INT Chapter 2

 

Lu Ze and Han Jing stared at each other for several minutes before he spoke again, extremely shocked, “You like that Qiu Ning with short hair? The one who is 1.7 meters tall and good at playing basketball?”

 

Han Jing nodded solemnly, “Yes, it’s that Qiu Ning.”

 

Lu Ze didn’t even know what expression he was wearing now. He had been somewhat unwilling, just wanting to see who could keep Han Jing from liking him even after being together for such a long time. But who he found out to be the person took him by complete surprise. He had never thought it would be a girl. There was no way to compare…

 

Han Jing, seeing his shocked expression and speechlessness, cautiously asked, “Lu Ze, do you find me repulsive?”

 

Lu Ze regained his composure and shook his head, “It’s a different era. There’s nothing strange about being a homosexual, let alone ‘repulsive’.”

 

Han Jing breathed a sigh of relief, “So, you…”

 

Lu Ze furrowed his brow and spoke hesitantly, “I… just didn’t expect to lose to… a girl…”

 

Han Jing quickly waved her hand, “Please don’t think like that. It’s all my fault. I couldn’t figure out who I really liked. You are actually an excellent and suitable boyfriend. You…”

 

Lu Ze softly interrupted her, “Stop talking. The more you say this, the more frustrated I become.”

 

Han Jing bit her lower lip, “I’m sorry, truly sorry.”

 

The temperature of the milk tea had cooled down a bit, just right. Lu Ze bit onto the straw and drank almost half of the cup in one go. After finishing, he asked, “Does Qiu Ning know that you like her?”

 

As soon as Qiu Ning was mentioned, Lu Ze could clearly sense that Han Jing had become incredibly gentle, and a faint smile played on her lips, “I think she still doesn’t know.”

 

Lu Ze felt as if a heavy breath was stuck in his chest, neither going up nor down, making him uncomfortable. He asked himself painfully, “So, are you planning to let her know?”

 

After contemplating for a moment, Han Jing suddenly spoke with determination, “After talking with you, I feel like I’ve figured things out. I’m planning to tell her in a few days that we’ve broken up. I think she has feelings for me too, but I hurt her when I got into a relationship…”

 

As Han Jing spoke, her voice became quieter, and she clearly noticed that Lu Ze’s expression had become even more unpleasant than before.

 

Lu Ze’s throat moved, and after a while, he let out a deep sigh and said, “I wish you both happiness, and I won’t tell anyone.”

 

Han Jing responded, “You can tell them if your friends ask. Just say it’s because I like girls. I don’t care what others think. I just hope you won’t misunderstand me. I’m not someone who treats relationships casually. When I agreed to date you, I truly didn’t know I liked her. I haven’t done anything inappropriate before today.”

 

Lu Ze nodded, “I understand.”

 

Han Jing smiled at him, a radiant and beautiful smile, “Thank you, Lu Ze. You really are a good person.”

 

“Lu Ze, you really are a good person.”

 

“Really a good person.”

 

“A good person.”

 

Those words seemed to echo around Lu Ze’s ears like a haunting melody in 3D. He returned to his dorm without even changing his clothes and buried his face in the bed.

 

His breathing was a bit constricted, but Lu Ze had no intention of moving.

 

It was understandable that Han Jing hadn’t realized she liked girls; it was understandable that she had been honest after realizing it; it was understandable that, even though she didn’t like him, she had given him a “good person” card. Understandable? Forget it! It was too frustrating, even more so than being deceived. These past few months with Han Jing felt like a joke.

 

He had lived for twenty years, and this was the first time he felt so wronged. He had put in effort to pursue the girl he liked, and they had been in a serious relationship for several months. But in the end, she didn’t like guys, and it all came down to gender.

 

To make it worse, Han Jing’s crush, Qiu Ning, was her roommate. During their relationship, they lived and ate together. Lu Ze even asked Qiu Ning to help him deliver things to Han Jing and provide her with hot water…

 

The more he thought about it, the angrier he got.

 

Lu Ze didn’t even know how long he had been angry; he just drifted off to sleep in frustration.

 

When he woke up again, Sun Zhuoyu and Mao Xin were already back. Lu Ze opened his eyes and saw their heads near his bed.

 

Lu Ze stared at them in confusion for a moment and then asked with a hoarse voice, “What’s going on?”

