PTCQT Chapter 21

Suspicion began to grow in Du Xin’s heart, and before he knew it, his thoughts kept drifting in that direction. The more he observed, the more he felt that something was off.

Take Xie Baiyuan and Shen Chun, for example; they always went to eat together and even studied side by side. If one of them needed something, all it took was a glance, and the other would hand it over. Occasionally, they’d exchange looks, filled with an unspoken connection that made it impossible for others to insert themselves.

But the most infuriating thing was the president’s blatant double standard. When Du Xin so much as shifted his stool to stretch a bit, it was like he had ants in his pants. But when Shen Chun jogged a whole lap around the dorm, the president would probably praise him for being active, “Good job! Exercise is great for physical and mental health!”

Although Shen Chun wasn’t actually crazy enough to run laps around the dorm, that’s just how Du Xin imagined it.

How had he never noticed before that those two were… different?

Wait a minute, didn’t Shen Chun already have a partner? Then why was the president still hanging around him like that?

Once his thoughts wandered down that path, Du Xin grew even more restless. He genuinely admired Xie Baiyuan, standing out among all the prodigies at University A had taken an extraordinary amount of effort. The position of Student Council President wasn’t just a title; it was a symbol, a standard. If he really got involved in someone else’s relationship, the backlash would be even worse than what Wang Pengcheng faced. A single scandal could ruin his reputation for life.

His uneasiness made him shift in his seat, the chair scraping against the floor with a loud creak, like a spoon dragging across a porcelain plate, instantly drawing the attention of the two people across from him.

Xie Baiyuan looked at Du Xin, clearly trying to keep his temper in check, voice low and steady: “What is wrong with you?”

In the past, Du Xin had just lacked a bit of self-control, now it felt like he was making noise on purpose.

He looked at the two people sitting across from him, and for a moment, his thoughts were so tangled it felt like his guts were tying themselves in knots. He admired Xie Baiyuan, and he didn’t dislike Shen Chun either. That underclassman came from a wealthy background but never acted superior; whenever Du Xin asked for help, he never hesitated. Naturally, Du Xin was happy to take him under his wing. But how had the two of them ended up… entangled like this?

“If you’ve got something to say, Senior Du, just say it,” Shen Chun said with a smile, looking at Du Xin’s conflicted expression.

Du Xin might come off as rough around the edges, but when he really paid attention, he was more observant than anyone. After all, you don’t get to organize major cultural events without being sharp.

So it wasn’t surprising that he picked up on something. Shen Chun hadn’t planned to hide it, either. His relationship with Xie Baiyuan wasn’t something they could announce publicly, but letting a few close friends in on it wasn’t a bad idea, especially since the president always struggled with a sense of insecurity.

Letting friends, family, and eventually others know, and receiving their blessings, that’s something that could only be done one step at a time.

“You two… don’t feel the least bit guilty?” Du Xin hesitated for a moment, but still voiced the question.

Xie Baiyuan’s heart skipped a beat. His already cool expression froze slightly in surprise. For a moment, he panicked, not because he was afraid of strangers knowing he liked men, but because when someone familiar found out, he couldn’t help but worry they might not accept it.

But even if they couldn’t accept it, he would never break up with Shen Chun because of that. He truly didn’t think he had done anything wrong. “No, I don’t.”

“Not at all,” Shen Chun echoed with a knowing smile, completely confident and unapologetic.

From what he could tell, Du Xin’s question wasn’t really about accepting his and Xie Baiyuan’s sexuality, that part, he seemed to be fine with. The guilt he was referring to must’ve meant something else entirely.

When the two of them answered in unison, Du Xin shot to his feet in frustration, taking deep breaths to calm himself. He stared at Shen Chun and said seriously, “You don’t feel guilty… for doing this to your girlfriend?!”

Unbelievable. This was too scummy. He was going to lose his mind from sheer rage.

As soon as those words came out, Xie Baiyuan was clearly stunned. He felt like he and Du Xin were having two completely different conversations. “…What girlfriend?”

“Shen Chun’s girlfriend, of course!” Du Xin said, pacing back and forth in distress. “Back then, it was all over the forums, people were talking non-stop about it. They even had matching couple rings! There was all that sentimental talk about how only a rare few manage to stay together till the end.” 

He shook his head, utterly exasperated. “President, I get it, he’s really good-looking, and it’s hard to resist, but you can’t go after someone who’s already taken! Just think how heartbroken that girl must be!”

“…You know I like men?” Xie Baiyuan asked, finally catching the real point in Du Xin’s words. It was clear now: Du Xin hadn’t been shocked at all by the fact that he liked men.

“Oh, yeah, I knew,” Du Xin said matter-of-factly.

“How did you know?” Xie Baiyuan asked.

Du Xin rubbed his nose, cleared his throat, and replied in a vaguely evasive tone, “I just… knew, okay?”

His eyes met Xie Baiyuan’s questioning gaze, and before he could stop himself, he blurted out, “It was back in sophomore year, when a bunch of us from the dorms were watching that kind of movie. We all thought it was super exciting, but you, President, you didn’t react at all. That’s when we started to suspect something… But that’s beside the point! Right now, it’s about you and Shen Chun. President, there are so many fish in the sea, getting involved in someone else’s relationship just isn’t right.”

“I didn’t get involved in anything,” Xie Baiyuan said, frowning slightly. He reached into his collar and pulled out a necklace with a ring on it. “The other ring has been with me all along.”

The ring hanging from the chain was simple in design and clearly matched the one on Shen Chun’s hand. Whatever Du Xin was about to say caught in his throat. “Wait… what—this…?”

