UI CH 29

Shen Ran found it strange, but Zhao Jiyu’s expression was completely natural, as if that simple bowl of noodles really did outshine all the rich dishes on the table. He kept his head down, eating bite after bite.

The question on the tip of Shen Ran’s tongue was swallowed back down as a new thought came to mind.

Maybe Zhao Jiyu was genuinely tired of rich food, and a simple, light dish felt refreshing. It was like feeling nauseous at the sight of a cream cake after eating too much.

With that in mind, Shen Ran found his actions reasonable and sat down to eat the dishes Old Wu had made.

Throughout the meal, Zhao Jiyu only took a bite of each dish, but he polished off the entire bowl of noodles Shen Ran had made. Watching him put down his bowl with such a satisfied expression, Shen Ran couldn’t help but laugh.
“It’s not that serious, right?”

Zhao Jiyu grabbed a napkin and wiped his mouth.
“What’s not that serious?”

“Was it really that good? Or were you just too hungry?”

“Probably both.”

Shen Ran thought to himself that Zhao Jiyu must’ve had too much heavy food and craved something simpler, so he didn’t take it seriously. While cleaning up, he heard Zhao Jiyu say,
“I mentioned before that if you moved in, it would be more convenient for Old Wu to cook for you.”

Shen Ran paused, recalling that Zhao Jiyu had indeed said this, and waited for him to continue.

“If you don’t eat what he cooks, like today, and if I’ve already eaten by the time I get back, all of this will go to waste.”

“Waste?”
Shen Ran looked at the stack of empty plates in surprise.
“That’s way too wasteful. Food that hasn’t been touched can still be eaten the next day.”

“My fridge doesn’t keep leftovers overnight.”

Zhao Jiyu’s attitude toward wastefulness seemed completely natural. He had the confidence and means to be this willful. Shen Ran fell silent, unable to think of a rebuttal.

Zhao Jiyu asked,
“What exactly are you worried about?”

The ceramic chopsticks in Shen Ran’s hand were starting to warm up from his grip. After hesitating for a moment, he said,
“I have a limited budget for food each month.”

“Shen Ran,”
Zhao Jiyu called his name,
“would you say we’re friends now?”

Shen Ran nodded.

“Are you this polite with Zheng Mingjin too?”

“He’s different. His mom and my aunt have been friends for over ten years.”

“Then the issue is that we’re not close enough yet,”
Zhao Jiyu concluded.

Shen Ran furrowed his brows slightly. What Zhao Jiyu said was only part of the reason. Even if he lived at Zheng Mingjin’s house, he wouldn’t expect to eat for free.

He was thinking about how to explain it so Zhao Jiyu would understand, but Zhao Jiyu spoke first:
“I’m not trying to make things difficult for you. You’re only staying here for a short while, and once the semester starts, you’ll move back to the dorms.

“Since it’s not a long time, there’s no need to keep everything so separate.”

Zhao Jiyu leaned back in his chair, looking up at Shen Ran with a relaxed posture.

Unlike the earlier tone that had been a bit forceful and unreasonable, his gaze now was soft and sincere. As they looked at each other, Shen Ran saw in Zhao Jiyu’s eyes the same care and warmth he had only felt from Zheng Mingjin before.

For a few seconds, his mind went completely blank, and before he knew it, he had already nodded in agreement.

After dinner, Zhao Jiyu went to shower, while Shen Ran loaded the dishes into the dishwasher. He picked up the supermarket bag from the corner, hesitated for a moment, and then put the eggs and greens in the fridge. He wrapped up the dried noodles and placed them in Old Wu’s drawer for storing pasta.

Once the kitchen was tidy, he checked the balcony but didn’t see a mop or broom. Just then, Zhao Jiyu came out of the shower. When Shen Ran asked about cleaning supplies, Zhao Jiyu led him to the storage room, pointing to a robot vacuum on the floor.
“Use this.”

Shen Ran squatted down and examined the smart robot.
“What about a cloth to wipe the tables and chairs?”

“No idea,” Zhao Jiyu replied, turning to leave.
“Ask the housekeeper tomorrow.”

Still crouched down, Shen Ran looked back at Zhao Jiyu’s retreating figure, suddenly realizing that he hadn’t showered in his bedroom’s ensuite but in the main bathroom.

Wanting to tidy up, Shen Ran opened the bathroom door only to find it spotless. Zhao Jiyu’s clothes were neatly placed in the laundry basket, and aside from a few water stains on the shower walls and floor, everything was perfectly clean.