 

Sun Zhuoyu and Mao Xin both let out relieved sighs. Sun Zhuoyu smiled and said, “You haven’t even changed your outerwear, and you were lying in this position. We thought you had passed out. We were considering whether to call 120…”

 

Indeed, he felt a bit dizzy. Lu Ze slowly sat up, frowned, and looked down at himself. He cleared his throat and asked, “Why haven’t I taken off my clothes?”

 

“Man, don’t ask us about that.”

 

Mao Xin looked at his expression and said, “Ze Ge, you look so desolate, like you’ve just gone through a breakup.”

 

Lu Ze glanced at him and replied, “I was just groggy. Why would I be desolate?”

 

Mao Xin shook his head, “It’s hard to say; you seem desolate in general.”

 

Lu Ze leaned against the wall and said softly, “Well, we did break up.”

 

“What?!” Both Mao Xin and Sun Zhuoyu exclaimed simultaneously, almost hurting Lu Ze’s eardrums.

 

He furrowed his brow deeply and said with a gloomy expression, “Keep it down; it’s not that big of a deal.”

 

“Isn’t it a big deal?” Sun Zhuoyu stepped onto a stool, “Why did you break up?”

 

“Yeah,” Mao Xin climbed up and sat at the end of the bed, “I thought you really liked her.”

 

Lu Ze looked at his backside and retorted, “You’re sitting on my bed without even taking your pants off?”

 

Mao Xin pointed at him, “You haven’t taken your pants off either, and besides, these sheets need to be washed… Oh, but that’s not the point. Why did you two break up?”

 

Lu Ze remained silent for a while. Sun Zhuoyu carefully asked, “It’s not that Han Jing dumped you, is it?”

 

Lu Ze glared at him and, two seconds later, said, “Dump me, my ass.”

 

“So you dumped her, then?”

 

“Do you see the resemblance of someone who just dumped another person?” Mao Xin whispered.

 

Lu Ze had been silent all this time. Sun Zhuoyu reached his arm and patted his leg, “Come on, Ze Ge, don’t be so down. Let’s go out for a drink. Today, we won’t return sober!”

 

Lu Ze rubbed his nose, “Forget it, don’t feel like moving.”

 

Sun Zhuoyu and Mao Xin exchanged glances. Mao Xin grabbed Lu Ze’s hand and said, “Come on, Ze Ge, we’ll have a drink, and when we come back, you can sleep it off. There’s nothing you can’t get over.”

 

Lu Ze’s gaze fell to his own wrist, which Mao Xin was holding. He asked, “Why are you holding my hand?”

 

Mao Xin was puzzled and said, “Why can’t I hold your hand?”

 

Lu Ze stared at it for a while, and Han Jing seemed to hold Qiu Ning’s hand… Damn, don’t even think about it!

 

Lu Ze pulled his hand away and flopped onto the pillow, “I’m not going. I don’t want to drink. Leave me alone; I’ll sleep a little more.”

 

Mao Xin was puzzled, “You’re just going to sleep like this? You’re not taking off your clothes?”

 

“I can’t be bothered…”

 

“In that case, I’ll help you.”

 

Mao Xin started reaching for his clothes, and Lu Ze reacted quite strongly. He waved his hand to push Mao Xin away, saying, “What are you doing?”

 

Mao Xin and Lu Ze locked eyes for a moment, and then Mao Xin quickly hopped off the bed. Lu Ze sighed, “Sorry, Mao Mao, I didn’t mean to…”

 

Mao Xin nodded, “I understand, you’re in a bad mood.”

 

“Yeah, just don’t mind me. Go do whatever you need to do.”

 

Sun Zhuoyu patted Mao Xin’s back and said to Lu Ze, “Then, we’re going to have dinner. We’ll bring you something.”

 

Lu Ze closed his eyes, “It’s not necessary.”

 

After leaving the room, Mao Xin was extremely puzzled, “What’s wrong with Ze Ge? He won’t let us hold his hand, and he won’t take off his clothes…”

 

Sun Zhuoyu pondered for a while and came to a rather painful conclusion, “It’s possible that he wanted to take a step further with Han Jing today and suddenly realized…”

 

“Realized what?” Mao Xin asked.

 

“Realized that he couldn’t.”