TVDC 58: Troublemaker

When Qiu Xuning opened his eyes, He Zhiyuan had already put away the calligraphy book with his back straight while reading a book.

Qiu Xuning felt his mouth was wet and quickly reached up to wipe it. Then he saw some water marks on the table and his face immediately turned red. He hurriedly glanced at He Zhiyuan. Seeing that he hadn’t noticed him, he quickly pulled out a tissue to wipe the table.

“You’re already this old and still drooling?” He Zhiyuan suddenly said.

Qiu Xuning stopped wiping the table and felt a bit awkward. After a moment, he casually crumpled the tissue into a ball and tossed it into the trash bin under the table.

“What book are you reading?” Qiu Xuning eased his awkwardness, noticing that He Zhiyuan was engrossed in his book. He couldn’t help but lean over and ask softly.

He Zhiyuan closed the book slightly, allowing him to see the title. “Camille? You still read classics?”

His words made He Zhiyuan glance at him.

Qiu Xuning acted as if he didn’t notice and leaned over to look at He Zhiyuan’s book. As he was looking, he suddenly coughed a few times softly. He didn’t dare to look at He Zhiyuan and casually asked, pretending to be calm, “By the way, you must have seen those, right?”

He Zhiyuan didn’t even lift his head and asked, “What?”

Qiu Xuning’s cheeks turned hot, and he asked softly, “Just… that kind, the kind boys all read.”

He Zhiyuan paused, his voice tinged with a hint of laughter. “Which kind?”

Qiu Xuning said, “Do you really not understand, or are you pretending not to? Do I really have to say it?”

He Zhiyuan said, “If you don’t say it, how would I know?”

Qiu Xuning didn’t speak, and he finally said after a while, “Just… that kind, the naughty kind.”

His voice was barely audible, and it had a slight tremble, clearly showing some nervousness.

He Zhiyuan countered, “Have you seen it?”

Qiu Xuning said angrily, “I–I asked you first.”

He Zhiyuan didn’t say anything.

Qiu Xuning also became awkward. He pressed his lips together and said softly, “Never mind, I was just curious.”

As his words just finished, He Zhiyuan spoke, “I’ve seen it.”

Qiu Xuning’s breath stopped for a moment. He quickly backed away, distancing himself from He Zhiyuan. “You’ve really seen it?”

He Zhiyuan gave him a faint glance, and Qiu Xuning met his gaze. His heart suddenly started beating faster and the temperature on his cheeks seemed to rise even more.

“I’ve really seen it. Any guy has seen it. Haven’t you seen it?” He Zhiyuan’s lips suddenly curled into a small smile, with a special meaning in his smile.

“I–I’ve definitely seen it,” Qiu Xuning said.

As he said this, He Zhiyuan became more interested. “Which kind have you seen?”

“I–I…” Qiu Xuning couldn’t get the words out. What could he have seen, those male classmates huddled together behind him, playing it aloud. All he heard was a sweet and syrupy female voice, but he didn’t actually see anything. Even if he had, he didn’t want to see such things.

He Zhiyuan looked at him this way, the smile at the corner of his lips slowly turned a little mischievous. He put the book down, leaned closer to Qiu Xuning, and whispered, “How come you’ve seen it but can’t say anything?”

Qiu Xuning’s face turned red. His eyes darted around, but he didn’t dare to look at He Zhiyuan. “I–I forgot. It’s you, you must have seen a lot, you’re really naughty.”

“…” He Zhiyuan said, “I’m naughty? From where did you come to that conclusion?”

Qiu Xuning swallowed and said softly, “You’ve seen a lot, aren’t you naughty?”

He Zhiyuan said in a calm tone, “If I were naughty, I would’ve already harmed the beautiful flowers of the country.”

As he said this, he glanced at Qiu Xuning.

Qiu Xuning’s heart seemed to skip a beat. “What do you mean?”

He Zhiyuan said, “Nothing.”

Qiu Xuning now seriously suspected, very seriously suspected, that He Zhiyuan had feelings for him just like how he felt about He Zhiyuan. He always teased him, but acted like nothing was going on.

Qiu Xuning’s face was red, and he didn’t dare to look at He Zhiyuan. He held it in, wanting to ask him which kind he had seen. He wanted to confirm if He Zhiyuan really liked guys, but when the words came to his lips, he just couldn’t ask. What if it was just his misunderstanding?

One of life’s three great illusions: “He likes me.”

Qiu Xuning hesitated for a while, then gave up on the thought of breaking through that barrier.

“And I haven’t seen much, but you, maybe you’ve seen even more than me,” He Zhiyuan said in a neutral tone.

Qiu Xuning was choked by his own saliva and suddenly started coughing.

He Zhiyuan pushed the water cup toward him, and Qiu Xuning hurriedly took it, drinking a few sips.

He Zhiyuan said again, “How about we watch it together someday?”

“Pfft!” Qiu Xuning sprayed water out, directly spraying He Zhiyuan.

He Zhiyuan wiped his face expressionlessly and said, “You’re asking so many questions, don’t you want to watch it with me?”

Qiu Xuning was still coughing, his cheeks were flushed. After the coughing subsided, he hurriedly answered, “I–I was just asking casually, who would want to watch it with you?”

He saw that He Zhiyuan’s face, neck, and chest were all marked with the water stains he caused, feeling a little embarrassed. He quickly pulled out a tissue and began to wipe his face.

