Chapter 6: P. Gossip and Rumors

Ning Yixiao was stunned.

He hadn’t expected his excessive focus to be noticed by Su Hui.

Seeing Ning Yixiao’s reaction, Su Hui’s lips curled into a smile, and he abruptly changed the subject: “Classmate, do you have an umbrella? I don’t want to get drenched again.”

Ning Yixiao was startled for a moment, then nodded. “I do.”

He handed the feedback cards to Li Cong and, under the man’s obviously strange gaze, turned to walk toward Su Hui.

The two left the classroom, walking side-by-side down the bustling corridor. Neither spoke; they just walked quietly.

The rain outside was heavy, and many people were crowded at the entrance at the end of the hall. Ning Yixiao opened his umbrella, making space for Su Hui to step inside.

The distance between them suddenly closed until their arms were brushing. Ning Yixiao felt unaccustomed to it. A subconscious flicker of concern arose, and he tilted the umbrella handle.

Su Hui’s top had a wide neckline, and as he walked, a lot of his skin was exposed. Ning Yixiao inadvertently noticed some bruises on his neck—they looked very much like marks left by a rope.

Realizing he was staring again, Ning Yixiao looked up, staring straight ahead.

The umbrella wasn’t large, but fortunately, it wasn’t windy outside. Rainwater had accumulated in a small puddle, and as he lowered his head, he noticed Su Hui was wearing a pair of snow-white canvas shoes. He recognized the brand—the price was certainly not low—and they were already soaked, which felt unnecessarily wasteful.

As for himself, he was wearing old sneakers that had been washed until their original color was almost gone, and his old jeans were soaked at the hem, which would take a long time to wash later.

“Where are you going?” Ning Yixiao looked at him. “Should I take you to your dorm?”

Su Hui looked down. His upper eyelids were white to the point of transparency, faintly showing blue veins. His long eyelashes hung heavily, and his entire face was draped in a veil of water vapor, misty and blurred.

“I don’t live in the dorms.” Su Hui carefully avoided a small puddle and looked up, catching a glimpse of Ning Yixiao’s wet right shoulder. “I don’t have a dorm.”

These two sentences seemed to mean the same thing, yet they also seemed not to.

Whenever his eyes met Ning Yixiao’s, they revealed that very straightforward childishness, as if he had never been hurt, someone who had grown up in an overflow of love.

“Can you drop me off at the library’s electronic reading room? I want to stay there for a while,” Su Hui said.

“You’re still wet; you’d better change your clothes.” Ning Yixiao glanced at him; the blue T-shirt was completely clinging to Su Hui’s body.

“It’s okay. I don’t get sick; I almost never catch a cold. The last time I had a cold was a year ago—that was because the weather that summer was very strange. One day it was 38 degrees, and the next day it suddenly cooled down. Also, I went to learn how to swim that day, though I didn’t actually learn how…”

He didn’t live in the dorm, but he didn’t go home either. A moment ago he had bluntly pointed out that he was watching him, and now he was chatting about last summer’s weather and activities.

The topics were so disjointed.

Ning Yixiao listened to Su Hui talk and found he couldn’t even get a word in.

By the time he dropped him off at the library, Su Hui had finally stopped jumping between topics.

Only then did Ning Yixiao speak, smiling faintly. “You really are a strange person.”

Su Hui seemed so accustomed to hearing such evaluations that he didn’t even intend to refute it; he simply gazed into his eyes.

Once again, he offered Ning Yixiao a completely unguarded smile, then reached into his pocket to take out another tissue, handing it to him.

Ning Yixiao took it and discovered two lines of text written on it: the first was a phone number, the second was a WeChat ID.

“You too.” Su Hui walked up the library steps, turned, gazed at the rain dripping from the eaves, and reached out to catch some of the water. “You are also very strange.”

Before Ning Yixiao could say anything to that, Su Hui reached out again, his fingertips pointing toward the corner of Ning Yixiao’s eye, missing it by only a few millimeters.

“Ning Yixiao, you have a mole here.” He had jumped topics again, but his tone was serious, as if he were contemplating something.

Ning Yixiao froze; the sound of raindrops hitting the umbrella was exceptionally clear.

So strange.

