UI CH 30

While Shen Ran debated whether to invite Zhao Jiyu to the game, Zhao Jiyu was sitting in front of his computer, reviewing project documents sent by Lao Tang.

When he woke up in the morning, Shen Ran had already left for work. Lao Wu, as usual, sent a message asking what he wanted for lunch. Zhao Jiyu asked for a simple bowl of clear noodle soup with just a fried egg and vegetables. Lao Wu responded with a question mark, then asked if he wanted to add anything else.

He replied no. Lao Wu’s chat status showed “typing…” for a while before he finally sent back a simple “Okay.”

Seeing Lao Wu’s reaction, Zhao Jiyu felt a bit amused. He tossed his tablet’s stylus onto the desk, picked up his cup, and went to the kitchen to pour some coffee.

As he walked past the living room, the overly bright sky outside the floor-to-ceiling window stung his eyes. The white curtains were neatly drawn to the sides, and Shen Ran’s freshly washed clothes hung on the metal rack.

Shen Ran was meticulous with housework. Their clothes were always hung separately; there was never a mix-up with his pants hanging among Zhao Jiyu’s clothes. Zhao Jiyu stood there for a moment, then continued to the kitchen. After pouring his coffee, he returned to his desk to continue working.

For lunch, Lao Wu prepared a beautifully presented bowl of clear soup noodles. With his culinary skills, even a simple clear soup could be made delicious. But after just one bite, Zhao Jiyu lost his appetite. He grabbed a piece of bread and went back to his room, leaving Lao Wu puzzled. Lao Wu stared at the bowl of noodles, lost in thought for a long time.

In the afternoon, Tang Jiayi called to say he had news about the person they were looking for yesterday. However, the person had fractured a bone and was now in the hospital.

Taking off his glasses, Zhao Jiyu rubbed his sore temples and asked,
“Which hospital?”

“The First Municipal Hospital. I heard his bone fracture was caused by a tenant—he got hurt just the day before yesterday.” Tang Jiayi recalled what his friend had said.
“What do you need him for? You’re not in trouble, are you?”

“Was the tenant who hurt him named Chen Kang?”
Zhao Jiyu asked again.

“Seems like it. Do you know him?”

Zhao Jiyu didn’t mention Shen Ran’s name, only saying that a friend had run into some trouble. After hearing about the landlord being scammed for rent, Tang Jiayi said,
“That Chen Kang is really a piece of work. But I heard that after he beat up the landlord, he ran away. Need my help?”

“No, I’ll go take a look myself.”

After getting the landlord’s phone number, Zhao Jiyu changed clothes and went to the hospital. When he arrived at the inpatient department, the doctor had just finished his rounds and left.

The landlord, Mr. Liu, was a middle-aged man with glasses, looking quite amiable. However, after hearing why Zhao Jiyu was there, his anger flared up. Pointing to his broken arm, he said,
“I’ve been looking for him too! Look at what he did to me. I’ve already called the police and am just waiting for them to catch him.”

“Was he there to collect his belongings?”
Zhao Jiyu asked.

“Yes. My neighbor noticed something was wrong. By the time I arrived, he was already carrying his luggage and trying to leave. He refused to go to the police station and ran away afterward.”

Mr. Liu’s tone was harsh, but by now he understood it wasn’t Shen Ran’s fault.
“My wife went through the stuff with the police. You should ask your friend if he’s missing anything.”

Since Shen Ran was busy at the convenience store, Zhao Jiyu arranged to check things out in the evening. Mr. Liu gave him his wife’s contact information.

After leaving the hospital, Zhao Jiyu headed to the convenience store where Shen Ran worked. When he arrived, Shen Ran was unloading goods from a truck. Seeing him carry two boxes of bottled water into the store, Zhao Jiyu parked his car and rolled up his shirt sleeves.

Xu Tian was holding a checklist, counting the inventory. When she saw him, she happily waved.

Zhao Jiyu walked up to Xu Tian and glanced inside the store. “Only the two of you unloading?”

“Yeah.” Xu Tian pointed to the cart loaded with goods.
“And one of the cart’s wheels is broken. It’s a real hassle.”

“Are you here to see Shen Ran?”

“Yeah.”

“He’s got over an hour before his shift ends. Want to wait inside?”
She gestured with her pen toward the store’s seating area.

