In the store, the decorations from the last store anniversary hadn’t been taken down.
Although Yun Ci rarely came, he was unusually familiar with the whole store because Yu Xun would report to him almost daily.
Every setup in the store, the new decorations, and the “mascot” at the door had all appeared in the photos.
At times like this, the more he avoided the topic, the more awkward it became, so Yun Ci straightforwardly said: “That senior.”
Yu Xun raised an eyebrow: “What about him?”
Yun Ci: “He came to you for this in the past few days?”
“Yeah,” Yu Xun looked a bit troubled but actually boasted, “No choice; I might be too suited to playing a princess – I have a talent for acting. He saw the footage and wanted me to perform.”
“……”
What kind of talent for a princess?
Yu Xun went to the display window to get the cake, while Yun Ci stood at the counter, helping watch the store.
A customer came in and asked him, “How much is this?”
Yun Ci glanced at the tag: “Fifteen.”
Customer: “Is it good?”
Yun Ci: “You’ll know if you buy it.”
“Are you new here?” The customer looked at him.
“……” After a while, Yun Ci adjusted his mood, suppressing the earlier awkwardness, and said, “Sort of.”
The customer asked a few more questions and then left without buying anything. Meanwhile, Yu Xun carefully tied a bow on the small cake’s package, put it in a plastic bag, and handed it to him.
Yun Ci noticed that the sample packages around didn’t have black ribbons. As he took it, he asked casually: “Changed the packaging?”
“No,” Yu Xun withdrew his hand and said, “This is a special one, just for you.”
He walked back to the cash register, looking a bit tired, and added as he half-lay down, “I don’t bother tying them for others.”
Yun Ci’s fingers hooked on the plastic bag. Looking at the black ribbon on the box, the feeling of his heart being suddenly clenched slowly smoothed out.
“……”
Yu Xun seemed like he needed a nap and said: “No need to pay; I get the employee discount.”
He had said everything, and Yun Ci thanked him.
“Your prince,” before Yun Ci left, Yu Xun said seriously, leaning on his chin, “acted very well too.”
Yu Xun: “It’s his lack of taste. The princess’s performance was certainly outstanding, but the prince was equally excellent.”
Yun Ci: “…”
How to say it, he wasn’t concerned about that.
But it wasn’t wrong for Yu Xun to think he came to be concerned about this. He did usually care about such things.
However, this made some words even harder to say naturally.
Yun Ci carried the cake back to the dorm.
He looked at the cake, remembering the awkward probing from the internet cafe, the birthday cake, and now this, never once leaving this cake behind.
Only Peng Yiyuan was in the dorm, lying on the bed and playing with his phone.
Peng Yiyuan had finished his end-of-term assignments early and continued to lie there leisurely. As he lay there, he felt something was off, half-sitting up to ask Yun Ci: “Is the exam pressure too much? You’ve been staring at that cake for almost half an hour.”
“……”
Yun Ci could only acknowledge: “Yeah, a lot of pressure.”
Peng Yiyuan comforted him: “You usually work so hard, the end-of-term exams will be fine.”
Yun Ci changed the subject, suddenly mentioning something Peng Yiyuan had said: “You said before… the person you like never responded to you.”
Peng Yiyuan: “Huh?”
Peng Yiyuan didn’t know why he brought this up but said, “Yeah, she didn’t read the love letters I sent, and the breakfast I brought was eaten by her friends. When I chatted with her online, she rarely replied.”
After a while…
Yun Ci, as if talking to himself, said: “If she liked you, she would have responded first.” Then, as if asking someone, he said, “Isn’t that right?”
Peng Yiyuan: “I think so.”
……
Response.
Yun Ci repeated these two words in his heart several times.
Response is important, so he should respond first.
Let Yu Xun feel that he likes him first.
After figuring this out, Yun Ci felt a lot more at ease. He patted Peng Yiyuan on the shoulder: “I understand now, thanks.”
“?”
Peng Yiyuan was confused.
Understand what, what did he do, why thank him?
But Yun Ci had already ended the conversation, not intending to continue. He lowered his head, took out his phone, and sent a message to someone.
yc: [photo]
He took a photo of the cake on the dorm table and added: [Got back to the dorm.]
After sending it, Yun Ci pondered over his two messages: This response should be obvious enough.
After sending it, he thought a lot.
At one point, he thought the photo accidentally captured the textbooks, wondering if Yu Xun would think he was just showing he was studying.
At another point, he thought Yu Xun might think he was just being polite, after all, the cake was a gift from him.
After a while…
He thought the photo might not look good; the background was too messy.
……
Does liking someone make you think so much all day?
Yun Ci got annoyed, thinking he might as well retract the two messages.
The typing indicator on the chat interface stayed lit for a long time, and sure enough, the black avatar focused on the textbooks, replying: [Mm, study well.]
Yun Ci flipped through a few pages of the book and then picked up his phone again: [What time will you be back at the dorm?]
yx: [Eight o’clock]
yx: [Is something up?]
Just chatting, Yun Ci’s heart inexplicably beat faster.
