By the time they finished wandering around, it was around seven in the evening, and the sky had grown almost completely dark.
On the way back to campus, Jian Yue pulled out his phone and noticed two missed calls on his lock screen. Checking the contact names, he saw they were from Shen Yu.
Thinking something urgent must have come up, Jian Yue called him back.
There was a brief busy tone on the other end before someone finally picked up. Shen Yu’s voice came through the receiver, tinged with anxiety and concern as he asked, “Jian Yue? Are you okay?”
Not understanding why the other was acting this way, Jian Yue’s tone carried a hint of confusion. “Yeah, I’m fine. Why do you ask?”
“The student council organized an event today, and afterward a senior decided to treat everyone to some bubble tea. On the way back, she mentioned to me that she didn’t see you at the shop…” Shen Yu explained. “I heard you already quit? Is that true?”
“Yeah, that’s right.”
Not the least bit surprised at how quickly Shen Yu had gotten wind of the news, Jian Yue admitted it readily.
That calm, untroubled tone instead left Shen Yu momentarily speechless on the other end of the line. Then, as if probing carefully, he asked gingerly, “Jian Yue… are you really okay right now?”
That tone, as if afraid he might do something rash, made the young man narrow his eyes slightly. “I’m perfectly fine.”
“Then those two calls just now that went unanswered… would it be alright to ask where you were?” Shen Yu inquired.
Faced with the question, the young man had no intention of explaining in detail, offering only a casual reply. “I just went out for a stroll. I’m already heading back to the dorm. If there’s nothing else, let’s talk back at the dorm later.”
With that, he hung up.
On the walk back, Jian Yue glanced at his phone screen and remarked to the system in his head, ‘I have to admit, Shen Yu really is quite thoughtful. If anyone else had received a call like that in this situation, they’d probably find themselves wanting to chat a while longer.’
It was just a shame that this guy treated everyone the same way. Otherwise, Jian Yue might actually have been naive enough to think the man had feelings for him.
But if he really did have feelings for him, how could there not be even a hint of plot development, with the two of them peacefully coexisting as roommates like this?
Having thought it all through, Jian Yue was completely disenchanted with the idea, deciding only to enjoy his days to the fullest during the time remaining before his verdict came down.
With that in mind, Jian Yue asked the system, ‘Have you tracked down those guys’ home addresses yet? If so, give me a map so I can check the routes they’ll have to take.’
Yes, Jian Yue hadn’t forgotten his plan to give those guys a good beating before he left. Just thinking about finally getting to cut loose and fight to his heart’s content made him feel exhilarated all over, and he was already letting out a silent, villainous ‘heh heh heh heh’ in his mind.
Back at the dorm, Jian Yue saw exactly what he expected: Shen Yu looking over at him with worry.
The moment the other spotted him, he shot up from his seat and moved toward Jian Yue of his own accord.
His collar hung slightly open, and beneath it, the warm, pale lines of his body looked like an exquisitely carved relief under the dormitory lights. His Adam’s apple, his collarbones, the unseen contours of his chest… all of it was like a flawless work of art, waiting to be touched.
Those eyes seemed capable of speech. The deep, heavy contours around them, paired with his lightly defined features, lent those pale brown irises a visual impression as sweet and viscous as caramel.
That look of approaching him with worry written all over his face could always beguile a drifting, unmoored soul into willingly sinking into his arms.
Jian Yue, who had been momentarily dazed by the man’s beauty, pulled his gaze back and clicked his tongue inwardly.
‘You won’t even let me eat, and yet you put on this act. What exactly are you trying to do?’
Hearing his host’s inner thoughts, the System was speechless for a moment. But out of some inexplicable impulse, it couldn’t help chiming in: 【He’s not that good-looking, is he?】
Jian Yue paid no attention to the System’s rebuttal of his comment. As Shen Yu walked in, he took a step back on his own, maintaining a safe distance between the two of them.
Seeing this, Shen Yu’s movements stalled, and he stopped in place.
After a moment, that handsome face lifted in his direction. The angle was just right, Jian Yue could even faintly make out the slight furrow between the man’s brows, caused by his own instinctive retreat, making Shen Yu look almost heartbroken.
The forced calm in Shen Yu’s smiling voice was slightly strained, though such a detail would be nearly impossible to detect without careful scrutiny. Jian Yue belonged to the group that failed to detect it, so all he heard was Shen Yu’s spring-breeze-gentle greeting: “You’re back?”
“Mm.”
Somewhat wary of this whole display, Jian Yue’s expression carried a trace of suspicion. His fox-like eyes widened round, smooth as almonds, and he asked with a hint of curiosity: “Why are you the only one in the dorm?”
Wasn’t Mu Yansheng always hanging around the dorm?
“They all had things to do, so they went out.”
Shen Yu wasn’t particularly invested in those people’s affairs, so his answer came across somewhat absentminded. But Jian Yue failed to notice this detail as well, calmly pulling off his newly bought hat and preparing to change clothes and get some proper rest.
Shen Yu quietly observed Jian Yue’s demeanor. His brows were tightly knit, as if he were pondering something, or analyzing it.
He couldn’t read a single trace of emotion from the young man’s face. The other’s emotions were so calm they were seamless, there wasn’t the slightest hint of anyone putting on an act.
As if surprised by the young man’s reaction, or perhaps because the young man was displaying emotions entirely different from what he had anticipated, Shen Yu felt somewhat uneasy. That unease drove him to approach the young man, abandoning for now any thought of waiting until the latter had finished returning his borrowed clothes:
“After I finished my call with you, I had someone go ask about the situation at the shop.”
“So, it was the manager who fired you on a whim, right?”
The distance between them had closed. Jian Yue’s gaze met those sincere eyes brimming with concern. Shen Yu’s presence grew more distinct with every step closer…
The scent of his clothes, of his shampoo everything felt familiar to Jian Yue.
So familiar that in almost an instant, he recognized it as the scent of the brand he always used.
Wait. The same brand?
First, rule out the possibility that the man had deliberately bought the same cheap shampoo and body wash…
So, could he have been secretly using my shampoo and body wash? And how could he use them without even telling me?
Though he really didn’t want to think ill of the man, once this thought took root in Jian Yue’s brain, the face gradually enlarging before him, along with the gentle words offering “I can help,” were all drowned out by that single phrase on repeat: secretly using my shampoo and body wash.
Or maybe he should just brush through the conversation, then sneak off to check whether his shampoo had been used up by half?
It wasn’t that he was stingy enough to forbid anyone from using it, but using it with his permission and taking it without asking were two entirely different things.
Shen Yu noticed that when he’d asked Jian Yue “Do you want me to help you?”, the young man’s expression had been somewhat complicated.
The look in his eyes as he gazed at him was a little absent-minded. He seemed on the verge of speaking countless times, yet there was none of the emotion Shen Yu had been expecting.
That made Shen Yu want to blurt out, “What did you figure out?”
But in the end, after receiving the young man’s clear and firm refusal, he dropped the subject and forcibly suppressed the impulse in his heart.
Yet in a corner where the young man couldn’t see, Shen Yu his face full of concern, couldn’t help suppressing the secret delight within.
Though he had no idea why the owner of that shop had suddenly fired Jian Yue, he liked having an opening to slip in through, liked the feeling of being someone the other could lean on.
It was just a pity that he seemed to have failed at managing his expression letting Jian Yue sense that something was off.
But it didn’t matter. There would be a next time.