TT Chapter 11. Supervisor

By the time Chen Ting and Pei Yiyao returned to campus, it was already past four in the afternoon. When Yang Shulin saw him come back, he finally let out the breath he had been holding, and once the others in the dorm had cleared out, he even had the mood to tease him.

“You were holding on so tight, anyone who didn’t know better would think you two were a couple. Tsk tsk…”

Chen Ting rubbed his nose. “Was it really that bad?”

Yang Shulin said, “It was!”

Chen Ting gave a helpless sigh. It really must have been that bad. What he could recall were mostly fragmented bits and pieces, but hearing it spelled out like that by someone else immediately brought his embarrassment flooding back.

Thankfully, Pei Yiyao did not seem to mind. If it had been anyone else, Chen Ting would have died of shame on the spot.

Monday arrived in no time. Monday mornings were the stuff of nightmares.

Chen Ting felt that the morning class, though officially labeled as a computer course, was really just a glorified homework session. The only difference was that the paper and pen had been replaced by computers. The content of the class was basically a bunch of barely-awake college students, their minds still foggy from sleep, sitting at their screens, listening to English audio and doing practice tests like lifeless husks.

Seats were not assigned, so Chen Ting found an open spot at random and, as usual, tested the headphones first. Out of the corner of his eye, he scanned the white dividers between the computer stations and suddenly spotted a familiar name—

Pei Yiyao Is So So So So Handsome!

Whether it was in middle school, high school, or now college, computer labs had always been graffiti havens. Every white divider around each station had its own story. Chen Ting just had not expected that Pei Yiyao, who had only been at the campus a short while, was already a name of legend.

He could not help reading through all the scribbles—

The food at the cafeteria sucks!!!
Zhou Cheng Zhou Cheng Zhou Cheng!
To add “that” or not to add “that,” that is the question
Starting today, call me Mrs. Pei!

Chen Ting stared at the divider and saw just beneath the line that said “Starting today, call me Mrs. Pei,” someone had written “Ting Ting is 1.8 meters tall, even old trees can blossom,” and next to it were a few hand-drawn hearts that nearly circled both Mrs. Pei and Ting Ting.

Driven by a spirit of inquiry, Chen Ting kept scanning the surrounding area. He believed there were still many discerning individuals out there who could see the truth of his towering two-meter-three frame.

But what he saw next made him freeze—

Yao-ge and Ting Ting, YaoTing don’t stop!

At first, Chen Ting did not quite understand what the phrase meant. He usually had no part in fandom circles and rarely came across anything related to shipping culture. But after thinking about it for a moment, he began to grasp the implication.

He checked the surrounding graffiti again and confirmed there were no other similar phrases. Then, he pulled out a pen and scribbled two characters next to it.

Fake.

Yang Shulin turned around. “What are you writing?”

Chen Ting instantly straightened up, put on his headphones, and stared dead ahead. “Nothing. Just doing the listening exercise.”

Yang Shulin did not suspect anything and went back to his own struggle. Forty-five minutes later, he looked like he had completely lost himself in the sea of listening comprehension. His face was dazed as he turned to Chen Ting and asked, “How did you translate that kk fighter part? What even is a kk fighter? Is it a bomber? Is it a bomber???”

Even after leaving the classroom building, Yang Shulin was still trapped in the whirlpool of kk fighter, as if the roar of bombers was echoing endlessly in his brain.

Chen Ting quickly reached out to steady him. “Careful. It’s raining outside.”

The sudden rain brought everyone to a halt. But there was only so much time between classes, and they still needed to get to the North Campus, so after a brief pause, the crowd broke into a jog.

The Three Leatherheads were no exception. But the North Campus was really far, and after only a short sprint, Chen Ting veered off with a showy diagonal dash and darted into the campus convenience store. He came out holding the cheapest little umbrella he could find, decorated with cartoon flowers.

Yang Shulin and Wu Yingwen crowded in from left and right under the umbrella. Yang Shulin took a deep breath.

“Charge!”

