(3/4)
Chapter 18: Is there anyone you like?
Yun Ci poked someone else and asked: [Can you see that person’s Moments?]
Zhou Wenyu replied instantly: [Can’t see it, there’s nothing there.]
His first reaction was to think that the two had quarreled over Moments privacy settings. For example, his buddy found out he couldn’t see the other person’s Moments and felt dissatisfied, thinking, ‘It’s my choice whether or not to look, but blocking me is really annoying. How dare you block me?’ This kind of mindset was typical between such rivals.
So Zhou Wenyu asked again: [What’s up, did he block you too?]
Zhou Wenyu: [I asked a few more people for you, and they all said no.]
Zhou Wenyu: [Don’t worry, it’s just Moments. Not seeing it is a good thing, saves our phones from getting dirty!]
Yun Ci: […]
Thanks. His phone was already dirty.
So, was he the only one who could see those Moments?
Or maybe only he and a few others could see them.
But why change the privacy settings?
…
Although those Moments looked bizarre, they didn’t seem to need special privacy settings.
Yun Ci was filled with “why”s.
Yu Xun was a person more difficult to figure out than all the problems Yun Ci had solved in his life.
Only Li Yan thought it wasn’t complicated at all.
After understanding the situation, Li Yan, determined to relieve his friend’s worries, said: [His intentions are obvious to everyone.]
Yun Ci: [?]
Li Yan: [He’s messing with you.]
Li Yan: [If it’s set to “Only you can see”, then it’s meant for you. He wants you to do things for him, run errands, be his lackey, and acknowledge him as the boss.]
–
Yun Ci ignored Yu Xun’s ridiculous Moments post about “how to buy food from the cafeteria” and was determined not to fall into the trap of becoming Yu Xun’s lackey.
A week later, Yu Xun’s wound had almost healed. He put away the bottle of disinfectant, no longer had to “prepare for the CET-4 and CET-6” exams every night, and didn’t have to copy two sets of class notes each time.
However, the relationship between the two of them had somehow changed.
On the weekend, after finishing his homework, Yun Ci lay on the upper bunk, browsing his phone. As he scrolled, the black avatar sent him another message.
yx: [Are you asleep?]
yc: [?]
yc: [Aren’t you staying up late?]
After replying, Yun Ci realized he had responded.
He scrolled up the chat history and saw that the long monologue from the black avatar had changed to alternating messages from the black and white avatars, although the white avatar spoke much less frequently.
Someone asked for help with bringing food, to which the response was, “No time.”
They also asked for help with a lesson they slept through, saying, “Teach me the vocab words.” The response was, “Can’t teach someone with such low IQ.”
It seemed that since the first awkward message sent to this person from the office corridor, replying to their messages had become much easier.
YX: [Apply the medicine for me again tomorrow]
Yun Ci was about to reply, “Your wound has healed, what medicine do you need?”
The other party immediately sent three more words: [Scar removal cream.]
[I still think my hands shouldn’t have scars. I checked online, scar removal cream needs to be applied daily until the scar disappears, which takes about six months to a year.]
Yun Ci: […]
…
How delicate can one be.
It takes an hour to drink a dose of Huoxiang Zhengqi water, and a year to apply scar removal cream.
Living like this seems tough.
Yun Ci imagined the scene of having to help apply the cream for the next year and felt the future looked bleak.
…That stab didn’t have to be blocked by him, he would rather be stabbed himself.
The rest of the 608 dormitory were also lying in bed playing with their phones when someone suddenly said, “Let me treat you all to dinner.”
Wang Zhuang, feeling dejected, asked, “Master Peng, what’s the occasion? Do you have extra spending money this month?”
Peng Yiyuan: “No, it’s my birthday next week, and I want to treat everyone to a meal and also thank Ci-ge and Yu-ge.”
Luo Sifang: “Please speak clearly next time, otherwise these rich statements always scare us.”
Peng Yiyuan: “Oh, I will.”
Peng Yiyuan then asked Yun Ci, “Are you free next weekend? No need to prepare for the CET-4 and CET-6 exams, right?”
Yun Ci choked a bit and said, “…Yes. No need.”
So Peng Yiyuan booked a restaurant in advance. While they were still eating at the small Sha County restaurant off campus, Master Peng booked a luxurious and stylish western restaurant. After the meal, he booked a KTV room nearby and invited the whole dormitory to sing.
Yun Ci brought a birthday gift, noticing that Peng Yiyuan usually watched some anime, so he gave him a figurine.
After entering the room, he led everyone in singing a birthday song.
In such matters, Class Monitor Yun always performed thoroughly.
“Is Yu-ge not here yet?” After finishing a song, Luo Sifang asked, “Ask in the group chat.”
Wang Zhuang said, “He’s probably working, hasn’t responded in the group.”
Just as Wang Zhuang finished speaking, Yun Ci’s phone vibrated.
Opening it, he saw a black avatar poking him, asking: [Which room?]
Yun Ci’s fingers tapped on the screen, typing: [Can’t see the group chat?]
But he didn’t send it, tired of arguing over this issue already discussed countless times, and changed it to the room number: [A02.]
Two or three minutes later, the tightly closed door of the private room was pushed open. Yu Xun walked in wearing a black windbreaker, short, just reaching his waist, below which were his astonishingly proportioned legs. The dark blue jeans he wore were slightly loose, highlighting a bit of a uniquely youthful slenderness.
