CFL 35

Yun Anhe wondered if he was out of touch with the trends of the younger generation, as he couldn’t understand why there was still such a thing as an ambiguous romantic interest.

However, he didn’t ask too many questions. Yun Anhe just took a few more curious glances at Wen Ci, thinking he looked familiar, probably because he had seen him in some post on A University’s forum, as Wen Ci’s appearance was truly unforgettable.

Jiang Yufeng asked Wen Ci to sit and rest first, then went to the bookshelf and asked, “What book do you want to read?”

“There doesn’t seem to be much left…” Wen Ci had read everything he could, and he was extremely bored yesterday. “Just that sci-fi magazine.”

If you want to read it again, go ahead.

Jiang Yufeng’s finger glided along the row of comics: “Don’t you like reading comics? You didn’t finish it last night.”

Wen Ci didn’t understand how he could speak so openly about something so private. But then again, they even had the xx platform here; compared to that, a little bit of explicit content was nothing.

Before Wen Ci could respond, Jiang Yufeng had already picked up a series and said, “I recommend this one. You should learn from it.”

Wen Ci looked at the colorful cover with curiosity. The characters were all very handsome. “What’s it about?”

“Abo, omega-heat, kept relationships, and a bit of forced love.”

Wen Ci’s eyes widened in surprise.

So many elements.

Wen Ci exclaimed, “How melodramatic!”

“It’s not bad. I enjoyed it when I read it.”

Yun Anhe stood by, holding shrimp balls and tripe, feeling out of place in this atmosphere. Could this be the legendary ambiguity?

Jiang Yufeng looked down at Wen Ci, who was curiously examining the book cover, and smiled faintly. Turning his face, he saw Yun Anhe standing there with a dazed expression and reined in his smile: “Come with me and put the things in the fridge.”

Yun Anhe’s spirit returned to his body: “Oh… yeah.”

Jiang Yufeng was taking out corn, radish, and cut pork ribs from the fridge when Yun Anhe asked, “What are you making?”

“Soup.”

“…After a few days apart, you’ve become quite domestic.”

It was Jiang Yufeng’s first time doing this, and he was clearly not very skilled, but he was still proceeding in an orderly manner, probably having done his homework in advance.

The winter sunlight shone through the kitchen window onto his relaxed back. His thin hands, with veins visible on the back, were quite formidable. Yun Anhe was reminded of how he used to wield a stick and strike people fiercely and bloodily in the past. Now, however, he was gently stirring the soup and carefully adding seasonings.

Jiang Yufeng lowered his eyebrows, closed the lid, and the prominent ridge of his eyebrows cast a shadow: “We’re going out later.”

Yun Anhe came to his senses: “Where to?”

“To buy groceries.”

“…You really are quite domestic.”

Wen Ci had mentioned that he wasn’t very hungry, so Jiang Yufeng planned to buy according to that. Yun Anhe got in the car with him: “What’s going on? Are you dating someone?”

“Must you pry?”

Yun Anhe was also quite shocked: “I’m your buddy… and you’re planning to keep it from me?!”

Jiang Yufeng had always had a look that seemed to invite a punch, and despite how many people fawned over him, he still maintained a cold and aloof demeanor. Although Yun Anhe knew it wasn’t intentional, Jiang Yufeng’s way of looking at people was really annoying.

As for Wen Ci, aside from matching Jiang Yufeng in appearance, Yun Anhe couldn’t see anything particularly special about him yet.

Yun Anhe said, “Come on, tell me. I can help you get through this.”

“I haven’t talked to him yet.”

“What are you doing then?”

“Being ambiguous.”

“…Are you serious? You can just say that you’re being ambiguous?”

“Haven’t you seen it?” Jiang Yufeng, with one hand on the steering wheel, spoke lazily, “Why are you even asking?”

The atmosphere in the car suddenly became very quiet.

As they were approaching the supermarket, Yun Anhe suddenly remembered a vague memory from the past: “He, did he have a meal with Cheng He? I remember that. Did you steal him away from Cheng He?!”

“Thou shalt not covet thy brother’s wife!!”

“…” Jiang Yufeng glanced at him, “Get out of the car.”

No doubt about it, it was that annoying look again. Yun Anhe said, “If you get into a fight with Cheng He, you have to let me know.”

He wanted to see with his own eyes what it would look like if Jiang Yufeng got beaten up. It would definitely be quite a spectacle.

Jiang Yufeng pushed a shopping cart and bought a lot of vegetables and fruits.

