OVTTGTBE Chapter 54

Thoughts Black Hole

Thoughts Black Hole

It was almost two in the morning when Liu Yucheng returned to the dorm. Because he had asked for leave in advance, the Dorm Auntie had to wait for him until this hour to open the door, and he was reprimanded for it.

The lights in the dorm hallway were already off. Liu Yucheng tiptoed up the stairs. At the corner between the first and second floors, he saw a figure sitting on the last step.

It was Bai Yao.

Bai Yao was curled up, his face buried between his knees, completely unaware that he was approaching. Liu Yucheng wondered if he was asleep.

Was he sitting here alone, waiting for him to come back?

Liu Yucheng couldn’t think of any other possibility.

For a moment, he felt his heart melt.

He walked over and gently patted Bai Yao’s shoulder. “Why are you sleeping here? You’ll catch a cold.”

Bai Yao quickly raised his head, squinting at him with furrowed brows for a moment, then stood up. “Let’s go. We can talk when we get back to the dorm.”

Before Liu Yucheng sent him a message saying “on the way back,” Bai Yao thought his mom would keep Liu Yucheng with her.

It was good that he was back.

The two tiptoed into the dorm. Li Jinyang and Yan Hao’s snores rose and fell in turn.

After washing up, Liu Yucheng climbed directly up the ladder to Bai Yao’s bed.

He naturally pulled the person lying on the bed into his arms and whispered, “Did you eat dinner tonight? I was halfway through buying you food when Assistant Zhou took me away.”

“Is that the point?”

Bai Yao sighed and asked him softly, “What did my mom say to you?”

When the phone call connected, Bai Yao could hear that her tone seemed to be very angry. Aunt Zhou also said that she was in a fit of pique at the time. Liu Yucheng probably didn’t make her happy either.

“She didn’t say anything.”

Liu Yucheng said quietly, “She said she was going to send you to Country E, and then she showed me a project proposal.”

“Country E??”

“Yeah.” After a pause, Liu Yucheng continued, “She said there are more gay people there.”

Bai Yao: “…………”

Bai Yao: “What does this mean? She doesn’t object to me liking men, but objects to me lik… uh, objects to us getting back together?”

“Yes.”

“Then what did you say to her?”

“I said, Aunt Bai, although we’ve broken up, Bai Yao only likes me. Even if he goes abroad, he won’t change his mind.”

Although that wasn’t exactly what he said, Liu Yucheng felt that it was close enough to the meaning.

“Hiss… my mom will probably get a headache after hearing that.”

“Yes, Assistant Zhou immediately started taking her blood pressure. Fortunately, she was okay.”

Liu Yucheng felt a burst of joy in his heart.

Bai Yao didn’t refute him, nor was he upset. Did that mean he had tacitly agreed that what he said was correct?

The person in his arms stopped asking questions. After hesitating for a moment, Liu Yucheng asked him, “Then, are you willing to listen to her and go abroad to study?”

Bai Junyi had agreed to his bet: as long as Bai Yao fought her to the end, she would no longer interfere in their relationship, whether it was friendship or love.

The only condition was that he could not actively mention the bet to Bai Yao. If Bai Yao asked, that was another matter.

As expected, Bai Yao didn’t answer his question right away.

A long time passed, so long that Liu Yucheng thought Bai Yao had fallen asleep and was about to start considering the worst-case scenario, when Bai Yao suddenly asked back, “Do you want me to listen to her?”

“I really wish I had the right to express my opinion.”

Liu Yucheng said faintly, “I respect your choice. As for whether you want to listen to her, this is, after all, a matter between you and your mother.”

Bai Yao understood the implication of his words: This is a fight between you and your mother, and since the two of us haven’t gotten back together, it has nothing to do with him, an outsider.

In fact, an hour before Liu Yucheng returned, Bai Yao had received several WeChat messages from Bai Junyi.

Mom: I’ve already discussed it with Little Liu.

Mom: I’m planning to send you to Country E. The procedures can be completed quickly.

Mom: As for Little Liu, he can’t go with you. After all, studying abroad requires a lot of money. You may be separated for a while, but I’ve already given him a very good project that I have on hand. If he does well, he can save enough money to go abroad and see you with this project alone.

Mom: Dudu, you know me. I’ve already made my biggest concession. I hope you don’t rush to refuse and think about it carefully.

He was sitting at the stairwell waiting for Liu Yucheng, hoping that Liu Yucheng could say, “I don’t want you to go abroad,” after seeing him.

From the first time they slept together to when he learned about Honey Peach Milk, he knew very well that Liu Yucheng was someone who would say those words and was very good at saying them.

But at this moment, Bai Yao felt that he was probably overthinking things.

That night, neither of them continued to discuss the topic. Liu Yucheng talked about other things, but Bai Yao was in no mood to listen carefully.

The next morning, Bai Yao came out of the classroom, avoided Liu Yucheng who was having class in the neighboring lecture hall, and took his phone all the way to the rooftop.

There were fewer people here, making it more convenient to make a phone call.

“Hello, Mom, it’s me.”

“You said you wanted me to go abroad and give the project to Liu Yucheng. Did he agree to all of this?”

Bai Yao couldn’t help but confirm again and again, “Did you guys reach some kind of agreement?”

