BOTM: Chapter 2 - His Gravity
Late June. Silicon Valley, San Francisco. Stanford University.
Mingling with a group of university students to enter the campus, Chen Ye glanced at his watch. There were still forty minutes until Chen Yin’s lecture began – plenty of time to grab a meal at the cafeteria.
For someone who had just received his high school diploma, the university campus felt like an entirely unfamiliar world. Chen Ye wandered around for a while before finally locating the cafeteria, where he used a borrowed student ID card to purchase a burger. Thankfully, while reselling his gaming console on eBay, he had stumbled upon the business of renting university ID cards. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have known how to begin his plan to get close to Chen Yin.
Taking small bites of the barely edible burger, his mind circled back to the family secrets his mother had revealed to him that night.
It was hard to imagine that someone as aloof as Chen Yin had pursued a male classmate in the ninth grade, only to be reported as gay by the other party. The news spread throughout the school, and after Chen Zhe Xiong found out, Chen Yin was sent to the San Francisco State Mental Asylum, where he was confined for a year. He later escaped and went missing for a while. After being found, Chen Zhe Xiong sent him to Russia, where homosexuality was illegal, and again placed him in a closed mental asylum for treatment. It took several years before he was released.
No wonder Chen Yin had seemed emotionally detached at the funeral, showing no reaction even when faced with the old man’s body.
〝Homosexuality is innate; it can’t be cured. After a year in the mental asylum and all those years in Russia, imagine how repressed Chen Yin must have been? Now that he’s back in the U.S. and the old man is gone, he’s finally free. How could he possibly resist engaging in homosexuality?〞–When his mother had said those words to him that night, an eager sense of challenge had immediately stirred within him.
Ever since meeting Chen Yin that day, he had developed a desire to break him. Perhaps it was because Chen Yin seemed too perfect, too cold, too otherworldly – like the god-like final boss in the video games he played. Homosexuality seemed to be his only weakness. If exploiting that weakness could make that face show some expression – anger, or perhaps... shame and indignation – he would very much like to see it.
Of course, that was secondary. The inheritance was what truly mattered. A portion of it rightfully belonged to them. When they were on the verge of being left homeless, what did it matter to seduce a non-blood-related brother?
Was it morally corrupt? It didn’t matter. He had been a liar since childhood and had never possessed any morals to begin with. Stuffing the remaining burger into his mouth, Chen Ye licked the fried chicken crumbs off his fingers and headed toward the astronomy and science department building.
As he entered the largest lecture hall on the first floor and took a seat, someone suddenly tapped him on the shoulder. Turning his head, he saw a young man with the same black hair and dark eyes as his own, delicate single eyelids, and a lip piercing on his lower lip that glinted when he smiled. Paired with the dimples at the corners of his mouth, there was a feminine, alluring charm about him – the kind that gave off the vibe of a flamboyant gay man.
“Half, I guess. I’m a local Chinese American,” he replied.
“Can I sit next to you?” the person asked, pointing to the seat beside him. Chen Ye nodded.
“I’m Hans. You can call me Hans. And you?”
Chen Ye hesitated. He hadn’t chosen an English name for himself, so he gave the alias he used in the fraternity: “Lucian.”
"Lucian? Wow, what a powerful English name," the boy laughed. "You look very young. Are you a freshman?"
Chen Ye's ears grew slightly warm. This somewhat cringeworthy English name, as adults might perceive it, along with his appearance, clearly betrayed his age. He gave an indifferent "hmm," not wanting to engage further, and turned his gaze toward the podium.
Chen Yin hadn't arrived yet. Unconsciously, he slipped his hand into his pants pocket, feeling for the earring, and clenched it in his palm. The needle tip pricked his flesh, a sensation both itchy and painful.
"Hey," the boy beside him asked again, "are you also a fan of Professor Eon? Did you come here for him?"
The boy smiled. "That's Professor Chen. Eon is his English name. You're not from the astronomy department, are you?"
