The next morning, Chi Cheng's "heroic dive" was all over campus.
Every hallway. Every group chat. Every forum thread.
Even in his own class, Suo Wei heard whispers:
"He literally landed on top of him-"
"-like he was shielding a prince, I swear-"
"I'm starting to think they're dating."
"Or at least Chi Cheng is secretly in love. Look at that picture!"
~
Suo Wei wanted to bury himself under a desk.
And it didn't help when Jiang Xiao Shuai leaned over and stage-whispered, "You're practically famous now, Da Bao."
Suo Wei hissed. "Don't call me that here!"
Xiao Shuai chuckled. "Relax. It's cute."
"Nothing about this is cute!" Suo Wei covered his cheeks. "They're even zooming into the way his hand was around me!"
Shuai shrugged casually. "They're not wrong."
Before Suo Wei could respond, he noticed something odd. Two girls nearby were scribbling something in a notebook while glancing over... and one of them had a sketchbook open to what looked like-
"Wait. Are they drawing us?"
Xiao Shuai squinted. "Looks like fan art. Huh. They got Chi Cheng's jawline right."
Suo Wei groaned.
Meanwhile, at basketball practice, Cheng Yu wasn't letting Chi Cheng off the hook.
The second water break hit, he strolled over casually, a wicked smile on his face.
"So... saving your 'roommate' like that, huh?"
Chi Cheng didn't respond.
Cheng Yu grinned wider. "You fell on top of him, Cheng-ge. You nearly kissed him in front of the entire club."
Chi Cheng kept wiping sweat from his forehead. "It was an accident."
"Sure," Cheng Yu drawled. "And the way you looked at him afterward? Also an accident?"
Chi Cheng shot him a sharp glance. "Are you done?"
"Not even close," Cheng Yu said, folding his arms. "Just tell me the truth. You're in love with him, right?"
Chi Cheng was silent for a beat. Then, calmly: "You already knew."
Cheng Yu blinked, slightly caught off guard by the confession.
"I didn't say it to tease this time," he said quietly. "I just... wanted to hear you say it."
Chi Cheng didn't reply. But his expression softened for a second. "That's why you flirted with him, right? To get under my skin?"
Cheng Yu gave a slow smile. "Guilty."
Chi Cheng snorted. "You're annoying."
"But I'm not the one who's falling in love publicly," Cheng Yu said with a wink before jogging back to court.
That evening, in the quiet of their room, Suo Wei sat curled up on his bed, legs drawn in.
Chi Cheng handed him a warm drink.
"I'm sorry," Suo Wei mumbled. "It's my fault people are talking again. I-I wasn't careful..."
Chi Cheng crouched beside the bed. "It's not your fault."
"But you warned me not to let anyone know before. And now it's everywhere again, and it's like-like I keep messing up."
"You didn't mess up." His voice was firm this time.
Suo Wei glanced up, eyes uncertain.
"I was the one who jumped in to save you," Chi Cheng said. "I'm not going to apologize for that."
"But-"
Chi Cheng gently rested a hand on Suo Wei's head. "Let them talk. They'll stop eventually."
Suo Wei's lips trembled. "So what do we do?"
"We stick to what we said." Chi Cheng sat beside him now. "We're roommates. The rumors will pass."
Suo Wei nodded slowly. "Okay..."
"Unless..." Chi Cheng paused.
Suo Wei looked at him quickly. "Unless?"
Chi Cheng gave him a small smile. "Unless you want them to know you're mine."
Suo Wei's heart skipped a beat.
"I do..." he whispered. "But not now."
Chi Cheng nodded, hand still gently brushing his hair. "Then not now."
Meanwhile...
Jiang Xiao Shuai and Cheng Yu were walking side by side after dinner, sipping from the same milk tea Cheng Yu insisted on buying "for friendship reasons."
"You've been awfully quiet," Cheng Yu said, bumping their shoulders together.
"I'm thinking," Shuai muttered.
"Dangerous," Cheng Yu teased.
Xiao Shuai snorted but didn't deny it. "You were right. About Suo Wei and Chi Cheng."
Cheng Yu sipped his tea. "Told you."
There was a long silence.
Then Xiao Shuai said quietly, "And you... You're not just playing around with me, are you?"
Cheng Yu stopped walking.
Shuai froze too.
"I mean," Shuai added quickly, "you flirt with everyone-so I can't tell if it's real or if you're just-"
"It's real."
Xiao Shuai blinked. "W-What?"
Cheng Yu smiled, softer this time. "I flirt with everyone. But I wait on only one person."
Shuai looked away, ears red. "You're ridiculous."
"But you like it," Cheng Yu said confidently.
Shuai gave a small nod. "...Maybe."
They continued walking - closer this time, arms brushing, no milk tea between them now.
And even though nothing was official yet, both of them knew:
Whatever this was...
It was real.