1.
Zhou Mengyu used to really like his name when he was a child. One name, three surnames[mfn]Zhou, Meng, and Yu can all be surnames.[/mfn], so cool.
And in fact, his name had great depth; derived from the last three characters of the ancient poem “Green moss covers the ground after the rain, green trees with no one dreaming in the daytime.”
Until later, when he entered junior high, everyone he met would ask, “Is your father’s last name Zhou, and your mother’s last name Meng?”
Zhou Mengyu became numb. “During his self-introduction in his freshman class, he calmly introduced himself: “Hello everyone, my name is Zhou Mengyu. My father’s last name is Zhou, my mother’s is Meng, and I’m the extra one.”
2.
Zhou Mengyu is gay.
Although he doesn’t admit it, persistently insisting that he is straight, everyone at Nanjing University knows that Zhou Mengyu is gay.
An art student, studying fashion design, particularly fond of cheongsams (he doesn’t wear them himself), with a small ponytail, incredibly handsome, with countless male admirers.
How can this not be gay? Who would believe he’s not gay?
3.
So even Zhou Mengyu’s mother, Mrs. Meng, doesn’t believe her son is straight.
Mrs. Meng: “Mom is very open-minded. I can accept that you like boys. No need to hide it from the family.”
Zhou Mengyu: “Mom, please, I’m really straight.”
Mrs. Meng: “…..I’m not setting traps to enforce the law, even if you admit it, I won’t kick you out of the house.”
Zhou Mengyu, unable to bear it any longer, took out his phone on the spot and opened the default browser: “Do you see these a/v’s[mfn]Adult Videos[/mfn]? Do you believe me now?”
Mrs. Meng took a serious look, “Is there no gay section inside?”
Zhou Mengyu’s cold gaze swept across his mother’s face.
The latter’s eyes darted around, her tone uncertain, “Then… could you send me the website address? Do you have a stable, free VPN that I can use?”
He interrupted, “May good people have a peaceful life.”
4.
To be honest, Zhou Mengyu has already gotten used to being treated as gay.
Aside from not being able to find a girlfriend and having to fend off a batch of male suitors from time to time, it doesn’t really affect his daily life.
When he entered his junior year, as the vice president of the student council, he began to busy himself with welcoming new students.
On a scorching hot day, as freshmen were enrolling, Zhou Mengyu noticed an unattended suitcase under the shade of a tree. The responsible vice-president walked over, took the handle, looked around to make sure no one was around, and prepared to drag the suitcase to the registration area to wait for the owner to come and claim it.
He had only taken a few steps when someone suddenly approached him from behind.
The man bent slightly to be the same height as him, his palm touching the back of his hand, his voice close to his ear, “I can do it myself.”
6.
This position, this distance, this first encounter- it firmly holds the top spot as the gateway to the “Fleeting Dream” series.
Although many more exaggerated and saccharine photos followed, this candid shot remains a timeless masterpiece.
Because the angle of the person taking the photos was so perfect, looking from the side and behind, it looked like they were kissing.
One was bent over in a posture that seemed to be in control, while the other was trapped between the approaching body and suitcase, unable to move. Wow, that’s amazing. Everyone would be hooked.
And more importantly, this freshman is incredibly handsome.
Unfortunately, he’s straight.
7.
“Fleeting dream” wasn’t always called that. The old name doesn’t matter. The reason it was renamed to “Fleeting Dream” is because Liang Pei is straight, and in the end, all that fantasizing will be for nothing.
Not long after the start of freshman year, Liang Pei’s high school fans stumbled upon the Nanjing University forum, hoping to catch a glimpse of their idol’s current situation. They clicked into the CP thread that was prominently featured on the homepage at the time and left a message that broke the hearts of Nanjing University CP fans overnight—
“Just asking politely, is Liang Pei in this thread a freshman in the Physical Education department this year? None of the photos in the thread show his face clearly, but it should be him. Liang Pei is straight! Anyone who knew him in high school knows that. He’s incredibly straight, straighter than a telephone pole! The kind of straight that has had girlfriends!”
The CP fans were heartbroken all night, and the CP thread disbanded on the spot. Half an hour later, a post titled “Pipe Dream Academic Research Group, Recruiting New Members” quietly appeared. The poster exclaimed: Sisters, don’t be discouraged, it’s 2021 already, who still ships happy endings?! I hate those who force candy into my mouth. The candy you dig out yourself is the sweetest, and the sad ending is the best. Ship it! Everyone ship it!