He Zhiyuan slightly tilted his face up and half-closed his eyes, allowing Qiu Xuning to wipe his face.

Qiu Xuning finished wiping his face, then hurriedly wiped his neck a few times. After wiping off the water he could dry, he stepped back with his cheeks still red. “Or maybe you should go take a shower?”

He Zhiyuan glanced at him and said, “I won’t shower.”

Qiu Xuning cleared his throat. His face was red, and he looked around briefly. “No wonder it’s so hot, why did you turn off the fan?”

He Zhiyuan didn’t say anything. Qiu Xuning grabbed the back of the chair, twisting his body to turn on the fan that was a few steps away from him.

The cool breeze quickly blew over. Qiu Xuning sighed in comfort as the heat on his face seemed to slightly subside.

He Zhiyuan suddenly said, “Those things, you shouldn’t watch too much.”

Qiu Xuning thought the topic was already over, but unexpectedly, He Zhiyuan brought it up again.

He Zhiyuan glanced at him, “If you watch too much, it’s harmful to your body and it can stunt your growth.”

“…” Qiu Xuning felt that his gaze held a special meaning. He became slightly embarrassed and annoyed. “I didn’t watch! I haven’t watched it even once!”

Besides, he’s already tall enough! He can still grow taller!

He Zhiyuan looked at him with an even stranger gaze.

Qiu Xuning took a deep breath, feeling both his body and mind growing hot in He Zhiyuan’s room. He couldn’t sit still any longer and hurriedly stood up. He said, “My clothes aren’t washed yet, I’ll go wash them first.”

After he said this, he immediately ran off, almost knocking over the chair.

He Zhiyuan watched him run out the door and softly clicked his tongue. 

He’s not easy to tease.

Qiu Xuning washed the clothes. His face was still red, and then he took them upstairs to the balcony to hang them out to dry.

After doing all this, he didn’t go look for He Zhiyuan again. He returned to his room and flopped onto the bed, covering his still somewhat hot face, not saying anything.

He lay on the bed for quite a while before finally getting up and taking out his phone. Squinting his eyes, he typed a few words into the search bar, trying to cover it up, but then hurriedly deleted them.

He didn’t dare to read novels anymore. What if he got caught again? He had finally gotten used to life here, but he didn’t dare to take this risk.

Qiu Xuning was also a guy, but with just a few words from He Zhiyuan, he got riled up and was embarrassed to express himself. He quickly tossed his phone away, burying his face in the pillow.

His hand reached down, then quickly pulled back. He didn’t dare to do anything. Even though for other guys, such things were as simple and natural as eating or drinking, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it.

Qiu Xuning angrily punched the bed. In the end, he sat up, returned to his desk, and started doing his homework. However, his mind was restless and he couldn’t calm down. Frustrated, he finally turned on the fan and went to bed for a nap.

After a while, Qiu Xuning noticed that He Zhiyuan had become much quieter, and didn’t say things that could confuse him. He honestly went to school with him and also picked him up after school.

Many people in the class knew that they were brothers. Qiu Xuning’s seat quickly became the most frequent spot for many girls.

“Qiu Xuning, does your cousin live with you?” A girl asked.

Qiu Xuning was surrounded by them. He felt extremely awkward and did not dare to look up. “I–I guess we’re living together, but it’s temporary. He’ll be moving out soon.”

“Does your cousin have a girlfriend? How about I be your cousin’s wife?” The girl joked.

Qiu Xuning hadn’t said anything yet when someone mocked, “You’re dreaming. There are so many pretty senior girls in second year, do you really think it’s your turn?”

“You won’t get a chance, and neither will I. Opportunities are for those who are prepared. You don’t even dare to imagine it, yet you’re still making noise,” The girl said.

Yang Siyue returned from the bathroom and saw this scene. She hurried over to shoo them away. “What are you doing? He’s shy, don’t crowd around him like this. Even a chicken coop couldn’t hold you all?”

“Why need a chicken coop when there’s a handsome guy?” The girl leading the group said boldly.

The boys around them burst into laughter.

Qiu Xuning was stunned. Yang Siyue chased them away. “If you’re interested in someone’s older brother, just ask for his WeChat or contact info directly. Why bother with Qiu Xuning?”

The way she was protecting him made the girls laugh. “You look really suspicious. You two aren’t a couple, are you?”

Yang Siyue smiled and said, “That’s not true. Stop making things up.”

It was all just a joke and no one took it seriously. After teasing for a while, the girls went back. Yang Siyue sat next to Qiu Xuning and whispered, “I didn’t scare you, did I?”

Qiu Xuning shook his head. He wasn’t that timid; he was just a bit surprised and felt that the atmosphere of this class was different from what he was used to.

Yang Siyue said, “The girl just now is named Hu Xinyi, she loves joking around and is very carefree.”

Qiu Xuning knew her. She was the class’s sports representative, which was rare, as they had actually chosen a girl to be the sports representative.

Yang Siyue said, “But I really didn’t expect your brother to be this popular.”

Qiu Xuning pressed his lips together, feeling a little unhappy. Hu Xinyi wasn’t bad looking either—tall and fair-skinned. Yet not just Hu Xinyi, he realized that there were so many beautiful girls in this school. In his own class alone, there were about ten girls who were good-looking with delicate features, let alone the girls in He Zhiyuan’s class.

Qiu Xuning realized what he was thinking and felt like laughing a little. 

He was actually afraid of He Zhiyuan dating other girls even though they had no relationship at all.