Chapter 30

Yun Li waved her hand dismissively, explaining dryly, “You couldn’t hail a cab, so I was trying to help you get one…”

Seeing that he didn’t respond, Yun Li said in frustration, “Don’t think I have any ulterior motives.”

Hearing her words, Fu Shizhe noticed that it was already 8:30 PM.

Looking at Yun Li, she had light makeup on, a tall figure, and her cheeks were reddened from the cold, diminishing the sharpness of her features, making her look like an undergraduate student yet to graduate. It made sense why she had been approached by a man in the building earlier.

His phone vibrated. Fu Shizhe looked down to see that a driver had accepted the ride, two kilometers away, estimated to arrive in five minutes.

He glanced at Yun Li’s phone screen, which was still on the “requesting driver” page.

Noticing his gaze, Yun Li lifted her screen towards him, “There might be fewer cars available right now, I haven’t gotten one yet. Did you get a ride?”

“…”

Fu Shizhe stared at his phone screen, casually tapping a few times.

He looked up, stuffing the phone back into his pocket, “Can’t get a cab.”

Yun Li looked at the time, “Or… should I just take you? I drove here, it would only take about fifteen minutes to drop you off.”

“It’s quite late now, and for both professional and personal reasons, I hope you can get back early,” Yun Li said softly, fearing another rejection, and she didn’t look directly at Fu Shizhe while speaking.

Fu Shizhe quietly glanced at her and didn’t refuse this time, “Hmm.”

Having braced herself for rejection, his acquiescence instantly lifted Yun Li’s spirits. She led the way, “My car is this way.”

Yun Li drove; the hotel was a twenty-minute drive from XiFu Sci-Tech University. After getting on the highway and exiting the ramp, it was another three kilometers.

Remembering the purpose of his visit, Yun Li asked, “Did you bring VR equipment this time?”

Fu Shizhe responded with a nasal sound.

Yun Li spoke in a business-like tone, “The promotional short film I made for EAW, I want my brother to feature in it, he’s quite popular. Can I borrow that equipment tomorrow?”

She added casually, “Just when I drop you off, you can give it to me, and I’ll bring it to XiFu Sci-Tech University the day after tomorrow. You don’t need to come over tomorrow.”

Fu Shizhe replied, “I only brought the full-body tracking equipment; you won’t know how to operate it.”

Just then, they reached the vicinity of the hotel. Yun Li’s attention focused on finding a parking spot, and she quickly replied, “Then never mind, see you Monday.”

“…”

After unlocking the car, she turned to look at Fu Shizhe. He sat quietly against the seat, with the shadow of the roadside lamp post falling across his face.

“What time tomorrow?”

“Ah?” Yun Li was a bit slow to respond, then quickly corrected herself, “Is ten o’clock okay? At Xinguang Residential Area, I can come to pick you up, or you can tell me when you arrive.”

Fu Shizhe tilted his head, without much thought, “I’ll go there myself.”

…

As soon as Yun Li got home, she heard Dui Dui scratching frantically at Yun Ye’s door. She knocked, but Yun Ye didn’t answer, and the door was locked.

Yun Li lay on her bed, reflecting on the day’s events.

It seemed that he wouldn’t agree to meet her privately, but if it was work-related, he probably wouldn’t mind seeing her.

And then there was what the bespectacled man said, Fu Shizhe had taken a leave of absence.

The term felt distant to Yun Li, always associated with those who were academically struggling or in poor health and needed to rest at home. Yet, Fu Shizhe had also found a job at EAW.

She didn’t know what had happened to him before that made him so reclusive and reticent.

Yun Li’s thoughts weren’t occupied by this for long; she naturally assumed that as long as he was willing, he could regain all his former glory.

Hearing the television, Yun Li went to the living room for water. Yun Ye was lying on the sofa, staring intently at the TV, “I’ve been home all day.”

Yun Li responded, “Oh.”

Yun Ye didn’t speak.

Yun Li went back to her room on her own. After a while, she came out again as if she remembered something, incredulously saying, “You’re not suggesting I didn’t keep you company, are you?”

Yun Ye replied with a sullen face, “No.”

“Good, then.”

“…”

Yun Li walked over and sat down by the sofa, “I borrowed a VR from a colleague today, he’ll bring it over tomorrow for you to play with.”

