were covered with dust, it still couldn't hide his noble look. Later, Cheng Che came out of the room carrying tools, and the live broadcast room became popular again. Some people even recognized that he was the roommate in a certain live broadcast room.
More and more people watched, and a niche professional exchange meeting turned into a large-scale star-chasing event. Someone who was suspected to be from the University of Central China said in the live broadcast room that the handsome guy in the red helmet liked men. The netizens talked about it with relish, and some people asked whether the handsome guy in the helmet was a couple with the mixed-race guy.
Seeing that the situation was out of control, the host quickly changed the picture.
The seventh group's product has been completed. Everyone sat at their workstations watching videos from other groups. As they watched, they were attracted by the barrage of comments, and the looks between Li Zimai and Bei Yiqing gradually became ambiguous.
Cheng Che was drinking water nearby when he heard someone say, "Li Shen took a guy to a hotel last time. That guy was also very handsome."
"No way, I always thought he liked Cheng Che."
"Are your eyes blurry? If you like that Italian guy, you can't possibly like Cheng Che. Have they exchanged even ten sentences in all this time?"
"Well, the Italian one is okay, but isn't he going back to Milan?"
"I heard that Li Shen is going there too. It seems he applied for an exchange student and the college has approved it. Someone has seen the list of names."
"Where did you hear that..."
Cheng Che filled his cup with water, which was too hot, so he dropped it directly to the ground. The hot water flowed down his hand into his sleeves, where it came into contact with the cold air, making it both hot and cold.
Before he realized the pain, someone pulled his hand and put it under cold water. When the cold water touched him, his body shuddered. When he looked up again, he saw the most familiar mole on the tip of his nose. He lowered his head almost reflexively, his throat so tight that he couldn't make a sound.
Li Zimai quickly let go of his hand, rolled up his sleeves, and wiped Cheng Che's wet wrists and cuffs with the clean tail of his inner layer of clothing. He then placed layers of dry paper towels between his wrists and cuffs. After doing this series of actions, he said as if he was concerned about an ordinary classmate: "Go back and change your clothes, don't catch a cold."
Someone finally reacted and asked Cheng Che if he was burned. Cheng Che shook his head and covered the stinging in his palm.
The anchor walked around the venue and returned to his original spot. Seeing the star from Hua University coming down from the roof, he hurried over to interview him. Li Zimai politely said, "The captain is over there. He can explain it more clearly."
The host signaled to Li Zimai that the captain didn't want to be on camera, so Li Zimai had to answer for him, and Bei Yiqing also followed.
The captain sighed, "Oh, they're both really amazing. I'm shaking to death just by speaking on the podium."
Someone joked: "Before, men and women worked together to make the work less tiring, but now men and men work together to double the effect."
They started discussing the previous topic again. "Isn't Li Shen really going to go on exchange? He's a junior now, and the fastest he can go on exchange is his senior year. If he doesn't go on exchange, he'll probably stay there and not come back."
"I heard that Bei Yiqing's father is Bei Cheng, a very famous architect who is now developing his career in Italy. Maybe Li Shen will go there and become his apprentice. After they become masters, the two of them will become the Condor Heroes of the architectural world."
"Hahahaha you're exaggerating. Does Li Shen need to go all the way to Italy to become his disciple?"
"It's not necessary to worship the master, but it is necessary to worship the father-in-law."
"Just shut up."
.......
After Li Zimai finished answering the professional questions, a lively school girl came to interview him and asked Li Zimai if he was single.
Everyone held their breath, and no one dared to raise such a question openly during their free time, even though everyone was really curious.
Li Zimai smiled and said, "Is this also an architectural question?"
The junior student said, "Well, senior, you are an architecture student, so any questions I ask you are architecture questions."
Everyone exclaimed: What a logical genius.
Bei Yiqing came to the rescue: "You only asked him if you think he's handsome. Aren't we all handsome?"
"Of course not. I haven't asked you yet." The schoolgirl asked Bei Yiqing with a smile, "So, are you single?"
Bei Yiqing glanced at Li Zimai and said meaningfully, "He is me."
The schoolgirl immediately responded: "Then the senior is neither you nor me."
Everyone sighed and said what a clever way of coming out, they were indeed having an affair. Only the senior student from the landscape department noticed Cheng Che who had been knocking on the wall. He was squatting there with his back hunched. The senior student walked over and asked Cheng Che what was wrong. Cheng Che looked up at her and said it was nothing, saying that he was going to fix the corner of the wall.
When the senior student looked at the corner of the wall, it was obviously good.
When everyone thought Li Zimai was going to agree, he suddenly said "yes", looked at Cheng Che's back and said that he was single and had been single for a long time.