At the same time, back in the computer lab where Chen Ting had just been sitting, Pei Yiyao was reaching out to close the window, shutting out the wind and rain. One of his roommates behind him let out a startled exclamation.

“Wow, the weather changed fast. Good thing we brought umbrellas, or we’d be soaked too… hey, Pei Yiyao, your name’s written up here!”

Pei Yiyao made no comment. He was entirely uninterested and simply picked a seat and sat down. But as his eyes swept over the divider, he happened to spot a familiar name.

Ting Ting?

Yao-ge and Ting Ting, YaoTing don’t stop?

His roommate happened to glance over and asked curiously, “What are you looking at? Huh? YaoTing?”

Pei Yiyao frowned slightly. The roommate thought he was annoyed by the phrase and quickly laughed it off.

“You were abroad for a while and you’re not really into internet stuff, so you probably don’t know about… well, I don’t even know how to explain it. It’s just something people mess around with. They’re not seriously trying to pair you with Chen Ting or anything. Just don’t take it to heart.”

“Me and Chen Ting? A pair?” Pei Yiyao froze.

“Yeah.” The roommate looked at him in surprise. Judging from his reaction, it really seemed like he had no clue. So he kept explaining, “See, ‘Yao’ is you, and ‘Ting’ is Chen Ting. ‘YaoTing’ is, uh…”

As he spoke, his voice gradually trailed off. He was a hardcore straight guy, so why did he even know this much?

But Pei Yiyao did not notice the awkward shift in tone. His mind clung to those words and would not let go.

A pair.

Even after class ended, he still could not shake that phrase. That never happened to him. He was used to brushing off anything irrelevant and had always been indifferent to most social interaction, let alone giving someone a second thought.

But the physics curriculum was demanding, and Pei Yiyao did not have that much time to dwell on the issue. Besides, just like any problem in physics, there would eventually be an answer.

Yet in the blink of an eye, while heading to the cafeteria for lunch, Pei Yiyao overheard news that Chen Ting was sick.

“It’s just a cold. Why are those girls acting like their motherly instincts are overflowing? In today’s big lecture, the professor asked why Chen Ting wasn’t there, and my god, if you didn’t know better, you’d think he had a terminal illness.”

“This society only cares about looks. Straight guys like us can’t catch a break…”

At a nearby table, a group of male students were picking at their cafeteria food while complaining. Pei Yiyao looked down at his own tray and suddenly lost his appetite. After staring at his phone for a while, he finally tapped Chen Ting’s profile picture and sent a message.

Pei Yiyao: You’re sick?

At that moment, Chen Ting was lying alone in his dorm bed. After getting caught in the rain, he had come down with a cold and fever. The fever broke after a night of sleep, but then the coughing began. It was relentless, and once it started, it was hard to stop. Not wanting to disturb the others in class, Chen Ting had taken a sick day to rest in the dorm.

Pei Yiyao’s message caught him off guard.

Donghu Crab King: Just an ordinary cold. Bit of a cough.

Pei Yiyao: You’re by yourself?

Donghu Crab King: Yeah, but Yang Shulin’s about to bring me lunch. Don’t worry.

After sending that last message, there was no reply from Pei Yiyao for a long while. It made Chen Ting briefly wonder if saying “don’t worry” had been a bit presumptuous.

Just then, Yang Shulin returned with food. The smell hit him, and Chen Ting immediately pushed Pei Yiyao from his mind.

“I can still hear you coughing nonstop. Didn’t the cough syrup from yesterday help at all?” Yang Shulin was a little worried. “Want me to go with you to the campus clinic this afternoon and get an IV?”

Chen Ting shook his head. “It’s really not that serious.”

Yang Shulin asked, “You really don’t want to go?”

“Nope!”

Chen Ting’s tone was firm, and he promised he would take his medicine on time. Yang Shulin reluctantly nod. He also wanted to stay in the dorm and keep Chen Ting company in the afternoon, but that was met with an immediate and emphatic rejection.

“I’m not a kid. It’s just a cold and a cough. What could possibly happen? Hurry up and get to class, or the professor’s going to think you skipped,” Chen Ting said, exasperated and amused.