"What's wrong with being from another department? Isn't this a public lecture?" Chen Ye felt a bit guilty and tucked his campus ID card further into his denim jacket.
"I didn't mean it like that. I thought I'd met a fellow enthusiast. I'm a humanities student –I only took astronomy to attend Professor Eon's lectures."
Chen Ye glanced over and saw Hans propping his chin in his hands, gazing eagerly toward the podium. His heart sank. He had run into one of Chen Yin's admirers.
He almost stood up to change seats but remembered why he was there and forced himself to stay put. If he wanted to seduce Chen Yin, wasn't this person a heaven-sent stepping stone? With that thought, he leaned closer to the boy. "Yeah, me too. Could you send me his lecture schedule?"
"Sure, let's exchange contacts. Do you use WeChat?"
Just as he added Hans's account and received the schedule, a commotion erupted from the front rows. Chen Ye immediately looked up and saw a tall, slender figure bathed in spotlight, stepping from behind the curtain to the center of the stage. The lights in the classroom dimmed, leaving only a single beam on the stage.
The man looked entirely different from that night at the funeral. He wore an elegant silver vintage suit, his long hair not tied up but slicked back and flowing behind him. A delicate chain adorned the gold-rimmed glasses, lending him an air of refined elegance. Unlike his cold demeanor that night, the man wore a faint smile, making his uniquely colored eyes appear especially mesmerizing under the spotlight.
"Good evening, everyone. I'm Eon. It's an honor to be here at this world-renowned university, standing before you."
His tone, too, was unlike that night – warm and approachable.
"Professor Eon, we're honored to hear your lecture in person. Welcome to America!" Hans shouted beside him, followed by cheers and thunderous applause from many others.
Chen Ye nearly joined in the applause but caught himself, crossing his arms instead. He glanced around, noticing many people frantically taking photos, and couldn't help but curl his lip slightly.
Online discussions often claim that Chen Yin's popularity in the astronomical academia stems from his world-renowned invention. Moreover, since Chen Yin has no intention of serving any single nation and instead founded an independent astronomical science and technology research company, many astronomy students chase after him like fans pursuing a celebrity, hoping to join his team and become part of it.
However, witnessing Chen Yin's lecture firsthand now, he suspects that a significant portion of the audience might not be drawn by the invention itself, but rather by Chen Yin's face. Chen Yin seemed accustomed to such fervor, appearing completely relaxed.
"I am heartened by your enthusiastic passion for such an esoteric field. But tonight, I am not here to give you an astronomy lecture – knowledge about lunar soil and meteorites can be found in your textbooks. I am here to test and recruit those brave and wise souls who are passionate about gazing into the cosmos. This Lunar Tidal Evolution Dynamics Equation is my test."
After speaking, the man on stage raised his hand and wrote something on the electronic screen – a jumble of symbols and numbers he had never seen before.
"The first three who email me the correct answer within 24 hours after the lecture will qualify for an internship in my team. But remember, I will not accept anyone trying to fool me with AI."
Thunderous cheers erupted around him, and someone in the front row stood up excitedly, taking photos with their phone as if at a concert. Chen Ye frowned. Already shorter than these university students, he now couldn't see anything at all, so he simply climbed onto the table and sat down.
Perhaps it was his imagination, but he felt Chen Yin might have noticed him, his brow slightly furrowing. Thinking he might have misseen, Chen Yin on the podium narrowed his eyes.
But he wasn’t mistaken – it was indeed that little drama queen he had seen at the funeral. Hard to believe such a young-looking child was already in university... and would appear here as one of his students. What an incredible coincidence.
Seeming to realize he had been noticed, the boy tilted his head and smiled, raising his right hand: "Professor Eon, aside from answering the question, could we also get a firsthand look at your world-famous invention?"
Demonstrating the invention was part of the prepared agenda. Chen Yin withdrew his gaze, removed the earring from his left ear, and placed it inside the magnetic field generator under the glass cover on the table. Instantly, starlight-like radiance emanated from the tiny piece of Artificial Lunar Rock, forming a small magnetic field.
