Chasing Tides

Fang Yu was no longer smiling. He looked at him. “What did you say?”

Whenever the two of them fought, they never hid from others, and so everyone around them heard them clearly.

Upset, Lu Xiaochuan did not guard his tongue. “I said that you’re going home to serve your sugar daddy. Why? You don’t dare to admit to what you’re doing? Who doesn’t know that you have a sugar daddy out there?”

An Lin reacted the fastest, shooting forward to pull at Lu Xiaochuan. “Don’t speak anymore.”

But Lu Xiaochuan insisted on getting it all out of him. “Going home? Is that your home?”

They only heard a crisp slap in response. Fang Yu had slapped Lu Xiaochuan across the face.

The blow left Lu Xiaochuan stunned where he stood, and only then did the astounded group members realise how serious the matter was, going forward and pulling them apart.

Fang Yu’s arm was caught, and his lips quivering, he said, “You’re the one with a sugar daddy, your entire family has sugar daddies!”

He did not know how to scold others, and this was the most savage insult that he could come up with after racking his brains.

Sui Yi dragged the completely stunned Lu Xiaochuan over to the next door’s lounge, while Ning Lan helped Fang Yu, who was shaking, to take a seat, getting a glass of water for him.

Holding the glass, Fang Yu did not speak. Just as Ning Lan was wondering how to comfort him, he saw a teardrop splash into the cup.

“Hey, don’t cry.” Ning Lan was in a panic.

Fang Yu was very beautiful when he cried, and whoever saw such beguiling tears falling from his eyes, their hearts would ache. Ning Lan was no exception either. He thought that Lu Xiaochuan was really horrible. Later on, he would have to make him spit out all the cookies he ate.

“Do you… do you also think that I… I have… a sugar daddy?”

Ning Lan said hurriedly, “No, of course not. Xiao-Yu is so wonderful. If it’s me, I’ll get a marriage licence with you straight away, eager to let the entire world know that you’re my partner.”

Fang Yu’s smile broke through his tears.

When Ning Lan answered that question, he actually had no confidence at all. Fang Yu was feeling such a grievance, and about him having a sugar daddy, it was clearly just a rumour. However, it was completely true that Ning Lan had a sugar daddy, completely undeniable.

This situation left him feeling both guilty and ironic.

At night, in the dorm.

Sui Yi had his luggage open on the ground, and he was packing. He had a flight the next morning to the film studio complex in J City, to report for production.

Ever since the dorm vlogs, Ning Lan had moved into that room. When the broadcast was over, Gu Chenkai went to look for Mr. Zhao to learn how to play the guitar. Wang Bingyang and Gao Ming went to listen as well, and now, in the dorm, there was only him and Sui Yi.

After his shower, Ning Lan entered, towelling his hair dry. Seeing how terribly Sui Yi had folded his shirts into a mess, he went forward, saying, “If you fold them like that, by the time you reach there, you won’t be able to wear them. I’ll do it.”

Sui Yi considered it, then handed the shirts over to him while he went to pack his other belongings.

While folding, Ning Lan asked him, “How’s Lu Xiaochuan? He hasn’t turned into a fool from the slap, right?”

“No,” Sui Yi said. “He’s just quite startled from it. It’s probably the first time he’s been slapped.”

Ning Lan recalled that extremely amazed expression on Lu Xiaochuan’s face, finding it comical. “He deserves it. Fang Yu doesn’t have a sugar daddy at all. Forget about him believing such a rumour, but he had to say it aloud. Didn’t he deserve the slap?”

Sui Yi said, “Mn, he deserved it.”

Ning Lan saw how he randomly bundled up his chargers and shoved them into his luggage and quickly stood up. “Hey, don’t keep your cables like that. They’ll get tangled.”

After straightening out and packing the cables and chargers neatly, Ning Lan continued to help him pack. The already-folded clothes had been taken out as well and re-folded. In the end, the entire luggage was tidied up by him. The clothes, daily necessities, and toiletries had been arranged orderly, and even the socks had their own compartment.

Before closing the luggage, Ning Lan reminded, “Your mug and toothbrush are sandwiched here, wrapped up within the towel. Don’t forget it.”

Sui Yi looked at his luggage that had never been so tidy before. “You’ve learnt how to organise before?”

He remembered how they were flying around previously for the album promotion, and he did not know if Ning Lan had helped others pack their luggage like this before as well.

Ning Lan said, as though nothing could be more obvious, “Do people even need to learn this? Practice makes perfect. I’ve been staying in dormitories since I was in middle school, so I’m probably a little more adept at taking care of myself than you guys.”

From his voice, Sui Yi could detect a slight bit of pride, and he nearly smiled along with him.

When he was back from his shower, Ning Lan had already fallen asleep. He lay on the bed, facing the room, and his blanket was over his face, only revealing his nose and his eyes that were shut. His chest rose and fell with every breath.

Sui Yi switched off the ceiling lights, switching on the table lamp and flipping open a book.

Previously, he had always been the one going to bed first, but this time, Ning Lan was faster than him. Lu Xiaochuan did not return to the dorm today, and so Gu Chenkai decided to just run next door with his pillow and sleep there. Now, in this room, there were only the two of them left.

