Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Ye Jishu pushed open the door.

As he left the corridor and returned to the dormitory, the light in the entire room suddenly dimmed.

Only the computer on his lower bunk was on, casting a faint blue light in the swaying storm, projecting a dizzying glow onto the floor.

He glanced at the center of the screen.

The download progress bar was already full, and the game could start once the installation was complete.

He turned and closed the door.

The door scraped against the floor.

When it shut completely, it clicked.

Almost instantly, the sound of rain in the corridor vanished.

The dormitory sank into dead silence and stifling heat.

As Ye Jishu pulled out a chair and sat down, a trembling, faint voice, like the buzz of a fly, came from behind.

"Just now... were those your friends?"

It was his roommate's voice.

But before Ye Jishu could respond, the other person pressed on, anxious and fearful.

"They... didn't come in, did they?"

The tightly closed bed creaked as it shook.

It wasn’t hard to imagine the panicked figure hiding behind, trying to shrink as far into the bed as possible.

"They didn't come in," Ye Jishu said.

That’s just how social anxiety is.

The roommate’s condition had gotten so bad that it no longer surprised him.

In all the time they’d lived together, Ye Jishu had never seen him leave the dorm or talk to anyone else. Whenever asked, he’d quickly say he was busy studying "Advanced Algebra" or "Mathematical Analysis," so diligent he hadn’t even shown his face once.

At the same time, the eye peeking through the curtain gap always flickered with a faint light of fear and timidity.

Even now, it was no different.

Hearing his denial, the roommate took a deep breath, eyes darting, and whispered, "That’s good, otherwise I’d have had to kill those guys... wuwuwu, that would’ve been too scary..."

The murmurs faded behind the bed curtain.

And that eye, like it was sinking into water, slowly vanished from the reflection on Ye Jishu’s screen.

The roommate’s words were too muffled.

Not a single word was clear enough to understand.

But with the other person silent now, Ye Jishu instinctively glanced at the lower right corner of his screen.

—Exactly one o'clock in the morning.

Every night at this time, his roommate would fall silent without fail.

"Maybe he's getting ready to sleep."

At this thought, he hesitated, his hand halfway to his phone.

In that case, a phone call was out of the question.

Or...

He could text Yan Mei.

Truth be told, he'd rather text than call. It gave him time to choose his words carefully, without the pressure of an immediate response.

After all, every time he spoke his mind in person, Yan Mei seemed to get even angrier...

He unlocked his phone, the chat interface still displaying the message: "won't let anyone ruin it."

The room felt heavier, the air more oppressive.

Ye Jishu typed out his message in the chat box.

"How about we hit the aquarium tomorrow?"

Once sent, a wave of nervousness hit him, his eyes glued to the screen.

Almost immediately, as the message appeared in the chat log, the interface displayed the words "typing..."

Seeing this, Ye Jishu felt his heart rate quicken, and his palms started to sweat a little.

But—

Several minutes passed, but no new message came through.

Below Yan Mei's name, it still said "typing..."

Ye Jishu: "..."

As he watched.

Several more minutes passed like this, and Yan Mei's message still hadn't appeared in the chat box.

Ye Jishu kept staring at the screen, his eyes starting to strain. He couldn't help but blink, trying to ease the strain. Yet, waiting like this truly gave him the feeling of being on death row...

His eyes wandered to the computer desktop.

Honestly, he didn’t really like games that much.

It was just that he often felt bored, liked trying new things, and found that violent games were his go-to for blowing off steam.

Just as he placed his hand on the mouse, ready to start a game, his phone suddenly vibrated.

Oh.

A new message.

Ye Jishu quickly lowered his head to look at his phone, already prepared for the possibility that Yan Mei was still angry.

Hmm...

Even he felt that it was inappropriate to change his mind and suggest going out after having just refused.

But he really couldn’t think of what else to do.

Even without being told, he could tell that Yan Mei’s family was quite well-off. Unlike Ye Jishu, who could get whatever he wanted, he had no idea what he could offer to make the other person less angry—all he had was something as inexpensive as a small octopus keychain.

That had been their first date.

Ye Jishu had never been in a relationship before, so he asked Yan Mei. After Yan Mei smiled and said, "I’d like to see the places you often go to," he actually took him to the only place he liked to go to outside—a game arcade... Only later did he realize that this was probably the worst possible choice for a first date.

It wasn’t until he overheard others excitedly discussing their dates during a public lecture. That’s when he realized something was wrong.

