MDPWU Chapter 20

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The two of them messed around for a long time. Tong Tong’s jaw was sore before he finally let go, sucking in a breath of air.

Zhou You, panting, set him down on the bed, propped himself up on one arm, and frowned as he rubbed the back of his neck. “Damn, your teeth are sharper than my dog’s.”

“Your dog?” Tong Tong was still breathing a little heavily. Lying down felt uncomfortable, so he propped himself up slightly, tilting his head to look at Zhou You, who was leaning over him. “Your Doberman is called ‘Little Red’?”

Zhou You froze, his Adam’s apple bobbing unconsciously.

Beneath him, Tong Tong was panting lightly, his eyes slightly reddened.

He was still wearing his school uniform shirt, but his tie and top buttons had come undone during their roughhousing. His open collar revealed sharp, prominent collarbones that, due to his posture, looked incredibly enticing…

Zhou You’s heartbeat suddenly sped up. He had always thought Tong Tong was good-looking, but it had just been a kind of aesthetic appreciation.

But now, it felt different.

This wasn’t just pleasing to the eye—it was gripping his heart, squeezing it, making it race and his mouth dry.

“Get up.” Tong Tong was still feeling breathless. He pushed Zhou You away, sat up, hunched forward, and pressed a hand to his chest to steady his breathing.

“What’s wrong?” Zhou You crouched beside him, tilting his head to look up.

Tong Tong frowned, struggling to breathe. After a few moments, the flush on his face faded to pale.

Zhou You quickly got up to find the asthma inhaler he had borrowed once before.

Tong Tong took a puff from the inhaler, held his breath for a minute, and gradually felt the tightness ease. He still felt uncomfortable, though.

Zhou You looked at his face with concern. “Do you need to go to the hospital?”

Tong Tong shook his head and lay on his side on the bed. “I’m skipping evening self-study. Help me tell the teacher.”

“Have you always had this?” Zhou You asked, frowning. “That must be really tough.”

“You get used to it,” Tong Tong said after a moment. “But when I can’t breathe, I get anxious.”

“Anxious about what?” Zhou You patted his back.

“Dying,” Tong Tong said with a laugh.

Thinking about it in his head was fine, but saying it out loud felt… weird.

But Zhou You didn’t laugh. Instead, he sat up and hugged Tong Tong, his large hand gently patting his back.

Tong Tong was stunned.

He thought Zhou You would laugh too, but instead, Zhou You was seriously trying to comfort him.

Something inside Tong Tong softened. After a long pause, he awkwardly tried to push him away. “Okay, enough hugging.”

“You’re scared,” Zhou You said. “When I get scared, I wish someone would hold me.”

“T-then… then I…” Tong Tong’s face turned red. “Next time… if you’re scared, I’ll remember to hug you.”

“Sis, you’re the best!” Zhou You was touched. He stayed with Tong Tong for a little longer before leaving for evening self-study.

The moment he heard the front door close, Tong Tong relaxed. He wasn’t used to sleeping with someone else around.

Barely two minutes after Zhou You left, he drifted off.

As soon as he started dreaming, Tong Tong saw Zhou You’s face again and sighed in exasperation.

Why was it this dream again?

In the dream, the tightness in his chest was gone, but he couldn’t feel happy about it.

Because Zhou You was holding his hand and confessing, “Baby, I like you.”

Tong Tong was about to refuse.

“You have to be with me,” Zhou You said.

Tong Tong: “???”

Says who?

Zhou You, as if reading his mind, tightened his grip on his hand. “Because it’s fate. You like me, I like you—you can’t say no to me.”

“I can,” Tong Tong said.

“You can’t,” Zhou You said.

“I can.”

“You can’t.”

“I can.”

“You can’t.”

The two of them bickered back and forth like that, and when Tong Tong finally woke up, he was still mumbling, “I can, I can, I can.”

Like a lunatic.

Tong Tong sat up, feeling the cold sweat on his back.

That dream was too vivid, too real.

And he found himself increasingly resistant to the idea of Zhou You breaking up with him in the dream.

Why? That fool Zhou You should be worshiping and thanking the heavens if he could be with him!

Breaking up? Was Zhou You out of his mind?

Just as he finished showering and was pulling on a T-shirt, the door was knocked on.

“Who is it?” Tong Tong asked.

From outside, Zhou You shouted, “Baby, wake up!”

Tong Tong: “……”

He quickly pulled on his shorts, ran out of the bathroom, and opened the door, looking at Zhou You in confusion. “What are you doing here?”

