UI CH 25

As the scenery outside the window flew by, Shen Ran covered his mouth and yawned.

Zhao Jiyu asked,
“Are you very tired?”

“Not really.”
Shen Ran rubbed his eyes. More than feeling sleepy, he was just exhausted.

Turning the music down a bit, Zhao Jiyu suggested,
“Recline your seat and get some sleep. I’ll wake you when we arrive.”

“It’s fine. It’s not that far anyway.”

The place they were heading to was only about twenty minutes away from the convenience store. Zhao Jiyu stepped on the gas to pass the intersection ahead.
“By the way, what happened with your old place?”

Talking about his previous landlord left Shen Ran speechless. He had called Chen Kang again tonight, but the phone was still disconnected.

After hearing the whole story, Zhao Jiyu said,
“Dragging it out like this isn’t a solution, and you still have things over there.”

“It is annoying.”
Shen Ran propped his left elbow on the car door, his fingertips rubbing his temple.
“I was planning to find a time to talk to the landlord and get my stuff back.”

“Let’s do it tomorrow. I’ll go with you. Having a car will make it easier to carry things.”

“No need. I don’t have much stuff.”

“I just want to make sure you’re not alone. Even if the landlord gives you a hard time, you won’t feel isolated.”

Shen Ran stared at the row of shops outside the window. Hearing this, he couldn’t help but laugh. He turned to Zhao Jiyu and said,
“It’s not like I’m going to get bullied.”

“But you were already forced to live in a hostel. Isn’t that bad enough?”
Zhao Jiyu looked at him too.

They looked at each other for a moment. Shen Ran turned back to the window first. The English song playing in the car was reaching its climax. After the melody finished, Shen Ran added,
“Yeah, it is kind of embarrassing.”

“Everyone faces tough times. Who knows, maybe one day I’ll get kicked out by my family and need to crash with a friend.”

To Shen Ran, that scenario sounded completely unrealistic. He just smiled without responding. Zhao Jiyu asked, “You don’t believe me?”

Shen Ran shook his head.
“I know you’re just trying to make me feel better. Thanks.”

Zhao Jiyu glanced at him. The words he had intended to say were swallowed back down, and he continued to focus on the empty road ahead.

Shen Ran tried to stay awake, but Zhao Jiyu’s car seat was just too comfortable, and the music playing was perfectly lulling. He only managed to hold on for a few minutes before his eyelids drooped shut.

Since their reunion, they hadn’t spent much time together, yet Zhao Jiyu often saw him fall asleep from exhaustion.

Knowing how Shen Ran worked hard every day, and how he had previously been homeless, Zhao Jiyu slowed down the car, contemplating whether to turn back and let him rest. However, before he could make a decision, his phone rang.

The romantic love song playing in the car abruptly turned into loud rock music. Shen Ran woke up, bewildered, looking ahead and then at Zhao Jiyu.

“Sorry,”
Zhao Jiyu hung up the call, saying,
“You’re so tired. How about we go back so you can sleep?”

“It’s fine,”
Shen Ran rested his head back against the seat, relaxing his shoulders.
“Your car is too good for sleeping.”

For some reason, a faint smile appeared on Zhao Jiyu’s lips. Shen Ran watched him turn the steering wheel right into an underground parking lot. Once the car was parked, Zhao Jiyu said,
“My bed should be even better for sleeping, right?”

That was true, but Shen Ran couldn’t help recalling an inappropriate image, and his expression turned a bit awkward. He used the action of getting out of the car to cover it up.

He didn’t respond, and Zhao Jiyu didn’t push for an answer either. He led Shen Ran from the parking garage to the seventh floor. When the elevator doors opened, a vast hot spring facility unfolded before Shen Ran’s eyes.

Even in the middle of the night, the entire lobby was brightly lit, with many young people in red and blue yukatas. The elevator attendant warmly guided them to the front desk. Zhao Jiyu showed a QR code on his phone, and after scanning it, the receptionist said respectfully,
“Mr. Zhao, is it just the two of you today?”

“Yes.”

After completing the check-in, a staff member led the way. Shen Ran walked alongside Zhao Jiyu, looking around. He quickly figured out that this was a large, comprehensive hot spring facility.

When they entered the VIP changing area, the staff member left. Zhao Jiyu took Shen Ran into a private double locker room, locked the door, and said,
“Both lockers have the same password, 567R. You can use the one on the left.”

He went to the right side of the room and began unbuttoning his shirt. Shen Ran looked around the softly lit room, which had a full-length mirror on one wall.

“Do you come here often?”
he asked.

“Occasionally.”
Zhao Jiyu took off his shirt and hung it in the locker.
“A friend gave me a membership card. I’ve had it for almost a year but haven’t used it much.”

The sound of metal clasps clicking drew Shen Ran’s attention. Zhao Jiyu had taken off his trousers, leaving only a pair of black boxer briefs.

This sight reminded Shen Ran of the scene that morning when Zhao Jiyu had stripped naked at the bathroom door. He quickly looked away and moved to his own locker. Taking off his T-shirt and jeans, he put on the dark blue yukata provided in the locker.

Zhao Jiyu wore the same style of yukata, with flip-flops on his feet. Once they were both dressed, they headed to the dining area for something to eat.

The prices here were higher than at typical hot spring centers, and the quality of the food reflected that. Shen Ran walked to the buffet area and saw that an entire long table was filled with specialty fruits. There was also an entire wall of beverages, along with a variety of Chinese and Western dishes—surprisingly plentiful for a late-night spread.

