Limited First Love Chapter 18
Translated by Q the Panda (ko-fi)
Chapter 18 A Little Off
As Wang Tong's words fell, the entire dorm fell silent. Everyone began to ponder the possibility of such a hypothesis.
Guo Wei, who was closest to Ruan Yiyun, was the first to break the silence.
"How could that be," he said with a helpless expression, his voice lacking energy. "Their imagination is too wild. Don't they have their own lives? Is it not enough to focus on their own relationships? Why do they always pry into others' affairs? I can't stand it!"
Wang Tong patted his shoulder. "I warned you when you first got together with Ruan Yiyun, that attention is just the beginning. You can't fight it, so get used to it."
"I actually think there's some basis for these speculations," Eldest Brother Jin said. "I know a bit about Ruan Yiyun. Do you know he lives in a single dorm?"
"Of course," Guo Wei said, "That's because his pheromones are imbalanced. The school arranged it after understanding his medical condition. What nonsense are you thinking?"
Seeing his concern, Ruan Yiyun had told him about his own condition just last night.
Ruan Yiyun had asthma as a child and took a special medicine that was later discontinued due to side effects. The medication had excessive hormones, causing some effects on his body, but not severe. With gradual adjustment, he would gradually recover over time.
In this process, his pheromones were unstable. To prevent any negative impact on other students, the school, after thorough understanding, approved his request for solitary accommodation.
The dormitory for Omegas was highly strict. Even Alpha students weren't allowed in during broad daylight. How could the school easily place an Alpha inside? If anything went wrong, it would be a colossal scandal.
"Could it be because he's too beautiful that living in the Alpha dorm isn't safe for him?" Eldest Brother Jin suggested.
Guo Wei found himself unable to refute at the moment.
"Honestly, he's a bit too tall for an Omega," Eldest Brother Jin continued, "Almost as tall as you, isn't he? That's close to an average Beta."
Guo Wei pursed his lips. He felt embarrassed to admit that recently he discovered his slight height advantage over Ruan Yiyun was due to always wearing sneakers with air cushions and inner lifts, making his shoe soles at least four or five centimeters thicker than Ruan Yiyun's. From this perspective, if they were both barefoot, Ruan Yiyun might be slightly taller than him.
"Your reasoning sounds far-fetched." Third Elder Brother shook his head. "If it's truly because he's too beautiful, wouldn't it be better to assign him a single room in the Alpha dorm? At the very least, putting him in our Beta dorm would be more reasonable than in the Omega dorm."
"Indeed," Wang Tong nodded, "Don't tell me you're up to no good just because your dream lover is already taken."
"Exactly," Guo Wei nodded, "Are you particularly hoping he's an Alpha?"
"How could that be? I was just talking casually," Eldest Brother Jin chuckled, "Wasn't this hypothesis suggested by you, Wang Tong?"
"It has nothing to do with me," Wang Tong hastily waved his hand, "I don't create gossip, I'm just a messenger of gossip. Just conveying it to you guys."
"In any case, it's all nonsense!" Guo Wei summarized, "There are too many idle people with nothing better to do!"
Guo Wei believed that if everyone could be like him, walking hand in hand with a tender, beautiful, sweet, and lovely sweetheart on campus after having a full meal, those messy rumors wouldn't stand a chance to thrive.
"You're right." Guo Wei sighed lightly as he held Ruan Yiyun's hand. "I shouldn't have responded from the beginning. It's just stirring up trouble for no reason, giving them material to work with."
"At least we tried," Ruan Yiyun comforted him. "If they refuse to see the truth when it's right in front of them, it's their loss. As long as we do what we're supposed to do, we have nothing to regret."
"Yeah," Guo Wei nodded in agreement, "And it doesn't affect us."
Ruan Yiyun smiled at him, then lowered his head, raising his hand to cover his mouth, squinting as he yawned. When he lowered his hand, his eyes were slightly moist.
"Feeling tired?" Guo Wei asked.
It was only eight o'clock in the evening, still far from their usual bedtime.
Ruan Yiyun shook his head. "Not really."
As he spoke, he rubbed his eyes, wiping away the faint tears clinging to his eyelashes.
"...But you seem really tired. Did you have too many classes today? Feeling exhausted?"
It was their first meeting of the day. Ruan Yiyun had been busy since 7:30 in the morning, with classes back to back, not even having time for a meal.
"Perhaps," Ruan Yiyun nodded, "I'll go back and rest well tonight."
"Then you should head back early, I'll walk you," Guo Wei suggested, pausing in his steps and turning towards the direction of Ruan Yiyun's dormitory.
However, Ruan Yiyun seemed reluctant, "...Isn't it too early?"
Guo Wei looked at his face. Suddenly, his eyes widened.
"What's wrong?" Ruan Yiyun asked.
"You have a pimple on your chin!" Guo Wei exclaimed.
Ruan Yiyun frowned, quietly raising his hand to cover his chin.
