PTCQT Chapter 17

The lights were off, and the curtains were drawn as well. However, they weren’t as effective as custom blackout ones, so a faint glow still managed to seep through.

The dormitory beds were all single beds. The ones for male students were slightly longer than the ones for female students, but there wasn’t much difference in width. This meant that when two tall boys shared the same bed, they inevitably ended up very close to each other.

It wouldn’t be much of an issue if it were just a nap, since they’d still be fully dressed even if they lay together. But nighttime was different. Even if they weren’t completely undressed, they’d only be wearing loose-fitting T-shirts and shorts. In such close quarters, it was impossible to avoid skin-to-skin contact.

A warmth that didn’t belong to him pressed close, and a scent, familiar yet unfamiliar, filled the small space between them. It made Xie Baiyuan’s throat go dry, and even his breathing felt like it was about to stall.

“President,” Shen Chun called softly.

Xie Baiyuan gave a light response. “Mm.”

“Are you nervous?” Shen Chun asked in a quiet voice, his arms wrapped gently around Xie Baiyuan’s waist.

Xie Baiyuan was indeed nervous. This kind of intimacy felt completely different from the warm, cozy feeling of their afternoon nap. Darkness always had a way of making the desires buried deep within one’s heart grow wild. But admitting that out loud felt humiliating. “No, I’m not,” he said.

“Your whole body’s stiff,” Shen Chun murmured as he casually draped one long leg over Xie Baiyuan’s. He had no regard for sleeping posture at all. “I already told you, I’m not going to do anything. Just relax.”

In the darkness, their breaths were close, and their voices deliberately softened. Shen Chun’s naturally low and mellow voice now seemed laced with a hint of ambiguity. The more he spoke like that, the more tense Xie Baiyuan’s body became.

“President, I’m about to fall off,” Shen Chun said softly.

“Move over a bit,” Xie Baiyuan replied, shifting his body. He finally managed to ease the tension in his nerves, just a little. But he had moved too far, and just as he felt the space beside him grow noticeably empty, Shen Chun slipped an arm around his waist and pulled him back again.

What had started as one lying on his back and the other on his side had now turned into a tight embrace, face-to-face.

“President, don’t fall off either,” Shen Chun whispered.

“Okay.” Xie Baiyuan could smell the refreshing scent of mint on his breath as he spoke. Staring at the person so close to him, he felt as if his heart was about to leap out of his chest. “Let’s sleep.”

“I can’t fall asleep,” Shen Chun murmured with a soft sigh.

“If you feel cramped…” Xie Baiyuan gently lifted his leg, but his breath hitched mid-movement, and the rest of his sentence faded into silence.

“It’s not cramped, just right. I can’t sleep because I didn’t get a goodnight kiss,” Shen Chun said with a soft laugh. The faint light filtering through the curtains seemed to gather in his eyes, making Xie Baiyuan’s heart race even faster.

Xie Baiyuan didn’t move. In a moment like this, he didn’t dare to.

“President, I’ve been holding back really hard too. If you won’t give it, I’ll just take it myself,” Shen Chun murmured as he shifted slightly, and kissed him.

Their heartbeats overlapped, the thudding sounds tangled together until it was impossible to tell whose was whose. All Xie Baiyuan could feel was a deafening roar in his ears.

Meanwhile, 521 quietly sat in the dark system room, flipping through the system manual. One line clearly stated: The system is not permitted to view matters that are too intimate between the host and others.

Just what exactly counted as “too intimate”? Was there really anything more intimate than kissing?

521 couldn’t figure it out, no matter how hard it thought.

Mid-Autumn Festival passed, then National Day as well. The lingering heat of the autumn tiger had mostly faded. One morning, Xie Baiyuan stood in front of the mirror buttoning his shirt all the way to the top. But just as he reached the last button, his fingers paused. Then, he turned and reopened the wardrobe to choose a different outfit.

“President, that collar’s already high enough. Any higher and you might as well wear a turtleneck,” Shen Chun drawled lazily from the side. He looked completely relaxed, like a well-fed cat; sleek, content, and entirely carefree.

Xie Baiyuan adjusted his collar, still feeling a little uneasy. “Are you sure it’s not visible?”

“President, I kissed your collarbone, not your jaw,” Shen Chun said with a chuckle. “You really can’t see it.”

“All right,” Xie Baiyuan finally sighed in relief, giving up on the idea of wearing a turtleneck in this season. “It’s not that I don’t want to…”

It wasn’t that he didn’t want Shen Chun to leave marks on him, it was just that such marks were fine in private, but if they showed, it would seem too frivolous.

“I understand,” Shen Chun said softly, raising his brow in understanding. “That’s why I’m careful about where I leave them.”

This was their way of showing tenderness and care for each other.

Xie Baiyuan gave a soft “mm,” and Shen Chun smiled as he watched him finally relax. “It’s autumn now, you can still wear shirts, so the marks stay on your collarbone. When winter comes and it gets cold, with turtlenecks and scarves, maybe then they can be on your jaw.”

Xie Baiyuan’s movements faltered, a sudden warmth spreading through his chest.

“Oh, and in winter you can wear ear muffs, so maybe the earlobes could work too…” Shen Chun mused thoughtfully.

“No way,” Xie Baiyuan turned to look at him, speaking with firm conviction. “You have to take off ear muffs once you’re inside.”

“So does that mean the President agrees to the first option?” Shen Chun stood up and moved in front of Xie Baiyuan, leaning down gently to seal the decision before he could say no. “It’s settled then. The President is so nice.”

Xie Baiyuan’s words caught in his throat and never came out.

Although he was often thrown off balance by Shen Chun’s teasing, Xie Baiyuan didn’t dislike this kind of intimacy.

