Online Dating Fiasco with the Campus Heartthrob (DATING)
As soon as these words were spoken, Ji Su was instantly wide awake.
"Even if I hit a wall, I won't turn back," that was what he had said to Gu Zhao as Meng Meng.
Ji Su steadied his mind and forcefully pulled back his finger.
This time, he managed to retrieve his hand but the force was too strong, and he accidentally fell backward.
Ji Su let out a startled cry, but fortunately, a strong hand promptly grasped his waist and pulled him back.
Both bodies tumbled onto the soft sofa, and for a moment, neither moved.
Ji Su's forehead pressed against the firm chest, and the intense heartbeat transmitted through the skin into his bloodstream, flowing into his limbs and finally converging at the tip of his heart.
Their heartbeats began to synchronize.
Gu Zhao took a deep breath and raised his hand to caress the slender back.
Ji Su instantly reacted as if electrocuted as he pushed him away and stepped several steps back from the sofa: "I'm going back to the dorm, take care of yourself!"
With that, he turned and quickly walked towards the door.
But Gu Zhao was faster, like a leopard ready to pounce, and blocking his path in the blink of an eye.
Ji Su took several steps back: "Wh-what's wrong?"
"It's too late, it's not safe for you to go back alone," Gu Zhao stared at him with deep eyes, "I'll sleep on the sofa tonight, you take the bed."
Ji Su was caught in a dilemma and could only compromise: "Then... then I'll go take a shower first."
He turned and headed straight for the bedroom before locking himself in the bathroom and trying to calm his frantic heartbeat.
It was too sudden, how could Gu Zhao suddenly confess to him?
A homophobic straight man, how could he suddenly fall for someone of the same sex?
Something wasn’t right…
Ji Su furrowed his brows while staring at his reflection in the mirror.
Did u Zhao really like him?
That day at the restaurant, the ideal type Gu Zhao described was clearly based on Meng Meng.
But Meng Meng didn’t exist in real life; she was a figment of his imagination.
So, was Gu Zhao confessing to him last night and mistaking him for Meng Meng?
The heated blood in his veins gradually cooled, and rationality returned.
After finishing his shower, Ji Su stepped out of the bathroom to find Gu Zhao already asleep on the sofa.
He tiptoed over before gently pulling the thin blanket draped on the sofa and carefully covering Gu Zhao’s tall frame.
He’d insisted he wasn’t drunk, but he clearly was.
Ji Su lay down on the bed and about to turn off the lights, when he suddenly remembered Gu Zhao mentioning he liked to sleep with the lights on. So, he left a bedside lamp on.
That way, if Gu Zhao woke up in the middle of the night, he wouldn’t be fumbling in the dark.
Ji Su closed his eyes and tried to drift off to sleep.
After a while, he turned over.
Even though he knew, logically, those words might not have been meant for him, but the deep, magnetic voice kept echoing in his mind.
“Because I like you.”
“Of course, you can reject me—once, twice, a hundred times, a thousand times. But I won’t give up on you just because you say no.”
…
Ji Su covered his ears with his hands to try to block out the intrusive voice by counting sheep.
The next morning, Ji Su woke up to his biological clock and realized he was alone in the room.
He slowly recalled everything that had happened the night before while still feeling like it was all surreal.
Ji Su got out of bed, washed up, and quietly opened the door before peeking into the living room.
Gu Zhao was sitting at the dining table with his well-defined hands holding a glass of water.
Ji Su lingered by the door and hesitating, when the voice that had haunted him all night rang out clearly in his ears.
“Awake?” Gu Zhao didn’t even look up. “Come have breakfast.”
Ji Su bit his lower lip before pretending everything was normal as he walked over. “Good morning.”
Gu Zhao glanced up. “Good morning.”
His demeanor was no different than usual, and Ji Su secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Though there was a faint, inexplicable unease in his heart, he deliberately ignored it.
Gu Zhao must have been drunk last night and those words probably didn’t mean anything.
After breakfast, the two took a taxi back to school.
The architecture and law departments were in different directions, so Gu Zhao walked him to the entrance of his building. “Lunch together?”
“Um…” Ji Su hesitated, then tentatively asked, “Do you remember… getting drunk last night?”
“I wasn’t drunk.” Gu Zhao replied calmly with his gaze steady. “I remember every word I said, especially the four words ‘I like you.’”
Ji Su: “!”
Gu Zhao reached out and naturally straightened the collar of Ji Su’s shirt. “Go to class. See you later.”
Ji Su turned around stiffly to walk up the steps one by one.
For the rest of the morning, he was completely distracted.
His absent-minded state didn’t go unnoticed by Qiao Jin.
