WAYCAV Chapter 47.1

The sound of running water stopped.

Su Zhiyan’s heart tightened. He picked up his phone and started swiping rapidly between apps without pausing on any page for more than a second.

His ears focused on the sounds from the bathroom. He heard the glass door sliding open.

The sound was incredibly clear. He could almost imagine Shen Nianjing’s every movement.

Su Zhiyan’s body went stiff. He didn’t dare turn around.

It was clearly just another male body, something he’d seen plenty of times at swimming pools or water parks before, but right now he felt a bit… nervous.

Was it because there were only the two of them in the room?

Su Zhiyan started regretting his decision to suggest sharing a room with Shen Nianjing.

Footsteps approached. Shen Nianjing’s low voice came from beside him, “Do you want to take a shower? The bathroom’s still warm.” His tone was relaxed, just the casual care between friends.

Su Zhiyan didn’t look up. He hugged his pillow and kept scrolling through his phone with his head down, responding with a simple “Mm.”

The left side of the sofa sank down. A sweet strawberry fragrance surrounded him. For a moment, Su Zhiyan felt like he was in a strawberry field in May.

He turned his head, “Why do you smell like strawberries?”

Then he froze.

Shen Nianjing was only half a palm’s distance away from him, his profile turned toward him with a slightly raised eyebrow.

He wore a black bathrobe. Probably because he’d just finished showering, the top wasn’t tied tightly. It just hung loosely on his body, casually revealing his clean chest and enviable pecs and abs.

He smiled slightly at Su Zhiyan, “Probably the body wash. I don’t know, I just bought it randomly.”

Like hell.

God knows how hard it had been for him to find a body wash that recreated a fresh fruit scent, had long-lasting but elegant fragrance, and didn’t have mixed odors!

Su Zhiyan finally noticed! Shen Nianjing smiled faintly on the surface while screaming internally.

“…Oh.” Su Zhiyan nodded.

Shen Nianjing’s hair was still wet. His bangs were lazily swept to both sides, fully exposing his sharp eyebrows and eyes, looking wild and untamed.

A water droplet hung precariously from the tip of his hair. Finally, following the movement of his head, it fell onto his smooth chest and slowly slid down along his muscle lines, gradually disappearing at his waist.

Su Zhiyan didn’t know why his gaze followed that water droplet all the way down…

Probably because Shen Nianjing was really sitting too close.

He could almost feel the heat radiating from his body.

Su Zhiyan pretended to stay calm and looked away, “I-I’m going to shower now.”

Shen Nianjing’s eyes followed him as he grabbed his change of clothes and rushed into the bathroom. Only when he went through the door did Shen Nianjing look away.

He gradually loosened his grip on the sofa cushion he’d been secretly clutching and let out a long breath.

Su Zhiyan…

He silently repeated his name.

What was he supposed to do?

Shen Nianjing felt pretty ridiculous. The first time in his life he liked someone and he didn’t even know how to pursue him.

If he chased him directly, he was worried Su Zhiyan would reject same-sex relationships and they wouldn’t even be able to stay friends.

But if he didn’t pursue him…

Shen Nianjing looked up toward the bathroom, his eyes deep and hiding all his emotions.

–

“Ahhhh Xiao Yanyan, I was wrong, so very wrong!” Wen Bei rushed over to Su Zhiyan the moment he saw him, wanting nothing more than to hug him and cry, “That Zhang Chang is just as much of a demon as you are!”

“How can someone covet other people’s gaming time? What does he mean by ‘if I gave him the time I spend gaming to use for studying instead’?”

“What kind of bullshit is that?”

Wen Bei’s face flushed with anger. “If he wants to study, he should go back to school! What’s he doing here!”

“I want to switch rooms!”

“My gaming sessions.” He whined pitifully.

Su Zhiyan helplessly patted his head, “Zhang Chang is a bit of an elitist. If you really can’t stand it, you can switch rooms with me.”

Shen Nianjing’s head suddenly popped up between the two of them, grinning as he asked, “What are you guys talking about?”

“We’re talking about an annoying person.” Wen Bei grumbled before complaining again. “You two are still the best. Just because he has good grades doesn’t mean he can look down on people. My gaming doesn’t interfere with his thesis reading.”

“Zhang Chang, the one you were chatting with in the lobby this morning?” Shen Nianjing turned to Su Zhiyan to ask.

“Yeah, he seems pretty interested in you. He kept asking me about you.” Su Zhiyan said.

Shen Nianjing raised an eyebrow, “He was asking about me?”

“Just stuff about your academic performance, nothing else.”

“I knew it!” Wen Bei gritted his teeth again when he heard this, “The moment he heard Shen Nianjing is a campus legend, he started digging for information. And when he learned Xiao Yanyan is popular, he latched onto him since freshman year. Such a snobbish elitist. But why take it out on me?”

While Wen Bei continued his rant, they walked to the communal pools.

Tall trees stood around them, mist swirled in the air, and the pools were separated by privacy screens and plants, with small pavilions nearby for resting.

When they reached this spot, Wen Bei suddenly stopped and looked at the two of them.

His face, which had been twisted with anger just moments before, immediately returned to normal. He looked at the hot spring pool with a very mysterious expression.

