CFL 7

Jiang Yufeng’s phone kept vibrating with non-stop messages.

It had been like this for the past few days, and he was thoroughly annoyed. He replied coldly with a question, “Why?”

Wen Ci’s hands were folded on the table. “Because you’re not around campus after class. I don’t know how to find you, so I thought I’d add you on social media first. Is that okay?”

Wen Ci had carefully analyzed their relationship. As classmates, it was reasonable to add each other as friends. It wasn’t excessive.

Feeling anxious inside and thinking of other reasons, Wen Ci was relieved when Jiang Yufeng handed over his QR code. “Classmate’s number.”

Wen Ci’s eyes curved into a smile. “Thank you.”

Jiang Yufeng looked at his eyes, which seemed to brighten when he smiled, making his teeth appear even whiter and more dazzling.

“What were you about to tell me?” Jiang Yufeng asked.

Wen Ci let out a small “Ah,” paused for a few seconds, blinked slowly, and then hesitated, “Don’t rush. I need to prepare myself before I can tell you. Otherwise, I’ll get too nervous.”

Just then, the bell for the end of the first class rang. Wen Ci bolted up, looking for his strategist.

Lu Xuesong pulled him out to the corridor. “How did it go?”

Wen Ci looked delighted. “I got his contact info. Should I confess in class or wait until after school?”

“You’re that eager?” Lu Xuesong teased, feeling a pang of jealousy. “Better after class.”

If Wen Ci got rejected, he would be heartbroken and in need of comfort. That would be Lu Xuesong’s chance to swoop in.

Wen Ci agreed. “Okay.”

During the second class, Jiang Yufeng looked very focused on the lecture. Wen Ci didn’t want to disturb him. He sat up straight and glanced at Lu Xuesong, who was looking over.

Then Lu Xuesong looked away and took out his phone.

[Lu Xuesong: What are you doing?]

[Wen Ci: He’s paying attention in class. I don’t want to disturb him.]

[Lu Xuesong: …He’s pretending.]

[Lu Xuesong: You really believe that?]

Tao Peng had just finished a game and saw Wen Ci’s profile on Lu Xuesong’s phone screen out of the corner of his eye.

“What are you talking about with him?”

Lu Xuesong briefly explained Wen Ci’s situation. Tao Peng frowned. “Why is it always Jiang Yufeng?”

“Why, don’t you like him?”

Tao Peng was annoyed. “How can I like him when everyone’s always talking about him? It’s annoying.”

Tao Peng couldn’t understand. “Don’t you like Wen Ci? Why are you helping him?”

After a long silence, Lu Xuesong had to be honest. “What can I do? It was a coincidence. I can’t do long-distance flirting.”

Tao Peng, knowing how flirtatious Lu Xuesong could be in private, understood completely. He then said, “But even if Wen Ci succeeds, there are so many people after him. You should consider others.”

Lu Xuesong knew what Tao Peng was thinking. “He won’t consider you either. You’re still my boyfriend.”

Tao Peng was well aware of their relationship. On the surface, they were boyfriends, but in reality, it was more of a casual fling. At first, there might have been some affection, but now it was purely about physical compatibility, which was why they hadn’t broken up.

Tao Peng had high standards and wasn’t easy to please. Lately, only Wen Ci had caught his eye, but then Lu Xuesong had taken an interest too.

“Didn’t you want to try something with him before?”

Lu Xuesong changed his mind. “Not anymore.”

He frowned. “Unless Wen Ci likes you, stop trying to get close to him.”

Tao Peng just smiled without responding.

Finally, the class ended. Wen Ci took a deep breath, trying to gather his courage to say something to Jiang Yufeng, but a phone call interrupted him. He watched helplessly as Jiang Yufeng left…

Ah, should he follow him?

Wen Ci stood there for a few seconds, then left with his books, only to find Jiang Yufeng nowhere in sight.

Lu Xuesong, who had followed him out, was also puzzled. “Where did he go? He disappeared like Usain Bolt.”

This comment made Wen Ci smile a little. He encouraged himself, “I still have his WeChat. I can ask him out.”

However, in the following days, Jiang Yufeng didn’t reply to any of his messages, which left Wen Ci feeling very discouraged.

Wen Ci had never pursued anyone before. People always came after him, so he had no experience. But he knew that to pursue someone, you had to be nice to them and take action, not just make empty promises.

The problem was that he couldn’t even get Jiang Yufeng to meet him and had no idea where he lived.

Wen Ci was surrounded by a sense of despair.

He didn’t really want to be in a relationship; he just wanted to be intimate… Aaaah.

Lu Xuesong, below, took out his earphones. “What are you howling about, Wen Ci?”

