Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Since the trip wasn’t a last-minute decision, Yan Mei had already purchased tickets for both of them.

However, perhaps to enhance the visitor experience, the aquarium had limited the number of visitors per time slot. Even with tickets, they couldn’t enter right away; they had to first check in their tickets and wait until their number appeared on the display screen before they could go in.

Ye Jishu’s gaze fell on the not-too-distant area.

There were two lines for ticket check-in.

Although the line was moving pretty fast, it still seemed like they would have to stand for quite a while.

In situations like this...

It seemed like he should step up.

However, before Ye Jishu could speak, the person next to him had already said, “I’ll get in line.”

“Last time, Jishu went to the counter to get game coins, and the place was packed. I didn’t know the drill, so I just stood there watching, which put all the work on Jishu. Not this time.”

Though it sounded like a suggestion, there was no mistaking the firmness in his tone.

Ye Jishu: “...”

It was just standing in line; it wasn’t a big deal.

He was about to say, “I’ll do it,” but Yan Mei’s intense gaze stopped him, and the words caught in his throat.

“I want to handle this.”

“Being with Jishu, even standing in line is enjoyable.”

“...”

It was probably just being polite.

Like during their last date when he said, “Let’s go to your usual spots,” it was probably just a polite gesture.

But there was no denying that hearing such words from Yan Mei would make anyone’s heart skip a beat, making them feel like they were somehow special—especially when the person saying it was none other than Yan Mei.

The person who was adored by countless people, who would do anything just to speak a single word to him.

Ye Jishu had to tread carefully.

To break free from this “only one” vibe.

Don’t get ahead of yourself.

Think about all the people who idolize Yan Mei.

Even those who were so obsessed, so infatuated, they’d jump into freezing lakes just to talk to Yan Mei, were still coldly and dismissively cast aside. When their names came up, Yan Mei would smirk mockingly.

What exactly drew those people in?

Their looks.

Is it still about the attitude?

Or maybe it's those words that are easily misunderstood.

After a few seconds, he said, "Hmm."

Yan Mei extended his hand.

The next moment, warmth covered his right cheek as the other person gently rubbed it a few times.

"I'm heading out. Don't talk to strangers."

"Hmm."

Once he got the assurance, Yan Mei let go.

Ye Jishu quietly watched the other person leave.

But just before the other person walked away completely, he suddenly remembered something and called out to stop them.

"Yan Mei."

His voice wasn't loud, just speaking at a normal volume.

But the other person still heard it immediately, stopped, and turned around.

"What is it?"

Ye Jishu lowered his head and rummaged through his coat for a moment.

Keychain, dorm card...

Where is it?

When he looked up, his eyes met the other person's.

Ye Jishu couldn't help but gaze at the other person's face.

While he was searching, Yan Mei had been quietly watching him, a faint smile on his lips, patiently waiting without a hint of impatience.

"Did you find it?"

"I found it."

Ye Jishu's fingers brushed against something.

Then, he looked up and handed it over to the other person.

Ye Jishu watched as the person took it, then shifted his gaze to the object.

It was—

"A face mask."

Yan Mei stands out too much.

In crowded places, he’s even more likely to be stared at.

Even now, it’s the same.

The men and women who passed by Yan Mei, even with companions by their side, couldn't help but glance greedily in his direction as they walked past him, their eyes almost sticking to his back.

After all, this was Yan Mei we're talking about.

But the thought of those lingering, lovesick stares falling on him made Ye Jishu feel very uncomfortable, as if he were being coveted by some irrational, bizarre presence, giving him the urge to shield Yan Mei. That's why he made sure to bring this along in the morning.

"I don't want all these people ogling Yan Mei."

This was his straightforward thought, without delving into the reasons.

However, Yan Mei looked up and stared at him for a few seconds, silent.

The air fell silent.

The chatter of others filled the space between them.

The previously ignored call numbers suddenly echoed in their ears, "239," "240"...

"Thump, thump—"

Ye Jishu's heartbeat suddenly quickened at the sound of the numbers being called.

Wait a second.

Does this... count as overstepping?

Thinking about it now, it seemed like he was saying, "No one else gets to look at you," "Only I can."

Someone walked past behind Yan Mei, the sound of shoes scraping the ground making their ears cringe.

Ye Jishu muttered, "...Never mind."

He wanted to grab the mask back.

But Yan Mei suddenly moved, dodging Ye Jishu's hand, and said, "No."