“Why are you buying strawberries? They don’t taste good at this time of year and are quite expensive.”

“Let’s give them a try. If they don’t taste good, we won’t buy them next time.”

“Even thinking with your feet, you know they won’t taste good…”

Yun Anhe pulled the cart to the fresh produce section: “Buy some seafood for the hot pot tonight.”

“Wen Ci can’t eat it.”

“Green onions, ginger, garlic…”

“Spicy and irritating foods, Wen Ci can’t eat them.”

“?”

“?”

They looked at each other, in a silent standoff.

Jiang Yufeng took two more bottles of milk and then went to check out.

When preparing to drive, he put his phone in the holder, but it wasn’t stable and slid to the side of the passenger seat.

Yun Anhe bent down to pick it up, and the screen was still on, showing a surveillance image.

Not from outside the door, but from the living room, where Wen Ci was lying limply on the sofa, with the hem of his clothes curled up, revealing a pale belly. An open comic book was draped over his navel, and he had closed his eyes and fallen into a deep sleep.

Before Yun Anhe could take another look, Jiang Yufeng snatched back the phone. His profile was sharp and handsome, as if he was protecting a treasure.

Yun Anhe straightened up and said, “You’re a pervert.”

“I’ve always been one.”

…

As soon as they entered the house, Jiang Yufeng handed the things he was carrying to Yun Anhe: “Put them in the kitchen. I’ll go call someone.”

After ensuring that Yun Anhe was inside, Jiang Yufeng straddled the sofa with one leg by Wen Ci’s waist and the other leg on the ground for support. Then he cupped Wen Ci’s cheeks with both hands and squeezed hard.

“Whoa—” Wen Ci woke up immediately, grabbed by the face and lifted off the sofa by Jiang Yufeng.

Jiang Yufeng looked down at him and said, “The comic’s plot is so boring that it put you to sleep?”

Wen Ci rubbed his red face and mumbled, “It’s too explicit… How could it be 36 cm long? I think that’s unreasonable.”

Jiang Yufeng casually remarked, “Comics don’t need to be reasonable.”

“But it’s 36. You’d have to wrap it around your waist just to walk outside,” Wen Ci was actually more afraid for the little bottom character, who was crying and bleeding in the story. Wen Ci had watched with bated breath, but then he fell asleep and everything was fine.

Jiang Yufeng looked down at him with a meaningful gaze.

Wen Ci instinctively glanced at the area of his pants. Thirty-six centimeters was really unrealistic; Jiang Yufeng definitely didn’t have something that long.

Jiang Yufeng said, “No need to look. I don’t.”

…

Wen Ci sniffed the air. “It smells so good. It’s pork rib and corn soup. Can I go see in the kitchen?”

Jiang Yufeng retracted his leg, and the sofa creaked. He said calmly, “Go ahead.”

For some reason, Wen Ci sensed a faint sense of arrogance on his face.

Wen Ci blurted out, “Did you make it?”

Jiang Yufeng tilted his chin up. “Yes.”

Wen Ci jumped up and said, “I’ll go take a look.”

Jiang Yufeng instinctively looked at his feet. He couldn’t say he was walking briskly, but he could walk normally. Wen Ci hadn’t realized it yet. His appetite was like a cat’s—small but voracious and fond of eating.

Wen Ci didn’t notice that there was still someone in the kitchen, and Yun Anhe didn’t expect someone to suddenly rush out from the doorway either. At that moment, he was holding a bowl of egg liquid that he was stirring. As Yun Anhe turned around, the two collided. The egg liquid sloshed around in the bowl and eventually spilled onto Yun Anhe’s body, with sticky yellow droplets dripping down in an undignified manner.

Yun Anhe: “……”

Wen Ci: “……”

Wen Ci immediately panicked. “I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry… I didn’t know there was someone inside.”

Yun Anhe shouted loudly, “Don’t come over here, you’ll step on it and make it everywhere.”

Wen Ci looked around, took a few steps back, and then, seeing Jiang Yufeng walking towards him, he thought for a moment and retreated behind him. Jiang Yufeng glanced at Wen Ci, who, after making a mistake and thinking Yun Anhe was angry, was scared and instinctively hid behind him.

Yun Anhe wiped himself clean with a tissue and looked up. “?”

Jiang Yufeng walked over and handed him a wet wipe, with a smile that was both amused and gloating.

Yun Anhe said fiercely, “What’s there to laugh at?”

