Chapter 14: Ch13 - Strawberry Flavored Scholar Gong (13)

Do you want to know why the Gong is strawberry flavored ♂

Translator: KunLin

Editors: Amaris, Grump

YuLe High, Year Two Class Three.

Shi Yu purposely didn’t eat this morning but sadly, Gou Liang didn’t bring any breakfast for him today. Shi Yu felt disappointed but this wasn’t unexpected. When Gou Liang raised his head with a satisfied expression from the inside of his desk that was full of boxes of sweets, Shi Yu set down his book and looked at the other. He leaned in and lowered his voice: “Did you have a fight yesterday?”

Gou Liang raised his brow. “How did you know?”

Shi Yu smiled and didn’t reply, instead he glanced towards the other’s school bag before saying: “You didn’t bring lunch today?”

“You also know about this?” Gou Liang also stopped reading his book, he just stared fixedly at Shi Yu.

Shi Yu slightly backed off a bit. Gou Liang’s smiling face that was placed so near to his really made him unable to endure. Shi Yu feigned calmness as he said: “Your hands weren’t exerting much force while carrying it and based on the sound it made when you placed it onto the floor, it wasn’t hard to figure out.”

“My dear deskmate, you are really so observant towards me.” Gou Liang keenly heard Shi Yu’s heartbeat that had abruptly sped up.  His smile deepened as he asked: “Then do you know why I didn’t bring lunch?”

“…Whatever the reason, it can’t be because you’re going to the hospital to send Ye Hui white chrysanthemums, ba?”

“Smart.”  Gou Liang smilingly threw his arm around Shi Yu’s shoulder and said: “Deskmate, I have a very important question that I want to consult you about. What do you say, follow me home this afternoon?”

【Ding, the target’s favorability value has been updated. Current favorability value : +76.】

Shi Yu pursed his lips and nodded his head indifferently. Unfortunately, he had suppressed his upturned lips but had forgotten to hide his eyes that had lit up in a split second, full of smiles. Just as he was about to say something, Li LinLing from the desk in front of them suddenly turned her head and excitedly said: “Ah Cheng is treating today? Bring me, bring me, begging for a free meal~”

Shi Yu: “…”

Gou Liang: “…Maybe next time, I have something important to discuss with my deskmate today.”

Li LinLing did not feel discouraged, instead, she happily said: “Okay, next time you definitely have to bring me along, oh.”

Not waiting for Gou Liang’s reply, Chen LiBai silently raised his hand: “+1.”

Gou Liang retracted his arm around Shi Yu’s shoulder and said in an aloof manner: “I’ll have to think about it.”

Chen LiBai who wanted to cry ‘ying ying ying’ swallowed back his words after seeing Shi Yu’s expression; Shi Yu was clearly smiling yet it sent a burst of cold chills down his back. In the midst of Li LinLing’s gleeful laughter towards his misfortune, Chen LiBai turned back around.

Gou Liang observed this scene and his dimples deepened.

Shi Yu took out a book that was as thick as a brick from his school bag. He gave it to Gou Liang and asked: “Want to read?”

“You brought it for me?”

The book was printed in the original foreign language that it was published in and was about the study of the human brain—psychology, biology, physics, communication studies, and medicine. These five subjects were Shi Yu’s favorites.

The three walls of his study were filled with books on these subjects. The remaining wall was for reference books.

Gou Liang acted surprised but he was crying in his heart: It turns out that this is how he was implementing guideline No.2 【Figure out what they like】—unfortunately, the person who likes to read is you. Back then, this grandpa also ‘fixed his IQ’ in order to ‘suit to your taste’. What I like is food, what happened to the food =口=!

When Gou Liang accepted his beloved book, Shi Yu suppressed his feeling of joy and took out his phone. With a calm face he said to Gou Liang: “Let’s exchange contacts. It’s not easy to meet someone with the same interests, later if there’s any questions we can discuss them together anytime.”

Yo, this pickup line is very familiar, ma.

Gou Liang was flipping through his newly received book to the table of contents. At this moment, he stopped his action. He smiled and said politely: “Sorry, it’s not convenient for me to tell you.”

Shi Yu’s face fell with disappointment.

Gou Liang smiled brilliantly, revealing his teeth. His tone while speaking seemed to carry a hint of murderous aura: “Don’t you think this sounds very familiar, Scholar Shi? Our second meeting was at this very location. At that time you gave me this same expression and said that same line… heh, do you remember? Your memory is not bad, ma. Too bad it’s still a little bit worse than mine.”

