But he immediately chickened out. He hadn't figured out how to face Shen Zhifei yet, and going home now would only make things more awkward for both of them.
Let's wait a few more days. People say time heals all wounds. If the two of them don't see each other for a while, the matter will fade away by the time the final exams are over and winter break starts. Maybe when they meet again, the two brothers will just laugh it off.
Song Lang made up his mind, resisting the urge to reply "Wait for me to come home." He read Shen Zhifei's short birthday greeting over and over again, wishing he could engrave that line of text into his brain, before deleting it and returning the phone to Meng Fanxing.
"Finished whispering?" Meng Fanxing looked down at her phone and tapped it, scoffing, "Tch, what did you say that made you delete the chat history?"
"Why are you so curious? If you could maintain such a strong curiosity about your studies, would your midterm exam results have been so disastrous?" Song Lang mimicked Meng's mother's tone, looking disappointed and shaking his head at Meng Fanxing.
Meng Fanxing clutched her chest and fell backward onto the bed, pretending to be shot by an arrow. She frowned and said weakly, "Spare...spare me, cough cough, me."
Song Lang chuckled and gave him a light kick to the shin, calling him an idiot.
Meng Fanxing asked him, "Zhou Sen and the others asked us to go out for karaoke, do you want to go?"
In the past, Song Lang was always the most enthusiastic about such things, but today he had something on his mind and shook his head listlessly: "It's too cold to go."
"Okay then, I also want to get into bed early and play games in the warmth, how nice."
As Meng Fanxing texted Zhou Sen on her phone, the bed next to her sank in, and Song Lang nudged him with his elbow, saying, "Move over there a bit."
Meng Fanxing moved to the side and continued lying down playing on her phone. Song Lang remained silent and still beside her, staring intently at the interplay of light and shadow on the ceiling.
After a long time, Song Lang suddenly called out to Meng Fanxing, his tone quite serious, as if he was about to say something important. Meng Fanxing lost her grip on the phone, and it slammed into her face.
"Damn it..." Meng Fanxing's nose stung and tears welled up from the impact. She rubbed her nose for a long time before she recovered and looked at Song Lang. "What do you want to say?"
After deliberating for a long time, Song Lang turned to the side, propped his head up with one hand, and looked at Meng Fanxing very seriously: "You must promise to keep this a secret."
Inspired by his earnest gaze, Meng Fanxing turned to face Song Lang in the same manner and nodded seriously: "Tell me, after all these years of being buddies, don't you trust me?"
After a moment's hesitation, Song Lang uttered that familiar opening line: "Well, I have a friend who's had something rather embarrassing happen to him these past few days. He came to me to confide in me, and I can't figure it out either, so I wanted to ask you..."
Meng Fanxing raised an eyebrow, "I understand, I understand, a friend is a friend."
Song Lang then emphasized again, feeling guilty: "I was talking about a friend of mine."
Pshaw, what friends do you have that I don't know?
Meng Fanxing inwardly complained, but outwardly maintained the demeanor of a close friend: "I know, I know, you can continue."
Song Lang gritted his teeth and confessed everything that had happened that day. However, he omitted the details in his story, and he and Shen Zhifei became close friends. Putting aside their brotherly relationship, he spoke much more lightly. As he spoke, he even thought that if Shen Zhifei were a girl, the story he told could be put into a romance novel.
Meng Fanxing's mouth opened wider and wider, her brows furrowed more and more tightly, and her expression became increasingly unpredictable.
"Hey, say something! What the hell is that face?" Song Lang tapped him on the forehead to bring him back to his senses.
Meng Fanxing stared at him for a moment, then suddenly pulled the blanket over herself and asked in a panic, "Dalang, you don't actually have a crush on me, do you?! I'm straight!"
Song Lang's eyes twitched three times, and he cracked his knuckles: "You idiot, are you looking for a beating?"