“Hush,” Jiang Yufeng whispered, “You scared him. Don’t be so fierce.”

Yun Anhe: “I didn’t!”

Yun Anhe’s mouth opened wide, but upon meeting Wen Ci’s gaze, it slowly closed. He coughed lightly twice and said, “I’m not angry. Is your foot okay?”

Wen Ci stood at attention and said, “No, no, it’s fine.”

He stepped forward considerately and said, “Let me clean it.”

Yun Anhe: “No, no, you sit down. Are you hungry? Let your… ambiguous roommate serve you a bowl of soup.”

What is an ambiguous roommate?

Wen Ci glanced at Jiang Yufeng.

Jiang Yufeng shook his head.

Lunch was mostly prepared by Yun Anhe. The three of them ate together. Yun Anhe said, “You should make an appearance at the company these days. Yu Bin goes there more often than you do. The new people coming in hardly recognize you now.”

Jiang Yufeng indifferently hummed in response.

Wen Ci listened quietly on the side, realizing that they really did run a company. He was only a freshman… so wealthy. When would he ever get rich?

Jiang Yufeng looked up at Wen Ci’s thoughtful expression and said, “It’s a company opened by Yun Anhe’s uncle, but he went abroad, so now it’s managed by him and me.”

Wen Ci: “That’s amazing. Is it hard work?”

Yun Anhe: “It’s manageable. Jiang Yufeng is good at drawing, and I’m good at negotiating business. Together, we can at least earn enough for our tuition fees.”

Jiang Yufeng had long stopped taking money from Zhao Shuran. Since junior high, he had been involved in voice acting with Mei Xinyuan, mostly for young or child voices. In high school, he officially got into some business, also under the guidance of Yun Anhe’s uncle.

Yun Anhe was always laid-back, while Jiang Yufeng had more talent in this area. Even if he didn’t go into architecture or mechanics, he would probably dabble in stocks or something. He had a good investment eye, with both losses and gains, but more gains.

A few years ago, Yun Anhe had suggested considering opening a small supermarket. His uncle had connections for purchasing goods and could negotiate, with a promising profit. But the convenience store was left by Jiang Yufeng’s father. Zhao Shuran had thought about selling it to pay for Jiang Yufeng’s schooling, but he firmly disagreed.

Until now, they had experienced everything, and everything had passed.

Thinking of this, Yun Anhe felt a warmth in his eyes.

Jiang Yufeng seemed to sense it and glanced over. “?”

Wen Ci was staring at him intently. Jiang Yufeng indifferently said, “What else do you want to know?”

“Nothing.” Wen Ci knew his parents had also worked hard to gather his tuition fees. Although there were subsidies, living and accommodation expenses had to be covered by himself. His father gave as much as he could.

So Wen Ci didn’t expect that Jiang Yufeng also needed to earn his tuition. He didn’t mean anything by it; he just felt he was impressive and admirable.

Wen Ci’s emotions were clearly visible on his face. His eyes were dark and slightly bright. Although he didn’t say a word, it seemed as if he had a thousand words hidden inside.

Jiang Yufeng felt his gaze was so intense that it burned.

Jiang Yufeng: “Close your eyes.”

Wen Ci closed his eyes. “?”

He opened them again. “Why?”

“Your eyes have the sun… I didn’t apply sunscreen.”

Wen Ci: “……”

Yun Anhe looked around and was quite impressed. “……”

After lunch, Wen Ci was used to walking around. As he passed the front door, he heard a noise outside. He looked through the peephole and saw that the burly man had returned. He had only stayed for one night, so it seemed that Jiang Yufeng hadn’t been too harsh.

He saw the burly man carrying a suitcase and suddenly remembered something. He shouted to Jiang Yufeng, “I need to pack my luggage. I can go back to the dormitory tonight.”

Jiang Yufeng paused as he was about to open his laptop. “Yeah, I’ll go back with you tonight.”

Wen Ci had originally planned to stay another night, but he had full classes on Monday, and the dormitory would be more convenient.

Yun Anhe asked nosily, “What? Aren’t you living together? Isn’t it inconvenient to be in the dormitory?”

Jiang Yufeng watched Wen Ci’s figure walking back and forth thoughtfully. “It is a bit.”

Yun Anhe, although a student of B University, would occasionally browse the forums of A University: “I just saw on the forum that Wen Ci and Yu Bin are also related… Your circle is really messy.”

“What kind of relationship?”

