Chapter 1941: Chapter 1941: Mirror World (18)
Even though Chuzheng won the lawsuit, the previous incidents haven’t been cleared up, so there aren’t many people speaking up for her.
Of course, Chuzheng doesn’t plan to debut, so the online opinions don’t affect her much, and she doesn’t care at all.
The person involved hasn’t made any moves, so the chatter online is useless.
Chuzheng hasn’t seen Yu Shi for several days; she’s not sure if Yu Shi is hiding or just staying home.
Chuzheng submitted the last few design drafts and stretched lazily, feeling relaxed.
No sooner had she relaxed for ten minutes, Dai Mi sent her an email containing the introduction and registration link for a design competition.
Chuzheng: "..."
The next day, Dai Mi found out his archenemy received a prize, leaving him confused as to why he didn’t get any despite his hard work.
-
2019.
The bell rang, and students ran outside like Erhas freed from their cages.
Cheng Mu lay sprawled on his desk without moving, and Li Huan patted him from behind: "Brother Mu, it’s dismissal time, want to grab lunch?"
"Not going."
Cheng Mu replied impatiently.
"What’s up with you lately?" Li Huan sat down in front of Cheng Mu: "Feeling down? Did someone annoy you? We haven’t fought anyone recently."
Cheng Mu: "..." You wouldn’t understand.
Li Huan indeed didn’t understand, so he forcibly dragged Cheng Mu to eat.
Cheng Mu, adopting the demeanor of a big brother, boldly took over a table in the cafeteria and sat there like a boss, waiting for Li Huan to bring the food back.
"Bro."
Qu An appeared beside him carrying a tray. Cheng Mu glanced up at him, a mocking smile tugging at his lips, saying nothing.
Qu An asked quietly, "Can I sit here? There’s no other place."
Cheng Mu put down his chopsticks and said, ambiguously, "If I say no, will you still not sit?"
Qu An: "If you don’t want me to sit, of course I wouldn’t."
Cheng Mu’s mouth pressed downward, and he stood up: "I’ve had enough."
"Huh? You’ve barely eaten!" Li Huan called out, and without bothering with his food, chased after him.
Once the two left, the table was empty.
Qu An naturally took Cheng Mu’s seat and tilted his head to look outside through the glass.
Li Huan caught up to Cheng Mu, hooking an arm around his shoulder, leaning in close to talk.
Qu An’s grip on his chopsticks tightened, a dark shadow filled his eyes.
Cheng Mu didn’t know what happened after he left.
Li Huan kept rambling: "Brother Mu, what’s with you lately? Your tolerance for Qu An is much higher."
In the past, seeing Qu An, Cheng Mu would nearly want to pin him down.
Brother Mu has changed!
"Hmph."
Cheng Mu let out a cold laugh, not responding to Li Huan. Thinking of the source of all this, Cheng Mu gritted his teeth again.
Cheng Mu and Li Huan hung out elsewhere for a while and returned to class just before it started.
As Cheng Mu packed his books, he found a bag of bread, a box of milk, and a note inside his desk, indicating who gifted them.
In the past, many used to give Cheng Mu various things until one day, Cheng Mu lost his temper, and no one dared again.
Qu An putting things in his desk violated Cheng Mu’s rules; Li Huan wanted to comment but saw Cheng Mu’s displeased expression as he shoved them back, then took out a book to read.
Li Huan: "..."
Is he waiting to cause trouble after class?
Over the following period, Cheng Mu’s tolerance towards Qu An noticeably increased.
Though Cheng Mu always looked annoyed and unfriendly, he never caused trouble for Qu An.
Qu An remained cautious and didn’t show anything.
Until...
After the final exams, there was a class gathering.
"Brother Mu, why aren’t you drinking?"
"Let you mess with me again?" Cheng Mu shot him a look: "Do I look stupid to you?"
Li Huan chuckled: "That was just a joke, Brother Mu. Why hold a grudge? Remember, I took you home that night. You know how hard it is to get a cab at that hour? I didn’t let you sleep on the streets, did I?"
"You didn’t mess with me..."
Cheng Mu suddenly paused and squinted his eyes: "When did you take me home that night?"
"It was late," Li Huan replied, being unsure of the exact time, but definitely past 1 AM.
Cheng Mu: "..."
Cheng Mu grabbed the table’s bottle and gulped down half under everyone’s eyes.
Li Huan was startled: "Mu... Brother Mu?" What happened, did he say something wrong?
-
Qu An wasn’t in the same class as Cheng Mu, but Cheng Mu hadn’t returned late at night, so Qu An stayed in the hall waiting.
Li Huan helped Cheng Mu back, and seeing Li Huan supporting Cheng Mu, Qu An’s expression darkened momentarily.
"Let me help." Qu An went over.
"No need, I’ll take Brother Mu upstairs." Li Huan quickly declined; Brother Mu had instructed Qu An not to touch him.
Qu An nodded, stepped aside, and followed them upstairs.
After Li Huan left, Qu An stood outside for almost five minutes before entering the room.
He stood by the bed, quietly observing the person lying down.
After a while, Qu An crouched, leaning by the bedside to watch.
"Bro, what do you want to do?" He murmured to himself.
"Bro?"
"Cheng Mu?"
He called several times, but Cheng Mu didn’t respond. Qu An supported himself on the bed and slowly got up.
Today, Father Cheng and his mother weren’t around; it was just them.
Qu An felt overwhelmed, struggling to contain himself.
"Bro..." he said, voice hoarse, wanting to touch the person he liked from the first sight.
Qu An couldn’t help but whisper: "Do you know how much I like you?"
"Didn’t you deny it?"
A voice, not belonging to him, exploded in his ear, startling Qu An to take a step back and look up at the bed.
The youth had opened his eyes sometime ago, drunkness clouding his deep black gaze.
Though Qu An relaxed a bit.
He’s still drunk.
"Bro, you’re drunk. I’ll find you some hangover medicine."
Qu An said, trying to leave.
"Qu An!" Cheng Mu called, trying to sit up: "Do you like me?"
"Bro, what are you saying..."
"I heard you just now."
"..." Qu An’ hand clenched at his side, his body tensing.
"Qu An, don’t blame me for not giving you a chance... If you don’t say it today, never say it again."
Qu An came back to his senses, wanting to verify if Cheng Mu was truly drunk or pretending.
The boy’s cheeks were flushed; though he sat there, his body swayed, as if ready to tip over at any moment.
His eyes only held the haze of drunkenness; he really was drunk.
Qu An’s throat tightened, but he didn’t leave. He knew Cheng Mu always blacked out after drinking, so nothing would come of saying it.
With this resolve, Qu An turned back, walked to the bedside: "Bro..."
