After being moved to tears by the sworn enemy's pheromones - Chapter 43

In the early winter morning, West Street was far less lively than it was in the summer. Gu Yu couldn’t recognize the direction and randomly found a bench behind a building to sit down, tilting his head to look at the moon in the sky.

 

There was a guitar shop next to him named “Qing Nong” (Passionate Love), which felt like a mockery of his situation.

 

He lifted his thin hand and looked at it, his chest feeling as though wind was passing through, leaving it empty and hollow.

 

To be honest, he wasn’t really heartbroken, perhaps even relieved that Shen Jin didn’t like him.

 

For a long time, very few things or people stayed in his heart. When his father had an affair, he could even see the soiled underwear left behind by others in the car, but even the Jiang and Tao families advised his mother to turn a blind eye. During that time, Gu Yu cut off contact with Jiang Lan and Tao Yan.

 

His cold and stubborn nature was cultivated during that period. Even the best of friends could be shut out by him. If it weren’t for Tao Yan’s insistence on finding him later, Gu Yu thought that this childhood friendship would have ended just as easily, and it wouldn’t have mattered much.

 

He was willing to be alone—just because of the attitudes of the Jiang and Tao families’ elders, he threw the “Earth Defense Squad” keepsake watch into the trash, intending never to look at it again.

 

Perhaps people with cold, reserved temperaments are often like this: they never initiate contact to maintain friendships, never strive to resolve conflicts, and never mind losing anyone. They stay quietly in their own world, waiting for those with outgoing, generous personalities to find them, understand them, and accommodate them. If that doesn’t happen, they can easily accept the fact and maintain their own peace.

 

If Tao Yan hadn’t sought him out, he would have just gone through high school and college with a few less gatherings.

 

Even if he didn’t end up with Shen Jin, he could still go to graduate school and work, with no changes at all.

 

So ending things here was for the best. He lowered his head and clenched his empty palm, thinking that it was a good thing Shen Jin didn’t like him. Shen Jin had lacked love since childhood, and if they were together, Gu Yu would almost certainly hurt him eventually—someone with a warm, open personality who could express love freely would be much more suitable for Shen Jin.

 

His only regret might be that he didn’t get that one meaningful kiss.

 

The hot, sour feeling welled up in his eyes, forcing him to lean back on the bench and let the wind blow over him.

 

Seven years… It took seven whole years for him to admit that this wasn’t the first time he had wanted to kiss Shen Jin.

 

*

 

The night was growing cold, and Shen Jin never expected Gu Yu to run so fast.

 

By the time he opened the door and chased after him, Gu Yu was already out of sight. Even more worrying was that there was no trace of Gu Yu anywhere near the apartment—he hadn’t taken his phone, so there was no way to contact him.

 

“Damn it.” Shen Jin stood in the cold wind, thinking, “Good thing it’s winter; otherwise, this ‘chasing my husband for a thousand miles’ scene would need a thunderstorm to make it complete.”

 

The dim streetlights reflected his hurried steps and his anxiety as he called out Gu Yu’s name and thought back to the three times he had physically fought with Gu Yu over the past seven years.

 

The first time was after they parted ways following the exam in the first year of junior high. The next time they met was when Gu Yu returned to school in the second year.

 

Shen Jin first struck Gu Yu during their second year.

 

It was already getting dark that day. After picking up something from a friend, Shen Jin planned to take a shortcut home via the cemetery road, but then he saw a figure he could never forget—Gu Yu, the student who had once sat to his right during the exam.

 

He paused and immediately followed.

 

Gu Yu was holding a bouquet of yellow flowers meant for a memorial, hurrying towards the cemetery.

 

At the entrance of an alley, Shen Jin blocked Gu Yu’s path.

 

He had to admit that he was somewhat nervous facing Gu Yu’s face.

 

He gathered his courage, kicking a stone and pretending to be relaxed as he said, “It’s been a while, Gu Yu.”

 

He had inquired about Gu Yu’s name and remembered it well.

 

But Gu Yu stopped in his tracks, looking as if he had no idea who Shen Jin was. “…Who are you?”

 

Shen Jin was momentarily stunned, then explained that he was the one who had sat next to him during the exam a year ago: “Because of you… I was wrongly accused of cheating by the dean.”

 

The young Shen Jin pursed his lips and asked, “Don’t you remember?”

 

Gu Yu seemed to recall something but lifted his foot to leave, uninterested in talking to him. “Because of me? What does that have to do with me?”

 

Shen Jin froze, instinctively blocking Gu Yu’s way, saying, “How… how does it have nothing to do with you?”

