During P.E. period, students were not supposed to return to the dorms.
To prevent that, the counselor had specifically asked the class monitor to do random roll calls during the break.
But Bai Yao and Qiu Ye had bought some water and still went back to the dorm… after all, the class monitor Chen Zhilong was also their dorm head.
“It’s so damn hot, so damn hot.”
The moment he walked in, Qiu Ye turned on the air conditioner, then the fan, and stood under it tugging at his collar to cool off.
Bai Yao followed him in, sat down at his computer, flipped open the lid and powered it on.
With one hand propping up his cheek, he aimlessly searched for a video to watch.
“I’m going to take a nap later.”
“Mm.”
Ever since the fracture, Qiu Ye’s energy did not seem as strong as before.
Bai Yao watched as he awkwardly climbed the ladder to the top bunk step by step with one hand, got into bed, then took the initiative to grab his earphones from the drawer and plug them into the computer.
“Pass me the drink.”
Couldn’t he at least finish the water before getting into bed?
Bai Yao silently got up, took the drink for him, opened it, and handed it up.
Qiu Ye took two sips and left the cap off, setting it beside him against the wall so he would not have to trouble Bai Yao again later.
He stretched, pulled the blanket over himself, adjusted into a comfortable position that would not press on his left arm, and lay there yawning repeatedly.
The dorm soon grew quiet again.
It was supposed to be class time.
The entire dorm building was unusually silent.
Inside the room, only their breathing and the faint sound leaking from Bai Yao’s earphones remained.
From far away, they could vaguely hear noise coming from the basketball court.
Chen Zhilong and Wang Zuhao were probably playing.
Bai Yao closed the back door that had been left slightly ajar for ventilation, cutting off the distant noise.
Since Qiu Ye was trying to sleep, even Bai Yao’s mouse clicks and keyboard taps became more cautious.
He hated being woken up when he was drowsy; putting himself in someone else’s shoes, he would not disturb someone else’s sleep either.
After finding a long video, Bai Yao took his hands off the keyboard and watched quietly, no longer making any movement.
On the bed, however, Qiu Ye could not quite fall asleep.
He was clearly sleepy, yet his body did not feel tired.
When he closed his eyes, Bai Yao’s slender, smooth back appeared in his mind.
The damp T-shirt clinging to him outlined the shape of a small chest, those straight and long pale legs…
Am I getting bent?
Qiu Ye turned over irritably.
No.
Getting bent meant liking men.
What attracted him about Bai Yao were obviously the more feminine traits.
This was clearly just normal adolescent restlessness.
There were no girls around him, so it had accidentally shifted onto Bai Yao.
The more he wanted to sleep, the more he tossed and turned.
First Bai Yao’s figure filled his mind, then he started imagining a busty, long-legged older woman, then a petite and cute younger girl… why did they all have Bai Yao’s face?
It was not even that good-looking, was it? Compared to women, Bai Yao’s face among men could only be considered above average.
Maybe it was mainly his personality?
Although Bai Yao liked to put on a cold, expressionless front, he was very sensitive.
That sensitivity made him care a lot about what others thought.
He watched people’s expressions before speaking, a bit timid.
That indifferent face was more like camouflage.
But inside, he was still a very attentive and gentle person.
When needed, he was willing to stay at the hospital for several days to take care of someone.
Though he could be a little clumsy at times, it was kind of cute.
When he first got to know Bai Yao, Qiu Ye had simply felt that they shared similar interests and had plenty to talk about.
There was even a bit of a superior teasing-a-kitten mentality.
He found Bai Yao’s flustered reactions interesting…
“Hm?”
Bai Yao looked up in slight confusion.
It felt like the bed frame was swaying faintly.
Unsure, he glanced at the mineral water bottle on the desk.
The surface of the water was indeed rippling.
Wait!
Was Qiu Ye… rewarding himself on the bed?
