UI CH 8

When he pushed open the door, Zhao Jiayu heard the clear sound of a wind chime.

This convenience store was part of a chain, decorated in a fresh blue-and-white color scheme.

On the right side, a beige long table was set up for customers who wanted to eat. The shelves in the middle were filled with goods, and on the left side was the cashier counter and a row of upright freezers.

Zhao Jiayu looked up briefly and noticed there was a second-floor shopping area as well.

It wasn’t a peak time, and there was only one customer and one cashier in the store. He casually picked up a bottle of electrolyte water from the shelf and walked to the cashier, waiting a moment. After the customer ahead left, the cashier took his water, but when she looked up to ask if he needed anything else, she froze for a moment, her eyes fixed on him.

Zhao Jiayu had long gotten used to such stares. He replied, “No, nothing else,” and took out his phone to scan the code. The cashier’s movements were a bit slow, and after completing the scan, she said,
“Have a nice day.”

Zhao Jiayu didn’t leave. He glanced toward the door and asked about Shen Ran.

The cashier was a cute girl, likely a college student. When she heard Shen Ran’s name, her expression lit up as if she had discovered something new. “You know Shen Ran?”

“I’m his friend,”
Zhao Jiayu said with a slight smile, just enough to give a sense of distance without being overly cold.
“I saw him carrying goods earlier. Does he often have to do that?”

The girl shyly laughed.
“Yeah, when I work with him, he’s the one doing all the heavy lifting. I actually feel bad about it.”

Zhao Jiayu nodded, understanding.
“He made three trips just now. Does he usually carry that much?”

“No,” the girl, outgoing, continued talking once she started.
“There was a last-minute order from a shop across the street, and they needed it delivered within half an hour. Shen Ran made five trips today.”

The girl pointed to the lunchbox on the small table, covered with a lid.
“He barely ate a few bites before going to deliver it. I told him to eat first, but he was worried about being complained about and having his pay docked.”

The gaze of Zhao Jiyu also rested on the boxed meal. The white lid covered it, and from the outer packaging, it looked like the most ordinary takeaway box from a street vendor. A pair of used disposable chopsticks lay on the table, with one stick having fallen out.

“How much is your monthly salary here?”

If it were anyone else asking, the girl might not have answered. But Zhao Jiyu, with his face as if under a soft light filter and being a friend of Shen Ran, made her speak openly.

Zhao Jiyu continued to ask about Shen Ran’s work hours. After getting enough information, he thanked the girl and stepped outside. Just as he pushed open the convenience store door, he saw Shen Ran crossing the street.

Their eyes met. Zhao Jiyu remained calm, while Shen Ran’s expression turned much more complex.

When Shen Ran approached, Zhao Jiyu looked at his sweat-covered face beneath the brim of his cap and handed over the electrolyte water he had just bought. “Drink this.”

Shen Ran had been running around and hadn’t had time to take a sip of water. He was incredibly thirsty, so he didn’t bother with politeness. He took the bottle and drank over half of it in one go, then asked,
“What are you doing here?”

Zhao Jiyu replied, “Accompanying a friend to eat across the street.”

Just as he finished speaking, his phone rang. It was Yu Xuetong, calling to ask why he was taking so long to buy cigarettes.

While he was on the phone, Shen Ran intended to go inside, but Zhao Jiyu grabbed his wrist. He quickly ended the call and said,
“Come eat with us. Your boxed meal is already cold.”

“No need.” Shen Ran pulled his hand back.
“I still have work to do. Thanks for the water.”

Shaking the bottle slightly, Shen Ran opened the door of the convenience store and went inside without looking back.

The back of Shen Ran’s black T-shirt was soaked. Zhao Jiyu squinted up at the scorching sun and then went into the Japanese restaurant in the building across the street.

When he sat down in the private room, he realized he still hadn’t bought the cigarettes. Yu Xuetong was on a video call with her friend and pushed the menu over to him.

He flipped through the menu, and after a while, he called the waiter in, ordered a few dishes to-go, and asked them to be delivered to the convenience store across the street.

Even while on the phone, Yu Xuetong had been partially paying attention to him. After hearing his instructions to the waiter, she chuckled,
“Got a friend at the convenience store?”

Zhao Jiyu also smiled, pouring himself a cup of sake from the bottle nearby.

Shen Ran picked up the large water bottle, drank half of the iced tea, and finally caught his breath from climbing the stairs. He took the tissue Xu Tian handed him to wipe his sweat while listening to her mention that a friend had visited earlier.

“Yeah,” Shen Ran responded absentmindedly,
“I ran into him at the door.”

“Your friend is really handsome!”
Xu Tian leaned against the cashier counter, sighing as she recalled the way Zhao Jiyu had looked at her.
“But he seemed like he might be…”

“What?”

The sudden words made Shen Ran’s tongue almost trip over itself.

Xu Tian, who usually didn’t show any unusual traits, must have let it slip out of excitement. She pinched the brim of her baseball cap and smiled sheepishly.
“I mean, do you think he might like guys? Because he looks so good, I can’t imagine him being with a girl.”

When it came to Zhao Jiyu’s face, which was even more captivating than a celebrity’s, Shen Ran had to admit Xu Tian had a point. After all, that night, he too had been entranced by that face. Thinking of that night, he felt too embarrassed to continue the conversation and found an excuse to go to the public restroom outside to wash his face.

