At the Campus courtyard
The sun stretched low, casting long amber shadows over the university courtyard.
Jiang Xiao Shuai adjusted the focus on his camera for the third time, eyebrows furrowed behind the viewfinder. "Stop moving."
"I'm not moving."
Guo Cheng Yu's voice, lazy and amused, floated just off to his left. He was leaning back against the railing, half in sunlight, hair slightly tousled from the breeze.
"You blinked," Xiao Shuai muttered. "That counts."
"You're filming, not taking a photo."
Xiao Shuai lowered the camera slightly and glared. "It's a slow pan. Your blinking breaks the mood."
Cheng Yu raised an eyebrow. "Are you flirting with me or directing me?"
"I'm directing, obviously."
The words snapped out before Xiao Shuai could stop himself.
But Guo Cheng Yu grinned anyway, like he heard the stutter in his tone. Like he knew Xiao Shuai was flustered and pretending not to be. That made it worse.
"Too bad. I was hoping you'd flirt."
"I don't flirt." Xiao Shuai lifted the camera again to hide his face. "Unlike some people."
"Hmm," Cheng Yu hummed. "I flirt because it's easy. But you—"
He paused just long enough to make Xiao Shuai's fingers freeze on the lens ring.
"—you're dangerous when you're quiet. I think you don't even realize how loud you are without saying anything."
Xiao Shuai almost dropped the camera.
He didn't. But it was close.
He lowered it slowly, ignoring how warm his ears felt. "You should save those lines for someone who wants them."
"Who says I don't mean them?"
Xiao Shuai looked away toward the lens bag, the grass, the pathway behind Cheng Yu anywhere but those eyes.
This wasn't how it was supposed to go.
He was supposed to be the cold one. The untouchable one. The one who could look someone like Guo Cheng Yu in the eye and say you don't faze me.
But now, standing a foot apart with tension curling in the air between them like smoke, Xiao Shuai knew something had shifted.
And he wasn't ready.
"Can you just... stand still so I can finish the shot?"
"Of course," Cheng Yu said softly. "For you, I'll stay still."
And for the next three minutes, he did.
Still. Quiet. Just watching.
Letting Xiao Shuai pretend he wasn't falling.
***
The hum of outdated computers and the soft clicking of keyboard keys filled the air. Jiang Xiao Shuai sat cross-legged in the back of the university's editing lab, headphones slipping halfway off his head, mind nowhere near the footage playing on-screen.
He was thinking about Guo Cheng Yu again.
Stupid.
It had been two hours since they parted ways in the courtyard. Cheng Yu had smiled, waved, and walked off like he hadn't just said things that made Xiao Shuai's chest feel tight and hot and confusing. He hated it.
He clicked his tongue, annoyed, and reached for his notebook.
But it wasn't there.
"Looking for this?"
Xiao Shuai nearly jumped out of his skin.
Standing in the doorway with that sweet, clueless smile, Wu Suo Wei held up a familiar black notebook, hugging it to his chest.
"Da Wei! Don't sneak up on me!" Xiao Shuai hissed, yanking off his headphones.
"I called you three times. You were lost in your... uh... editing," Suo Wei said with a giggle.
He padded over, placed the notebook down gently, and plopped into the chair beside him. His pink hoodie sleeves were rolled up, and he had a straw in a cup of bubble tea, which he immediately offered. "Sip?"
Xiao Shuai took it out of habit. "Thanks."
"Who were you thinking about just now?"
"No one."
"Cheng Yu?"
Xiao Shuai choked on the tapioca pearls. "Da Wei!"
Suo Wei burst out laughing, clapping his hands like a delighted child. "I knew it! You always get this look on your face. Like you're pretending to be mad but your ears go red."
"They do not."
"They do too," Suo Wei grinned, poking Xiao Shuai's cheek. "Honestly, I think Cheng Yu likes you."
"He likes flirting," Xiao Shuai muttered. "He flirts with the vending machine when it gives him free water."
"But he gave you his hoodie yesterday and stood in the rain. You told me that, remember?"
"That's because I gave him mine first!"
Suo Wei just smiled knowingly. "You're so stubborn sometimes."
Xiao Shuai crossed his arms, slouching into the chair. "He's probably already moved on to someone else. I bet he does this to every guy he finds interesting for like five minutes."
"Cheng Yu's a lot of things," Suo Wei said, gently now, "but I don't think he plays with people's hearts. He wouldn't hurt you."
The words struck deeper than Xiao Shuai expected.
He looked down at his notebook. Opened it. Scribbled nonsense on the corner of a page just to keep his fingers busy. "I don't know what he wants."
Suo Wei leaned his head on Xiao Shuai's shoulder. "Then ask him."
"I'm scared to."
Suo Wei didn't reply right away. When he did, his voice was soft. "That's okay too."
And they sat there like that — two boys hiding in the glow of a flickering computer screen, trying to understand how fast things could change when someone laughs the right way or touches your hand like it means something.