It was just after January when X University's foundation day began. For the whole week of this day, X University would be open to outsiders. Each class had a stall of their own, some opting for cafés and even horror booths. Films made by the students had their own showing. All in all, this week was quite busy for students who participated in the event and easygoing for those that just want to watch the show.
The former was true for Jun Zixin, while Shen Ru was the latter. Although their relationship had developed into the kissing stage, neither of them ever mentioned the idea of giving their relationship a label because of Shen Ru's reluctance.
When Jun Zixin told him that he'll be busy for a few weeks and they couldn't go on their weekly dates anymore, Shen Ru thought that he would do fine. Who knew that just a few days before the foundation day, he was already missing him too much that his heart hurt?
And so, Shen Ru thought, how about participating in their class event to distract himself from these thoughts?
It was a wrong mistake.
Very wrong.
As mentioned earlier, most classes opted to create a café for outsiders. Their class didn't want to do something so simple as that, however, so the café had a twist.
This so-called twist was: the café was divided into two parts, the maid and butler café. Although this seems interesting, it gets even more interesting. The maids were male, while the butlers were females.
Damn it, he thought that this was just some dog-blooded Chinese novel. He didn't expect that it borrowed some inspiration from animes too.
Shen Ru had only found out about this little detail until after he signed up to become a waiter. Their class monitor and the other female students smiled from ear to ear as they relayed the news to him.
"It was entrapment, I shouldn't have signed up!" Shen Ru wailed as he held the maid uniform he had to wear in his hands.
"We can say the same for you, boss. Why did you have to bring us with you too?!" Gu Haoyu had a similar expression, which was hilarious considering he was wearing a maid uniform. The uniform didn't quite fit right with his broad shoulders and thick arms.
"Not gonna lie, wearing a skirt feels comfortable," Jia Hao remarked.
Gu Haoyu gave him a glare. "Don't even try to convince me that this isn't the worst thing ever." Then, he turned to Shen Ru. "Boss Shen, I'm sorry but I'll have to bring you down with me too. Please wear the maid uniform!"
Shen Ru sighed but wore the maid uniform, anyway. When he got out of the private room, Gu Haoyu and Jia Hao were filled with wows.
"You look great, boss!" Jia Hao clapped his hands.
"That isn't exactly a compliment…." Shen Ru trailed off, his eyebrows twitching.
Then, he went to a mirror to see his appearance. In fairness, he didn't actually look too bad in such a revolting outfit. Although he had broad shoulders and his Adam's apple exposed his real gender, because of his thin waist and long legs, he didn't look too unappealing to the eyes.
…Well, that's what he thought about himself, anyway.
When the three of them got out to head for the café, some of their classmates laughed at their appearances. "Gu Haoyu, you look awesome!" Xiao Zhu had tears in his eyes from laughter.
"Bah, wear a maid uniform too, let's see if you can still laugh," Gu Haoyu said threateningly, which was practically impossible considering his outfit.
"Shen Ru, you look cute though. As expected of our school grass!" One female student praised.
"Come, pose for us, I'll take a picture!"
"Here, a teapot, you can pose as if you're serving the customers."
"You should smile too!"
"Don't smile too much, make it elegant like you're a distant immortal."
Gu Haoyu and Jia Hao had fits of laughter as they watched Shen Ru being badgered by the girls in their class. Shen Ru secretly gave them a glare, thinking that maybe one of these days he'll have to beat them to submission.
When they were finally finished with the pictures, Shen Ru sat on one of the chairs and noticed Hua Xiu chatting together with some of her friends in her class. Surprise, surprise, she was participating in the event too. She was wearing a butler uniform and her hair was pulled into a bun. Although her delicate features exposed her real gender, her fierce and sleek gave her a manly vibe.
Noticing his gaze, the two of them locked eyes and Hua Xiu smirked.
Oh wow, the cowardly rat has some plans for him. Too bad, he had already had a gist of what she was planning from the information of the private investigator.
Yes, the private investigator was still following her around even after over two months. Over the course of this time, the private investigator has reported that she brought some things with her always, like her favorite pen, novels, and notebooks. Shen Ru only stole her favorite pen, because the others were just miscellaneous things. However, the pen seemed to not be the red riding hood, so he hasn't finished completing the third mission even until now.
Suddenly, a notification sounded from his phone. Shen Ru threw these thoughts away when he found out that Jun Zixin had messaged him.
Mafia Boss Jun: Are you participating in your class' maid café???????
Shen Ru: Your fault for leaving me with nothing to do
Shen Ru: How did you know tho?
Mafia Boss Jun: Look at the school forum
Mafia Boss Jun: Everyone's talking about you
Mafia Boss Jun: I'm jealous (｀Д´*)
Shen Ru: Wow, you actually used an emoticon
After they chatted for some more, Jun Zixin excused himself because he had work to do, so Shen Ru checked the school forum. As Jun Zixin said, there was really a post from the school forum. It contained the photos they had just taken now. Even though the post was posted just 10 minutes ago, the post floors had almost reached a hundred.
