UI Chapter 69

Over the weekend, Shen Ran stayed at Zhao Jiyu’s place without stepping out once.

He was originally supposed to work at the convenience store, but Zhao Jiyu didn’t want to let him go. The two of them were either on the bed, on the sofa, or even tangled up in the bathroom. Every time, Zhao Jiyu would wear Shen Ran out to the point that his legs would go weak, making it hard for him to even walk.

Shen Ran had never spent time in such a reckless manner before, but since they had just gotten together, they were inseparable. And deep down, he secretly enjoyed having Zhao Jiyu cling to him and heating things up together.

On Sunday night, after finishing old Wu’s nourishing soup, Shen Ran walked over to the person exercising on the treadmill. He glanced at the numbers on the display and commented sourly, “Your stamina is seriously insane.”

Zhao Jiyu had already been running for fifty minutes. He pressed the stop button, slowed his pace to a walk, and wiped the sweat from his forehead. “Train more, and you can be like this too.”

From summer break until now, more than half a month into the new semester, Shen Ran had been lacking exercise. His once-visible abs had almost disappeared. Remembering the notice he received from the basketball team earlier that morning, he changed into his basketball shoes and stepped onto Zhao Jiyu’s treadmill to start training.

Zhao Jiyu didn’t go shower but stood by the side watching him. After a while, Shen Ran couldn’t stand his scorching gaze anymore. He picked up the towel draped over the treadmill and tossed it at Zhao Jiyu’s face. “Go shower.”

Zhao Jiyu caught the towel and chuckled.
“I’ll wait and shower with you.”

Thinking that this man was going to fool around in the bathroom again, Shen Ran almost lost his balance on the treadmill. He quickly reminded him, “Not tonight. Truce.”

Zhao Jiyu couldn’t hold back his laughter. He leaned in, resting one hand on the treadmill’s support bar, and looked up at Shen Ran.
“Do you think I only want to do things in the shower?”

Shen Ran was already panting, and when he glanced at Zhao Jiyu’s ridiculously handsome face, he forced himself to stay composed.
“I have a basketball game at the end of the month. I need to train my stamina.”

Zhao Jiyu asked, “When is it?”

“The 29th.” Shen Ran adjusted to his pace and increased the speed.
“The coach said practice starts tomorrow, and he specifically called my name.”

“I’ll have old Wu prepare nutritious meals for you every day. Stop eating at the cafeteria.”

“Wouldn’t that be too much trouble?”

Zhao Jiyu placed the towel back on the treadmill’s support bar.
“Not at all. I need to eat too.”

Despite his words, as Shen Ran watched Zhao Jiyu turn and head to the kitchen, he suddenly felt that even though he had a boyfriend now, in terms of thoughtfulness, Zhao Jiyu was no less attentive than anyone else’s girlfriend. Not only was he good-looking with an amazing figure, always catching the attention of girls wherever he went, but he was also incredibly considerate toward the person he loved.

After setting an electrolyte drink beside the treadmill for him, Zhao Jiyu went to shower. Shen Ran continued running for another twenty minutes before stopping the machine. He was drenched in sweat and almost out of breath. Normally, he wouldn’t be this exhausted, but he had been too indulgent these past two days. He grabbed the electrolyte drink Zhao Jiyu had left for him and gulped down more than half the bottle. Once he caught his breath, he headed to the shower.

The bathroom was filled with the scent of Zhao Jiyu’s platycodon flower-scented body wash. Shen Ran didn’t soak in the bathtub but instead stood under the showerhead, letting the water run over his face for a long time.

When he came out, he saw Zhao Jiyu standing by the bedroom desk, holding a bag of fish food.

Shen Ran walked over and hooked his right arm around Zhao Jiyu’s waist. After observing the fish in the tank for a moment, he commented, “Aren’t they getting a little fat?”

Zhao Jiyu laughed.
“Fish don’t get fat that easily. It’s just the refraction effect of the fish tank.”

“This tank you bought is really nice. The wavy design is pretty unique,”
Shen Ran complimented.

Zhao Jiyu puckered his lips at him.
“Then shouldn’t you reward me for it?”

Shen Ran chuckled, leaned in, and kissed him lightly on the lips.

Zhao Jiyu said, “You said you’d take care of them, but in the end, I’m the one doing it.”

