UI Chapter 66

The sky was obscured by lush foliage. Shen Ran gasped for air, his mind clearing from the haze. Then, someone blocked his vision, and his lips were met with the warmth of Zhao Jiyu’s breath.
He also tasted his own fluids.
He wanted to push Zhao Jiyu away, but Zhao Jiyu wouldn’t let him, his wet palm rubbing against his.

When he finally realized what was happening with his hand, Zhao Jiyu released his lips and smiled at him.
“Are you full?”

Shen Ran turned his face toward the nearby tree trunk, wiped his damp lips with the back of his hand, and muttered with a flushed face,
“Who even does things like this?”

His voice was slightly hoarse, and his throat felt parched. He wanted to drink some water but noticed that the bottle had fallen to the ground, with only a small amount of water left inside.

Zhao Jiyu picked it up and handed it to him. As Shen Ran sat up, Zhao Jiyu helped him adjust his pants. Leaning against the tree trunk to rest, Shen Ran took only one sip before passing the remaining water to Zhao Jiyu.

Zhao Jiyu took it, and just as he tilted his head back to drink, Shen Ran glanced at his lower body, considering whether he should return the favor. Before he could make up his mind, Zhao Jiyu said,
“It’s about time we head back.”

Shen Ran hadn’t even caught his breath yet. He was momentarily stunned and hesitated before asking,
“You don’t need to—?”

Zhao Jiyu took his hand and said,
“There’s nothing here right now, you might get hurt. I’ll make it up to you slowly when we get back.”

Shen Ran hadn’t expected him to mean it that way, but he still looked troubled.
“Not at my place, the walls aren’t soundproof.”

Zhao Jiyu laughed, and when Shen Ran shot him an annoyed look, he explained,
“By ‘going back,’ I meant Xiamen. What were you thinking?”

Shen Ran, embarrassed, quickly averted his gaze. Zhao Jiyu, in an even better mood now, pulled him up, and the two of them started walking back together.

The sky had been bright blue when they arrived, but in less than an hour, the clouds at the horizon were now painted red by the setting sun. Stepping on the dry, yellow leaves scattered on the ground, Shen Ran looked at the figure walking ahead of him, then at their interlocked hands, feeling a surge of emotion.

Back then, it was Zhao Jiyu who had been reckless in this very place. Now, it was his turn. He couldn’t help but wonder if fate had truly tied them together, bringing them full circle back to where they started.

Zhao Jiyu seemed to have had the same thought. Seeing Shen Ran lost in his own world, he turned back and asked,
“So, is it going to be your turn to trip this time and make me carry you?”

Shen Ran glanced at the sun, which had just set behind the mountain, and chuckled.
“What are you thinking? We still have at least an hour before it gets dark.”

“I should have waited a little longer before pulling you in,” Zhao Jiyu pretended to sigh regretfully.
“If it had been a dark and windy night, things might have been even more exciting.”

Thinking about what had just happened, Shen Ran belatedly felt a sense of embarrassment. He lowered his voice and said, “Let’s not do this again in the future. We’re outdoors.”

Pulling him into an embrace, Zhao Jiyu coaxed him,
“I’ve imagined many different scenarios.”

“For example, in my car, in a camping tent on the mountaintop, in the captain’s seat of a yacht, or even on horseback.”

Zhao Jiyu spoke slowly, pausing briefly after each scenario. Shen Ran was unconsciously led by his words, imagining each scene one by one. The more he thought about it, the more ridiculous it seemed. Although… it did sound a little thrilling. But in the end, he held himself back and reminded Zhao Jiyu,
“You should restrain yourself. What if we get caught?”

“How would we get caught?” Zhao Jiyu continued to tempt him.
“Besides, I am being very restrained. Otherwise, you wouldn’t still be standing properly right now.”

Shen Ran closed his eyes for a moment. His ears, still not completely cooled down, flushed hot again. Resting his face against Zhao Jiyu’s shoulder, he compromised, “Stop talking.”

“Alright.” Zhao Jiyu agreed, holding him for a while longer before finally letting go.

Back in the car, Zhao Jiyu took a few bottles of mineral water from the trunk. The two of them washed their hands and faces, and Zhao Jiyu even helped Shen Ran wipe the dust off his clothes, making sure everything looked normal before they headed home.

Dinner was prepared by Aunt Wen as usual, and her husband joined them as well. Shen Ran worried that Zhao Jiyu might feel out of place, but to his surprise, Zhao Jiyu managed to chat with Aunt Wen’s husband as well. After dinner, the two of them took turns showering, while Xu Huijuan tidied up a guest room on the second floor for Zhao Jiyu.

After Zhao Jiyu went to his room to rest, Xu Huijuan called Shen Ran into her room, and mother and son sat down for a conversation.

Shen Ran checked Xu Huijuan’s blood sugar, and while he was packing up the glucose meter, she suddenly mentioned Li Ting’s name.

All this time, Xu Huijuan hadn’t brought up Li Ting, and since Shen Ran had been so preoccupied with Zhao Jiyu, he hadn’t even noticed. Only now did he realize that his mother had already known about his breakup with Li Ting.

There were other people from their village studying in Xiamen, but none in his school. The only explanation was that the gossip about Li Ting had spread so widely that even students from other universities had heard about it.

Seeing him lower his head in silence, Xu Huijuan sighed and gently held his hand, stroking his palm.
“Ranran, you’re still young. It’s good to experience these things early. I know you’re feeling sad, but once something is over, it’s over. There will be better girls waiting for you in the future.”