Shen Ran took the laundry basket to the balcony. When he first arrived, Zhao Jiyu had shown him how to use the washing machine. After setting it up, he went back to carry the robot vacuum to the living room. He pressed the power button a couple of times, but nothing happened. Worried he might break it, he knocked on Zhao Jiyu’s bedroom door.

“Come in,” said the person inside.

Shen Ran turned the handle and walked in. The room was dark, with no lights on. Zhao Jiyu stood on the other side of the bed, his tall and toned silhouette outlined against the dim evening light. The sight made Shen Ran freeze for a moment before he realized he should look away.

“What’s up?”
Zhao Jiyu asked, seemingly unbothered by his lack of clothing.

Staring at a plain white section of the wallpaper, Shen Ran cleared his slightly dry throat. “The robot vacuum—I pressed the switch, but it didn’t respond.”

“Give me your phone.”

“Why do you need my phone?”

“You need to download an app. Once set up, you can control it.”

Shen Ran took out his phone from his pocket, still keeping his gaze averted as he walked toward Zhao Jiyu. He ended up tripping over the bench at the end of the bed in the dark. Zhao Jiyu reached out to steady him, and once he was standing again, Shen Ran felt even more embarrassed. His throat was dry and itchy, so he simply tossed his phone onto the bed and turned to leave.

“Wait.”
Zhao Jiyu grabbed his hand, pressing Shen Ran’s index finger onto the fingerprint sensor. Only when the screen lit up did he let him go.

Leaning against the kitchen’s drinking water faucet, Shen Ran filled a glass to the brim with cold water. As he drank, a vibrant red light cast a glow through the window. He glanced over and saw that the lights on the exterior of the building across the street had changed patterns.

He stood against the wall for a while, then turned slightly to peek down the hallway.

Zhao Jiyu hadn’t come out yet, but downloading and installing the app would take time, and Zhao Jiyu still needed to get dressed.

The image of Zhao Jiyu standing there completely naked flashed back into his mind. Although he didn’t want to admit it, Zhao Jiyu really did have a good physique. Maybe it was because his face was so flawless as well that he could afford to be so unabashedly confident in showing off his advantages.

He took another sip of water. Just as Shen Ran was considering whether to remind Zhao Jiyu to be more mindful of his image in the future, a voice called out from the hallway.

“Shen Ran, your phone.”

Zhao Jiyu held his phone, clutching the belt of his bathrobe at his waist, and walked over quickly. Shen Ran immediately put down his glass, took the phone, and stepped out onto the balcony to take the call.

Zhao Jiyu remained standing where he was, watching Shen Ran’s back as he tied the belt around his waist.

The call was from an unknown number. Shen Ran only spoke a few words before coming back in, asking if the app was ready.

Taking the phone, Zhao Jiyu once again grabbed Shen Ran’s finger to unlock it, then opened the newly downloaded app and showed him how to use it. Shen Ran listened intently, but his mind kept wandering to the earlier gesture. Zhao Jiyu could have just asked him to unlock the phone directly—why did he need to hold his hand both times?

Once the robot vacuum started moving around the room, Zhao Jiyu pulled out a few black devices from under the coffee table.
“Do you play games?”

Looking at the professional-looking equipment, Shen Ran asked, “What kind of games?”

“VR,”
Zhao Jiyu said, shaking the black VR headset in his hand.
“There are sports games. Want to try?”

Shen Ran had experienced VR games at tech exhibitions and science museums before, so he wasn’t unfamiliar with them. Zhao Jiyu helped him put on the headset, secured the waist belt, and strapped on the leg bands. Once they were ready, Zhao Jiyu turned on the TV, connected the equipment, and asked which game he wanted to play.

Shen Ran was good at basketball. When Zhao Jiyu navigated to the game with the controller, Shen Ran said as they selected the difficulty level, “You’re not good at this, right? Just pick the easiest mode.”

The finger that was operating the controls paused, and Zhao Jiyu moved down, directly selecting the five-star difficulty.

Suppressing the smile at the corner of his mouth, Shen Ran held back his laughter. At this moment, a man’s competitiveness could be easily ignited. Earlier, he hadn’t underestimated Zhao Jiyu; he had just wanted to accommodate someone who wasn’t familiar with basketball.

The performance of Zhao Jiyu’s VR equipment was excellent. Once he put it on, the virtual touch felt incredibly realistic, and there was no dizziness even while moving. Shen Ran quickly got the hang of it after trying a few moves. Zhao Jiyu often played virtual basketball. At the start, he let Shen Ran score a few points, but not long after, Shen Ran had taken the lead.

