Chapter 61: Chapter Sixty-One
Luo Shizhen didn’t understand why his friends loved fighting so much.
They had only just been released from the solitary confinement cells for fighting, and yet, the moment they stepped out, they were at it again.
Whatâs more, it was three of them ganging up on Lu Qiujin.
Naturally, Luo Shizhen moved to stop this blatant act of bullying.
“Why are you trying to hit Lu Qiujin?”
This question brought Chu Xiao and Xiao Shan to a sudden halt.
Only Rong Nian remained stubbornly indignant:
“Because I don’t like the look of him! I haven’t even slept with you yet! What right does he have to sleep with you!”
He still remembered the tragedy of that nightâhow he had gone through the arduous task of dismantling the confinement cell door and rushed excitedly to find Luo Shizhen, only to find the room empty.
Luo Shizhen scratched his head. He looked back at the two beds pushed together, not quite understanding what Rong Nian was so angry about.
Wasn’t it just pushing beds together to sleep?
Was that really worth getting angry over?
He said good-naturedly:
“If thatâs whatâs bothering you, then you should push your bed over, too.”
Chu Xiao didn’t know what to say.
Luo Shizhen had this kind of personality; if it was something he considered relatively unimportant, he didn’t mind being open and inclusive.
It was precisely because of this personality that he constantly attracted people who harbored hidden designs on him.
Sure enough, Rong Nian froze. He had only wanted to kick Lu Qiujin out; he hadn’t expected to be allowed to join. His initial fury vanished instantly, replaced by a bit of confusion.
The Merman suddenly perked up. The translucent ear fins that had emerged in his anger twitched with excitement.
“I can?”
The sight of this made the others in the room wince. They had all seen Rong Nian baring his teeth like a wild beast, looking as if he wanted to kill everyone; now, he was suddenly acting the part of the well-behaved pet.
Luo Shizhen truly hadn’t seen that side of him. He said mildly, “Sure. Itâs no big deal, just pushing beds together.”
As it turned out, for Awakeners, tolerance didn’t bring peace; it only invited people to push their luck.
Rong Nian immediately pointed a finger at Lu Qiujin and lifted his chin haughtily. “Letâs kick Lu Qiujin out. Just the two of us should sleep together.”
Luo Shizhen was puzzled, but he slowly shook his head.
He didn’t mind everyone pushing their beds together to prevent a conflict, but to him, Lu Qiujin was already a friend, while Rong Nian was just a roommate.
It was like when Qin Yinian asked him to choose between Chu Xiao and himselfâwas there even a need to hesitate? He would definitely choose Chu Xiao.
“No.”
The Purifier, who always seemed so good-tempered, spoke with a firm tone. His gaze didn’t flicker; instead, he looked directly at Rong Nian.
“Unless he himself doesn’t want to sleep next to me anymore, I won’t agree on his behalf. Thatâs his bed; he has to decide for himself.”
He spoke decisively and added another sentence: “If you don’t want the three of us to sleep together, then don’t push your bed over.”
Lu Qiujin, who was being shielded behind Luo Shizhen, felt his entire aura visibly soften upon hearing the boy defend him.
Rong Nian stared blankly at Luo Shizhen, stunned.
“You… youâre rejecting me?”
Luo Shizhen didn’t quite understand and looked at him in confusion. “Am I not allowed to reject you?”
Rong Nian: “…”
He had wanted to say, But you even let me mark you, but the scent of a tiger in the air told Rong Nian that the mark that originally belonged to him had already been snatched away by someone else.
Rong Nian fell into a state of bewildered helplessness. Luo Shizhen was willing to sleep with him, so why did his attitude change the moment he suggested kicking Lu Qiujin out?
What was so good about Lu Qiujin? He had no tail, he wasn’t pretty enough, his mind was so dark it could grow mushrooms, and his family was a mess of scandals.
Rong Nian wanted to say all these things, but he was a Merman and could sense people’s emotions.
He could feel that Luo Shizhen was being incredibly firm in his rejection.
Luo Shizhen, however, stopped looking at Rong Nian.
After all, in his eyes, since he had already rejected Rong Nian, the matter was resolved.
He turned his attention to Chu Xiao and Xiao Shan.
“Chu Xiao, Big Brother, why were you hitting Lu Qiujin?”
Luo Shizhen didn’t say “don’t hit people” directly. In his view, both Chu Xiao and his Big Brother were reasonable people. If they were hitting someone, there had to be a misunderstanding or a reason of their own.
He asked so he could see if he could help mediate and persuade them.
After all, they had just come out of solitary confinement. If they fought again, wouldn’t they be locked up once more?
Xiao Shan looked at Lu Qiujin. He was already angry, and seeing Luo Shizhen foolishly protecting the guy made him even more furious.
When he remembered that he was the one who had personally entrusted Luo Shizhen to Lu Qiujin, the fire in his heart flared even higher.
