UI CH 40

As a close friend, Zheng Mingjin was well aware that Shen Ran’s relationship with Li Jing had only progressed to the hand-holding stage. Though he found it a little strange that after two months, they were still only holding hands, he understood that everyone had different views and attitudes toward relationships. Since Shen Ran didn’t see a problem with it, he never said anything. But what shocked him was that Shen Ran had already slept with someone else multiple times—less than a month after breaking up with Li Jing.

Stunned, he asked,
“Which girl? Someone from our school?”

The way he phrased the question made Shen Ran hesitate even more, pushing the truth further back inside. Taking a sip of Coke, Shen Ran braced himself and replied,
“You don’t know her.”

“This isn’t like you. What happened?”
Zheng Mingjin started piecing things together on his own.
“Was it that night when we went to the bar?”

That night, after Zheng Mingjin left to pick up Yang Ting, Zhao Jiyu had indeed come. But nothing had happened between them then—otherwise, Shen Ran wouldn’t have agreed to move into Zhao Jiyu’s place temporarily.

Now that the topic was out, Shen Ran didn’t want to keep avoiding it. However, he also didn’t bother to correct Zheng Mingjin’s assumption about Zhao Jiyu’s gender. Instead, he just recounted the major events that had happened recently.

As the broth in the pot continued boiling, more than half of it evaporated. Neither of them touched their food again, and by the time a waiter came over to turn off the heat, most of the dishes on their table were still untouched.

Zheng Mingjin’s expression was hard to describe. When he first heard that Shen Ran had gotten drunk and slept with someone for the first time, he already found it absurd. Then, upon learning that Shen Ran had spent the night on the other person’s yacht, got scammed by Chen Kang, and ended up moving in with that person, he couldn’t hold back his frustration.
“This is huge! How could you not tell me any of this?”

“I found a place to sleep, and since nothing bad happened, I didn’t want to worry you guys.”

“‘Nothing bad happened’? You’d rather trust someone you just met than come to me? Do you even see me as a brother?”

Shen Ran patted Zheng Mingjin on the shoulder, then opened another bottle of Coke and held it up to his mouth.
“Calm down. I’m telling you now, aren’t I?”

Zheng Mingjin took the Coke but didn’t drink it, setting it back on the table.
“So? You slept with her just because you’re staying at her place? Did she fall for you?”

Recalling the reason Zhao Jiyu had slept with him for the first time, Shen Ran shook his head wearily.
“It’s none of those things.”

“I get that what Li Ting did must have hurt you, but you can’t just let yourself go because of her mistakes.”

Leaning against the wall behind him, Shen Ran replied,
“I never intended to let myself go.”

Seeing that he wasn’t acting out of self-destruction, Zheng Mingjin eased his emotions. After a brief moment of silence, he asked,
“Then why did you say you’re not sure if there was a second time?”

Bringing it up only made Shen Ran more frustrated, especially after seeing Zhao Jiyu’s completely indifferent attitude that morning. It made him even more uncertain. After stumbling through an explanation of what had happened the night before, Zheng Mingjin stared at him and asked in disbelief,
“You seriously don’t even remember if you slept with her again?”

Shen Ran turned his face away awkwardly. Zheng Mingjin felt a headache coming on and suggested,
“Alright, here’s what we’ll do—you move out of her place today and come stay at my house.”

“No way. If that’s the case, I might as well just keep staying at the hostel.”

Shen Ran rejected the idea immediately. Zheng Mingjin’s place was a three-bedroom apartment, but his parents and younger sister lived there. If he moved in, he’d have to share a room with Zheng Mingjin, and the whole situation with Chen Kang scamming him would definitely get out.

Zheng Mingjin understood his concerns and didn’t push further.
“Okay, then how about this—I’ll talk to the academic advisor and see if you can move back into the dorm early. The new semester isn’t too far off anyway.”

