The Escort

Xue Tanqi: “… Mingwei won’t let me tell you, but I don’t think I should keep this from you.
You are older than Mingwei, you can enlighten him more.
This child sometimes overthinks and is stubborn.
He may not be willing to listen to other people’s words.
However, he’s a student with a biology major.
If he doesn’t pursue further studies or does research, he will barely get satisfactory achievements.
Besides, I can see that Mingwei really likes scientific research.
I don’t know what he’s struggling with.
It’s really a pity to work directly after graduation.
You try to persuade him.” 

The smile on Min Yu’s face had long since disappeared, and he solemnly said, “I will properly talk to him.”

Professor Xue sighed and continued, “There’s also that matter about the photos and Zhao Sheng.
Mingwei said he would solve it on his own and didn’t want anyone to get involved.
After thinking about it, I still don’t feel relieved.
Although Mingwei is not unreliable, this matter is still relatively sensitive, so you should pay attention and help him.
Young people nowadays, with their high self-esteem and high ambitions, are always prone to digging into the tip of a bull's horn…”

“I understand,” Min Yu said and sincerely thanked him.
“Thank you, Mingwei has caused you a lot of trouble.
I will take Mingwei to visit you sometime.”

Professor Xue laughed and said, “You two are welcome at any time.” 

Min Yu hesitated for a moment.
Enduring his shame, he said, “Can you send me those two photos?”

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.

Xue Tanqi smiled.
“Sure, it’s a coincidence, I was about to delete it.
”

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However, as Xue Tanqi said to Min Yu, Shao Mingwei is indeed a person that overthinks.
He’s used to taking care of others and likes to take the blame.
Although the matter about the photos was forcibly settled, he inevitably puts it in his heart.
He felt that he was carried away and was too indulgent in public, and it almost harmed Min Yu, which made him unable not to blame himself.

In addition, Shao Mingwei received news about an interview from the company to which he had previously submitted his application letter and resume.
He had originally decided to give up postgraduate studies, but in just one day, Professor Xue had persuaded him twice, and he was swayed again.
This is his business.
How could others think that they had thought it more than him? Of course, how could he not see that giving up further studies is practically like a death sentence for his future development? But Shao Mingwei has a youthful will after all, and harmless competition between men is unavoidable.
He doesn’t want to be a useless student when his lover is already so successful, and a debt-ridden student at that.
He knows this is childish and unnecessary, but was unable to control himself.

It can be said that Professor Xue knows Shao Mingwei very well.
Not only did he see through Shao Mingwei’s complex thoughts behind his open-minded and gentle appearance, but also pierced his high self-esteem that people could rarely see.
He is usually a helpful and warm-hearted senior, a student who has always been good at holding a butcher's knife, a considerate boyfriend, and an honest senior, but he intentionally or unintentionally avoided the part where he needed help and was unwilling to bow down his head.
He never told anyone about his struggles with postgraduate studies.
One second he was considering it, the next second he was hesitant and impatient, but neither did he tell Min Yu.
If it were other things, he might not be so resistant to talk about it, but he closed his mouth tightly, not uttering a word.

Perhaps the events that happened one after another in one day were too sudden, or perhaps the anxiety and depression for some time have reached the critical point that they started to consume him.
At night, Shao Mingwei rarely dreamed of his deceased parents.
He didn’t know what the specific situation was.
He just felt that he was very anxious.
If he didn’t move fast, he wouldn’t be able to catch up with something, but in the dream, the faster he ran forward, the slower he moved, and he couldn’t help but stretch his hand and grab, but in the end, there was nothing. 

Then he abruptly opened his eyes.
Shao Mingwei was stunned for a moment, feeling a little clammy and cold on his face.
He reached out and touched his face.
His hand felt something sticky – his nose was bleeding.

Shao Mingwei sat up from the bed, looked to the side, and saw that Min Yu was still asleep, then opened the thin quilt and got up gently, took the blood-stained pillow case, and went to the big bathroom outside to rinse.

Min Yu woke up as soon as Shao Mingwei left.

“What’s the matter? Nosebleed?” Min Yu appeared at the door of the bathroom in his pajamas, with some residual drowsiness in his eyes.
His hair was not as neatly combed as during the day.
It was so fluffy and soft that one would want to touch it. 

Shao Mingwei was bending down and pouring water on his nose and mouth.
Seeing him wake up, he comforted him, “Why did you wake up? It’s just a nosebleed, it’s maybe because of excessive internal heat recently, you quickly go back to sleep, ba.
I’ll go back to sleep when I’m done.”

Min Yu nodded, turned around, and went out of the bathroom.

Shao Mingwei rolled two tissue balls to block his nose, soaked the pillowcase in the basin, and then went back to the bedroom.
He found that there was no one inside, so he went out and looked around and found Min Yu in the kitchen with only a small light turned on.

Min Yu couldn’t help laughing at the sight of his nose stuffed with tissue balls. 

Shao Mingwei also laughed.
“What are you doing here?”

Min Yu gently pressed the ice pack wrapped in a towel on Shao Mingwei’s forehead, and said softly, “Come, you move forward a little so that the bleeding will stop faster.”

Min Yu pressed the ice pack for him and Shao Mingwei encircled his arm in his waist, and asked in a low voice, “What time is it?”

Min Yu blinked and said in a low voice, “I saw it earlier.
It’s almost three o’clock.” 

Shao Mingwei didn’t speak, lowered his head towards Min Yu, and kissed him in an awkward position.

The two leaned sideways against the lowest cupboard in the kitchen and kissed quietly and passionately.
The microwave behind Min Yu rang lightly.
He stroked the back of Shao Mingwei’s neck a few times to make him let go.
When he stepped back and saw the tissue in Shao Mingwei’s nose, he laughed again.
“You come and hold the ice pack.”

Shao Mingwei took the cold towel in Min Yu’s hand, watched him take out the milk from the microwave and pour it into the two glasses, then handed him one glass of milk.

Shao Mingwei didn’t feel his nose bleeding anymore, so he put down the ice pack and stood in the kitchen with Min Yu looking through the window of the quiet night outside where cars occasionally passed by.
Talking to each other about random stuff and drinking hot milk while chatting. 

After drinking, Shao Mingwei washed the two glasses and put them back, tidied up the towel and ice pack, pulled the tissue balls out of his nose, and threw them into the trash can, then said to Min Yu who was waiting, “Let’s go back.”

Min Yu was one step ahead of him, took his hand and pulled him to the sofa to sit down, and looked at Shao Mingwei with a pair of calm and gentle eyes.
“Can we talk?”

Shao Mingwei froze.
“What are we going to talk about?”