[TWINK ERA TWINK ERA TWINK ERA]
[If he wore a wig, I swear he would look like a real girl]
[10/10, Shen Ru has potential in cosplaying]
Shen Ru didn't look at the rest of the comments, knowing that his tough guy reputation was already destroyed. He repeatedly cursed the Lord God that got him into this situation.
●○●○●○●○●○●
When their café opened, their class was surprised to see that Jun Zixin himself was the first customer. He laughed carelessly and said, "Oh, I'm the first customer? I just wanted to visit Shen Ru."
Shen Ru knew better than to think that it was just a simple coincidence. His family's mafia boss was being possessive again. "Jun xuezhang," he smiled and said politely.
One of the girls in their class interrupted and corrected him, "It's 'Welcome to our café, Master'!"
Shen Ru gave her the fiercest glare but she only laughed even harder. Meanwhile, the expression on Jun Zixin's face crumbled as he asked, "Do you have to say this for every customer that comes?"
Sensing danger, the girl explained, "It was just a joke, Jun xuezhang. In fact, our café isn't really serious. We just want the customers to laugh."
Jun Zixin's smile returned and he said to Shen Ru, "I'll order a cappuccino." Then, he leaned closer and whispered in his ear, "You look cute in a maid uniform."
Shen Ru rolled his eyes, though his embarrassment could see be seen from the tips of his ears that turned red. He turned around in a huff and went to the server to relay Jun Zixin's order. Jun Zixin only chuckled at that.
Because he needed to check on the other classes, Jun Zixin only stayed for a few minutes until he left again. Watching his departing back, Shen Ru couldn't help but feel that his heart was empty. He sighed to himself. With how things were going, this wasn't a simple "like" anymore.
In the end, he rid himself of these thoughts and began working seriously. Most customers were restraining themselves from laughing after seeing such manly men in maid uniforms. At the same time, many customers had come solely just to Shen Ru, who had become a hot topic in the school forum.
Of course, because this was a dog-blooded novel, something just had to go wrong during the shift. When Shen Ru heard a ruckus coming from the hallway, he already knew who arrived. He sneaked a glance at Hua Xiu and found that she was looking at him too, with the same smirk from earlier.
"Hahaha, look at this guys! X University's school boss is cross-dressing!"
"I didn't know that the rumored Shen Ru was actually a twink!"
"Gay, gay, gay!"
A group of muscular delinquents with blond hair was surrounding the café doors. The class monitor was about to get them to leave when Shen Ru winked at him, implying that he can handle them. Although the class monitor was hesitant, he couldn't exactly do anything to these delinquents with his scrawny and thin hands.
"Oh, you guys are from Y University, right?" Shen Ru said
"Ha, the gay actually spoke!"
"I bet he's good at sucking ****"
"He definitely takes it in the ****"
While they were busy insulting him, Shen Ru was clicking on his phone.
"Oi, what are you doing? Trying to call your homo boyfriend?"
Their faces turned pale when Shen Ru showed them his phone, which was on a video call with Yu Ming. She was sitting on a chair with a black coat on her back like a dignified school boss. "Oi, what are you doing? Being a homophobic ass to my friend?" she mocked.
"W-We're sorry, Boss Yu!" Unlike their previous intimidating stance, the delinquents were practically about to kneel on the floor to express their apologies.
"Didn't I tell you that no one messes with X University?"
"T-That's because someone paid us to come here!"
Shen Ru's smirk widened even further when he saw Hua Xiu's similarly pale face.
"Well then, who is it?" Yu Ming sneered.
"It was..." The delinquent speaking looked at Hua Xiu hesitantly, but he still couldn't resist Yu Ming's intimidation. "…some girl named Hua Xiu!"
Upon hearing this revelation, everyone inside the café and the people that had crowded outside to see the show were whispering amongst themselves.
Hua Xiu tried to defend herself, saying, "That isn't true, you're lying! Why would I even have any contact with a person like you?"
"What 'person like you'? Laozi [1] is still a human being. People like you who pays people to bully others are even worse than us delinquents. At least we only do things for money!"
Shen Ru had only managed to prevent himself from laughing. The irony.
"You don't have any evidence that I paid you, do you? Stop accusing people because you were caught in the act, you're just a coward!" Hua Xiu shouted back, still insisting on her innocence.
One of the other delinquents, who had been quiet, spoke up, "I have a video of our transaction!"
Then, in the eyes of everyone, he showed the video from his phone.
"Start calling Shen Ru gay and then beat him up."
"I'll pay you a lot of money, it's not a problem."
"You can do anything you want with him after that."
Everyone's three views [2] had completely collapsed after hearing the nefarious plans Hua Xiu had in store for Shen Ru. Many were outraged and started scolding her.
"I can't believe someone would even do this!"
