Chapter 11 A-11

Chapter 11

After leaving the hotpot restaurant, Yun Xiu received a call from a delivery driver, who informed him that off-campus personnel needed prior approval to enter the school, and the delivery had been placed in the temporary storage locker at the gate.

After hanging up, Yun Xiu asked blankly, "Where is our school's storage locker?"

Fang Zicheng was surprised. "It's at the gate, a bit far. Let's grab a shared e-bike to get there."

Yun Xiu said gratefully, "Thank you. I've never ordered delivery before, so I didn't know where it was."

In the past, if the original host wanted to eat something, he would just tell his family, and someone would deliver it directly to his dorm room without being stopped at the gate. Perhaps it was the power of money—Yun Xiu wasn't sure, but that's how it was always written in novels.

Fang Zicheng, however, misunderstood and thought Yun Xiu’s family gave him little allowance. "No problem. Our school has a wide variety of food, and it’s both good and cheap. I don’t order delivery much either. By the way, what did you order? Didn’t we just eat?"

Yun Xiu explained his idea, and Fang Zicheng thought it was feasible.

"But if that’s the case, shoe covers will be used up quickly. You’ll need at least three pairs a day."

Yun Xiu didn’t argue. As long as he didn’t have to disinfect the steps himself, this was a small expense.

Considering the consumption rate, Yun Xiu bought five packs of disposable shoe covers to have on hand and planned to order more online later, as bulk purchases were cheaper.

Back in the dorm, Fang Zicheng grabbed his towel and underwear and slipped into the bathroom before Jiang Tinghan could frown, clearly experienced in avoiding lingering in the dorm.

Yun Xiu was a step slower. He tossed the shoe covers on the table and followed suit to take a shower. He took longer than Fang Zicheng, and by the time he came out, the other’s hair was half-dry.

Having heard that some people used the washing machine to clean shoes, Yun Xiu didn’t dare use the shared washing machine on their floor. After showering, he washed his clothes by hand and hung them to dry, making sure to wipe his soles dry before entering the dorm.

Fang Zicheng turned around, saw Yun Xiu’s messy hair, and laughed while helping him dry it. "The AC is on in the dorm. If you don’t dry your hair, you might catch a cold."

Yun Xiu, who had never been taken care of like this at home, felt a bit embarrassed and tried to dry his hair himself. But Fang Zicheng said, "You helped me during dinner. Now it’s my turn to help you."

Yun Xiu had no choice but to give in.

Fang Zicheng’s movements were gentle, not pulling his hair at all, and Yun Xiu felt so comfortable he grew drowsy.

Suddenly, the person behind him said, "Xiu Xiu, your skin is so fair, and your earlobes are small and cute. Can I touch them?"

Yun Xiu was puzzled. Didn’t everyone have earlobes? They just varied in size. He didn’t understand why they were worth touching, but he didn’t refuse.

He said playfully, "Considering how well you’re serving me, I’ll let you touch them once!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a harsh sound came from beside them—the sound of a chair scraping against the floor.

Both turned to look but only saw the young man’s back. Jiang Tinghan had his back to them and showed no intention of joining the conversation.

Fang Zicheng withdrew his gaze and raised his hand to touch the boy’s delicate earlobe.

Since Yun Xiu had just showered, his earlobe was slightly cool, contrasting sharply with his roommate’s warm hand. The hand first gently stroked the earlobe, then kneaded and played with it, like an ancient scholar admiring a fine piece of jade, full of tenderness and care.

Yun Xiu’s expression slowly turned strange. It took only three minutes for him to go from completely indifferent to blushing fiercely.

Even if he was slow to notice, he knew something was off.

The right side of Yun Xiu’s earlobe and the surrounding skin flushed pink. He forced himself to stay calm and said, "Didn’t I say you could only touch it once? How long has it been already!"

He couldn’t see Fang Zicheng’s expression, but the young man’s voice was soft and amused. "It was just once. I never let go."

Yun Xiu: "..."

Darn it, he’d been careless!

Fortunately, Fang Zicheng didn’t plan to tease him too harshly all at once. Letting go of the poor earlobe, he glanced at it and said meaningfully, "How pitiful. It’s a bit swollen."

While drying his hair, Yun Xiu also dried his feet. He put on shoe covers, grabbed his phone, held onto the table, and stood on the chair, glaring angrily at his roommate.

How could he say such sarcastic things? Whose fault was it anyway?!

Fang Zicheng’s expression remained unchanged, showing no signs of abnormality. He apologized, "I was wrong. To make up for it, let me carry you to the steps?"

Yun Xiu: "No need!"

The boy stood on the chair, gripping the railing, and swung his left leg over to step onto the second step.

He was wearing short pajamas, and the shorts, which reached mid-thigh, rode up a bit with the movement, revealing a large portion of his pinkish-white thigh skin.

In this position, Yun Xiu turned his head and said proudly, "My legs are long enough to reach!"

Unfortunately, his pride lasted less than two seconds. The disposable shoe covers didn’t have enough friction against the chair, and Yun Xiu’s feet slipped, causing him to fall backward!

Closing his eyes and resigning himself to the fate of injuring his backside, he reflected silently.

Indeed, one shouldn’t be overconfident. If you think you can do it, and your friend thinks you can too, the consequence was that Fang Zicheng had already turned back to his seat and wasn’t behind him.

The expected pain never came. Instead, he felt himself land on an arm—a firm, strong arm that held his weight without budging an inch.

After all, Yun Xiu, as light as he was, was still a grown man and couldn’t weigh only a hundred pounds.

Yun Xiu said in surprise, "Thank you, Fang—Brother Tinghan!"

He had thought it was Fang Zicheng but didn’t expect it to be Tinghan. Wasn’t this person just by the wardrobe a moment ago?