Wen Ci lifted the bed curtain. “I’m imitating a wolf howl to relieve stress.”

“Did I disturb you? I’m sorry.”

With that, he got out of bed and glanced at Tao Peng’s bed frame. “Is it just the two of us in the dorm?”

“Yeah, he went to play basketball with someone. I don’t go to those places.”

Lu Xuesong paused the variety show video and asked, “How’s your date with Jiang Yufeng going?”

Wen Ci was honest. “He’s ignoring me. He won’t reply to my messages. I don’t know what to do.”

Lu Xuesong was curious. “What have you been saying to him?”

“Good morning, good afternoon, have you eaten, good evening, have you eaten, I want to invite you to dinner, can we meet… ” Wen Ci clasped his hands together and rubbed them. “Please, I just want to see you.”

Lu Xuesong cut him off. “You’ve turned into the ultimate, shameless, and desperate dog.”

Wen Ci, wearing five-eighths shorts that revealed his fair calves, stood in the sunlight and said seriously, “This is a last resort to get him to come out.”

“…” Lu Xuesong couldn’t stand seeing him being so naive and suggested, “Why not try a roundabout way? You could talk to Jiang Yufeng’s friends, like Cheng He.”

“He seems to have a crush on you. You could ask him what Jiang Yufeng is up to. Don’t waste your energy on this.”

Wen Ci’s eyes lit up, seeing a glimmer of hope. “That makes sense.”

Cheng He was in the same major but a different class.

After exchanging WeChat at the courier station, he had sent a message once, but since Wen Ci’s replies were too indifferent, they hadn’t kept in touch much.

[Cheng He: You’re contacting me just to ask about Jiang Yufeng?!!!!]

Even through the screen, one could feel his exclamation.

Wen Ci felt apologetic.

[Cheng He: He probably didn’t mean to ignore your messages. Lately, he’s been using his work account more because he took on a big project. Also, after school started, many people have been trying to add him on WeChat and sending him messages non-stop. I guess your messages got lost in the flood, so he didn’t see them and didn’t reply.]

[Wen Ci: So where does he usually hang out?]

Wen Ci watched as Lu Xuesong typed the reply for him.

[Cheng He: Well, I can’t really say. If I told you, Jiang would probably kill me. But I can take you to the coffee shop he frequents. If we’re lucky, we might run into him.]

After arranging the time and place, Lu Xuesong handed the phone back to him. “Do you want me to go with you?”

Wen Ci declined. “No, it’s okay. I’ll treat you to a meal when I get back.”

Lu Xuesong scoffed, sounding very jealous. “Like I care about a meal from you.”

Wen Ci hadn’t explored outside the campus since school started. He was afraid of getting lost, so he just waited at the East Gate for Cheng He.

He didn’t have to wait long. Cheng He walked over from the other side. “Did you wait long?”

Wen Ci looked straight at his attire. “You’re dressed so formally.”

A shirt and trousers, with his hair neatly combed, as if he was going for an interview.

Wen Ci was simply wearing a V-neck T-shirt, five-eighths shorts, and sneakers. His exposed calves were fair and gleamed in the sunlight. The long hem of his T-shirt was tucked into his waistband, showing off his slender and supple figure.

Cheng He glanced at the sky and said, “Just something casual. Let’s go.”

Since the neighborhood Jiang Yufeng rented was right across from the school, and the coffee shop was nearby, it was quite busy on Saturday. Cheng He wasn’t sure if Jiang Yufeng would show up.

Wen Ci was quite optimistic. “If he doesn’t show up, I’ll treat you to coffee.”

Cheng He laughed. “I should be the one treating you.”

Wen Ci disagreed. He was the one who asked Cheng He to help find Jiang Yufeng, so he should pay. “I’m the one who asked you out, so I’ll treat you.”

They walked to the coffee shop and found that all the outdoor seats were taken. After scanning the interior and not spotting Jiang Yufeng, they sat by the window. After ordering their drinks, Wen Ci looked around one more time and whispered, “Didn’t see him.”

Cheng He said, “Maybe it’s too crowded today. Maybe Jiang won’t come.”

That made sense.

Wen Ci thought about it and decided not to waste energy on this. Since they were already out of the campus, he might as well enjoy himself.

“This set of blueprints is needed next week. The part-time draftsman I hired before suddenly quit. That’s why I’m asking you. I believe in your speed,” Yun Anhe said while observing Jiang Yufeng’s expression, realizing he wasn’t paying attention at all.

“What are you looking at?”

The coffee shop had a large floor-to-ceiling window facing the road, allowing those outside to see most of the interior.

Jiang Yufeng saw Wen Ci and Cheng He drinking coffee. Even through the window, he could sense the relaxed and cheerful atmosphere of their conversation. His casual expression slowly faded.

