"You..."
Shen Jingwei pressed a hand to his temple, questioning whether he was experiencing a bizarre dream or if Feng Jietang's week of labor in the rice fields had caused him to develop a high fever.
"Haven't we established that you are not gay...?"
"I am not," Feng Jietang confirmed.
"..."
Shen Jingwei stared at him as if he were insane.
"But I like you!" Feng Jietang reconfirmed his feelings for Shen Jingwei, as if it would lessen Shen Jingwei's confusion considerably.
"You are not gay," Shen Jingwei spoke with a childlike simplicity, enunciating each word as if addressing a five-year-old. "But you understand that I am a man, just like you."
"I do."
"..."
"Look... Arghhh..."
Feng Jietang raked into his hair.
"I have thought about this endlessly. I don't know why I'm like this, but I'm certain of one thing: I like you. I really like you. I want to be with you."
"Jietang, you don't understand..."