Chapter 44: They Kissed

—I clearly confessed to you on the same day.

When Meng Weiyu heard Shen Zhoudu say this, his first thought was: Really? You actually chose that same day to do something like that? Did I really not beat you to death on the spot?

Because the memory gap was only a few hours, there was no huge break in thought or difference in personality.

Meng Weiyu remembered that after Xie Wenxuan confessed to him that morning, he had spent the whole day feeling unlucky. Because of his appearance, there were actually quite a few men who liked him, so being confessed to by a man was not what made him angry.

What he hated was the way it made a friendship change flavor.

He and Xie Wenxuan had arranged to eat together, and occasionally, the two of them would go out with a group of people. But those were all things ordinary friends did. Meng Weiyu did the same with his other friends too.

Although Meng Weiyu did not treat Xie Wenxuan in any special way, the two of them had at least known each other for many years. Even if they only ate together occasionally, there should still have been a trace of friendship in it. Besides, Xie Wenxuan’s attitude toward him had been rather good.

Meng Weiyu valued friendship, and that was exactly why he could not accept it changing flavor.

That was the reason he felt helpless and angry.

Because he was in a bad mood, after a full day of classes, Meng Weiyu decided to go to the seaside alone to clear his head.

His memory stopped there. The sky had been close to a deep black.

Meng Weiyu really admired it. That day was almost over, yet Shen Zhoudu still managed to find something for him to deal with.

He had already been unhappy because of Xie Wenxuan’s confession, yet Shen Zhoudu still did the same thing. Meng Weiyu could not think of a reason he would not beat Shen Zhoudu to death on the spot, unless Shen Zhoudu ran fast enough.

Losing Xie Wenxuan’s friendship was regrettable, but not something that truly made him care that much.

But Shen Zhoudu, you clearly knew his personality, and you clearly knew the consequences, so how could you bear to use this method to leave him?

In Meng Weiyu’s heart, Shen Zhoudu was not the kind of pleasure-seeking friend who could come and go and disappear casually.

After finishing his shower in the bathroom, Meng Weiyu casually put on a pair of shorts and walked out bare-chested. There was a glass of water on the table. He lifted it and drank. Because his movements were casual, a drop of water flowed from the corner of his mouth, sliding down his smooth face.

“Huu.” Meng Weiyu wiped the water away with his finger. After confronting Shen Zhoudu, he felt mentally both refreshed and exhausted.

His shirt had been casually placed on the bed. Meng Weiyu grabbed it and put it on.

Whenever moments like this happened, he had to question himself. What kind of madness had made him choose marriage?

Long-term living under the same roof with someone, making noise and arguing—it was troublesome and annoying.

Back then, when his paternal grandparents had wanted to take him back to live with them, he had refused.

He had been so firm before, yet at twenty-two, he had chosen marriage and lived day and night with someone for five years.

Meng Weiyu looked down on himself for a while. Then he sat on the bed and casually fiddled with the ends of his damp hair.

From where he was sitting, he could just see those two cabinets of collectibles. He could not help suspecting: could it be that he married Shen Zhoudu just to find someone willing to play games with him?

If that was the case, Meng Weiyu, you really were bad.

After Meng Weiyu finished the water, he took the empty glass downstairs.

When he reached the middle of the staircase, he noticed that the light on the balcony was on. Someone was sitting on the sofa outside. On the table was a wineglass, and smoke curled upward, rising toward the sky.

Meng Weiyu’s footsteps stopped. For a moment, he froze.

The scene before him felt familiar, making him wonder if he had fallen into some kind of time loop.

A sound came from the glass door. There were only two people and one cat in this house. Although Xueci was always blamed by Meng Weiyu for all kinds of things—either being falsely accused of pressing the phone or being lied about as having stepped on and broken a hard bowl—a kitten only a few months old at least could not possibly push open a glass door. So there was only one choice left for who was pushing the door open and entering.

Shen Zhoudu reacted quickly and swiftly put out the cigarette first.