A small mountain of bottled drinks was stacked behind the truck. Zhao Jiyu asked Xu Tian how much more they needed to move.

“All thirty-three boxes on the left.”
As soon as Xu Tian finished speaking, the convenience store door swung open. Shen Ran walked out, surprised.
“What are you doing here?”

“Need to talk to you about something,”
Zhao Jiyu replied.

After moving several boxes, sweat beads had already formed at Shen Ran’s temples. He wiped them away with his forearm.
“But I’m busy right now.”

“Okay. I’ll wait until you’re done.”

Zhao Jiyu walked to the back of the truck, picked up two boxes of bottled water that the delivery driver had pushed over, and asked,
“Where should I put these?” under Xu Tian’s surprised gaze.

Shen Ran quickly walked over, trying to take the boxes from him.
“What are you doing? I can handle it myself.”

“It’s fine,”
Zhao Jiyu didn’t let him take the boxes.
“Where do these go?”

Shen Ran frowned, staring at Zhao Jiyu, who had no choice but to say,
“I can’t just sit and watch while you do all the work, can I?”

Before Shen Ran could respond, the quick-thinking Xu Tian cut in,
“Put them all the way inside, just in front of the storeroom door.”

Carrying the boxes, Zhao Jiyu headed inside. Xu Tian nudged Shen Ran’s arm.
“You’ve got a good friend here. Dressed like that and still helping out, no airs at all.”

Shen Ran watched Zhao Jiyu’s back. He was wearing a casual white shirt and dark blue dress pants, not even worried about getting his clothes dirty, holding the boxes close to his chest as he carried them in.

Shen Ran hurried to the checkout counter, grabbed a colleague’s apron, and brought it to Zhao Jiyu.
“Put this on, so your clothes don’t get dirty.”

“Is this yours?”
Zhao Jiyu asked.

“It’s my colleague’s.”
Shen Ran thought he might find it unclean, so he added,
“It’s clean, it won’t get dirty.”

Zhao Jiyu still didn’t take it.
“I don’t touch strangers’ things.”

The implication was clear. Shen Ran had no choice but to take off his own apron.
“Then wear mine.”

Zhao Jiyu spread his hands to show him.
“You’ll have to put it on for me. My hands are already dirty.”

His palms were soft and smooth, with long fingers now smudged with a bit of dust. Shen Ran helped him into the apron, squatting down to tie the straps at his waist, his gaze naturally falling behind him.

The tailored dress pants fit perfectly, and staring at the rounded, firm curve in front of him, Shen Ran couldn’t help but recall the view from last night. Distracted, he accidentally tied the straps too tight.

Zhao Jiyu looked back and said, “A little looser, it’s too tight in the front.”

Shen Ran glanced over, noticing exactly where he meant. Sure enough, the fabric was pulled taut, showing a clear curve. Zhao Jiyu lowered his eyes, meeting Shen Ran’s gaze. Realizing what he was staring at, Shen Ran quickly averted his eyes and loosened the straps.

Xu Tian called out from outside, prompting Zhao Jiyu to head back out, still wearing the apron. Shen Ran stood up, recalling the state of Zhao Jiyu’s hands, and grabbed a pair of gloves before following him.

When Zhao Jiyu took the gloves, he looked at Shen Ran for a moment. Shen Ran asked, puzzled,
“What are you looking at?”

Zhao Jiyu just smiled without answering. As he carried another two boxes of drinks inside, Xu Tian came over and asked,
“What were you two talking about? Your face is so red.”

Shen Ran hadn’t even noticed how warm his face felt, but Xu Tian’s comment reminded him of Zhao Jiyu’s expression earlier, making him feel embarrassed. For the rest of the unloading, he didn’t say a word to Zhao Jiyu, not even sparing him a glance.

When they finished, he handed Zhao Jiyu a bottle of electrolyte water and then buried himself in the storeroom.

Zhao Jiyu sat in the seating area, taking a break. Seeing him so down-to-earth today, Xu Tian’s impression of him soared. She entered the storeroom and said to Shen Ran,
“You should go out there. I’ll handle this. Don’t just leave him sitting alone.”