“What kind is it?” Yun Ye’s expression brightened a bit, “Did he borrow it especially for me?”

Yun Li couldn’t be bothered to explain, “Anyway, it’s pretty fun.”

The next day, neither Yang Fang nor Yun YongChang was home. Yun Li got up at seven in the morning to clean the house and also went out to buy some fresh strawberries.

On Sundays, Yun Ye usually woke up late. Yun Li knocked on his door, “Yun Ye, Yun Ye.”

Knock, knock, knock.

No response.

Knock, knock, knock.

Yun Li continued knocking, “Yun Ye, Yun Ye.”

Hearing a response from inside, she then opened the door and entered.

Yun Ye was squinting, lying on his side with the blanket between his legs, his soft hair all puffed up due to static, and he looked at Yun Li with a bewildered face, “What are you doing?”

Yun Li picked up the broom and started sweeping, replying, “You’re up early, it’s just after seven.”

“…”

Yun Ye frowned, “Who was knocking on my door just now?”

Yun Li was quite assertive, “Me!” She frowned as well, “Why do you ask?”

“…”

Yun Ye turned over to continue sleeping, muttering, “Please.”

“Next time just come in and kill me.”

Yun Li smiled, tugging at Yun Ye’s blanket, “My colleague will come over later, get up and tidy yourself up, and remember to be polite.”

Yun Ye covered his head with a pillow, grumbling, “Yun Li, is your colleague a guy or a girl?”

Yun Li paused in her sweeping, “Why do you ask?”

“If it’s a guy, please ask him to hurry up and take you away.” Yun Ye, having been woken up, was in a bad mood, “Seriously, a girl would do too.”

After breakfast, Yun Li put on a thick coat and went downstairs to throw out the trash. After disposing of the trash, Yun Li washed her hands at the sink nearby and saw someone sitting in the gazebo from a distance.

Yun Li recognized him at a glance and walked over with dragging steps. She tucked her hands into her coat pockets, “Fu Shizhe.”

Fu Shizhe looked up at her.

“Why don’t you come upstairs? It’s so cold outside.” Yun Li spoke up, “And didn’t you just get over a cold?”

Fu Shizhe, “It’s not yet ten o’clock.”

“…”

“I can smoke for a while.”

“…”

Yun Li, “Come up with me first, it’s fine.”

After entering, Yun Li got a pair of slippers for Fu Shizhe to change into and discussed with him where they would play the game later.

Hearing the noise, Yun Ye opened his door, and Dui Dui, wagging its tail, dashed towards Fu Shizhe and started circling around him. Fu Shizhe, who was reaching for the equipment, patted Dui Dui’s head when he saw this.

Observing the additional person and dog in the living room, Yun Li looked at Dui Dui, then at Yun Ye, and said, “You two seem to have a similar reaction.”

Yun Ye, “…”

Wearing a casual knitted long-sleeve and lounge pants, Yun Ye felt a bit embarrassed, “Hello brother, I’m Yun Ye.”

Fu Shizhe stood up to respond, “Hello, my name is Fu Shizhe.”

“Sister—” Yun Ye suddenly froze, standing still with his hand in the air, exclaiming, “Isn’t that the guy from the photo you had on your wall in high school?”

“How come you’ve been chasing him for so—”

Simultaneously, Yun Li’s voice suddenly amplified, “Yun Ye!!!”

Realizing he had spoken out of turn, Yun Ye scratched his head and sat down on the sofa next to him, with Dui Dui moving from Fu Shizhe’s feet to Yun Ye’s side.

The atmosphere became tense for a moment.

“You’ve mistaken me for someone else,” Fu Shizhe broke the silence, “I’ve only known her for three months.”

Noticing Yun Li’s displeased look, Yun Ye shrank his shoulders and, trying to make up for his blunder, held his breath and volunteered, “Sorry, I think I mistook you for someone else, on closer inspection you look completely different.”

Yun Li’s gaze swept over like a blade.

“And my sister has never chased anyone,” Yun Ye declared with certainty.

“…”

Seeing that Yun Li was still displeased, Yun Ye didn’t dare to linger, sat on the sofa for a while, then stood up and said, “I’ll go get you a glass of water.”

Thinking Yun Ye was useless, Yun Li followed him into the kitchen, intending to send him away.

Yun Li, “Give it to me, you go back to your room, there’s nothing for you here.”