After destroying one piece of evidence, he turned his head and found one foot stepping between his legs.

“Hey!” Meng Weiyu kicked off his slipper and planted one foot on the chair. In this posture, he suppressed Shen Zhoudu, leaning his upper body closer and narrowing his eyes at him. “Why do you always scare people in the middle of the night?”

Shen Zhoudu was afraid his foot would touch him, so he rubbed his body backward, wanting to retreat. But the size of the chair did not allow him to casually move any further.

Meng Weiyu thought for a moment, then shifted his foot to the side and directly stepped on Shen Zhoudu’s thigh.

Shen Zhoudu instantly behaved.

Meng Weiyu’s foot stepped on Shen Zhoudu’s thigh, slowly sliding upward along it.

The soft, smooth fabric slowly drew a line upward because of his movement. Against the dark blue cloth, his skin looked even fairer.

“You’re not struggling?” Meng Weiyu’s foot caught the hem of Shen Zhoudu’s clothes and shook it slightly.

“Mm-hm.” Shen Zhoudu made a sound, barely indicating that he had heard him speak.

Meng Weiyu smiled and reached to the side, accurately taking the half-smoked cigarette from the ashtray. He waved it at Shen Zhoudu and threatened, “Hey!”

Shen Zhoudu glanced at him and decided to make a gamble. He said, “I already smoked from time to time. You knew that, and you never said anything before.”

“Really? I used to not say anything and just let you smoke and drink as you pleased?” Meng Weiyu held the cigarette between his fingers. His foot casually pressed down on Shen Zhoudu’s thigh, using his movement to express his dissatisfaction. “Then why did you hide it both times I caught you smoking?”

“I was worried that after you got smoked by the smell, your brain would become even worse.” Shen Zhoudu could find a suitable excuse.

“Mm…” Meng Weiyu narrowed his eyes and leaned even closer, almost right in front of him, observing his eyes.

Shen Zhoudu’s gaze flickered.

“Tell the truth.” Meng Weiyu’s tone was calm, but it carried a faint hint of command.

Shen Zhoudu pressed his lips together and pretended to be dead.

“I’m telling you to open your mouth and speak.” Meng Weiyu withdrew his foot.

Shen Zhoudu immediately let out a breath of relief, but he still kept his mouth shut about this matter.

“Hand it over.” Seeing him in this dead state, Meng Weiyu coldly threw the cigarette butt back into the ashtray and spoke sternly.

“Hand what over?” Shen Zhoudu did not immediately understand what he meant.

“There are other ashes in the ashtray. That proves you smoked more than one cigarette. Hand the others over.” Meng Weiyu had enough evidence to prove that he was playing dumb.

Shen Zhoudu had no choice but to sit up slightly, then hand the pack of cigarettes hidden behind his waist to Meng Weiyu.

“What about the rest?” Meng Weiyu actually did not like the smell of smoke much.

“There aren’t any.” Shen Zhoudu sighed and picked up the wineglass nearby, taking a sip in an attempt to calm down. “If I put too many cigarettes in the house at once, you’d find them.”

From the side, he admitted that he had been secretly smoking, and that this behavior had continued from the past to now.

Meng Weiyu opened the cigarette pack, pulled out a cigarette, held it between his fingers, and waved it at Shen Zhoudu to attract his attention. He asked, “Who taught you to smoke?”

From childhood to adulthood, Shen Zhoudu should have been a good child in other people’s impressions. It was impossible for him to have learned to smoke all by himself.

“Mm, I learned it when I was in France?” Shen Zhoudu had actually somewhat forgotten how he started touching cigarettes and alcohol. He himself was not addicted to these things, and when he used them, he was not discovered by others.

“In any case, confiscated.” Meng Weiyu put the cigarettes into his own pocket. Then he glanced at Shen Zhoudu. “And why are you stressed again?”

When Shen Zhoudu heard this question, he had no desire to answer.

