ASSHKHME Chapter 37
by VolareChen Zhuo woke up to bright daylight. The dormitory was silent, with only a gentle breeze blowing through the open balcony door, scattering sunlight across the room.
In the end, he still couldn’t manage to get up for the 8 AM class.
He had classes all morning. He skipped the first two, Foreign Ancient Architecture History, asking Zhao Jiashu and Li Ang to mark him present.
But the latter two were Basic Architectural Design, and the professor for that was notoriously strict. Not only would he randomly call on students by their number, but he would also check their homework assignments in class. Two and a half months into the semester, no brave soul had dared to skip his class.
Chen Zhuo reached for his phone beside the pillow, draping the back of his hand over his forehead, squinting at the time: 9:23 AM. Thirty-seven minutes until the next class.
His body felt like it was glued to the bed with superglue. After struggling for five minutes, Chen Zhuo gathered his energy, roared “Xie Yu is a bastard!” and flipped himself up into a sitting position.
Chen Zhuo scratched his messy bird’s nest hair, and out of the corner of his eye, his gaze collided with the “bastard” under the bed: “…………”
Xie Yu stood halfway up in the warm sunlight, his sharp brows framing deep, bright eyes, burning with a small flame. He looked up at Chen Zhuo, searching for something to say, “You’re awake?”
Chen Zhuo was still thinking about the fifth message he didn’t receive in the early hours of the morning, so he didn’t say anything. He reached for the clothes lying at the foot of the bed, pulling at the hem to take off his pajamas.
Xie Yu’s gaze lingered on his smooth back for a second before moving away. By the time he looked back, Chen Zhuo was already dressed neatly and jumping out of bed.
Chen Zhuo treated Xie Yu like air, picking up his toothbrush and mug and heading towards the balcony. As he passed him, he was grabbed by the wrist.
Xie Yu’s warm, dry palm forcefully gripped Chen Zhuo’s pulse.
Xie Yu looked at him with downcast eyes, a hint of barely concealed nervousness, “I didn’t lie to you yesterday, so why… why didn’t you reply to me?”
Chen Zhuo pretended not to understand, chuckling softly, “Why should I reply to you? What does it have to do with me where you go and who you’re with?”
Xie Yu was stunned. He had never been in a relationship, let alone pursued someone. Faced with Chen Zhuo’s indifference, he was at a loss. “Why are you being like this? Didn’t we kiss yesterday…”
“You were just drunk and talking nonsense.”
Chen Zhuo interrupted him, defining the dreamlike kiss of the previous night with ruthless finality. He shook off Xie Yu’s hand. “You’re awake now, don’t you know who I am? You’re a man, and so am I.”
Xie Yu frowned, a strange expression on his face, “I wasn’t drunk. What’s wrong with being a man? Aren’t you gay?”
Chen Zhuo seemed unusually calm, trying to give his own flickering heart a chance, and softly asked, “Then, are you?”
Xie Yu moved his lips. Under Chen Zhuo’s gaze, he lowered his head, gripping the back of a nearby chair, “I don’t know.”
Chen Zhuo sighed silently, his gaze falling on the scrape on Xie Yu’s knuckles, his tone ambiguous, “You’re not a child anymore, don’t be so impulsive in the future.”
Emotions crashed around Xie Yu’s chest. Seeing Chen Zhuo’s dismissive attitude, he angrily said, “You’re only two months older than me, what are you pretending to be? Besides… besides, you seduced me first! You messed me up, and now you’re playing hard to get?”
Chen Zhuo’s eyes widened. Sure enough, this jerk was still the same! This shameless scoundrel had even learned to turn the tables!
The morning grumpiness he hadn’t had time to unleash also flared up. Chen Zhuo cursed, “Are you delusional! When did I seduce you? Go see a psychiatrist at the Third Hospital! Eat less food and more medicine! Cephalosporin and alcohol, go die!”
Xie Yu wasn’t as quick-tongued as him, and he spluttered, “Chen Zhuo! You’re a Scumbag!”
Chen Zhuo was completely baffled. Wait, who forced the kiss yesterday?
