WAYCAV Chapter 60

The screen on the other side went quiet for a while.

Su Zhiyan waited for a long time but didn’t get a reply, and he felt a bit uneasy.

Was his question too sudden?

After all, Shen Nianjing had invited him four days ago, and he had been determined to refuse at the time. Now he was changing his mind. His wavering attitude seemed insincere no matter how you looked at it.

He typed again.

Then he sent a “jumping and spinning” sticker to act casual.

Shen Nianjing still didn’t reply. Complete silence…

Su Zhiyan was genuinely panicking now. The hand holding his phone felt a bit cold.

Well… It was probably really inconvenient to invite someone to stay at your place, even if it was your boyfriend. Maybe Shen Nianjing was just saying it casually that day.

Su Zhiyan suddenly felt embarrassed. Shen Nianjing didn’t even take it seriously, but he had been overthinking and directly asked out of nowhere without any buildup.

It felt like he had been reading into something that wasn’t there.¹

He quickly typed “forget I said anything.”

Before he could send the message, a call came in and took over the entire screen.

He looked closer. It was Shen Nianjing.

He turned back in a panic to check on Wen Bei, who was completely focused on his game. Then he grabbed his coat, ran out to the balcony, and closed the door behind him.

The moment he was about to press the answer button, he hesitated again.

What if Shen Nianjing was calling just to turn him down?

He was the kind of person who knew how to give others a way out, so he probably chose to call because turning someone down over text wouldn’t be clear enough.

Su Zhiyan’s heart sank. Suddenly, he didn’t really want to pick up.

The balcony was open-air with no windows. The wind crept in, cold and sharp. Su Zhiyan pressed the warm phone to his ear and heard hurried breathing on the other end… and the sound of wind.

Su Zhiyan’s eyebrows twitched, and he froze.

“Su Zhiyan!”

Shen Nianjing’s voice suddenly rang in his ear, calling his name.

Not only was it coming through the phone, but also—

Su Zhiyan whipped around to look downstairs.

Shen Nianjing stood downstairs, the tip of his nose bright red from the cold, his face lit up with a huge smile.

He had been bending over, taking deep breaths to recover, but as soon as he saw Su Zhiyan peeking out from the balcony, he immediately stood up straight and waved his arms excitedly.

Su Zhiyan saw the heat of his breath turn into white mist, blurring Shen Nianjing’s expression as he looked at him.

A rush of complicated emotions flooded his heart, and his eyes instantly reddened.

But at the same time, he couldnt help grumbling in his head: This psycho, yelling outside the dorm building like that, is he afraid people won’t hear him?

Luckily he only shouted once, and their dorm had pretty good soundproofing.

He opened the balcony door and flew downstairs.

The moment he saw Shen Nianjing, Su Zhiyan punched him directly in the chest. “Why did you run so fast? Don’t you know you shouldn’t breathe through your mouth when running? And it’s so cold right now.”

Just wait until your stomach hurts, then you’ll learn your lesson, he glared at Shen Nianjing.

Shen Nianjing just grinned through the glare. He thought Su Zhiyan looked ridiculously cute when he was annoyed like this. He reached out, took the hand that had just punched him, and brought it to his lips for a gentle kiss.

Su Zhiyan: “…”

There was no point talking to this shameless dog!

“You know what? I saw your message right after class ended.” Shen Nianjing said, eyes bright as he looked at Su Zhiyan. “You can’t imagine how happy I was.”

Su Zhiyan felt a bit embarrassed under his gaze and turned his face away. “I can probably imagine.”

It was about a ten-minute walk from Shen Nianjing’s classroom to his dorm building. Most people would choose to ride a bike, but this guy had actually sprinted all the way here.

Good thing he ran fast. There was no one around the dorm building at this hour. Otherwise, if people had stopped to stare, Su Zhīyán really would have wanted to crawl into a crack in the ground.

“Don’t you want to see me too?” Shen Nianjing’s lips curved in a smile, his eyes following Su Zhiyan’s eyes as he said softly, “So I ran a little faster.”

He said this so directly and sincerely that it made Su Zhiyan’s face heat up.

“Oh.” Su Zhiyan’s cheeks were faintly pink. He leaned in and pressed a quick kiss to Shen Nianjing’s cheek. “That’s your reward.”

Shen Nianjing’s breathing deepened.

Su Zhiyan completely failed to notice the change in Shen Nianjing’s eyes, thinking to himself that he was really just scaring himself.