Shi Yu: “…”

The him from a month ago who had smiled and rejected Gou Liang’s contact information, if Shi Yu could turn back time, he would definitely give him two slaps.

Faced with Gou Liang, whose expression obviously said ‘I’m holding a grudge’, Shi Yu didn’t know how to redeem himself. Fortunately for him, Gou Liang felt satisfied after seeing Shi Yu’s furrowed brows and earnest repentant expression. He generously took out his phone and said: “One of my greatest merits is being forgiving. Dear deskmate, you have to cherish it, alright?”

Scholar Shi Yu who had his wish fulfilled tactfully didn’t refute him.

*

This was Shi Yu’s second time setting foot in Gou Liang’s home.

Unlike the last time when there was a crowd of people over, a clean and tasteful apartment was revealed to Shi Yu. The living room was bathed in sunlight, and the clean and pure scent of grass and flowers relaxed one’s mind. Shi Yu couldn’t help but reveal a smile.

We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.

“Ktfc P’ii yf lwqbrlcu bc sbe.”

Vtl Te rjlv atlr eqbc fcafglcu.

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When Shi Yu heard that there would be a next time, his smile became even bigger.

Gou Liang casually tossed the keys to the side and lazily stretched his body. He walked towards the fridge in his slippers. As he opened it, he asked: “What do you want to eat—what are you standing there stupidly for, are you pretending to be a flower vase?”

Shi Yu, who was staring at him in a daze, quickly snapped back to attention.

Gou Liang pursed his lips to suppress his smile.

【Gou Liang: What the book said was right. A youth’s love is pure and straightforward, ah ＞U＜. 】

【System: …Dear Master, I have to remind you, the world picked for a novice is determined by the Mainframe to have the lowest level of difficulty. Furthermore, it has already been 12 hours since the system assigned the mission, may Master please complete the mission with 48 hours or the reward will be halved. 】

【Gou Liang: Something important like this, why didn’t you say it sooner?! 】

“What’s wrong?”

Seeing Gou Liang furrow his brows, Shi Yu who just walked over worriedly asked him.

Gou Liang raised the corner of his mouth. As if he was venting his anger, he smiled and said: “For lunch this afternoon, let’s make sweet and sour pork ribs, sweet and sour grape fish, tomatoes sprinkled with sugar, and a dish of stir-fried sweet white cabbage… Oh, I have a sweet tooth, is this alright?”

Shi Yu said without any hesitation: “Okay, I also like to eat sweet things.”

Gou Liang: I give full marks to this answer!　(￣ˇ￣)

The System just couldn’t figure out the target’s personality. It was no longer even willing to stop its Master from courting death: The interesting point about our target is how weird he is.

Gou Liang went into the kitchen, but after three minutes, he kicked out Shi Yu who was more trouble than help and told him to pass time himself. Shi Yu looked at the closed kitchen door and silently came to a decision. He began to explore around the apartment.

The apartment had two rooms excluding the living room and one of the rooms had been converted into a gym. The stainless steel workout equipment showed signs of being frequently used. Shi Yu thought back to Gou Liang’s running figure on the track. His long and well-proportioned legs, his slender but powerful waist, his curved backside… his nose suddenly felt itchy. He immediately cut off his thoughts that were quickly going astray.

The master bedroom and living room were connected by a balcony. The balcony’s entire space was crowded with plants and flowers but it made for a very lively visage and was very comfortable to look at.

The sliding door to the balcony in the master bedroom had been left open, inviting in the warm sunlight and fresh air into the room.

The bedroom was neat and orderly. In the room there was a large closet that went into the wall and ahead there was a small door that probably led to the bathroom.

The blanket on the bed was folded neatly and there was a pillow placed at the head. Shi Yu felt that if there were two pillows instead of one, it would be even better.

As he walked into the room, there was a desk to his left and a bookshelf filled with books on the opposite wall. There were a lot of books on psychology and medicine. This confirmed that the book he had given to Gou Liang after careful selection was the correct choice, further solidifying his choices when selecting books for Gou Liang in the future—let’s give a moment of silence for Gou Liang who thinks completely differently from the target.

On the desk was a desk lamp and a pile of A4 sized paper with writings on them. A brush was still laid out on top of the papers, it could be seen that it was often used by its owner.

Shi Yu walked over to take a look. Right after, his eyes grew wide.

