Chapter 33: Mercenary Fake Rich Young Master 33 Part 2

Gossip was nowhere near as fun as solving problems. So the classmates in Zhou Xu’s class were all a bunch of study-obsessed problem-solvers who didn’t care much for gossip.

Yet the whole afternoon, Zhou Xu’s aura screamed “don’t bother me,” so no one dared to approach him.

Until the afternoon classes ended. Zhou Xu received a message from Su Wenyu. The icy look on his face faltered.

[Where are we eating tonight?] Su Wenyu asked.

Zhou Xu: “?”

Zhou Xu was confused for a second. Weren’t they in a cold war?

Why could Su Wenyu so naturally ask him where they were eating tonight?

Could it be that this entire afternoon, he was the only one seriously angry?

Su Wenyu had guessed correctly too. After his “hmph” and leaving, that little bit of temper had vanished. After all, the Villain Value was already in hand. He couldn’t very well gain an advantage and still act aggrieved.

Throughout the afternoon classes, Su Wenyu’s mind was stuffed full of forcibly jammed-in knowledge. Merely struggling to study hard was already exhausting enough. The business of being angry had long since been forgotten.

Now that the afternoon classes were finally over, Su Wenyu only wanted to reward his hard-working self with delicious food. Very naturally, he sent Zhou Xu a message.

Zhou Xu’s temper still lingered. His first instinct was to refuse.

But looking at Su Wenyu’s message, which practically reeked of ‘making up,’ Zhou Xu furrowed his brow deeply, mulling over what Su Wenyu was plotting.

He recalled earlier, when he asked Su Wenyu about Shen Yi, Su Wenyu’s immediate reaction seemed to be a blank, confused pause before he promptly started praising Shen Yi, followed immediately by praising Xia Yehang.

At the time, Zhou Xu was caught up in inexplicable anger and hadn’t thought it through.

But now, thinking back… could Su Wenyu have done it on purpose?

Praising the other two guys right in front of him, acting like he also liked them, even hugging Shen Yi in the dorm… all of it was a deliberate act, done for him to hear and see.

Su Wenyu was playing hard to get!

Just like yesterday, deliberately not bringing him along for dinner—it was all to test his attitude!

Zhou Xu suddenly saw the light. The fog cleared. Everything became crystal clear.

Except… Su Wenyu’s hard-to-get act hadn’t really affected him. After all, he was a straight man. His anger today was simply because he felt Su Wenyu was too promiscuous, lacking self-respect, loving anyone he saw.

With his astonishingly unique logic, Zhou Xu found a perfectly reasonable explanation for both Su Wenyu’s actions and his own reactions.

Looking back at the message Su Wenyu sent, Zhou Xu internally scoffed a “heh,” wearing an expression of having seen right through Su Wenyu’s little tricks. He should have figured out these petty schemes long ago.

Zhou Xu deleted the three characters for ‘on my own’ from the text box and changed it to ‘Second Cafeteria’. Send.

Then, in an exceptionally good mood, he organized his backpack, slung it over one shoulder, and strode rapidly towards the Second Cafeteria.

As usual, Su Wenyu, closest to the Second Cafeteria, arrived at the entrance first. Having learned from his lunchtime experience, this time he expertly hid behind the pillar, waiting until he saw Zhou Xu’s figure appear before jumping out with a “Hey!”

Zhou Xu glanced at him flatly, giving no reaction, and just said, “Don’t jump around wildly. Let’s go in.”

On account of the delicious food, Su Wenyu ignored his cold tone and happily went inside, choosing a new window to queue up for dinner.

While in line, Su Wenyu received a message from Xia Yehang asking if he wanted to eat dinner together tonight.

Keeping 520’s guidance in mind—to play the part of a fickle person—Su Wenyu replied: [I’m at the Second Cafeteria. You coming over now?]

After replying to Xia Yehang, Su Wenyu also found Shen Yi and messaged: [I’m having dinner at the Second Cafeteria. Want to come over?]

In the time it took to follow Zhou Xu in line and buy food, he was simultaneously messaging two other people.

Su Wenyu felt he was truly a master of time management.

