In a closed, dark, and quiet space, vision loses its function, the senses are infinitely magnified, and love always tends to grow wildly.
Outside the door, there were playful boys passing by, and every sound could even call out a familiar name. Gu Jiqing’s fingers left deep red marks on Zhou Cibai’s back, and his toes curled up in a tight shape.
Until finally he bit his lip, let out a muffled groan, and flipped over.
The next day, when the alarm rang, Gu Jiqing moved slightly and felt a burning pain on the inside of his thighs. His arms also felt sore. He took a deep breath.
Zhou Cibai, who had just woken up, asked hurriedly, “What happened?”
Gu Jiqing then realized that this person didn’t leave after he fell asleep last night. He couldn’t help but ask softly, “Don’t you find it crowded?”
Anyway, Gu Jiqing felt that it was difficult for two grown men to even move on a single bed.
What’s more, Zhou Cibai is 1.9 meters tall with long arms and legs, which makes him look even more cramped.
Zhou Cibai, however, seemed to feel nothing at all. He just put one hand around his waist, touched the broken skin with the other hand, and whispered, “I applied medicine last night. Does it still hurt?”
Actually, it’s okay, Gu Jiqing just wanted to act coquettishly.
He said lazily, “I don’t want to move.”
But there were still forty minutes before the morning class, and the teaching building where the class was held was some distance from the dormitory, so he looked at Zhou Cibai, blinked, and did not move.
Zhou Cibai also followed his lead, helping him put on his clothes and socks and saying, “If you don’t want to move, lie down for a while and just get up when I call you.”
“En.”
Gu Jiqing was too lazy to ask why. Just like a lazy cat that was too lazy to even lift its arms, he let Zhou Cibai put his clothes on him one by one, then he closed his eyes, lay down, and fell asleep.
Zhou Cibai didn’t want to do anything last night because he was afraid that Gu Jiqing would miss the morning class, and the bed in the dormitory was too small. But in the end, even if he just used his hands and legs, he still made Gu Jiqing suffer a lot.
He was then able to do the subsequent series of serving tasks with ease.
But when he had packed everything and came out from behind Gu Jiqing’s bed curtain, he bumped into the dormitory door, which creaked open.
So he had a deathly stare with Lu Ping and Chen Ji, who had just returned from an all-nighter.
Lu Ping looked at Zhou Cibai’s clean and tidy bed, then looked at Zhou Cibai, who was sitting on the edge of Gu Jiqing’s bed with one leg just hanging down. After three seconds, he took a breath.
However, the next second, Zhou Cibai, who had quickly gotten off the bed, frowned and covered his mouth. “Take back your garbage speech. Gu Jiqing and I just slept in each other’s arms all night. We didn’t do anything, and he’s still taking a nap. You guys should keep down the noise.”
“No.” Lu Ping whispered angrily, “Sleeping in each other’s arms is too much, okay! Can you two go home and show your affection?”
“Don’t worry, we only go back to the dormitory on Monday, Wednesday, and Thursday mornings when Gu Jiqing has early classes. At other times, you can’t even see us showing our affection.” Zhou Cibai answered shamelessly.
After saying that, he quickly washed up and walked quickly towards the dormitory building with his long legs.
When Gu Jiqing was woken up again, he was still in a daze. He just half closed his eyes and let Zhou Cibai wash his face and brush his teeth. He then led him downstairs, pinched his waist, put him on the back seat of the bicycle, and then stuffed hot soy milk and peeled eggs into his hands.
The mornings in the north in early spring are still chilly, and even the chirping of starlings seems so empty.
Gu Jiqing finally came back to his senses, but his voice was still a little hoarse: “Where did you get the bicycle?”
“It’s inconvenient to drive in school. I just borrowed one from Wang Quan and his roommates in the dormitory. I’ll buy one for myself later. Then you can sleep a little longer before your morning classes.” Zhou Cibai said, straddling the bicycle, “Hold on tight.”
“Umm.” Gu Jiqing put one arm around Zhou Cibai’s waist from behind and slowly drank from the soy milk cup in the other hand.
It saves his time for buying breakfast and waiting for the school bus, and I can actually sleep at least twenty minutes longer in the morning.
It turns out that having a boyfriend feels this good.
Gu Jiqing sat on the back seat of the bicycle, biting on a straw, and suddenly wondered if he would be spoiled by Zhou Cibai.