“Su Su, what’s wrong?” Qiao Jin asked after class while leaning in with concern. “You’ve been out of it all morning.”
Ji Su hesitated, unsure how to respond. “I…”
"What's going on?" Qiao Jin urged, "Did something happen at Gu Zhao's place?"
Ji Su shook his head: "Nothing, I just didn't rest well last night."
The fact that Gu Zhao had confessed to him was truly terrifying.
He hadn't even sorted out his own thoughts yet, and talking about it would only complicate things further.
Qiao Jin became nervous: "Why didn't you rest well? Did Gu Zhao do something to you?"
Ji Su: "..."
Qiao Jin started shaking his arm: "Come on, tell me!"
"Really, nothing happened. He just fell asleep after getting drunk last night," Ji Su evaded the main issue and replied vaguely, "I just had insomnia."
Qiao Jin believed him: "Alright, then make sure you get a good night's sleep tonight."
Ji Su, thinking about someone waiting for him in the cafeteria, felt his head ache again: "I just want to go back to the dorm and sleep now."
Qiao Jin: "Go back and sleep, I'll bring you some food."
To avoid Gu Zhao, Ji Su skipped lunch in the cafeteria.
However, you can't avoid someone forever.
After finishing his afternoon classes, Ji Su packed up his bag as quickly as possible and did not even wait for Qiao Jin.
But as soon as he stepped out of the teaching building, he immediately saw that tall, familiar figure.
Gu Zhao stood at the bottom of the steps with one hand in his pocket while expressionless but calm and composed, as if everything was under his control.
Ji Su walked down the steps: "How did you know I had classes this afternoon?"
Gu Zhao replied indifferently: "I memorized your schedule."
Ji Su: "..."
With all the effort to memorize his schedule, why not memorize a few more laws and regulations?
"I just happened to memorize it," Gu Zhao seemed to see through his thoughts, "and it's not that many classes."
"Not many?" Ji Su couldn't help but retort, "Our schedule is packed."
Gu Zhao agreed: "Yes, very packed."
Ji Su pursed his lips and silently quickened his pace.
Gu Zhao took a few long strides and caught up with him.
After walking for a while, Ji Su stopped and turned to face him: "Gu Zhao, are you serious?"
Gu Zhao replied: "I'm very serious."
"But..." Ji Su gritted his teeth and blurted out, "but you said I could refuse."
"Yes, I did," Gu Zhao took a step closer to him, "I said you could refuse, but I didn't say you could run away."
Ji Su involuntarily stepped back: "I'm not running away..."
"Then don't avoid me," Gu Zhao locked his dark eyes on him, "You don't have to agree to me right now. Except for knowing that I like you, everything between us remains the same as before."
Ji Su was a bit confused: "How can it be the same?"
Gu Zhao countered: "Why can't it be the same?"
Ji Su blinked and suddenly thought of an important question: "I'm straight, and you're straight too. We can't be together."
"Oh?" Gu Zhao asked him, "Have you ever had a girlfriend?"
Ji Su: "No."
Gu Zhao: "Do you have a woman you like now?"
Ji Su: "No."
Gu Zhao smiled: "Then how do you know you're straight?"
Ji Su: "..."
He forgot that the person standing in front of him was a law student, and he could easily fall into his logical traps.
"Look, the probability of you being gay or straight is at least fifty-fifty," Gu Zhao concluded calmly. "So, this shouldn't be an obstacle between us."
Ji Su opened his mouth but found himself at a loss for words.
He felt something was off, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.
"Are you hungry?" Gu Zhao reached out and took his backpack. "Come on, let's go get something good to eat."
Just like that, Ji Su was once again taken to a private restaurant.
Gu Zhao was as attentive as ever as he took care of every little detail.
After dinner, the two walked side by side on the road.
The early summer evening breeze carried a slight chill and cleared Ji Su's muddled mind a bit.
No, something still didn't feel right.
A person's sexual orientation couldn't just change overnight, and Gu Zhao couldn't have gone from being a homophobic straight guy to being gay in one night.
The only explanation was that Gu Zhao had transferred his infatuation with Meng Meng onto him and treated him as a...
Substitute.
Since he couldn't avoid it, he had to change his strategy.
Ji Su made up his mind and softly asked, "Gu Zhao, can I sleep at your place tonight?"
Gu Zhao paused before glancing at him. "Are you sure?"
"Yes," Ji Su said while looking straight ahead. "I remember your place is quite close from here, right?"
"Mm," Gu Zhao responded. "Let's go."
There was no reason to turn away a lamb that had willingly come to the door.
He had hurriedly left this place in the morning, and now he was voluntarily returning in the evening.
But this time, Ji Su came back with a mission.
Gu Zhao walked past him toward the kitchen. "What would you like to drink?"