Yun Anhe: “Hey, isn’t that Cheng He? Who’s the person across from him? Never seen him before. Boyfriend?”

Jiang Yufeng indifferently turned his head. “Why a boyfriend?”

Yun Anhe said, “Isn’t it obvious? Saturday, coffee shop, two people, such a good atmosphere. If not a boyfriend, then definitely someone with an ambiguous relationship. No difference.”

Jiang Yufeng gestured towards the direction. “The person across from Cheng He is my classmate. I just added him on WeChat.”

“?” Yun Anhe was even more surprised. “So you two have a good relationship? I couldn’t tell.”

Jiang Yufeng slightly frowned. “I haven’t been managing my personal account for a long time.”

“Since so many people are bothering you, you might as well let them cool down for a while. You stay on your work account and calm down. Also, remember the blueprints. It’s urgent.”

Jiang Yufeng withdrew his gaze and hummed in agreement.

“With so many people around, are you still going to the coffee shop?” Yun Anhe said. “Why don’t you say hello to Cheng He?”

“No need. Don’t want to disturb their date.”

Yun Anhe raised an eyebrow and let out an “Oh.” For some reason, Jiang Yufeng’s tone sounded a bit odd.

Since they weren’t going to say hello, they might as well have a meal at the nearby mall.

Inside the coffee shop, it was lunchtime.

Cheng He was thinking about how to initiate a back-and-forth, you-treat-me-I-treat-you, entangling pursuit tactic when Wen Ci reluctantly finished his coffee, which was very bitter despite the added sugar. “No, I’ll go back to school to eat.”

Wen Ci didn’t have the money to treat Cheng He to another meal, and he felt the prices in this area were quite high.

Just the two cups of coffee cost over a hundred, and he hadn’t even dared to order the chestnut cream cake he wanted.

Cheng He was thoroughly rejected, knowing full well that Wen Ci just wanted to use him to get to Jiang Yufeng, yet he still chased after his own misery.

Wen Ci didn’t head back to school immediately. Lu Xuesong sent a message asking him to buy something at the neighboring mall, so they parted ways at the entrance of the coffee shop.

After buying the items, he sent a message to Lu Xuesong.

[Lu Xuesong: Do you know the way back to the dorm? Do you need me to pick you up?]

[Wen Ci: No, it’s okay. If I get lost, I’ll just take the shuttle bus.]

[Lu Xuesong: OK.]

Wen Ci put away his phone and was strolling towards the entrance when he saw Jiang Yufeng walking towards him from another direction.

Cheng He was right. Jiang Yufeng did frequent this place, and he had spotted him.

He quickly walked up and greeted Jiang Yufeng.

Jiang Yufeng glanced at him without much emotion.

Stunned by his good looks, Wen Ci blurted out, “Why don’t you reply to my messages?”

Few people directly confronted Jiang Yufeng like that. His usually expressionless face twitched slightly. “Didn’t notice.”

Wen Ci let out an “Oh.” He already knew the answer, so he wasn’t particularly affected. “Could you log in? I can’t find you.”

“What do you want with me?”

“It’s just…” Wen Ci choked on his words, realizing the crowd around them. He wondered if this was the right place to say what he wanted to say.

“Tell me what you think of me.”

Jiang Yufeng paused, then slowly said, “I don’t know you well.”

Wen Ci quickly seized the opportunity. “So I want to get to know you better.”

Jiang Yufeng looked at him but didn’t respond. He turned and walked out of the mall.

Wen Ci followed, bewildered.

Jiang Yufeng didn’t understand him. Cheng He liked him, and he didn’t mind Cheng He’s advances.

So why was he trying to get close to him?

Jiang Yufeng never competed with friends, and he was a bit of a germophobe. Logically, he should cut ties with Wen Ci completely.

Wen Ci followed for a few steps and said, “Next time, I want to invite you out for a meal. Is that okay? Are you free?”

Lu Xuesong had said that you couldn’t force these things. You had to gradually build a relationship and make it comfortable.

But Jiang Yufeng was a five-star difficulty level to pursue.

Jiang Yufeng stopped, frowned, and said, “I’m busy.”

“Ah…” Wen Ci apologized. “Sorry, then I’ll ask you out when you’re free. You go ahead.”

After waiting for a while without a response from Jiang Yufeng, Wen Ci sensibly turned to leave. But after just a few steps, he felt a gentle tug on the back of his collar.

Wen Ci’s entire body froze for a few seconds. He turned around, puzzled.

Jiang Yufeng leaned in slightly, gently placed the dropped meal card into his pocket, and said coldly, in contrast to his action, “Stay away from me.”