Once he finally saw Yang Shulin out the door, Chen Ting enjoyed a bit of peace and quiet. But since he had slept too much that morning, he was no longer drowsy at all. He got up and decided to watch some American TV shows, calling it a perfect blend of leisure and education.

He had a habit of rewatching the best episodes of the same show over and over. The first few times he would follow the subtitles, and then later he would listen to just the audio. Entertainment and language learning, two birds with one stone.

But now, on top of the cold and cough, his stuffy nose even triggered some reflexive tears. Feeling dizzy, he suddenly craved a Coke. Nothing matched the satisfaction of a cold Coke, no medicine could compare. So, with Yang Shulin out of the way, he decided to indulge.

He should have known better. In a tragic turn of events, one big gulp of Coke later, he ended up choking so hard he collapsed against the headboard, coughing as if his lungs were about to come out.

Knock knock.

Right then, someone knocked on the door.

Chen Ting thought Yang Shulin had come back. In a panic, he quickly hid the Coke and scrambled down from the bed to open the door. But he forgot one thing. Yang Shulin had a key. He would not need to knock.

So when Chen Ting opened the door and saw Pei Yiyao standing there, his messy hair matched the dazed look on his face perfectly.

“You… what are you doing here?” Chen Ting sniffled, trying hard to suppress the itch in his throat, but he could not hold it back. He quickly covered his mouth, worried about spreading germs to Pei Yiyao.

Pei Yiyao lowered his gaze and looked at Chen Ting, whose hair was tousled into a soft, messy fluff. His nose and cheeks were flushed red, and there were suspicious tear tracks at the corners of his eyes. It reminded him of that night again.

How had he ended up like this after just a single day?

“Get back in bed.” Pei Yiyao walked him into the dorm without leaving any room for argument, and closed the door behind him.

Chen Ting was coughing too badly to do anything else, so whatever Pei Yiyao said, he just did. Get in bed? Fine. Lie down? Okay. He lay there obediently, only his round eyes peeking out as they darted around the room, full of unspeakable grievance.

The coughing really had not been this bad earlier. That one gulp of Coke was to blame. Once it passed, he would be fine. But there was no way he could admit that now. It would be far too embarrassing.

Pei Yiyao looked like he was in a sour mood. His whole body practically radiated cold air.

“You…” Chen Ting did not know what to say.

Pei Yiyao ignored him and silently placed a blue thermal container on the desk. He unscrewed the lid and poured out a bowl of steaming hot soup, then handed it to Chen Ting. “It’s hot.”

Chen Ting looked into the bowl. “Rock sugar pear soup?”

“Yeah.” Pei Yiyao did not offer any more explanation.

“Thank you.” Chen Ting had not expected Pei Yiyao to bring him something like this, and for a moment, he was genuinely touched. He wanted to ask if it had been homemade, but then worried that might be too nosy. So he swallowed his curiosity.

Still, none of that stopped his affection for Pei Yiyao from growing stronger.

Chen Ting was always quiet when he ate, and with the coughing on top of that, he was even less able to speak. Pei Yiyao did not say anything either. He simply sat in Yang Shulin’s chair in silence, waiting for him to finish.

The dorm room was small, with the standard layout of a desk below and a bed above. This was the first time Chen Ting had ever looked down at Pei Yiyao from above. He absentmindedly picked up a textbook from the desk and flipped through a few pages, then glanced up at Chen Ting again. His face stayed completely expressionless throughout, showing not the slightest hint of warmth.

He looked like a strict supervisor on patrol.

“I’m done,” His mouth was so sweet it felt cloying. Maybe it was Pei Yiyao’s cold demeanor, but Chen Ting suddenly thought of his old homeroom teacher. So he instinctively tilted the empty bowl upside down, as if to prove he had truly finished it.

Supervisor Yao seemed mostly satisfied. But when his gaze landed on the suspicious blue canister peeking out from the corner, he added one more line.

“Don’t drink Coke.”

Chen Ting replied with model-student obedience. “Okay.”