Shen Ran insisted on staying in the storeroom, so Xu Tian had to go back outside. After a while, she noticed Zhao Jiyu still sitting there, looking at his phone. She walked over and asked,
“Wasn’t it something urgent you needed Shen Ran for?”

“No, I’ll wait until he’s off work.”

Xu Tian twirled a ballpoint pen between her fingers, glanced at the storeroom door, and lowered her voice.
“Can I ask you something? If it feels too intrusive, just pretend I didn’t ask.”

“Go ahead,” Zhao Jiyu said.

She hesitated for a moment, then decided to be direct.
“Do you… have feelings for Shen Ran?”

Zhao Jiyu put down his phone and asked back,
“What makes you think that?”

His expression was so calm it was impossible to tell how he felt about the question. Xu Tian, with over a decade of fujoshi experience and a knack for reading people, decided to probe further.
“It’s just a feeling, you know? It’s hard to explain. Am I wrong?”

Zhao Jiyu looked out the window, tapping lightly on his phone screen.

“Do you think he’s the type who could… be bent?”

“Yeah.”
Xu Tian nodded firmly.

“But he’s dated a girl before.”

“I know. They broke up already.”

Though Xu Tian and Shen Ran didn’t attend the same university, due to Li Ting’s status as a campus beauty, the breakup story had spread widely—even students at Xu Tian’s school had heard about it.

Xu Tian didn’t know how to judge Li Ting. She had seen her a few times, always quietly sitting in the same spot Zhao Jiyu occupied now, reading while waiting for Shen Ran to get off work.

Back then, Xu Tian’s impression of Li Ting was that she was a beautiful and graceful girl. It was hard to imagine how such wild rumors about her could emerge later.

But comparing Li Ting to Zhao Jiyu, the difference was clear.

“When Shen Ran was with his ex, I always felt like the atmosphere between them was off.”

This was the first time Zhao Jiyu had heard someone comment on Shen Ran and Li Ting’s relationship. He asked, “What do you mean?”

The pen in Xu Tian’s hand spun even faster as she thought.
“It was like… they couldn’t relax around each other. And Shen Ran always had to cater to her. Honestly, from my perspective, it seemed pretty exhausting.”

Zhao Jiyu rested his left hand on his chin, his thumb rubbing against his index finger as he fell into thought. Worried he might misunderstand, Xu Tian quickly explained,
“I’m not trying to gossip behind their backs, don’t get me wrong.”

Zhao Jiyu smiled.
“No, you’re quite interesting.”

Xu Tian grinned back.
“So, I wasn’t wrong?”

Shen Ran stayed in the storeroom for over half an hour before finally finishing with the new inventory. When he came out, he glanced around and saw Zhao Jiyu chatting happily with Xu Tian in the seating area.

Seeing him, Xu Tian checked the time and got up.
“Time to get ready for the shift change. I’ll catch you later.”

Zhao Jiyu nodded, while Shen Ran frowned slightly, not understanding how those two had become so chatty all of a sudden. He walked over to Zhao Jiyu and asked,
“What did you want to talk about?”

Looking up at him, Zhao Jiyu’s tone was gentle.
“I’ll wait until you’re off work.”

Shen Ran still needed to help Xu Tian prepare for the shift change with the next two colleagues. Zhao Jiyu continued sitting there until Shen Ran finally took off his apron, grabbed his bag, and said, “Let’s go.”

Zhao Jiyu followed him outside. At the door, Xu Tian waved goodbye, and Zhao Jiyu turned back, smiling, and said, “Bye.”

Shen Ran held the metal handle of the glass door, watching Zhao Jiyu and Xu Tian say goodbye. Once they were back in Zhao Jiyu’s car, he couldn’t help but ask,
“Since when did you get so close with Xu Tian?”

Zhao Jiyu said,
“She has a good personality—talkative and quite cute.”

Shen Ran agreed with this, but when he thought about how, after organizing everything earlier, Xu Tian had slapped Zhao Jiyu on the shoulder and laughed so happily, he felt a strange, indescribable emotion.

He looked toward the entrance of the convenience store, where Xu Tian was talking to her colleague Tang Wei at the cash register. When Zhao Jiyu’s car turned around, she even glanced their way.

Focusing on the road ahead, Zhao Jiyu said,
“We’re going to your old rented apartment now. I got in touch with the landlord today, and he agreed to let you go collect your belongings.”