Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Yan Mei held on for a long time.

Ye Jishu tried to move a bit, but the force from behind pulled even tighter, as if worried he would leave immediately.

"..."

Let it be for now.

Seeing no immediate intention to leave the roadside, Ye Jishu simply called a ride using his phone and then lowered his head to scroll through his phone. Suddenly, the phone vibrated, and a notification popped up on the screen, indicating that the game he was following would officially release at midnight tonight.

By now, he pretty much knew the content of the game.

But more than the game's storyline, he was interested in its playability and controls.

It was a horror game.

Similar games usually had a lot of text, with some puzzles thrown in, and the gameplay mostly involved frantically pressing three QTE keys.

Compared to such straightforward gameplay, Ye Jishu preferred pure skill-based competitions, especially player versus player, so he didn't play many of these types of games. If it weren't for the repeated requests from a familiar username in the comments section, he wouldn't have even considered checking it out.

But it seemed this game had added a lot of thrilling interactive elements, so it probably wouldn't be too boring.

As he was thinking, his shirt was tugged, making a rustling sound.

Then, Yan Mei's voice came from behind.

"...What is this?"

"A game."

Ye Jishu moved his hand aside, letting the other see the game's promotional cover.

But after a quick glance, Yan Mei looked away.

Ye Jishu didn't sense any curiosity from him.

Probably, it was just because he noticed Ye Jishu was on his phone more than usual today, so he asked out of politeness.

True.

Yan Mei didn't seem like the type to get hooked on games.

Totally different from him.

Ye Jishu pressed his lips together.

Then he lowered his head and went back to scrolling through his phone.

But for some reason, his phone suddenly didn't seem as interesting.

"Are you free tomorrow?"

After a while, Yan Mei suddenly said, "I want to take you somewhere—the new aquarium that just opened in the city."

"...No."

Yan Mei paused before saying, "But your math modeling competition just ended, right? What else is going on? Are you dealing with something? You can tell me—I'll help. Or do you just not want to hang out with me?"

"I can't go out," Ye Jishu said without looking up, continuing, "I want to play the game."

"...A game?"

His hand paused on the screen, pointing to the game's release time.

The phone already displayed the words "Reservation Successful."

"This game."

"I heard the aquarium has seals and other animals you don't get to see often."

"Mm," Ye Jishu said, "I've been to the aquarium, but I haven't played the game yet, so I decided to play the game."

He actually prefers staying in rather than going out, avoiding crowded places.

If it weren't for the other person's frequent invitations, he wouldn't even be out at this hour—he'd be back in the dorm.

"Is the game really that much fun?"

"Because it's always new and never gets boring."

Hearing this, Yan Mei fell silent.

But the arm loosely wrapped around his waist gradually tightened, and the head resting on his neck sank deeper.

"...I hate it when you talk like that."

He didn't bring up going out together the next day again, even after they got into the taxi.

...

The school has a dedicated building for clubs and activities.

The film club, being long-established, had already secured a room on the third floor.

When they arrived, they were ten minutes late.

From behind the slightly open door came the sound of a movie playing.

Ye Jishu felt a bit awkward about being late.

But Yan Mei didn't seem to mind. Without bothering to greet anyone, he pushed open the half-closed door.

The lights were off, probably to enhance the viewing experience.

At first glance, the room was pitch black, making it hard to tell how many people were there. Only the eerie blue light from the projection screen illuminated the faces of the front row, making them look visibly spooky.

Several pairs of eyes were glued to the screen.

"The door creaked."

Even though Ye Jishu, who entered later, moved slowly, the door still let out a slight creak.

The sound was amplified in the silent room, like nails on a chalkboard, startling everyone who was engrossed in the movie.

At that moment, a distorted ghost face appeared on the screen.

"Ahhhhh—" screamed the group. The room erupted in screams.

"What the hell?!"

"Who's messing around? Don't step on me!!"

The silence shattered, and the others in the room couldn't help but scream and yell.

"..."

Facing the chaos, Ye Jishu stood still.

With a click, Yan Mei turned on the room's light, revealing an expressionless face.

The sudden light chased away the fear.

The others jerked their heads around, staring at the two newcomers, their faces a mix of shock and confusion.

That was terrifying—what just happened?!

Out of nowhere, a voice cut through the silence in the activity room.