He carried a cake, putting it down casually after entering: “Just got off work, brought this from the store.”
Peng Yiyuan: “You’re too kind…”
Yu Xun: “Not really, employee discount of 20%, still quite cheap after the discount.”
Peng Yiyuan: “…”
After speaking, Yu Xun looked for a place to sit.
He scanned the room, avoiding all the spacious seats, and walked to the corner where Yun Ci was.
Yun Ci’s right eyelid twitched, and sure enough, Yu Xun sat next to him.
The room was dimly lit, only the ceiling lightball flashing intermittently. The colorful lights surprisingly suited his face, the fragmented lights falling into his eyes.
Yu Xun sat beside him, quietly listening to the music. Wang Zhuang was singing “Love of a Lifetime” with a fairly standard Cantonese pronunciation.
Yun Ci listened intently, and in the end, he raised his hand to applaud Wang Zhuang.
Yu Xun suddenly asked him, “What else do you want to hear?”
Yun Ci was a bit puzzled: “?”
Yu Xun leaned back a bit as he spoke: “…Nothing, just that I can sing quite well and wanted to show off a bit.”
“…”
Yun Ci was speechless for a moment.
“Nothing in particular,” he sat in the corner, coldly saying, “I don’t like listening to people sing.”
Hearing this, Yu Xun lowered his eyes.
He seemed a bit disappointed that he couldn’t show off.
They were halfway through singing when they realized the private room Peng Yiyuan booked actually came with alcohol.
“VIP room, two cases of beer included,” the server explained as they brought in the drinks, “Should I open them for you now?”
University was very different from high school, where people would directly ask if they wanted drinks rather than saying, “If you’re underage, leave now.”
Wang Zhuang and Luo Sifang were eager to try.
Yun Ci wasn’t a fan of drinking but joined in for the novelty, drinking half a bottle. It was a bit bitter with an alcoholic taste.
Yu Xun drank two or three bottles, holding the bottle under the light.
Luo Sifang, with a low tolerance, got drunk halfway and stared at Yu Xun.
“Yu-ge, your face looks like,” he couldn’t help but say, “it has many stories.”
Yu Xun raised an eyebrow.
Luo Sifang added, “The emotional kind. Did you have many relationships in high school?”
“Getting into relationships” was a major topic in the 608 dormitory.
High school strictly prohibited dating, forcing students to sneak around behind parents and teachers’ backs, with some not even experiencing puppy love. In university, dating became legitimate, with many finding partners during military training, openly holding hands on campus.
However, none of the 608 dorm members were involved in relationships.
The two who seemed most likely to date didn’t seem to care about it—instead, they seemed more focused on each other’s every move.
Surprisingly, Yu Xun answered, “No.”
Luo Sifang: “?”
Yu Xun: “I told you I’m very introverted.”
Luo Sifang: “??”
Yu Xun: “I’m too shy to talk at school, how could I have so many relationships.”
“……..”
Wang Zhuang quietly poked Yun Ci: “Is he introverted?”
Yun Ci: “Ha.”
Wang Zhuang: “…But really, he never dated?”
This time Yun Ci didn’t “ha.”
Although Yu Xun’s words sounded like nonsense, the second half was probably true.
Wang Zhuang lamented: “If I had that face—if I had that face, I’d switch partners every day! I’d date everyone in the city! Unlike you guys! So unappreciative!”
Later on, after getting tired of singing, Luo Sifang suggested, “How about we play a game, Truth or Dare. Spin the bottle, and whoever it points to answers a question or drinks a bottle if they can’t answer. How about that?”
This kind of game is all about probability.
Yun Ci had bad luck, getting chosen in the first round. The bottle wobbled and stopped in front of him.
Everyone cheered, “Oh,” and made a fuss: “A random question, the question is… Hmm, tell us about a deeply memorable experience.”
This question wasn’t very interesting.
Everyone thought Yun Ci would talk about some unresolved incident with Yu Xun. Or several.
But Yun Ci remained silent.
The light shifted from him, falling into a corner, and he sank into the darkness. Suddenly, familiar, sharp noises pierced his ears, like fingernails scraping harshly against something—after a long, long noise, he almost went deaf for a moment.
Then, he snapped back to reality.
“I’ll drink,” he said.
The others were stunned for a moment but quickly moved past it, not pressing further.
“Well, I did say it was deeply memorable,” Wang Zhuang said, “So of course he wouldn’t tell us, otherwise how could it be deeply memorable? Next, next.”
Next round.
The bottle pointed to Yu Xun.
The others waited for the fun, Luo Sifang picked a random question: “How did you break up with your ex’… Oh, that’s not good, you’re introverted and never dated. Change the question, ‘Do you have someone you like’?”
Yun Ci, holding the empty bottle he had just finished, thought this question should also be changed; how could he possibly have someone?
He hadn’t drunk much before and didn’t know his alcohol tolerance. In high school, he occasionally drank a little with Yan Yue, but Yan Yue only gave him a small cup, barely enough to feel, just for participation.
After two bottles, he felt a bit dizzy.
So, in his slight dizziness, he watched Yu Xun, whose jacket was open, colorful lights blurring on his face, outlining his features. His eyes seemed to darken, lashes casting a black shadow.
Finally, he heard Yu Xun say:
“Yes.”
For every Ko-fi received for a perticular novel, I will release a new chapter!
A frog is being slowly boiled right now haha…