Chen Zhuo sneered, “You’re harassing me and you’re still justified? Get out of my face! I need to brush my teeth and wash my face!”
Xie Yu looked at his carefree appearance, and thinking about his own entanglement and struggles these past few days, he felt more and more that Chen Zhuo was hateful.
Xie Yu grabbed Chen Zhuo’s arm, not letting him go, and started listing his offenses like pouring beans from a bamboo tube, “In that private room at the mountain villa, you not only touched my waist but also cornered me against the wall, saying you liked guys like me, that straight guys are the most delicious! I’m harassing you? Then what are you doing?”
Chen Zhuo’s arrogant flames died down a bit, and he rubbed the tip of his nose, “Uh, I was just…”
Xie Yu didn’t give him a chance to explain, his voice getting louder and his back straighter as he spoke, feeling more and more that his current state was all Chen Zhuo’s fault.
He narrowed his eyes and said resentfully, “After coming out of the shooting range, a girl asked me for my contact information, and you even got jealous. You told her I was gay, and that it would be great if I liked your type, and you even kissed my fingertip.”
Chen Zhuo took a few steps back, leaning against the bed frame, clearing his throat, and trying to correct him, “That, don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t jealous.”
Xie Yu followed closely, grabbing the railing above, trapping Chen Zhuo in front of him.
He gave a cold laugh, continuing his accusations, grinding his teeth, “That night, you insisted on clinging to me while I slept, my arm was numb from being under you. Didn’t you do all these things? Are you accusing me falsely?”
Chen Zhuo swallowed. Clearly, his original intention was just to tease Xie Yu, but hearing Xie Yu say all that, it seemed like he had really taken a lot of liberties. For a moment, he didn’t know how to refute.
Xie Yu occupied the moral high ground, feeling more and more aggrieved as he spoke. “You messed me up like this, and then I just kissed you once, and you give me the silent treatment?”
That’s right! It was all Chen Zhuo’s fault!
If Chen Zhuo hadn’t seduced him, he wouldn’t have had that dream. If he hadn’t had that dream, he wouldn’t have kissed Chen Zhuo!
The logic was complete.
When Xie Yu looked at Chen Zhuo again, he looked like he was looking at a Scumbag who had played with his feelings and didn’t want to take responsibility.
This was the first time Chen Zhuo had been questioned like this. Clearly, he was the victim who was forcibly kissed, so how did Xie Yu manage to make it all his fault?
The phone alarm vibrated. Chen Zhuo glanced at it. He had twenty-five minutes to get to class, and his Yadi electric motorcycle could get him there in about ten minutes if he cranked the throttle all the way.
Xie Yu noticed his distracted state and angrily turned off the alarm, still feeling a bit aggrieved, “Say something! I hate the silent treatment the most.”
Chen Zhuo rubbed his brow, sounding helpless, “What do you want me to say? Xie Yu, I just thought it was fun to tease you. If you felt bothered, then I apologize, I won’t do it again in the future, okay?”
“Teasing me was fun?”
Xie Yu repeated his words, grabbing his chin and forcing him to look him in the eye, gnashing his teeth, “You messed me up like this, and you think you can solve it with ‘teasing me was fun’?”
Chen Zhuo looked at Xie Yu indifferently, “You keep saying I messed you up, how exactly did I mess you up?”
Xie Yu was speechless. “I…”
Chen Zhuo suddenly pushed Xie Yu away with great force, slamming the toothbrush mug heavily on the table. “I’m sorry! I won’t tease you anymore! But did I cause any irreparable damage?! You haven’t turned gay! What do you want me to say to you! You haven’t even figured it out yourself, so why are you demanding an explanation from me!”
The phone on the table rang again. This time it was a call from Li Ang, urging him to hurry up.
Chen Zhuo’s chest rose and fell rapidly. He took a deep breath, pushed his hair back, and softened his tone, “I’m coming right away.”
With that, he hung up the phone, not looking at Xie Yu again, put on his baseball cap and mask, grabbed his car keys, and strode away.