"Man, that was freaky. I almost had a heart attack."

Someone hit pause on the movie.

As the screen froze, someone peeked out from behind the control panel on the far left, their brown eyes catching the light.

Their sleeves were rolled up, revealing clean, toned forearms.

When they raised their hand to pause the movie, their cuffs slipped. They rubbed their face with their elbow and pulled their sleeves back up.

Their face was clean and fresh, the kind that made you think 'gentle' right away.

"Let's keep going, keep going."

With that, they pressed play again and stepped away from the controls.

Ye Jishu looked away from their face and back at the brightly lit activity room.

A huge projector hung on the white wall, the movie still playing.

All the chairs were piled in a corner, leaving a big mat on the empty floor.

The others had scattered around, finding spots to sit.

In the crowd, a few spaces were left open.

No one tried to squeeze in.

Clearly, those spots were saved for someone.

But here's the thing—that spot—

Only two people could fit there.

Ye Jishu, for one.

And Yan Mei, of course.

And then there was the other person.

There are three people.

One is a boyfriend in name only whom he has never met.

One is a friend who has been in the same club since the start of freshman year and has been friends for almost a semester.

Now it's obvious who's the third wheel.

"..."

Understood.

Ye Jishu originally wanted to step back and make room for the two of them, but the young man walking towards them only paused briefly before turning to the corner of the room. He picked up a chair that was originally stacked there, dragged it to the door to block it, and then sat down facing the back of the chair.

He smoothly diffused the awkwardness.

After doing all this, he looked up and smiled, speaking in a very natural tone.

"Looks like we picked the right movie, so I'll keep an eye on everyone. Even if I'm scared, I can't bail first."

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone couldn't help but let out a chorus of groans.

"Dude, that's too much!"

"Why choose such a scary movie? I thought it was a romance film. Glad I didn't bring my girlfriend—"

"Definitely has an ulterior motive."

The young man still smiled, his expression unchanged.

"Gory and violent, isn't it awesome? It's super cathartic to watch."

Ye Jishu's gaze fell on the screen.

The movie playing was a classic gore fest.

The Human Centipede.

His brown eyes were glued to the screen.

Hearing him say that was totally at odds with his refreshing vibe, creating a weird dissonance.

What exactly...

Ye Jishu was intently watching the side of his face when suddenly, he felt a firm grip on his wrist.

Before he knew it, Yan Mei had already pulled him towards the inside of the activity room.

He didn't take the empty seat or show any interest in staying to watch the movie.

Seeing this, Ye Jishu was left scratching his head.

"..."

Wait, where are we headed?

Out of the corner of his eye, the senior was still staring at the screen, but his expression froze for a second.

Though he quickly recovered, his initial reaction was genuine.

Ye Jishu: "..."

It wasn’t just his imagination.

The other person was indeed very focused on Yan Mei's every move.

Having a boyfriend who’s a total heartthrob comes with this kind of thing.

When he went downstairs to grab a drink, at least eight out of ten people probably had a crush on him.

Although Yan Mei didn't speak, his actions had already drawn everyone’s eyes.

Even as the movie grew weirder, everyone else had already stopped paying attention.

Their piercing gazes moved from their clasped hands to Ye Jishu, following them until they vanished into the movie club’s storage room.

The door closed.

The light grew dimmer.

Dust from the clutter floated like tiny sparkles in the faint light, making it feel like they were drifting in a dream.

The room was tight and cramped.

Just turning around brought them almost nose to nose.

It felt like they were in their own little world.

Yan Mei was a bit taller.

But when he leaned down, his forehead brushing Ye Jishu’s, the height difference didn’t matter anymore.

In the dim light, Yan Mei’s dark eyes seemed to glow as they locked onto his.

The tight space made it almost impossible not to hear Yan Mei’s heartbeat or feel his breath, leaving Ye Jishu with no way to escape.

Ye Jishu tried to pull away.

But with just a small shift, his back hit the peeling wall, and Yan Mei quickly grabbed his wrists.

"Not into the movie?"

"I didn’t come here to watch the movie anyway."

"..."

"Remember what today is?"

Was this some kind of trick question?

He looked confused. What day was it again?

Yan Mei murmured, "It’s Tuesday. Four months ago, in a place just like this, you confessed to me, and I said yes. Remember?"