Chapter 12: Wet Dream — Sneaking into His Brother’s Room at Night
Half an hour later, he stood up in irritation, violently yanking off his belt. He dug out an old phone, pulled up a photo, and began to seek release while staring at the person on the screen.
Staring at that youthful, green face, Jiang Yan’s breathing grew heavy. The veins on the back of his hand bulged. Perhaps because he had already done it once, or maybe for some other reason, this time it felt like something was blocking the way—the floodgates refused to open.
“Fuck,” he cursed in a low voice, smashing the phone into the soft duvet. He threw off the covers and got out of bed, his footsteps hurried and carrying a ruthless edge.
The door to the secondary bedroom opened silently. The moon hung high in the sky, stingily scattering its cold brilliance to outline a long, thin shadow. Footsteps light as a ghost approached the bedside without a sound, exuding a chilly aura.
Jiang Yan leaned over, his shadow completely enveloping the sleeping figure. He slowly reached out, lightly touching Jiang Yunian’s cheek before lingering on the side of his neck. In the darkness, those eyes were shockingly bright, surging with unspeakable heat and desire.
The person on the bed moved unconsciously, reaching up to scratch the spot that had been touched. His slender, white wrist was particularly conspicuous in the moonlight.
Jiang Yan lightly grasped that thin, tender wrist, the space between his thumb and index finger slowly tightening.
“Nngh…”
A vague mumble escaped the person beneath him.
Jiang Yan held his breath and quietly let go, staring fixedly at the wrist he had pinched red.
Then, he straightened up and slowly reached for his own waistband, his movements carrying a decisiveness to break through his suppression.
…
In the night, Jiang Yunian lay on the single bed, his eyelashes trembling, sleeping extremely uneasily.
In his daze, he heard fine, fragmented noises in the room, like a kitten rubbing lightly against the wall, inching its way to his pillow.
Moonlight squeezed through the gap in the half-open curtains, cutting a cold white strip of light across the floor. A blurry black shadow stood beside him, its gaze sticky and cloying, yet he couldn’t see the face clearly no matter how hard he tried. A cold, gloomy aura seemed poised to swallow him whole, bit by bit.
Ice-cold fingertips trailed across his cheek, startling a shiver out of Jiang Yunian.
He wanted to shout, but his throat couldn’t make a sound. That hand reaching down choked his wrist, the finger bones slowly tightening, almost embedding themselves into his flesh. It wasn’t until a faint ring of pink surfaced that the grip loosened.
Immediately after, the black shadow straightened up and undid its own waistband…
Jiang Yunian’s pupils contracted slightly. He jolted awake instantly, cold sweat soaking his thin pajamas.
“Haa…” He sat up, gasping for air, trying to calm his wildly pounding heart.
He turned on the bedside lamp, the sudden light stinging his eyes into a squint.
He wiped his face, looked down, and discovered that two buttons on his collar had come loose at some point. There was a suspicious patch of faint red on his neck; it felt sweaty to the touch and a little itchy.
It’s not that hot… when did I scratch this?
He muttered to himself, his throat parched and thirsty. The lifted corner of the duvet blocked the view of a certain spot on his wrist bone that had been pinched; the residual red mark hadn’t completely faded yet.
The sound of the refrigerator door opening and closing came from the kitchen. Jiang Yunian, sporting a head of soft, messy hair, fumbled his way over and caught the food thief red-handed.
Jiang Yan turned around, a milky white stain on the corner of his mouth, blinking as he saw Jiang Yunian.
He was wearing one of Jiang Yunian’s old T-shirts, washed until it was white and misshapen. The collar was similarly damp with sweat.
Jiang Yunian rubbed his eyes and walked over dazedly. “Not sleeping yet?”
“It’s a bit hot, couldn’t sleep. Thought I’d pad my stomach while I was up.” Jiang Yan naturally held up the carton in his hand. “You too, Ge?”
Jiang Yunian shook his head, swallowing the words “had a wet dream” back into his stomach.
“Why is this red?” Jiang Yan touched his neck.
Jiang Yunian subconsciously pulled his collar tight, tucking his chin as he said the heat made it itchy.
Jiang Yan stared at his complexion, scrutinizing him for a few seconds, then lowered his eyelashes and said with concern, “Don’t keep scratching it. It won’t be good if you break the skin.”
