ASSHKHME Chapter 34
by VolareIt was 8:30 PM when Chen Zhuo returned to the dormitory.
Subconsciously, he scanned the room, placed the takeout he’d brought back on the table.
Seemingly casually, he asked Zhao Jiashu and Li Ang, who were devouring food like “hungry ghosts reincarnated,” “Xie Yu isn’t back?”
Zhao Jiashu, chewing on a grilled lamb chop, mumbled, “He came back, then went out again. Didn’t say where he was going.”
Li Ang, soon to be the first in the dorm to escape singlehood, said with a smile, “Yu-ge left in a hurry today. Could he be out on a date with a girl?”
Zhao Jiashu chimed in, “That’s totally possible. A senior from our club asked me for Yu-ge’s WeChat the other day.”
Chen Zhuo took a sip of his yogurt, his tone unreadable as he asked, “You gave it to her?”
Zhao Jiashu was rather proud, “Yeah, I did. The senior is really pretty. I think she and Yu-ge would make a great couple.”
The corners of Chen Zhuo’s mouth drooped three pixels lower. He silently closed the lid of the takeout container. “I’ll save it for tomorrow.”
Li Ang urgently nudged Zhao Jiashu’s arm, and, “understanding the hint,” started to brown-nose, “Zhuo’er, I think you’re way more handsome than Yu-ge. Lots of people confess to you on the confession wall.”
Zhao Jiashu hastily nodded, “Right, right, Zhuo’er is the campus heartthrob of our Architecture School! Um, the dorm’s kind of hot. The barbecue will go bad if we leave it out overnight.”
Chen Zhuo was speechless. He pushed the takeout container to them. “Eat it, eat it, you gluttons.”
It was 9:30 PM, and Xie Yu still hadn’t returned.
The dormitory auntie came to check the rooms. Thanks to Zhao Jiashu’s “infiltration” of the enemy, she only gave them a warning not to let it happen again and told them to make sure he came back quickly.
Chen Zhuo finished washing up and climbed into bed to play Snake. His eyes kept darting towards the dorm door. He couldn’t even play for a few minutes before his snake crashed into a wall and died.
He couldn’t help but wonder if Xie Yu really had gone on a date with that senior.
But even if he was on a date, he should be back soon since curfew was approaching. Could it be that he went to…
Chen Zhuo’s expression changed slightly. He lost interest in playing the game and tossed his phone onto the pillow. He buried his head in the blanket, closed his eyes, and tried to will himself to sleep.
At 10:00 PM, curfew arrived, and the dormitory auntie locked the building doors.
Zhao Jiashu came back after the room check and spoke with Li Ang below his bed, “Yu-ge still isn’t back? Let’s call him and see what’s up, in case something happened.”
Chen Zhuo, who had been trying to fall asleep for half an hour, opened his eyes and poked his head out, perking up his ears.
He only heard the long ringing tone, followed by a mechanical female voice: “Sorry, the number you have dialed is not answering. Please try again later.”
Li Ang muttered, “No one’s answering. Is he just busy, or is something really wrong?”
Busy…
What inconvenient thing could Xie Yu be doing right now?
A wave of anger inexplicably washed over Chen Zhuo. The bed frame rattled loudly as he suddenly sat up and climbed out of bed, his face dark.
Zhao Jiashu and Li Ang stared in shock, whispering, “What’s wrong, Zhuo’er? Did we wake you?”
Chen Zhuo suppressed his emotions and forced a smile. “It’s nothing. I was just thirsty and came down for a drink.”
He twisted open his water bottle and, “gulp gulp,” finished it in one go.
At 11:00 PM, the dormitory lights automatically went out.
Chen Zhuo propped himself up on his arm and stared at the broken fan on the ceiling in the dimness, his mind flashing with all sorts of images.
Xie Yu grabbing his collar and harshly telling him to never tease him again.
Xie Yu asking him if he wanted dessert when they ordered food, telling the room service not to add scallions or cilantro.
The warm embrace on a stormy night, the warm, dry palm covering his ears during thunder, and that vibrant, powerful heartbeat.
Finally, the image settled on today, Xie Yu holding his hand, gently asking if he was scared.
Chen Zhuo pulled his head under the covers, sighed, and mumbled, “Damn suspension bridge effect.”