He pressed his lips, not knowing how to reply.
yc: [Can’t I ask if there’s nothing?]
yx: [Sure.]
Yun Ci put down his phone, feeling he had done a good job with today’s response quota, leaving the rest for when Yu Xun returned.
Before putting down his phone, he looked at the chat interface for a while.
The black and white avatars looked quite pleasing.
……
In the evening, Yun Ci had almost finished his revision. After washing up, he glanced at the time, almost eight o’clock.
So he slipped out, waiting at the end of the dorm hallway near the stairs, brushing his phone.
As Yu Xun walked up the stairs, he saw someone leaning at the corner.
A person he could recognize without looking at the face, just by the general shape and outline.
The boy was dressed thinly, wearing a T-shirt in the heated hallway, looking thin and cold, his hair slightly damp and messy. When not speaking, he looked somewhat aloof, standing there as if blocking someone.
—And indeed, he was blocking someone.
Yun Ci heard footsteps, raised his eyes, meeting Yu Xun’s gaze.
“Cake,” Yun Ci blocked him at the stairs, saying unnaturally before Yu Xun could speak, “It was delicious.”
“……”
Then Yun Ci took a breath and asked: “When are you free?”
“As a return gift, I’ll treat you to a meal tomorrow.”
Yu Xun lowered his eyes to look at him, not answering for a moment.
The corner was dimly lit, Yun Ci’s clear eyes were still bright, but the nervousness and awkwardness in his gaze were obvious.
Yu Xun didn’t dare to judge what this nervousness and awkwardness meant.
He was always bold in pursuing, saying whatever came to mind, but he hadn’t really considered their relationship, or rather, hadn’t thought Yun Ci might like him.
The person in front of him was someone he had secretly liked for a long time.
He never dared to hope for anything.
He stood there in a daze, not daring to think of a possibility.
Though it seemed very likely.
“Tomorrow?” After a long time, he heard his own voice, which was unconsciously tense.
Yun Ci: “Mm.”
Yu Xun finally said: “I’m free, free all day.”
After arranging the meeting, Yun Ci stepped back two steps, making his way to the corner, but Yu Xun didn’t seem to have any intention of going back to the dorm.
Both felt a bit awkward.
Yu Xun: “I’m going to find Liu Zi; I have something to do.”
Yun Ci put his hands in his pockets. “Oh,” was all he said.
Liu Zi’s dormitory was in chaos, with people doing all sorts of things, even someone doing a live stream and shouting, “A hundred squats, right bro? I’ll do it right now, I’m squatting!”
Liu Zi hadn’t gone to the shop today, busy cramming at the last minute. He looked up and was startled to see Yu Xun entering from the doorway: “Why are you here?”
“Something at the shop?” he asked.
“No,” Yu Xun said.
“So you came to find me for something?”
Liu Zi sat up straight: “Tell me, how many people do you need? Where are we fighting? How many people are on Yun Ci’s side? What’s the strategy?”
“……”
Yu Xun sat down beside him, casually flipping through his textbook. Then he raised his hand and tapped Liu Zi’s head with the book: “How many times have I told you, no fighting.”
Seeing there was no fight, Liu Zi’s body slumped back down: “I think I’m going to fail my end-of-term exams.”
Yu Xun: “Good luck on the retakes.”
“……” Liu Zi mentally cursed, “Thanks.”
Liu Zi flipped through the book, finding every word a headache. He suddenly remembered past events: “Speaking of which, if it weren’t for you, I might not have gotten into Nanyang University.”
He was typically not fond of studying and had very poor grades in high school.
But back when they were at the barbecue stall, besides stealing motorcycles from the roadside during fights, Yu Xun often made him do homework together.
At that time, Yu Xun pressed a workbook in front of him: “If you don’t get into college, what will you do after graduation? Continue grilling skewers here?”
“……”
Liu Zi reminisced, feeling somewhat touched. Even the textbook in front of him looked more appealing, but his brother didn’t share the same sentiment.
The sorrows between brothers are not shared.
“When someone specifically asks if you are free tomorrow and invites you to dinner,” Yu Xun, holding his phone, completely losing his usual judgment, asked him, “is that a sign of affection?”
Liu Zi: “…… It could just be a simple meal.”
Yu Xun: “Then what about actively sending you messages?”
Liu Zi: “A lot of people actively send messages. It’s just a message, it doesn’t mean much. Why are you suddenly asking this?”
“……”
But the one sending messages and inviting him to dinner was Yun Ci.
Everything ordinary became extraordinary.
Yu Xun entered the unchanged phone password from years ago, unlocked his phone, opened the pinned chat, and looked again at the photo Yun Ci sent him today, zooming in several times, examining every detail of the photo.
The long dormitory table, the textbooks in the corner, the cake, and Yun Ci’s hand were accidentally captured in the shot.
He looked at it for a long time, then pressed save.
【Image saved】
*
The next day.
Yun Ci looked through restaurants near the school on his phone, even pondering what to wear before getting out of bed.
Most of his clothes were similar, so it was hard to pick something different.
Maybe he should borrow a shirt from Wang Zhuang.
