Futile Devices Scans

Zhou Xin He, who had gone home for the weekend, was pacing back and forth alone in her room. Her delicate brows were drawn tightly together, and she looked nervous and uneasy. Every few steps, she turned to stare at the book on her desk before hurriedly looking away again. She scolded herself, No, Zhou Xin He! What are you even thinking? How can you secretly look at someone else’s things?

What could possibly have Zhou Xin He this troubled? It had begun on Friday. At the club building, she had packed several newly purchased cookbooks from the table directly into her schoolbag and gone home. Only when she arrived did she discover that one of Gong Zhu’s BL manga had gotten mixed in with them. Two shirtless men were embracing on the cover. Blushing, Zhou Xin He put it aside and covered it with something.

When it came to things like this, Zhou Xin He had almost no experience at all. Whenever Gong Zhu and the others started talking so openly, her head would buzz and she barely absorbed anything they said. Aside from Hao Yu, the others generally avoided discussing anything risqué with her. As for Ke Bu and Lord Zhi Li, neither of them had the sort of personality that would act lovey-dovey in front of everyone. The way they interacted was simple, especially around other people. Even when Zhou Xin He accidentally encountered the two of them alone, she either shut her eyes or quickly avoided looking. All of that was simply to say that this was Zhou Xin He’s first real exposure to BL.

The existence of that book kept bothering her. Even while reading her cookbooks, her attention wandered toward it. She slept badly that night, then fell into the same struggle the next day. At last she decided that if she was curious, she would simply look once.

Just once.

Her fingers gently opened the book. She skipped the synopsis and contents page and went directly to the story.

The very first page showed two naked men on a bed.

Zhou Xin He took a direct hit before she had even begun.

She snatched her hand back, her mind and emotions falling into complete chaos.

Is this how men do it with each other? Did I skip something? Why does it start immediately with… Is this actually the second volume of a set?

She examined the book again, but there was nothing on the cover indicating that.

Maybe I opened the wrong page.

Zhou Xin He turned back to it.

One man had his legs spread and was panting while the other pressed over him. Their intimate parts had been drawn very clearly.

Zhou Xin He flung the book away.

Her face turned so red it looked as though blood could be squeezed from it.

She clutched her head.

I’m a bad girl. Why did I look at that? Is that really the kind of expression boys make when they do it? Doesn’t it hurt? Is that what men look like down there? Men make those kinds of sounds too…?

Countless questions went around and around inside her head.

I can’t look anymore. I’ll give it back to Gong Zhu as soon as I return to school tomorrow.

Zhou Xin He glanced once more at the book lying on the floor, then kicked it beneath the bed and went out to buy groceries.

But the image from that page refused to leave her mind.

She felt ashamed and wanted the ground to swallow her.

After buying groceries and returning home, she went into the kitchen, washed the vegetables, and picked up a kitchen knife.

Mother Zhou saw her distracted expression and snatched the knife away. “What are you thinking about when you’re this absentminded?”

“I’m not! I’m not thinking about anything! I’m not thinking about it at all!” Zhou Xin He reacted far too strongly.

“Mom will cook today. Go back to your room and rest for a while.”

“Okay.”

Zhou Xin He returned to her room, collapsed onto the bed, and closed her eyes.

The characters from the manga automatically transformed into Ke Bu and Zhi Li in her imagination.

She suddenly covered her face and rolled back and forth across the bed. “What am I thinking?! Am I sick? It’s all that book’s fault. I’m never looking at it again! Right, maybe it was a printing error or a layout mistake. Yes. That must be it.”

Zhou Xin He bent down, pulled the book back out from beneath the bed, summoned her courage, and turned to the second page.

It was still the same.

She comforted herself by insisting that this page must also be a printing mistake, then continued turning pages.

It turned out the two characters had had a one-night stand.

So that’s why it started with… But what’s he going to do now? He got drunk and did something like that with a strange man! What is he going to do?!

Zhou Xin He turned one page after another.

She couldn’t stop.

That night, she barely slept.

On Sunday morning, Zhou Xin He packed her things in a daze.

“You’re going back to school this early? You look awful. What happened?”

“Nothing, Mom. Nothing happened to me.”

When she returned to school and reached the club building, everyone else was already there.

Gong Zhu was searching everywhere. “That’s strange. Where’s my book? How did it disappear? Did any of you see it?”

“No. That’s what you get for leaving your things lying around.”

Zhou Xin He jumped and froze in place. “U-Um…”

When she spoke, Ke Bu turned around and nearly jumped too. “Xin He, what happened to you? Are you sick?”

“I’m not sick. I just didn’t sleep well last night. Um, Gong Zhu, your book was underneath my books, and I accidentally took it home with me. I’m sorry.”

“Why apologize over something this small? You brought it back, right? I just bought it. I was planning to read it today.”

Zhou Xin He nodded and pulled the book from her schoolbag.

No one knew what Gong Zhu’s supposedly new book had endured over the past two days. It was now badly wrinkled. Not only the cover but the corners of nearly every page looked as though someone had repeatedly squeezed them with all their strength.

Su You Yan looked at the book. “You read it?”

“I-I only… I-I just…”

Zhou Xin He looked completely dazed.

Blood began running from her nose.

Chu Hao Yu hurriedly handed her some tissues.

Ke Bu snatched the book and flipped through it quickly. There was another explicit scene every few pages.

He threw the manga at Gong Zhu. “Look what you’ve done.”

“How can you blame me? It was an accident! I didn’t know she would…”

Gong Zhu held up the battered book. “Xin He, how many times did you read this for the book to end up like this?!”

Ying Xiu Jie waved a hand in front of Zhou Xin He’s face.

She didn’t react at all.

“What are we supposed to do if she completely breaks?”

Chu Hao Yu clutched his head. “If we lose the only girl among this bunch of grown men, Gong Zhu, you’re taking full responsibility.”

Apparently, he had simply removed Su You Yan from consideration.

Zhou Xin He, the weakest among them, was actually their most heavily protected member. Without her, the club building would probably turn into a garbage dump within two days. And that wasn’t even the only consequence.

Gong Zhu hurriedly searched the bookshelf and pulled out another BL manga. “Xin He, read this one to wash the last one out of your head. This one is pure romance.”

“You’re still trying?!”

“This is one possible solution! Showing her a manga about a man and a woman definitely won’t help right now!”

Zhou Xin He finally seemed to come back to herself. With tissue stuffed into one nostril, she waved both hands as though frightened. “I-I won’t read it. I won’t.”

She ran out while speaking.

One minute later, she ran back in, snatched the book from Gong Zhu’s hand, and ran away again.