Chen Ye’s campus ID card floated up from his chest. Like everyone else, he simultaneously felt an invisible gravitational pull, his body involuntarily leaning forward as if the stars were infinitely converging toward the glowing moon on stage. He gripped the edge of the table, steadying his teetering body, and clearly heard the low, pleasant voice from the podium.
"The laws of physics state that the moon has no magnetic field, that cosmic radiation would kill all life, making it uninhabitable for any organic beings. What we aim to do is rewrite that history."
Amidst thunderous applause, the man on the podium lifted the glass cover, retrieved the earring, and the moment the magnetic field vanished, the campus ID card fell back down, striking his chest with a tremor.
Half an hour passed, and the lecture ended, but the enthusiastic students showed no intention of dispersing. They all crowded onto the stage, lining up to get Chen Yin's autograph, including that Hans who had been shouting loudly beside him earlier.
He sat on a table, sucking on a lollipop, waiting boredly for a while. Only when there were just a few people left at the end did he hop down, pull out a small notebook, and walk over to Chen Yin. Chen Yin was still looking down, signing the previous person's name. Chen Ye instinctively stood on tiptoe to measure his height.
...Truly Slavic genes – at least 190 centimeters tall. Even on tiptoe, his head only reached Chen Yin's earlobe. Seeing that Chen Yin had finished signing the previous person's name, he immediately handed over his small notebook.
"Professor Eon, could you write that last sentence you mentioned? 'The moon has no magnetic field, but you're going to rewrite that.' I really liked it."
Behind the glasses, the man's silver-white eyelashes fluttered slightly. His pen paused, and he lifted his eyelids, looking down at him with a scrutinizing gaze. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm studying here, a freshman." He tapped the campus card on his chest with his fingertip, putting on a deliberately sweet and coquettish voice. "Brother, even though I was kicked out of the Chen Family, I still have to go to school, you know."
The man stared at him for a second or two, then reached for the campus card on his chest. Chen Ye was startled and stepped back, grabbing his hand.
"Brother, actually, I was already your fan before I even met you. I'm so honored – I'm both your brother and your student."
"The two brothers don't look alike..."
A few students who hadn't left the classroom murmured softly. Chen Yin frowned and glanced at them. The students seemed to realize it was impolite to gossip about their family matters and quickly slipped away.
Seeing the man withdraw his hand and walk toward the door, Chen Ye immediately stuck close to him. Following him all the way to the parking lot, he spotted the Aston Martin in the corner as its headlights flashed. In a swift motion, he dashed past the man ahead and rushed toward it.
A gust of wind brushed past him, and Chen Yin couldn't help but stop in his tracks. He watched as the boy, who had followed him without leaving his side, pulled open the car door without permission, climbed into the back seat, curled up into a small ball with his legs hugged to his chest, buried the lower half of his face between his knees, and blinked at him with eyes that resembled those of a cave-dwelling creature in the darkness.
"Brother, can we go home together?"
Chen Yin studied the boy who had made himself at home in his car but didn't respond. This child was not related to him by blood. Although Chen Yan hadn't explicitly stated it that day, nor had she taken any measures to verify it, her attitude had been clear enough.
They weren't biological brothers, and they had only met once. Yet, this little guy's familiarity was almost eerie, as if he were here to pick him up from school and taking him home was the most natural thing in the world. He wasn't one for humor and had long lost touch with the emotional fluctuations of ordinary people, but at this moment, he felt a faint urge to laugh.
"Go home together?" he asked. "To whose home?"
"Your home, my home, our home," the boy replied timidly. "Brother, we're family, aren't we?"
"Clearly not." Not wanting to get entangled with this boundary-less child any longer, he pulled open the car door. "Get out."
'Asshole.' Chen Ye cursed inwardly, his teeth itching with irritation.
Chen Yin is two different people on and off the podium – what a refined professor? More like a cultured scoundrel, a cold-blooded bastard.
