EVERYTHING started 17 years ago.

  Shen Yi Mu was in his last year at T University. He was swamped with work. Not only did he need to finish his thesis, the game that he was developing was also taking a lot of his time.

  He was so busy, he barely even slept. There were dark circles under his eyes, he was getting thinner and thinner by the day because he wasn’t eating properly, he even felt like he was losing hair. In short, he looked like a walking zombie.

  Because of that, his mood was not in the best state. He felt constantly felt annoyed and one little thing could easily off-set him. As if he was some sort of ticking time bomb.

  He knew it was his fault for not managing his time well. His problem could easily be solved if he just gave up with his game and just concentrate on his thesis. But how could he do that? He was already on the last phase. Just a bit more and he could finally finish it.

  It only started as a simple project. But before he knew it, it had already become a huge part of his university life. All of his free time was mostly spent making the codes for the game. For almost four years, it’s the sole focus of his attention. Like some kind of obsession.

  What could he do? It’s either that or immersed himself in his own sexual identity problem. That would just be too depressing. Not to mention, he knew that once he jumped to that rabbit hole, he would go back to his old habit again. To develop relationship with girls who he didn’t love nor even felt attracted to.

  When he graduated high school, he promised himself that he wouldn’t do that again. After dating more than a dozen girls, he should have already understood and accepted that no girl could change his inherent sexuality. He’s gay and that’s that.

  Although he understood that, it’s still hard to accept it. Maybe because he was too much of a coward to face it.

  He was afraid of how people would view him. Being gay was not exactly something to be celebrated in this country. It was the extreme opposite instead. Society frowned upon it. Some even thought of it as some kind of disease. Mainly those belonging to the older generation.

  His father no doubt belonged to that. The other would definitely disown him the moment his secret was revealed. He didn’t care for the money of Shen family. It was fine even if he didn’t get a share. He was confident enough in his ability to know that he could support himself just fine even without his family’s money. He’s worried more about his mother.

  He knew that his gentle mother would definitely accept him unconditionally. But she would be caught between him and his father. Which would ultimately just sadden her. And that’s what he didn’t want to happen.

  Shen Yi Mu just sighed and continued to walk towards the faculty building of his department. One of his programming professors told him that he needed to talk to him about his thesis.

  He was nearing his destination when someone bumped him from behind. If he didn’t quickly regain his balance, he probably would have already fallen face-first on the ground. He looked back and saw that the one who bumped him was a stocky male student.

  "Watch it, four-eyes!" the other said angrily as if it was his fault that he bumped into him.

  A vein on his forehead almost popped because of that. When he didn’t speak, the other just snorted, as if he already expected that he wouldn’t retaliate. But contrary to that, Shen Yi Mu moved his leg when the other was about to pass by him. Causing the male student to trip. To make sure that the other would really fall, he pushed him from behind.

  And just as he planned, the male student fell face-first on the ground.

  If Shen Yi Mu was in his normal state, he probably would just ignore this buffoon. But he wasn’t. He hadn’t had breakfast yet. He was irritable and in a very bad mood. How could he not retaliate when someone was testing his patience like this.

  The other angrily stood up and glared at him. "Are you crazy?!"

  Shen Yi Mu didn’t answer. He noticed that they were already attracting attention. After all, it was almost lunch time and most classes were already over. So, there were already a lot of students walking around the campus.

  He looked at the guy in front of him. This one was definitely the type to not stop unless he took revenge. But could Shen Yi Mu allow him to do that? Of course not. So, he said;

  "Do you want to fight? Then follow me."

  He didn’t wait for the reply of the other and just walked to another direction. Soon enough, he heard someone following him, muttering things like how he’s a crazy bastard.

  He led the other towards an area considered as one of the university’s ’blind spot’. Because there were rarely any people passing by there. Most of all, there were no CCTVs.

  It was behind the old library building. It was covered by trees and tall grass, looking like some kind of wilderness.

  Shen Yi Mu put down his bag and faced the male student. "Let’s start."

  Then he dashed forward. Five minutes later, the male student ran away limping from there. His body aching all over.

  Shen Yi Mu snorted seeing that. Then he winced because of the cut on his lips. He wasn’t worried that the other might report him. After all, he didn’t know his name. Besides, he made sure that his every hit wouldn’t leave any bruises.

  Although that guy managed to land a few hits on him, he still felt quite refreshed after venting his anger. He picked up his bag and suddenly felt a bit dizzy. It’s probably because he hadn’t eaten anything since last night.

  "Are you alright?" said by a crystal-clear male voice from behind him. He sounded hesitant, as if he wasn’t sure if he should ask him.

  He turned around and saw a short boy with thick glasses almost covering the upper half of his face. Shen Yi Mu wondered how long had this little guy been here.

  "I’m fine," he said simply before planning to walk away.

  But as he did so, he had a sudden attack of dizziness again. Before he knew it, his whole body was already tilting to the side. When he thought that he was going to fall, a thin pair of arms supported him out of nowhere.

  He raised his head and saw the little guy supporting him with all his might. Making his face all red. He thought it was quite amusing. Because of the other’s action of catching him, his thick glasses fell to the ground.

  Shen Yi Mu stared at the other’s fully revealed face. Particularly at those pair of apricot shaped eyes.

  "How pretty……"

  That’s what he last said before completely passing out.

  =====

  "And that’s how me and your Uncle Yue met," Shen Yi Mu said to his nephew.