E-Scum Gong Chapter 72 (Part 1)
Translated by Q the Panda (ko-fi)
Chapter 72 (1/2)
It was a gloomy Saturday morning. The sky was overcast, making it hard to feel cheerful. The biting wind, carrying the chill of yesterday's rain, swept through the air. Good weather was a rarity for this season.
The bus was filled with class monitors who were taking attendance. The university had rented three buses, providing more than enough space.
Some students had backed out at the last minute, like Wei Dong from their dormitory, who had to return home for some urgent matter. However, attendance was not mandatory for their year.
Lin Xu was seated in the aisle seat in the second-to-last row, with the window seat next to him reserved for Gu Jinzhi. He had never seen Zhizhi use public transportation before and was unsure if he might get motion sickness.
However, it was almost time to leave, but Zhizhi was still nowhere to be seen. Lin Xu wasn't particularly worried. He had suspected that Zhizhi might not make it when he had insisted on coming along. Even so, he still prepared some essentials for him just in case.
Zhizhi seemed to have trouble waking up at this hour. After all, he worked so hard on weekdays, so it was good for him to have a good rest on weekends.
With the supervising teacher on another bus, there was no one to oversee them, making the atmosphere on their bus quite lively and noisy.
He Tian and Lu Zhe, seated in the row right in front of Lin Xu, turned around to chat with him.
"Hey, Xu-ge, is your boyfriend not coming? If not, we can just bunk together tonight," He Tian joked with a grin, though he genuinely didn’t mind.
Although Lin Xu was openly gay, no one in the dorm worried about being pursued by him. His cleanliness habits and somewhat aloofness often made it seem like he was disgusted with them, and he didn't seem much different from straight guys on a daily basis.
Besides, no matter how gay someone was, looks mattered. These guys were pretty self-aware. They knew they were nowhere near as attractive as someone's boyfriends.
Lu Zhe was rather careless and had forgotten to bring his tent when they left the dorm, so he could only beg He Tian to squeeze in. He Tian was quite disgusted with him. He was so tall and strong that small space was probably going to be really crowded.
“?” Lin Xu shot him a puzzled glance.
Immediately, He Tian wisely stopped talking about it. “Just kidding, hahaha. I’m afraid of Gu-ge.” In reality, he was more afraid of Xu-ge. Although Lin Xu was generally kind and would never refuse their requests for help, he had strict boundaries. This was something that was absolutely impossible to make an exception for.
Before he got together with Gu Jinzhi, Lin Xu had only been careful to maintain boundaries with girls to avoid any misunderstandings. But now that he was in a relationship, he was equally mindful when interacting with boys, even if the relationship was entirely platonic and there was absolutely no possibility of developing strange feelings.
Men could be pretty casual with each other, even going as far as sharing a communal bath and scrubbing each other’s backs. But Lin Xu knew better than to put himself in a situation where people might think he was doing something he shouldn't.
Fortunately, his roommates were used to Lin Xu’s habits. They were accustomed to him dressing neatly even after coming out of the bathroom. If it were someone else, they would probably think Lin Xu was difficult to get along with.
But sometimes they still felt quite moved. They rarely see men like Lin Xu. Besides Gu Jinzhi, almost no one was allowed to intrude into his private life. Men were supposed to have their flaws, weren't gay men the same?
Come to think of it, maybe not.
He Tian leaned in and gossiped, “Did you hear? The tall, skinny guy with eyeglasses from the dorm next door just broke up with his boyfriend.” He really couldn't remember the guy's name, only that he didn't talk much and had good grades, second only to Lin Xu in the midterm exam.
“Oh, I remember now. But can we really call it the dorm next door?” Lu Zhe asked, nodding.
“That's not the point!” He Tian continued, lowering his voice, “You know how it happened? He went to his boyfriend’s school to surprise him on his birthday, and ended up catching him cheating.”
Lin Xu didn’t recall who they were talking about, but he listened to He Tian’s gossip. He merely nodded, not giving it much thought. Others’ relationships were often complicated and hard to understand.
“That guy was gay too, right?” Lu Zhe asked.
Lin Xu realized that perhaps they were intentionally telling him this? He felt a strange connection to the story.
“That’s why I say our Xu-ge is a good guy. Some gay men have pretty wild relationships,” He Tian said.
Lin Xu cleared his throat, unsure how to respond to their comments. He could only say that it depended on the person.
As he listened to He Tian and Lu Zhe, Lin Xu learned that the top student from the dorm next door had been dating since high school. His boyfriend was quite handsome, but not very good at academics. He was a party-goer who frequented bars.
During their breakup, the boyfriend criticized him for being a boring nerd. Despite their long relationship, they had never been intimate, while the boyfriend had been with countless flings in between.
As He Tian continued, he suddenly seemed to hesitate, belatedly realizing that Lin Xu and his boyfriend seemed to fit this stereotype quite well. Stupid mouth.
In truth, it was common for friends and family who knew about their relationship to harbor some lingering doubts in the back of their minds.
Even Gu Qi, despite knowing his younger sibling’s straightforward nature, worried that Gu Jinzhi’s simplicity might lead him to tire of people easily and end up hurting them. For those who didn’t know Gu Jinzhi well, he seemed like a carefree playboy, just another spoiled rich kid.
Lin Xu, however, was entirely unaware of these undercurrents. He could never link Zhizhi to such messy issues. He hadn’t even noticed that He Tian felt embarrassed to look at him in the end.
The driver’s voice broke through his thoughts, “Is everyone here? We’re about to leave.”
Lin Xu quickly sent a message to Gu Jinzhi: “Zhihi, are you still snoozing? [laughing] We’re about to leave. I’ll be back at school by Monday afternoon. Didn’t you say Xu Zhou invited you out? You should go and relax, but be careful. You can message me anytime, but I might not be able to reply immediately.” After sending the message, he put on his headphones and closed his eyes to rest.