“I know. It’s because of me, right?” Meng Weiyu did not need him to speak to discover that Shen Zhoudu was incomprehensible. “I already said I don’t want to divorce you right now. What else is there for you to worry about?”

“I don’t know why either.” Shen Zhoudu placed both hands on his stomach and said indifferently, “You don’t need to care about me.”

Meng Weiyu said, “Really?”

Shen Zhoudu was just about to tell him that he would recover normally the next day and did not need Meng Weiyu to care about him now. But then he saw Meng Weiyu take the pack of cigarettes from his pocket and directly toss it onto his stomach, saying contemptuously, “Then I won’t care. Good night, Shen Zhoudu.”

Shen Zhoudu caught the thing in his arms in astonishment.

Meng Weiyu quickly left. Before leaving, he even waved at Shen Zhoudu with his back turned.

He was too lazy to bother with him.

Just as Meng Weiyu was about to turn around and close the glass door so the smell of smoke would not drift inside, a figure appeared silently behind him.

Meng Weiyu hurriedly turned around. His footsteps involuntarily retreated one step, pulling distance from the person behind him to ensure his own sense of security.

Seeing him step away, Shen Zhoudu anxiously grabbed his wrist, pulled him toward himself, then hugged him all at once.

Meng Weiyu was tightly strangled by him, his hands stretching behind him and waving helplessly.

If someone lived across from them, would they see his current miserable situation and hurry to save him from dire straits? Shen Zhoudu was using too much strength. He felt like he was going to suffocate.

Shen Zhoudu forcefully lifted him and switched their positions, directly pressing him against the glass door.

Feeling unsafe, Meng Weiyu reached out and tightly hugged Shen Zhoudu’s back to prevent himself and the glass door from crashing down together.

“You forgot something very important!” Shen Zhoudu said indignantly.

“I know. Isn’t it about you confessing to me? Although I haven’t remembered it, I already know.” Meng Weiyu felt that what he said sounded like a tongue twister, but that was roughly what he meant. “Instead, I’m curious. Did I really not beat you up on the spot?”

Shen Zhoudu shook his head.

Although Meng Weiyu could not see his expression because they were hugging, he could feel the movement of Shen Zhoudu shaking his head.

“How miraculous.” Meng Weiyu suspected he was lying.

“You didn’t beat me on the spot because the next time we met, I got hit.”

“Aha.” Meng Weiyu made a sound of understanding.

Shen Zhoudu hugged him, his hand slipping through the hem of Meng Weiyu’s shirt to touch his skin.

“So how did you confess to me? Did you directly say you liked me?” Meng Weiyu felt a little ticklish from being touched and wanted to laugh.

“I didn’t speak.” Shen Zhoudu was gloomy.

“You didn’t speak?!” Meng Weiyu curiously looked toward Shen Zhoudu’s side profile, but from their current angle, it was difficult to see his expression clearly. “Then how did I know you liked me? Don’t tell me it was some kind of misunderstanding?”

He could not take it. Don’t tell him that everything from dating to marriage was all one big misunderstanding.

Hearing his doubt, Shen Zhoudu released the hand around his waist and anxiously cupped Meng Weiyu’s face, looking into his innocent black eyes.

“Mm?” Meng Weiyu made a confused sound and was just about to ask him what was wrong.

Then he saw Shen Zhoudu recklessly lower his head and accurately kiss his lips.

Meng Weiyu widened his eyes in shock and turned his eyeballs in disbelief, seeing Shen Zhoudu’s closed eyes as he kissed him with a determination that threw everything aside, tragic and desperate.

A meteor streaked across the sky.

That morning, Meng Weiyu had received a confession from his friend Xie Wenxuan and felt deeply unlucky, so after class, he ran to the nearby seaside to take a walk.

After walking for about half an hour, he felt hungry.

Because of the issue of filling his stomach, Meng Weiyu quickly forgot the troubles Xie Wenxuan had caused him. He took out his phone, preparing to find a restaurant to eat. Just as he was about to call Lin Xiao, Shen Zhoudu called first.