Forget it, just spoil him. It’s Zhou Cibai’s own fault anyway.
Gu Jiqing thought unreasonably.
“But I saw that Lu Ping and Wang Quan didn’t even have classes in the morning.”
After Gu Jiqing was sent to the classroom, he couldn’t help but ask a question when he saw Zhou Cibai preparing to look at the teaching building next door.
Zhou Cibai helped him to fix his hair and said, “I chose the management course.”
“En?”
Gu Jiqing bit the soy milk straw and blinked.
Zhou Cibai whispered, “Actually, I originally planned to study architecture after my undergraduate studies and then study management later, but I was afraid that I would be too late, so I decided to directly pursue a double degree in management. I will submit the application in April, so now I will take some of the courses I can choose in advance.”
Zhou Cibai is actually younger than most of the students in the same grade, and he doesn’t have any financial pressure. It is obvious why he is afraid of being too late.
He was becoming mature as quickly as possible in his own way and wanted to give Gu Jiqing a home as soon as possible.
So his boyfriend is not a stupid dog who can only act like a spoiled child. Gu Jiqing smiled and tiptoed to kiss him between the eyebrows. “Then keep going, my boyfriend.”
After saying that, he turned around and walked into the classroom, holding the cup of soy milk with a smile.
Zhou Cibai was left standing in the busy corridor for a moment, then he lowered his head and smiled, took out his phone, and sent: [En, fighting, my boyfriend, and I]
So their originally leisurely college life began to become busy from that sweet early spring morning.
Zhou Cibai was busy taking classes in two majors and had almost no time to rest during the day from Monday to Friday. Sometimes on weekends, when he went home for dinner and chatted with his father, he began to consciously get involved in the family business.
Gu Jiqing was not much more relaxed and could even be said to be busier.
In addition to maintaining first place in all professional courses, he was also recommended for the National College Mathematical Modeling Competition without any objection from the entire grade.
Most of the contestants this time are elite students from their junior and senior years. As one of the very few sophomores, Gu Jiqing needs to work even harder if he wants to stand out.
In addition, he has to tutor for two days every week without fail. Occasionally, when there is a commission for illustrations with good price and content, he will also take it.
Zhou Cibai also said twice that Gu Jiqing didn’t need to work so hard and that he could afford to support Gu Jiqing.
But after Gu Jiqing seriously expressed several times that he wanted to pay back the money with his own ability, Zhou Cibai finally chose to respect him.
He loves Gu Jiqing, but that doesn’t mean he wants to impose his love on Gu Jiqing.
All he could do was adjust the back seat of the bicycle to the most comfortable position, drive Gu Jiqing to and from class every day among the crowds, and then give each other a kiss of encouragement.
Then on weekend nights, they would snuggle together on the big, soft sofa that Zhou Cibai had just bought, eat Zhou Cibai’s newly developed dishes, and watch a brainless horror movie or Crayon Shin-chan.
Occasionally, Zhou Zhou would be frightened by the female ghost and would throw itself into Gu Jiqing’s arms with a howl, and the only noise in the living room would be the noise of the cat and dog.
Occasionally, Gu Jiqing would laugh so hard that he would fall into Zhou Cibai’s arms, and then there would be a lingering sweet kiss and a satisfying night.
When Gu Jiqing wants to take a rest, he will lie on the bed and draw the daily lives of the cat and dog. After finishing and looking at those cute pictures and more and more healing comments, it is as if all the happiness is magnified countless times.
Those experiences that were not so pleasant in the past eventually became a piece of candy that he was willing to share.
And every time the special attention alert sounded, Zhou Cibai would lie in bed next to Gu Jiqing, with his head covered, holding his tablet, watching with a silly smile, and then secretly forwarding it.
[@Did the dog and cat get married today: No, but the dog is trying.]
They stayed with each other through the cold winter, the early spring, the blooming and falling flowers, and their first midsummer.
Before they knew it, the comic strip about the cat and dog had progressed from the beginning, when the cat, became a stray cat to the time when the cat and the dog returned to school and fell in love.
Zhou Cibai successfully passed the application exam for his second degree, and Gu Jiqing lived up to expectations by teaming up with two seniors to win the championship in the national college competition.
On the day when the two good news came, Zhou Cibai decided to hold a celebration banquet at home.