His naturally fierce appearance became even more menacing now.
“Lu Qiujin, quit hiding behind Shizhen. I entrusted my little brother to your careâis this how you take care of him?”
He took a step forward, intending to strike. Lu Qiujin wasn’t afraid of him; his fingers twitched, and the vines outside the dorm immediately began crawling inside.
But Luo Shizhen spread his arms once again, standing between the two.
“Big Brother, youâve got it all wrong!”
Xiao Shan did indeed stop. He still had plenty of patience for this likable little brother of his.
“Wrong? How am I wrong?”
Unless someone told him right now that the beds had pushed themselves together by accident and that Lu Qiujinâs hand had landed on Luo Shizhen’s body without his conscious control, how could this be a misunderstanding?
Luo Shizhen said seriously, “Did you see him on top of me just now and think he was hitting me? No, he was being kind and helping me with a massage.”
“Lu Qiujin has been taking good care of me. Heâs been very kindâhe mops the floor for me, makes my bed, and he even gave me a lot of delicious snacks. We team up together, eat together, went on the combat simulation together, and weâre together every day. He has fulfilled your request perfectly.”
Xiao Shan: “…”
Lu Qiujin… that guy who never “releases the hawk until he sees the rabbit,” who always loved hiding in the dark corners to watch the show, was mopping the floor for his little brother?
Buying things, making the bed, and being together every day?
If he didn’t have other designs on Luo Shizhen, Xiao Shan would blast a hole right through the school building!
He rolled up his sleeves. “Thatâs exactly why I want to beat him up!”
Luo Shizhen was confused. “Why? Didn’t you ask Lu Qiujin to help look after me? Heâs doing a great job.”
“Big Brother, I think youâre amazing, but you have to be reasonable. Lu Qiujin hasn’t done anything wrong. Heâs just following your request and taking care of me very diligently. You can’t just attack him for no reason.”
Xiao Shan: “…”
He took a deep breath, trying to explain to Luo Shizhen:
“When I asked him to look after you, I meant keeping an eye on you from a distance to make sure no one bullied you.”
He hadn’t asked him to look after the boy all the way onto the bed!
“Right, Lu Qiujin did that at first. But then some things happened, and the two of us became friends.”
As Luo Shizhen spoke, he subconsciously gave Lu Qiujin a smile.
Lu Qiujin, who had been raising an eyebrow in a provocative glare toward Xiao Shan, immediately switched his expression to one of gentleness and smiled back at Luo Shizhen.
Xiao Shan: “…”
How was he supposed to explain this to Luo Shizhen?
Was he supposed to say that, as a straight man, he suspected Lu Qiujin of coveting Luo Shizhenâs backside?
Among the three, Chu Xiao was actually the most emotionally stable.
After all, he had known Luo Shizhen the longest. Although his vision had gone dark for a moment when he first saw the two beds pushed together, once he calmed down and carefully observed Luo Shizhenâs expression, he knew.
Lu Qiujinâs presence was just another “friend.”
Of course, he still really wanted to beat Lu Qiujin. He also wanted to beat Xiao Shan for pushing Lu Qiujin toward Luo Shizhen, and that Merman who shamelessly wanted to sleep with Shizhen.
But Chu Xiao suppressed these thoughts. No matter how much the other “self” in his heart wanted to rush out and kill everyone, the Chu Xiao on the surface remained calm and indifferent.
Attacking Lu Qiujin now would only push Shizhen closer to him.
Luo Shizhen had been raised with a strong sense of justice by Grandma Luo.
On the surface at least, Lu Qiujin hadn’t committed any “evil deeds,” so Chu Xiao couldn’t move against him.
He cast a single glance at Lu Qiujin hiding behind Luo Shizhen. With just that one look, he could tell this person was far more difficult to deal with than Xiao Shan or Rong Nian.
That Lu Qiujin would set his sights on Luo Shizhen didn’t even come as a surprise to Chu Xiao.
Hadn’t it always been like this since they were kids?
The darker and more calculating a personâs mind was, the easier it was for them to be attracted after meeting him.
While in solitary confinement, he had vaguely realized that Lu Qiujin might also be drawn in.
He just hadn’t expected it to happen so fast.
They had only been locked up for ten days.
Only ten days.
But it was no matter.
There had been people even harder to deal with than Lu Qiujin in the past, and hadn’t they been sent abroad regardless?
These people were all the same. They either circled around Luo Shizhen and obediently played the “friend,” or they spoke out and were met with a hesitation-free rejection and a strictly enforced distance.
Chu Xiao didn’t look at Lu Qiujin again. Instead, he looked at Luo Shizhen and offered a faint smile:
“I just heard you say you missed me. I missed you, too. Itâs been ten daysâdid a lot happen while I was gone?”
As expected, Luo Shizhen was immediately diverted.