“Mn.”
Jiang Yunian responded vaguely, tilting his head back to drink water. He didn’t see the sudden, abyssal depth in the pupils of the person behind him as he stared at the side of his neck.
Morning light slanted into the classroom, landing on Jiang Yunian’s slightly open collar. That patch of faint red was particularly glaring against his fair skin.
Hao Meng propped her chin up, glancing over suspiciously. “I say, that mark on your neck…”
She dragged out her tone, smiling teasingly. “It wasn’t gnawed by some little girl, was it?”
Jiang Yunian’s ears turned red. He hurriedly pulled his collar up high. “My neck was itchy from the heat last night… I scratched it myself.”
He lowered his head, feeling a lack of confidence as he thought of last night’s wet dream.
“Oh?” Hao Meng didn’t believe it for a second. Her sharp eyes caught the faint traces on his wrist. “Then why is your hand red too? Scratched that yourself as well?”
With her pointing it out, Jiang Yunian noticed his wrist was indeed red.
He was naturally fair-skinned and bruised easily. Usually, his movements weren’t large, so there wasn’t much to worry about. But ever since Jiang Yan arrived, the bumps and scrapes seemed to have increased. He hadn’t noticed at first—that guy looked quiet, but in private he was restless, always loving to cling to him and pull little stunts, as if he hadn’t grown up.
“It really was scratching.” Jiang Yunian tugged his sleeve down.
“If you ask me, your hands aren’t itchy, your heart is.” Hao Meng hit the nail on the head. “You’re lacking a girlfriend!”
“Perfect timing, I know a particularly gentle junior. Should I introduce you two some other day?”
People were coming and going during the break, footsteps passing by continuously. Hao Meng openly played matchmaker. “Seriously, she was asking me about you yesterday. Said she saw you memorizing books in the library and you looked super serious… Consider it?”
Jiang Yunian didn’t take the bait. He pretended to read his book, but the tips of his thoroughly red ears betrayed him.
“Don’t keep dodging.” Hao Meng tapped his desk with a pen. “Look at you—handsome, good grades, honest personality. Isn’t it a pity not to date? Once you start working later, where will you find such pure feelings?”
She wasn’t wrong. It wasn’t that he hadn’t encountered it before. People fished for his contact info on the confession wall every now and then, and he had received quite a few love letters. But every time, he could only blush, say “thank you,” and reject them one by one.
It wasn’t that he wouldn’t consider it, but with tuition and living expenses weighing on him, he always felt he wasn’t worthy of those sparkling, radiant girls.
The inferiority complex at the bottom of his heart was a hurdle he couldn’t overcome.
“Forget it.” Jiang Yunian’s voice was very soft, but also very stubborn.
At this age where one could speak of love freely, he never had the courage to take that step.
Seeing him like this, Hao Meng understood and didn’t push it. “Fine, whenever you finally enlighten yourself, will there be a shortage of juniors chasing you?”
Jiang Yunian responded vaguely and started packing his things. He had an elective class next and needed to hurry.
“You still have class?” Hao Meng asked. “By the way, are you going to the lecture tonight? Senior Lu will be there too.”
Tonight’s lecture was hosted by the School of Liberal Arts. They had invited the well-known provincial writer Xiao Qin as the keynote speaker—who happened to be Lu Yuanbai’s mother. Jiang Yunian was torn. He loved Xiao Qin’s works and had been looking forward to this lecture for a long time, but he had a tutoring job tonight and really couldn’t get away.
Hao Meng sighed. “Then I’ll just have to go myself. I’ll see if I can get a signature. If I can, I’ll get one for you too.”
Jiang Yunian pursed his lips and said he already had one. This made Hao Meng envious, pressing him on how he got it. He couldn’t say—saying it would just trouble the Senior. He mumbled a few words, saying he’d give the next one to her, then shouldered his bag and slipped away quickly.
At noon, Jiang Yan sent a message saying he wanted to eat together. Jiang Yunian clutched his phone, hesitated for a moment, and agreed. He had tutoring tonight and probably wouldn’t be back until ten o’clock. If they didn’t see each other all day, Jiang Yan would start overthinking again.
It was peak lunch hour, and the cafeteria was packed. Jiang Yunian looked around and spotted Jiang Yan in the distance, queuing at Window 3. His head was lowered, and his black collar was open a bit, revealing a cold white nape.
