Chapter 3: Need a Hand?

On the way to the hospital, Gu Shiying did his best to stop Fu Huan from touching any bit of his skin. He was genuinely afraid of hearing any more inner thoughts from Fu Huan that would make him question his life choices.

He could write off hearing the word “like” the first time as a fluke, but now he’d heard it a second time.

The Doctor: “Luckily, the knife was fairly blunt. Your wound doesn’t need stitches. Just don’t get it wet for the next few days. Have your friend help you apply the ointment.”

Fu Huan nodded: “Okay.”

Gu Shiying thanked the doctor. However, he felt awkward troubling Fu Huan. Although they’d been dormmates for over a year, they truly weren’t close. And on top of that, he’d now heard Fu Huan’s inner thoughts. This was way too mortifying!

How could Fu Huan like him?

He hadn’t noticed any signs Fu Huan was gay.

Gu Shiying remembered Fu Huan was typically not on campus on weekends, so he said, trying to sound casual, “I recall you’re not usually at school on weekends. I’ll just find a classmate to help with the ointment.”

Fu Huan had his hands tucked into his pants pockets, his posture relaxed: “I’ll be at school this weekend.”

Gu Shiying: “Thanks for saving my sorry hide. Let me treat you to dinner tonight?”

Fu Huan glanced at his injured arm: “Let’s do it another time. Your arm…”

Gu Shiying shook his freshly bandaged arm with bravado: “No problem. I’m perfectly fine.”

After this show of false toughness, he pulled at the wound a little, and his mouth twitched in pain.

Fu Huan gave a low chuckle.

Gu Shiying: “Are you laughing at me?”

Fu Huan was honest: “Let’s just head back to school first. We’ll do dinner another time. This is a ‘savior of my life’ meal—I haven’t decided yet what I want to eat for it.”

Gu Shiying: “Oh.” He kind of wanted to repay the favor sooner rather than later.

Even though he knew the other party had a little crush on him, since nothing was said aloud, he could only pretend not to know.

Fu Huan glanced again at his freshly bandaged wound: “Let’s eat something light tonight.”

Gu Shiying usually loved strong flavors and couldn’t live without spicy food, but right now he couldn’t really argue.

“Fine.”

The hospital was near the school. A cab ride back was just the base fare.

Right then, Gu Shiying got a phone call. It was Zhang Zhi.

Fu Huan took the initiative and ordered a ride-hailing car.

Zhang Zhi: “Ying’er, are you okay?! Wuwuwu, thank god you’re still alive!”

Gu Shiying: “Huh? Of course I’m alive.”

Zhang Zhi: “The forums are all saying your girlfriend’s ex stabbed you dozens of times and you went to the hospital covered in blood! How can you still answer the phone?”

Gu Shiying: “That rumor is way too fake. Why not just say I was a hero saving a damsel? Don’t believe rumors; don’t spread rumors!”

Zhang Zhi: “Hero saving a damsel, my ass. So what’s your condition now? Are you hurt badly? I’ll grab a cab back right now. I was worried sick!”

Gu Shiying: “Just a scratch, some superficial skin damage. My roommate’s with me. You just enjoy your meal with your classmate.”

Zhang Zhi: “Which roommate? The one who looks like a civil servant or the one who looks like an idol?”

Gu Shiying: “Neither.”

Zhang Zhi gasped in surprise: “Ah, then that only leaves…”

“We’re heading back to school now. Let’s talk when you’re back.” Out of the corner of his eye, Gu Shiying saw Fu Huan waving down one of the cars, and he quickly cut off whatever Zhang Zhi was about to say next, afraid Zhang Zhi would blurt out some amazing commentary Fu Huan might overhear. He ended the call.

Fu Huan: “Get in.”

Gu Shiying had just hung up on Zhang Zhi.