……
After lying in bed for a while and waking up more, he dismissed this ridiculous option.
When Yun Ci went down to wash up, Yu Xun was just getting up, holding the hem of his pajamas, about to change clothes—in the unshielded environment, Yun Ci caught a glimpse of a lean waist.
“Morning.” Yu Xun’s voice was a bit hoarse from just waking up.
“……” Yun Ci felt a bit stiff, looked away, and said, “Morning.”
Yu Xun then asked, “Where are we eating? Have you decided?”
Before Yun Ci could answer, Peng Yiyuan from the opposite bed loudly said, “What? How did you know I was going to treat you guys to dinner today——!”
Yu Xun: “……”
Yun Ci: “……”
Peng Yiyuan: “To thank you for helping me with my end-of-term assignments, I booked a restaurant today. I was just about to tell you—did you guess it in advance? Is this the tacit understanding between roommates? You guys know me too well.”
Is it possible that this meal is not with you?
But Yun Ci didn’t say it out loud.
Since Peng Yiyuan had already booked it, he and Yu Xun could have their meal another time.
“Yeah,” Yun Ci said expressionlessly, “tacit understanding.”
Yu Xun also ran a hand through his hair and cooperated: “We know you so well. After dinner, it’s KTV again, right?”
Peng Yiyuan: “See, that’s why I said you know me well! You even guessed the after-dinner activity.”
Mentioning KTV, both of them felt a bit awkward.
After all, both times at KTV, the memories were too unexpected.
After a moment, Yu Xun said, “You bought a card there, haven’t spent all the money yet.”
“……”
*
At noon, Peng Yiyuan treated them to lunch.
The location was off-campus, this time at a well-known hot pot restaurant, inviting quite a few people—three tables in total. Liu Zi and Li Yan brought their friends, filling two tables.
The 608 dormitory group sat at one table.
The beef oil hot pot aroma wafted over from the next table, filling the room with a Sichuan fragrance. The dining table was large, seating eight or nine people. With three tables filled, it looked like a banquet.
Luo Sifang couldn’t help but ask, “Why did you bring so many people?”
“Oh,” Liu Zi explained, “he said eating hot pot is livelier with more people, so I brought my brothers along.”
Several of these brothers were very familiar, having attended the East Gate Alley battle.
Luo Sifang turned to Li Yan, silently asking the same question.
Li Yan was also very straightforward: “I heard he invited a lot of people, in case something happens, I need to be prepared. It’s too late to call people later.”
Liu Zi couldn’t stand such words: “Damn, I came out to eat hot pot with my brothers, what could happen? Am I that kind of vulgar person?”
Li Yan: “Aren’t you?”
As he spoke, Li Yan turned around and reminded the brothers he brought, “I told you, remember, if anything happens, just smash the cup as a signal!”
“……”
Alright, got it.
So, the three tables of people sat down to eat.
But Luo Sifang and Wang Zhuang felt a bit uneasy eating this hotpot, constantly paying attention to the movements at the other two tables, even though the “big brothers” from those tables were sitting at their table—and sitting right next to them.
Yun Ci didn’t manage to check the situation at the other two tables.
He didn’t even look at the “battle plan” message Li Yan had sent him.
A few minutes ago, when they sat down, he directly sat next to Yu Xun—the two of them were very close, with the steam from the hotpot slightly scalding their faces.
The hotpot restaurant was excessively noisy, making their ears hurt. Li Yan and Liu Zi were arguing, each table talking among themselves, and the chaotic sounds mixed together.
But perhaps because he was sitting next to Yu Xun, those other noises gradually got isolated, and he only noticed Yu Xun picking up a candy from the pre-meal snack plate, unwrapping it, and eating it.
…
Does he like eating these?
Yun Ci lowered his gaze to look at the untouched snacks on his own plate.
Everyone had a plate in front of them, each with only one candy. After Yu Xun finished eating, only other things like cookies remained in his plate, which he didn’t touch again.
Yun Ci thought of the plan they made yesterday.
Respond.
Liu Zi and Li Yan were still arguing.
Liu Zi, holding chopsticks and dipping meat slices into the copper pot, said, “Are they crazy? What kind of nonsense is ‘smashing cups as a signal’—”
“We’ll smash them too—keep an eye on the situation, and when we smash, do it with momentum—”
Li Yan, dipping tripe, counting nervously in his mind, complained, “Damn, momentum? I think their table is crazy—wait, how many times have I dipped this tripe?”
“…”
Amidst the chaos.
Yun Ci picked up the candy from his plate, grasped it tightly, and hid it in his palm.
He didn’t know how to give it to Yu Xun, so he tucked his hand into his sleeve, pulling it all the way under the table where no one could see, and tugged at Yu Xun’s clothes.
At the first tug, Yu Xun didn’t notice.
It wasn’t until the second tug that he glanced down out of the corner of his eye.
He saw under the table, the candy hidden in Yun Ci’s palm.
“…” Yun Ci spoke while looking elsewhere, as if not talking to him, with a cold tone that was unnaturally stiff, “For you.”
Xun Xun you can dare to hope for a response ahhhhh!!!