Damn. They were already a couple, and here he’d been worked up this whole time, for nothing.

If there was ever a definition of a socially suicidal moment… this was it.

“Senior Du,” Shen Chun said lazily, “plenty of fish in the sea, right? So which poor fish were you hoping to hook the president up with?”

Du Xin: “…”

“‘Only a rare few make it to the end’—doesn’t sound wrong at all, right, President?” Shen Chun asked with a smile.

Xie Baiyuan replied right on cue, “Mm.”

Two pairs of eyes locked onto Du Xin. In that moment, he genuinely wished he could crack open a hole in the floor and crawl into it. Wasn’t this supposed to be their coming-out scene? Why did it feel like he was the one being outed?!

Why?! This made no sense!

“…Alright, my bad. I jumped to conclusions,” Du Xin said with a sheepish grin, thick-skinned as ever. “If I’d known it was you two from the start, wait a second. School had just started back then! You guys were already together?!”

“Senior,” Shen Chun replied with a smile, “getting into a relationship isn’t about timing, it’s about fate.”

521, silently watching from the side, couldn’t help but think: Yeah, no… it’s not fate. It’s the face.

“Oh—wow…” Du Xin quietly pulled his chair back over and sat down. “Gotta hand it to you, junior. Our president here is like a flower on the highest peak, countless people have tried to climb up and pluck it, and none of them even got close to a single leaf. But you? Swipe swipe swipe—one clean move, flower in hand. Wanna teach your senior a trick or two?”

Du Xin wasn’t bad-looking himself. In the literature and arts department, where there were way more girls than guys, he’d still somehow stayed single all these years.

“Who’ve you got your eye on, Senior?” Shen Chun asked.

“Heh… Luo Yuqi,” Du Xin said, a little embarrassed.

Shen Chun actually remembered that senior. She was stunning, graceful from her background in dance, with a well-proportioned figure and a talent for makeup. She was clearly the refined, elegant type. The only problem was… it was obvious she had a thing for Xie Baiyuan.

“Honestly, if you want to win over Senior Luo, it’s simple,” Shen Chun said. “First, leak the news that the president is taken.”

Du Xin went quiet for a moment before responding, “…Junior, are you trying to blow up the school forum and message boards?”

Ever since Shen Chun had gotten into a relationship, that post had stayed pinned to the top of the forum, hearts shattered all over the place. And now if the president got added to the mix? Ha. If people found out the two were “handling things internally”…

Yeah, that scene was better left unimagined.

“So,” Shen Chun asked with a smile, “do you still want to go after Senior Luo?”

Du Xin gave in with a quiet sigh. “…I do.”

Only after heartbreak could people begin to hope again. If everyone kept pining after someone already taken, they’d just be wasting their own time, and their lives. From that perspective, he was actually doing the public a service. Maybe even racking up some major karmic points.

“But it’s review season right now,” Du Xin added, ever the responsible one. “Better hold off until next year.”

“Up to you,” Shen Chun said with a smile.

Du Xin accepted the whole Shen Chun and Xie Baiyuan relationship surprisingly well. Setting aside the potentially explosive consequences, he’d looked around the entire campus and found himself agreeing with some of the fangirls in their private corners of the internet: the only person truly worthy of Xie Baiyuan was Shen Chun, and vice versa.

Sure, maybe in the future they’d each meet someone even better or more exceptional. But when it comes to love, what matters most is that two people feel right for each other.

Du Xin was cheerful by nature and well-connected. After getting the okay from both of them, it was only natural that a few close friends they hung out with also came to know the truth.

Given that they’d already suspected Xie Baiyuan might be into men, and had been totally fine with it, the news just made everything click into place. It was more like, “Ah, so it really was true.”

But still…

“Damn, Du Xin, stay away from me—I’m afraid you’ll lower my IQ. You actually thought the president was a homewrecker? That’s next-level.”

“Legendary move, bro. You even hit him with the whole ‘plenty of fish in the sea’ line to his face! Damn, the fact that the president didn’t body-slam you on the spot? That’s real love, right there.”

“Shen Chun even agreed to teach you how to chase someone, Duzi¹a casual, familiar nickname for Du Xin (杜新), combining his surname “Du” (杜) with the suffix “zi” (子), which is often used in Mandarin for nicknames, especially among friends or in a teasing tone.. Forget love, just that alone means your ancestors must be burning incense on your behalf from the grave! Hahahahaha!”

Du Xin: “…”

There goes my lifelong reputation, all down the drain. Damn it, made the wrong friends.

With their friends’ acceptance and blessings, a huge weight clearly lifted off Xie Baiyuan’s shoulders. Exams weren’t much of a challenge for him, and they didn’t really trouble Shen Chun either. After a few twists and turns, the exam period passed in the blink of an eye.

“You’re really planning to start your internship over the winter break?” Shen Chun asked, watching Xie Baiyuan pack his things.

“I’ll leave a few days free to wait for your exams to finish before heading out,” Xie Baiyuan replied, his hands not stopping. “I’m just getting things ready early. I’ll probably get a break around the New Year, wherever you want to go then, I’ll go with you.”

“Then come to my place for New Year,” Shen Chun said, eyes on Xie Baiyuan’s straightened back. “My parents have been wanting to meet you.”

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  a casual, familiar nickname for Du Xin (杜新), combining his surname “Du” (杜) with the suffix “zi” (子), which is often used in Mandarin for nicknames, especially among friends or in a teasing tone.