So, just after Su Wenyu and Zhou Xu lined up, got their food, and found an empty four-person table by the cafeteria window, Xia Yehang and Shen Yi arrived one after another.

Xia Yehang was wearing a black basketball jersey, looking like he’d just rushed over from the courts.

Shen Yi had taken the campus bus directly from the dorm. When the two met at the cafeteria entrance, only they themselves knew what they were thinking.

Both had thought Su Wenyu only messaged them individually. Turned out it was another dorm dinner gathering.

Zhou Xu had just taken a bite of food. Looking up to see Xia Yehang and Shen Yi standing beside their table, he nearly choked on that mouthful of rice and only just managed to swallow after a gulp of soup.

Su Wenyu enthusiastically patted the seat next to him: “Go get your food and come eat together!”

Zhou Xu sat opposite Su Wenyu, feeling that this meal would probably spoil his appetite yet again.

Could it be that his reaction during lunch gave Su Wenyu the wrong idea? Did Su Wenyu think he was jealous, so tonight he decided to double down and invite both of them?

Zhou Xu chewed without tasting. When Shen Yi set his tray down and sat next to Su Wenyu, and Xia Yehang, having failed to snag the seat beside Su Wenyu, had to sit next to him, Zhou Xu looked at Su Wenyu across the table. His eyes were full of accusation: Playing a trick once is enough. Why keep playing it?

Su Wenyu was completely oblivious to Zhou Xu’s thoughts. After all, he had 520 running in the background. He didn’t even know if the Villain Value was currently rising.

During the meal, Su Wenyu enthusiastically chatted with Xia Yehang and Shen Yi.

One moment he was asking Xia Yehang if he’d been playing basketball, complimenting his jersey.

The next, he was saying Shen Yi seemed to have a small appetite, urging him to eat more, not forgetting to compare him to Zhou Xu, saying his bro could eat two servings in one meal—huge appetite, big eater.

Zhou Xu stared at the food on his plate. For a moment, he couldn’t tell if Su Wenyu was praising his appetite or mocking him for eating like a pig.

That dinner, apart from Zhou Xu, everyone else had a great time.

After eating, the four walked back to the dorm together again. Xia Yehang, sweaty from his afternoon basketball, prepared to shower first.

Su Wenyu sat in his chair, turning his head openly and unabashedly to watch Xia Yehang take off his basketball jersey, revealing his well-toned muscles, tanned to a wheat color.

“Xia Yehang, you’ve got a really good body.” Su Wenyu said admiringly.

In truth, Su Wenyu’s praise came entirely from a slim guy’s envy and longing for muscles.

But those words, in the ears of the others, took on a completely different meaning.

Xia Yehang was even praised into embarrassment. He looked down at his own body, scratched his head, and said, “Really? You think it’s good?”

“Very good. Pecs, abs, biceps—all my favorites.” Su Wenyu lifted the hem of his own shirt a little, pinching his own stomach, which was slightly bulging from eating too much dinner. He sighed, “See, I don’t have any of that.”

Xia Yehang was caught off guard by the glimpse of his stomach, and his face instantly flushed red.

“Yours… uh, yours, I like yours too.” Xia Yehang felt like he was seeing stars, starting to spout nonsense.

Su Wenyu looked at him, puzzled: “You like my type?”

Xia Yehang nodded dizzily: “Like it. Like it.”

The “likes” the two were talking about were clearly not the same thing. But Su Wenyu didn’t catch it and thought Xia Yehang genuinely liked his body type.

After hesitating for a moment, Su Wenyu said: “…Then your taste is pretty unique.”

The two were obviously on completely different wavelengths, yet the conversation clicked, and neither noticed the discrepancy.

Shen Yi swept a look at Xia Yehang as if looking at an idiot. As for Zhou Xu, his gay-dar was clanging loudly.

Great.

Not only did Shen Yi have designs on Su Wenyu, but Xia Yehang was clearly also gay. The way he looked at Su Wenyu wasn’t innocent either.

One dorm, three gays. Turned out he was the only straight man.

Zhou Xu took a deep breath, adjusting his mindset. He felt his future dorm life was a dark abyss with no end in sight.