Pressed under the glass surface of the desk, the literature exam paper where he had scored a point higher than Gou Liang on was displayed openly. Written on the pile of A4 size papers were the words from his essay. The characters on the first page were clumsily written in labored strokes. However, the handwriting on the most recent papers was fluid and showed hints of unique style.

He was… copying him.

【Ding, the target’s favorability value has been updated. Current favorability value: +78. 】

Gou Liang was cooking while monitoring the movements of the big blindspot within the apartment. When he received the notification, he happily added another big spoonful of sugar onto the fresh and red tomatoes.

At lunch, Gou Liang acted excessively out of character as he picked dishes for Shi Yu. When Gou Liang saw that not only did Shi Yu not show any expression of disgust but also acted as if he was pleasantly surprised in order to please him, Gou Liang had long begun to smile crazily in his heart.

After they had finished eating.

Sitting on the couch, Shi Yu accepted the glass of water that Gou Liang had poured for him and said to the beaming Gou Liang: “Thank you for your hospitality. What does deskmate want to consult with me about? I will definitely answer it to the best of my ability.”

Gou Liang rubbed his full belly and lazily sat in the seat across from him. When he heard what Shi Yu said, he glanced over at him.

Eyes curving, Gou Liang said casually: “It’s not really anything important. I just wanted to ask, Classmate Shi Yu…”  He gave a small laugh before continuing: “Yesterday, why did you kiss me?”

Shi Yu’s eyes went wide.

Shi Yu swallowed dryly and his complexion immediately became several shades paler. This was a nervous expression and it was an unfamiliar feeling for him. He didn’t know how to answer this question.

But Gou Liang would not let go of this matter.

He got up and walked towards Shi Yu. Taking away the glass of water that Shi Yu had forgotten to put down and was gripping too tightly, he took a sip from it before sitting down on the glass coffee table. He asked Shi Yu: “This question, is it very hard to answer?”

Shi Yu just continued to stare at the glass of water.

Gou Liang was quiet for a moment before smiling. He took another sip from the glass—it was the same spot where Shi Yu’s lips had landed when drinking. After Gou Liang drank from it, the rim of the cup became moist once again. Gou Liang asked him slowly: “An indirect kiss, you wouldn’t mind, ba?”

“Of… of course not.”

Shi Yu’s face turned red, his hands clenched unconsciously and the smile.jpg that remained on his face even after ten thousand years was now replaced by an array of complicated expressions: nervousness, happiness, excitement, and a profound feeling of joy…

Gou Liang admired Shi Yu’s rich reaction. He leaned in and stared straight into his eyes, saying: “You still haven’t answered my first question, ne, dear deskmate.”

“Oh…” Shi Yu unconsciously leaned back. When he realized what he was doing, he quickly sat back up again. He shifted his gaze away for a split second before moving back onto Gou Liang’s face. Shi Yu pursed his lips not knowing how to answer, but soon he opened his mouth to speak.

He said: “I like you.”

As he said this, he determinedly nodded his head. He anxiously clasped his hands together and repeated himself in a sincere and earnest manner: “I like you Qi Cheng, I want to be together with you.”

Gou Liang tightened his grip on the cup. The smile on his face instantly changed, and he slowly made an “Oh” sound.

【The System only heard the thump thump thump sound of heart beating inside the sea of consciousness: …Master, are you alright? 】

The two people stared stupidly at each other for a while, even Gou Liang who had taken the initiative to attack didn’t know how to continue this—he had seen more than thousands of people in love, but they were all just soul mirror images that narrated someone else’s life. Only when he experienced it himself did he realize that he couldn’t answer as calmly as he thought he could.

I like you.

For the first time, he experienced how words could have the magical effect of making a person feel euphoric, like his soul was leaving his body.

A delicate atmosphere formed between the two of them. Gou Liang seemed to have also been affected by the mood. Shi Yu’s state of mind was chaotic, tinged with some feelings of embarrassment. His throat was dry and his face was hot. He didn’t know what he should do or say.

【Gou Liang, who had never experienced love before, began to get sick with panic, he went to seek treatment: Little Wanton, what should I do next? 】

【The System was stunned by the events that had happened and was questioning life. After it made a sound of disbelief it replied back: …Master, according to the common sense of this world, this is the part where the male lead would kiss the female lead.】

Gou Liang acted without thinking, he started to lean in closer—

When his lip touched the other’s pair of soft lips, the two people simultaneously widened their eyes.