Shen Nianjing was the type of person whose emotions showed clearly, and he was good at expressing himself. He never said or did things he didn’t mean.

It was like when an out-of-town friend came to visit. Some people would invite them out of surface-level politeness, but once the friend actually moved in, they would feel inconvenienced and awkward, eventually making both of them miserable.

Shen Nianjing was the type of person who, if he invited an out-of-town friend, he genuinely wanted them to trust him. He would clean the guestroom until it was spotless, sincerely hoping his friend would have a good time in the city, and they could grab meals and hang out together.

When Su Zhiyan thought about this, his heart felt soft. Maybe he really should trust and invest more in this relationship.

Not just in the relationship, but in Shen Nianjing.

He smiled and noticed students around him starting to come back with their meals.

“Let’s go eat dinner,” Su Zhiyan suggested. He touched his stomach. “I’m hungry too.”

“Okay.”

Shen Nianjing looked at him deeply and took a quick breath.

The next second, he grabbed Su Zhiyan’s hand and quickly walked away from this crowded place, heading toward the school’s east gate.

Su Zhiyan made a sound of surprise. “Aren’t we going to the commercial street? Are we eating off-campus?”

Just as he said that, he saw Shen Nianjing stop in his tracks.

“What’s wrong?”

Su Zhiyan was confused.

Then an arm wrapped around his waist. Shen Nianjing pinned him against the wall, his lips brushing against Su Zhiyan’s ear. “Let me kiss you for five minutes first.”

His breath lingered by his ear, warm and a little ticklish.

Su Zhiyan couldn’t help but turn his head to the side, but Shen Nianjing grabbed his chin and turned it back, and Su Zhiyan found himself staring straight into Shen Nianjing’s slightly wild eyes.

Su Zhiyan’s heart skipped a beat. He awkwardly placed his hands on the other’s chest to push him away, but couldn’t budge him at all.

“Didn’t we kiss yesterday…” he said quietly.

Shen Nianjing looked at him and swallowed slightly. “Mm.”

His eyes darkened and he hugged Su Zhiyan tighter.

“But it wasn’t enough.”

His voice was low, like he was forcibly suppressing something.

Su Zhiyan’s ears tingled listening to him. He reached up and wrapped his arms around Shen Nianjing’s neck, his face still a bit red. “Then… kiss me.”

After saying this, he tilted his face up slightly, waiting for Shen Nianjing to kiss him.

But Shen Nianjing didn’t move. His eyes held a smile as he stared at Su Zhiyan without saying a word.

Su Zhiyan’s appearance with reddened eyes and slightly parted lips was really…

His Adam’s apple bobbed, and his gaze fell on the faint hint of Su Zhiyan’s tongue. His breathing grew heavy, and he looked back up into his eyes.

Su Zhiyan felt a bit intimidated by the look. Even though Shen Nianjing hadn’t kissed him yet, that gaze inexplicably carried an inexplicable aggressiveness.

He avoided Shen Nianjing’s gaze and pressed his forehead against his shoulder, hiding himself in Shen Nianjing’s embrace.

Warm breath landed on his skin. Su Zhiyan felt Shen Nianjing slowly breathing and kissing along the side of his neck. Soft lips grazed his skin, almost but not quite touching, sending a shiver through him.

Su Zhiyan trembled all over and instinctively looked up at Shen Nianjing. “You—”

The rest of his words got swallowed up.

Two hurried breaths tangled fiercely together. The soft, breathless sounds intimately filled the air.

Su Zhiyan felt Shen Nianjing rubbing his waist again. He let out an unconscious whimper and reached out to stop him.

As soon as he pressed down on Shen Nianjing’s hand, the next second it was gripped tightly, their fingers firmly interlocked.

The two of them kissed in the corner for a long time. Twenty minutes? Thirty minutes? Nobody knew.

By the time they finally pulled apart, the sky was already completely dark.

“Oh my god…” Su Zhiyan looked at the pitch black sky and muttered quietly, “Dating really takes up so much time.”

How did time slip through his fingers in a flash? Without even a shadow.

No wonder teachers in middle school kept telling students not to date early.

“What?” Shen Nianjing didn’t catch it and leaned in closer.

Su Zhiyan was now extra sensitive to him getting close. He tilted his head back, afraid of going through another “time skip.”

He pinched Shen Nianjing’s face. “I said you’re handsome.”

Shen Nianjing laughed out loud. “Being liked by the person I like, of course I’m handsome.”

Su Zhiyan stared at him. “…” Absolutely shameless.