“Hello, Shen Zhoudu. I’m so hungry.”

“You’re coming to pick me up to eat? No need. I’m not at school. I ran to the seaside.”

“So there are meteors today? No, I didn’t run to the seaside to watch meteors.”

“Ah-wu.”

“I’m not crying, but today was really annoying.”

“You want to come find me? But…”

Meng Weiyu wanted to tell his good friend that he was about to go eat now, so there was no need to come find him. Unfortunately, after Shen Zhoudu heard his fake crying sound, he hung up without another word. Judging by that, he was rushing over here. Meng Weiyu had no choice but to stay hungry and sit on a bench by the sea. While listening to the sound of waves hitting waves, he booked a restaurant, preparing to go eat together after Shen Zhoudu came to pick him up.

A meteor crossed the sky.

Meng Weiyu, who was looking down at his phone, did not notice that the star foretelling change had begun to shine from this moment.

After he decided on the restaurant, anxious footsteps came from behind him.

Meng Weiyu turned his head and smiled as he waved to the person coming.

When Shen Zhoudu saw that he was safe and sound, he visibly let out a breath of relief.

“At night like this, what are you doing running to the seaside?” Shen Zhoudu frowned and unconsciously scolded him. At the same time, cold sweat kept seeping from his forehead.

People always judged others by themselves. Shen Zhoudu, who had once lost his life direction by the sea and had nowhere to return, naturally placed Meng Weiyu into the role he had been in back then. Anxiously, he grabbed Meng Weiyu’s wrist, preventing him from becoming like his former self, turning his body into a balloon and flying away from then on.

When Meng Weiyu came into contact with him, he discovered that Shen Zhoudu’s hand was trembling, his skin unimaginably cold.

“I… went for a walk?” Because of Shen Zhoudu’s state, Meng Weiyu hesitated and did not dare speak loudly.

“Your school and your home aren’t enough for you to walk around?” Shen Zhoudu was still in an agitated state. His tone rose, and he could not speak a single sentence calmly.

Seeing this, Meng Weiyu grabbed his hand back and tugged him down, making him sit beside him first and calm down.

After sitting beside him, the first thing Shen Zhoudu did was turn and hug Meng Weiyu. His movements were forceful, imprisoning the person in his arms, not daring to let Meng Weiyu see his expression that resembled crying.

“I feel like you misunderstood something.” Meng Weiyu was being hugged by him and discovered that his whole body was trembling. He could roughly guess what Shen Zhoudu had thought of, which was why he had such an outrageous reaction. “I came to the seaside because I really wanted to clear my head.”

“What worries do you have?” You don’t even have a heart.

Meng Weiyu’s eyes shifted. Usually, he did not like talking to others about his emotional problems. After all, something like whose confession he rejected was very private. If he said it out loud, it would not be good for the person who confessed either. But right now, Shen Zhoudu was close to collapse, and lies were not very effective in front of this person. Meng Weiyu had no choice but to tell the truth. “Xie Wenxuan confessed to me. I felt a little depressed after hearing it, so I left the school area and came here to walk.”

As soon as the words fell, Shen Zhoudu’s body stiffened.

Meng Weiyu raised his hand and patted his back. Now, it was his turn to become the person worried about someone else. “You didn’t drive here yourself, did you?”

In Shen Zhoudu’s current state, he seemed very likely to get into a car accident.

“I didn’t have the strength, so I had the driver bring me.” Shen Zhoudu’s voice finally calmed down.

“Oh.”

Shen Zhoudu slowly let go and returned to his original position, turning his face sideways to stare at Meng Weiyu.

Meng Weiyu met his eyes, narrowed his own, and smiled, as if nothing in the world weighed on his mind.

“So that’s how it is.” Shen Zhoudu showed no trace of surprise at what Meng Weiyu had experienced that morning. Xie Wenxuan liking Meng Weiyu was something he had discovered in high school. If he had to find one element in this link that he did not understand, it would be that Xie Wenxuan actually still liked him even now.