It was just that before, he never thought he’d waste time on such closeness. Even when he had a partner, he wouldn’t be like others, so clingy and affectionate, as if they couldn’t stand to be apart. He thought of himself as a rational person.

But all that rationality seemed to crumble the moment he met Shen Chun. Whenever he saw his lover, he wanted to be close to him, without a trace of reluctance, only genuine affection.

He still had to worry about the poor soundproofing in the dormitory, but once they actually lived together, facing a lover like Shen Chun, he feared he wouldn’t be able to hold himself back.

“President, breakfast is ready,” Shen Chun snapped his fingers right in front of him, pulling Xie Baiyuan back from his drifting thoughts.

Xie Baiyuan responded with a soft, “Mm, what do you want to eat?”

“That new little wonton place in the cafeteria is pretty good,” Shen Chun said, carrying his bag in one hand while draping the other arm casually over Xie Baiyuan’s shoulder.

Xie Baiyuan paused as he opened the door and glanced up at him.

Shen Chun looked down, puzzled. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” Xie Baiyuan quickly looked away.

Guys linking arms like that was perfectly normal, there was nothing to be embarrassed about.

However, this kind of normality only existed in Xie Baiyuan’s own eyes. To others, it was no different from a public display of affection.

Du Xin watched Shen Chun walk by with his arm draped over Xie Baiyuan’s shoulder and nearly thought he was seeing things. After all, whenever he tried to put a hand on the president’s shoulder before, the President could kill him with a single look. Yet here was the junior, casually linking arms like that, and Xie Baiyuan didn’t even seem annoyed.

Were they really that close already?!

Something that surprised Director Du so much naturally ended up pinned at the top of the forum’s headlines.

“The President treats Shen Chun so well.”

“Yeah, with how distant the President usually is around strangers, for him to get this close, it’s clear he really spoils him.”

“Who could possibly say no to such a handsome junior?”

“This is just too dazzling. One of them alone blinds you, but the two together? They’re killing us with their looks!”

“Am I the only one who thinks they’re a perfect match?”

“Not me, girl! Let’s be real, count all the beauties at school, and none of them measure up to the President. Same goes for Shen Chun. Together, they’re literally made for each other.”

“No more pairing them up, Shen Chun already has someone, okay? Upstairs, keep your shipping to yourselves.”

“Sigh, if Shen Chun didn’t have a partner, I’d totally be shipping them too.”

“Definitely…”

…

“You and the President really get along well,” Lu Tao remarked directly when he saw Shen Chun.

“We live in the same dorm, so naturally we got close,” Shen Chun smiled.

“That’s not just ‘getting close,’ you don’t know, there was a guy who was pretty tight with the President before, tried to put his arm around him, and the President flipped him over his shoulder. It was brutal,” Lu Tao laughed. “The President said he just isn’t used to people touching him, that was his reflex. Since then, no one’s dared to try it again. Shen Chun, you’re really something!”

Lu Tao gave him a thumbs-up.

Shen Chun instinctively rubbed his arm and said, “Looks like I’m pretty lucky.”

“Hahaha,” Lu Tao laughed, patting him on the shoulder. “Alright, meeting’s about to start.”

The Organization Department meeting served two main purposes: first, to organize the upcoming event, and second, to prepare for the next team-building activity. Lu Tao usually pointed out important things to watch for, acting as a guide for the juniors.

But unlike before, when he only spoke verbally, this time he turned on the projector halfway through and said, “Most of you are probably still gathering information for the team-building plan, but our classmate Wang Pengcheng has already submitted his. I took a look, it’s really well done. Let me share it with everyone as a reference example.”

Everyone looked at Wang Pengcheng with some surprise, while a few eyes also landed on Shen Chun.

In the past, the sample plans had always been Shen Chun’s, and everyone agreed that he wrote them exceptionally well. No one expected Wang Pengcheng to take the lead this time.

When the file opened, Shen Chun noticed the title still hadn’t been changed, it was simply called “Team-Building Plan.” A small smile tugged at the corner of his lips. Meanwhile, Xu Ze’s eyes widened in shock. He glanced first at the smug Wang Pengcheng, then over at Shen Chun.

Lu Tao spoke from the podium, highlighting key points with a tone full of praise. The listeners nodded along, and Wang Pengcheng grew increasingly smug. Occasionally, he shot a warning yet triumphant glance at Xu Ze, who looked utterly shocked.

That’s Shen Chun’s plan, Xu Ze thought bitterly. He might steal from me, but this—this is Shen Chun’s!

A surge of intense anger caused Xu Ze to tremble slightly. His conflicted feelings tugged at him like a tug-of-war inside. Finally, as Lu Tao flipped to the next page, Xu Ze couldn’t hold back and abruptly stood up.

The loud scrape of chairs and desks sliding grabbed everyone’s attention.

Lu Tao looked at Xu Ze in surprise as he suddenly stood up. “What’s wrong?”

“This plan… this plan…” Xu Ze’s voice trembled. He shot a threatening glance at Wang Pengcheng, then his eyes flickered and met Shen Chun’s calm, unreadable gaze.

Shen Chun shared his experience with him, yet it was his plan that got stolen by someone else. Would Shen Chun suspect that he had leaked it? Would he secretly look down on him?

He was so close with Xie Baiyuan, if Xie Baiyuan found out, would he also look down on him…?

“What exactly is going on?” Lu Tao asked patiently.

“Yeah, exactly. If there’s something to say, just say it. Don’t waste everyone’s time,” Wang Pengcheng said impatiently.

He was sure he had completely deleted the original file from Xu Ze’s computer. Even if Xu Ze spoke up, no one would believe him.

“This plan isn’t Wang Pengcheng’s,” Xu Ze lifted his head and said to Lu Tao.

Shen Chun withdrew his gaze. If it had come to this point, there was still hope.

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