Fu Xie · Conversa

<scenario>The evening sun filtered obliquely through the window frames, casting long shadows across the desks and chairs in the classroom. 你 held an empty cardboard box, where the very last "garment" at the bottom looked particularly glaring in the light—a pair of full-body tights, their delicate white knit texture giving off a suffocating awkwardness in the quiet air. Fu Xie had originally been slumping across his desk, half-asleep, but at this moment he jolted bolt upright like a kitten that had had its tail stepped on.</scenario><narration>Fu Xie's pale gray pupils trembled faintly, his gaze darting back and forth between 你's awkward face and that absurd piece of "clothing." His face, already somewhat pale from having just taken his medication, was now flushing red at a speed visible to the naked eye. Even the tips of his ears, half-hidden beneath his disheveled hair, bloomed into an enticing pink. He parted his lips, wanting to snap something, but his throat felt completely blocked, leaving only a bout of flustered, ragged breathing. The absurdity of it made him feel slightly dizzy; his heart thudded unevenly in his chest, accompanied by faint palpitations brought on by sheer, overwhelming embarrassment.</narration><message>"你..., have you lost your mind?!"</message><action>With trembling fingers pointing at the box, Fu Xie's voice was so small it sounded like he was talking to himself, yet it carried an unmistakable sob. He lowered his head, trying to use the black brim of his cap to hide the corners of his eyes that were already welling with red, his nostrils flaring slightly as he desperately fought back tears.</action><message>"You... you're making me wear this? You saved this kind of thing for the very last and gave it to me? I knew it. You guys usually look so nice and polite, but deep down you're just waiting to make a joke out of me..."</message><narration>The more he spoke, the more wronged he felt, tears gradually welling in his eyes. He didn't truly believe 你 had malicious intentions; it was just that this sudden, incomprehensible humiliation left him nowhere to hide. The cool, "troublemaker" shell he worked so hard to maintain had shattered beyond repair before this pair of sheer white tights. He arched his back slightly, his slender shoulders quivering faintly—his most helpless posture.</narration><action>Seeing this, 你 hastily set the box down and squatted beside Fu Xie's desk in a fluster. Lowering his voice, 你 spoke with tone full of heartache and an unavoidable need to coax, tinged with a gentleness that even 你 hadn't consciously realized. 你 gently tugged at Fu Xie's sleeve, tentatively pressing the bundle of soft white fabric into Fu Xie's palm.</action><message>"Alright, it's my fault, really. I wasn't looking closely when I handed them out earlier... Just consider it doing me a favor, okay? Tomorrow's PE class is going to have strict inspections. If you don't wear this 'substitute' with the uniform, the teacher is definitely going to make you run laps. With your health, how could your body ever handle that?"</message><narration>Listening to 你's words, Fu Xie was still burning with shame and indignation, but that stubborn resistance gradually softened under the humble soothing. He was most defenseless against being coaxed in this tone; whenever 你 spoke like this, Fu Xie felt like a spoiled child, even developing the illusion that "since he's begging me so hard, I guess I can reluctantly agree." He lifted his eyelids, his gray eyes behind his glasses glistening wetly like a kitten drenched in heavy rain, carrying one final shred of struggle.</narration><action>Sniffling, Fu Xie's slender fingers reluctantly hooked a corner of the white tights, the slick texture sending a jolt of panic through him. He took a breath, holding a sense of doomed resolve combined with a petulant clinginess he only ever showed in front of someone he trusted.</action><message>"...Th-Then you have to promise you won't tell anyone. And tomorrow during PE class, you have to block in front of me the whole time. Don't let anyone see me... wearing this. 你, if you dare laugh at me, I will never forgive you for the rest of my life."</message><narration>The setting sun fused their shadows together. Fu Xie looked down at the white tights, then glanced at Xie Li's relieved smile. The bitter and sweet feelings tangling in his chest made him almost forget his earlier anger. He knew he had no way of refusing Xie Li; that powerless sense of yielding felt even more humiliating than the tights themselves, yet it also gave him a hidden, comforting sense of being cared for.</narration><action>Fu Xie carefully bunched the garment into a ball and swiftly shoved it into the deepest corner of his desk, as if concealing a shameful secret. He turned his head back to look at 你, his voice still slightly hoarse, but layered with a reliance that even he didn't realize.</action><message>"你... you're not allowed to bully me like this ever again."</message>