 

The grievance he had felt that day surged back into his heart. He hurriedly said, “You closed your test paper, and Zhang Yong suspected I was copying you…”

 

Of course, Shen Jin understood that the dean was mainly to blame, so he licked his lips and added, “Just apologize to me, and it’ll be fine…”

 

But Gu Yu looked at him with confusion and asked, “I just closed my own test paper during the exam. Was that wrong?”

 

“…” Shen Jin was speechless, unable to answer.

 

Gu Yu continued, “Zhang Yong suspected you of cheating. You should have taken it up with Zhang Yong. Why are you coming to me?”

 

“…” Shen Jin still couldn’t answer, only blocking Gu Yu’s way.

 

After a long time, he finally squeezed out a few words: “Then… you didn’t care at all, and you can’t even say sorry?”

 

“Didn’t care?” Gu Yu frowned, signaling Shen Jin to move aside. “I finished the test and fell asleep. I didn’t go back to school after the exam, so I didn’t know or care what happened in the exam room. I have no obligation to apologize to you—if you didn’t cheat, the school could check the surveillance footage. If you did cheat, you deserve to be punished.”

 

From Gu Yu’s perspective, this was indeed the case.

 

Shen Jin had simply never imagined that when Gu Yu lay down that day, he had really fallen asleep within half a minute.

 

The moon was already in the sky. Shen Jin opened his mouth, wanting to say something but staying silent. Gu Yu’s logic was flawless—Shen Jin had known from the start that the real culprits were Du Jiao and Zhang Yong. Now it seemed unreasonable to demand an apology from Gu Yu, like venting frustration on a soft target.

 

Moreover, Gu Yu had just fallen asleep back then, so it wasn’t as if he had deliberately refused to help.

 

So Shen Jin hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth and stepped forward, wanting to apologize and end the matter: “A lot happened that day…”

 

He wanted to say, “I hope you can understand my situation. I just wanted to talk about it; it wasn’t intentional.”

 

But Gu Yu saw him approaching and assumed he wanted to block him more forcefully, his expression finally darkening.

 

That night, under the clear moonlight, Gu Yu, unable to bear it any longer, followed Shen Jin’s words and asked, “So… do you also want to blame me for your mom publicly hitting you because of the cheating accusation?”

 

It seemed that Shen Jin’s beating had spread widely, and Gu Yu had already heard about it during his time back at school.

 

Shen Jin’s heart skipped a beat, and his face immediately turned pale. He never expected Gu Yu to bring up the incident where his mother had hit him in public.

 

Under the moonlight, Gu Yu’s eyes turned cold, devoid of any warmth.

 

This made Shen Jin bite his lower lip, and his tone turned harsh: “…Yes, I’ll blame it on you. What of it?”

 

He pushed Gu Yu, but Gu Yu wasn’t interested in fighting him, only saying, “Move.”

 

Shen Jin stood there, clenching his fists, stubbornly refusing to move. “Just two minutes to talk. What can it cost you?”

 

The street in the distance was filled with shops selling wreaths and banners, and the sky was gloomy, much like the sudden darkening of Gu Yu’s expression.

 

*

 

In that secluded alley, Shen Jin raised his fist at Gu Yu for the first time.

 

The two of them were far from being evenly matched. Shen Jin was a year older and half a head taller, so there was no reason for him to lose.

 

But much later, he found out that Gu Yu had fallen asleep during the exam because he hadn’t gotten enough rest while taking care of his gravely ill father. He also learned that the reason Gu Yu missed school for several months afterward was that his father’s condition had worsened to the point where even speaking to his own child was a struggle.

 

It was said that Gu Yu’s father, unable to bear the pain any longer, passed away suddenly in the end.

 

His father had been somewhat well-known in the area, so many people felt sympathy and regret for him, but those who attended the funeral reported that Gu Yu’s attitude was exceptionally cold.

 

The day Shen Jin stopped Gu Yu to talk was the first anniversary of Gu Yu’s father’s death.

 

Shen Jin wasn’t sure if Gu Yu made it to the cemetery before it closed, but he felt guilty and apologized. However, Gu Yu remained as aloof as ever: “There’s nothing to apologize for. One day, I’ll beat you, so you don’t need to worry about my business.”

 

“…” Shen Jin’s throat moved slightly. “Why are you always like this—”

 

Gu Yu brushed past him, unwilling to say another word.

 

Having suffered a second defeat, Shen Jin could only lick his lips and mutter as he turned to leave, “Fine, I won’t bother you… Do you think I want to?”