He said excitedly, “Yes, yes! Chu Xiao! You won’t believe it! So many things happenedâIâll tell you all about it!”
Chu Xiao naturally sat down on Luo Shizhenâs bed, and Luo Shizhen followed suit as if by instinct, pouring water for him as he spoke.
Xiao Shanâs eyelid twitched. “Chu Xiao, shouldn’t you be heading back to your own dorm?”
Chu Xiaoâs expression remained calm. “I haven’t seen Shizhen in a long time. I want to talk to him. Can I stay the night at the Yuheng Dormitory?”
Xiao Shan opened his mouth, wanting to shout, What kind of pipe dream are you having?!
But Luo Shizhen had already looked over expectantly. “Big Brother, can he?”
Chu Xiao was his friend. If he wanted to stay over, Luo Shizhen naturally had to seek the consent of his roommates.
Xiao Shan: “…”
He looked at Lu Qiujin, hoping someone else would speak up and refuse.
But Lu Qiujin had the same thought.
He then looked at Rong Nian. Rong Nian was curled up in his blanket, looking like a completely shut-in Merman.
Xiao Shan: “…”
Luo Shizhen looked at him with immense anticipation.
Xiao Shan said, “I don’t have an opinion, but look at Rong Nianâhe might not want it.”
Rong Nian threw back his blanket. “Stop trying to sow discord! You think I don’t know what youâre thinking!”
Luo Shizhen looked at him next. “Rong Nian, can Chu Xiao stay the night?”
Rong Nian dove back into his bed angrily. “Let him stay if he wants! Whatâs it to me!”
Lu Qiujin had just put on an act of being weak and bullied in front of Luo Shizhen, so he naturally couldn’t step out to be the villain.
And so, for the first time in a long while, Luo Shizhen slept together with Chu Xiao.
However, because his Big Brother had very kindly brought over a fresh set of bedding, they didn’t sleep under the same blanket.
Xiao Shan immediately began pushing his bed, moving it to the other side of Luo Shizhenâs.
Seeing Luo Shizhen looking at him, he said righteously, “I also want to try what it feels like to sleep with the beds pushed together.”
Luo Shizhen gave an ‘oh,’ sounding a bit happy. “In that case, the bed will be even bigger. Big Brother, can Chu Xiao sleep a bit more toward your side?”
Xiao Shan: “…Sure.”
Sleeping next to him was still better than Chu Xiao sleeping next to Luo Shizhen.
There were four beds and five people in the dormitory.
Now that three beds were pushed together, and four people were sleeping as if on one giant bed, Rong Nian on the other side looked as if he were being isolated.
Especially since Rong Nian was still huddled in his blanket, his long, beautiful, gradient-blue fish tailâsomething that normally never appeared on landâwas draped over the edge of the bed, looking exceptionally pitiful.
Luo Shizhen looked at their super-sized bed, then at Rong Nian, and gave a soft invitation:
“Rong Nian, do you want to push your bed over and sleep together, too?”
The fish tail bounced up instantly. The person who had been pitifully curled into a ball just a moment ago replied with great inflection:
“Coming!”
Rong Nian pushed his bed over happily, thinking: As expected, no one can resist the charm of my beautiful fish tail!
The other three didn’t react. They were already sleeping with two others; what difference did one more fish make?
At ten-thirty in the evening, the lights in the Yuheng Dormitory were turned off.
Luo Shizhen slept in his comfortable bedding, with Lu Qiujin on one side and Chu Xiao and his Big Brother on the other.
There was also Rong Nian, who insisted on pushing his bed against the foot of Luo Shizhenâs bed. This made him feel so self-conscious that he went to wash his feet again, scrubbing them clean with soap before returning to bed.
“This is the first time Iâve slept with so many people with our beds pushed together. It feels great.”
Luo Shizhen stared at the ceiling in the darkness and said happily, “Itâs like weâre out camping.”
Friends gathered together, everyone sleeping noisily in a groupâthis was a scene he had only ever seen on TV before.
Xiao Shan: “If you like sleeping like this, I can stay with you every day.”
Lu Qiujin: “I can, too.”
Rong Nian: “Shizhen, you smell so good. Can I lick you again?”
Chu Xiao: “Rong Nian, if you say another word like that, Iâll use ice to wall you off.”
Feeling this harmonious atmosphere in the dark, with everyone gathered and chatting, Luo Shizhenâs mood became even better.
“I know we can’t stay like this forever; we have to graduate eventually.”
He spoke blissfully: “But this is a wonderful memory. After we graduate in the future and get married and have little… mm?”
Luo Shizhenâs eyes widened in surprise.
Chu Xiao gently covered his lips. “Itâs late. Go to sleep; we have training tomorrow.”
“Mm…”
Luo Shizhen nodded obediently. After Chu Xiao withdrew his hand, he leaned a bit closer to him.
“Goodnight.”
My friends.
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