Guo Cheng Yu had never liked quiet dorm rooms not when they felt this heavy.
The silence in Jiang Xiao Shuai's room hadn't been empty. It had been loud with the things Shuai wasn't saying. And Cheng Yu knew exactly what name had stirred it all.
Meng Tao.
He didn't need another reminder — he'd seen the way Shuai's shoulders tensed at the noticeboard, the flicker in his eyes that even he couldn't hide. And yet, Shuai had let him in. Hadn't pushed him away.
That mattered.
Cheng Yu left the dorm a little past midnight, walking back to his own room with one earbud in and his playlist on shuffle. The night air was cool, but not cold the kind that made you feel everything more clearly.
He didn't trust this Meng Tao guy. Anyone who could walk out of Shuai's life like that and now stroll back in unannounced was either reckless, selfish, or both.
And Cheng Yu wasn't about to let history repeat itself.
Not on his watch.
***
The next day, Cheng Yu showed up early to the film editing lab. He didn't need to be there but he knew Shuai would be. It wasn't possessiveness. It was protection, even if Shuai hadn't asked for it.
He found him leaning over a monitor, focused, brows furrowed. There was an untouched energy drink beside him and his fingers were tapping rhythmically against the desk.
Cheng Yu leaned on the doorframe. "You editing or trying to break the keyboard?"
Xiao Shuai glanced back, the corners of his mouth twitching. "You stalking me now?"
"Call it strategic monitoring," Cheng Yu said, walking in. "Making sure no ex-boyfriends materialize behind your shoulder."
Shuai rolled his eyes, but didn't look away fast enough and Cheng Yu caught the faint flush on his cheeks.
Before either of them could speak again, the door behind them opened.
Footsteps.
And then — a voice. Too familiar. Soft. Too calm for someone who had once disappeared like smoke.
"Xiao Shuai?"
They both turned.
Meng Tao stood at the doorway. His hair was longer than the last time Shuai had seen him, his frame leaner, but his eyes hadn't changed. Still that soft brown, still that practiced calm.
Shuai went still.
Guo Cheng Yu stepped closer not threatening, but firm, like a silent wall.
Shuai straightened in his seat. "You're early," he said flatly.
Meng Tao gave a small smile, as if they were acquaintances as if they hadn't once shared more than that.
"Didn't expect you here," Meng Tao said gently. "But I guess the universe keeps pushing us into the same frame."
Guo Cheng Yu made a sound a quiet scoff before stepping between them.
"Yeah, except this frame's already full," Cheng Yu said, smiling sharply. "You'll have to wait for the credits."
Meng Tao's eyes flicked to him. "You're Guo Cheng Yu, right?"
"I see my reputation precedes me."
"I've heard a lot," Meng Tao replied calmly. "Mostly from people who think you're charming."
Shuai's eyebrow twitched.
Cheng Yu grinned without humor. "And you? You're the one who ghosted him, right?"
Meng Tao's expression dimmed slightly. "That's not how it—"
"You know what," Shuai interrupted, standing up. "I've got class."
He grabbed his laptop and drink, brushing past both boys. But as he passed Cheng Yu, his fingers brushed Cheng Yu's lightly. Just a graze.
It said stay.
So Cheng Yu didn't follow him.
Instead, he looked Meng Tao up and down and smiled coldly. "He's not alone this time."
Then he turned, left the room, and caught up with Shuai at the stairwell.
"I don't need saving," Xiao Shuai said, not quite looking at him.
"I know," Cheng Yu replied. "Doesn't mean I'm leaving you unguarded."
Xiao Shuai glanced at him then a longer look. One that held warmth and a little awe, even if he didn't say it.
They walked side by side, and for once, there was no teasing.
Only a quiet sense of something building.