“I… I think I’ll go soak over there instead.” After saying this, he started to walk around them toward the front.

Su Zhiyan was stunned and was about to speak when he heard Shen Nianjing say, “Why go over there? Isn’t this a communal pool?”

He turned to look at Shen Nianjing, whose eyes were clear and innocent, asking the question straightforwardly.

Although Su Zhiyan had also been about to ask Wen Bei to stay, somehow at this moment his heart suddenly felt stuffy.

He was quiet for a moment, then also looked at Wen Bei and smiled, “Yeah, and if you go over there and run into Zhang Chang again, there’s no guarantee you two won’t start fighting.”

“Zhang Chang is the type who won’t back down once he thinks he’s right,” Su Zhiyan added thoughtfully. “Plus he’s smart. His logic is airtight when he wants it to be. Arguing with him is pointless. You’ll just waste time and ruin your mood.”

Wen Bei: “…” Hello?

So he was saying his brain was stupid and he couldn’t even win an argument?

“It’s not that bad—” He tried to argue back, to salvage his image as someone who at least ranked in the top 300 in the province, but he choked on his words as soon as he opened his mouth.

? He was shocked.

Why did both of them want him to stay? What did this mean?

Wen Bei stared at them with wide eyes, looking at Shen Nianjing and trying to find some important information he might have missed from his expression.

However, Shen Nianjing just stood there looking relaxed. Apart from seeming a bit dejected overall, there was nothing unusual about him.

He looked at Su Zhiyan again. His expression was normal, completely calm, showing nothing.

These two were weird.

Wen Bei thought to himself, did these two need him as a matchstick to spark their love?

So he’d become part of their play?

He snorted and said knowingly, “No thanks, I’d rather get into a fight with that elitist jerk.”

Better than staying here and watching you two be lovey-dovey.

After saying this, he walked away whistling an off-key tune.

The empty hot spring pool was left with only Shen Nianjing and Su Zhiyan.

Water flowed gently, the hot spring pool steamed with heat, white mist rose up and drifted between the two of them, making it impossible to see each other’s expressions clearly.

Like a barrier that seemed within reach but felt tangible.

“Should we get in? Otherwise it might get cold later.” Shen Nianjing spoke first.

Su Zhiyan hadn’t been saying anything. He smiled and asked again, “Standing by the pool without getting in the water, if anyone saw us they’d probably think we’re idiots.”

Actually it wasn’t cold. The hot spring facility had plenty of heat, especially by the pools.

But Shen Nianjing’s hands and feet felt ice cold at this moment. He felt like the ten-degree winter wind outside had somehow penetrated through all the barriers and drilled into his body.

He forced himself not to look at Su Zhiyan and got into the water first, leaning against one side in a relaxed and comfortable position. He smiled at Su Zhiyan, “If you don’t come in, I’m leaving by myself in half an hour.”

Su Zhiyan blinked slightly, then finally stepped into the pool.

He wore a simple white t-shirt on top, which got completely soaked the moment it touched the pool water, clinging tightly to his waist and abdomen.

Shen Nianjing discreetly looked away.

Even though the communal pool was large, the two of them stayed at opposite ends, like they were the diameter of a circle, as if there was a vast chasm between them.

Shen Nianjing’s breathing caught painfully.

“Su Zhiyan.” He said in a low voice, “Do you have to stay so far away from me?”

Su Zhiyan was completely submerged in the water. He didn’t speak, just looked up at him.

Even though they were far apart and white mist drifted between them, Shen Nianjing could still see Su Zhiyan’s eyes.

Calm, composed.

Like a bowl of tea water under moonlight, completely still.

Without any of the relaxation and comfort that should come from a fun outing.

Naturally, there was nothing else there either.

Shen Nianjing suddenly laughed, “Why are you being so serious?”

He tried to make the atmosphere more light and cheerful, “It can’t be that you’re worried because that big kid Wen Bei isn’t here and you’re acting like a parent, right?”

“No.” Su Zhiyan finally spoke.

But after saying that, there was nothing more.

Still, Shen Nianjing breathed a sigh of relief and looked up, “Then why are you so quiet? If you don’t like the warmth of the hot spring, we can go streaking together.”

“It’s nine degrees outside right now, the perfect temperature that definitely won’t freeze us to death but will definitely get us a bunch of stares from passersby thinking we’re idiots.”

“We’d definitely make the headlines and become famous all over China!”

Su Zhiyan finally laughed out loud and said softly, “You’re crazy.”

Shen Nianjing protested, his voice lightly rising, “Please don’t label me so casually, Classmate Su.”

“Have you ever heard the saying ‘life is a wilderness’? Besides being crazy, can’t I be some other type?”

“For example, what if I’m just an idiot?”

“You’re so bored.” Su Zhiyan couldn’t help but tease him, “Then you really could go streaking and run a couple laps.”

Shen Nianjing leaned back slightly, “Don’t provoke me, I might actually take your suggestion.”

Su Zhiyan turned his head and smiled softly.

He had just opened his mouth when suddenly there was a commotion not far away, with various voices mixed together, and what sounded like Wen Bei’s angry roar.

Su Zhiyan and Shen Nianjing looked at each other and stood up to walk over there.