If he’d known, he should have agreed when Shi Pei suggested they live together in the off-campus apartment.

Zhou Xu rubbed his aching temples, feeling a twinge of regret.

Around ten at night, Su Wenyu came out after using the bathroom and had Zhou Xu help him onto his bed, ready to sleep.

After Zhou Xu finished his own homework and organized part of the key points for the course Su Wenyu had failed, Su Wenyu was already asleep.

Zhou Xu took a shower, dried his hair in the bathroom, and quietly climbed into bed.

He had thought that tonight, Su Wenyu would also sneak into his bed, adamant about holding him to sleep. But the whole night passed, and nothing happened in the dorm.

–

The next morning, except for Su Wenyu and Zhou Xu, who had full class schedules, Xia Yehang and Shen Yi—the new freshmen—officially began their military training.

When Su Wenyu came out of the bathroom after washing up, he saw both Xia Yehang and Shen Yi in camouflage uniforms.

The school’s standard-issue camouflage looked especially good on them. The belt cinched tightly at their waists accentuated their lean, narrow hips. Their tall, long-legged figures were strikingly eye-catching.

“Wow.” Su Wenyu circled around them. “So this is what the military training uniforms look like. Nice! And you guys look great in them too!”

Xia Yehang couldn’t handle praise. Whenever Su Wenyu praised him, he blushed and could only giggle stupidly.

Shen Yi was much calmer. He quietly asked Su Wenyu when his morning classes ended.

Su Wenyu thought for a moment: “Class ends at 11:45. Why?”

Shen Yi said: “Military training lets out earlier in the morning—dismissed by 11:15. By the time your class is over, the cafeterias might be packed. How about I line up and get food for you first? You can come straight over and eat lunch when you’re out.”

Xia Yehang listened to Shen Yi’s words and felt he made a lot of sense.

“We’ll message you when we’re dismissed. We’ll find the cafeteria closest to you.” Xia Yehang said carelessly.

Shen Yi paused. He had initially not planned on bringing Xia Yehang along, but Xia Yehang had invited himself.

Fine, whatever. Barring any surprises, it would once again turn into a dorm dinner gathering.

As Shen Yi expected, Su Wenyu first asked for Zhou Xu’s opinion. Seeing Zhou Xu didn’t object, he happily agreed.

“I’ll contact you after class, then.” Su Wenyu said.

The lunch plan was thus decided.

In the morning, the cafeterias and supermarkets closest to the male dorms were packed. Zhou Xu, having foreseen this, had bought bread and milk in advance and stuffed them into Su Wenyu’s backpack for breakfast rather than queuing in the cafeteria.

Shen Yi and Xia Yehang still had some time before their first military training assembly, so they stayed in the cafeteria to eat. Su Wenyu waved goodbye and left first with Zhou Xu, heading towards the academic buildings.

While walking, Su Wenyu took out the bread from his bag and ate as he walked.

Zhou Xu glanced at him and reminded: “Eat slower. Don’t choke.”

Su Wenyu replied “oh” and pulled out the milk, indicating there was absolutely no way he could choke.

Zhou Xu watched him bite the straw, somehow managing to get milk on the corner of his mouth. Losing patience, he pulled out a napkin and handed it to Su Wenyu: “If you’re drinking milk, drink properly. Stop chewing the straw.”

Su Wenyu had bread in his left hand and milk in his right. He had no free hand to take the napkin, so he just licked the corner of his mouth with his tongue, saying with an expression of surprise, “I was chewing the straw? I didn’t even notice.”

Biting the straw was a subconscious habit. It was absolutely not on purpose.

But the tongue-lick to the corner of his mouth? That was on purpose.

Knowing Zhou Xu didn’t like gays, the more he acted like a gay guy trying to seduce him, the higher the Villain Value would surely be.

Su Wenyu thought he was quite the clever little thing.

“Bro, did I lick it clean? Is there still any by my mouth?” Su Wenyu puckered his lips towards Zhou Xu, letting him look again.

Zhou Xu: “?”

Was he being this obvious with his seduction? Did he think Zhou Xu was blind?