“A couple… There’s a thread about them. I didn’t finish reading it. I don’t know why A University is so keen on forming couples. Maybe you guys have too much pressure and need something else to distract yourselves. Otherwise, the number of people jumping off buildings every year will increase again. That’s also why I didn’t go to A University.”

Jiang Yufeng glanced at him. “So that year, you didn’t want to go, not because you couldn’t get in.”

Yun Anhe said indignantly, “Of course.”

Jiang Yufeng waved at Wen Ci. “Come here.”

Wen Ci walked up to him and asked, “What’s up?”

Jiang Yufeng asked, “Are you very familiar with Yu Bin?”

“No.”

Yun Anhe asked, “Then how did you and Yu Bin form a couple? One is a freshman, the other a sophomore, and you don’t know each other.”

“Because that day Yu Bin saw me to the dormitory building, and then someone must have seen it.”

Jiang Yufeng said calmly, “Your popularity is quite low, and the couple name isn’t very good either, ‘Yuwen.'”

Yun Anhe said, “Yuwen sounds pretty good…”

Wen Ci absentmindedly agreed, “I think so too… But I also think the couple of Jiang Yufeng and Yu Bin is quite shippable.”

This was something Lu Xuesong had shown Wen Ci before, but that one belonged to a kind of cult.

Yun Anhe: “???”

Wen Ci started to randomly pair them up: “Or you and Jiang Yufeng, the ‘Fengyun’ couple. Does that sound good?”

Yun Anhe suddenly realized that their names didn’t lend themselves well to couple names. “Hahaha, it seems so. What about yours?”

Wen Ci frowned and thought for a long time: “Uh…”

Jiang Yufeng took a sip of water. “The ‘Fengyan Fengyu’ couple.”

Wen Ci: “……”

It seemed that Jiang Yufeng would never let go of the word “yan” in this life.

There was a lot of noise outside the door. Yun Anhe and Wen Ci went to see what was happening and found that the burly man was leaving with his suitcase, taking all his belongings.

Jing Si, with red eyes, saw him off.

Yun Anhe suddenly realized, “Oh, they’ve finally divorced. They really had a twisted love affair before.”

Wen Ci said, “I saw domestic violence at their place last time.”

“Well, if it was frequent, they wouldn’t still be together. It’s actually consensual. But I think this time they probably went too far, which led to the divorce.”

“What do you mean by consensual?”

Wen Ci tilted his head in confusion.

“Don’t you know? They engage in S/M activities. When they slap each other, that skinny guy really enjoys it.” Yun Anhe seemed quite accustomed to it. “I’ve seen it before, together with Jiang Yufeng.”

Wen Ci: “……”

He immediately looked at Jiang Yufeng, who was typing on the sofa, and walked over to ask, “Did you know about what was going on next door?”

Jiang Yufeng looked at him. Wen Ci’s innocent eyes were wide open, pure and without any impurities. When he slightly bent over, his collar widened, revealing his delicate collarbone and two pinkish highlights.

Jiang Yufeng had been silent all along. Wen Ci followed his gaze and straightened up immediately. “Why do you look at everything?”

“There’s no difference between looking early or late.” Jiang Yufeng closed his laptop and placed it on the coffee table. In the process, he accidentally knocked over a pen that had fallen. Wen Ci instinctively bent down to pick it up.

Jiang Yufeng said thank you: “You exposed yourself again, and I saw it.”

Wen Ci: “……Are you doing it on purpose? Your pen tends to run out of ink easily.”

“No need, I really want to see, and it’s easy.”

“……” Wen Ci quickly changed the subject, “So about Jing Si…”

“Yeah, I know. I said it’s other people’s family affairs, but you mentioned it involves the child, which is a different matter.”

Wen Ci felt that the world was more complicated than he had imagined, not as simple as it appeared on the surface.

“I don’t understand why someone would like to be beaten.”

“Because it feels good,” Jiang Yufeng said indifferently. “The muscle stimulation during the fight generates a desire that erupts like a volcano. When the intense pleasure overcomes the pain and the two combine, it only increases the fun. The two people will completely indulge in this, losing their humanity and succumbing only to their primal instincts.”

Wen Ci listened, stunned. “You know a lot about this.”

“I’ve done my research,” Jiang Yufeng emphasized. “So there’s still a lot you need to learn.”

…

Jiang Yufeng added, “I don’t mind if you become friends with Jing Si. She’s not a bad person at heart, but she has a crush on you, her savior. So you’d better not let her get too carried away.”

