RSK Chapter 17

Before Wen Xu could explain, I pushed him aside and grabbed the collar of my shirt tightly.

“I just replied to a message and didn’t expect those two kids behind us to put a bouncy ball inside your shirt while playing. They were fussing to get it back, so I was just helping to retrieve it. That’s what happened,” Wen Xu explained softly.

Only then did I turn my head to look behind us. Indeed, there were two kids perched on the back of the seats, staring at me with big, bright eyes. It seemed the noisy sounds I heard in my dream were made by them.

Damn, I almost thought Wen Xu was harassing me.

I glared at the two mischievous brats before turning back to Wen Xu and said, “If that’s the case, you should have just woken me up. I could have taken it out myself.”

After saying that, I lifted my shirt, quickly found the elastic ball, and took it out, then re-buttoned my shirt.

Holding the ball, I said to the kids, “Little ones, don’t be naughty anymore, okay? Here you go.”

The little boy on the left took the ball, obediently nodding. “Thank you, big brother. To thank you, I want to tell you a secret.”

“What?” I asked, puzzled. What kind of secret could a child have to tell me?

The little boy motioned mysteriously for me to lean closer, and I complied. Then, he whispered in an ultra-soft voice, “Just now, the big brother next to you was stealing kisses from your lips!”

After saying this, the little boy ran off with his companion.

Hearing this “secret,” my first reaction was to quickly check if there were people sitting in the back row—it would be terrible if someone else had seen!

Wen Xu and I were sitting in the second-to-last row, thankfully empty behind us. Those kids must have snuck up here just to play.

Crap, no wonder I dreamt about kissing Wen Xu. He really did steal a kiss, probably to improve his kissing skills, huh?

This guy is too arrogant, always taking advantage when I’m not paying attention.

“What did that little kid tell you just now?” Wen Xu’s voice pulled me back to reality.

I looked at his serious, well-mannered face, hardly the image of a rogue stealing kisses in a movie theater. But if I called him out now, Wen Xu might confess his feelings impulsively, and he might even force the issue. How would I counsel him back to normal then?

So, I had to play dumb.

“Oh, nothing. That kid was just playing a prank on me.”

By the time the movie ended, it was almost 10 PM. On our way back to school, we came across a fragrant street barbecue stand. Feeling hungry, I suggested we grab some food there.

The stand was crowded, and we waited a while before our order was complete. I grabbed a squid skewer and bit into it, feeling blissful.

Wen Xu watched me intently and said, “This is actually my first time eating at a barbecue stand.”

I wasn’t surprised by his comment—he didn’t seem like someone who’d eat street food.

Just as I was about to tell him he should eat more, Wen Xu added, “Today was also my first time watching a movie alone with someone. It feels really good.” He then naturally wiped the sauce off the corner of my mouth with a napkin.

“…Oh.” I responded, a bit stunned, feeling my face heat up—surely because of the warm weather.

That Saturday afternoon, the dorm was unusually full. Then Gu Yang saw on the news that there might be a meteor shower near Yìnluán Mountain that night. Always curious, he quickly organized the whole dorm to go watch the meteor shower on Yìnluán Mountain.

Our dorm was quite tight-knit, all members of the school’s outdoor club, and we were well-equipped for such activities. To watch the meteor shower, we obviously had to camp out on Yìnluán Mountain, so after preparing our gear, we set off.

The mountain was some distance from our school, and we arrived at its base around four in the afternoon. Since it’s unsafe to hike in the mountains at night, we hurriedly made our way up without stopping.

Fortunately, the climb went smoothly, though I was a bit exhausted by the time we reached the summit. After a short rest, everyone started pitching their tents.

Unfortunately, when I took out the components of my tent, I discovered two of the poles were broken. Damn, my luck is terrible.

Wen Xu noticed my situation and initially squatted down to examine it. Watching him focus on the problem gave me hope. However, he eventually concluded, “This won’t work. You’ll have to sleep with me tonight.”

“…” I thought I could still struggle a bit more. “Maybe, let me check again.”

Just then, Qi Yiming, who had pitched his tent first, shouted out his victory and soon noticed my predicament. After understanding the situation, he said, “You better sleep in Wen Xu’s tent; I remember his is the largest here.”

When one person suggests it, it’s easy to refuse, but with two, refusing would seem odd. Reluctantly, I said to Wen Xu, “Then I’ll be troubling you.”

“No problem,” Wen Xu replied, as if energized, and began setting up his tent with vigor.

I couldn’t just stand by, so I went over to help him.

By the time everyone had their tents ready, it was past six in the evening. Everyone was a bit hungry by then, and we shared the food we had brought.

Sitting next to me, Gu Yang said, “Bro, why didn’t you tell me your tent was broken? You could sleep with me tonight.”

I glanced at Gu Yang’s cat-ear tent. True to his status as an art student, even his tent was cartoonish. But that spherical tent would be too cramped for two, and I had already agreed to stay with Wen Xu.

After some thought, I told Gu Yang, “No need, Wen Xu’s tent is bigger. I’ll stay in his.”

Gu Yang pouted, slightly disappointed. “Alright then.”

Others came up one by one, probably also waiting to watch the meteor shower. Unfortunately, even by ten o’clock, the meteor shower hadn’t appeared, and the news had predicted it around eight.

At that point, everyone was tired from waiting and the day’s journey. Sleepiness quickly overtook us, and Qi Yiming was the first to declare, “I’m not waiting any longer. I’m going to sleep.”

Once one person started, the rest of us followed suit. After hesitating for a while, I followed Wen Xu into his tent.

Although I had shared a bed with Wen Xu before, back then I wasn’t sure about his orientation, and his bed at home was large, with some distance between us. But it wasn’t like now—two grown men in one tent. Although his tent wasn’t small, it still felt cramped.

I turned my back to Wen Xu, wanting to fall asleep quickly to avoid the awkward situation. Unfortunately, on that stuffy summer night, with the incessant chirping of cicadas, sleep eluded me.

Just then, Wen Xu’s deep voice came from behind. “Ning Ran, can’t you sleep?”

I turned slightly to look at him and replied, “Yeah, what’s up?”

Wen Xu looked at me, paused, then said, “How about we do something interesting?”

“…”

My heart skipped a beat. What, what interesting thing?!