And had confessed.

“It’s strange, right?” Meng Weiyu rested his hands on the bench and smiled indifferently.

Under the faint moonlight, the deep and boundless sea continuously surged with the sound of heartbeats.

The legendary meteor shower had already begun flickering one after another elsewhere, falling from the sky into the distance.

“It’s not strange.” Shen Zhoudu retracted his expression. His brain, as usual, began turning quickly. He had to quickly find another topic to divert Meng Weiyu’s attention. He could not let him continue thinking about Xie Wenxuan’s confession, nor could he let him think too deeply about same-sex relationships.

“Ai.” Meng Weiyu sighed loudly. Since he had already started this topic with Shen Zhoudu, he did not mind continuing. “I really hate when friends confess to me.”

“Really?” Hearing this sentence, Shen Zhoudu pressed his pale lips together.

“I don’t understand why everyone is clearly having fun together, yet they can’t think straight and decide to confess to me. Aside from having money, being slightly good-looking, and having a slightly good personality, I really don’t have any other strengths.” Meng Weiyu joked by praising himself, his eyes full of laughter as he looked at the best friend beside him. “You’re still better.”

Shen Zhoudu gritted his teeth, hating his heartlessness.

“You don’t say those confusing, upside-down things. And you like me, but you don’t like me that way.” Meng Weiyu appreciated his rationality most. “That’s why I like playing with you the most.”

Shen Zhoudu looked at him quietly. Under the temptation of that beautiful face, the rationality that had already been on the verge of collapse tonight was swiftly leaving him.

“I like you a lot, and you like me a lot too, right?” Seeing that Shen Zhoudu did not speak, Meng Weiyu thought he might be being self-indulgent. So he focused, stared at Shen Zhoudu, and pressured him, demanding a clear answer.

Shen Zhoudu lowered his eyes and gave him an answer with difficulty and relief. “Mm.”

After receiving his affirmative reply, Meng Weiyu instantly showed a bright smile again. His hands were propped on the bench as he looked sideways at Shen Zhoudu. The sound of the waves grew louder and louder, yet the sound of the heartbeat also grew louder. One of Shen Zhoudu’s ears was assaulted by the waves, while the other was disturbed by the pounding of his heart.

His ears were useless. In his eyes, there was only the face of the person he loved.

The romance of the night wind, the pounding of the heart, the temptation of the moon—and finally, a meteor crossed this patch of sky.

Meng Weiyu smiled in the wind, watching as Shen Zhoudu’s figure was slowly hidden inside the dark clouds.

A face he could not see.

Shen Zhoudu’s body moved.

Without saying a word, his fingers moved forward, stopping in front of Meng Weiyu’s fingertips.

His upper body leaned toward Meng Weiyu. After slightly adjusting his head, his cold lips pressed against Meng Weiyu’s soft lips.

The meteor shower tilted downward.

Meng Weiyu widened his eyes.

He personally witnessed a tear fall from Shen Zhoudu’s tightly closed eyes, its path like a meteor descending.

On the day of the confession, Shen Zhoudu indeed said nothing, but Meng Weiyu already knew that he liked him.

And it was indeed just as Shen Zhoudu said. He was not beaten on the spot because he ran fast.

After the kiss ended, Meng Weiyu’s movements froze, his soul flying away. But Shen Zhoudu did not need to wait for an answer. He turned and ran. The driver who had originally been waiting nearby for him picked Shen Zhoudu up, then sped away.

Only Meng Weiyu was left standing there blankly, blinking.

The meteor shower arrived. Yet Meng Weiyu’s head did not move at all. He gave up the brilliant sky that had lasted half the day and stared at the black space where there was already no one, then blinked again.

His hand touched his mouth. Under the reflection of the light, a flush rose over his fair cheeks.

Being kissed by a friend was enough to make someone furious.

But this was Meng Weiyu’s first kiss, so first, his heart kept thumping wildly, and his face burned red.

“Ah… ahhh…”