UI CH 9

Unexpected Intimacy:
Chapter 9: Why Are You Here?

After dropping Yu Xuetong home, Zhao Jiyu was called out by Huang Yipeng in the evening to eat and drink with a few friends.

Wei Qi, who organized the gathering, was part of their five-person group. Although not as close as Huang Yipeng, they had all grown up together and would often call each other for hangouts.

Wei Qi was especially good at organizing such gatherings. As soon as Zhao Jiyu arrived at the private room in the clubhouse, Wei Qi hooked his arm around him, pulled him to the sofa, and handed him a glass of wine. Zhao Jiyu looked at him lazily, the corner of his mouth barely curling into a smile. He listened to Wei Qi’s sweet talk for a while, drank the wine, but still refused to agree to go out to sea with them.

Wei Qi clicked his tongue and turned to Tang Jiayi, who was leisurely enjoying the show. “Damn it, stop sitting there laughing and help me out!”

Tang Jiayi remained slouched against the back of the sofa. They all knew Zhao Jiyu’s personality—if he didn’t want to do something, no one could persuade him. Wei Qi, even after more than a decade, still didn’t believe it and wasted his breath every time.

“Jiyu,” Tang Jiayi changed the topic,
“I heard you met with Yu Xuetong. Is that what your grandfather wants?”

Huang Yipeng, who had been looking down at his phone, also looked up at this.

Their families were all quite similar in status, and the elders were more or less acquainted or connected. It wasn’t a secret that Zhao Xinhong had taken Zhao Jiyu to the Yu family banquet. Zhao Jiyu rested his right foot on his left knee and admitted openly, “Yeah.”

Tang Jiayi sighed, and Wei Qi stopped pestering him, sitting down to look at him.
“What are you going to do about it?”

Bending down to pour himself a glass of red wine, Zhao Jiyu took a sip before answering,
“I’ll play it by ear.”

His sexual orientation wasn’t a secret among these friends, but the topic at hand was a bit heavy. Wei Qi no longer felt like fooling around, patting him on the shoulder and saying if he really didn’t want to go out to sea, then it was fine. Not long after, Huang Yipeng and Tang Jiayi’s girlfriends arrived, and the atmosphere quickly became lively again.

By the later stages of the evening, the seven or eight Sichuan-style spicy dishes on the table were all finished. The coffee table was littered with two empty bottles of whiskey, four bottles of red wine, and a few beer glasses.

Wei Qi and Tang Jiayi’s girlfriend each held a microphone, belting out high notes along with the music video on the TV.

Feeling his ears ache, Zhao Jiyu grabbed his cigarette and lighter, looking for a quieter place. As soon as he stepped out, he heard footsteps behind him—Huang Yipeng had followed.

The two walked through the maze-like corridor, took a few turns, and stopped by a quiet window. They each lit a cigarette. Huang Yipeng held his between his fingers without smoking, watching Zhao Jiyu as he asked,
“When are you going to come clean?”

Zhao Jiyu leaned against the windowsill, his black shirt unbuttoned at the top three buttons, revealing his straight collarbone. He lowered his eyes to look at the treetops outside. His long, dense lashes concealed his emotions. After a moment, he finally said,
“In a while. I’ve already talked with Xuetong—we’ll pretend to be together for now.”

“That’s not a bad idea,” Huang Yipeng agreed.
“Show your grandfather that you’ve tried but it didn’t work out. It’ll make things easier down the road.”

Zhao Jiyu wasn’t really worried about what Zhao Xinhong would do if he found out his true orientation. His grandfather, despite his age, had a progressive mindset. The company’s success was largely due to Zhao Xinhong’s willingness to innovate and take risks. Plus, Zhao Xinhong still regretted forcing Zhao Jiyu’s parents into marriage back then. Based on this, Zhao Jiyu was about 70-80% confident.

After finishing their cigarettes, the two returned to the private room. Their five-person group was missing one tonight. When they left, Wei Qi was so drunk his legs were weak, yet he still complained about Qiao Xu not giving him face, always choosing to be with a woman over hanging out with them.

Wei Qi was the youngest among them, and the rest usually treated him like a younger brother. Tang Jiayi held him up, coaxing him while dragging him outside. Huang Yipeng said his goodbyes to Zhao Jiyu, and the group went their separate ways.

Zhao Jiyu called for a designated driver. He initially intended to return to his spacious apartment near Zhongshan Road, but halfway there, he changed his mind and asked the driver to head to the seaside instead.

It was already past 2 a.m., and only a few young figures lingered along the nearby Baicheng Beach. They were either strolling while leaning against each other or sitting together in an embrace.

Zhao Jiyu stood at the edge where the sand met the road, smoking a few cigarettes as he gazed at the moonless horizon. He didn’t turn back until the sea breeze had mostly sobered him up.

When he called for a designated driver again, he zoomed in on the landmarks around him while choosing his destination. His finger hovered over the convenience store’s location for a moment, but in the end, he defaulted to the system’s suggested location.

The next morning, Shen Ran woke up to a message from his mother. She said that his aunt’s daughter-in-law had given birth and that she needed to help out for a while, advising him not to come home for the time being.

Listening to his mother’s reminders in the voice message, he collapsed back onto his bed, staring blankly at the ceiling.

