UI CH 6

Shen Ran really wanted to reject Zhao Jiyu’s suggestion, but there was no repair shop nearby, and he couldn’t leave his bike here or at the school overnight.

Calling a ride-sharing car to take it back would cost a lot. After struggling for a moment, he compromised with reality and followed Zhao Jiyu to the parking lot.

Zhao Jiyu’s car was a Porsche Cayenne in a polar extinction color, easily recognizable with the license plate ending in 567. He parked in a temporary spot, and after nearly an hour, when Shen Ran and he arrived, a parking ticket had already been placed on the window.

Zhao Jiyu didn’t even glance at it, just tore it off and stuffed it into his pocket. Shen Ran watched him open the trunk, move two sets of sea fishing gear aside, and place Shen Ran’s mountain bike inside.

Before closing the trunk, Shen Ran took a quick look at the equipment and found it to be quite professional.

After getting into the car, Zhao Jiyu asked for the address. Shen Ran told him the street and neighborhood name. Zhao Jiyu didn’t use the navigation, just started the car and drove toward the motor lane.

It was the evening rush hour, and the sky had already darkened. The streetlights illuminated the road like flowing water. Shen Ran looked out the passenger window, and because of the traffic jam, Zhao Jiyu drove slowly. Not far away, a group of middle-aged tourists was crossing the intersection. Seeing their excited expressions, Shen Ran thought of his mother back home.

He was born in the countryside, and when his father was alive, their family was well-off. But when he was in the third grade of elementary school, his father passed away. His parents had a good relationship, and his mother couldn’t bear to send him to be someone else’s stepson, so she raised him alone, keeping the family shop and never remarried.

Fortunately, his father’s brothers treated them well, and his mother’s sisters often came to help. The two of them lived off the small store, and for the past ten years, their lives had been relatively peaceful.

As he was thinking about home, Shen Ran’s attention drifted, and he didn’t notice Zhao Jiyu’s frequent glances at him until the sound of music filled the car.

His fingers, resting on his chin, moved slightly, and he finally turned to look at the driver.

Zhao Jiyu was playing a song from the bar that night. It was the song that caused Shen Ran’s emotions to spiral uncontrollably, leading him to do something he regretted deeply after a single word and a glance from Zhao Jiyu.

Shen Ran couldn’t tell if Zhao Jiyu was doing this on purpose, but when he looked over, Zhao Jiyu was staring straight ahead, focusing entirely on the road, even honking the horn to warn the car trying to cut in from the left.

Suppressing the urge to say something, Shen Ran took out his phone, trying to appear as though nothing was wrong. When the song finally ended, he was about to relax when the same opening melody started again. It took him a moment to realize that Zhao Jiyu had set it to repeat.

At this point, Shen Ran couldn’t take it anymore, but he still gently reminded,
“Can we change the song?”

Zhao Jiyu rested his left elbow on the door, his long fingers tapping along to the melody at his temple. He glanced at Shen Ran curiously,
“You don’t like this song?”

By now, Shen Ran was 100% sure that Zhao Jiyu was doing this on purpose.

Who would want to listen to a song about heartbreak right after just experiencing it?

He wasn’t a masochist.

Not bothering to respond to Zhao Jiyu, Shen Ran pressed the pause button, then turned his face towards the passenger side window, staring at the night scenery without moving.

A barely noticeable smile curved at the corner of Zhao Jiyu’s lips as he looked at him, finding him more interesting the longer he stared. This awkward personality was really something.

For the rest of the ride, Zhao Jiyu didn’t bother Shen Ran again. He seemed to enjoy the quiet atmosphere, not finding the silence awkward at all. At first, Shen Ran felt uncomfortable, but after a while, he relaxed, leaning back in the seat and yawning a few times, eventually falling asleep.

In recent days, a colleague from the convenience store had returned to their hometown, and with fewer staff, Shen Ran had to work an extra four or five hours each day on top of his regular hours. Though he was making more money, the lack of sleep made him feel extremely tired.

The car drove steadily along the bustling main road. Once Zhao Jiyu noticed that Shen Ran had fallen asleep, he slowed the car down. When they reached the entrance of Shen Ran’s residential area, Zhao Jiyu glanced at the dense, old buildings and the vehicles parked haphazardly on either side, and made a sharp turn into the complex.

Shen Ran’s residential area was built in the 70s or 80s, and its layout no longer met the demands of the fast-developing modern society. The narrow roads were lined with private cars, half of which had their bodies spilling onto the green space, leaving just enough room for one car to pass through the middle.

Zhao Jiyu followed the winding road, and after a long stretch, he couldn’t go any further. He looked back at the car behind them and finally reached out to touch Shen Ran’s shoulder.

Shen Ran, still in a muddled sleep, didn’t stir. The car seat was designed to perfectly fit the body’s curve, and even though it wasn’t reclined fully, it was very comfortable. He murmured in his sleep, his chin resting on his right collarbone, and then went still again.

Zhao Jiyu chuckled softly, his fingers trailing down Shen Ran’s shoulder to the back of his neck, lingering on a kiss mark at the end of his hair, barely visible now. The horn from the car behind them honked urgently, waking Shen Ran up without needing Zhao Jiyu to say anything.