He didn't want anyone to know about his relationship with Cheng Che. He was afraid that Cheng Che would be pointed at by others, and he was also afraid that his only good memories would be exposed and tarnished in public. He never boasted to anyone again that he had Cheng Che.
After packing up everything, the captain offered to treat the two teachers to a meal to express his gratitude.
Teacher Zuo had to go back to pick up his daughter from school, so he asked Teacher Ji to take the students to the hotel, saying that the two teachers had originally planned to treat everyone to dinner in the evening.
As everyone cheered, Li Zimai came over and handed Cheng Che a tube of burn ointment. "I just went to buy some water, and there happened to be a pharmacy next door. Come and wipe your hands."
Cheng Che took it and said "thank you".
Li Zimai didn't understand how they could become such strangers. He could hardly bear this torture.
The restaurant is near the school. In the past, everyone took the subway back home. Today, it was a rare occasion for us to have a meal together, so Teacher Zuo took a few people home first, and the rest of the people were divided into two groups and took Teacher Ji’s and Li Zimai’s cars respectively.
Before Li Zi stepped into the car, he glanced in the direction of Cheng Che, who was already sitting in the passenger seat of Teacher Ji's car. He suddenly remembered that a long time ago, Cheng Che said that Teacher Ji was beautiful, and he was jealous of him in the elevator. It had only been a short time, and he no longer had the right to say to Cheng Che, you can only ride in my car.
The reason they separated the seats was simply because they didn't want to dirty Teacher Ji's car. Although Teacher Ji drove a very low-key car, just looking at him, you could tell how much he loved cleanliness. He was cold and quiet and didn't talk much, but he was particularly strict on professional issues, which made the students miserable. They no longer dared to say that he was pretty, and even when assigning seats, they would give them to clean girls.
Teacher Ji glanced in the rearview mirror and asked, "Is the temperature right?"
The girls said with great trepidation that it was suitable. Although they thought Teacher Ji was beautiful, noble, and elegant like a member of the royal family, they could not stand the fact that he was an essay fanatic. If they offended him, they would be required to write an essay.
Cheng Che is not a talkative person, and neither is Teacher Ji. The car was silent for most of the journey. Later, Teacher Ji's car phone rang, and a male voice on the other end called out "Brother Ji" and asked when Brother Ji would be back.
Teacher Ji said he wouldn't be back for dinner that night, and told the people across the street to eat and come downstairs for a walk. He told them not to wait for him, and then he hung up. A short while later, the phone rang again, and he said rather unhappily, "When will that crappy competition of yours be over? I'm furious. You have to come back early today."
Teacher Ji hung up the phone without any hesitation.
The girls were shocked. The rumor turned out to be true. Teacher Ji had a family, and her partner was a man.
One girl boldly asked, "Does Teacher Ji have a dog at home?"
Teacher Ji nodded.
"Come here? This name is so interesting."
With dogs as the topic, the atmosphere immediately became relaxed. The three girls chattered about their pet dogs at home and asked Cheng Che what breed of dog he liked. Cheng Che said local dogs, which are easy to raise and family-oriented.
Teacher Ji seemed to have thought of something and suddenly laughed. The big dog in his family really looked like a local dog. It was easy to raise and cared about the family. Apart from the fact that he had to spend energy to feed it, there was nothing difficult about raising it.
When they arrived at the restaurant, Teacher Ji took the students to the private room they had booked. The table was full of sixteen people. The boys sat on one side, the girls sat on the other, and the two teachers sat at the intersection.
As soon as Teacher Zuo arrived, he shouted, "Hey, what feudal thinking! Men and women should sit separately. This is an informal meeting today, so please sit separately."
After finally getting off the topic, Teacher Zuo called out Cheng Che again, "What are you doing over there? Go to Lizimai, aren't you two having the best time?"
Teacher Zuo's information was still stuck on the calls Li Zimai made to him a few months ago, all of which were to ask for sick leave from Cheng Che. He thought the two boys were fine.
Cheng Che always obeyed Teacher Zuo's words. He took the used water cup and sat next to Li Zimai. Bei Yiqing sat on the other side of Li Zimai. Because there were more boys than girls, several boys were crowded together on their side.
After three rounds of drinks, Teacher Zuo began to express his gratitude. "No matter what the result is, I am very grateful to the students for their hard work. It was so cold, and the girls had to run outdoors. It was really hard work. I hope Teacher Ji will give you high scores at the end of the semester!"
Teacher Ji: "Grades will be awarded based on test scores and essay quality."
Female classmates: “…”
Teacher Zuo: "Hey, your teacher Ji is very serious. When I discuss something with him, he always asks me to make a PPT for him."
The classmates laughed secretly.