Gu Jiqing was too lazy to move, so he didn’t go to the kitchen to help. He just wore Zhou Cibai’s shirt, sat cross-legged on the sofa, and played on the laptop.
Because every time he posted a short comic strip about the cat and dog, there would be more comments and reposts, Gu Jiqing found it troublesome and simply turned off all the notifications and just browsed the comments under the Weibo posts.
[F*ck, f*ck! The cat in the little skirt is so, so erotic! If I were the dog, I would pounce on him and bite his skirt into pieces!]
[Upstairs, don’t be so bitter! Is this the point? The point is that the cat and the dog knew each other a long time ago, so it would be great if the puppy could bring the kitten back to the nest as soon as possible]
[But the little cat and the little dog can’t be astringent; nowadays, the cat and big dog are the most erotic, okay!!! Poor body shape! Come on!]
[You guys wake up! This is a healing comic strip about the cat and the dog! People can’t do that, or at least shouldn’t!]
[Sorry, I’m not a human, so is there anyone willing to draw an anthropomorphic picture?]
[Yes! The figure when wearing women’s clothes is too poor! Come on, expert!!!]
[Why are you looking for an expert? Haven’t you seen Cyan’s commercial illustrations? The atmosphere is amazing. If you want the picture, why not have Cyan draw it himself or find Cyan’s good friend, Mr. Xiao Qiao, the expert in erotic illustrations!]
Gu Jiqing hadn’t logged into Weibo for two weeks because he was so busy participating in the competition. He didn’t expect to see this as soon as he opened it. Just as he was about to reply to a random message, an email notification popped up on his laptop, and the sender was Professor Zhang.
Gu Jiqing clicked on it directly.
It is the application form for studying abroad at National Tsinghua University and a top Ivy League school.
Before Gu Jiqing could react, Professor Zhang called: “Hello, Gu Jiqing, did you see the email I just sent you?”
Gu Jiqing slid the mouse and said softly, “En, teacher, I saw it.”
“I immediately filled out the application and submitted it. This is the world’s top university, and its applied mathematics major is also world-class. If you can go and study for a year, you will definitely benefit a lot. In addition, they hold an applied mathematics modeling competition every summer, which is not one of the small-scale competitions in China. If you win the championship, your research topic is likely to be directly invested in for subsequent in-depth and detailed research. Whether it is for your future employment, continued research, or entrepreneurship, it is a very high starting point. It may be the first pot of gold in your career.”
Professor Zhang admired Gu Jiqing from the first day of school because he admired all talented and hardworking people.
Gu Jiqing is not only very talented in mathematics, but most importantly, he is not an extreme geek in mathematical research. He also has extremely high emotional intelligence and extremely keen humanistic care. He may not be able to reach the pinnacle of theoretical research like those very few geniuses, but for applied mathematics, he is definitely a rare talent.
That’s why he strongly recommended Gu Jiqing when the quota came out this time. He felt that no one was more suitable for this opportunity than Gu Jiqing.
Professor Zhang is truly a mentor to him.
The moment Gu Jiqing saw the logo of the Ivy League school, he couldn’t help but be moved.
This was the school he had dreamed of attending since he was a child, and he had been able to apply for it.
However, because Gu Jue could only attend an ordinary university in the top 100 in North America by donating money, he had to give up studying abroad in order to maintain Gu Jue’s dignity.
Later on, he could no longer afford the cost of studying abroad.
After all, even with a full scholarship, the expenses in the United States are not comparable to those in China.
Even for this one-year exchange, even if he could apply for national funding, if he wanted to participate in competitions, the annual cost would be at least six figures, and he would also lose his main source of income as a competition tutor in China.
Gu Jiqing slid his fingertips, and the mouse stopped at the column about fees in the notes. He pursed his lips and said, “En, professor, I understand. I will consider it.”
“Consider it? What else is there to consider? Gu Jiqing, this opportunity is so rare! Others can’t even ask for it, and even if they do, they may not be able to do it. But you are different. You are young, talented, and hardworking, so you must learn to seize every opportunity to move forward, because only when you are more capable and stand higher can you help more people! Oh, forget it, think about it carefully, and give me an answer within one day.”
After hanging up the phone, Gu Jiqing bent his legs, hugged his knees, and stared at the laptop screen in a daze. Zhou Zhou lay quietly beside him, as if they each had their own melancholy.