Basketball is a sport that requires tight defense. On the screen, the virtual character defending Shen Ran was a big white guy, but in reality, it was Zhao Jiyu, dressed in a silk robe. Although there was frequent physical contact when dribbling, Shen Ran only used small evasive movements to get past him. Zhao Jiyu’s basketball skills were average; he mainly relied on his entire body to block. The result was that, after not playing for long, Shen Ran began to score easily.

After more than ten minutes, there was a considerable gap in their scores. Shen Ran looked at the virtual character bent over, holding his knees and panting, and asked,
“Do you want to take a break?”

Both of them were severely sleep-deprived from the previous night. Shen Ran had slept all day today, while Zhao Jiyu had been running around outside, and the difference in stamina gradually became apparent. But Zhao Jiyu didn’t say a word, taking advantage of a moment when Shen Ran wasn’t prepared, executed a side-step steal, and before Shen Ran could react, jumped in place and scored a two-pointer.

The basketball drew a parabolic arc in the air and fell steadily into the hoop. Shen Ran whistled, turned to Zhao Jiyu, and said,
“Not bad, your shooting skills are pretty good.”

“Just so-so. I’ve practiced a lot at home by myself.”

Shen Ran had already noticed during their 1v1 match earlier that Zhao Jiyu’s defense was full of holes, but his shooting accuracy was quite good. He asked,
“Since you can play, why haven’t I seen you on the court before?”

Wiping the sweat off his neck, Zhao Jiyu said,
“I don’t like sweating in front of others.”

This reason fit well with his polished, perfectionist image, as well as the impression some girls at school had of him. Actually, it wasn’t just the girls. Before they got to know each other, Shen Ran also thought Zhao Jiyu seemed cold and distant, like the kind who didn’t socialize.

“So, you only play virtual basketball at home, and when you swing a racket, you prefer squash where you can play alone?”
Shen Ran asked.

“Yeah.” Zhao Jiyu straightened his body and rotated his ankle slightly.
“Shall we continue?”

“Sure.”

Shen Ran picked up the ball and started dribbling with the right-hand controller. The scene in his VR headset was a street basketball court under the night sky. The big white guy next to him hunched over in a defensive stance. The “thumping” sound of the ball hitting the ground and the vibration feedback in his palm felt incredibly realistic, with no delay interference. He quickly got back into the game, using a set of fake moves to successfully shake off Zhao Jiyu and finished with a beautiful slam dunk.

This immersive style of gameplay was fresh and exciting. The more Shen Ran played, the more energized he felt. Though Zhao Jiyu was tired, he didn’t want to stop as long as he was playing with Shen Ran. When he finally took off the headset, he even felt a bit dizzy.

He usually didn’t get dizzy playing VR games. This time, it was probably due to lack of sleep. Shen Ran urged him to go to sleep quickly. Zhao Jiyu also took a shower, and when he came out, he saw Shen Ran sitting on the edge of the bed in the guest room, replying to messages on his phone.

Seeing he had finished, Shen Ran asked with concern,
“Still feeling dizzy?”

Zhao Jiyu said, “Much better now.”

“Then go to bed early,”
Shen Ran curled his lips. “Goodnight.”

With a smile in his eyes, Zhao Jiyu softened his voice,
“Okay, goodnight.”

The next morning, when Shen Ran got up, Zhao Jiyu’s bedroom door was still closed. He moved quietly, got ready, and went to work. On the way, he received a WeChat message from Zheng Mingjin, saying he would accompany Yang Xin to Gulangyu Island and wouldn’t be able to watch the basketball game tomorrow night. He told Shen Ran not to waste the ticket and to find someone else to go with him.

Zheng Mingjin was referring to the city sports basketball game. Their tickets were for the high school group finals. Zheng Mingjin had previously arranged to get the tickets—they weren’t expensive but hard to come by.

Since Yang Xin came back, Zheng Mingjin had been spending all his time with her. The two of them were in a long-distance relationship, and Shen Ran understood how precious their short reunion was. He reassured Zheng Mingjin to focus on his girlfriend, saying he’d handle the ticket situation.

During a break at work, Shen Ran thought about who he could invite. He had two other good friends on the basketball team, but both were unavailable. As he scrolled through his WeChat contacts, his finger paused on Zhao Jiyu’s name.

Zhao Jiyu wasn’t particularly good at basketball, but he could play. If Shen Ran asked him to go, would he agree?