Su Yuhe received the national scholarship every year. He always buttoned his shirt up to the top button, never walked while playing with his phone, and always brought wolfberry tea to class.
Wearing a skirt was quite a challenge for him. He always felt a draft in the crotch area and walked awkwardly. After ten minutes of contemplation, he finally decided to wear a pair of summer shorts that were slightly shorter than the skirt.
Chaoyang Tower had two types of staircases. One was surrounded by pillars and less crowded. Su Yuhe hid behind one of the pillars to avoid the crowd and sent a message to Huo Fu’an.
Before long, a tall figure approached. “Are you XiaoHe?”
“Ah… it’s me,” Su Yuhe said, raising his head to be surprised by Huo Fu’an’s physique.
At over 1.85 meters tall, muscular but not bulky, with sharp eyebrows and a handsome face, Huo Fu’an was a sight to behold.
Three Su Yuhes combined weren’t enough to match his size!
Su Yuhe’s lips turned pale under his mask, his heart trembling slightly. “Umbrella?”
“Yeah,” Huo Fu’an said, noticing the person in front of him was stunned. With his small face peeking out from under the oversized mask, he looked cute, Huo Fu’an thought.
He swung his backpack onto his shoulder, took the umbrella from him, and said, “Let’s go.”
The suspect had a certain advantage in appearance, which might be why many girls chose not to report him. Su Yuhe clenched his fists, analyzing. He wouldn’t be deceived by appearances.
Su Yuhe walked nervously, afraid that a gust of wind might lift his skirt, pressing down on it with both hands. To others, he looked like a shy girl going on her first date, blushing with excitement.
Walking beside Huo Fu’an, he looked like a small lamb next to a giant.
Huo Fu’an glanced at the blushing girl beside him, recalling the shy girl from the neighboring class who had once handed him a love letter in high school. She had been just as shy, like a delicate shy grass, wilting under the hot sun.
Unconsciously, Huo Fu’an moved the umbrella ten centimeters towards her.
Su Yuhe didn’t appreciate Huo Fu’an’s thoughtfulness. He was about to overheat! With his tendency to sweat and an extra layer of shorts under the skirt, his lower body was basically exposed to the sun, and sweat kept trickling down his legs, making his face redder by the minute.
Su Yuhe endured the discomfort, sneakily observing Huo Fu’an’s reaction. Sure enough, the tall man was sneakily glancing at him! These tall people were particularly annoying; who knew if he was looking at his chest! Even though he didn’t have one! But other girls did!
Huo Fu’an glanced at Su Yuhe for a moment, witnessing his face turning as red as an apple, before discreetly retracting his gaze.
Thin-skinned, blushes at the slightest glance.
Their first time sharing an umbrella was mostly silent, and they parted ways upon reaching their destination.
Su Yuhe immediately soaked the camisole in the laundry basin when he got back, then sat at his desk to write plans and reflections.
Putting on his reading glasses, he summarized the lessons learned from this experience.
Firstly, he severely underestimated the suspect’s physique. Su Yuhe drew a picture of Huo Fu’an on a piece of scrap paper, with arrows indicating the points of force and gravity support. One of Huo Fu’an’s arms could easily support two of him!
Secondly, the suspect’s patience was better than expected. Today, aside from the occasional glance, there was no suspicious behavior. However, criminal behavior often escalates gradually. Su Yuhe recalled the time between Huo Fu’an’s first task assignment and the complaints from the group, which was about two weeks.
It seemed that fifteen days might be his criminal cycle. Su Yuhe made a mental note of the date, reminding himself not to rush. Acting too hastily might expose his true intentions and not only fail to catch the wolf, but also risk getting beaten up.
Within three days, the anti-wolf spray ordered from Taobao arrived.
Within two weeks, he mastered the techniques to defend against wolves.
On the last day, he would turn himself in to the police station.
Su Yuhe formulated his action plan and immediately went to a video website to find a set of exercises for strength and fitness. He diligently followed the instructions every day, and after each session, he would feel his arms and notice a slight improvement… Or so he thought!
Su Yuhe felt frustrated. How was that guy training his muscles?
The cross-dresser entered the room looking flustered, as if he had been greatly shocked outside. He saw Su Yuhe sitting on the yoga mat with a troubled expression and was even more surprised.
“A yoga mat…?”
“What are you doing?” He asked. “Body shaping?”
“Building muscles, but it seems the effect isn’t good,” Su Yuhe replied.
The cross-dresser couldn’t bear to remind him that a flowerpot couldn’t grow into a towering tree, and a yoga mat couldn’t build big muscles. Seeing the clean skirt hanging on the balcony, he realized Su Yuhe’s intention. He generously said, “I’ll give you that skirt.”
“How can I accept that?” Su Yuhe hesitated. “I’ll buy it from you.”
“It’s not like it’s a new skirt. It’s already discounted. Consider it my support for fighting against sexual crimes.”
“Thank you, I’ll do my best.” Su Yuhe received full affirmation from his roommate, igniting his enthusiasm.
Huo Fu’an checked tomorrow’s weather forecast, seeing a row of “39°C”, then went to the umbrella-sharing group to assign tasks, copying and pasting the messages. As he waited, he browsed through the group members and noticed Su Yuhe’s alternate account online, feeling a bit expectant.
Sure enough, Xiaohe took his order again!
“Is he secretly in love with me? He takes my orders every day?” Huo Fu’an wondered.
“Only two times,” Su Yuhe replied.
The next day, before class, Huo Fu’an tidied his hair and applied some hair gel. Instead of wearing his favorite sportswear, he found a casual suit his mother had bought for him when he was a freshman, even wearing a pair of non-breathable canvas shoes.