 

Over the following years, countless conflicts arose between them: bumping into each other on the basketball court, arguing over the performance order at the May Fourth gala, and even in the cafeteria, where Shen Jin would deliberately cut in line in front of Gu Yu just to see how long he could stay cool.

 

Whenever Gu Yu stayed silent, Shen Jin would stand in front of him, tapping his lunchbox, refusing to move. Shen Jin had always been a tyrant at school, and no one dared to say anything.

 

When Gu Yu finally couldn’t take it anymore and was about to explode, Shen Jin would simply smile nonchalantly and retreat to the back of the line.

 

Over time, everyone knew they harbored a deep grudge against each other. On two occasions, Shen Jin was caught smoking in the bathroom with his buddies by the class teacher. He shamelessly rubbed against Gu Yu’s clothes, saying he wanted to get Gu Yu caught up in the smell of smoke too, so they could go down together.

 

Of course, the class teacher wasn’t stupid, and in the end, only the troublemakers were dragged off to write self-reflections.

 

The second real fight that Shen Jin remembered happened when he was in high school, on Qixi Festival, when he encountered Song Yizhi.

 

It was during the boring summer break. After finishing his part-time job, Shen Jin camped out near Mingyue Street Phase Three, wondering if his nemesis would go out on Qixi.

 

That street connected the demolished housing of District F to the wealthy area. Shen Jin, wearing a T-shirt with a stretched-out collar, hid behind a bus stop sign in an unfinished alley, looking like a thief.

 

The summer night in C City was so hot it seemed to be steaming. He waited for two or three hours without seeing Gu Yu, his sweat soaking through his shirt, leaving his collarbone wet and slightly red.

 

Around 9 p.m., Shen Jin finally decided that Gu Yu wouldn’t show up and was about to leave when that familiar figure suddenly appeared in his view. He straightened up in surprise and quickly moved back a step.

 

But then, he noticed that Gu Yu wasn’t alone. Beside him was someone he recognized—Song Yizhi.

 

Shen Jin knew of Song Yizhi, mainly because a high school classmate had been middle school classmates with Song Yizhi. Back then, he’d learned that Song Yizhi and their school’s heartthrob, Gu Yu, had known each other for years, and that Song Yizhi had already differentiated as an Omega, making him very popular in the southern part of the city.

 

Under the night sky, Song Yizhi was sticking close to Gu Yu. They were about 10 centimeters apart in height and looked quite compatible.

 

Watching them from a distance, Shen Jin thought, “What’s so special about being an Omega? I’m an Omega too, it’s just that no one knows.”

 

That Qixi, Shen Jin had brought along a bar of mint chocolate, which Gu Yu hated, intending to disgust him with it. But somehow, the situation escalated, and they ended up fighting.

 

This time, Shen Jin seemed to win, but in reality, he was left with several bloody scratches from Song Yizhi, gaining nothing.

 

On the way back, he tossed the unused chocolate into a trash bin, but after a few steps, he turned back to retrieve it and stuffed it back into his pocket.

 

He spent the entire summer working part-time for a grocery delivery app. If he hadn’t voluntarily taken a pay cut, the supervisor probably wouldn’t have wanted to hire an underage worker like him.

 

Under the scorching sun, he delivered groceries all day for only a few dozen yuan. That chocolate was valuable to him, so instead of throwing it away, he decided to eat it himself.

 

On the bustling Qixi night, Shen Jin tore open the chocolate wrapper and took a bite. The mint flavor was so strong it made his nose tingle and his eyes water.

 

“Damned thing.”

 

At that moment, he thought, “If I had known it tasted this bad, I should’ve forced it into Gu Yu’s mouth.”

 

*

 

The third fight came not long after the second.

 

For a while, Shen Jin stopped picking on Gu Yu and lost interest in his studies. He spent his free time hanging out outside school, even starting to plan his future early: getting into college would be great, but if he couldn’t, he’d learn some auto repair or welding after graduation, open a small shop, and still be the king of the streets.

 

His parents ignored him, so he enjoyed complete freedom. He often hung out with others on weekends, getting involved in various petty troubles.

 

The worst incident was when he had to hide from a gang of street thugs for three days, skipping school. The school issued him a final warning, and by the time the gang decided to leave him alone, he had already received his second major demerit from the school.

 

Most of the teachers had given up on him, but his math teacher still tried to talk some sense into him, asking what he really wanted out of life.

 

Shen Jin tried to brush her off with a grin, but the petite young teacher, who was half a head shorter than him, became more and more emotional, eventually crying and saying, “You’re my first class of students. No matter what, I don’t want to see you end up like this.”

