It was past 9 p.m., and most of the dormitory lights were dim.
The air outside was warm but breezy, and the sound of students playing guitar in the quad drifted faintly through the open window.
Inside Jiang Xiao Shuai's room, Guo Cheng Yu was lounging sideways on the floor, head propped up by a pillow he'd stolen from Xiao Shuai's bed. He flipped a pen between his fingers while watching the other boy silently pace.
"Are you gonna wear a hole in that floor, or are you finally going to sit down?"
Jiang Xiao Shuai stopped, arms crossed. "I'm thinking."
"You've been thinking for the past thirty minutes," Cheng Yu drawled.
Xiao Shuai sighed and dropped onto his bed with a thump. "You don't get it. Suo Wei almost got assaulted, Chi Cheng almost got expelled, and now half the school knows they've been engaged this whole time!"
Guo Cheng Yu sat up, eyes softening.
"...But he's okay now. Chi Cheng protected him."
"Still. We didn't see it coming," Xiao Shuai said, his voice low. "And I'm supposed to be his best friend."
"You are," Cheng Yu replied gently. "But Suo Wei's been hiding this from everyone for years. Even from you."
Xiao Shuai didn't respond right away. He just leaned back and stared at the ceiling. After a moment, his voice came out quieter than usual.
"Do you think... he told us now because he finally trusts us enough? Or because he was tired of hiding?"
Cheng Yu turned and looked at him fully now.
"Maybe both," he said. "But I know one thing, he wouldn't have survived that night if you weren't there."
The room went still.
Xiao Shuai blinked.
"You really believe that?"
Cheng Yu nodded. "You're his anchor. Even if he doesn't say it out loud."
A long silence followed. The atmosphere shifted—less tension, more vulnerability.
Xiao Shuai suddenly chuckled bitterly. "Why do you always say cheesy things like that?"
"Because you never say what you feel unless I push you," Cheng Yu shot back, smiling lazily. "You're like a vending machine that only works when someone kicks it."
That earned him a throw pillow to the face.
"Idiot."
"Your idiot," Cheng Yu said without missing a beat.
Xiao Shuai froze.
Guo Cheng Yu blinked, surprised by his own words.
For a second, neither moved.
"...Sorry. That came out—"
"No," Xiao Shuai cut in. His voice was quiet again. "Don't take it back."
He slowly looked up at him, eyes softer now.
"You've always been flirty. I didn't know when to take you seriously."
Cheng Yu crawled onto the bed beside him. "You can start now."
Their eyes met. Neither looked away.
Cheng Yu's hand reached over and brushed against Xiao Shuai's wrist.
"...Can I kiss you?"
Xiao Shuai hesitated, but then gave the smallest, most bashful nod.
And Guo Cheng Yu leaned in slowly, as if afraid to break something fragile and pressed a gentle kiss to his lips.
No fireworks. No wild passion.
Just warmth.
Steady. Real. Tender.
When they pulled away, Xiao Shuai blinked at him, dazed. "You're shaking."
Guo Cheng Yu laughed nervously. "You terrify me. But in a good way."
Xiao Shuai smiled the first real, open smile he'd given in days.
"...Stay," he said, so softly it almost disappeared into the air. "Just for tonight."
"I'll stay as long as you let me," Cheng Yu whispered.
They lay down side by side, the silence between them no longer awkward, just comforting.
Two hearts, finally allowed to meet halfway.