The news hit campus like wildfire.
"Did you see?"
"Wang Shuo confessed to Wu Suo Wei!" "Right in front of the literature block!" "Isn't Chi Cheng gonna do something?" "This is better than any drama."
Wu Suo Wei couldn't even walk to class without whispers trailing behind him.
People stared.
Pointed.
Speculated.
[Outside the Library Courtyard]
Wu Suo Wei stepped out from his afternoon seminar, fingers still wrapped around the strap of his bag, when he spotted him.
Wang Shuo.
Leaning casually against the courtyard tree, arms crossed.
Waiting.
Wu Suo Wei froze.
It had been two days since the incident. Since the bar. Since Chi Cheng's trembling apology and trembling voice whispering "I love you, Da Bao."
And now... this.
He should've walked away.
He didn't.
"Xiao Wei," Wang Shuo said, straightening.
"...What do you want?" Suo Wei asked quietly, keeping his distance.
Wang Shuo's gaze softened. "I didn't mean to make you cry that day."
Suo Wei blinked.
"I wasn't trying to hurt you. I wanted to talk to Chi Cheng and make him realize what he's about to lose."
"You don't know anything about us."
"I know enough," Wang Shuo said, stepping forward. "And now I want to speak to you, not him."
There were students nearby. Phones out. Watching.
Wang Shuo didn't care.
"I liked you back in high school, Wu Suo Wei," he said, voice strong. "You were soft, kind, always trailing behind Chi Cheng... but never less than him."
Suo Wei's throat tightened.
"I watched you from afar. I knew Chi Cheng loved you, even then, but he never said it."
Wang Shuo's voice dipped.
"But now I'm here. And I'm not stepping back anymore."
Suo Wei's eyes widened.
Wang Shuo stepped even closer– one hand lifting, almost touching Suo Wei's cheek but stopping himself.
"I like you, Wu Suo Wei. I want a chance."
Gasps echoed across the courtyard.
Phones were definitely recording now.
Suo Wei didn't flinch.
He lowered his bag and took a small breath.
"Wang Shuo... I'm sorry."
Wang Shuo blinked.
"I'm taken. I'm engaged."
And for the first time, he didn't say it with shame.
"I love Chi Cheng. He's mine, even if we're not public... yet."
Wang Shuo's face twitched. Just slightly. "Even after everything?"
"Yes."
Even after the pain, the secrecy, the jealousy... yes.
Because deep down, Suo Wei had always been Chi Cheng's.
"I had to say it," Wang Shuo said. "Now that I have, I won't get in the way. But I won't pretend I don't still want you."
He smiled, bittersweet.
"I'll wait. Just in case."
With that, Wang Shuo turned and walked away –past the crowd, past the murmurs, past the headlines already forming.
[Later That Night]
#ChiChengHasARival trends on campus social media.
"Wang Shuo confesses to Wu Suo Wei! Will Chi Cheng fight back?"
"Two hottest boys in a love triangle?? We're watching."
Chi Cheng stared at his phone screen, jaw tight, fists clenched.
Jiang Xiao Shuai showed him the trending video. "So, what are you going to do?"
Chi Cheng stood.
"I'm going to remind everyone and him who Wu Suo Wei belongs to."