OCU Chapter 8

When Qin Minggong said he’d get tutors, he meant it. Six tutors rotated through his schedule. He spent every evening after school and his weekends in cram sessions, eventually getting busier than his own parents, who were left bewildered.

“Sweetheart, are you okay?” his mother asked anxiously over a video call.

Qin Minggong didn’t even look up. He had already gotten this particular problem wrong three times. What was going on?

“You don’t need to stress about getting into college. I can send you to an international program and ship you abroad,” she suggested.

“No worries, Mom.” Qin Minggong, sporting dark circles under his eyes, brushed her off. “I just want to give it a shot.”

After a lot of effort, he finally managed to appease them. But slumping back in his chair, he realized he was exhausted.

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.

Unable to resist any longer, he decided to game for a bit. Just as he was about to start, another thought popped into his head. He opened his browser.

“How do two men date?”

The search results flooded the screen, ranging from serious answers to novels and comics. Browsing through, he clicked on a comic with an art style that caught his eye. After days of staring at homework, he couldn’t bear the thought of more text.

He figured, Why not? and let his sinful hands guide him into a whole new world of reading.

The late nights spent bingeing these comics took a toll. By the time he dragged himself to school with even darker circles under his eyes, Ning Qingze couldn’t help but ask about it. Naturally, he snapped back.

Whose fault was this anyway?

With everyone scrambling to finish assignments in their final year, Ning Qingze was no exception. Spending so much time with him, Qin Minggong began noticing things: how Ning Qingze’s face stayed dead serious even when he was spacing out, how he kept his cool while grumbling, and how, despite being so unlikable, he’d somehow become more likable.

Infuriatingly likable.

To make matters worse, Qin Minggong’s late-night reading habit had escalated to more… explicit material. He realized Ning Qingze occasionally sneaked glances at him, and his teenage heart fluttered uncontrollably. His growing affection, combined with a certain overindulgence, led to an embarrassing outcome.

He developed a mild case of prostatitis.

Taking the doctor’s advice, he quit the comics cold turkey to focus on recovery.

Then the most horrifying thing happened. His condition was discovered—by none other than Ning Qingze.

When Ning Qingze, with an earnest expression, told him, “Your… that part is a little inflamed,” Qin Minggong wanted to crawl into a hole and die. Or better yet, drag Ning Qingze in with him as his grave-mate.

The embarrassment didn’t end there. The next day, Ning Qingze handed him a set of notes.

Who in their right mind would go online to research such a mortifying condition, take notes, and then hand them to someone else?

Ning Qingze, you’re a certified idiot!

Enraged and with his condition still unresolved, Qin Minggong couldn’t bear to stay around him any longer. Taking the doctor’s advice, he requested a seat change to avoid the “source of infection.”

This time, Ning Qingze got angry and stopped talking to him altogether.

Initially, Qin Minggong thought Ning Qingze was upset. But his grades only soared, leaving him completely in the dust.

With only a few months left before the college entrance exams, Qin Minggong resolved to leave things for after graduation. But in the end, they didn’t get into the same university.

Following his father’s arrangements, he went abroad.

He didn’t reach out to Ning Qingze again. Long-distance relationships? Forget it.

And so, several years passed.

Never in his wildest dreams did Qin Minggong expect to run into Ning Qingze again. At the hotel entrance that night, in the dim light, he spotted a familiar face and recognized him instantly.

The marketer dining with him turned back and called out. Hearing his name, Ning Qingze turned and glanced in his direction. For some reason, Qin Minggong felt a sudden rush of nerves.

These years, he hadn’t dated anyone, thinking his desires had cooled after recovering. But the moment he saw Ning Qingze, an unfamiliar tension bubbled up, and his body responded like it hadn’t in years.

Look at me. Look at me.

But Ning Qingze just gave him a brief glance and walked away.

I need to see him again. That thought was crystal clear in his mind.

It didn’t take long for him to dig up information about Ning Qingze’s life.

Graduate of B University, specializing in Urology.

“Damn it, why did he pick that specialty?” Qin Minggong groaned, haunted by memories of his treatment back in high school. Still, after seeing how routine and predictable Ning Qingze’s life was, he couldn’t resist.

The next day, he went to the hospital.

And booked… an appointment with the Urology Department.

To his surprise, Ning Qingze seemed thrilled to see him, his demeanor as warm and bright as the sun as he invited him in. Tossing the cigarette he had been fiddling with, he followed.

“Take off your pants,” Ning Qingze said with practiced professionalism.

Qin Minggong was momentarily dumbfounded. This was not how he’d imagined their reunion going.

But he complied, even smirking as he stripped. Idiot, take a good look. I’m perfectly healthy!

What he hadn’t anticipated was Ning Qingze lowering his head and actually examining him.

At that moment, it hit him: Of course, he’s a urologist. But watching his long-time crush bowing his head to check that part of him made his brain explode into a million fragments.

He got excited.

And for a second, he felt like he was back in high school. He wanted to die of embarrassment. But if he were going down, he was dragging Ning Qingze with him.