As he looked around at his surroundings, Shen Ran sat up straight, saying,
“How did you get in here? This is a mess. We’re stuck in a place like this, and you can’t even turn around.”

Zhao Jiyu replied, “There were no parking signs outside the complex, so I thought I’d just drive in and park for a while. Didn’t expect it to be this crowded inside.”

Shen Ran felt a tinge of guilt on his face as he unbuckled his seatbelt and got out of the car, heading towards the vehicle behind them.

Zhao Jiyu looked back at him as he communicated with the driver of the other car. Soon, the other driver began to reverse, and Zhao Jiyu returned to the passenger side, saying,
“Follow him as he reverses. There’s a fork near Building 13 where you can temporarily park. Let him go first, and then you can back out.”

“Come up,”
Zhao Jiyu reminded him.

Shen Ran got back into the car, watching Zhao Jiyu slowly reverse through the crowded road. Pedestrians and people riding electric bikes occasionally stopped to complain, and their voices occasionally reached the car.

Shen Ran felt very embarrassed and nervously watched the side, afraid that Zhao Jiyu might lose control of the steering wheel and scrape something. It wouldn’t be something that could be solved with just an apology.

Fortunately, Zhao Jiyu was a skilled driver. Once they reached the fork in the road and turned, Shen Ran’s heart finally settled. He reached for the car door and said,
“Thanks, just drive back the way you came.”

“Wait,” Zhao Jiyu stopped him, and when Shen Ran turned to look at him, he whispered,
“I need to use the bathroom. Could I use yours?”

Shen Ran didn’t answer immediately, so Zhao Jiyu continued,
“It’s going to be congested on my way back, and it’s hard to find a public restroom while driving. But if it’s really inconvenient for you, that’s fine.”

Pulling the handbrake, Zhao Jiyu unbuckled his seatbelt and got out of the car.
“Let me help you pull the car out.”

With one leg already out of the car, Shen Ran stopped him, saying,
“My place is pretty simple, but if you don’t mind, I’m fine with it.”

Zhao Jiyu turned back and flashed a gentle smile, pulling his long leg back inside.
“I don’t mind.”

Shen Ran’s building, No. 17, wasn’t far away. Zhao Jiyu parked the car by the fork in the road and followed Shen Ran as they walked. Several streetlights on either side were out, and the surroundings were dim, but many residents were out walking, especially parents taking their children for a stroll after dinner. Most of the windows in the buildings were lit.

Zhao Jiyu’s family lived in a villa area outside the island, where each house had a private garage, and cars could go directly into the garage before taking the elevator up. They rarely encountered neighbors, let alone saw this kind of lively community scene.

With his hands in his pockets, Zhao Jiyu walked along, listening to a grandfather and grandson behind them talking. The little grandson was reciting the 99 times table, his childish voice bright and cheerful. When he got to 4×5, he forgot, and his grandfather helped him.

Zhao Jiyu’s lips curled into a smile, and he seemed lost in thought. He didn’t even react when Shen Ran turned around and accidentally bumped into the back of Shen Ran’s bicycle.

Zhao Jiyu secretly took a deep breath, resisting the urge to rub the sore spot on the inner side of his thigh. He simply raised his hand to adjust his golden glasses frame.

This was the first time Shen Ran saw him make a mistake, but out of courtesy, he didn’t laugh. He pointed to the building on the left and said, “We’ve arrived, wait for me to park the bicycle.”

“Okay.”

Shen Ran walked to the old iron gates downstairs, opened one, and pushed the bicycle inside. Zhao Jiyu followed and glanced in, asking, “Is this a bicycle garage?”

It was the first time Shen Ran had heard someone describe a firewood shed in such a fancy way. He couldn’t help but laugh and pointed to the pile of miscellaneous items on a shelf next to it.
“This is a firewood shed, for the landlord. It’s for storing stuff or parking bicycles and electric bikes.”

Zhao Jiyu nodded, and after Shen Ran locked the gate and led him upstairs, Zhao Jiyu looked around at the walls covered with small ads and smudges and asked,
“Do you live here alone?”

As they turned a corner, Shen Ran reached up and hit the light switch, and the lights on the first floor turned on.
“I have a roommate. We each have our own room.”

“A familiar person?”

“No, he’s a sublandlord. I’m renting for two months, so it’s more convenient to go through a sublandlord.”

Shen Ran explained. In no time, they arrived on the third floor. Shen Ran opened the door to the right, and just as he pushed the door in, he heard a loud, sudden cry.

The sound carried an unmistakable sense of flirtation, and it quickly repeated. Shen Ran froze, his fingers stiff on the door handle, eyes fixed on the left-side door that wasn’t fully closed. He couldn’t believe his roommate was watching that kind of movie again, and even more so, that Zhao Jiyu had caught him in the act.

Thinking about the person behind him, Shen Ran regretted everything. If he had known, he wouldn’t have let Zhao Jiyu come up. Just as he was wondering how to explain things without making it awkward, Zhao Jiyu’s chest pressed against his back, and he whispered in his ear,
“Let’s close the door first. Someone else is coming up.”

As he spoke, Zhao Jiyu’s left hand reached out, holding the hand that was gripping the door handle, gently guiding Shen Ran two steps forward to close the door.