Jiang Yunian went to save a seat first, picking a table not far from the window. Just as he sat down, two girls with ponytails walked past his table and joined the end of Jiang Yan’s line. One poked the other’s arm.
“Look, that guy in black in front,” the girl pointed in Jiang Yan’s direction. “Newcomer. He sits next to me.”
“He is pretty handsome, just too pale. Doesn’t look very healthy.” Her companion looked over and lowered her voice with a laugh. “He has that ‘melancholy prince’ vibe from idol dramas.”
“What are you saying, he’s born like that.” The girl couldn’t hide the excitement in her tone. “What do you think? Do I have a chance?”
“Hard to say.” The companion was direct. “With looks like that, would he lack for romantic prospects? He’s probably already taken.”
The girl instantly deflated. “But he basically never talks to girls…”
“Then he just doesn’t like women. Use your head.”
“Nonsense!” the girl retorted. “Except for his brother, I haven’t seen him get close to any guys either!”
“So introverted? Could he have autism?” The companion joked half-heartedly. Seeing the girl’s face fall, she tactfully changed her tune. “Then he’s probably just shy. That kind of pure, straight guy is the easiest to chase. As the saying goes, ‘Women chasing men is separated only by a veil.’ If you take the initiative, won’t he be easy pickings?”
The girl’s hope reignited. “You really think I can do it?”
“Definitely! Go for it!”
…
The girls’ voices were gradually drowned out by the noise. Jiang Yunian listened and zoned out a little. He had thought that with Jiang Yan’s personality, it would be hard for him to get along with classmates, and naturally, he might scare girls away. But looking at it now, it seemed he had worried too much.
Come to think of it, looking the way he did, how could he lack romantic attention? It would be abnormal if no girls liked him. And unlike himself, who had nothing, once Jiang Yan recovered his memory and returned to his original life, he would be a genuine “Mr. Perfect”—rich, tall, and handsome. He would surely treat a girlfriend extremely well too.
According to Hao Meng, it would be a pity for someone with such good conditions not to date.
Jiang Yunian knew he was getting ahead of himself, but he couldn’t control the chaotic mess in his brain. Jiang Yan’s aggrieved voice from that day surfaced again: Ge has a girlfriend, so he doesn’t want me anymore.
This sentence should be reversed. If Jiang Yan had a girlfriend, he probably wouldn’t cling to him like this anymore, right? When that time came, Jiang Yunian wasn’t sure if he could actually get used to it.
Jiang Yunian let out a pretentious sigh, feeling the sensation of a wolf cub he had just finished raising turning around and abandoning him.
The inexplicable muffled blockage in his heart hadn’t yet dissipated when the soft clatter of a food tray hitting the table brought him back to his senses.
Jiang Yan sat down holding two servings of food. One plate was piled high with a small mountain of Sweet and Sour Ribs, the oily sauce soaking into the white rice.
“I know you love eating this, so I got extra.” Jiang Yan pushed the plate of ribs in front of him.
The sweet, meaty aroma drilled into his nose, and the gloom from earlier temporarily settled. He thought of the girl calling him “introverted” just now. Actually, he wasn’t. Jiang Yan just spoke little, but for the sake of these Sweet and Sour Ribs that Jiang Yunian loved, he would thicken his skin to pester the cafeteria lady.
He looked up. Jiang Yan eating quietly had an invisible charm. Jiang Yunian suddenly had an impulse to tell him what he had just heard, but the words changed flavor when they reached his lips. “In class… are you getting used to it?”
Jiang Yan: “It’s alright.”
“What about classmates?” Jiang Yunian’s voice grew a bit smaller. “Are you getting along? Like your deskmate or something…”
“Deskmate?” Jiang Yan thought of Zhou Shu’s face and frowned. “Talks too much. Annoying.”
Says he’s annoying, but might not actually be that annoyed. Looks like they get along closely.
Should he clarify the deskmate’s intentions to Jiang Yan? What if it messed up Jiang Yan’s judgment, or actually made it happen…
Dating right at the start of freshman year was too hasty. What if it affected his studies?
Jiang Yunian opened his mouth, the words rolling around in his throat once before being swallowed back down.
He poked at a piece of oily rib.
Forget it.
Why should an outsider interfere in matters of the heart?
Free love.
He thought.
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