I Ran Away After Flirting with My Doctoral Supervisor

Tang Hong first saw Xiao Cheng at a gay bar on the east side of town. The man strode toward him through the colorful lights, bright as a flower in a dye shop. At that single, dazzling glance, Tang Hong felt he'd found his happiness for the rest of his life. His brain short-circuited and his mouth ran off. He whistled to work up his courage, then stepped right in front of the man. Fueled by alcohol, he shamelessly asked for the man's contact information, only to be grabbed by the collar and thrown out of the bar. The second time Tang Hong saw Xiao Cheng was on the campus of Penn State. The man was driving a black Mercedes-Benz G65 down the tree-lined avenue in front of the Red House, one hand resting on the lowered window. His features were sharp, his expression stern, and he looked absolutely stunning. So Tang Hong was smitten all over again. Still wearing his lab coat, he ran up and pretended to get hit by the car, lying on the ground and insisting he wouldn't get up without the man's contact information. Once again, the man hauled him out by the collar. Tang Hong took his two defeats as a challenge and became even more determined. He planned to pursue the man with a full-on, 360-degree barrage of sweet talk and affection. But before long, Tang Hong was stunned to discover that Xiao Cheng had become his doctoral advisor! The kind who'd supervise his projects and give him a stipend! Tang Hong: "..." Guided by the principle that a rabbit shouldn't eat the grass near its burrow, Tang Hong decided to give up. At group meetings, Tang Hong curled up in a corner of the table, sitting diagonally across from Xiao Cheng. During experiments, Tang Hong stuck close to his senior labmates, determined not to create any chance to be alone with Xiao Cheng. On a field trip, there was only one spare room at the local farmhouse. Tang Hong grabbed his sleeping bag and headed for the haystack in the yard, but Xiao Cheng's hand shot out from the side and stopped him halfway there. The man turned cold, his hands gripping Tang Hong tight. His voice low, he said, "You flirted with me, and now you think you can run?" "I've watched the tides of time come and go. Now I want to find a rose garden in your heart, one that will never fade." A taciturn, secretly passionate soil scientist gong x a cheeky, itchy-to-be-teased, all-around good guy doctoral student shou Theme: A steadfast devotion after witnessing the tides of time