He started wondering if staying at Shen Nianjing’s place for New Year’s was a good decision. Would there come a day when he became shameless too?

—

The first day of the New Year holiday was the last day of the year. Su Zhiyan went home during the day. Su Zhiyao told him there were New Year countdown events at all the major shopping districts that evening, and she had already made plans with friends to celebrate the New Year together.

“Is your allowance enough?”

Seeing her excitedly picking out a New Year’s Eve outfit, Su Zhiyan transferred her two thousand yuan on WeChat.

“Wow wow wow! Gege, you’re seriously the best brother ever!” Su Zhiyao hugged her phone and laughed happily. She asked sweetly, “What do you want for dinner? I’ll bring it back for you.”

Su Zhiyan said casually, “I’m leaving this afternoon, not staying home.”

“Ah, I thought you were staying home for New Year’s this year. Mom and Dad won’t be back until tomorrow, so I’ll be alone at home again.”

“Winter break is coming soon. We’ll see each other every day then. I really hope you won’t be complaining the whole time while I’m making sure you get your holiday assignments done.”

Su Zhiyao said, “…”

“Then hurry up and leave,” she urged. “Let me at least keep some brotherly love in my heart.”

Su Zhiyan rolled his eyes fondly at the girl as she twirled in front of the full-length mirror, trying on different skirts. His mind wandered to the New Year’s Eve plans for the night.

He didn’t really like crowded places, but he figured Shen Nianjing would.

Besides, it was New Year’s Eve. A lively, noisy celebration sounded pretty good.

“Which shopping district are you going to tonight? Downtown?” he asked.

Su Zhiyao nodded. “Of course, there’s a drone show and fireworks show tonight, and they’ll release confetti and balloons at midnight.”

“It might be a little too packed though,” she frowned. “Other districts have similar stuff too, but downtown’s definitely gonna be the craziest.”

“If you don’t get there early, all the good spots will be taken.”

Su Zhiyan immediately started having second thoughts…

Maybe it was better to just stay home and watch the gala.

Later that night, he and Shen Nianjing went to the supermarket and bought a whole cart full of ingredients, snacks, and a vibrant bouquet of flowers.

“You’re going to cook?”

Looking at the ribs, chicken wings, and various seasonings in the cart, Su Zhiyan stared wide-eyed at Shen Nianjing.

Wasn’t Shen Nianjing a kitchen novice who ate nothing but dumplings for three days straight at home just over a month ago?

Shen Nianjing put on a mysterious look. “Just wait and see. I’m making you a feast tonight.”

He had been practicing his cooking skills at home for a whole month!

Su Zhiyan wasn’t buying it. He tugged at Shen Nianjing’s sleeve. “If you can’t do it, I…”

He stopped. He realized he didn’t really know how to cook either.

Shen Nianjing smiled at him, instantly seeing through Su Zhiyan’s awkward pause. “You what?”

“I can still throw together a decent meal if I follow a tutorial online.” Su Zhiyan quickly covered. “I’m a pretty fast learner.”

“Oh~” Shen Nianjing nodded. “I’m a quick learner too.”

When they got to the checkout counter, three large rows of things that looked like chewing gum on the shelf caught their attention.

Su Zhiyan glanced over and his body went stiff.

They were… sort of… going to live together for a short time. Were they going to… do that?

Alarms blared in Su Zhiyan’s mind, but he forced himself to look calm on the outside.

He kept looking, the words “ultra-thin, no sensation” jumped right out at him, making his ears redder and redder.

They had only been dating for two weeks. They probably wouldn’t need this thing, right?

But they were going to stay together and go on a date…

Logically speaking, this should be the normal process, right?

But did dating have to follow a process?

Huh? Who decided on this process… it seemed like no one did.

Just as he was letting his imagination run wild, a hand with distinct knuckles suddenly reached into his field of vision and took down a box from the top row.

Su Zhiyan: “!”

He stared at Shen Nianjing with wide eyes. “W-what are you doing?”

He almost forgot how to speak from stuttering so much.

Shen Nianjing glanced down at the size on the box, raised an eyebrow with an “oh,” then put it back and grabbed the bigger one from the bottom row instead.

Su Zhiyan: “…”

Dude, what are you doing?

His face instantly turned completely red. Flustered, he said, “Stop picking! Do you think you’re buying groceries?”

Hearing this, Shen Nianjing chuckled softly. With a flick of his finger, he turned the box so the side with the usage instructions faced Su Zhiyan.

“If you don’t like this brand, we can switch to another one.”