Fu Huan let Gu Shiying scoot in first, his hand hovering protectively over Gu Shiying’s head. Before now, Gu Shiying would never have read anything into this little gesture. But after today, a wave of awkwardness hit him.

Based on his superficial understanding of romance, guys only did that kind of thing for girls they liked, right?

But he wasn’t a girl.

So weird. So weird.

Forget it. He’d just turn a blind eye and pretend he hadn’t seen anything.

Fu Huan still maintained his lazy persona of “silence is golden” from everyday life. He spoke little, but his presence was strong, impossible to ignore.

Gu Shiying wasn’t the super-introverted type. He was the only one hearing the inner thoughts. As long as nothing was said out in the open, who would know he knew Fu Huan liked him? Thinking of it this way calmed him down again.

He hypnotized himself: The guy has a secret crush and hasn’t said a peep, so it essentially doesn’t exist!

Just as he was about to speak, Fu Huan, who rarely initiated conversation, suddenly said: “You were quite brave today.”

Gu Shiying suspected Fu Huan was being sarcastic, but he had no proof. The guy had been mentally calling him stupid earlier.

But right now, Gu Shiying could only play along and chuckle: “I just happened to be passing by and saw it. But how did you suddenly show up?”

Compared to his own rescue attempt, Fu Huan’s sudden appearance was more like the “Hero” in “Hero Saving the Beauty”—and he, Gu Shiying, was the “Beauty.”

When he’d seen Fu Huan slam that guy to the ground, the whole sequence flowing like water, it was pretty cool.

Ugh. He was not a “Beauty.”

Fu Huan: “I just happened to be passing by, too.”

Gu Shiying thought, That’s not how you described me in your head just now.

“Than…”

Fu Huan: “But next time, before you’ve ensured your own safety, don’t just charge in headfirst.”

Gu Shiying: “…Fine.” He took back his ‘thank you.’ That was no different from calling him stupid. “It was a sudden thing, I didn’t have time to think about all that.”

Fu Huan: “Yeah.”

They exchanged a few words and then arrived back at school.

The car stopped near the dormitory building. By the time they returned to campus, the sky had darkened. After all that chaos, Gu Shiying was ravenously hungry.

At the fork between the canteen and the dorms, Fu Huan stopped.

“I’m going to the canteen to get some food. What do you want to eat?”

Gu Shiying didn’t dare move his arm much. “I’m not picky. Anything’s fine.”

Fu Huan: “I’ll just pick something out. If you think of something specific, text me on WeChat.”

“Great.” Gu Shiying, acting with the appropriate awareness of an injured person, didn’t cause any trouble and gladly accepted his roommate’s kindness.

Fu Huan turned and left. In a blink, his long legs had already taken him a mile away.

Back in the dorm, Gu Shiying hurried to plug in his phone to charge and slumped sideways in his chair to check messages one-handed. A college student couldn’t live without their phone, injured arm or not.

His phone was full of concerned messages from classmates. Zhang Zhi had even sent him the forum post.

The subsequent development was that after they left, more students had gathered, working together to restrain the attempted murderer and haul him off to the police station. The terrified girl had gone to the station to give a statement.

The incident was so big it alerted the school administration. His counselor had sent him several messages worried about his injuries. The girl he’d helped had also found out his contact info through someone else and added him on WeChat to thank him. Gu Shiying replied to them all one by one.

Gu Shiying was fairly popular. He might not know everyone in his class intimately, but the guys in Zhang Zhi’s dorm were close to him—all his brothers. Every single one was concerned about his injury.

Right when he was in the thick of his chats and having the most fun, the dorm door was pushed open.

Fu Huan walked in, carrying takeout boxes with the Second Canteen logo. The aroma of stir-fried dishes wafted in, and Gu Shiying’s nose twitched. Even scrolling through his phone suddenly lost its appeal.

He was really starving.

Fu Huan: “Let’s eat first.”

Gu Shiying: “You got stir-fry dishes?”

Fu Huan: “Mm.”