The soft and wonderful sensation was better than the most supple and delicious pudding… when the thought of food entered Gou Liang’s mind that was filled with the words 【I like you】, he suddenly became more clear-headed and recalled the purpose behind his action. Gou Liang paused for a moment but still didn’t hear the system announcing that the mission progress bar has increased. Puzzled, he blinked his eyes. His shifted his legs and switched an angle, once again using his lips to touch against Shi Yu’s lips—

It didn’t work.

Gou Liang’s expression went blank, he staggered back to his seat.

Shi Yu subconsciously reached out his hand to grab Gou Liang’s arm. His heart raced crazily when he saw Gou Liang’s reddened face. Shi Yu broke out into a smile.

Gou Liang rubbed his face, he wanted to crumple up and throw away the uncomfortable feeling in his heart as well the embarrassment from misjudging the situation. He looked at Shi Yu whose smile was growing bigger by the second and was refusing to let go of his hand. He gave Shi Yu a fierce glare. Unwilling to admit defeat, he asked again: “Yesterday, wasn’t this how you kissed me?”

Shi Yu heard the sound of his heart leaping in joy.

He stood up and cupped Gou Liang’s burning hot face. He leaned in and said: “You’re absolutely correct.”

He kissed Gou Liang’s dimples and then kissed the corner of his mouth as he had yesterday.

【Ding!! Mission progress bar has increased. Current completion rate: 0.2%!! 】

He then replicated what Gou Liang had just done with him. He pressed his lips against Gou Liang’s, one time after another. After each time, his lips would linger behind a little bit longer than the last. His actions became more and more urgent and he applied more force behind each kiss. Gou Liang’s heartbeat became chaotic in an instant, he couldn’t even hear the ding ding ding sound from the system’s notification in his sea of consciousness.

【Ding!! Mission progress bar has increased. Current completion rate: 0.3%!!! 】

【Ding!! Mission progress bar has increased. Current completion rate: 0.4%!!! 】

……

【Ding!! Mission progress bar has increased. Current completion rate: 0.7%!!! 】

Gou Liang’s lips looked like they had just eaten pervertedly spicy barbecue. His lips that had been rubbed repeatedly by Shi Yu were both hot and numb. Shi Yu’s breathing was rough like the time that he had run in the ten thousand meter marathon. He didn’t know what to do next, his hands and feet all felt awkward, he didn’t know where he should place them. Shi Yu ate Gou Liang’s lips for a long time. When the two of them finally parted, Gou Liang’s appearance was very pitiful. Not willing to just take it lying down, Gou Liang said: “S-stop first—wu!”

Shi Yu took this chance to lift Gou Liang’s face even higher up into the air—Gou Liang widened his eyes, something soft and burning hot had invaded his mouth.

Gou Liang curled up and trembled. He shrank back, provoking the thing that was visiting for the first time and had been gently exploring. All at once, the thing struck and tangled with his tongue.

“Wuwu.”

Gou Liang began to pant indescribably, the feeling of being unable to catch his breath was both strange and simulating. He felt like he was being burned and wanted to dodge away, but in the midst of his struggle he tasted something delicious that was like nothing he had ever tasted before! It was sweet and had the taste and texture of strawberries, it was mixed with other indescribable flavors that was like a mixture of all sorts of wonderful food rushing towards his soul!

He was completely immersed by this sensation, he instinctively wanted more.

The hands that had been tightly gripping onto the side of the glass table slackened and reached out towards Shi Yu. Gou Liang tightly grabbed onto the clothes by Shi Yu’s waist and lifted his head to fight over that sweetness that had made him enthralled.

His actions were very responsive, making Shi Yu unable to control himself. He became even more passionate and intense!

【Ding!! Mission progress bar has increased. Current completion rate: 1%!!! 】

【Ding!! Mission progress bar has increased. Current completion rate: 1.5%!!! 】

……

【Ding!! Mission progress bar has increased. Current completion rate: 2.2%!!! 】

“Wu!”

The taste of blood spread inside their mouths. It was unknown who had bitten whom, or who had knocked against whom. Shi Yu snapped back from his trance. When he realized that Gou Liang had been injured, he wanted to break away in a flurry. Gou Liang pursued after him relentlessly, unwilling to let go of that delicious taste. He opened his eyes that he had unconsciously closed at some point and pulled Shi Yu back in dissatisfaction. He enthusiastically embraced Shi Yu’s neck and demanded to be kissed.

The pit of Shi Yu’s stomach was burning hot, his fragile rationality collapsed again as he excitedly responded back. It wasn’t until he sensed that the smell of blood was getting thicker did he regain his control. He resolutely withdrew from the passionate entanglement.