Sui Yi glanced over. Fortunately, Ning Lan was already asleep. This fellow was usually very straightforward when he spoke, and it seemed very easy to see through him. However, Sui Yi had seen too many of his different faces — an innocent one, a fragile one, a pitiful one, and even a seductive one. He did not know which one was the real him, and even more, he did not know what sort of new, fresh face would he reveal again when the two of them were alone.

Sui Yi did not like it when things were out of his control. Ning Lan also shouldn’t be controlled by him.

After reading two pages, Sui Yi switched the light off. Quietly, he made his way onto the top bunk. With his long legs, he scaled the four steps in two and climbed up.

Just as he lay down, he heard the person in the bunk below call out, “Lead.”

The voice was practically akin to the buzzing of a mosquito. It did not come out of nowhere, but it caused Sui Yi’s heart to speed up a little.

He did not respond, but pretended to sleep.

The bed frame shook slightly with the movements of the person in the lower bunk. After some rustling, Sui Yi could distinctly feel a couple of tugs on his pyjamas. He was not good at pretending to sleep, and under his eyelids, his eyes shifted violently. As such, he could only open his eyes, unable to avoid the gaze of Ning Lan who was leaning right up against his bunk.

“What’s the matter?” Sui Yi asked him.

Ning Lan tilted his head, resting it on his arm, looking very obedient. He said, “Lead, you’re leaving tomorrow.”

Despite the dim surroundings, Ning Lan’s eyes were still very bright. There was a gleam in his black eyes, and each time he blinked, they would flash, so alluring that one’s desires were teased at.

Sui Yi seemed to be able to guess what he was about to say next, but also not.

Ning Lan let go of his grip on Sui Yi’s shirt, sliding his hand towards his waist. Then, taking advantage of Sui Yi being unguarded, his deft fingers slipped past his waistband.

“Lead,” he said softly, “since you’re my sugar daddy, not sleeping together at all, don’t you think you’re losing out?”

Sui Yi grabbed hold of his groping hand. He did not answer his question, only saying, “It’s very late already. You should go to sleep.”

Ning Lan slowly removed his hand. Sui Yi thought that he would listen to him and head back down to his bunk, but who would have thought that Ning Lan would climb up and over him. His actions were nimble and quick, and before Sui Yi could even react, Ning Lan was already on top of him.

The bed was too small, and two men could not fit on it at all. With great difficulty, Sui Yi managed to push Ning Lan to one side. Sitting up right against the wall, he panted, his breathing heavy. “What are you doing?”

Ning Lan was still able to laugh. “I’m delivering a fuck to you.”

Sui Yi didn’t like such crude words, and he frowned. “Go down.”

However, Ning Lan was determined to do so. Sneakily, he again reached down towards Sui Yi’s crotch. This time, Sui Yi’s speed was faster than before, and he grabbed his wrist.

The strength in Sui Yi’s hand was great, and his grip left Ning Lan in pain. Biting his lip, he still refused to give in.

The two were in a stalemate for a moment. Sui Yi sighed, letting go as he tried to come to a consensus. “You head down first. The top bunk won’t be able to hold the weight.”

“Alright.” Seeing that his plan had succeeded, Ning Lan agreed. He flipped around, sticking his legs out to climb down. However, due to the shifting of their weights, the bed frame swayed, and turning back to take a look, Ning Lan suddenly froze there, no longer moving.

After some time, he was still hanging off the side of the bed. Sui Yi thought that he was going back on his word, and thus asked him what was going on.

Ning Lan was too embarrassed to say that he was scared. Even after staying in the school dormitories for six years, he had never slept in the top bunk before. Coming to AOW’s dorm, his first top bunk did not even manage to wait for him to climb up before it collapsed. How could he have ever known that it was so easy to climb up, and so difficult to climb down? This feeling of being without any handrails, while being unable to reach the step was too terrifying!

Sui Yi seemed to have discovered the issue, and he reached out. “Hold on to me?”

Ning Lan felt ashamed, but was stuck there; unable to move, he had no other choice but to hold onto Sui Yi. In the end, the unsteady support left him feeling even more shaky, and he kept feeling as though he would just fall onto his face at any moment.

Shifting his hand back to the bed frame, Ning Lan gritted his teeth and prepared himself to try again. Suddenly, he heard someone laughing.

Ning Lan’s miserable state of being stuck where he was had been witnessed entirely by Sui Yi. He really could not hold himself back anymore, and chuckled a couple of times. Noticing how Ning Lan was glaring daggers at him, he immediately swallowed his laughter back. Holding onto the other side of the bed with one hand, he stretched his legs out and carried out an elegant turn, landing on the ground firmly.

Was he showing off? Gnashing his teeth, Ning Lan thought, it was too fucking embarrassing. He should just jump down.

Just as he was taking a few deep breaths, preparing himself, from behind him, Sui Yi’s voice came. “Come on down.”

Ning Lan turned his head around nervously. Below, Sui Yi held out his arms towards him, a trace of amusement that had yet to fade away curling around his lips. “Don’t be scared, I’ll catch you.”