 

In the glaring sunlight, Shen Jin looked through her frail figure and suddenly saw his kind elementary school teacher, which made his nose tingle, leaving him speechless.

 

It seemed like a long time ago, his elementary school teacher would always give him little red stars and praise him for being smart and well-behaved, saying he would definitely get into Tsinghua or Peking University someday.

 

After that day, Shen Jin didn’t completely reform, but he did tone down his behavior. He picked up his studies again and started reviewing, and rarely slept in class anymore.

 

When he returned to school and saw Gu Yu again, Gu Yu had bruises on his face from a fight, though it wasn’t clear who he had provoked. Shen Jin’s conclusion was simple: “He deserved it.”

 

After all, he was there to confront Gu Yu because Gu Yu had exposed his lie about having a girlfriend, making his return to school feel like being struck by lightning, leaving him very embarrassed.

 

Shen Jin asked, “What nonsense have you been spreading?”

 

“Nonsense?” Gu Yu replied coldly. “Someone asked me about you, and I told them the truth—does your girlfriend even exist? Why hasn’t anyone seen her?”

 

“…” Shen Jin was about to let it go, but then he muttered, “Watch your mouth in your next life.”

 

He didn’t want to waste his math teacher’s kindness, but Gu Yu took his words as a prelude to a fight and asked, “What, you want to fight again?”

 

Shen Jin frowned and paused, his fist clenching.

 

He hadn’t turned to Buddhism yet, so he didn’t mind indulging Gu Yu: “Getting bold, huh? Now you’re the one picking fights?”

 

This time, Gu Yu clenched his fists too and said, “Let’s fight. I won’t lose again.”

 

*

 

Unfortunately, in their third fight, Shen Jin won again. If not, Gu Yu wouldn’t have held a grudge all the way to C University, determined to get his revenge.

 

When Shen Jin was about to graduate, he invited Gu Yu out to talk, hoping to put an amicable end to their feud. But Gu Yu, disliking him, didn’t show up, so Shen Jin had no choice but to let time and distance hopefully smooth things over.

 

Yet now, Gu Yu’s presence was still so overwhelming.

 

Shen Jin searched several blocks of the West Street area but couldn’t find Gu Yu. It felt like he was searching for a high-maintenance pet that had run away, afraid to call out too loudly for fear of disturbing the neighbors.

 

Fortunately, Gu Yu’s figure was distinctive enough that when Shen Jin reached the small path behind the cinema, he finally saw him leaning against a bench, seemingly cooling down in the breeze.

 

“Gu Yu…?” Shen Jin hesitated, then quickly ran over. “Gu Yu—”

 

When the other person heard his voice, they stood up, ready to run again. Knowing he couldn’t catch up, Shen Jin simply stopped calling out and squatted down in place, burying his coughing in his knees.

 

After about 20 seconds, Shen Jin realized he had gambled correctly.

 

Gu Yu, in a panic, knelt on one knee in front of him, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Senior? Where does it hurt again?”

 

Shen Jin clutched his abdomen and mumbled, “I’ve been coughing so much, my stomach hurts…”

 

“It’s so cold out here, why did you come outside?” Gu Yu immediately slid his arm under Shen Jin’s armpit to support him, his mind filled with worry about Shen Jin’s unhealed illness. “Are you not hurting enough? Why did you come out? Next time, should I—”

 

But halfway through his sentence, Gu Yu suddenly paused, as if realizing he was being too harsh.

 

He then forced himself to take a deep breath and slowed his voice down. “…Let me take you back first.”

 

As for any confessions or such, they paled in comparison to Shen Jin’s well-being.

 

Shen Jin was only wearing a fluffy sleep robe over a pair of thin spring/autumn pajama pants, clearly not enough to fend off the cold.

 

Naturally, Shen Jin wisely let Gu Yu carry him, clinging to him like a fluffy little bear. He took a bold step and nuzzled Gu Yu’s ear, saying, “Alright… you take me back.”

 

Before Gu Yu could fully realize what was happening, Shen Jin quickly added, “Oh, right, don’t you have someone you want to kiss? I promise, Senior won’t resist even if you kiss him until he cries, okay?”

 

Qixi (七夕) is often referred to as the Chinese Valentine’s Day. It is a traditional festival that falls on the seventh day of the seventh month of the Chinese lunar calendar. The festival is based on the romantic legend of the cowherd and the weaver girl, two lovers who are only allowed to meet once a year on this day. 

 

In modern times, Qixi is celebrated as a day for expressing love, similar to Valentine’s Day in the West, where couples may exchange gifts, go on dates, and spend time together. The festival has a deep cultural significance and is associated with themes of love, fate, and devotion.