“Yes. I told him about sending you to study abroad, and I also showed him the project.”

Bai Junyi gave him an affirmative answer. “Little Zhou sent him back to school last night. You should have heard about it from him, right? Is there anything else?”

“…No.”

Bai Yao said dejectedly.

Was he really not going to try to persuade him to stay at all this time?

“Then how are you considering the matter of studying abroad? Do you agree or not?”

“Why did you suddenly give him the project you have on hand? You have plenty of capable people under you who can do the project for you.”

Bai Yao didn’t answer, but instead asked, “You’ve already planned this, haven’t you? Seeing how short he is on money, you’re using this method to prevent us from seeing each other? To prevent us from getting back together?”

After hearing what he said, Bai Junyi was silent for a moment. It seemed that Little Liu had indeed kept his promise, neither revealing the bet nor mentioning that the ultimate beneficiary of this project was actually Bai Yao.

She said, “I just don’t want you two to be blinded by so-called love, because the shelf life of love is really too short. I still don’t understand why you two big boys, even if you have common interests, can’t just be friends or sworn brothers?”

“Mom has told you before that she won’t force you to get married and have children in the future. When you get to Country E, you can find whoever you want, male or female, and I won’t stop you. Only with him, you can only maintain a friendship. If your friendship breaks down, I will still step in to repair your relationship.”

“Mom.”

Bai Yao leaned against the rooftop railing, gazing at the distant buildings. “If I said that I’ve gotten back together with him this time and don’t plan to separate again, could you give in a little?”

A pure friendship was never possible.

How could there be a friendship like theirs, where a simple hug could make one’s heart race?

“You’ve already gotten back together?”

“No? Then why are you talking about these useless things with me?”

Bai Junyi said, “Oh right, regarding your study abroad procedures, there’s still a form you need to fill out. Get it done today and send the scanned copy to Little Zhou.”

…

In the evening, Bai Yao was working out on the school’s sports field.

He ran several laps around the track when Liu Yucheng suddenly appeared directly in front of him, blocking his path.

“Did you tell your mom that you’ve agreed to go abroad?”

Liu Yucheng asked directly.

“No.”

Bai Yao wiped the sweat from his forehead, made a turn, and planned to go around him. “If there’s nothing else, don’t block the way.”

“She said you’ve already agreed.”

Liu Yucheng quickly followed, jogging alongside him while saying, “But… I believe you.”

Assistant Zhou had just spoken to him on the phone fifteen minutes ago, saying that Bai Yao had already sent him the filled-out form.

“I just… haven’t refused yet.”

Bai Yao asked him, slightly out of breath, “Why are you following me? Do you want to work out with me?”

“I… I might not be in the dorm this weekend.”

Liu Yucheng hesitated for a moment and confessed, “Assistant Zhou told me to follow up on that project this weekend… The project is in another city, and I have to leave on Friday afternoon.”

“Whatever.”

Bai Yao gradually increased his pace, saying coldly, “This is a good thing for you. So many people dream of working on a project with my mom. Financial freedom is just around the corner, and you won’t have to work so hard outside in the future. Cherish it.”

Watching Bai Yao run faster and faster, Liu Yucheng gradually stopped.

He was deliberately trying to shake him off.

Not having refused was the same as Bai Yao having agreed to study abroad…

No wonder Assistant Zhou had just called to inform him to prepare to start the project.

He had already lost this bet before it had even lasted 24 hours.

On Friday evening, when Liu Yucheng left the dorm with his backpack and a change of clothes, Bai Yao deliberately went out and sat alone on the bleachers of the sports field, lost in thought.

In this season, the evening breeze felt cool on his face, but not enough to make someone catch a cold. The scenery of their school was great in all four seasons. The sports field was large, with a lake, a pavilion, and a small grove.

Bai Yao carefully recalled that he and Liu Yucheng didn’t seem to have had any romantic moments on campus so far.

If he had to say, the snowball fight last winter, when they both slipped down the steps, and the few hundred meters he chased him on the track a few days ago could be considered romantic memories.

Oh, and when he wore the frog outfit and carried the immobile him back to the dorm…

Unfortunately, the few memories they had didn’t seem to end well.

Bai Yao couldn’t help but sigh.

He couldn’t stop Liu Yucheng from doing the project, because it might be the best money-making opportunity Liu Yucheng had encountered so far.

But as a child who had grown up with President Bai, Bai Yao also knew her methods best. Since this kind of project could be given to Liu Yucheng, there must be a price to pay. Him being sent abroad to study and the two of them being separated for a period of time afterward were probably the so-called price.

He just wondered if Liu Yucheng would still follow behind him like he did now after they had been separated for a few years. By then, the gap between their experiences and perspectives would widen, and the two of them probably wouldn’t have a future anymore…

Bai Yao sank deeper and deeper into his thoughts black hole, when Li Jinyang suddenly sent him a message.

Li Jinyang: Bro Yao, wanna go sing karaoke? I decided not to go back this weekend.

Bai Yao: Ah??

Li Jinyang: It’s not just our department, there are a lot of people, the KTV luxury suite is already open, there are guys and girls! If I work hard, maybe I’ll be dating Xia Zhixi tonight!!

Bai Yao: Okay, which KTV?

Anyway, he was already in a bad mood.

Rather than staying alone and being emo, he might as well go vent.