Chapter 85 - Two against two.
Another new day began. The schedule was densely packed; while other new students were busy with the necessary formalities to enrol into the school, Kang Shengzhe was busy moving things into his house, from items that would remain in his apartment long term to the basic necessities which would be temporarily stored at You Liangxing’s dormitory.
Although the commute from the apartment to school was all right on normal days, it was still considered far and somewhat inconvenient during military training. However, considering the circ.u.mstance where Kang Shengzhe still needed to stream at night, it was not realistic for him to live in a collective dormitory. Thus, after a brief discussion, You Liangxing and Liao Su decided to lend one of the bed s.p.a.ces in their dorm to Kang Shengzhe for the time being.
As a KK fan, Liao Su could not be happier about the fact that he could room together with his idol, and due to his overwhelming joy, he completely forgot about You Liangxing leaving early in spite of his position as the Student Union President.
It should come as no surprise then, that Liao Su took the initiative to offer to help him move before Kang Shengzhe even had the chance to open his mouth to ask. With three people moving the items instead of two, the speed that they progressed at increased significantly.
Everything went smoothly, save one inexplicable matter. Without any rhyme or reason, one of Kang Shengzhe’s eyes looked slightly green, and in order to cover it up, Kang Shengzhe even deliberately bought a box of concealers and sponges as they were pa.s.sing by a cosmetic store and he carefully slipped them into his bag.
Liao Su felt that it was very strange: “G.o.d K, why do you need to buy an entire box of it?”
Kang Shengzhe replied mysteriously, “You don’t understand, there’s a lot of places where it can be used in the future.”
Liao Su was baffled. According to what he heard, Kang Shengzhe had accidentally ran himself into a wall, resulting in the discolouration to his eye. But now that he heard that ‘there were a lot of places where it can be used the future’ from G.o.d K, his senses immediately started tingling. “G.o.d K, is your eyesight that bad?”
Does he run himself into a wall every once in a while? Why didn’t he notice it during his regular live broadcasts?
Kang Shengzhe smiled, “It’s for personal pleasure.”
Liao Su: “…emmmm.” A great G.o.d was indeed a great G.o.d; even his personal pleasures were weird.
You Liangxing, who had been listening at the side lines quietly, did not make a sound. From time to time, however, he would laugh coldly at Kang Shengzhe’s words with an indifferent tonality, and it was so cold Liao Su started going numb at his back. On the inverse, Kang Shengzhe’s smile became more radiant with each instance that You Liangxing laughed coldly. With his att.i.tude, he was like a martyr who did not fear life and death as he continued to talk and laugh merrily.
* * *
It was already evening when they returned back to school after they were done with moving and the two-day duration for the freshmen to report in was coming to an end. While Kang Shengzhe was rolling around on You Liangxing’s bed like his life depended on it, the whole school started distributing the military training uniforms to the entire freshmen cohort based on their various faculties.
Kang Shengzhe had returned to the school late, and most of the freshmen had already received their uniforms. Like a slug, he refused to leave the dorm and You Liangxing had to drag him off his bed by his legs.
With a groaning noise, Kang Shengzhe finally moved out of You Liangxing’s dorm, and Liao Su, who had played witness to Kang Shengzhe rolling around on You Liangxing’s bed, had a complicated expression on his face.
From the moment where Kang Shengzhe had pounced on You Liangxing’s bed with an enthusiastic countenance until the moment where Kang Shengzhe left, Liao Su had stood rooted to ground, watching. He stared at the bed that had been wrinkled from the excessive rolling and stuttered out, “Brother Liang, G.o.d K, is he…”
You Liangxing stiffened, saying, “What.”
Liao Su: “Towards you, is he…”
You Liangxing’s heart lurched and it immediately started beating faster. He did not know how much Liao Su had seen, but once he carefully thought about it, Kang Shengzhe hadn’t bothered to hide the feelings he had for him. And Liao Su was not blind either; it was not difficult for him to catch a hint of what was going on.
Had it been before last night, where You Liangxing was not certain of Kang Shengzhe’s feelings, he would not have been concerned about what others had to say. However, owing to the fact that everything had been laid out last night, You Liangxing was particularly sensitive to such details at the current moment.
Such disturbances were rare for You Liangxing, he said, “If you have something to say, just say it.”
Liao Su’s expression was solemn. Lowering his voice, he uttered, “Is he trying to provoke you? Look at him; he just deliberately rolled all the dust on his body onto your bed.”
