OAS 23

The forum incident had no new developments. It fizzled out after two days, but at the same time, the rumor that Tang Zhou had gotten a girlfriend began spreading privately.

Everything settled down. The thesis had reached its final revision stage, and the schedule for the oral defense was announced. The school placed emphasis on professional appearance and required formal attire for the defense. He Ziwei searched for a long time but couldn’t find the pair of uniform trousers he had bought for a few dozen yuan from a small shop near campus. Since he was about to officially join the workforce, he decided to go to a bigger mall to buy a decent pair.

Originally, he had only been asked a question before heading out. Somehow, the simple plan to buy trousers turned into a group outing. The bored dormmates decided to hit the shopping district for a good meal. All four of them crammed into a taxi. He Ziwei was stuck in the middle of the back seat, with Tang Zhou on his left and Li Shiye on his right.

The driver drove like a retired F1 racer, speeding down the road like he was racing time, switching lanes and overtaking cars with wild abandon, making the taxi feel more like an unstoppable tank. He Ziwei was jostled left and right, and in the chaos, his hand accidentally landed on Tang Zhou’s thigh. Once he managed to stabilize himself, he immediately pulled it away. He tried his best to act like nothing had happened, but the flush on the tips of his ears betrayed his embarrassment.

“Could you please slow down? I’m feeling a bit carsick.” As the car jolted again, he heard the person to his left speak calmly. Then he felt Tang Zhou’s right hand slip in from beneath the hem of his thin jacket and wrap around his lower back. Even after the car slowed down, the hand didn’t move away.

The weather in late April and early May was already quite warm, but He Ziwei was worried about catching a cold from the seasonal shift, so he had thrown on a short-sleeved windbreaker. He hadn’t expected it to make it more convenient for someone to get handsy in secret. The skin on his waist, pressed against that palm, was getting hotter and hotter. He Ziwei sat like he was on pins and needles, unable to figure out what the hell Tang Zhou meant by this.

The past two days, his relationship with Tang Zhou had seemed to revert to their old stage of complete mutual avoidance. Neither of them had spoken to the other. He Ziwei had no idea what Tang Zhou was thinking now and could only follow his lead, staying silent and keeping what happened at the motel a secret. Deep down, he had already taken that silence as an unspoken breakup. But Tang Zhou’s actions clearly sent a very different message.

By the time they arrived at the mall, He Ziwei’s heart was still pounding. The men’s clothing section was on the fourth floor. The entire level was packed with brands from high-end to budget. Just as they entered the floor, Li Shiye and Sun Shichao said they were heading to the restroom. When He Ziwei came to his senses again, he found himself standing alone at the elevator with Tang Zhou, face to face.

Tang Zhou’s expression remained calm as ever. He gave He Ziwei a casual glance, then took a step forward. “Let’s go.” He Ziwei had no choice but to follow him step by step.

Guys never spent much time shopping, and besides, He Ziwei thought all suit trousers looked more or less the same. He picked one at random and was about to try it on when Tang Zhou cast a lazy glance over. “The cut’s ugly.” He Ziwei’s hand froze mid-air, then dutifully hung the pants back up.

It was the same story in every store after that. “The seam’s rough.” “Fabric wrinkles easily.” “Buckle’s hideous.” The summary was always just two words: “Not it.” By the fifth store, He Ziwei was getting annoyed. “You doing this on purpose? I think it looks fine. You’re not even the one buying it, why the hell do you care so much?”

Tang Zhou replied with perfect calm and reason. “It’s nearly a thousand bucks. Of course you should be more careful.”

He Ziwei couldn’t argue with that. He sulked for a while, muttering, “If you’re so good at it, then you do it.”

The salesgirl had long since been scared off by the weird tension between them and gone off to help someone else. Tang Zhou glanced around, picked out a pair of nearly identical trousers, and handed them to He Ziwei. “Go try these.” He Ziwei glared at him, but still obediently headed into the fitting room.

This store’s fitting rooms were tucked away in a corner and hidden from view. Only the innermost of the four stalls was still open. He Ziwei took the trousers inside, but once he tried them on, he realized they were a size too small. The waistband stuck halfway up his ass, neither up nor down, ridiculously awkward.

He Ziwei knocked softly on the partition. “Tang Zhou? You there?”

The voice that came through the door was a little muffled. “What is it?”

“Uh… the pants are too small. Grab me a bigger one?” He Ziwei rubbed his nose. Even though the other guy couldn’t see him, he still felt kind of embarrassed.