When Zhou Cibai came out of the kitchen holding a watermelon, he saw Gu Jiqing like this. He quickly walked forward, squatted down, scooped out the sweetest piece in the middle of the watermelon, handed it to Gu Jiqing, and asked softly, “Maomao, what’s wrong?”
His Maomao ate the watermelon heart shaped in one gulp, looked at him, and said earnestly and innocently, “Zhou Dagou, I have no money anymore.”
Zhou Cibai: “?”
Gu Jiqing seriously and innocently said again, “So if I ask you to borrow 200,000 yuan first and then separate from you for a year, do you think you will hold grudges?”
Zhou Cibai: “???”
The borrowing of 200,000 yuan is fine, but what about separation for a year?!
He would even feel anxious if he didn’t see Gu Jiqing for three days, so does Gu Jiqing want to kill him?!
Before he could react to this nightmarish question, Gu Jiqing’s cell phone rang again.
As soon as Gu Jiqing picked up the phone, Xia Qiao’s excited scream came from the other end of the line: “Ahhhhhhhh!!! Gu Gu!!! You’re famous!!!”
Gu Jiqing: “?”
“Look at the picture I just sent you quickly!”
Xia Qiao’s voice was so excited that it almost lost its gender characteristics.
Gu Jiqing clicked on the picture sent by Xia Qiao on QQ for some reason.
Then the huge laptop screen was instantly filled with a huge color illustration.
In the picture, a slender young man with cat ears and a cat tail was lying on the ground in white gauze, while another young man with dog ears and very beautiful muscular lines, who was two sizes bigger than him, was leaning over and biting the back of his neck. The huge tail covered all the key parts, but the overwhelming sexual tension and unique painting style made Gu Jiqing recognize that this was a very famous foreign painter.
He asked, “This is…”
“This is the anthropomorphic drawing of your cat and dog story by A! The popularity on the Internet is crazy, okay!!!” Xia Qiao’s voice was almost hoarse. “And you know what the most important thing is! Just now, a publishing house contacted me and said that they have been contacting you, asking if you are willing to publish a picture album and want to buy the copyright of your peripheral products. As a result, you didn’t reply to their private messages for a week. When they saw this picture today, they were anxious. They were afraid that if your popularity really exploded, they would not be able to compete with other publishing houses, so they quickly asked me if they could contact you, so please check the private messages!!!”
Picture albums and peripherals?
When Gu Jiqing was drawing these, he actually never thought about these things. He never had a clear understanding or concept of how many followers his Weibo account had gained or how popular it was.
Because drawing these short comic strips is more about reconciliation and healing for him, and they are also just small gifts for him and Zhou Cibai as souvenirs.
So this kind of thing is not within his scope of knowledge.
But obviously, this kind of thing could solve his urgent problem.
And he relied on his own abilities to solve his urgent problems.
This made him feel like he had more confidence to be with Zhou Cibai.
So he hung up the phone, looked at Zhou Cibai, and said, “Boyfriend, I have three good news to tell you, which one do you want to hear first?”
Zhou Cibai was first shocked when Gu Jiqing said they might be separated for a year. When he came to his senses, he saw the anthropomorphic atmosphere picture of cats and dogs on the screen, and his ears turned red instantly.
Therefore, when he heard Gu Jiqing’s words, he didn’t have time to think about it and just raised his eyes.
Gu Jiqing hugged his neck, bent down, and kissed the corner of his eye, and said in a gentle tone that Zhou Cibai couldn’t stand the most: “The first good news is that we can try the pose in the painting.”
“?”
Zhou Cibai instinctively felt that the cat was going to do something bad again, and he opened his mouth to ask what was wrong.
However, the next second, Gu Jiqing kissed him on the lips with ease: “After the test, I will tell you the second and third good news, okay?”
Zhou Cibai’s loose shirt slipped off Gu Jiqing’s shoulders when he moved. His voice was light and soft, as if rejecting him would be a huge sin.
Therefore, even though he knew it was a trap, Zhou Cibai could only willingly fall into it. He hugged him and said in a hoarse voice, “Then can you wear the cat tail I bought last time?”
Gu Jiqing wrapped his arms around his waist, like the most obedient cat in the world, and replied softly, “En, okay.”