You Liangxing: “……”
Liao Su’s visage was br.i.m.m.i.n.g with incredulity. “Why are you looking at me like that?”
You Liangxing decided to close his eyes.
As they were talking, Kang Shengzhe who had supposedly left suddenly peeked his head back into the door and shouted, “Hey, Liang Liang!”
You Liangxing stared at him and asked coldly: “What is it?”
Kang Shengzhe: “I forgot something.”
You Liangxing was at a loss. He was about to ask what he could possibly need to bring to collect his military training uniform when Kang Shengzhe suddenly grabbed his hand and interlocked their fingers together. Grinning, he murmured, “I found it.”
This was not the first time You Liangxing held hands with him, but it was definitely the first time they had done so while he was cognizant of it. His palms heated up but he did not shake him off. Afraid that the oblivious Liao Su would see it, You Liangxing glared at Kang Shengzhe and kicked him in the knee to force him out of the room while he followed him out of the door.
Liao Su wondered: “Brother Liang?”
You Liangxing glared but Kang Shengzhe did not have the slightest intention to let go. In fact, he even leaned closer and said: “Let’s go for a walk together, please? We’ll be very busy for the next few days because of the military training, and I won’t be able to see you.”
Kang Shengzhe’s breath was close to his ear and You Liangxing did not say a word. Meanwhile, Liao Su queried from inside the room: “Brother Liang?”
Frowning, You Liangxing stated coldly, “I’m going out for a while.” Instead of rejecting Kang Shengzhe, he said that for Liao Su to hear.
Liao Su said: “Ah? Why are you going out at this time? Aren’t we going to the cafeteria to eat dinner, Brother Liang, you…”
The rest of Liao Su’s words became incoherent as Kang Shengzhe had already pulled him out of the dormitory.
When they were outside, they could not hold hands and Kang Shengzhe did not bother to disguise the regret he felt, and his want to hold hands with him was written all over his face. You Liangxing glared at him in reply, and two big words were clearly expressed in his eyes: Get lost.
Kang Shengzhe shook his head again and again but he did not dare to take his hand anymore. His restraint, however, stemmed less from the fear of being punched by You Liangxing, but from the fact that he had yet to receive You Liangxing’s agreement and he did not dare to exceed the limit.
Although You Liangxing tolerated him and exhibited none of the disgust ordinary men would have, he was not certain of You Liangxing’s thoughts, and he did not dare to get ahead of himself under such circ.u.mstances.
Had I known earlier, I would have…it’s useless to think about it now, Kang Shengzhe had never been one to panic; but when he started panicking, no one could panic more than him.
As he followed You Liangxing’s footsteps, the people that glanced over at them were not few. When they were in places that had people, You Liangxing chose not to speak and he would only say a few sentences when there was no one near them. When those details fell into Kang Shengzhe’s eyes, it made him a little happy.
It was like sharing a small secret that few people knew. Kang Shengzhe thought, if You Liangxing only talked to him, only he would know how cute You Liangxing’s voice was and only he would understand how handsome You Liangxing truly was.
It felt awesome!
However, that dark joy did not last for a long time. When they arrived at the big hall in the Liberal Arts College where the military training uniforms were being distributed, You Liangxing, who scarcely spoke to outsiders, opened his mouth to say: “You’re here to help?”
The person You Liangxing was talking to was female – she was slender, tall and with a gentle countenance – and she was currently handing out the uniforms to the freshmen. When she heard You Liangxing’s unique voice, she stilled and lifted her head to smile at him. And whether it was by accident or design, she moved closer as if she was trying to prevent others from hearing You Liangxing’s voice.
The lady said lightly, “You-xuezhang, long time no see.”
The gentle-sounding beauty was no stranger; it was Liang Chuhan. It just so happened that the Liberal Arts College had a change in shifts for the members in-charge of distribution and it was currently Liang Chuhan’s responsibility to issue the uniforms. The fact that she suddenly met You Liangxing right after the holidays had ended surprised Liang Chuhan. Furthermore, because she had been stewing over matters in her heart, the suddenness distracted her and it took her two seconds to respond with a greeting.
While her distracted state went unnoticed by You Liangxing, it was completely captured by Kang Shengzhe.