Jiang Tinghan lifted his eyelids and said leisurely, "You’re welcome, but my name isn’t Fang Tinghan."

Being indebted to someone, Yun Xiu couldn’t act tough. He readily agreed, "Brother Jiang Tinghan."

He was used to calling people "brother" and didn’t find it hard to say.

But to others, their posture and conversation seemed undeniably ambiguous.

Fang Zicheng stepped forward and said with a smile, "Xiu Xiu, come down first. If Tinghan can’t hold on any longer, you’ll still end up falling on your butt!"

He reached out to take the boy, but Jiang Tinghan, taking advantage of the fact that Yun Xiu couldn’t see, pretended not to notice. Only when Yun Xiu said he wanted to come down did Jiang Tinghan lift him onto the steps.

Learning from his slip, Yun Xiu didn’t dare be careless again and carefully climbed onto the bed.

The boy took off his shoe covers on the bed and poked his head out like a little animal, asking Fang Zicheng, "Can you move the trash can to right below here? I want to throw away the shoe covers."

Fang Zicheng’s expression immediately brightened. "Of course."

But before he could move, Jiang Tinghan lifted his own trash can into the air, signaling Yun Xiu to throw the garbage in.

Fang Zicheng’s expression clouded over.

Yun Xiu didn’t notice. He glanced at Jiang Tinghan in surprise but didn’t refuse his kindness, thanking him sincerely again. "Thank you, Tinghan."

Not only had he saved his backside, but he’d also helped him throw away trash.

Seems like Jiang Tinghan isn't nearly as hard to deal with as Fang Zicheng made him sound.

What a nice guy!

***

It's a fact that Jiang Tinghan isn't hard to get along with.

After spending a day in the dorm, Yun Xiu came to this conclusion.

At the same time, he also realized something:

Out of the four people in the dorm, one is on the national youth team, one is helping a professor with research projects, and one is in an accelerated bachelor's/master's program. Is 10529's only slacker...me?

Oh well.

His mission didn’t include academic success, and Yun Xiu wasn't about to stress himself out. Graduating was enough.

With his roommates all out, Yun Xiu lay on his bed, his mind drifting:

Cannon fodder exists to make protagonists look good. As for who’s the protagonist and who’s the supporting character, the system didn’t specify.

Yun Xiu thought about his mission again.

"You’re the fake young master of the Yun family, switched at birth. Unwilling to leave the Yun family, you tried to seduce your eldest brother. Not only did you constantly bully the real young master, but you also fought for attention in every way possible, ultimately getting sent to Africa to work on railroad construction."

Judging from the mission description, Yun Qian and Yun He are definitely important characters, though he isn’t sure if they’re protagonists or supporting characters.

One thing’s for sure: if one is the protagonist, the other isn’t, because this is the Green River Quick Transmigration Bureau—brothers can't be love interests.

After wracking his brain for a long time, he still couldn’t figure it out.

Yun Xiu decided not to overthink it. Whoever they are, he just needs to remember he’s the cannon fodder.

"Ding dong."

His phone nearby pinged with a notification.

Yun Xiu opened it and saw that Jiang Tinghan was preparing to return to the dorm and asked what he wanted to eat.

Yun Xiu happily replied: [Braised chicken rice, thanks, Tinghan-ge.]

The note "Jiang Tinghan" changed to "typing..." then back to "Jiang Tinghan."

This went back and forth for two minutes before the other side replied with a single word.

[Okay.]

The weather's brutal out there, and someone’s willing to bring food back for him. He'd even call him "daddy" if he had to, not to mention "gege."

Right after calling a fake gege, his real gege called.

The number saved as "Eldest Brother" appeared in the middle of the screen, with a red circle on the left and a green circle on the right. Yun Xiu swiped left without hesitation.

What you can’t have always stirs desire. Yun He said such harsh things back then—let him experience what it’s like to lose a brother.

Isn’t he trying to make amends every other day now?

They’re in a cold war! He’s not someone who can be won over easily!

Yun He probably had some free time during his lunch break and called him, taking a shot in the dark. Judging by how quickly Yun Xiu hung up, he could tell Yun Xiu was still angry and knew better than to push it.

"Ding dong."

"Ding dong."

Two more messages came in, one from second brother Yun Qian and the other from roommate Fang Zicheng.

Yun Qian asked if he wanted to go to a water park—a new one opened by his friend. During the soft opening, there were fewer people, and all the facilities were new and sanitized. They could arrange for them to go first.

Fang Zicheng had rushed to neighboring City B last night for a project and was expected to return next week. He asked Yun Xiu to see what good eats he could find in City B so he could bring some back for him.

Yun Xiu liked the sound of the water park idea, but these kinds of activities aren’t as fun with fewer people. Water fights need crowds to be fun, so he asked Yun Qian if he could bring friends along.

The answer was yes.

Just then, Jiang Tinghan returned with the food.

Yun Xiu asked, "Tinghan-ge, are you free this weekend? My brother said there’s a newly opened water park. During the soft opening, they’ll let us in first. Do you want to go play together?"

He asked, but he didn’t have high hopes. After all, this was his germaphobe roommate. But since Jiang Tinghan had helped him so much—even if it was just little favors—he had to at least ask.

Unexpectedly, Jiang Tinghan agreed.

As if sensing Yun Xiu’s surprise, Jiang Tinghan calmly explained, "There’s only one newly opened water park in City B recently. It’s my family’s business."

He was confident about the hygiene.

As for sharing water with strangers, Jiang Tinghan felt that as long as enough chlorine tablets were used, he could tolerate it.

Worst case scenario, he could always arrange to get his own private pool.

Yun Xiu shot him a thumbs-up.

Rich people built different!