Shen Ran replied,
“I can’t keep this kind of fish tank in my dorm. Plus, there are other people living there. What if everyone feeds them a little and they end up overfed to death?”

The reasoning made sense, but Zhao Jiyu still felt a little uncomfortable, especially knowing that he had to return to the dormitory to sleep tomorrow.

With a twist of his wrist, Shen Ran pulled Zhao Jiyu into his arms and took the initiative to kiss him. The kiss gradually deepened, becoming more passionate before they finally stopped, their chests pressed together as they panted in each other’s embrace.

After getting into bed, they each looked at their phones for a while. But before falling asleep, they ended up holding each other again—and one thing led to another.

The next morning, Shen Ran’s waist was sore like never before. Even though Zhao Jiyu put a soothing pain relief patch on him, it didn’t help much.

He felt restless all morning. Zheng Mingjin had seen through him but refrained from saying anything for the sake of his dignity. At noon, old Wu came by to deliver his nutrition meal. He and Zhao Jiyu sat in a shaded corner of the upper stands, eating lunch.

His nutrition meal was well-balanced and visually appealing, while Zhao Jiyu ate whatever he wanted—three Angus beef cheeseburgers with fries, along with two cups of iced cola.

Old Wu’s food tasted great, but young people could never resist junk food. Shen Ran had taken a few bites of his meal but couldn’t help glancing at Zhao Jiyu’s food twice already.

When he stole another glance, Zhao Jiyu simply held out a burger to his mouth.

Shen Ran shook his head.
“I shouldn’t eat it.”

“You’re not competing in a bodybuilding contest,” Zhao Jiyu said.
“A few bites of a burger won’t hurt. What you need now is to replenish your energy. Eating well is the most important thing.”

His words made sense, so Shen Ran took a bite. Zhao Jiyu stuffed the entire burger into his hands, then opened another cup of cola and handed it to him.

Shen Ran hesitated.
“If you give it all to me, won’t you be hungry?”

Tearing open a packet of ketchup, Zhao Jiyu dipped a fry into it and held it to Shen Ran’s lips.
“I ordered an extra one for you. Three are more than enough for me.”

Shen Ran met his gaze, and this time, they both smiled.

The early autumn breeze gently rustled the branches overhead. In the distance, several students in long sleeves were jogging on the track. Shen Ran looked up at the vast blue sky across from him, and Zhao Jiyu followed his gaze, listening as he said, “Autumn is here.”

“Yeah, and the weather’s getting cooler.”
Taking advantage of the empty surroundings, Zhao Jiyu rested his chin on Shen Ran’s shoulder, squinting his eyes like a contented cat.
“Good thing I have a wife to keep me warm in bed.”

Shen Ran turned his face, and the two of them were suddenly very close. From this angle, he couldn’t clearly see Zhao Jiyu’s face, but he knew that if he leaned in just a little, he would be able to kiss him.

So, he thought about it—and then he did it.

The wind rustled through the trees, the sound slipping deep into his eardrums, but it was nothing compared to the pounding of his heart, growing faster and louder.

This past week, aside from studying, most of Shen Ran’s energy had been spent on his part-time job and basketball practice. Zhao Jiyu was always by his side—except when Shen Ran was at work, he was there almost all the time. Whenever he watched Shen Ran’s practice, he would always find a corner to sit in, trying not to draw attention.

Despite that, a few girls who regularly watched the practices still noticed him. However, since Zheng Mingjin was always training with Shen Ran, no one thought much of it. Only Shen Ran, whenever he spotted that familiar figure in the stands, felt an extra surge of motivation. After a week of training, he had almost regained his previous form—except for his stamina, which was still a little lacking.

The following week, he increased his training load. Zhao Jiyu wanted to take him to the gym for targeted workouts, but he refused, opting instead to increase his outdoor exercises as instructed by his coach. So Zhao Jiyu ran with him every morning and evening, and at home, they used fitness equipment for supplementary exercises. After two weeks of persistence, the faint outline of Shen Ran’s abs had started to reappear. And the most noticeable improvement in his stamina… was in bed.

Zhao Jiyu had been flipped over more than once. Though he was still the one taking the brunt of it in the end, the competitiveness between them in bed was oddly addictive, and he didn’t mind indulging Shen Ran. Every time, they ended up so worked up it felt like they had just fought a battle—panting, grinning, pressing against each other for deep kisses.