If you could describe the “Fleeting Dream” CP fans with a single lyric: “The most absurd people are the ones truly awake.”
8.
Let’s go back to Zhou Mengyu, back to their first meeting, and back to the material that led us into the “Fleeting Dream” trap.
A person suddenly approached him from behind, startling him. He instinctively glanced to the side, but the person was too close to see clearly what they looked like.
He must be pretty handsome, with charisma, you know what charisma is, right? After he leaned closer, Zhou Mengyu felt like the air around him was filled with level-up comments like “handsome +1 +1” and “charm +1 +1”.
He only saw the person’s face clearly after handing over the suitcase; the air was right!
“Are you a freshman?” Zhou Mengyu asked.
The person’s gaze swept over him from head to toe, without any attempt to hide it, making Zhou Mengyu feel somewhat uncomfortable before he finally replied, “Yes, my name is Liang Pei.”
“Which college are you from? Have you registered yet?”
“Sports college, I’ve already registered. I can go straight to the dorm.”
“I’ll take you there. I’m from the arts college, and we’re in the same dorm building, quite a coincidence.” Zhou Mengyu said.
There’s an even better coincidence. When Zhou Mengyu asked for his dorm number, it turned out to be the same as his own.
9.
Zhou Mengyu’s dormitory was indeed a mixed dormitory; it had been unoccupied when it was first assigned. During the second semester of sophomore year, a male classmate of the same grade snored so loudly that his roommates couldn’t stand it and all requested to change dorms. As the vice president of the school student union, Zhou Mengyu naturally wanted to sympathize with his classmates and tried his best to arrange the dorm switch. With no actual beds left, he ended up switching dorms with someone himself.
He wouldn’t believe it; he had had a snoring roommate before, and they had managed to live together for two years.
After sleeping there for one night, Zhou Mengyu quietly cleaned up the now-empty dormitory and lived all alone.
He had lived there for half a month when a junior from the arts college moved in. The junior was fair-skinned and looked pitiful as he hugged a pillow: “Vice President, these men don’t wash their socks. I can’t stand it and want to come and live with you.”
Zhou Mengyu hadn’t even said whether he agreed or not when the younger student immediately tried to bring the two closer.
Junior: I’m gay too! We have the same number[mfn]Implying that they’re both 0’s, common slang for being a Shou/Bottom[/mfn], it’ll be convenient for us to live together!
Zhou Mengyu: ……
No, if you insist on assuming I’m gay, fine, but who the hell do you think has the same number as you?!!!
10.
Zhou Mengyu tried to tell his junior that he wasn’t gay, let alone a 0.
The junior looked at him with a slightly disapproving gaze: “Vice President, 1[mfn]Common slang for Gong/Top[/mfn] and 0 should be equals, being a 0 is not shameful! Those 1 aren’t better than us! There’s nothing to be ashamed of!”
Zhou Mengyu: …Who’se this “us” you’re talking about?
Zhou Mengyu: “No, my point isn’t whether I’m a 0, but that I’m not gay.”
The younger brother frowned even more deeply: “Admitting you’re gay is no longer embarrassing! This is what era we’re in now, there are 0’s everywhere on the streets, don’t be afraid to come out!”
Zhou Mengyu: My dear brother, I’m impressed by you.
He gave up on proving to the younger brother that he wasn’t gay.
11.
The younger brother’s eyes lit up when he saw Liang Pei, and he eagerly opened the door and pulled out a chair. “Hello, are you the one who ended up with an extra room in the sports department dorm? The dorm manager mentioned yesterday that a new student would be moving in, and I’ve already cleaned up your bed for you!”
Zhou Mengyu watched as the younger brother’s body became stiff, sighed, and gave him a gentle warning, “Don’t be so eager with straight guys, don’t scare him off.”
The younger brother hesitated in his tone: “My radar went off, I think he’s not straight.
Zhou Mengyu’s beautiful face twisted for a moment. He thought, ‘You can sell your broken radar to a junk collector for a popsicle, and you still think I’m 0?!’ He scolded with exasperation: “Anyway, don’t be so enthusiastic with him. Don’t just jump on every handsome guy you see.”
The younger brother reluctantly agreed: “Alright.”
Then, in the next second, he asked Liang Pei: “Hey, both of us are gay, don’t you mind?”
Zhou Mengyu: Fucking hell!
T/N: Hello! This is my first time actually uploading my work, so please be nice and let me know if there are any errors!
