TT Chapter 32. Burger Boy

The dinner was held at a Sichuan restaurant on the campus food street. Since coming out wasn’t something to shout from the rooftops, Chen Ting had gone the extra mile and booked a private room.

But the whole thing went surprisingly smoothly, almost anticlimactically. Yang Shulin had already guessed it. As for Bai Yu and Jiang Hai, the two academic overachievers who had eyes only for their textbooks, they accepted it easily enough. Especially once they learned that Chen Ting’s boyfriend was Pei Yiyao.

Within thirty minutes, they had already roped Pei Yiyao into a conversation about schoolwork.

Dinner ended with everyone cheerful and satisfied. Even Yang Shulin, who had spent the whole evening scrutinizing Pei Yiyao with a skeptical eye, eventually gave up after finding nothing to nitpick.

When they stepped out of the restaurant, Bai Yu and Jiang Hai were still arguing over a test question, their voices rising and falling as they walked off, like a pair of moving scenery. Off to the side, Pei Yiyao was holding up the clear vinyl curtain at the entrance for Chen Ting. One of them looked down, the other up, speaking in quiet, close tones. The closeness between them was obvious.

All of a sudden, the night wind felt especially cold to Yang Shulin. Cold enough to leave a person feeling achingly alone.

But soon enough, exam season arrived. Whether you were dating or single, no matter what kind of demon or ghost you were, you had to kneel before the almighty god of finals.

Winter came too, quietly and thorough.

In the south, winter meant damp, bone-deep cold. Clothes hung on the shady balcony never dried no matter how long you waited. Even a bed warmed for hours could lose all its heat within three minutes of lifting the covers. Yet despite all that, Chen Ting still braved the wind every day just to meet up with Pei Yiyao. You couldn’t deny the guy was truly committed.

Not every day ended with them getting seats in the library. When the timing was bad, they would go sit in a café instead.

Gao Duo had been unusually busy lately. He hadn’t been seen around the café in ages, and on the graduate school side he had become equally elusive. He was living like a myth, showing up unpredictably and disappearing just as fast.

With Pei Yiyao present, Chen Ting didn’t dare show even the slightest curiosity about that myth. Meanwhile, Yang Shulin’s “handsome-man campaign” had come to a complete halt thanks to Gao Duo’s vanishing act.

To make up for it, Chen Ting started bringing Yang Shulin late-night snacks pretty often, partly to comfort his wounded ambitions, and partly out of guilt for leaving him single and abandoned.

Yang Shulin had been feeling especially empty lately. Once, while Chen Ting was out with Pei Yiyao, he even sent him the strangest message:

YSL: A mushroom grew in the corner behind the dorm water dispenser!!! Look how cute it is!

From that moment on, the mushroom became Yang Shulin’s beloved child. He posted photos of it in his Moments every day and even wrote up a little article about it, though rumor had it that Gou Ge shot the piece down.

By mid-January, most of their exams were already behind them. The last few were all core major courses. Over the next two weeks, classes were mostly suspended across departments, giving everyone time to prepare for the real battles ahead.

Ruan Xin had been keeping a close eye on campus life. When both of them finally had a break in their schedules, she brought them home for a proper meal to replenish their strength.

“You two don’t have any exams tomorrow, right? Then stay a bit longer at home. It’s so cold at school, and they won’t even install heating. Your hands are going to freeze off,” Ruan Xin grumbled about the school, her care for the two of them overflowing.

But only Pei Yiyao knew—back when he was studying abroad, he had still gone out even in heavy snow, and Ruan Xin had never said a word about it. Her complaints now were clearly out of concern for Chen Ting. He could tell that she doted on Chen Ting more than she ever had on him.

As for the reason, it was probably because Chen Ting was just the kind of person people wanted to fuss over.

In that regard, he thought, the two of them were very much alike.

After dinner, Ruan Xin sliced some fruit and pulled Chen Ting into the living room for a chat. “Tingting, why don’t you hold off on heading back this year? Your Uncle Pei and I will be going home too. When the time comes, we’ll take you with us. That way you won’t have to lug your things alone and squeeze onto the high-speed rail.”

Chen Ting blinked and instinctively looked toward Pei Yiyao.

Pei Yiyao nodded. “Let’s go together.”

Of course Chen Ting had no objections. He had been dreading the upcoming winter break, thinking they would have to be apart. Now that he learned they could travel home together and even spend New Year’s side by side, he couldn’t help feeling a little happy.

But what Ruan Xin said next caught him completely off guard.

“When we get there, we’ll go out for a big meal together. Let Pei Yiyao gnaw on hamburgers abroad all by himself.”

“Abroad?” Chen Ting’s voice rose slightly, tinged with panic.

“He hasn’t told you yet? Then I’ll let him explain it himself. Running back and forth over break, he just thinks life at school is too easy,” Ruan Xin teased him, but Chen Ting could tell she was genuinely pleased. So he simply smiled and nodded, not saying anything more.

Over the next few minutes, Chen Ting kept sneaking glances at Pei Yiyao, his dark eyes glimmering with unspoken questions. Pei Yiyao finally reached out and ruffled his hair.

Ruan Xin happened to have gone into the kitchen and didn’t see it.

Still, Chen Ting was thoroughly embarrassed. He grabbed Pei Yiyao’s arm and shoved it away. “Stop touching my head.”

He decided he was going to change Pei Yiyao’s WeChat name to Burger Boy as soon as they got back.

“Oh.” Pei Yiyao stopped touching his head, and started playing with his hand instead.

Chen Ting flushed with fury and humiliation, but his strength was no match for Pei Yiyao’s. His hand was held tightly in the other’s palm, and his face turned bright red. Thankfully, Ruan Xin came out of the kitchen just then, and only then did Pei Yiyao let go.