“I’m going now, bye.”

Su Hui spoke as if he didn’t need a response.

He turned toward the side door but looked back once, his eyes curved into crescents, whispering a “thank you” to him, before turning back, shaking the water from his hair like a small animal, and disappearing around the corner.

It was like waking from a dream. Ning Yixiao snapped back to reality, clutched the tissue in his hand, and without looking again, stuffed it into his pocket.

He wanted to know why Su Hui thought he was strange, where exactly he was strange, why Su Hui noticed his gaze and knew he was looking at him, and why he would give him his contact information.

The rain grew heavier, but Ning Yixiao seemed oblivious. He even forgot his original purpose, only realizing he had forgotten to rush directly to his tutoring student’s house when he almost reached his dorm.

Being late, apologizing, getting the student’s report card, beginning the tutoring session, discussing things with the parents, rushing to the next part-time job—these things were no different from the past.

Changing out of his café uniform, Ning Yixiao boarded the last bus back to school; there were only three passengers. He pushed open the window, and a cool breeze after the rain brushed across his face, helping calm his restless heart.

He reached into his pocket and took out the tissue, only to discover the ink had been blurred by the moisture and was now illegible. It was like a sword glinting with light, hanging over his head for an entire day, only to dissolve after he finally looked at it directly.

The feeling made him very uncomfortable.

Back in the dorm, Ning Yixiao unlocked his desk cabinet, took out an old notebook, and recorded today’s expenses. He calculated the payday and the remaining debt, feeling unable to breathe.

It was another heavy day, yet slightly different. After Ning Yixiao climbed into bed and closed his eyes, something crossed his mind in the darkness.

He brought up Su Hui’s name as if it were a casual mention, but from his roommates, he received the same result as he had from Li Cong.

One roommate even offered even more sordid, private gossip.

“I heard he has a really loose private life—promiscuous, but he prefers sleeping with men.”

“Really? That’s disgusting, I’m gonna puke.”

“Lol, did Su Hui really sleep with a guy? The girl I like actually liked him once…”

“Why did Yixiao bring him up today? Don’t tell me…”

“Impossible! Our handsome Yixiao has been in ‘monk mode’ for all these years in college, right? He doesn’t even touch women, let alone men, right Yixiao?”

Ning Yixiao listened to their laughter and discussion, pretending to be asleep. This kind of topic wasn’t the first time it had come up in the guys’ dorm; usually, he would join in or laugh a few times, feigning conformity.

But today, he kept a cold face in the darkness and did not laugh.

He had much to say, but ultimately, he held back and said nothing at all.

He didn’t see Su Hui again until a week later. It was an afternoon when he had no elective classes, and his tutoring student had asked for leave, so he unexpectedly had the afternoon free. Ning Yixiao used this rare time to review English in the study hall, preparing for the TOEFL.

He intended to take it only once, and he had to succeed the first time. Saving up the 2,100 yuan registration fee hadn’t been simple; Ning Yixiao had no way out.

Right there in the study hall, he encountered Su Hui again, though the other man didn’t seem to notice his existence. There was only one aisle between them; from his diagonal angle, Ning Yixiao could see Su Hui’s profile whenever he glanced over.

Su Hui studied much more seriously than he had imagined; he didn’t even take a sip of water for the entire afternoon. His major-specific textbook was thick, and as he turned pages, he revealed many notes and sticky notes. His movements on the keyboard were very focused.

At mealtime, the once-packed study hall gradually emptied out. Everyone left one by one, until only the two of them were left.

The air was quiet. Ning Yixiao packed his things, put on his backpack, and left without saying a word.

While working at the café that night, Su Hui’s profile kept appearing before his eyes—the afternoon light, the fine hairs, and the way he leaned back against the chair, closing his eyes with his head tilted back after getting tired.

It bothered Ning Yixiao. While taking an order, he even made a low-level error he would never usually commit.

It was raining outside again, though not heavily. Returning to school, Ning Yixiao ran along the empty, tree-lined road. Under the dim, yellow lights, his sense of direction seemed confused, and he actually found himself back at the science building where he had studied that afternoon.

Perhaps it was because he had been running, but his heart was beating fast as he entered the classroom. Yet, the moment he entered, he suddenly calmed down.