Meng Fanxing breathed a sigh of relief, then put on a dreamy expression: "So you don't actually like Zhou Sen, do you? Let me tell you, he's straight too. He's liked that kid in Class 6 since junior high..."
Song Lang couldn't resist the urge to beat him up. He rolled over, grabbed a pillow, and smacked Meng Fanxing in the face, yelling, "I fucking said it wasn't me! You idiot!"
"Okay, okay, Brother Lang, spare me!!" After being brutally attacked for a minute, Meng Fanxing finally got Song Lang to show mercy. He gasped for breath, his hair flying wildly in the chaos. He asked seriously, "What are you worried about, no, what is your friend worried about? These days, society's attitude towards homosexuality has gradually become more tolerant. No one will discriminate against you."
Song Lang rolled his eyes at him before saying, "He has a girlfriend, okay?"
Meng Fanxing became increasingly certain of her guess that "friends are people," but did Song Lang really think she was stupid?
He sighed, adopted the air of a relationship guru, and solemnly grasped his shoulder, saying, "The fact that you can still do *that* with your best buddy while having a girlfriend really speaks volumes. Whether you're heterosexual, homosexual, or bisexual, you have to face your sexual orientation honestly. Your body doesn't lie."
His advice only made Song Lang more annoyed: "But I don't react to other boys."
Meng Fanxing snapped her fingers excitedly and laughed, "Aha, you finally admitted it was you! Tell me, tell me, who was that guy you were passionately masturbating with? Zhou Sen or Yu Mingtao? Or maybe Jing Muye?"
Frustrated, Song Lang kicked him and said, "Get out."
Meng Fanxing played around with him for a long time, and tried to get more information from Song Lang about the identity of the other male lead, but Song Lang just wouldn't say anything.
Seeing her good friend's depressed expression, Meng Fanxing thought for a moment, then suddenly pounced on Song Lang and said, "How about I sacrifice myself and offer up my pure and sacred body so you can verify whether you are gay or not?"
Suddenly, Song Lang gripped his shoulder with gratitude, and then, as Meng Fanxing nervously swallowed, he mercilessly slammed his knee into the man's groin.
Meng Fanxing's screams veered into the air, prompting an old lady upstairs to open her window and yell at him, "Whose brat is still awake in the middle of the night!"
The world fell silent instantly. The two washed up, made their beds, and snuggled into bed. Meng Fanxing thought for a moment but decided not to share a blanket with him. "Dalang, I didn't mean anything by it. I just wanted to protect my chrysanthemum."
Song Lang didn't even want to roll his eyes anymore. He lay on the bed staring at the ceiling, not saying a word.
Meng Fanxing turned off the light and remained silent in the darkness for a long time before saying, "To be serious, Dalang, you don't need to worry so much. Maybe this is something you two did in a moment of passion. I might have done the same thing. I've heard that it's normal for people to watch porn, masturbate, or even help each other when they live in male dorms in college."
Song Lang chuckled: "Who the hell told you that things like university dormitories are normal?"
Meng Fanxing chuckled and said, "That's the gist of it. You get the idea. I don't discriminate against homosexuals. Even if you're gay, we'll still be like brothers. But as your good brother, I have to add one more thing: I don't want you to go down the wrong path. Try to get to know Anru properly. You might find that you still prefer pretty and attractive young girls."
Song Lang hummed in agreement. He raised his hand to his forehead, closed his eyes, and tried to recall the scene of kissing An Ru at noon. However, the person who occupied his brain for a long time was Shen Zhifei, who had pressed down on him with a forceful posture, but whose eyes and voice were filled with moisture as she bit his ear and begged him to say "I like you".
Chapter 022
Song Lang didn't sleep well that night.
With his eyes closed, all he could think about was Shen Zhifei. Just as he finally managed to clear his mind and drift off to sleep, the passionate yet absurd scene from noon replayed in his dream. Shen Zhifei forcefully squeezed between his legs, cupped his face, and lowered his head to kiss him, whispering as her lips rubbed together, "Brother, please say you like me, okay?"