The dorm room was dim, lit only by the soft orange hue of Cheng Yu's desk lamp and the lazy flicker of streetlights through the window. The leftover takeout containers sat forgotten on the table, the mood too still for food.
Xiao Shuai lay on his back, one arm behind his head, staring at the ceiling like it held answers. Guo Cheng Yu sat cross-legged at the foot of the bed, fiddling with the string on his hoodie.
Neither had spoken since they'd gotten back.
It was Cheng Yu who broke the silence.
"What happened between you two?" he asked, voice low, not demanding just honest.
Xiao Shuai didn't flinch. He didn't even pretend to misunderstand. After a pause, he said quietly, "You mean me and Meng Tao."
Cheng Yu nodded.
Shuai exhaled. "We met first year. He was older. Charming. Funny. The kind of person who made you feel seen even when you wanted to disappear."
"Sounds familiar," Cheng Yu muttered.
Shuai smiled faintly. "Yeah... I fell hard. Fast. And I thought he felt the same."
He sat up slowly, resting his elbows on his knees. "But with him, I was always in pieces. I was either too much or not enough. He didn't hurt me with fists or cruel words he just... vanished whenever it mattered most. Made me feel like I was overreacting if I asked for more."
Cheng Yu's fingers tightened on the string of his hoodie.
"By the time I realized I was walking on eggshells, it was already too late. I was in love. And he was bored."
Shuai's voice cracked a little at the edges. "He ghosted me during finals week. I didn't eat for two days. I thought something happened to him. Turns out he was on a trip with someone else."
A silence fell, heavy and soft.
"I blamed myself for a long time," Shuai continued. "Thought I was too clingy. Too dramatic. But eventually, I realized I wasn't asking for too much. I was just asking the wrong person."
He looked up at Cheng Yu then.
"And now?"
Shuai's gaze didn't waver. "Now I know I deserve someone who shows up. Without needing a reason."
Cheng Yu swallowed.
Then he reached forward and gently took Shuai's wrist.
"You don't have to ask with me," he said quietly. "I'll show up. Always."
Shuai didn't pull away.
Instead, he leaned forward, forehead resting lightly against Cheng Yu's shoulder.
And just like that, without fireworks or confessions, something deep and unshakable settled between them a quiet kind of intimacy born from truth.