Teacher Zuo called out Cheng Che again: "Look at the youngest brother in our studio. Has he reached adulthood?"
Cheng Che nodded, "I'm an adult now."
"You have to drink now that you're an adult to build up your courage. You'll have to interact with people when you go out in the future."
Teacher Zuo had always known that Cheng Che was a bit of a loner, and had always tried to bring him into the big family, always reminding him of something. The senior student next to him poured Cheng Che some wine and said, "Go and toast to the teacher."
When he stood up, the tablecloth was lifted up. Li Zimai subconsciously helped him move the stool and held down the plate and chopsticks to prevent them from falling and hitting him. This was a tacit understanding they had developed for a long time and had long since formed muscle memory.
Bei Yiqing, who was standing next to him, felt indescribable emotions when he saw this scene. He always knew that Li Zimai was a gentleman, but this kind of upbringing came with social distance, just like he would help a girl carry heavy objects, but would never help her remove dirt from her clothes.
But now, Bei Yiqing saw him subconsciously reaching for Cheng Che's waist, and when his hand almost touched it, he clenched it into a fist and retracted it, restrained and gentle.
The alcohol content of the wine was very low. Teacher Zuo ordered the mildest wine for the students and warned the female students not to discuss business matters while drinking at the dinner table. He was a middle-aged man with a big belly and few hairs, but he had the most delicate heart and the responsibility of being a teacher.
Several seniors were talking about graduation, saying they couldn't bear to leave Professor Zuo and wanted to study under him as a graduate student. Professor Zuo sighed, "Supervising graduate students is a headache for me. I can't handle the work of your PhD students anymore."
After a while, Teacher Zuo helped the students find a way out. "When you graduate, if I have a vacancy, you can apply for it. Or if I find other teachers, whether domestic or foreign, I can help you contact them."
The senior brothers were even more moved. After drinking too much, they said that a teacher is like a father for life and they wanted to thank Teacher Zuo. This scared Teacher Zuo so much that he asked Teacher Ji for help.
Cheng Che listened to Teacher Zuo's words and toasted his senior brothers and sisters one by one, thanking them for their care over the past few days. He was a straightforward person with little social common sense. He would fill his own glass and drink it all in one breath after clinking glasses.
Li Zimai sat beside him and watched, wanting him to drink slowly, but also wanting to call him an idiot, saying that pouring the wine half full would also be a toast. Li Zimai wanted to go up and help him, but then he thought of his current nameless identity.
"Was your unhappy relationship with Cheng Che?"
Bei Yiqing said firmly, "You like him, why do you want to break up with him?"
Li Zimai withdrew his gaze from Cheng Che. He did not answer Bei Yiqing's question, but remained silent.
Bei Yiqing laughed, "You're too obvious, Li Zimai."
Cheng Che finished his round of toasts and was about to return. Bei Yiqing said, "I'm going back to Italy in a couple of days. Can I do you a favor before I leave?"
Before Li Zimai could react, Bei Yiqing suddenly put down her chopsticks, covered the back of his hand, and said with a smile, "You agree? Then let's go back tonight and tell Auntie the good news. I'll wait for you in Italy."
Li Zimai saw Cheng Che's expression collapse at that moment. His skin was red from the alcohol and his eyes were moist, just like how beautiful he looked when he was emotional. But the next moment, he looked at Li Zimai with that cold look, as if the timidity just now was just an illusion.
Bei Yiqing withdrew his hand and whispered in Li Zimai's ear: "It seems that he doesn't love you anymore."
How could he not love me? Cheng Che only loves me.
Li Zimai never thought that Cheng Che would take back his little love little by little during the long time they were alone. He thought Cheng Che just needed time to figure it out. He told himself that he could wait, and it didn't matter how long he waited, as long as Cheng Che figured it out.
He clearly endured the longing and pain day and night just for that word "disgusting". He thought that as long as he stayed far enough away and gave Cheng Che space, Cheng Che would understand and let him go. But he never thought that during the days of separation, Cheng Che might no longer love him.
For the first time, Li Zimai wanted to escape.
During the three months they were apart, he never thought of running away. He endured all the pain and sadness and stayed by Cheng Che's side. Even though she was so far away from him, he wanted to protect his Che Che. He had promised Che Che that he would treat him well for the rest of his life. He was afraid that if he ran away, there would be no one to protect his Che Che.
But today, Li Zimai wanted to escape for the first time, he really couldn't hold on any longer.
He drank a lot of wine to numb his nerves, deceiving himself by saying that Cheng Che still loved him, how could Cheng Che not love him. His Che Che was just used to hiding himself, it was not that he didn't care, it was not that he didn't love Li Zimai anymore.
But he loves me, how could he bear to see me so sad.
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