There was only one boy with glasses in the classroom; he looked up in confusion at the sound of someone entering.

Ning Yixiao looked away, walked to the seat he’d occupied that afternoon, set down his bag, and glanced at the seat Su Hui had occupied—it was now empty.

A notice regarding late-night study requirements was posted on the white board, and the ceiling lights were glaring. Rain was drifting in, so Ning Yixiao got up, intending to close the window.

Standing by the third-floor window, he suddenly spotted someone crouching under a streetlight below, holding a transparent umbrella, pinching half a sausage in his hand and feeding a stray dog hiding under his umbrella.

Perhaps because the clothes were so familiar, Ning Yixiao recognized immediately that it was Su Hui. Even though there was distance, he could clearly see Su Hui’s curved eyes as he gently stroked the puppy’s forehead.

He closed the window and sat down to study.

Before long, there was movement at the door of the study classroom. A third person walked in. Ning Yixiao didn’t look up, but he guessed it was Su Hui.

When he saw Su Hui’s back as he sat down, he didn’t see the umbrella in his hand. Ning Yixiao turned his head to look at the puppy outside the window; it was still hiding under the transparent umbrella.

Inappropriately, the rumors Li Cong and his roommates had shared echoed in Ning Yixiao’s mind, along with the memory of the way Su Hui had squeezed under his umbrella that day.

In the quiet air, he buried his head in his practice tests, no longer looking at Su Hui’s silhouette.

Time flowed second by second. At about 2:00 AM, the boy with glasses in the classroom left. The two of them were the only ones left in the empty room.

During that time, Su Hui didn’t turn back even once.

Ning Yixiao finished two sets of tests, put on his headphones, and began listening to practice materials.

The various part-time jobs squeezed onto his schedule drained his energy; whenever he stopped his pen, his thoughts became too weary to flow, tilting toward the cliff of sleep.

He didn’t remember when he fell asleep. When he woke up again, daylight was vaguely appearing. In his blurry field of vision, the entire room seemed to be soaked in pale blue seawater, incredibly still.

His gaze met the desk and chair where Su Hui had sat; the seat was empty. Ning Yixiao suddenly woke up and propped himself up on his numb elbows.

“Awake?”

He heard that soft voice again, as if it were from a very, very long time ago. Looking over, he saw Su Hui standing by the window.

Su Hui smiled, took an unlit cigarette from his mouth, held it between his fingers, and gave him a very clean, pure smile.

Ning Yixiao was somewhat dazed and didn’t answer, just gazing quietly at Su Hui.

Su Hui looked down, put the slender cigarette back into the black cigarette case, and looked up at him.

“You slept so deeply.” He smiled and put the case away. “I envy your sleep quality.”

Ning Yixiao, just waking up, looked like he was in a bad mood. He stared at Su Hui for a while, then sluggishly looked at the clock on the wall and realized it was only 4:30 AM.

In his fixed mindset, people who smoked often carried unpleasant descriptions: crude, savage, decadent, vulgar.

Su Hui was none of these, yet he seemed very suited to it.

The hazy dawn light shrouded his jade-white face; the slender cigarette held in his long, graceful fingers looked like he had plucked a segment of moonlight.

“I was worried you wouldn’t wake up, so I planned to smoke a cigarette and wait for you.” Su Hui picked up the backpack he had placed on the windowsill. “Otherwise, it didn’t seem safe for you to sleep here alone.”

He put on his bag and flashed a beautiful smile at Ning Yixiao. “Since you’re awake, I’m off.”

There was a natural intimacy in the end of Su Hui’s sentences, a trace left behind by being raised with love.

Perhaps it was because he was still sleepy, but Ning Yixiao called out to stop him for no reason.

“Where are you going?”

Su Hui was obviously stunned; he stopped and turned back. “I… I’m going back.”

Ning Yixiao glanced at the time again, fully awake now, and put on his habitual smile. “Doesn’t your dorm have a curfew?”

Su Hui didn’t deny it, and after a moment, asked back, “And you?”

“The curfew doesn’t lift until six.” Ning Yixiao packed the books from his desk into his bag, which was worn thin at the corners, stood up, and looked at Su Hui with a friendly smile. “Hungry?”

