Jiang Xiao Shuai's POV
Campus festivals were loud, colorful, and completely not his thing.
Too many people. Too many games. Too many overexcited student clubs.
But here he was dragged out of his dorm by Wu Suo Wei's relentless pleading and Guo Cheng Yu's casual, "Come on, it'll be fun." Which, honestly, wasn't a request at all.
They'd ended up splitting into pairs for a ridiculous "Couple's Game Challenge." The irony of the name wasn't lost on Shuai. Guo Cheng Yu had smirked when they were called up together.
Chi Cheng and Wu Suo Wei were already winning every event from egg toss, balloon run, some blindfold thing. Wu Suo Wei looked like he was having the time of his life. Chi Cheng was still pretending he wasn't smiling the entire time.
Jiang Xiao Shuai, on the other hand, was sweating under the sun and low-key regretting wearing black.
Then came the final game.
Protect Your Partner.
Each pair stood in a makeshift ring with water balloons being hurled at them by random spectators. One person had to shield the other with nothing but a foam shield, trying to protect them from getting soaked.
"You wanna shield me?" Xiao Shuai offered dryly.
Cheng Yu raised an eyebrow. "I don't think you could handle the chaos, babe."
Jiang Xiao Shuai shoved him lightly. "Watch me."
Guo Cheng Yu's POV
He expected Xiao Shuai to dodge every balloon. Or just freeze and yell. What he didn't expect was Xiao Shuai stepping in front of him with quiet determination and catching three shots in a row like he'd trained for this exact moment.
He held the foam shield steady with both arms, eyes locked on the crowd, tracking movement like a hawk. Cheng Yu barely moved. Barely breathed.
And then a balloon came flying too low from the side.
Before he could react, Shuai shifted–
Thud. Splash.
Water exploded across Jiang Xiao Shuai's back, but the shield never dropped.
He turned and grinned at Cheng Yu, soaked but smug.
"Still think I can't handle it?"
Cheng Yu stared at him, somewhere between impressed and stunned.
"No," he said. "You're kind of amazing."
They didn't win. Chi Cheng and Suo Wei took home the snacks and gift cards.
But as Shuai stood with his shirt sticking to his back, cheeks flushed from the heat and praise, Cheng Yu stepped closer and whispered, "You really like me, don't you?"
Shuai shot him a glare, but it was soft. "Shut up."
"You just shielded me from balloons, Xiao Shuai. That's, like, relationship-level effort."
Xiao Shuai grabbed a towel and threw it at his face. "I was proving a point."
Cheng Yu laughed and tugged the towel down. "You did. Just not the one you think."
Later That Evening
They walked back to the dorms quietly, side by side. Their fingers brushed once. Then again.
This time, Cheng Yu gently took his hand.
No one was watching. And for once, Shuai didn't care if they were.
Not anymore.