Although Bai Yao had wondered why his roommates all seemed to have no desire—posting risqué pictures every day yet never actually doing anything—Qiu Ye was being way too unguarded around him!
Some things were better left undiscovered.
Bai Yao even thought, could Qiu Ye be using him as material right now?
At a time like this, the system might pop out and assign him some embarrassing task… his bottom line was not that low, right?
One hundred dollars was way too little!
Huh? Why did he feel a little dizzy? Did he not sleep well last night?
“Damn! An earthquake?!”
Half-asleep, Qiu Ye suddenly sat up.
Bai Yao looked up at him blankly.
As he raised his head, he also saw the ceiling fan swaying left and right as if it might fall at any moment.
“Bai Yao? Is it an earthquake?!”
“You didn’t notice? It’s shaking so badly!”
He had noticed…
Bai Yao guiltily avoided eye contact.
But Qiu Ye was panicking.
He threw off the blanket, did not bother with anything else, braced his right hand on the bed rail, and flipped down in one motion.
He shoved his feet into his slippers, grabbed Bai Yao by the arm, yanked him up, and ran outside.
Dragged along, Bai Yao stumbled, his earphones falling off. “Wait? No—”
“It’s an earthquake and you’re not running?”
“But—”
Before Bai Yao could explain, Qiu Ye had already pulled him out of the dorm.
Looking around, some students with no class or who had skipped class were already in the hallway, flustered and at a loss.
“In our area, earthquakes are usually—”
Qiu Ye felt the shaking intensify and dragged Bai Yao toward the stairs again.
“Let’s go! Hurry!”
“You’re so slow even when running for your life!”
Qiu Ye cursed as he ran.
“Faster, faster! If the building collapses and you get buried underneath, I’m not digging you out.”
“Geez—”
What kind of thing was that to say…
Bai Yao was dragged along, his steps still reluctant.
They ran all the way down from the fifth floor.
Qiu Ye then pulled him to an open area.
After rushing down in one breath, Qiu Ye was exhausted.
He bent over with his hands on his knees, panting, and shot Bai Yao an annoyed glare.
“You’ve got the nerve to glare at me?” Qiu Ye glared back even more fiercely.
Scolded, Bai Yao wrinkled his nose and muttered helplessly, “The earthquake’s stopped…”
This place was not even on a seismic belt.
When a big one came, you could not outrun it; when it was small, there was no need to run.
Panicking and fleeing might actually increase the risk of falling or being hit by debris.
“It stopped that fast?” Qiu Ye was still shaken, scared out of his wits.
“It’s my first time seeing an earthquake.”
Apparently quite a few people at school had never experienced one.
In the open area, students were scattered around—some excitedly discussing it, some indifferent, others pale with fright.
“It was probably an earthquake across the strait. We just felt the tremors here. The news should come out soon.”
Bai Yao did not want to blame Qiu Ye.
Running was the right thing to do.
It was just that, as someone from the southern coast who had run for earthquakes since childhood, he was already too used to it to bother fleeing over a slight tremor.
He wanted to search for news on his phone, only to realize he had not brought it.
Good thing it was not nighttime.
Otherwise, he would not even have had time to put on his pants before Qiu Ye dragged him out.
Bai Yao could not help but complain, “When I saw the bed frame shaking, I thought you were about to take off.”
“Your mind’s a little dirty, isn’t it?” Qiu Ye shot him a strange look.
“I thought you never watched that kind of stuff.”
Maybe the filter Bai Yao had in his heart was a bit too strong.
It made him subconsciously see Bai Yao as pure as a blank sheet of paper—like a father looking at a daughter, an older brother at a younger sister, a simp at a goddess.
Even though a little thought would reveal the flaws…
“And is my image in your mind that bad?”
Bai Yao thought for a moment, then awkwardly looked away.
It was not that Qiu Ye had any problem.
It was all because the system kept speaking on its own, making him get used to thinking in a dirty direction.