He had been catching up on sleep, but as his body slumped on the desk, it gradually stiffened, and all drowsiness vanished in an instant.

At the same time.

Ye Jishu’s mind immediately flashed back.

Yan Mei had looked even more handsome than usual that day, probably having put a lot of thought into his outfit for the occasion, while Ye Jishu, for the sake of comfort, had still worn casual clothes...

He... he had actually taken Yan Mei’s polite words at face value.

He probably accepted the small purple-red octopus later just to make their first date seem less awkward.

Earlier that day, Yan Mei had been so angry about losing the pendant, likely because he was reminded of their terrible first date and took it out on others... After all, there was no reason for him to care so much about an inexpensive item worth only ten yuan, even if it was from Ye Jishu.

Although they had gone out alone many times after that, none of those outings felt like "official" dates—just casually holding hands and spending time together.

Unlike the first time, which had been so significant.

—Perhaps it was because they hadn’t gone to those romantic, atmospheric spots for couples, like the aquarium? It was just ordinary daily life.

"But... the aquarium."

"It sounds like Yan Mei is taking this date seriously."

So, after racking his brain, the only solution Ye Jishu could come up with was to make up for it during their second date, to leave a better impression as an ex-boyfriend, so that Yan Mei might, just might, be happy.

The only bad memory in an otherwise perfect life—hopefully erased like this.

But Yan Mei hadn’t replied for so long.

He had no idea how Yan Mei would react to his words now...

Although Ye Jishu’s mind had wandered far, his gaze shifted back to the screen after only a few seconds.

The new message immediately caught his eye.

Sure enough—it was a long message.

Crap.

His heart started racing again at the sight of it.

Ye Jishu held his breath, squinted his eyes, and tried to commit the words to memory.

No matter what Yan Mei's reaction was...

He would accept it.

All the anxiety concentrated in his temples, making his head throb with tension.

"Mmm—okay! I'm so happy, Jishu! Really happy!"

"I've already planned everything ahead of time, so I'll just send you a quick overview now. This is our second official date in four months, and I won't repeat last time's mistakes. This time, I'll definitely prepare better."

"I've checked the weather for tomorrow, and it's great. Sunny, with some sun at noon, and just a little rain in the evening. I'll pack umbrellas for both of us, so you don't have to worry about the weather."

"..."

"I'll also bring your favorite gingerbread tomorrow, and I remember you're into iced fruit tea, so I've prepared everything. You just need to be up by eight, and also..."

His screen was bombarded with messages, and his mind went blank for a few seconds: "..."

Ye Jishu stared at the phone screen for a long time, a bit unsure about what was happening.

But after carefully reading all the messages, he finally figured it out.

So, he probably wasn't angry anymore...

That's awesome.

He didn't want to upset Yan Mei.

Ye Jishu's shoulders relaxed.

It was only then that he realized how tense he had been ever since he noticed the missed calls and messages.

And now that the crisis was resolved, his mood improved accordingly.

Even though it was pouring rain outside the dormitory, making the sliding door on the balcony rattle, the day's oppressive humidity and dark clouds seemed to lift, dispelled by the summer breeze sneaking in through the cracks in the corridor. If tonight's rain silences the cicadas, tomorrow would be perfect for going out, with just a bit of warmth.

His heavy fingers, resting on the phone, became nimble once more.

Ye Jishu tapped on the phone and seriously replied with an "Mmm."

But he hesitated before locking the screen.

He reconsidered.

Yan Mei had typed so many words specifically, and if he followed his old habits, she might think he wasn't taking it seriously.

So, he added, "Okay, I'll follow your lead."

—I'll follow your lead.

That's how it always was.

After making sure the reply was sent, Ye Jishu refocused his attention on the computer. Now he could dive into his game.

Time was limited.

If he had to leave by eight tomorrow, then he needed to get up by seven at the latest.

Even though he was going out with Yan Mei, it didn't mean Ye Jishu intended to change his original plans.

There were fewer than six hours left.

But pulling off a speedrun shouldn't be a problem for someone at his level.

He deftly started a new game.

A few minutes went by.

Suddenly, the phone lying on the desk buzzed again.

Even the sound of raindrops tapping against the glass couldn't drown out this faint but weighty buzz.

Distracted, Ye Jishu looked over.

The screen lit up with a new message from the other person.

It was from Yan Mei.

Out of nowhere, he sent a few cryptic messages.

"I like Jishu too. I'll always listen to you. I'll give you whatever you want."

...

"I'll be good, always, just like this."

"As for tomorrow's date—"

"I want to make sure it's perfect."