Ten minutes later, he returned to the convenience store. As soon as he entered, he saw a man in a Japanese restaurant uniform standing at the cashier talking to Xu Tian. When he noticed Shen Ran, Xu Tian waved him over.
“Shen Ran, the meal your friend ordered for you is here.”

Feeling puzzled, Shen Ran approached the man, who held out an exquisite takeout bag with both hands.
“Mr. Shen, this is from Mr. Zhao. Please make sure to eat it within an hour—the sea urchin inside shouldn’t sit too long.”

When Shen Ran took a look, there were seven or eight black-and-red food boxes inside. The top layer had thick-cut salmon slices, each nearly as thick as a finger.

Xu Tian also peeked in and sighed,
“Wow, this looks so delicious.”

Shen Ran frowned and handed the bag back.
“Take it away. I don’t eat this kind of food.”

“Mr. Zhao said if you don’t eat it, just throw it away. He won’t take it back.”
The man seemed prepared, and after explaining, he nodded and left. Shen Ran stared speechlessly at his back, only to have Xu Tian pat him on the shoulder and snatch the bag from his hands.

“Why not take it when a friend gives it to you? Come on, open it up and eat. This is way better than your ten-yuan boxed meal.”

Though Xu Tian looked young, she was actually half a year older than Shen Ran. She opened the food boxes, examining the beautifully presented dishes that were rich in color, aroma, and flavor. She couldn’t help but ask,
“It was from that guy earlier, right? The Japanese restaurant across the street isn’t cheap.”

Just by looking at the ingredients, one could tell they weren’t inexpensive. But Shen Ran had lost his appetite—not because he wasn’t hungry, but because he didn’t want to get too involved with Zhao Jiyu.

He had finally managed to shake off the impact of that night, and he didn’t want any more unexpected situations. Ignoring the chopsticks Xu Tian handed him, he took his own boxed meal and put it in the microwave for three minutes.
“If you think it’s a waste to throw it away, then eat it yourself.”

Xu Tian looked at him with a “What’s wrong with you?” expression.
“What’s with you? Don’t be so stubborn over such good food!”

Shen Ran stood by the microwave with his arms crossed, staring silently at the orange glow through the glass door. Xu Tian watched his back for a while before suddenly asking,
“Are you and him…?”

She didn’t finish the sentence, partly because she wasn’t sure and partly to avoid making things awkward. But who would have thought Shen Ran’s shoulder and neck muscles would tense up immediately, and his whole posture would become unnaturally stiff?

Xu Tian, a seasoned fujoshi, caught on in an instant. No wonder Zhao Jiyu had asked so many questions about Shen Ran earlier.

She glanced at the food that Shen Ran had rejected, shook her head in resignation, and picked up a piece of thick-cut salmon, savoring it while making sure the guy by the microwave could hear her.
“It’s really delicious. The salmon is rich and fatty. Are you sure you don’t want any?”

The only response to her was the “ding” of the microwave and the sight of Shen Ran taking out his boxed meal, sitting at the table in the break area, and burying his head in his food.

While eating with Yu Xuetong, Zhao Jiyu glanced absentmindedly out the window twice, and both times, Yu Xuetong caught him. Unable to resist her curiosity, she tapped the ash from her cigarette into the ashtray and asked,
“Who’s the familiar face at the convenience store? Do I know them?”

Zhao Jiyu made a vague sound and adopted his usual evasive tone: “Not really a familiar face.”

“If not, then why’d you order them a meal?”

Yu Xuetong had just finished discussing a cooperation plan with him. Since they both agreed that pretending to date could temporarily relieve the pressure from their grandfathers, it was necessary to learn more about each other’s current situations. If Zhao Jiyu had someone he liked, she needed to be even more mindful of boundaries.

Zhao Jiyu still didn’t answer. He held a cigarette between his lips and took a light drag, but the flavor of Yu Xuetong’s cigarette was too mild—he couldn’t get used to it.

Seeing that polite yet distant curve of his lips, Yu Xuetong was reminded of him before she went abroad for her studies.

After a moment of hesitation, Yu Xuetong decided to voice her thoughts:
“Jiyu, you’ve really changed a lot since we were kids.”

Zhao Jiyu responded with another “Hm?” in the same noncommittal tone, his expression unchanged.

Yu Xuetong rested her chin on her hand, studying him.
“You were never a particularly warm person, but you weren’t this hard to figure out.”

His hand, still holding the cigarette, rested on the table as Zhao Jiyu leaned back slightly.

“Everyone changes as they grow up, and besides, we haven’t seen each other for years.”

“Yeah, it’s been years, but I didn’t notice this so much when we were just chatting.”

“What kind of feeling?”

“I can’t quite put my finger on it,” Yu Xuetong shook her head, her arm swaying along with her head. The delicate cloud-shaped bell on her wrist made a barely audible sound.
“But your grandpa mentioned privately that your parents’ divorce had a big impact on you.”

“If you have someone you like but can’t talk about, it’s fine. I just want to know so I can keep a proper distance and avoid any misunderstandings.”

This time, Zhao Jiyu couldn’t hold back. His brows lifted, and he smiled, as if Yu Xuetong had just told a ridiculous joke.

“You don’t have to overthink it,”
he said, taking another drag of his cigarette. With the smoke still in his mouth, he lowered his head and flicked away the ash that had fallen between his legs.
“I don’t like anyone, and I never will.”