【Ding!! Mission progress bar has increased. Current completion rate: 2.5%!!! 】

“Open your mouth and let me see, where are you hurt?”

Shi Yu was tall so he was half-kneeling before Gou Liang who was sitting on top of the short coffee table. He cupped Gou Liang’s face and nervously looked at his lips which carried a trace of blood.

Gou Liang’s stomach was fluttering fiercely. He was still immersed in what had just happened and his large cat eyes were covered in a layer of mist. His eyes revealed a state of enthrallment and fragility. Shi Yu’s heart tightened at this sight and his voice became even softer. He stroked Gou Liang’s burning face with his fingertips, anxiously asking him: “Does it hurt? Let me see.”

Gou Liang finally reacted. He opened his mouth but before he said anything, he hissed in pain.

“Hurts so much… you bit my tongue!”

Gou Liang finally felt the pain. He covered his mouth and exclaimed accusingly at Shi Yu.

The pain made tears well up in his eyes, making him appear extremely pitiful. Shi Yu’s heart was gripped with worry, not caring about anything else he said: “Sorry, it’s all my fault!”

He then leaned in and had Gou Liang uncover his mouth so he could take a look at the injury.

The wound wasn’t big but it was located on the tongue which was made up of extremely sensitive nerves. Even if it was just a little cut, it would still hurt a lot. Shi Yu who had read many medical books intensively finally calmed down after a moment. He urged Gou Liang: “Press your tongue against your cheek.”

He stood up while saying this. Gou Liang stupidly grabbed onto his arm to stop him: “Where are you going?”

Shi Yu gently kissed his forehead to appease him. His eyes revealed distress for Gou Liang as he said: “I’m going to get something to treat the cut.”

Not long after, Shi Yu came back with some ice. He told Gou Liang to keep it in his mouth and hurriedly went to the kitchen to pour a cup of salt water. When Shi Yu came out of the kitchen, he headed to the balcony and snapped off a piece of aloe vera leaf.

Gou Liang’s eyes followed Shi Yu. Even as the System announced ecstatically 【Congratulations Master for achieving 2.5% of the mission progress. A total of 1500 will be given!  】【The target’s current favorability value: +80. 】Gou Liang did not respond at all.

After gathering all he needed, Shi Yu crouched down in front of Gou Liang. When Shi Yu saw Gou Liang’s foolishly blank expression, his nervousness subsided a little and he revealed a smile.

When Gou Liang’s tongue finally stopped bleeding, Shi Yu had him gurgle his mouth with salt water before applying the aloe vera onto his tongue.

“Thankfully it’s nothing too serious, but it might hurt for another two days before it heals completely.”

As Shi Yu said this, his brows furrowed together again.

Gou Liang pushed away Shi Yu’s hand. He cupped Shi Yu’s face and lowered his head towards it. He said: “Let me kiss you again.”

Shi Yu: “Your cut…”

Gou Liang was not taking no for an answer, he lowered his head and kissed him. He slipped in his tongue and fumbled around clumsily for a moment before he urged Shi Yu to respond in dissatisfaction. Shi Yu’s self-control was extremely weak, he couldn’t help but respond back, tentatively licking the tip of Gou Liang’s tongue.

Gou Liang who once again enjoyed the enthralling flavor of strawberry broke off the kiss in satisfaction. He praised Shi Yu sincerely: “Classmate Shi Yu, you really do live up to your name, the most delicious thing that I’ve ever eaten is you!”

【Gou Liang: So this is the taste of soul force! I couldn’t taste it at all when I was a soul!! Ao, ao, ao!】

【The System was buried in pink bubbles, but this time it couldn’t climb out at all: Master… what just happened? What are you talking about, ah?】

【Gou Liang couldn’t restrain his excitement: I’m talking about soul force! The only food source for a soul, ah! Shi Yu’s soul force is restrained by the fragment and can’t be circulated. But unexpectedly, it could be eaten! Ao, it tastes so good!  [Clasping face][Eyes filled with hearts]】

【System: …yeah.】

System: The mission seems to be progressing in a crooked direction, this is really such a tragic story. However—with mission progress in hand, the world is but mine! (☆▽☆)y

Shi Yu was stunned for a moment. Afterward he couldn’t help but laugh. He bumped against Gou Liang’s lips that were still moist and said: “From now on it’s all yours.”

Gou Liang smiled until his eyes curved.