With curiosity written all over his face, Guo Wei exclaimed, "So you also get pimples!"
"...Everyone gets them," Ruan Yiyun muttered discontentedly.
Sensing his displeasure, Guo Wei quickly tried to make amends for his earlier indiscretion. "It's not very noticeable, we were just standing too close! Look at me, I have more obvious ones here, compared to yours!"
Ruan Yiyun sighed lightly, then quickly smiled and said, "Were we standing too close? I don't think we've been that close today."
Guo Wei, now experienced, knew that whenever Ruan Yiyun said such things, he wanted to ask for a kiss. He certainly had no reason to refuse.
Ever since the day they exchanged their first intimate kiss outside Ruan Yiyun's dormitory, each of their kisses had become longer and harder to part from.
"I might not have rested well," Ruan Yiyun murmured softly against his lips, "That's why I feel drowsy and got a pimple."
"Then you should go back early," Guo Wei suggested.
Ruan Yiyun cupped his cheeks with both hands, pressing his forehead against Guo Wei's. "But I don't want to leave you, what should I do?"
Guo Wei held him close, whispering softly, "Go back and get some rest. Tomorrow morning, I'll come pick you up and we'll go to the cafeteria together."
"No," Ruan Yiyun shook his head, "Come back with me."
Guo Wei hesitated for a moment.
Ruan Yiyun pressed his lips against Guo Wei's skin again, lightly pecking, making a faint sound that almost melted into the night breeze.
"I know how to avoid getting caught," he said between kisses, "Come on."
Guo Wei was about to nod.
"Come on," Ruan Yiyun repeated again, sounding pleading.
Guo Wei leaned back slightly, straightened up, and distanced himself from Ruan Yiyun, then took a deep breath. "I'll walk you back, see you tomorrow."
Ruan Yiyun pressed his lips together, a hint of disappointment in his gaze as he looked at Guo Wei.
Guo Wei averted his gaze.
"I can't go with you. I might end up doing something that disrupts your rest," he told Ruan Yiyun.
"What could that be?" Ruan Yiyun asked.
Seeing no response, Ruan Yiyun leaned in again, kissed him, and then asked again, "What is it? Tell me."
Guo Wei suddenly stepped back without warning. Ruan Yiyun, leaning on him, stumbled forward, almost falling.
"I'm sorry!" Guo Wei quickly reached out to steady him.
After Ruan Yiyun regained his balance, he shook his head and sighed. "Forget it, let's just go back."
After escorting Ruan Yiyun back to his dorm, Guo Wei thought for a while and then sent a long message to Ruan Yiyun.
He told Ruan Yiyun that he was happy to be close to him and relied upon by him. Deep down, he naturally wanted to spend more time with Ruan Yiyun. However, as a male Beta, he found it difficult to completely control himself from thinking about things that crossed the line. He felt it was inappropriate and disrespectful to Ruan Yiyun. Of course, he hoped that one day in the future, at an appropriate moment, both of them would be mentally prepared for further progression to happen naturally. Before that, he didn't want to give himself too impulsive opportunities and risk hurting his beloved. He hoped Ruan Yiyun could understand his concerns. Being in his first relationship, he often said and did things that were not quite appropriate. If there were things Ruan Yiyun didn't like or felt unhappy about, he must tell him, and he would strive to improve.
After pressing send, Ruan Yiyun, for the first time, didn't immediately reply.
Guo Wei gradually became unconscious as he nervously waited.
Ruan Yiyun's response came at three in the morning.
——Don't overthink it, just let things happen naturally. I'm happy doing anything with you. You don't have to force yourself at all.
——I wasn't upset today, by the way
——I love you
Guo Wei woke up the next day, groggily picked up his phone, and quickly became fully awake.
After rolling around in sweetness for a while, he finally noticed the timestamps of those messages.
It was strange. Did he stay awake all night, or did he suddenly wake up in the middle of the night?
Guo Wei couldn't help but feel worried.
He sent a good morning message to Ruan Yiyun and didn't receive a reply for a while. It didn't make sense. Ruan Yiyun mentioned having morning classes today and they had planned to have breakfast together beforehand.
With confusion and concern, Guo Wei finished getting ready and left the dorm with his bag. Just as he entered the cafeteria, he received a call from Ruan Yiyun.
"Sorry, I overslept and just woke up," Ruan Yiyun's voice sounded apologetic, tinged with slight tiredness. "I might not have time for breakfast."
Guo Wei glanced at the time. "There's still time. What do you want to eat? I'll bring it to you!"
Ruan Yiyun hesitated slightly.
Guo Wei added, "I really want to see you!"
This worked like a charm. Ruan Yiyun immediately laughed. "Okay."
They agreed to meet at the dormitory entrance. After hanging up the phone, Guo Wei's heart filled with even more confusion and an indescribable worry.
Something just felt a little off with Ruan Yiyun.