“No need. That would just make a bigger scene.”
Shen Ran refused again. Since he and Zhao Jiyu were in the same department, if word spread, things would only get more complicated.

“So this won’t work, and that won’t work either. Then you have no choice but to stay at the hostel.”
Zheng Mingjin reminded him.

Shen Ran stared at the Coke bottle in front of him without saying a word.

Before coming to see Zheng Mingjin today, he hadn’t even considered moving out. He couldn’t understand it himself—normally, his instinct would be to avoid Zhao Jiyu as much as possible, so why wasn’t he as resistant to the idea anymore?

A hangover always made the brain sluggish the next day. With his mind in a foggy state, Shen Ran didn’t have the energy to think too much. His gaze swept across the table and landed on his phone. He suddenly realized that it was already past nine, and Zhao Jiyu still hadn’t contacted him.

Before yesterday, Zhao Jiyu had been absent for three days without a word. Was he busy again tonight and not planning to come back? Was that why he hadn’t reached out?

Zheng Mingjin had been observing him from the side. Seeing his distracted expression and recalling everything he had said earlier, a thought suddenly came to mind. Frowning, he asked, “Have you fallen for her?”

---

Pushing aside the heavy gray curtains, Huang Qianxu walked over to Zhao Jiyu with two wine glasses in hand. Noticing the phone in his grip, he asked,
“Still waiting for him to reply?”

Zhao Jiyu stood alone by the corner railing of the second-floor window, his cigarette burning down to the end. He stubbed it out in the ashtray, took the glass of red wine from Huang Qianxu, and downed it in one gulp without answering.

Huang Qianxu took a sip as well and stood with him in silence.

Downstairs, the garden had been meticulously decorated for the evening’s event. In the center of the crowd, surrounded like a star in orbit, was tonight’s main guest—Yu Xuetong.

The banquet had been specially arranged by Yu Bo to celebrate Yu Xuetong before her departure overseas, with all the attendees being family friends and business associates of the Yu family.

As Yu Xuetong’s publicly acknowledged boyfriend, Zhao Jiyu couldn’t avoid attending such an event. As soon as he arrived, Yu Bo called him over to toast the elders, making him drink his way through several rounds while engaging in conversations for over half an hour. By the time he stepped out, Huang Qianxu caught a whiff of the alcohol on him and dragged him to get some food.

They had been attending these kinds of events since childhood and were long accustomed to them. However, Zhao Jiyu was in a bad mood today—after the toasts, he disappeared from the crowd. Only Huang Qianxu knew that he was hiding in this empty corner, smoking.

That morning, when Huang Qianxu drove past Zhao Jiyu’s apartment, he had originally planned to drop by for a visit. What he hadn’t expected was to run into Shen Ran.

Zhao Jiyu had never brought a one-night stand home before, so when Huang Qianxu found out who Shen Ran really was, he dropped onto the bench at the foot of the bed, staring at Zhao Jiyu in disbelief.
“Are you out of your mind?”

Instead of getting angry, Zhao Jiyu actually chuckled at his reaction. Sitting down, he replied,
“Let’s just say I am. It’s not like I’ve ever done anything normal anyway.”

“That’s not the point,”
Huang Qianxu turned around with a serious expression.
“You know your situation, don’t you? Forget your parents for a moment—what about your grandfather? Do you really think he’ll approve of you being with a man? And not just any man, but one who brings you no benefits at all?”

“I’ll make him approve.”

“Your grandfather spoils you because all your rebellious antics have stayed within his limits.”

“He’ll accept this too.”

Huang Qianxu narrowed his eyes.
“Why are you so sure?”

Zhao Jiyu leaned close to his ear and whispered a few words.

Huang Qianxu’s tightly furrowed brows relaxed slightly, though he still had doubts.
“You really think it’ll go that smoothly?”

Zhao Jiyu smirked.
“You know I never take risks without confidence.”