Wen Ci was confused. “Get carried away with what?”

“Don’t hit her.”

Wen Ci: “……”

Why would hitting her trigger something?

“I don’t hit people,” Wen Ci couldn’t help but ask, “Do you? With this whole ‘M’ thing?”

Jiang Yufeng looked at him meaningfully. “I don’t know. I’ve never tried.”

…

The noise from the apartment opposite finally quieted down around five. They also began to prepare for their hot pot dinner here. Since Wen Ci still couldn’t eat spicy or irritating foods, they prepared a (mild and spicy combination pot), with one side clear soup and the other spicy.

Whenever Wen Ci wanted to eat something spicy, Jiang Yufeng would blanch it in clear water before putting it into his bowl.

“You can’t eat it for now. Just listen to me.”

Wen Ci: “……”

After dinner, Yun Anhe didn’t stick around and left early. Wen Ci began to pack his luggage in his room. He had basically moved his dormitory here for one night, fortunately, he only brought a small suitcase.

The bedroom light was bright.

Jiang Yufeng walked over, his tall figure blocking the light and casting a long shadow: “Take your clothes and shoes with you. You can leave the rest here for now.”

Wen Ci paused and said, “I probably won’t have many chances to come here.”

“Not necessarily.”

“?”

“Many things are more convenient to do here. It’s just that we’re students now, and you prefer communal living, so I’m accommodating you.”

This statement sounded a bit odd. Wen Ci asked, “Are you moving back too?”

“Wherever you go, I go.”

Wen Ci’s hand gently rested on a pile of soft clothes. The cobalt blue made his hand look very white and bright, like glowing jade.

Jiang Yufeng squatted beside him, examining closely. His fingers were slender and delicate, with distinct knuckles. A faint mole on his middle finger added a striking contrast.

“I want to hold your hand.”

Wen Ci gave a puzzled “Ah,” and extended his hand out of politeness: “Shake hands.”

This gesture resembled the “handshake” emoji on WeChat, often used by working professionals.

Jiang Yufeng took his hand, his thumb caressing the smooth skin on the back of his hand. “Do you not know how to shake hands properly?”

Wen Ci said, “This is shaking hands.”

“Have you ever been in a relationship before?”

Wen Ci was silent for a few seconds. “There have been quite a few confessions, but I never accepted.”

As Wen Ci tried to pull his hand back, the other person held firm. After a few tugs, feeling like he might get tenosynovitis, he gave up.

“So you’re habitually rejecting people. No wonder you chose to have an online relationship, because you can’t see the face and can indulge in endless fantasies.”

Lu Xuesong had said the same thing, and Wen Ci didn’t argue.

Jiang Yufeng concluded, “You’re a super appearance-oriented person?”

Wen Ci nodded slightly, a bit shyly. “I also like people with pleasant voices.”

Jiang Yufeng raised an eyebrow, thinking of something, and controlled himself. When he looked up again: “Is it like this?”

His voice was cool and gentle, not lacking in magnetic depth, like a spring breeze caressing the heart.

Wen Ci was excited. “Yes, yes, yes! Senior’s voice, you can change your voice! No wonder I didn’t recognize you.”

“Learned it, technique,” Jiang Yufeng maintained his vocal tone.

He suddenly stood up, took a piece of cloth from the cabinet, and threw it into Wen Ci’s hand, in a somewhat commanding tone: “Take it with you.”

The voice control made Wen Ci’s scalp tingle: “Oh…”

Wen Ci looked down and saw that it was something like a thong, but unlike ordinary pants, it had a fluffy, large rabbit tail decoration.

Wen Ci’s eyelids twitched, and his heart was filled with thorns, contracting violently: “When did you prepare this?”

“During the October holiday, when you weren’t wearing any base layers.”

Wen Ci was shocked: “You knew it was me back then…”

Jiang Yufeng’s voice was indifferent: “Yes.”

“……”

“Just take it. You never know when you might need it.” Jiang Yufeng calmly treated the rabbit-tailed thong as if it were an ordinary pair of pants that could be worn out.

“How could I possibly wear…?”

“There’s still a lot you need to learn.”

In that moment, Wen Ci saw the hidden emotions in Jiang Yufeng’s eyes, slowly thickening in the darkness until they overflowed, as if planning something. He made no attempt to conceal it—his decadent and greedy desires, his thick interest like a net, capturing Wen Ci entirely.