“I’m just trying not to shatter the image of a crush’s object of affection,” he thought.
Huo Fu’an didn’t delve deep into his behavior; he thought he was quite understanding.
After class, Huo Fu’an rushed out of the classroom like a sprinter. When he reached the spiral staircase, he saw a glimpse of a black and white skirt behind a pillar. He immediately stopped, steadied his breathing, and casually walked over.
Su Yuhe, having met once, didn’t wear a mask this time. His small face, pointed nose, and skin as tender and white as a peeled egg made him look very bite-worthy.
Huo Fu’an took the umbrella and casually suggested, “We seem to have some fate. Why don’t we work together in the future? Then I won’t have to assign tasks every day.”
Su Yuhe’s eyes lit up as he looked at Huo Fu’an. It’s happening! The suspect is finally making a move.
Realizing that he seemed too excited, Su Yuhe coughed lightly and hesitated, “But sometimes my classes aren’t here.”
Seeing Su Yuhe’s attempt to hide his excitement, Huo Fu’an felt even more certain. He almost blurted out, “Then I can come pick you up.” But he felt he should maintain some dignity, so he said in a businesslike tone, “If you’re willing to come out of your way, I can offer a higher price.”
“No, no need. It’s not about the money… I mean, the amount you’re offering is already enough. No need to increase it,” Su Yuhe corrected himself. In reality, Huo Fu’an’s inflated prices seriously disrupted the market, turning a three-yuan umbrella-sharing task into one worth more than ten times that amount, making many male members hesitant to ask for tasks. Including Su Yuhe, who wanted to put a sack over his head and beat him up.
“Not about the money? Then what else could it be?” Huo Fu’an’s eyes flickered, but he didn’t pursue Su Yuhe’s slip of the tongue. Maybe the girl was in her first relationship and accidentally revealed her true feelings. Huo Fu’an felt he should be a gentleman and preserve her dignity. At the same time, before he realized it, a strong protective instinct surged within him.
“Let me introduce myself, I’m Huo Fu’an.”
“I’m Su… Xiaohe.”
How Huo Fu’an’s protective instinct manifested in specific behaviors was by deliberately tilting the umbrella towards Su Yuhe’s side, almost as if he wanted to hide Su Yuhe behind himself and completely shield him from the sun. He himself was left exposed, with his forehead shining under the sunlight and his back drenched in sweat, looking like a loyal servant holding the umbrella, smiling like a fool.
The girls who had once shared an umbrella with Huo Fu’an passed by Su Yuhe and Huo Fu’an walking together. At first, they felt sympathetic, even considering exchanging some post-sun care tips with Su Yuhe.
However, the next moment, they widened their eyes in surprise. “Oh my God! Even this big guy has such considerate moments.”
Then they glanced at Su Yuhe’s skin and appearance: Forget it, they admitted defeat. Who could bear to let such a delicate girl suffer under the sun?
In this world, being handsome indeed had its advantages; even sharing an umbrella depended on looks.
As the girls passed by, they clearly saw the large wet patch on Huo Fu’an’s back. Some of them even felt a sense of satisfaction as if a long-standing grudge had been avenged.
Su Yuhe noticed the complex looks from those girls and was initially puzzled. Then, he suddenly realized: It’s the common reaction of victims! He made a mental note to analyze it later.
…
One week later, in a certain male dormitory.
Huo Fu’an casually came out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel, with his neck and below completely two shades darker.
His roommate exclaimed dramatically, “Weren’t you going to share an umbrella with someone? How did you get even darker?”
Is this umbrella poisonous?
Whenever Huo Fu’an thought about sharing an umbrella, he felt that the umbrella-sharing group was the most valuable group he had joined in college. While he opened his shopping app on his phone, he passionately recommended to his roommate, “You should also find someone to share an umbrella with. It’s definitely worth it. I feel like there’s hope every day I go to class now. Life is full of hope.”
The roommate replied, “Your skin color doesn’t exactly convince me.”
Huo Fu’an’s strange rhetoric made the roommate suspicious. “Hope? Life? Isn’t this some kind of pyramid scheme?”
The roommate observed that Huo Fu’an had changed recently and hesitated whether to report it to the school. When he glanced at Huo Fu’an’s phone screen and saw “sunscreen spray,” he quickly asked, “Are you looking at sunscreen spray?”
“It’s a gift,” Huo Fu’an replied.
Every time Su Yuhe went out, his face turned red despite his efforts to shield it from the sun. However, everything seemed futile under the scorching sun.
Huo Fu’an felt sorry for him and consulted customer service before decisively choosing a spray. He carried it in his backpack and occasionally took it out to help Su Yuhe relieve the discomfort.
The roommate’s wild thoughts were finally brought back to reality by Huo Fu’an’s silly smile. It turned out he was in love.
Ah, even Huo Fu’an could have his awakening day. But he might just be growing mushrooms in his head. The roommate directly asked him, “When are you going to take your girlfriend out for dinner?”
“Where did I get a girlfriend from?” Huo Fu’an replied.
“Then who are you giving the gift to?”
“The person I share umbrellas with,” Huo Fu’an said before suddenly realizing, “Do you think I’m dating her?”
“Isn’t it?”
“Partly. She’s pursuing me.”
“If you’re interested, just agree. But be careful not to lose both your heart and your money.”
“It’s too early for that,” Huo Fu’an said, uncertain.
Moved emotionally, yet still stubborn with words.
He, Huo Fu’an, a dominant figure in the sports institute, has received countless love letters since childhood. How could he be so easily won over?
So, when will Su Xiaohe finally confess?