"Some women really are scary…"
"Isn't this a crime? Someone call the police!"
Hua Xiu tried to flee the scene but was stopped by their male classmates. Although he was supposed to be the victim in this situation, Shen Ru found it funny to see manly men dressed in maid uniforms trying to stop a girl in a butler uniform. It was like the effect of seeing your avatar in a videogame cutscene after equipping a maid uniform and a shark head because both outfits gave an HP boost.
Just when he thought the show was over, Jun Zixin suddenly appeared and asked, "What is happening here?"
As if she was provoked by his presence, Hua Xiu started screaming, "I did it because I know that Shen Ru and Jun Zixin are both disgusting homos!"
The laughter that Shen Ru was holding for minutes finally sounded. He smiled mockingly at Hua Xiu's distressed figure and said, "What's it to you if we're together?"
Not only was everyone in the vicinity surprised, but Jun Zixin was even more so. Although they didn't dare mention it, it was in their understanding that they wouldn't reveal their relationship to anyone else. Both of them valued privacy so they didn't argue about this. It was highly unexpected that Shen Ru would suddenly reveal it all today, much less them "being together".
Probably because she had expected that he would deny it, Hua Xiu was momentarily shocked. Then, she recovered from it and doubled down on the curse words, "See? They're gay, so disgusting! I can't believe I actually had a crush on you, Jun Zixin! I tried to bring you back to the good side but you're always refusing me. It won't be my fault when your reputation is ruined!"
"Hua Xiu," Jun Zixin spoke, his voice devoid of any emotion, unlike the polite attitude he usually had towards everyone. "Look at the people around you. Who are they looking at with disgust? Is it me or you?"
Hua Xiu frowned and looked around her. Instead of the approving and impressed stares she had expected, they were all filled with disdain at her. She panicked and shouted, "No, no! I'm not the bad guy, they are!" After a couple of whispers, she continued, "Damn it, it's Fang Li's fault! She told me to be more confident, I just wanted to be noticed. Why do I have to suffer like this…?"
"In fact, Hua Xiu, it's good to be more confident. But, your confidence wasn't real confidence. You depended on your confidence in other people's opinions of you. When you found out that I didn't have a good opinion of you, you felt like your confidence was being threatened and you retaliated," Shen Ru explained her inner thoughts that she had been ignoring. "I bet you thought that it was my fault that everything in your life has gone wrong. In actuality, you've already ruined your life long ago by stealing from other people."
Hua Xiu's were wide open. "How…How did you know?"
Shen Ru ignored her and continued, "I bet you aren't really that homophobic. Because I'm gay, you substituted your hate for hate for people like me. With these thoughts that gay people are disgusting, you made a reason for your newfound hate for Jun xuezhang, someone who you like but is already taken by me."
Shen Ru wasn't really bullshitting all of this. He had knowledge of the original timeline and knew that Hua Xiu didn't really hate gay people. In fact, when she entered college, she would have a lesbian friend and they would have some homosexual tension, which he chalked up to fan service from the author.
After hearing that, Hua Xiu suddenly shouted and fell face-first to the floor. Shen Ru looked at her with disinterest and told the class monitor, "You should call Teacher Peng, I'm sorry for this mess."
The class monitor nodded. "Sure, it's not your fault though."
At this point, Jun Zixin had navigated through the crowd and approached him. "She's faking it."
Shen Ru smiled. "It's pretty obvious."
"Let's talk after this matter dies down, this is not the appropriate place for conversation."
In the end, after talking with the guidance counselor, Hua Xiu was ultimately expelled from the school. First, there were the stealing incidents, which negatively affected the school's reputation. Second, the homophobic incident. Now, she orchestrated an attempted assault and discriminated against homosexuals in public with outsiders around. Even a suspension could be considered mercy for her.
Hua Xiu immediately cried and ran away after they were allowed to leave the guidance counselor's room. Jun Zixin told Shen Ru, "Let's go to the rooftop."
"What? Are we going to have some cliché anime scene?" Shen Ru teased.
"I much prefer a garden scene, honestly," Jun Zixin replied.
"I now understand why you always like bringing me flowers."
When they arrived at the rooftop, Jun Zixin began talking, "So, we're together now?"
Shen Ru laughed. "Well, everyone knows that by now."
"But, are you sure about this? You couldn't have possibly said that in the heat of the moment, right?"
Shen Ru approached him, stopping when they were just inches away from each other, both of their breaths hitting each other's skin, and put his arms around him. "I like you, Jun xuezhang."
Jun Zixin's eyes widened open as he tried to take in this information. "R-Really?"
Shen Ru smiled. "What, are you backing out now?"
"Definitely not, today's like the best day of my life."
"That's too corny."
"Considering you actually called me xuezhang in your confession, I can understand why you call me corny."
"Oi!"
●○●○●○●○●○●
Footnotes:
[1] I, your father (usually used angrily or arrogantly)
[2] "World view", "View of life" and "View of value"