Gu Shiying: “Smells amazing! I tell you, these stir-fries—this has gotta be from that smiley, chubby chef. Only his greens have that true ‘wok hei’ flavor.”

Fu Huan: “You can tell by smell?”

Gu Shiying: “Of course. My tongue and sense of smell aren’t just for show. Did you get green beans and eggplant, fermented black bean steamed spare ribs, and…”

Fu Huan: “And what else?”

Gu Shiying sniffed the air again: “Steamed sea bass?”

Fu Huan: “Dog nose.”

Gu Shiying: “…” You’re the dog.

The First Canteen didn’t have stir-fry like this. The proper stir-fry was at the Second Canteen; they also had delicate pastries and noodles there. Normally, Gu Shiying and Zhang Zhi would only go there if they finished playing ball games too late and the First Canteen was out of food.

The Second Canteen was not cheap. Fu Huan really wasn’t holding back.

But the stir-fry was truly fragrant. The mass-produced canteen food couldn’t compare.

Fu Huan opened the containers and placed them on Gu Shiying’s desk.

He pulled apart a pair of disposable chopsticks and offered them: “Can you eat with your left hand?”

Gu Shiying put down his phone, tried with his left hand, and declared confidently: “No problem.”

Fu Huan: “Oh.”

Gu Shiying watched him take his own food back to his desk. Fu Huan’s voice seemed to carry a hint of regret.

What, did he want to feed him?

A shiver ran through Gu Shiying at his own split-second thought.

Because he was eating with his left hand, Gu Shiying finished the delicious, aromatic meal at half his usual speed.

Fu Huan cleaned up the bowls and chopsticks. Gu Shiying felt terribly awkward about it. After all, before today, his relationship with Fu Huan hadn’t been close enough to share a meal like this.

Gu Shiying’s day had been… eventful, to say the least. The weather was hot, and he’d sweated buckets. He felt like the smell of sweat had practically pickled him.

Ever since he’d unintentionally overheard girls complaining about guys smelling strongly of sweat, he’d become very meticulous about personal hygiene, frequently washing and changing his clothes and socks.

Now, going even a single day without a shower felt awful, especially in this scorching heat. He definitely needed one.

After dinner, Gu Shiying and Fu Huan reverted to their usual state of minimal interaction—this was Gu Shiying’s comfort zone. He rested for a bit, then started gathering his clothes to head out to the balcony.

Right then, Fu Huan was leaning against the balcony railing, holding a lit cigarette. On the railing sat a lighter and a glass ashtray.

Guys smoking was normal. Gu Shiying could smoke a bit too, but he just didn’t care for it.

Fu Huan exhaled a puff of smoke.

Just as Gu Shiying was about to close the balcony door, Fu Huan suddenly glanced his way and dropped a question: “Shower?”

Gu Shiying: “Obviously.”

Fu Huan tilted his chin up slightly: “Can you get your shirt off by yourself?”

Gu Shiying remembered the earlier sensation when he’d just moved his arm and felt the wound pull…

Crap. It did seem impossible.

The only person here who could help him was Fu Huan. But Fu Huan was gay!

No way!

Should he go find Zhang Zhi?

Zhang Zhi probably wouldn’t even be back at the dorm tonight.

So what should he do?

Gu Shiying wavered between risking tearing his wound open and hearing Fu Huan’s inner thoughts.

Fu Huan took the initiative: “Need a hand? Offer expires soon.”

Gu Shiying figured, maybe if he just gritted his teeth, he could manage. It was just taking off a T-shirt. They were both guys; what was there to see? Whatever Fu Huan had, he had too. No need to be so squeamish.

Just as Fu Huan was about to turn and leave, Gu Shiying finally mumbled his reply: “…Sure, I guess.”

Fu Huan stubbed his cigarette out in the ashtray next to him. His hand gave an almost imperceptible tremor before the cigarette was fully extinguished.