OAS 24

Life is full of surprises. Like getting jerked off by your crush inside a fitting room at a busy menswear store. Like breaking your personal record and cumming embarrassingly fast the moment you hear a confession. Like finding out Tang Zhou likes you, in the middle of such an utterly shameless situation.

“I’m chasing you.” Those three words echoed endlessly in He Ziwei’s mind, spiraling upward until they became shimmering bubbles, floating out from the crown of his head. He tried to hold onto something, afraid that if he wasn’t careful, he might shatter the whole world.

Tang Zhou wiped his body clean with a tissue, and casually mocked him for how much he came. “Guess we’re buying these pants now.” The trousers on the floor had not only picked up dust, but also a few scattered drops of white fluid. He Ziwei’s ears burned red. He took one glance and immediately looked away.

“M City… why did you…” He had no idea how to phrase it. Something caught in his throat, but he still spoke, the urge to ask too strong to hold back. He needed an answer, something to stop the spinning in his head.

Why do you like me? When did you start?

Tang Zhou paused for a second. He didn’t answer. Instead, he wrapped both arms around He Ziwei’s waist, looked him in the eyes, and said, voice quiet but steady, “I’ve already deleted the photos. Now you can choose to push me away.”

There was too much to process. He Ziwei felt like his whole system had short-circuited. His limbs went stiff. He opened his mouth, but nothing came out. Tears welled up on their own and spilled down his cheeks.

“If you don’t push me away, I’ll take it as a yes.”

After a moment, Tang Zhou smiled and tightened his arms around him, holding him close. A gentle kiss landed at the corner of his eye, and his deep voice lingered, curling down into He Ziwei’s heart. “Just like you chose me, I choose you.”

He Ziwei felt dazed, not even sure how he managed to walk out of the fitting room. By the time he came back to himself, Tang Zhou was already holding two shopping bags. One held the ash-gray trousers that had fallen to the floor. The other held a white dress shirt he had picked out. Its cuffs and the back waistband embroidered with pale green thread. Against He Ziwei’s fair skin, it would look fresh as a spring morning after the rain.

There were four missed calls on his phone. Tang Zhou called back and casually explained things to their dormmates. His tone was so calm and assured, it was hard not to believe him.

Once the directions were confirmed and the call ended, Tang Zhou led him into the elevator. The vertical lift was empty. Tang Zhou pressed the button for the sixth floor, and the moment the doors closed, he naturally reached out to hold He Ziwei’s hand. He Ziwei shook it off a little but failed to break free. Face flushed, he grumbled under his breath, “What are you doing? Someone’s gonna see us.”

“I’m holding my boyfriend’s hand. I’m not scared of people looking.” Tang Zhou said it calmly, then kissed him on the cheek.

He Ziwei shoved him away a bit. “Keep your hands to yourself. I haven’t said yes yet.”

“Who was it just now hanging onto me like they couldn’t let go?” Tang Zhou raised a brow. “Feel my shoulder. It’s still wet.”

He Ziwei’s face burned hotter. His emotions had gotten out of control earlier in the fitting room. When Tang Zhou held him, he had clung to him and cried, needing a while to calm down. Now that he had, all he felt was secondhand embarrassment. It made him look like he couldn’t live without Tang Zhou, like he needed him that badly. He glared at him in annoyed frustration. “You’re still on probation. None of this comes with benefits. Keep it up and I’ll call it off anytime.”

The words had barely left his mouth when someone gave his ass a firm squeeze. Tang Zhou leaned in and laughed by his ear. “So even holding hands is off-limits? Damn, so conservative.” His tongue flicked across He Ziwei’s ear twice. “Then how do you feel about premarital sex? Am I supposed to hold it in till we get married before I can fuck you?”

Before He Ziwei could react, the elevator arrived at the sixth floor. Tang Zhou let go of him and walked out looking like a model citizen, dignified and proper, as if the one being filthy just now had been his evil twin. He Ziwei’s face flushed bright red. He couldn’t even get a single curse word out of his throat.

Dinner had been picked by their roommates at a self-service barbecue place. He Ziwei and Tang Zhou sat on the same side. He Ziwei’s seat was against the wall, which made it hard for him to get in and out. For some reason no one acknowledged directly, Tang Zhou ended up taking care of absolutely everything for him. He poured the drinks, mixed the sauces, fetched the fruit and dessert, grabbed dishes, grilled meat, and even transferred the cooked slices onto He Ziwei’s plate. The only thing he didn’t do was wrap it all up in a lettuce leaf for him.

Their roommates across the table started feeling awkward from watching it all, and rushed to help out with serving duties too. The whole table ended up swept into a collective spirit of mutual service, everyone scrambling to do something for someone else.

After they were full and tipsy, Li Shiye rubbed his belly and sighed. “Tang Zhou, you’re just too good. So thoughtful and attentive. A textbook example of a perfect 21st century man.”

“Take notes. This is how you win over your wife.” Tang Zhou said with a smile, and casually pressed down the hand that had reached over to pinch him, trapping it against his thigh. He glanced sideways, and sure enough, the “wife” in question had quietly turned red again.

After lights-out that night, He Ziwei had trouble falling asleep. He tossed and turned for about twenty minutes, then lifted a corner of his bed curtain and peeked across the room. Tang Zhou was lying on his side facing him, playing on his phone. When he noticed the movement, he looked up and smiled.

A few seconds later, He Ziwei felt the soft vibration of a WeChat message. Tang Zhou was asking him how many points he would score him for his probationary performance.

“Barely a nine,” He Ziwei replied, secretly covering his flushed cheeks.

“Out of ten?” Tang Zhou responded almost immediately.

He Ziwei’s fingers flew across the screen. He couldn’t hide the smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. “Out of a hundred.”

There was a long pause. Tang Zhou didn’t reply for a while. When He Ziwei finally got another message, it was a link. He tapped into it and found it was an English song. A slightly husky, gentle female voice flowed through his earphones, singing over and over again—“Can we give love a try?”

“You throw a fit, I’ll coax you. You act spoiled, I’ll pamper you. If you’re scared of what people might think, then hide behind me.”

“The past might not have been great, but I want a future with you.”

WeChat notifications kept lighting up. Finally, Tang Zhou asked, “Can I make it official?”

He Ziwei wiped his eyes, blurred with tears, his fingers trembling as he typed, “Do you love me?”

There was no reply. Then Tang Zhou sat up in bed, slipped on his shoes, and stepped out of the dorm room. A few seconds later, the phone rang.

He Ziwei answered. Tang Zhou’s breathing came through the speaker, touched by the quiet distortion of a phone signal, soft and intimate in the dark. After a moment of silence, his voice came through.

“I love you.”

It felt like a bell had struck deep inside his chest. He Ziwei almost thought Tang Zhou could hear how loudly his heart was pounding. His lips trembled as he tried to respond, but all that came out was a choked sob.

“I’m sorry, baby, but could you come out here for a minute?” Tang Zhou seemed to chuckle softly on the other end, his voice tinged with a helpless sort of affection. “I want to kiss you.”