"..." Ye Jishu.

He couldn't get it back.

So, height really is a deal-breaker.

But right in front of him, Yan Mei, who had pulled this stunt, just stared at him intently, his eyes deep and dark, seeing nothing, clutching the cheap one-yuan mask he had given him in his hand, slowly, gradually tightening his fingers.

The flimsy plastic packaging made a "rustling" sound as it crumpled in his hand, making it feel like his heart was being squeezed.

Out of nowhere, the guy in front of him whispered.

"So cute... I really like you, Jishu."

Caught off guard, Ye Jishu's mind went blank for a moment.

What?

Saying something like that out of the blue...

Yan Mei didn't explain, as if he had just said it casually.

Then, instead of putting on the mask, he tucked it into his coat and turned to walk towards the direction of the queue.

Only Ye Jishu was left, silently staring at Yan Mei’s back.

He was confused.

"..."

But—

Never mind.

He had already gotten used to it.

Saying "like" was something Yan Mei often did, just as meaningless as physical contact.

"In the end, he still hadn’t put on the mask."

"A boyfriend who’s too controlling can really get on your nerves."

He must have crossed the line, right?...

Ye Jishu’s face stayed blank, his fingers twitching slightly at his side before he looked away from Yan Mei.

They got there early, so the aquarium wasn’t too crowded.

Aside from the crowded line, the rest of the place was fine. In the main hall, there were a few rows of seats where visitors could take a break.

Just a few steps away, there was an empty seat.

But then, someone suddenly sat down to the left of it.

Ye Jishu, who had been heading for the seat, stopped in his tracks.

He froze, not moving a muscle.

His eyes skipped over the empty seat, scanning the crowd as he searched.

The crowd slowly started to grow.

After half a minute, he finally spotted an empty corner.

Even though it was farther away, going against his usual habit of avoiding hassle, he walked over without a second thought and sat down, his tense body finally relaxing.

Then—

Ye Jishu pulled out his phone, which had been sitting idle for a while.

This was how someone with no social life predictably killed time.

But this time, it was different.

Instead of opening the game he usually played, Ye Jishu clicked on the campus forum again.

"I’m still worried about how the math modeling competition went."

Even though he was out with Yan Mei, he hadn’t forgotten about this.

If only there were more updates.

The results were supposed to be out by the end of May, but his project advisor hadn’t given any updates.

This competition followed an individual format, meaning he was the sole participant from his entire research group.

In other words, apart from his supervisor who helped him submit and refine the paper, there were no other classmates collaborating.

And in the School of Mathematical Sciences, he was the only one participating, so there was no one in the entire department he could ask.

Did he not win anything...?

But at least someone should have told him.

Even the forum had no posts about the competition.

He asked his supervisor the day before yesterday, but there was no reply.

He then asked the counselor, who said that Professor Chen was attending an out-of-town conference and would probably return to school the day after tomorrow.

So he couldn’t ask in person.

Maybe he should just wait until the day after tomorrow...?

But if it could be handled over the phone, he didn’t want to meet Professor Chen alone.

Every time he visited the professor’s office, he felt uneasy.

Even though they were separated by the desk.

But the professor’s scrutinizing gaze, sneering flared nostrils, and greasy presence made the air feel heavy.

Suddenly, Ye Jishu felt a surge of irritation.

He regretted wearing a jacket, worried about the evening rain.

The rough fabric of the jacket collar made his neck sting, and his fingers holding the phone tightened slightly.

His living expenses were almost gone.

His parents, as usual, hardly remembered him and would send money very, very late.

In about half a month, around late June, it would likely be Yan Mei’s birthday.

The gift required careful consideration.

But figuring out how to prepare it was the real challenge.

Ye Jishu didn’t know the exact date because he’d only overheard it. Yan Mei hadn’t told him which day it was, probably hoping he’d figure it out, so the safest move was to prepare ahead of time, otherwise, Yan Mei’s reaction would be hard to predict.

But if they broke up before that, there would be no need to prepare...

"..."

No, forget it.

Instead of dwelling on that, he should focus on the money problem.

Ye Jishu also posted on the forum, asking about the competition.

There were hardly any replies.

There wasn’t much useful information.

He checked again, and it was the same as before, with no new replies.

Since there's still no news from anyone else, he could only wait until the day after tomorrow to meet with his advisor.