Su Hui stared intently at Ning Yixiao, watching him walk closer step by step, before nodding. “Mm.”

It was too early; not a single canteen on campus would open at 4:30. They could only go out and sit down at the KFC closest to the school gate.

Ning Yixiao almost never ate out and wasn’t very familiar with the KFC menu. He took a little extra time to look it over, finally ordering the cheapest breakfast set. As he walked to the side to wait at the pick-up counter, he stood half-sideways, catching a glimpse of Su Hui paying.

It was very different from what he had imagined. Su Hui, who was rumored to be from a wealthy, noble background, actually took a small amount of paper money from his pocket and handed it to the cashier—his movements were slower than his own.

He felt it was strange, but then he thought: Su Hui has always been a strange person anyway.

After picking up the food, Ning Yixiao found a seat by the window. Not long after, Su Hui came over; he was holding a cup of coffee and a red bean pie.

Ning Yixiao didn’t ask too many questions, eating his own food. He noticed Su Hui ate like some kind of small animal—taking small bites, lips closed, making no sound, yet looking as if he was enjoying it immensely.

He finished the red bean pie quickly, then drank more than half the coffee in one go.

After watching him for a while, Ning Yixiao couldn’t help but ask: “That’s all you’re eating?”

Su Hui straightened the red bean pie wrapper and nodded.

“Are you full?” Ning Yixiao asked again.

Su Hui met his gaze for a few seconds, then finally chose to shake his head very honestly.

“Eat this.” Ning Yixiao pushed the mushroom and chicken congee from his set to Su Hui, his tone gentle. “I haven’t touched it; I’m not that hungry.”

Su Hui paused. He didn’t take it immediately, only picking up the spoon after Ning Yixiao urged him again, eating the congee spoonful by spoonful.

When he was halfway through, Ning Yixiao asked, “Didn’t you bring any money?”

Su Hui picked through the mushrooms in the bowl quite seriously, carefully avoiding them. “I brought a little, not much.”

“None on your phone?” Ning Yixiao asked again.

Su Hui didn’t seem to feel that he was a prying weirdo; on the contrary, he nodded sincerely. “No, I don’t.”

He was wearing the most expensive clothes, even the price of his backpack was enough to make one gasp, and he was usually picked up and dropped off by a driver, yet he only carried a little cash on him, and the payment functions on his phone were disabled. These things were all too strange.

But Su Hui’s expression, and the small inflection in his voice when he answered, seemed to confirm the truth of these words.

“Then where did your cigarettes come from?” Ning Yixiao asked.

Su Hui pursed his lips, the spoon stirring the warm congee. “I bought them. Because I bought the cigarettes, the umbrella, and some books, the money I brought was just about spent.”

As he spoke, he moved the heavy backpack on the side onto his lap, unzipped it to show Ning Yixiao, and told him that several of the books inside were ones he really liked—ones he had waited a long time for to come into stock.

He had also bought a sausage for the stray dog.

Ning Yixiao didn’t take in much of what Su Hui said; he thought of him crouching under the streetlight, but he didn’t call him out on it.

After finishing the congee, Su Hui thanked him very sincerely and said to him: “Usually at times like this, they don’t give me much money; they’re afraid I’ll spend it recklessly.”

Ning Yixiao glanced at the congee bowl; it was cleaned well, with only a thin layer of mushroom shreds left at the bottom.

He didn’t understand who “they” were in Su Hui’s words, or when “times like this” were.

Su Hui had too many secrets he didn’t know, and it seemed he didn’t intend to tell them either.

Before he could continue asking, Su Hui seemed to close the little valve for answering questions. He zipped up his backpack and smiled at Ning Yixiao. “I’ll transfer the money for the congee to you; I remember you added me, right?”

For some reason, this sentence made Ning Yixiao’s mood turn worse.

So Su Hui didn’t even remember if he had added him—or was it that for people like him who had managed to get his contact information, Su Hui himself couldn’t even keep count?

Ning Yixiao was noncommittal; he grabbed his bag and stood up, gently refusing: “No need.”

He picked up his tray, lowered his head slightly, and gave a practiced smile.

“Next time we meet, treat me to a drink.”