CFL 14

After confirming the time in the group chat, they gathered at the cafeteria of the second teaching building. When Jiang Yufeng arrived, Wen Ci was hiding behind Lu Xuesong, noisily eating a strawberry. The strawberry was so large that it made Wen Ci’s face and hands look even smaller, larger than the size of Wen Ci’s chin.

They walked all the way to the small grove across the lake. After finishing the strawberry, Wen Ci wiped his mouth and hands with a wet tissue. They stopped by the side to organize the equipment. None of the four were photography majors, so they had to rely on the camera borrowed by Sha Zhengyi. He was the one responsible for the majority of the material this time.

The reason they chose today for the interview assignment was that it was a big day for students to return to school. Many people would be walking on the campus streets, making the chances of interviewing quite high. Especially in this area, with its beautiful scenery, it was incredibly easy to randomly interview a couple.

The theme of this assignment was to discover the small beauties in life. Sha Zhengyi held the camera while Lu Xuesong prepared the script. The two of them excitedly rushed over, stopped a couple, and asked some very ordinary questions.

Wen Ci stood to the side. His main responsibility for this assignment was to create the PPT, so he didn’t need to be too proactive. He was there to observe. He walked to a shady spot, picked up a stick, and started playing with it. Looking up, he noticed Jiang Yufeng standing beside him.

A cool breeze blew, and the leaves rustled. Wen Ci cautiously moved behind Lu Xuesong, putting some distance between himself and Jiang Yufeng.

The interviewee, a guy named Rong Yingwu, was boasting about their great love while holding his boyfriend’s shoulders. For every question Lu Xuesong asked, Rong Yingwu gave ten answers, making his boyfriend blush with embarrassment. Finally, when they finished and the couple walked away, Lu Xuesong shook his shoulders and said, “I’ve never seen anyone so lovey-dovey.”

They had a fruitful morning. As lunchtime approached, Sha Zhengyi adjusted the equipment and said, “Let’s collect one more and then head back home.” The cafeteria was too crowded at this time. Lu Xuesong randomly stopped someone. After greeting them, he looked up and saw it was Rong Yingwu.

“It’s you again!” Lu Xuesong was about to let him go with a smile when he glanced at Rong Yingwu’s boyfriend and said, puzzled, “The person you were holding hands with this morning doesn’t seem to be this classmate.”

Rong Yingwu forcibly kept his composure: “You’re talking nonsense. I just came out of the dormitory. I haven’t seen you guys.”

Sha Zhengyi: “…”

Wen Ci: “…”

Lu Xuesong: “…”

They hadn’t expected to catch someone cheating on their partner. Although Wen Ci had seen many outrageous things, this was his first time in such an awkward situation.

Jiang Yufeng took two steps forward, showing no particular emotion, and said indifferently, “Then come over and do an interview before you leave. It’ll only take a few minutes.”

Jiang Yufeng looked down at Rong Yingwu from above. Behind him, one person held a camera, another rolled a sheet of paper into a stick shape, and the third one, looking bewildered, was playing with a flexible stick, also staring at him. It seemed that if Rong Yingwu refused, he would be ganged up on.

Rong Yingwu felt utterly hopeless: “Okay.”

Lu Xuesong coughed lightly and whispered into Wen Ci’s ear, “No wonder he’s the big god of Jiang. He’s terrifying.”

Wen Ci’s heart raced as he looked at Jiang Yufeng’s back. He tried to convince himself, “The senior is the best.”

Lu Xuesong: “…What are you doing?”

Wen Ci said, “I’m afraid I might cheat.”

“…”

The interview lasted more than five minutes, and Rong Yingwu almost fled in panic. His second boyfriend hadn’t quite figured out what was going on, but it didn’t matter. Rong Yingwu’s “achievement” would soon appear in the PPT video they were making, making him famous in one battle.

They went to the cafeteria full of satisfaction to have lunch.

“Wow, there’s roast duck today. I asked the aunt to give me a lot. Do you guys want some? I can share with you.”

Jiang Yufeng glanced at him but didn’t say anything. Lu Xuesong automatically took a few pieces: “Why is the aunt so nice to you? All I got was bones, no meat.”

Sha Zhengyi also followed Lu Xuesong and took some pieces.

Wen Ci hesitated and looked at Jiang Yufeng across from him: “How about you?”

“No need,” Jiang Yufeng glanced at his plate, “Is it enough?”

Wen Ci nodded: “Yes, it’s enough.”

In the afternoon, they planned to take some photos of the school’s scenery as additional material. It was cloudy, but stuffy. The cement ground exuded a hot, oppressive air, making it difficult to breathe smoothly.

Sha Zhengyi had borrowed a tripod from somewhere and called for Wen Ci to give it a try. Wen Ci took a few photos and got hooked. Thinking his jacket was a bit cumbersome, he took it off and handed it to the person next to him. He thought it was Sha Zhengyi, but when he turned his face, he saw it was Jiang Yufeng.

Wen Ci was stunned for a moment, thinking of taking his jacket back. Jiang Yufeng didn’t even look at him, turned around, and walked to the other side in the shade. The dappled sunlight fell on his features, creating a serene and calm look.

For some reason, Wen Ci took a photo of that scene.

He was nervous, his palms sweating, and he spent the whole afternoon thinking about how to stealthily extract the photos from the camera.