For You Liangxing, it was rare for him to encounter Liang Chuhan. In the entire school, the people who knew about his voice was limited to a few teachers and Liao Su, and Liang Chuhan was within that circle. It was for that reason that You Liangxing was willing to speak to her, although it had to be said that it was also a coincidence that Liang Chuhan and You Liangxing were of different genders, had good personalities and that it was easy to have a favourable opinion of her above all.
“This is?” Kang Shengzhe’s voice rang out without a warning, sounding cold. You Liangxing came back to himself and introduced: “Kang Shengzhe, a freshman from Liberal Arts College, this is Liang Chuhan, a second year in the Liberal Arts College.”
Since he’s a freshman in the Liberal Arts College, I’m his senior. Liang Chuhan looked over, smiling and nodding at him. When most people met Kang Shengzhe for the first time, they would usually give him an extra glance by virtue of his height and appearance, but Liang Chuhan only gave him a one-over before her gaze returned back to You Liangxing’s person, and it remained there, unmoving.
Kang Shengzhe turned his head and pouted silently.
The introduction between the three people only took a few seconds before it welcomed a second round as Liang Chulin popped out from behind. The four of them gathered together, and the two freshmen both blurted out the same sentence.
“You know each other?”
With You Liangxing acting as an intersecting point, it was true that everyone did know each other: You Liangxing was the one Liang Chulin had dubbed as the ‘sweet Brother Liang Liang’, and when the shorter boy saw Kang Shengzhe, his expression became complex.
Their interpersonal relationships were inextricably intertwined, and compared to small talk, Liang Chulin was more interested in investigating the root cause. After the last batch of military training uniforms were distributed, it signalled the end of her work, and Liang Chulin proposed that they had dinner together.
“Brother Liang Liang, let’s eat together, please?”
When it came to the strong types like Bai Yao, You Liangxing was at his wits’ end, and against the frail personality types like Liang Chulin, he was similarly helpless. Thus, he could only nod and utter, “En.”
Delight blossomed on Liang Chulin’s visage and Liang Chuhan’s expression stilled briefly before a subtle joy overcame her while she stood at the side. They quickly decided on the small snack street outside of A University, and the four of them walked out of school together. As they were travelling there, Kang Shengzhe nudged You Liangxing’s arm.
All of a sudden, he came close to his ear and said: “That Liang-xuejie is pretty nice.”
The sentence itself was perfectly normal, but the tone he used made it sound odd. Even though You Liangxing did not know what he was getting at, he still responded, “En.”
Kang Shengzhe paused before he added, “She’s very pretty too.”
You Liangxing said: “En.”
A beauty was indeed a beauty. While You Liangxing did not have the aspirations Liao Su had, he still had a standard for aesthetics. However, his reply seemed to annoy Kang Shengzhe because he drew back his lips and remained silent for a long time.
When they arrived at a snack bar that was widely promoted on the internet, Liang Chulin immediately lay down on the table and asked: “Brother Liang Liang, how did you meet each other?”
That was what Liang Chulin was most concerned about. He remembered that they were sitting together as he was reporting his results, and when Kang Shengzhe was mentioned, Brother Liang Liang did not show any reaction to his name. Thus, he did not know about their circ.u.mstances.
Going into the root of the story was complicated, You Liangxing simplified it and said: “Gaming.”
Regarding his relationship with Kang Shengzhe, Liang Chuhan and Liang Chulin, they were all related to gaming. Everyone had their own affinities and it was impossible to explain them one by one. Having understood this principle, Liang Chulin did not pursued the matter, but when he raised his eyes, he could see that Kang Shengzhe’s sitting height did not have much difference with his own standing height, and it made him somewhat displeased.
By the time the snacks were served to their table, only a few topics had been exchanged between the group because the Liang siblings were not familiar with Kang Shengzhe. Liang Chulin glanced at everyone at the table and he had a sudden idea. He asked: “Brother Liang Liang, shall we play a game?”
Then, he stared at Kang Shengzhe and said: “We’ll open a room, two against two.”
It was just a game to while away the time. You Liangxing agreed, “Okay.”
You Liangxing had played games with the Liang siblings before and he was more familiar with their skill level. Taking Kang Shengzhe’s superior skill level into consideration, he suggested: “We’ll do it like this. Liang Chuhan and I are in one team, while the both of you are in the same team.”
When those words fell, Kang Shengzhe’s head snapped towards him, staring.
The author has something to say: Your little lover K activated his death gaze ability.