Staring at the needle marks on the back of his mother’s hand, Shen Ran found himself unable to say a word.

Xu Huijuan was looking forward to his next girlfriend, but today, he had already agreed to be with Zhao Jiyu.

Even though they had plenty of time ahead and didn’t need to rush to tell the family, he still felt suffocated. Having someone he loved but having to hide it, being afraid of being found out—he hadn’t realized how painful this feeling would be. It also made him feel guilty toward Zhao Jiyu.

Just because of their gender, he couldn’t introduce the person he liked, even though Zhao Jiyu was right in the next room. That wasn’t fair to Zhao Jiyu at all. But he also couldn’t just impulsively confess everything.

A bitter feeling twisted tightly around his heart like a rope. He swallowed hard, pressing down his emotions. When he looked up again, he smiled at Xu Huijuan and said, “Mom, I’m fine. Right now, I just want to focus on my studies. The rest can wait until after I graduate and start working.”

Xu Huijuan nodded in relief.
“My son is so handsome, smart, and well-behaved. I’ve never worried about you finding a partner.”

Shen Ran smiled shyly at the praise, and Xu Huijuan continued with a smile,
“Do you want to continue your graduate studies? If you do, Mom will fully support you.”

Shen Ran had been hesitant about this decision for a while. Xu Huijuan added,
“No one from our village has ever pursued a master’s degree before, and you’ve been winning scholarships every year. If you want to continue, I’ll definitely support you—even if you decide to pursue a PhD, I wouldn’t mind at all.”

“We have the store, so I don’t need you to take care of me, and you don’t have to worry about me moving out in the future.”
Xu Huijuan glanced around the room, and finally, her gaze settled on the framed photo of her late husband hanging on the wall.
“Aunt Wen is here, and we have good neighbors. This house is where your father and I spent our whole lives. I can’t bear to leave it.”

Shen Ran followed his mother’s gaze to the portrait. His father’s deep eyes looked at them gently, the familiar smile on his lips just as he remembered.

Xu Huijuan sniffled, then turned back to him with a smile. “Alright, you and Xiao Zhao are leaving early tomorrow morning. Go back to bed and get some rest.”

Shen Ran pulled out a tissue and gently wiped the corner of his mother’s eye. Only after she lay down did he return to his own room.

Before going in, he glanced at the tightly shut door of the guest room next door. After washing up and lying down, he noticed a message from Zhao Jiyu on WeChat.

[I miss you.]

Just three simple words, but they made Shen Ran smile uncontrollably. He checked the timestamp—it had been sent a little over ten minutes ago. He typed back:

[Is the bed too hard?]

Zhao Jiyu replied instantly:

[It feels really hard without being able to hold you.]

Shen Ran couldn’t stop smiling. Imagining Zhao Jiyu’s voice saying those words, he replied:

[Don’t say nonsense. Get some sleep, we have a long drive tomorrow.]

[What did your mom talk to you about?]

[She asked if I wanted to go to graduate school.]

[Your grades are great. It would be a pity if you didn’t go.]

[What about you? Have you decided to continue?]

[Let’s do it together, okay?]

After Zhao Jiyu sent that message, Shen Ran didn’t reply for a long time. He stared at the dark wall, resisting the urge to get up and go find Zhao Jiyu.

[We’ll talk about it tomorrow. Goodnight.]

He put down his phone and closed his eyes.

The next morning, after breakfast, the two of them were ready to leave. Before departing, Shen Ran checked Xu Huijuan’s blood sugar again—both her fasting and post-meal levels were normal, and she looked energetic.

Aunt Wen came to see them off. Besides bringing them a bag of fruits and hometown snacks, she also reassured him that she would make sure Xu Huijuan took her medicine.

With Aunt Wen around, he indeed felt more at ease. Before they left, Xu Huijuan also had a brief conversation with Zhao Jiyu. Since she hadn’t been able to properly host him this time, she told Zhao Jiyu to come visit again when he had time, and she’d cook a big feast for him.

Zhao Jiyu smiled and said no problem. Later, while Shen Ran went back inside to grab something he had forgotten, she pulled Zhao Jiyu aside and quietly gave him a few words of advice.

After the car left the village entrance, Shen Ran asked what his mother had said just now.

When he came out, he happened to see Xu Huijuan whispering with Zhao Jiyu. Both of them looked quite happy, but they stopped talking as soon as they saw him.

Zhao Jiyu glanced at him, then waited until Shen Ran looked back at him before slowly saying, “Your mom asked me to spend more time with you. She said you just went through a breakup and must be feeling down.”

Shen Ran could already imagine Xu Huijuan’s tone when she gave Zhao Jiyu that advice, and he instantly felt a little awkward. Zhao Jiyu continued, “I promised her I’d take good care of you, eat and hang out with you more, and not let you dwell on it.”

“She was really happy and even thanked me.”

Shen Ran didn’t say anything. He just quietly looked out the passenger-side window. Zhao Jiyu tapped a few times on the car’s music player and started playing a song.

As the melody of Mermaid began to play, Shen Ran really did turn to look at him.

Zhao Jiyu reached out his right hand toward Shen Ran. When Shen Ran finally clasped his hand, Zhao Jiyu smiled and said, “Since my mother-in-law has already instructed me, you should just move out of the dorm and back in with me when we get back.”