Zhao Jiyu accompanied Shen Ran around the dining area. Seeing that Shen Ran hadn’t taken any food, he led him to the menu at the ordering counter.

Earlier, Shen Ran had caught a whiff of fragrant lamb soup. When he saw “Yangrou Paomo” (a lamb stew with bread) on the menu, he ordered a serving. Zhao Jiyu chose pasta and grilled beef tongue, and as he swiped his membership card, he also added a serving of honey chicken wings.

Shen Ran thought Zhao Jiyu ordered them for himself, but when the food arrived, Zhao Jiyu pushed a pair of disposable gloves and the entire plate of honey chicken wings in front of him.
“These are all for you.”

The few pieces of chicken wings on the plate were golden and crispy, looking incredibly appetizing. Shen Ran took the gloves and asked,
“Why aren’t you eating them if you ordered them?”

“I ordered them for you,”
Zhao Jiyu replied.
“Last night, you had four servings of honey chicken wings at the bar and still wanted more.”

Shen Ran had almost no memory of that. He tried to recall and vaguely remembered eating chicken wings. The wings at that bar were quite good—he might have even licked the sauce off his gloves.

Zhao Jiyu watched his expression, guessing from his reaction that Shen Ran hadn’t remembered being fed. Shen Ran put on the gloves and started eating the chicken wings. As Zhao Jiyu watched him peel off the skin to eat, he suddenly felt like teasing him and asked the same question as last night:
“Do you really love chicken skin that much?”

Shen Ran swallowed the meat in his mouth, then looked up seriously and said,
“Yeah, the skin of grilled chicken is delicious.”

His answer was almost the same as the night before. Zhao Jiyu couldn’t hold back a laugh. Shen Ran thought Zhao Jiyu was laughing because he didn’t believe him. Just as he was about to offer him a piece, a passing server interrupted them.

The rest of their order arrived one by one. They both focused on eating, and after resting for about ten minutes, Zhao Jiyu took Shen Ran to the next floor up for the hot springs.

The entire eighth floor was dedicated to various hot spring pools of different sizes, as well as sauna caves, swimming pools, and other facilities. Zhao Jiyu led Shen Ran to the showers first. When Shen Ran learned that they weren’t supposed to wear swim trunks in the hot springs, he felt a bit uncomfortable.

Zhao Jiyu, however, remained calm. He washed up in a private shower room and came out wrapped in a towel.

He waited in the smoking area outside for a while until Shen Ran also emerged, wrapped in a towel. Zhao Jiyu, under the guise of blowing smoke rings, glanced at Shen Ran’s chest, then guided him to a less crowded pool with massaging water jets.

Shen Ran had been to swimming pools many times, but this was his first time in a hot spring.

As soon as he entered the water, the warm spring continuously bubbled beneath him, quickly opening his pores. He leaned back against the edge of the pool, closing his eyes comfortably.

Zhao Jiyu sat next to him. After a while, seeing that Shen Ran hadn’t moved, he leaned close and whispered in his ear,
“Don’t fall asleep, or you might sink.”

The warm breath brushed against his ear, but with the heat rising from his body, the sensation wasn’t very distinct. Shen Ran didn’t shy away, keeping his eyes closed as he replied,
“I’m not afraid. I know how to swim.”

His gaze lingered on his rosy lips for a moment, and Zhao Jiyu, maintaining the close posture, leaned back against the pool’s edge, resting with him.

The hot spring pool they chose was in a corner. Before they got in, there was only an uncle across from them, and after a while, the uncle left. Just as Shen Ran was comfortably drifting off to sleep, he heard voices nearby.

Two young men got in and sat down not far from him. Initially, he didn’t think much of it, but after a while, he started to feel uneasy.

The two men were first whispering sweet nothings, and then the sound of splashing water came intermittently. The noise wasn’t loud, but as Shen Ran listened, he roughly guessed that they were in that kind of relationship. He didn’t expect to encounter something like this while soaking in a hot spring.

Shen Ran’s drowsiness vanished, and he warily opened one eye to look at the person next to him.
Compared to his restlessness, Zhao Jiyu showed no reaction, seemingly asleep, his chest rising and falling at a steady pace. Seeing that they hadn’t moved, the two men not only intensified their sweet talk, but also began making suppressed moaning sounds.

Shen Ran was so bothered that he wanted to curse. The hot spring was already warm, and now he was getting a little hot-tempered. He thought he should wake Zhao Jiyu and go up.
His right hand moved a few inches in the water, but instead of finding Zhao Jiyu’s left hand by his side, he touched a smooth thigh.

Shen Ran immediately withdrew his hand, feeling embarrassed. Just then, the person next to him moved, reaching out to grasp his hand and whispering in his ear,
“Let’s go up and change pools.”

He breathed a sigh of relief. As he was about to get up, he felt that something was wrong again, and he awkwardly sat back down. Zhao Jiyu had already straightened up. He turned to look at Shen Ran and noticed that Shen Ran’s face was flushed, and he was staring intently at him.

Looking at the part he was staring at, Zhao Jiyu didn’t feel embarrassed. Instead, he extended his hand to him,
“Let’s go.”

Shen Ran didn’t move, his right hand trying to cover himself in the water, his voice a little hoarse when he spoke.
He said,
“Let’s sit a little longer.”