“I—” Zhou You forgot what he was supposed to say the moment he saw Tong Tong, his heart skipping a beat.

Tong Tong had just showered, his soft hair still damp with steam. Droplets of water from his hair had seeped into his white T-shirt.

Tong Tong smelled so good. That was the only thought in Zhou You’s mind.

“Zhou You?” Tong Tong waved his hand in front of his face, snapping him out of his daze.

Not knowing what had come over him, Zhou You instinctively rubbed his nose to cover up his reaction, then lifted the food container in his hand. “Just got out of evening study. You didn’t eat dinner, right? I bought you some braised pig trotters, beef noodles, and roujiamo.”

Tong Tong looked at Zhou You, his expression complicated as the dream resurfaced in his mind. But he didn’t say anything, just took the food.

“Mr. Li handed out two test papers today. I brought them for you.” Zhou You pulled two sheets from his bag and placed them on the coffee table.

Then he opened the food containers one by one and set them in front of Tong Tong. “Eat a little. If you can’t finish, I’ll eat the rest.”

Tong Tong’s expression grew even more complicated at Zhou You’s diligent and overly attentive behavior.

There was no doubt now—Zhou You liked him.

He decided to wait and see how things played out in reality. If Zhou You showed any sign of confessing, he had to say it first.

If he confessed first, he would have the upper hand.

That way, things wouldn’t follow the dream’s trajectory. He would break the dream.

Then he would find the right moment to dump this fool. Cut things off at the root before he got dumped.

Tong Tong found the whole thing ridiculous, yet deep down, he also anticipated it.

Looking back later, Tong Tong realized that at this point, it wasn’t the dream pushing him toward Zhou You—it was himself.

After deciding to confess first, he glanced at the time. It was already 10:30 p.m.

His mom had told him in the morning that his dad was being discharged from the hospital tonight.

Why weren’t they home yet?

He picked up his phone and called his mom. She answered quickly.

“Tong Tong? Just got out of evening study?”

“Yeah. Mom, didn’t you say Dad was getting discharged today? Why aren’t you home yet?”

“Not today,” Pei Yun’s voice was mixed with background noise. “Your dad’s blood pressure fluctuated a bit.”

“What?” Tong Tong didn’t catch the whole sentence and grew anxious. “Is he okay?”

“He’s fine, he’s fine.” Pei Yun quickly reassured him. “We’ll see how things go tomorrow. The doctor said it’s nothing serious.”

“Tomorrow night?” Tong Tong thought for a moment. “I’ll take a leave and go pick Dad up.”

“No!” Pei Yun’s voice suddenly rose before quickly lowering again. “I mean, focus on your studies. Your dad should be home by tomorrow night. Alright, be good, eat your dinner, and I’ll be staying at the hospital tonight.”

With that, she hung up.

Frowning, Tong Tong stared at his phone in confusion. He decided to visit the hospital after school tomorrow.

On the other end of the couch, Zhou You hunched over, deliberately turning his back to Tong Tong.

He quietly took out his phone from his pocket.

Lately, his heart had been randomly pounding for no reason.

He wanted to figure out what was going on.

He casually typed: Heart sometimes beats really fast.

Search results quickly popped up. It could be myocarditis, a heart attack, or heart disease…

Zhou You touched his chest, feeling a little panicked.

He hesitated, then searched again: Heart suddenly races when seeing a certain person.

The results appeared immediately, and the screen even exploded with a pink heart, displaying a sentence: Congratulations, you’re in love!

In love?? What do you mean, in love??

So I’m in love?

Zhou You cautiously looked up at Tong Tong, unsure.

Tong Tong was gnawing on a pig trotter, his expression fierce, his mouth covered in grease.

Zhou You: “……”

“What?” Tong Tong felt embarrassed, putting the pig trotter down and licking the oil from the corner of his mouth. “Don’t buy pig trotters next time. I don’t like them.”

Zhou You’s face instantly turned bright red. If he had been unsure before, he was certain now.

Tong Tong eating a pig trotter was so cute it was making his heart explode.

For the first time, Zhou You had met someone who could make eating pig trotters look… so heart-stoppingly adorable.

Scratching the back of his head, Zhou You shyly said, “I… I…”

“What?” Tong Tong noticed something was off.

Zhou You was nervous like a bride getting into a wedding sedan for the first time, his eyes sincere yet shy. “I… I… like—”

“Wait!” Tong Tong’s alarm bells went off. “Let me say it first!”

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