Ji Su's mind was preoccupied with his plan. "Anything."
Gu Zhao opened the fridge. "There's nothing called 'anything.'"
Ji Su walked over. "Then just water."
Gu Zhao took out a bottle of water, unscrewed the cap, and handed it to him. "Play around for a bit. I'm going to take a shower."
"Okay," Ji Su took the water. "Go ahead."
While Gu Zhao was in the shower, he sat on the sofa and sent a message to Qiao Jin.
Ji Su: [Qiao Jin, I won't be coming back tonight either.]
Qiao Jin: [???]
Qiao Jin: [Ji Su, you've been acting really strange lately. How many nights have you been staying out?]
Ji Su: [Just one more night, I promise.]
Qiao Jin: [Are you at Gu Zhao's place again?]
Ji Su: [Yeah...]
Qiao Jin: [I really think there's something weird going on between you two. Spill it, what kind of shady deal are you two up to?]
Ji Su: [Nothing, really.]
Ji Su: [I won't keep you. Get some rest early.]
If all went well, by tomorrow, they could return to their normal relationship.
Gu Zhao was quick in the shower and soon came out while drying his hair.
He was wearing those gray sweatpants again with his muscular upper body bare that boldly displaying his chest and abs.
Ji Su lowered his gaze and pretended not to see anything.
"Why are you looking down?" Gu Zhao's voice carried a hint of amusement. "If you're straight, why are you afraid to look at me?"
"Who says I'm afraid?" Ji Su defiantly raised his eyes with his gaze fixed on the well-defined abs and his expression as resolute as if he were about to join the Party.
Gu Zhao walked toward him without a word.
Getting closer and closer, until the beautiful, smooth lines of his V-cut were almost right in front of his eyes.
Under his gaze, a terrifying shape faintly revealed itself beneath the gray sweatpants.
Ji Su quickly gave in as he stood up from the couch: "I'm going to take a shower too."
Gu Zhao let out an ambiguous chuckle behind him.
Ji Su closed the bathroom door, took off his clothes, and adjusted the water temperature slightly lower than usual.
He tilted his head back to let the water stream wash over his face.
All his time, he had been trying to make everyone happy, but his only true friend so far was Qiao Jin.
He naively thought that Gu Zhao would be his second genuine friend, only to find out that the other didn't share the same sentiment.
Yet, regardless of the intentions, the kindness shown to him was real, and he didn't want to lose Gu Zhao as a friend.
So now, he had to find a way to make Gu Zhao see clearly that he and Meng Meng were not the same person.
The innocent and clingy pretty girl Meng Meng was a facade; the real Ji Su was just a boring straight guy.
After turning off the shower, Ji Su lingered in the bathroom for a while before he finally overcame his shame and anxiety, and opened the bathroom door.
'It's nothing,.', he thought.
In northern bathhouses, people are used to walking around naked, and in the dorm, roommates often don't bother wearing shirts.
As long as Gu Zhao saw his unremarkable body, he would completely give up the idea of liking him as Meng Meng.
"I'm done." Ji Su said as he stepped out of the bedroom with his voice slightly trembling.
Gu Zhao was lying against the headboard and reading a book. Hearing this, he looked up, and instantly his pupils suddenly constricted.
Ji Su stood before him while wearing nothing but a pair of white underwear.
His skin, white with a hint of pink, resembled the finest mutton-fat jade and glowing with a soft, translucent sheen.
Below his straight and delicate collarbone, two light pink nipples stood erect and trembling slightly, perhaps from the cold air or overwhelming shame.
His waist and abdomen were thin and narrow, with two naturally beautiful lines extending to the edge of his underwear.
The snug white underwear left a faint indentation at the top of his thighs and too short to cover the red mole on the side of his leg, let alone his long, straight legs that were dazzlingly white.
Gu Zhao's blood froze for a second, then surged violently like a boiling magma rushing straight to his brain, causing his dark pupils to tinged with a layer of crimson.
"I..." Ji Su was frightened by his gaze as he kept standing still in a daze, "I accidentally got my shirt wet, can you give me a new one?"
Gu Zhao didn't respond as his fierce gaze was not even concealed by his gold-rimmed glasses, like a beast ready to pounce and tear into its prey.
Ji Su instinctively sensed danger and turned to run back to the bathroom, and even stumbling in his panic.
The deep groove of his back, the white cotton underwear tightly wrapped around his round and perky buttocks, with two delicate dimples faintly visible.
If one were to grip that slender waist with a large hand, the thumb would just fit into the dimple, and then...
"Really—" Gu Zhao clenched his back teeth, dirty and obscene words rolling around in his mouth before finally squeezing out four words, "You're asking for it."
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