Ye Jishu's motto was to leave unsolvable problems for tomorrow. After all, it wasn't something he could deal with right now, and worrying about it was useless. So, his worries only lingered for a moment before he decided to play some games.

But just as he was about to close the forum—

Suddenly, his phone buzzed.

Ye Jishu glanced at the bottom right corner of the forum.

Above the default avatar, a small red dot popped up.

Someone had sent him a private message.

He paused, then clicked.

"You have a message from a stranger."

He clicked again.

"I saw your post. Sorry, after meeting last night, I looked for your account and saw your earlier post. Are you still into that competition? I need to tell you something..."

The stranger's avatar caught his eye—it was quite striking.

It was a pair of eyeballs.

Freshly dissected, bloody eyeballs.

But judging by their size, they probably weren't human.

They looked like they belonged to a small animal, with the eyeballs still attached to nerves, on a lab table used by med students.

Above the image, four bold white words were photoshopped—

"Studying is killing me."

"..."

It was clear this was another med student driven crazy by their studies.

So, this must be a stock photo, right?

Ye Jishu thought.

"Oh! Right. Sorry, I sent you a bunch of messages but forgot to introduce myself..."

Med student.

Likes bloody things.

Just met last night.

All these clues pointed to one person.

"Wen Yuhe."

Ye Jishu typed.

The film club senior, who looked clean-cut but watched "The Human Centipede" without flinching.

Last night in the club's restroom, Ye Jishu accidentally witnessed the scene where others were encouraging the senior to pursue Yan Mei. At that time, the people around the senior kept praising him, mentioning that his parents were "renowned doctors at a private hospital," so he was likely in the medical department too.

"I'm glad you remember my name."

Ye Jishu didn't reply.

The senior seemed to know that Ye Jishu was more interested in the modeling competition.

Without further ado, he quickly added, "Your name rings a bell, but I couldn't put a face to it. It's because Professor Chen from your department had a child hospitalized, so my parents were invited to dinner. I was there when they discussed the modeling competition..."

Ye Jishu paused.

Suddenly, he sensed what was coming next.

"Professor Chen's son, who's in middle school, usually performs poorly academically but unexpectedly won the national modeling youth training group competition."

"He'll probably get into our university's affiliated high school."

"Look... I didn't know how to bring this up, so I figured I'd just message you. If you need anything, feel free to call me, my number is below... I appreciate that you didn't make fun of me for liking Yan Mei. If you need anything, I can accompany you."

Following that, a string of numbers was attached.

After a moment, Ye Jishu typed a reply.

"Thank you."

He thanked first.

Ye Jishu then sat staring blankly at the screen.

Truth is... he'd considered this possibility before.

While there were no scandals involving Professor Chen, that night, while he was writing his modeling competition thesis, after accidentally playing a voice message from Professor Chen, his typically quiet roommate, who usually muttered to himself, suddenly began hyperventilating—

"Gasp, gasp..."

The sound was distorted, as if stuck in a water pipe.

The bed reeked like it was filled with rotting kitchen scraps, emitting a damp, dirty smell.

Ye Jishu couldn't just let it go. But when he paused to ask, "What's wrong?" his roommate just kept repeating stubbornly, "I remembered, I remembered... Professor Chen, he made me—"

Perhaps realizing Ye Jishu was there, the voice suddenly cut off.

He didn't get an answer.

But, from that day on.

A sliver of light finally appeared through the tightly drawn bed curtain.

Through the gap, a single eye peered out at Ye Jishu, finally able to communicate with him normally.

Although he didn't ask further.

But all the strange occurrences were starting to make sense.

It wasn’t just him.

His roommate probably ran into the same thing.

No wonder he was acting so unusually anxious, kept pestering him about the modeling competition results.

When he gets back this time, the other person will definitely ask again.

"This can’t just end here."

Ye Jishu's eyes turned cold.

He wasn’t the type to back down or take things lying down.

"Jishu."

He was deep in thought when a shadow suddenly loomed in front of him.

The next moment, something cold pressed against his cheek as someone directly pressed the wet bottle wall against his skin.

"...So cold."

All his thoughts scattered, snapping him back to attention.

"Thirsty? I got you some fruit tea—already opened it for you."

Ye Jishu looked up at the person in front of him.

Yan Mei smiled and pulled back the hand holding the drink only after their eyes met, nonchalantly asking, "What were you thinking about just now? You were glued to your phone—didn’t even notice me walk up. Something wrong? Wanna talk about it?"