Until the four of them parted ways at the East Gate, and Lu Xuesong pulled him to go shopping at the mall, Wen Ci was still thinking about what to do with the photos. What if Sha Zhengyi deleted them? It would be bad if Jiang Yufeng saw them.

“Did we take a lot of photos just now? Will Sha Zhengyi send them all to me?”

“Yes, the PPT is your and Jiang Yufeng’s responsibility. He’ll send them in the group chat or maybe package them separately. I’m not sure,” Lu Xuesong said, pulling his arm and asking, “Why, what do you want to do with them?”

“I want him to send them to me first.”

“Then just tell him.”

Wen Ci obediently took out his phone and sent a message to Sha Zhengyi. Soon, he received an OK reply from Sha Zhengyi.

Relieved.

If Jiang Yufeng saw it, it would be misunderstood.

And he was now fully pursuing the senior. Jiang Yufeng had become history.

“Ah,” Wen Ci touched his arm in surprise, “My jacket is gone.”

“???” Lu Xuesong also remembered that he had worn a sun-protective jacket when he left the house, which made his skin look even whiter and glowing, so Lu Xuesong remembered very clearly, “Who did you give it to after you took it off?”

“Jiang Yufeng…” Wen Ci frowned and thought, “He seems to have forgotten to give it back to me.”

But he himself had also forgotten to take it back.

Lu Xuesong clicked his tongue, the more he thought about it, the more he felt something was off between them. From the moment Jiang Yufeng agreed to collect material with them, he felt that these two definitely had something going on.

“Jiang Yufeng doesn’t really like you, does he? Maybe he thought you were playing hard to get, and then the god of Jiang took the bait.”

Wen Ci’s eyes widened, a bit scared: “Don’t talk nonsense.”

Lu Xuesong quietly looked at him, his delicate features revealing a sense of purity.

Wen Ci covered his lips with his hand, not wanting to be overheard: “I don’t want to cheat.”

“…”

But Lu Xuesong felt that the more Wen Ci emphasized this, the more his thoughts were on the edge of a precipice, with wild ideas of having two husbands.

Jiang Yufeng only realized he had an extra piece of clothing on him when he got inside. He sat down and picked up the shirt.

For him, the shirt was quite small in size. It fit Wen Ci perfectly, highlighting his bright cheeks as if they were illuminated.

Jiang Yufeng closed his fingers around the shirt, part of it balled up in his palm. He gently rubbed it with his fingertips for a moment, as if he could still smell a faint, slightly bitter scent.

It was the smell of Wen Ci.

Jiang Yufeng slowly raised his hand, about to take a sniff, when his phone vibrated a few times. He seemed to realize what he was doing and frowned slightly, throwing the shirt aside.

The air seemed to solidify for a moment, and even his breathing became slow and heavy. Jiang Yufeng didn’t look at his phone immediately. Instead, he reluctantly picked up the shirt again.

After waiting for a while, Jiang Yufeng finally opened his phone. It was a message from Wen Ci. Even through the screen, one could feel the seriousness of the tone.

[Wen Ci: I left my jacket with you. Could you bring it to the classroom tomorrow? Thanks.]

[Jiang Yufeng: Got it.]

At the same time, another work-related account also received a message. After reading the sentence, Jiang Yufeng narrowed his eyes slightly.

What does this mean?

Wen Ci and Lu Xuesong returned to the dormitory together, but Wen Ci felt uneasy inside. As soon as he connected to the WiFi and opened his phone, he saw that Sha Zhengyi had already sent over the photos from today. Wen Ci suddenly realized that since Sha Zhengyi had sent them to him, he would naturally also send an identical package to Jiang Yufeng. Sooner or later, Jiang Yufeng would see the photos that included him.

A miscalculation!

Wen Ci decided to be firm. As long as he denied taking that photo, everything would be fine.

That’s what he would do!

However, hiding the photo of Jiang Yufeng felt strange, as if he were harboring secret feelings for him. Moreover, if the senior found out, he would probably be unhappy.

Wen Ci sighed. He had been out all day and hadn’t had much time to contact the senior. After mustering up some courage, he sent a hesitant message to the senior. After sending it, he didn’t dare to look, feeling as if he had been in a daze all day.

[W: Would you mind if I got close to another guy?]

The senior took about ten minutes to reply.

[Yf: Why are you asking this?]

Wen Ci pondered for a while, unsure of how to respond. He didn’t really want to mention Jiang Yufeng.

Before he could come up with a reason, another message arrived.

[Yf: Yes, I would.]

All the previous hesitation was forgotten. Wen Ci stared at this reply. He would? So he did mind.

The senior minding meant the senior was jealous. The senior being jealous meant the senior had feelings for him.

[Yf: So, who is it?]

[W: You don’t know him. He’s just a classmate. Anyway, I’ll keep my distance from him.]

[Yf: You better.]

Lu Xuesong glanced up and saw him engrossed in his phone, knowing he was chatting with the senior. He casually asked, “How’s it going between you two now?”

“Almost there, almost there,” Wen Ci replied cheerfully, picking up a piece of rice.

“You guys are moving really fast,” Lu Xuesong remarked with a hint of jealousy.

Wen Ci, with a mouthful of rice, felt the sweetness of the starch filling his mouth. After swallowing, he said, “Pretty much. I think he’s about to fall in love with me!”