"Let me come home, brother," he whined in a high-pitched voice. "Mom went back to China. She doesn’t want me anymore. I have no money and nowhere to stay."
The gray eyes watching him showed no ripple of emotion.
Was he offering money? Chen Ye licked his lips, suppressing the urge to ask for cash –if he named the amount he wanted, Chen Yin would probably kick him out of the car right then and there. He couldn’t let himself be brushed off with just a little money.
"I don’t want money. I just want to come home, brother. The castle is so big – you don’t need all those rooms for yourself, do you?"
"I do," Chen Yin said, not sounding like he was joking. "You heard today – I’m recruiting new members. I’ll be using that castle as a research base."
'Damn you!' Chen Ye held back his anger, speechless for several seconds.
"Then at least let me go home once. Some of the things there were gifts from Dad. Can I take them?"
This time, Chen Yin didn’t say anything. After a few moments of silence, he got into the car and drove onto the Golden Gate Bridge. The car moved at a steady, moderate speed, actually quite comfortable to ride in, but Chen Ye still exaggeratedly gagged as planned, lunged forward, and climbed into the passenger seat, panting heavily while clutching his chest.
"Brother, I get carsick in the back," he moaned weakly.
"Seatbelt," Chen Yin said in the silence.
"Oh." Chen Ye fumbled for the seatbelt, his eyes darting around as he tugged at it randomly without fastening it. "Why won’t it pull, brother? Is it broken?"
Chen Yin slowed down, pulled over to the side of the road, leaned over, and reached toward the outer side. In the reflection on the glass, the distance closed, and as Chen Ye turned his head, his lips brushed against the cold frame of the glasses. Chen Yin’s hair actually smelled quite pleasant – a mix of masculine hormones and a subtle, dark fragrance, like moss after rain.
Whether it was the scent or not, the tear mole at the corner of the man’s eye, so close now, carried an indescribable allure. In a moment of impulsiveness, Chen Ye instinctively leaned in closer, taking a deep breath near the other’s neck, while his tongue darted out, catching a strand of silver-gold hair.
It was hard not to notice. The hand that had been helping him with the seatbelt froze mid-air. Behind the gold-rimmed glasses, the gray eyes shifted and fixed on him.
At such close range, he suddenly noticed that besides the eye color, Chen Yin’s pupils were also different from those of ordinary people. Whether due to albinism or not, they were actually a pair of vertical pupils, like those of some cold-blooded creature... like a snake, mysterious and dangerous.
But now wasn’t the time to admire Chen Yin’s appearance.
"What are you doing?" Chen Yin asked.
Collecting himself, Chen Ye opened his palm, staring into the man’s eyes behind the lenses, and said softly, "Your earring fell off just now, brother."
Chen Yin glanced down. A piece of Artificial Lunar Rock lay in the boy’s palm. But each sample had a different shape and texture, so he recognized at once that it wasn’t the one currently in his right ear. This little rascal had picked up his earring long ago.
"Want me to put it on for you, brother?"
The dark eyes nearby sparkled with a mischievous glint, as if intending to play a trick on him. Yet the boy leaned in so close – far beyond the bounds of normal social distance – that his breath brushed against his face, his lips slightly parted as if awaiting a kiss. Coupled with the earlier act of biting his hair, it was hard not to sense another intention.
This little one seemed to be... seducing him. As for why the boy was doing this, it became obvious when one considered how he might have learned about his sexual orientation. Chen Yin curled the corner of his lips slightly and fastened the seatbelt for the boy.
"Hmm, so this condom isn't broken after all, big brother." The boy chuckled softly, deliberately drawing out the wrong word before immediately sticking out his tongue. "Oh, no – seatbelt."
Chen Yin withdrew his hand and gripped the steering wheel, his thumb rubbing lightly over the textured leather. Never mind. He was just a kid trying to play games with him. Playing this kind of adult game, this clever little thing should be grateful that the opponent he chose was him and not someone else.