Kiss you at Sunset (BL) - Chapter 20
The lecture hall was a sea of students slumped over their desks. Yang Jin frowned slightly as he sat in the last row, occasionally catching the chatter and laughter from the seats ahead. At first, he ignored it, forcing himself to concentrate on the professor’s lecture. But the two idiots sneaking in a game up front were getting louder and louder.
Yang Jin couldn’t stand it anymore. He grabbed his pen and jabbed it into the back of one of the blond-haired guys.
Liang Xu was completely engrossed in his game, directing his teammates for a group attack. The discomfort on his back was an afterthought. It wasn’t until the third poke that he irritably shifted forward without so much as a glance backward.
Something about that reaction ignited Yang Jin’s temper. Without hesitation, he kicked Liang Xu’s chair.
The kick came out of nowhere, and with considerable force. Before Liang Xu could react, he tumbled forward, his whole body sliding under the desk. A loud thud echoed as his forehead smacked against the desk edge, followed by an instinctive curse: “Fvck!”
The expletive was loud enough to jolt the half-asleep and fully-asleep students awake. All eyes turned toward the source of the commotion.
Yang Jin remained seated, watching as Liang Xu climbed up from the floor, rubbing his forehead. Pointing a finger at Yang Jin, he snapped, “Are you out of your goddamn mind?”
Yang Jin stared at him impassively. “Either take your game outside or shut up.”
“Fvck you! Who the hell do you think you are?” Liang Xu rolled up his sleeves, ready to throw down.
Before he could move, Feng Jiayang stepped in, sidling up to Yang Jin and warning Liang Xu in a low voice, “If you wanna fight, do it outside.”
“What’s going on here?” The programming professor stormed over, his voice booming across the hall. “If you don’t want to learn, don’t bother coming to class anymore!”
Feng Jiayang was the first to apologize and calmly explained, “He was playing games in class—loudly—distracting us in the back row.”
Liang Xu’s face paled slightly. Their programming professor was none other than the department head and also the school’s vice principal. He hastily defended himself, “That’s not true! Yang Jin kicked me for no reason.”
“That’s bullshit! He was definitely gaming!” Jiang Yutang jumped in. He had been napping for most of the class, but he had a firm policy: always side with his brothers when trouble arose.
Flustered, Liang Xu turned to his deskmate for backup. “Tell them I was paying attention the whole time!”
The guy, who had been gaming alongside Liang Xu, hesitated. He glanced at the furious professor, then at Yang Jin, and finally at Feng Jiayang. He had seen Yang Jin fight last month—an all-out, reckless brawl that still haunted him. Plus, Feng Jiayang was the class rep, constantly in the good graces of the faculty. Offending him wouldn’t end well either. After weighing his options, the guy stammered, “I… I wasn’t really paying attention.”
Liang Xu shoved him lightly, gritting his teeth. “You’re unbelievable.”
The professor wasn’t so easily fooled, but seeing as this wasn’t a major issue, he didn’t press the matter further. Instead, he took the opportunity to give them all a stern lecture on discipline.
When class ended, Liang Xu, still nursing his grudge, intentionally pushed past Yang Jin on his way out, shoving him lightly in retaliation.
“Tch, that assh0le,” Jiang Yutang muttered, fuming.
Yang Jin adjusted his bag, stumbling a step but saying nothing.
Jiang Yutang decided to shift gears. “Wanna go shoot some hoops later?”
Feng Jiayang shook his head, looking exasperated. “Nah.”
“Why not?” Jiang Yutang asked, confused.
“That idiot Liang Xu was loud as hell the whole class. I barely understood the lecture—I need to go back and study.”
Jiang Yutang slung an arm around him, teasing, “C’mon, be real. Even if Liang Xu wasn’t there, would you have understood it?”
Feng Jiayang shoved him away with a single word: “Scram.”
Jiang Yutang snickered and turned to Yang Jin. “What about you, Jin? Basketball?”
Yang Jin wasn’t in the mood. He casually dodged, “Can’t. I didn’t understand the lecture either.”
Jiang Yutang nearly choked. Unlike Feng Jiayang, Yang Jin was their department’s undisputed academic ace. If even he didn’t get it, then there was no hope for the rest of them.
Yang Jin’s words, however, oddly reassured him. “Damn, if even you didn’t get it, then it really must’ve been tough. Good thing I just slept through it—didn’t waste any brain cells.”
Feng Jiayang rolled his eyes. “Idiot.”
“How am I an idiot?” Jiang Yutang grumbled, realizing his basketball plan was dead in the water. He trailed behind the two as they headed toward the dorms. Yang Jin remained silent, which wasn’t unusual for him, but something about his mood felt off.
Jiang Yutang suspected it had to do with Zhou Shiluo. He had held back from asking for days, but today, he couldn’t resist anymore.
“Yang Jin, you’ve been in a bad mood lately.”
Yang Jin answered indifferently, “Have I?”
Feng Jiayang had noticed it too. “Liang Xu and his friends have always played games in front of you, but you never got this mad before.”
Yang Jin seemed to consider this. After a pause, he deflected, “You didn’t have to step in today—I could’ve handled them myself.”
Feng Jiayang chuckled, calling him arrogant. “I just can’t stand that guy.”
The November wind was bitterly cold, the morning’s snowfall melting before it could settle. Yang Jin nudged Feng Jiayang’s shoulder in silent comfort. Compared to his own struggles, Feng Jiayang had it worse—he had fought to get into university with his boyfriend, only for that same boyfriend to break up with him after a fight with Liang Xu.
Losing something you once had was always more painful than never having it at all.
Jiang Yutang sighed. His two closest friends were down bad.
Just as he was about to lament further, Yang Jin abruptly asked, “Jiang Yutang, have you been flirting with any girls lately?”
Jiang Yutang was so caught off guard he blurted, “What the hell? Bro, I’m with you guys 24/7. Who would I even flirt with? The only three girls I know are because of you.”
Yang Jin had been mulling over Zhou Shiluo’s words. The dog incident was caught on video, but where did that accusation about drugging girls come from?
Before he could get deeper into it, he suddenly saw a familiar figure standing near the dorms.
Zhou Shiluo.
He stood quietly, wrapped in a long black coat, hands stuffed in his pockets, occasionally hunching against the cold. Unaware of the stares, he kept his gaze down, watching his own feet.
Yang Jin had always thought Zhou Shiluo was wasted as a teacher. He should’ve been a celebrity—he’d be a guaranteed star.
Jiang Yutang called out, “Hey, Zhou!”
Zhou Shiluo looked up, his dark eyes locking onto Yang Jin’s.
Silence stretched between them until Zhou Shiluo finally murmured, “Let’s start over.”