Over the past few months, Zhizhi had devoted all his free time to Lin Xu, and Lin Xu felt like Zhizhi had been sacrificing his personal space.
Before they started dating, Zhizhi had often gone out with his friends. It was unreasonable to give that up just because they were in a relationship, and he also believed Zhizhi had good judgment. His studies were a bit too boring for Zhizhi. For instance, if Zhizhi had come with him today, he would have had to watch him bury himself in the mountains for half a day. He might as well have slept.
The driver started the bus, and just as they were about to reach the school gate, a loud voice called out, prompting the driver to stop.
“Driver, wait! Someone's still getting on!” Gu Jinzhi jumped up and waved at the driver. After the bus door opened, he squeezed in, attracting the attention of all the students on board.
Covered in sweat and wearing a gray hoodie, he didn't look out of place among the students.
Lin Xu, recognizing the familiar voice, opened his eyes and saw Gu Jinzhi grinning and waving at him. In that moment, it felt like a ray of sunshine had broken through the clouds.
Gu Jinzhi took a few quick steps and, with a flick of his hips, slid into the window seat he had reserved.
Noticing the curious stares from around him, Lin Xu’s ears flushed red. Gu Jinzhi, completely oblivious to the attention he was drawing, said, “Ah Xu, can you pass me a wet wipe to clean up this sweat?”
As Lin Xu handed him a wipe, he remarked, “I thought you weren't awake yet.”
Gu Jinzhi’s social confidence was really impressive. If it had been Lin Xu who was late, he might have been too embarrassed to call out for the bus to stop.
“I set three alarms.” Gu Jinzhi held up three fingers with a serious expression. He had gone to bed early last night specifically to avoid this issue. Still, he had taken longer to get ready, so he ended up running after the bus for a few dozen meters.
Even after running, Gu Jinzhi's hair remained immaculate, held in place by a generous application of hairspray. He smelled great and looked fresh in white sweatpants and sneakers.
But they were heading into the mountains...
Lin Xu was dressed entirely in black, which was more practical for avoiding stains, but also made his skin look fairer, giving him a sophisticated and understated appearance.
Lin Xu busied himself wiping away Gu Jinzhi’s sweat, saying, “Honestly, you didn’t have to come. It really isn’t that interesting.”
With his hands free, Gu Jinzhi placed them on Lin Xu’s thighs and looked at him with bright eyes. “It’s definitely interesting!” They got to camp together in a tent. He didn't actually like camping very much, but if it was with Ah Xu, he didn't mind this experience either.
Lin Xu didn’t expect that what he saw as a field experiment was, in Zhizhi’s mind, simply camping. But he had brought his tablet, so he could play games inside the tent.
“What's so fun about hanging out with Xu Zhou? It’s just drinking and dancing. His single life is about to end, so he keeps bothering me now.” Gu Jinzhi leaned his head on Lin Xu’s shoulder as he candidly vented his frustrations with a hint of gloating.
For Xu Zhou, marriage was the beginning of misery. But for Gu Jinzhi, he couldn’t wait to get married.
He Tian and Lu Zhe exchanged glances as they listened to Gu Jinzhi’s voice. Sure enough, Second Young Master Gu was someone who knew how to have fun, making it sound as easy as saying "let's eat." Sometimes they worried about Lin Xu being so reserved, even when his partner wasn’t around.
However, in most people’s minds, going to a bar was often associated with picking up women or men. But for Gu Jinzhi, it was really just a matter of sitting around and finding it rather boring.
As Lin Xu listened to Zhizhi’s endless chatter, Gu Jinzhi started recounting Gu Qi’s reaction after learning about their engagement.
“My big brother is such a fool. I don’t understand how he could think that we’d stop loving each other someday,” Gu Jinzhi murmured into Lin Xu’s ear, clearly bewildered.
Lin Xu smiled wryly. Unlike Gu Jinzhi’s confusion, he understood his older brother’s concerns. But he wasn’t afraid. For him, lifelong commitment seemed almost innate, just like he had never considered changing his career goals. In his previous life, even at a marriageable age, he had never considered settling for less. On the contrary, falling out of love was more difficult because it completely contradicted his core beliefs.
“Have you told your big brother, Ah Xu?” Gu Jinzhi asked curiously, eager to know his reaction.
Gu Qi had been supportive of their relationship, but he thought getting engaged so early was too hasty. Lin Shen would definitely be firmly opposed, wouldn't he?
Recalling the conflicted expression on his older brother’s face, Lin Xu replied calmly, “He didn’t have any objections.”
Gu Jinzhi was stunned, feeling that Lin Xu’s older brother was better than his own.
“But I haven’t mentioned it to my parents yet. I’ll wait until they return from their business trip to tell them in person,” Lin Xu added. It was indeed a serious matter, and he suspected his parents wouldn’t easily agree. Lin Xu didn’t have frequent contact with them, so it would be hard to explain over the phone. He wasn’t the kind of student who relied on his parents, so he didn’t have the option of playing the spoiled child either.
“Do you think they’ll agree?” Gu Jinzhi asked, looking a bit melancholic.
“They will.” This reassurance quickly put Gu Jinzhi at ease.
If his family didn’t understand, Lin Xu would demonstrate his rationality and show that he wasn't being impulsive. He would make every effort to persuade them, but if he couldn’t convince them, he wasn't afraid to stand his ground.
Gu Jinzhi had woken up a bit early, so he soon fell asleep leaning against Lin Xu. Lin Xu adjusted the curtains and maintained the same position.
For someone like him, perhaps the most heartfelt confession was the quiet, enduring companionship.