Among their circle of friends, these two understood each other best. After considering the feasibility of Zhao Jiyu’s plan, Huang Qianxu found no solid reason to argue against it. Instead, he asked,
“And what about him?”

“What about him?”
Zhao Jiyu replied.

“Are you sure he truly feels the same way about you?”

---

By the time Shen Ran and Zheng Mingjin left the hot pot restaurant, most of the other customers were already gone. They had talked for too long, and in the end, neither of them felt like eating anymore. Zheng Mingjin suggested grabbing a late-night snack, but Shen Ran had no appetite. Seeing how late it was, he simply said he wanted to head back.

At the street corner, the two said their goodbyes. After walking a few steps, Shen Ran heard Zheng Mingjin call his name. Turning back, he saw Zheng Mingjin looking hesitant, as if he had something to say but couldn’t bring himself to.

Even without words, Shen Ran understood that Zheng Mingjin was worried about him. Waving at his friend, he quickened his pace toward the bus stop and caught the last bus heading in the direction of Wuyuan Bay.

Sinking into a seat at the back, Shen Ran unlocked his phone. His WeChat groups had accumulated hundreds of unread messages, but his personal chats had only a few. He skimmed through them before scrolling down to his chat with Zhao Jiyu.

The last message was still from that morning.

His thumb hovered over it as he recalled Zheng Mingjin’s advice from earlier that night.

Deep down, he knew this situation with Zhao Jiyu couldn’t continue in such a muddled way. So, should he really move out? And if he did, how was he supposed to tell Zhao Jiyu? That guy would definitely ask for a reason. Was he supposed to say, Because we slept together again?

But he wasn’t even sure whether they had or not. How could he use that as an excuse?

Leaning back against the hard plastic seat, Shen Ran gazed out at the neon-lit cityscape. The night was beautiful. After watching it for a while, he took out his earphones and put on some music.

Halfway through the ride, he received a call from his mother, Xu Huijuan. As usual, she was calling to check in on him. During dinner, he had specifically told Zheng Mingjin not to mention anything about what had been happening lately to his family. Zheng Mingjin, despite his frustration, understood the importance of keeping quiet and had reluctantly agreed.

After chatting with his mother for over ten minutes, the bus arrived at his stop. Shen Ran walked home, thinking about how he should face Zhao Jiyu when he got back. However, when he opened the door, he found that Zhao Jiyu wasn’t home yet. Instead, Old Wu had left a note in the kitchen, saying that there was a late-night meal warming in the pot, ready to eat whenever he returned.

This morning, Shen Ran had told Zhao Jiyu that he wouldn’t be home for dinner, yet Zhao Jiyu had still asked Old Wu to prepare something for him. When he lifted the lid of the pot, a rich aroma of Shaoxing wine chicken filled the air. Next to it was a bowl of red crab rice.

The crab shells and grains of rice glistened with golden oil, and the scent of soy sauce blended with the fresh aroma of the crab, instantly awakening his appetite. Carrying the chicken soup and red crab rice to the dining table, he sat down and began eating.

Old Wu had used a free-range chicken raised for three months, making the meat firm and chewy. The chicken skin and mushrooms had absorbed the fragrance of the Shaoxing wine, pairing perfectly with the red crab rice—it was so delicious that words couldn’t describe it. However, halfway through his meal, he stopped, hesitated for a moment, then put the remaining portion back into the thermal container, saving it for Zhao Jiyu.

After washing the dishes, Shen Ran glanced at Zhao Jiyu’s bedroom door while passing by. Even after taking a shower and coming back out, Zhao Jiyu still hadn’t returned.

Back in his own room, he shut the door behind him. His fingers lingered on the doorknob for a moment before he finally turned the lock and went to bed.

That night, he didn’t dream, but his sleep was restless—he kept waking up for no reason, only to drift back into a daze. It wasn’t until his alarm rang the next morning that he finally got out of bed. When he stepped outside, he found that Zhao Jiyu still hadn’t come home.