I Shared a Bed with My Archenemy

Cold-faced flirtatious bottom x straight, loyal puppy-like top

The top turns the bottom gay; the top dotes on the bottom; both are sexually inexperienced

--

Lin Yuran had never imagined that he would sleep with a man in his life, much less that the man would be his nemesis, Jiang Qi.

They had disliked each other since the moment they started school. The kind of people who would take a detour to avoid meeting.

It started when Lin Yuran's crush confessed to Jiang Qi and got rejected. After that, a rumor spread around school that Jiang Qi, the campus heartthrob at A University, was gay.

Everyone said Lin Yuran had leaked the juicy news to get revenge. The rumor spread like wildfire, with all sorts of convincing details.

Jiang Qi didn't deny it. He admitted it openly, went to class as usual, and ignored the stares.

He had a naturally cold air about him and always seemed to keep everyone at arm's length.

Lin Yuran's friends couldn't help sticking up for him. "The world's really gone to hell. Gays who make people sick can do whatever they want now."

"None of your damn business," Lin Yuran said without looking up.

Even if Jiang Qi was his nemesis, Lin Yuran didn't like people badmouthing others behind their backs.

"They say people in their circle have tops and bottoms. Which do you think he is, the top or the bottom?"

This time, Lin Yuran kicked his friend's chair hard. "None of my damn business."

--

On Lin Yuran's birthday, people made him drink a lot. Jiang Qi didn't touch a drop, sitting in the corner with a cold expression the whole time.

By the time everyone had left, Lin Yuran was sprawled over the table, completely out of it.

He woke up thirsty in the middle of the night and rolled over, the back of his hand brushing warm skin.

Jiang Qi was sleeping beside him.

Under the blanket, they were both naked.

Lin Yuran sat bolt upright. Looking down, he saw several red marks on his chest and a few love bites on his collarbone.

Jiang Qi woke up, his voice hoarse. "Want more?"

Lin Yuran's voice trembled. "I... you... we...?"

Jiang Qi still had the same perpetually expressionless face. "You clung to me last night and wouldn't let me leave."

Lin Yuran thought about it. He could definitely have done that. The last time he got drunk, he'd hugged a lamppost and called it Mom.

"And then?"

Jiang Qi propped himself up. The blanket slipped to his waist, revealing marks all over his collarbones and chest. "You complained I wasn't putting in enough effort, that I wasn't enthusiastic enough."

Lin Yuran's mind exploded. He went numb.

He should apologize. He should leave right away.

But he didn't move.

Because Jiang Qi was leaning against the headboard, looking at him just like that, eyes red and lips swollen...

--

It became a regular thing after that. Lin Yuran wasn't sure how it had started.

Maybe because after that night, he kept thinking about it: in class, while eating, even when playing games. He couldn't focus.

All he could think about was Jiang Qi in bed. That ice-cold face was actually pretty seductive.

One night, he messaged Jiang Qi. He typed and erased, erased and typed, and finally sent just one line: "You there?"

Ten minutes later, the reply was one word: "Come."

He told himself it was just to take care of a physical need, that it had nothing to do with who the other person was. He even told himself this didn't mean he wasn't straight.

Jiang Qi didn't speak while they did it, just let out a muffled groan now and then. When he couldn't take it anymore, he would grab Lin Yuran's arm.

Lin Yuran loved that moment most, when all the coldness on Jiang Qi's face would crumble, his eyes would turn red, and he would bury his damp face against Lin Yuran's chest.

But afterward, Jiang Qi would go back to being his usual self, as if nothing had happened.

When Lin Yuran left, Jiang Qi wouldn't even look at him.

They met twice a week, sometimes three times. They didn't talk about feelings or ask personal questions.

Once, after they finished, neither of them hurried to move. Jiang Qi leaned against the headboard, and Lin Yuran suddenly asked, "Don't you feel like you're getting the short end of the stick, doing this with me?"

Jiang Qi sneered. "Get it straight, I'm the one getting to sleep with you for free. Though you really should work on your technique."

--

This went on for several months.

Lin Yuran began noticing some strange things.

Like how, after playing basketball, Jiang Qi was the first person he wanted to see, not his group of buddies.

Like how he started memorizing Jiang Qi's class schedule, coaxing him into going at it more when he had fewer classes.

Like how, once, when he ran into Jiang Qi eating alone in the cafeteria, he instinctively took his tray and sat across from him.

Jiang Qi didn't tell him to leave. He just asked, "Are you starting to have feelings for me?"

Lin Yuran's heart skipped a beat, and his mouth answered before his brain could catch up. "No."

But the moment the words left his mouth, he regretted them.

Because Jiang Qi's expression was unlike anything he'd ever seen before.

There was mockery, loneliness, and resignation.

Jiang Qi's lips curled slightly. "Lin Yuran, if you're straight, then be straight. Don't lead me on."

"What if I say I do?" Lin Yuran's palm, wrapped around his chopsticks, was slick with sweat.

He took a deep breath. "Will you give me a chance?"

Theme: The right person is right beside you