They chatted for a while longer before Ruan Xin sent them upstairs to get some rest. It wasn’t even eight yet, but she insisted on an early night.

Because of Pei Yiyao’s antics just now, Chen Ting was worried he might let something slip, so he obediently said goodnight and dashed upstairs in a hurry.

Pei Yiyao followed right behind him, but the moment he walked through the door, he was stunned by what he saw.

Chen Ting stood with his legs shoulder-width apart, arms crossed in front of his chest, glaring fiercely at him like a real boss.

“Hmph.” He snorted through his nose, his expression icy cold.

Pei Yiyao quietly shut the door behind him and clicked the lock.

“Why are you locking the door?” Chen Ting asked, instantly on alert.

“Weren’t you about to settle the score with me?” Pei Yiyao countered, walking straight toward him.

“I came to reason with you,” Chen Ting said, stepping back while keeping his chin lifted and his aura unshaken. “First, you didn’t tell me you’re going abroad. Second, you started getting handsy in the living room. What if someone had seen?”

Chen Ting felt entirely justified, brimming with confidence. They spent nearly every day together, so why had Pei Yiyao kept the whole study abroad thing from him? It was not as if he would have stopped him from going.

Pei Yiyao lifted both hands in a mock gesture of surrender. “I was going to tell you in a few days. I didn’t expect my parents to head back to our hometown so soon. After this, unless something unexpected comes up, I’ll be spending every winter and summer break abroad.”

That froze Chen Ting for a moment. The indignant frost on his face began to melt. “Every break?”

“Yes.” Pei Yiyao wrapped an arm around his waist, loosely pulling him close. “You know the professor I mentioned abroad? He thinks highly of me. He’s letting me observe and learn in his lab. I want to go, Chen Ting. This is part of my career. I have to spend time on it, even if that means being away from you.”

“I’m not stopping you. You could have just told me.” Chen Ting lowered his head, mumbling the words. He knew better than anyone that Pei Yiyao wasn’t the type to put love above everything else. Most of the time they spent together, he was buried in his studies.

And Chen Ting was not someone who clung or pouted easily. During breaks, they would have to part ways anyway. At most, he felt a little disappointed.

Just a little.

“Don’t look so upset. I’m going to stay in the country long-term eventually.” Pei Yiyao reached out and tapped his lips, where the pout was starting to show.

Chen Ting jerked his head to avoid the finger. His upper lip did curl up a bit when he pouted. His mom used to say that when he got mad as a kid, you could hang a bottle from his lip, though he never believed her.

“I’m not upset. I’m not some girl who needs cheering up all the time,” Chen Ting said, lifting his chin and trying to meet his gaze with all the righteous dignity of a proper grown man.

“Alright.” Pei Yiyao pressed a kiss to his forehead. “No cheering up.”

Chen Ting: “…”

Forget it. He gave up.

Pei Yiyao watched his little self-defeating dumpling spiral and couldn’t help the smile tugging at his lips. “My mom said the clothes you left last time are in my wardrobe.”

Hearing that, Chen Ting hurried over to dig through it. He absolutely could not let Pei Yiyao find them first. His strawberry-print undies were in there.

He stuck his butt out, rummaging for a while before finally finding the forgotten bundle in the corner. He quickly wrapped the underwear in the innermost layer, then turned and gave Pei Yiyao a wary glance. “I’m taking a shower.”

Chen Ting darted into the bathroom, slammed the door shut and locked it.

Pei Yiyao chuckled and stepped forward to knock lightly on the door. “It’s cold. Run a bath.”

“I know!” Chen Ting shouted back.

Pei Yiyao’s bathtub was large and luxurious. Chen Ting figured he might as well enjoy it, so he soaked for a full thirty minutes, until his skin turned pink from the heat, before finally getting out.

After that night at the motel, Chen Ting had become far more relaxed about being physically close with Pei Yiyao. He slipped on a pair of underwear and pulled a T-shirt over his head, then ran out with bare legs, not even sparing Pei Yiyao a glance as he dove straight under the covers.

All Pei Yiyao saw was a flash of white, and the next second Chen Ting was curled up on the bed, cheeks flushed and steaming, fiddling with the remote.

Pei Yiyao turned toward the bathroom, but came right back out with a dry towel. He sat at the edge of the bed and began gently drying Chen Ting’s hair.

“I already blow-dried it!” Chen Ting protested.

“It’s still dripping,” Pei Yiyao insisted, unmoved.

Chen Ting was sure Pei Yiyao was just taking advantage of the situation, using this as an excuse to mess up his hair. But being fussed over like this actually felt kind of nice, so he let it slide.

At last, the drying was done, and his hair was now a mess that looked straight out of Zhao Yingjun in 2005.

Chen Ting patted the blanket with all the authority of a boss. “Bring me a comb.”

“Yes, sir,” Pei Yiyao answered dutifully, but instead of getting the comb, he tousled Chen Ting’s hair even worse.

Chen Ting thought he was unbelievably childish, not mature at all, unlike himself.

Half an hour later, that so-called mature Little Ting was pinned to the bed by the childish Cool Guy.

He lay curled up on his side, face flushed, lips pressed tight as if trying to hold something back. Pei Yiyao held him from behind, their bodies tightly pressed together, most of it hidden beneath the blanket.

The covers shifted and stirred with gentle waves, the room gradually warming.

After a long time, Chen Ting finally snapped. He kicked backward. “Enough already! Get off!”

So much for just a little cuddling. Just a few touches, my ass.

Don’t ask me why I never believed it.

Just remember who saw through you from the start.

Call me Ting Ge.