There was a short silence outside. Then Tang Zhou knocked on the door. “Open up.”

He Ziwei slid the latch and cracked the door just enough to reach for the pants. But as soon as his fingers touched the fabric, Tang Zhou shoved the door open and stepped inside, squeezing both himself and the trousers in.

He Ziwei stood frozen in place, wearing only his underwear, his bare legs long and slender and completely exposed.

The ash-gray pant legs dangled between their hands like a short rope linking them together. He Ziwei gave them a hard tug, but Tang Zhou simply followed that force and stepped closer. His eyes swept over He Ziwei’s lower body like a searchlight, then he slammed him against the thin wall of the fitting room and kissed him hard.

“Mmph…” He Ziwei pounded Tang Zhou’s chest a few times, but it didn’t push him away. Tang Zhou caught both his hands, pressed them against the wall, and forced his way past the tight seal of his teeth. The air turned damp. Breathing thickened into a sticky, fluid rhythm, wrapping them in a haze of heat and want.

The brand-new trousers had already fallen in a heap by their feet, but no one cared whether they were gathering dust anymore. He Ziwei’s brain cells were being scalded by the rush of boiling blood. His resistance slowly gave way to surrender, and the hands that had once been pinned now curled willingly around the other boy’s neck. Tang Zhou’s hand kneaded his plump ass while the other slipped down to grip his cock.

“Ah…” He Ziwei clung to Tang Zhou’s front, gasping in short, ragged breaths. His cock throbbed uncontrollably, flushed and fully erect, the tip already leaking a clear, viscous strand of precum. Tang Zhou was hard too. His semi-erect bulge pressed against He Ziwei’s groin, thick and hot through the fabric. When He Ziwei reached toward Tang Zhou’s waistband, his hand was intercepted. Eyes brimming with heat, he glared up at Tang Zhou. “If you’re gonna fuck me… mm… then hurry the hell up…”

“You want it?” Tang Zhou let out a soft laugh. His parted lips revealed a flash of white teeth, as if He Ziwei had just cracked a joke. “We can’t do it here. I’m not fucking you today.”

“Then what the fuck are you doing?” He Ziwei practically ground out the words. He was naked from the waist down, being fondled shamelessly, while the other guy remained fully dressed, perfectly put together, wearing an infuriatingly calm expression as he leisurely stroked the lively shaft in his hand.

“I’m coaxing you.” Tang Zhou leaned in and kissed him again, then lowered his voice by He Ziwei’s ear, smooth and sultry. His hand suddenly sped up. “You like it?”

He Ziwei said nothing, but his panting grew more erratic. His lashes trembled violently.

“Do you hate me?” Tang Zhou whispered by his ear. “Too bad if you do. I’ve thought it over these past two days. I can’t do it. I don’t want to just be your classmate.”

“I want to hold you.” His hand traced down He Ziwei’s back, wrapping around his waist.

“I want to kiss you.” His soft lips brushed the corner of He Ziwei’s eye.

“I want to touch you like this.” His fingers swiped roughly over the sensitive slit at the tip.

“I want your skin to reek of me.” He bit down fiercely on the tender curve of his earlobe.

“I want to fuck you hard.” His tongue slipped into He Ziwei’s ear, mimicking the motion of thrusting.

“I want to fill you up.” Tang Zhou raised his head.

He Ziwei was trembling all over, chest heaving as he panted in ragged bursts. His eyes were dazed beyond recognition, swimming with rippling heat as he stared at Tang Zhou, utterly lost.

Tang Zhou pressed their lips together. Their breaths tangled, fevered and clinging, on the verge of combustion. A single tear slid down from the corner of He Ziwei’s eye, trailing along his cheek until it reached the edge of his mouth. Tang Zhou leaned in and ran his tongue along He Ziwei’s lips, tasting the faint salt on his tongue. “I want to see you cry.”

He Ziwei had been teased to the breaking point. The wave of pleasure roaring through him had melted every thought in his head, yet at the same time, a desperate yearning welled up in his chest. He closed his eyes and finally, with a trembling voice, asked, “What are we even doing?”

“Silly thing.” Tang Zhou’s voice was low and fond, tinged with a warm, almost sighing smile, like a spring breeze brushing through willows in March. “I’m courting you, ‘girlfriend.’”

Like being slammed into by a crashing wave, He Ziwei’s mind blanked in an instant. His thoughts scattered into white noise. And without warning, he came all over Tang Zhou’s hand.