Before the summer break started, he had planned to take a trip to Yangzhou with Li Ting. Over the past two years, he had saved up a bit from his part-time jobs, and covering the travel expenses for both of them wasn’t an issue. But before he could even buy the train tickets, they had broken up. He thought he might as well go home and spend some time with his mom, but now it turned out that wasn’t an option either.

The convenience store had been hectic recently. After what happened with Li, he had been working nonstop for nearly half a month, feeling mentally and physically drained. Desperately needing a break, he called his senior from the basketball team, Ji Minglun, to ask if the trip to Xi’an had been finalized and if he could join them.

Since Ji Minglun’s phone was off, Shen Ran went to a café to find him, but only saw Ji Minglun’s friend, Deng Feng. After hearing his request, Deng Feng said it wasn’t a problem since they were going as a group anyway.

Once the date was set, Shen Ran arranged shift swaps with his colleagues, trying to take time off without affecting his wages. As a result, he practically lived at the convenience store for the next three days, only going home to shower and change clothes.

By noon on the third day, the store received a large order exceeding 2,500 yuan. The customer had ordered a variety of imported, expensive snacks and beverages, requesting urgent delivery within an hour.

He checked the delivery address, which was at the yacht marina. Xu Tian, who was nearby, also saw it and muttered,
“Did this person put in the wrong address? Why is it so far away?”

The marina was about 20 kilometers from the convenience store. Shen Ran used the store phone to call the number on the order, but no one answered. He told Xu Tian, “Let’s prepare the goods first and try calling again in a bit.”

Xu Tian took the order form to prepare the goods and soon returned to the counter with two large bags.

During this time, Shen Ran tried calling the customer twice more, but the calls didn’t go through. However, the customer sent a message with a more detailed address. Checking the time, Shen Ran said,
“I’ll deliver it. You watch the store.”

He called a ride-hailing service and managed to reach the entrance of the yacht marina within the specified time.

Even though he had removed his store apron and baseball cap before leaving, the security guard still stopped him, telling him that unauthorized people weren’t allowed in. Shen Ran had to step aside and send a message to explain the situation.

A few minutes later, the same security guard hurried over, saying he would take him inside and even helped carry one of the bags.

The marina was filled with private yachts, and few people came and went. Shen Ran followed the guard along the numbered wooden dock paths over the water. After five or six minutes, they finally stopped in front of a sleek, all-white, mid-sized yacht.

The security guard said,
“I can’t go in. You take it onboard.”

Shen Ran took the bags, thanked the guard, and stepped onto the yacht via the gangway.

The yacht had two levels. After climbing four steps, he reached a tinted glass door that slid open to both sides. The spacious lounge area was in front of a cockpit filled with instruments, and the interior was arranged comfortably.

He looked around but didn’t see anyone, so he stood at the entrance and called out. Soon, someone emerged from the stairs next to the cockpit.

The man appeared to be in his forties, wearing a T-shirt and beach shorts, with tanned skin. Seeing the items in Shen Ran’s hands, he handed over a pair of disposable slippers.
“Bring them in.”

Shen Ran changed his shoes and followed the man down the stairs on the right side of the cockpit. They turned left into a small tea room in the middle of the corridor. The man pointed to a wavy-shaped glass coffee table and said,
“Take out the items and arrange them on the table. I’ve got things to handle in the cockpit and can’t spare a hand.”

Before Shen Ran could refuse, the man turned and left.

The convenience store had a monthly service bonus evaluation, part of which was based on delivery performance. Any complaints or canceled orders could lead to deductions in his bonus. Having already suffered losses from two previous complaints, Shen Ran always tried his best to meet customer requests.

He glanced around the elegantly decorated tea room, squatted down, and had just opened the plastic bag when the yacht swayed. He quickly grabbed the edge of the coffee table.

The yacht was still docked, but the strong winds today caused the waves to rock the boat occasionally. After regaining his balance, Shen Ran continued placing the items on the table. However, there were too many things, and the table couldn’t hold them all. While he was contemplating whether to place the remaining items on the corner of the table, the boat rocked again.

After organizing everything, Shen Ran went back upstairs to find the man and inform him. But when he reached the deck, he froze. He hurriedly called out to the man at the helm,
“Are we sailing? I haven’t gotten off yet!”

The man, wearing windproof goggles, glanced at him as if just remembering his presence.
“Sorry, I got busy and forgot. But our departure time is fixed, and we had to leave on time.”

It was the first time Shen Ran had encountered such a situation. Seeing the pier already dozens of meters away, he anxiously asked,
“What am I supposed to do? I need to get back to the convenience store!”

The man kept his hands on the wheel and remained silent. Just as Shen Ran was about to ask if they could turn back, footsteps came from the stairs below, followed by a figure in a white bathrobe strolling leisurely onto the deck.

Water droplets clung to the person’s fair calves, and their feet were bare. Wet hair was messily gathered at the back of their head, and the casually open robe revealed well-defined but not overly muscular chest contours, with a hint of a dark red mark faintly visible over the left chest.

The person looked like he had just finished a bath. Shifting his gaze away from the exposed chest, Shen Ran looked at Zhao Jiyu’s face. He was about to ask what was going on when he saw Zhao Jiyu’s slightly parted rosy lips and his confused expression.

“Why are you here?” Zhao Jiyu asked.