He wanted to sleep, but his brain was unusually active.
Xie Yu had asked him this morning if he was returning to the dorm, so how did he end up being the one not returning?
What was Xie Yu doing? Who was he with?
At 2:00 AM, the dormitory building fell silent.
Chen Zhuo, who had to get up early for an 8 AM class, tossed and turned, unable to sleep. With dark circles under his eyes, he viciously thought: Xie Yu, that idiot, probably died outside, that’s why he hasn’t come back!
He had drunk too much water that evening. Chen Zhuo tiptoed out of bed, opened the balcony door, and went to the bathroom on the left.
He didn’t know how the school designed the electrical circuits, but only the main lights inside the dorm room were shut off automatically, while the other circuits still had power.
Chen Zhuo came out of the bathroom, turned off the light, and turned around to go back inside when he suddenly heard movement coming from the window on the balcony.
Chen Zhuo tilted his head in confusion. A large hand suddenly appearing on the glass nearly caused his heart to stop. In that instant, his mind flashed with numerous dorm murder cases.
“Scratch—”
The glass window was pulled open from the outside, and that hand with distinct knuckles grabbed the window frame.
Chen Zhuo instinctively grabbed the mop beside him, but before he could act, a dark figure agilely and cleanly flipped inside.
Landing lightly, before Chen Zhuo could cry out in alarm, it quickly rushed forward and covered his mouth.
Then, a familiar voice sounded in the darkness, “Shhh—don’t be afraid, it’s me.”
Chen Zhuo leaned against the cold tile wall, still clutching the mop handle, his heart pounding wildly in fear. He widened his eyes, staring in shock at Xie Yu, “Mmm mmh yhou hhow…”
The campus streetlights had all been extinguished, and only soft moonlight spilled through the window lattice, gently falling beside them.
Xie Yu lowered his head, gazing into Chen Zhuo’s frightened deer-like eyes, wide and round, devoid of their usual daytime arrogance.
He mischievously tightened his hand, feeling the moist heat of his lips brush against his palm as he spoke.
Chen Zhuo’s face was so small; it seemed like his hand could cover it completely, the flesh of his cheeks threatening to spill out from between his fingers.
Only when Chen Zhuo angrily slapped his arm did Xie Yu reluctantly let him go.
Chen Zhuo’s chest rose and fell rapidly. It took a long time to steady his breathing.
Just as he was about to ask something, he suddenly frowned, leaned forward, and sniffed Xie Yu’s body. “You went drinking? And only came back now?”
Xie Yu looked at him without blinking, gestured with his hand, and whispered, “Not much, just a little bit.”
Chen Zhuo felt that Xie Yu was strange, strangely docile, perhaps his personality changed after drinking.
He narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing Xie Yu, and asked a random question, “You… drank by yourself?”
Xie Yu’s eyes darted around, and he guiltily “Mm”ed in agreement.
Chen Zhuo was silent for a few seconds, then suddenly let go of the mop and pushed him away irritably. “Get out of here! Liar!”
“I didn’t…”
Xie Yu grabbed Chen Zhuo’s wrist, pushing and shoving him into the corner, not letting him leave, reeking of alcohol, with a hint of coaxing, “It’s not what you think, don’t be angry.”
It was really too ambiguous. Chen Zhuo felt flustered and agitated.
He didn’t believe that Xie Yu drank alone until two in the morning. He struggled to free his hand from Xie Yu’s grip, shouting in a low voice, “Annoying, you’re so weird, why would I be angry? Get lost! I’m going back to sleep!”
Chen Zhuo wanted to leave, but Xie Yu stubbornly refused to let him. The two 1.8-meter-tall young men stood inexplicably facing each other in the narrow space.
The moonlight was hazy, and the people were hazy.
A cool autumn breeze blew past, but the people seemed even hotter.
Xie Yu only drank two glasses of wine, not nearly enough to be drunk, not even tipsy, but he wasn’t sober.
He was dizzy, his gaze constantly chasing after Chen Zhuo’s lips.
His mind was filled with the voice of that idiot he had shoved into the ice bucket a few hours ago, asking, “Do you want to sleep with him?”
Do you want to sleep with him? Yes!
Do you want to sleep with him? I want to!