Time passed quickly when there was no pressure, and in the blink of an eye, the match day arrived. The night before, just as they sat down for dinner, Yu Xuetong sent a message. She said that her grandfather had returned home that evening, feeling good after securing a big project, and suggested that Zhao Jiyu take this opportunity to bring up the matter.

Zhao Jiyu wanted to go immediately, but after asking, he found out that Yu Xuetong’s parents were also present. Considering that it might be difficult to talk with so many people around, he arranged to discuss it over lunch the next day instead.

“Your match starts at 2:30 in the afternoon tomorrow, so I should have enough time,” Zhao Jiyu said as he put down his phone.

Hearing about this, Shen Ran looked slightly concerned.
“You two seem really relaxed about this. Are you sure it’ll go smoothly?”

“Don’t worry,” Zhao Jiyu reassured him.
“I’ve already told my grandfather more than once that I don’t have feelings for Xuetong. He doesn’t mind—he’s been spoiling me out of guilt for years.”

“And what about Yu Xuetong? Will things go smoothly on her end?”

“Xuetong is going back to the UK after the New Year to continue her studies. She won’t be back for at least two or three years. Besides, her grandfather isn’t a rigid person—he usually listens to her.”

Noticing that Shen Ran still looked slightly uneasy, Zhao Jiyu took his hand and said, “The reason I faked a relationship with Xuetong in the first place was because I knew breaking up would be easy. Trust me—I wouldn’t do something if I wasn’t confident about it.”

Shen Ran nodded and tightened his grip on Zhao Jiyu’s hand.

The next morning, when Shen Ran woke up, Zhao Jiyu had already left. Old Wu was in the kitchen preparing lunch. After washing up, Shen Ran checked his phone, but there were no messages from Zhao Jiyu. However, the basketball team’s group chat was buzzing with discussions about the afternoon match.

He scrolled through the messages absentmindedly, but then—unexpectedly—he saw a familiar name.

Ji Minglun was back.

Before the school term started, Ji Minglun had accompanied Jiang Lin to Los Angeles. Jiang Lin was in his second year of graduate school at UCLA, and Ji Minglun stayed with him for more than two weeks before returning. During that time, Shen Ran occasionally saw Ji Minglun’s posts on his social media, filled with images of Los Angeles sunrises and sunsets, clouds, the ocean—and sometimes, Jiang Lin’s silhouette appearing in the background.

Before getting together with Zhao Jiyu, Shen Ran never felt much when he saw these kinds of photos. But after they became a couple, his emotions changed completely when he looked at them.

Once, he came across a video Ji Minglun had posted—it showed him accompanying Jiang Lin to a supermarket to pick out seafood. At the time, Zhao Jiyu was right beside him, and they ended up talking about Ji Minglun and Jiang Lin. When Zhao Jiyu found out that the two had grown up together as childhood friends before becoming a couple, he expressed a bit of envy, saying, “If we had become good friends back in our first year of middle school, we could have counted as childhood sweethearts too.”

Shen Ran hadn’t responded at the time, but deep down, he also felt a slight sense of regret.

Opening his WeChat chat with Ji Minglun, they talked for a bit. Ji Minglun mentioned that he would be attending the match that afternoon as well since Zheng Mingjin had a last-minute obligation and couldn’t make it.

After lunch, Shen Ran left early. On the way, he thought about messaging Zhao Jiyu but hesitated, not wanting to disturb him if he was busy. He held back. As he neared the school, something crossed his mind, so he made a quick detour to a nearby café and bought a sea salt watermelon latte.

When he arrived at the basketball arena, a younger teammate immediately ran up to him, pointing at several boxes of handmade coffee drinks stacked against the wall.

“Senior, these are support drinks for you, but there’s no note saying who sent them.”

Shen Ran glanced at the familiar logo on the boxes, then looked down at the identical logo on the cup in his hand. He couldn’t help but smile.

Ji Minglun, who was standing nearby, walked over and said, “The drinks from last time were from him too, weren’t they?”

A rare shyness appeared in Shen Ran’s smile. He took out his phone and snapped a picture of the boxes before turning to the younger teammate and saying,
“Could you help distribute them to everyone?”