ASSHKHME Chapter 44
by VolareInside the spacious and brightly lit classroom, the old professor, wearing a shirt, spoke with a loud voice, holding a piece of chalk, writing the key points of the lesson on the blackboard.
Sunlight streamed in through the clean glass windows, falling on the tip of Chen Zhuo’s pen as he circled and drew in his textbook, reflecting the still-wet ink.
The writing in the blank spaces was casual and unrestrained, the strokes vigorous and powerful, not matching his handsome and delicate appearance. One could vaguely glimpse his decisive, neat, and efficient style.
Chen Zhuo propped his cheek up with his hand, half-closing his eyes as he looked out the window at the branches swaying in the breeze. They were bare, but these dry branches would sprout tender green buds in the coming spring, repeating the cycle.
The professor was giving an impassioned lecture on the podium, but Chen Zhuo’s mind had already drifted away with the light breeze.
He gazed at the teaching building across the way, wondering if Xie Yu was feeling the same way he was, his heart still pounding from yesterday’s kiss.
The layer of thorny shell around him had been pried open by Xie Yu’s reckless intrusion, leaving Chen Zhuo feeling helpless yet with an indescribable joy.
It was like picking a sour, unripe apple, but he was still willing to warm it up, hoping it would turn into a sweet and fragrant red apple.
Even if the final outcome might be oxidation and decay, wasn’t that how first love was? At least he would have picked and owned that green apple.
Chen Zhuo thought that life was only about thirty thousand days, and he should be like the tall poplar tree outside the window, able to withstand the spring breeze and endure the bitter cold.
Chen Zhuo’s thoughts were expansive, and he took his pen and wrote the four characters “Enjoy the present” boldly on the paper.
His phone vibrated in his pocket, and Chen Zhuo glanced at the professor’s position before lowering his head to take out his phone. It was a WeChat message from Xie Yu.
Rambunctious Wild Boar: [You don’t have class this afternoon, right? Don’t eat in the cafeteria, let’s eat out, my treat.]
Before Chen Zhuo could reply, another message popped up: [Don’t call Zhao Jiashu and Li Ang, just the two of us.]
His heart felt like it was wrapped in cotton candy, soft and sweet.
Chen Zhuo curled up the corners of his lips, his fingertips falling on the dialogue box to type a few words, but after thinking about it, he deleted them.
At the same moment, Xie Yu was sitting upright, his eyes fixed on the screen as it displayed “The other party is typing…”, but when the phrase disappeared, he still hadn’t received a reply from Chen Zhuo, and he immediately felt restless.
Weren’t simple words like “Okay” or “Get lost” supposed to be typed out in a second? What was Chen Zhuo hesitating about?
Xie Yu looked resentfully at the phone that had already gone dark. He didn’t have so many twists and turns in his mind, he just did what he wanted to do. In the end, he couldn’t help but urge him: [Are you going to say something or not? Are you going or not?]
“The other party is typing…” appeared again on the screen. Xie Yu actually felt a little nervous. This time, Chen Zhuo’s message came back quickly: [Do you want me to go?]
“I do!” Xie Yu pinched his brow in exasperation, amused.
[Are you teasing a dog? Alright, stop playing hard to get. See you at the fountain square after school, wait under the willow tree where you flirted with decent men. If you don’t come, I’ll…]
Chen Zhuo raised an eyebrow, slowly typing: [If I don’t come, what will you do? Are you going to beat me up?]
A smile flowed through Xie Yu’s brow, tinged with tenderness: [We don’t have a domestic violence gene in our family. I won’t beat you. I’ll only…]
He was a little embarrassed to write this, and Xie Yu paused for a few seconds before continuing to type: [I’ll only kiss you.]
Chen Zhuo licked his lips subconsciously, remembering the mint toothpaste-flavored kiss this morning and Xie Yu’s smiling eyes: [If I go, won’t you kiss me? It seems like it’s better not to go.]
Xie Yu suddenly saw this reply, and he almost dropped his phone. He silently cursed, and hurriedly used his textbook to cover his instantly hot cheeks.
Chen Zhuo was too good at teasing! He was going to kiss him to death later!
As soon as the bell rang, Xie Yu couldn’t wait to rush out of the classroom, like a fool eager to see his sweetheart, not wanting to wait even a moment.
The fountain square was the only way to the cafeteria from the teaching building. Students were in groups, a large dark mass, but Xie Yu saw Chen Zhuo under the willow tree at a glance.
Wearing a shoulder bag, wearing black-rimmed glasses, soft curly hair was illuminated by the sun into a golden brown, with a handsome face, long legs on the ground, and sitting high on the electric motorcycle, eating the banana he did not have time to eat in the morning.
Xie Yu walked through the crowd, jogging over, straddling his long legs, sitting on Chen Zhuo’s back seat, his hands automatically placed on that narrow waist, “You came quite early, anxious to see me?”
Chen Zhuo finished the banana in two or three bites, and casually stuffed the banana peel to Xie Yu.
Twisting the throttle, he slowly rode, “Because your brother has a car, where are we going to eat? My car is almost out of power, I have to charge it first.”
Xie Yu moved forward, sticking to Chen Zhuo, smelling the faint citrus fragrance, sweetly saying: “Do you want to eat Western food, French food, or Japanese food?”
Chen Zhuo leisurely said: “I want to eat Shu cuisine.”
Xie Yu did not react, “What did you say? What cuisine?”
Chen Zhuo laughed, his tone very relaxed: “Silly, it’s Sichuan cuisine, I want to eat Mao Xue Wang, Spicy Chicken, Water Boiled Beef.”
Xie Yu’s arms wrapped around his waist, and he also chuckled: “Okay, let’s have two bowls of rice.”
Chen Zhuo held the handle with one hand, uncomfortably pulling Xie Yu’s hand, “Take your cheap paws away, in public, pulling and tugging, what is this.”
Xie Yu “hummed” twice, hugging even tighter, shamelessly said: “I won’t, whoever wants to look can look.”
Chen Zhuo pinched his arm and twisted it, Xie Yu cried out in pain and let go of him, rubbing his arm, “Ow! Chen Zhuo’er! You’re vicious!”
The smile on Chen Zhuo’s face grew deeper, not answering, riding the car to the charging area, ignoring Xie Yu’s complaining eyes, scanning the code to charge.
Suddenly, a shadow approached, Chen Zhuo unguarded, and Xie Yu “smacked” him on the cheek.
Chen Zhuo covered his face, blinked his eyes, and quickly looked around. Fortunately, everyone was going to the cafeteria for lunch at this time, and no one was coming to charge, and scolded: “What are you doing? What’s wrong with you.”
Xie Yu suddenly bent down slightly, in the same level as him, asking without any beginning or end: “Chen Zhuo, are you the top or the bottom?”
Chen Zhuo gave him a light glance, lifted his foot and left: “Rude.”