Yun Ye whispered, “Is this my future brother-in-law?”

Yun Li, burning with anger, smacked Yun Ye: “What are you blabbering about? Get lost.”

With no other choice, Yun Ye dejectedly left the kitchen and went back to his room.

Passing through the living room, he waved at Fu Shizhe: “Bro, I’m heading back to my room to study.”

Fu Shizhe nodded.

After Yun Ye left, Fu Shizhe took out the infrared recorder and set it up, along with two VR devices. He was about to ask Yun Li for the Wi-Fi and its password when the second network that appeared was ‘Yun Ye don’t connect.’

“…”

“Wi-Fi password.”

Yun Li: “The password is the phonetic spelling of the Wi-Fi name, all lowercase.”

Yun Li noticed him occasionally placing his hand on his stomach and hesitated before asking, “Did you have breakfast?”

Fu Shizhe hummed a noncommittal response.

After about ten minutes, Fu Shizhe had set up the devices and returned to the couch. He noticed a joint photo on the TV stand, walked over to look at it, and saw what appeared to be a high school version of Yun Li, her smile unripe as she hugged Yun Ye.

He only snapped back to reality when Yun Li called him, returning to the couch.

The coffee table now had toast and a cup of coffee on it, which he didn’t hesitate to eat a few bites of.

Seeing that he didn’t refuse, Yun Li secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He looked up at her, asking casually, “What photo?”

“…”

At that moment, Yun Li just wanted to pin Yun Ye down and give him a thrashing.

“Better you don’t know,” Yun Li murmured, rushing to the fridge to grab some strawberries, her mind in turmoil.

Yun Li moodily removed the leaves from the strawberries, imagining each one as Yun Ye being thrown into the trash. After washing them, she placed them on a plate in front of Fu Shizhe.

“I just washed these, have some.”

Fu Shizhe pushed the plate away: “No thanks.”

“…”

His expression was as calm as usual, but his eyes were somewhat colder.

He had been willing to eat the breakfast she prepared just moments ago.

Seeing this, Yun Li grabbed a small stool and sat opposite him, eyes downcast, picking up a strawberry to eat. When she reached for the second one, she looked through the plate for a specifically shaped strawberry she had picked out that morning.

She placed a piece of paper underneath it and subtly set the heart-shaped strawberry in front of Fu Shizhe.

Yun Li then picked another strawberry from the plate and ate it slowly, acting as if nothing had happened.

“…”

Fu Shizhe’s gaze fell on the strawberry, its deep red color shining enticingly.

The room wasn’t air-conditioned, yet he felt it was much hotter inside than outside. He leaned back and unbuttoned his jacket.

The air seemed stagnant.

Yun Li could hear her heartbeat accelerating. After a long pause, she murmured softly, “Actually, that was your photo. I saw it when I was in my first year of high school.”

“If you hadn’t appeared again, I would have forgotten you.”

“It’s your fault for showing up again.”

She said this while looking away, her ears turning red, seemingly embarrassed.

Fu Shizhe, who was in the middle of taking off his jacket, froze at her words.

Yun Li wanted to say more, but suddenly heard Yun Ye opening his door. She sprang up almost instinctively, unnaturally saying, “Yun Ye, you can play now. This brother has already set up the equipment.”

She bent down to start the recording.

Perhaps due to nervousness, Yun Li spoke rapidly: “We’ll play online together for a bit, then I’ll play alone later.”

Yun Ye didn’t catch on: “Sis, slow down.”

Yun Li took a deep breath and repeated herself more slowly.

Fu Shizhe sat on the couch for a while before standing up to put on the equipment for them. He started a horror game as they had previously discussed. The game screens of both players were projected onto Yun Li’s laptop.

He leaned against the wall, watching the two tense up as they entered the game. Initially, they were a meter or two apart, but it didn’t take long for Yun Ye to move closer to Yun Li.

Yun Ye exclaimed, “Damn, Yun Li, this is kind of scary.”

Yun Li responded, “Yun Ye, you go in front.”

Yun Ye protested, “I don’t want to. You’re the older sister, you go in front.”

Yun Li pleaded, “Please, Yun Ye.”

Yun Ye echoed, “Please, Yun Li.”

“…”

Fu Shizhe settled back onto the sofa, his gaze once again landing on the heart-shaped strawberry, calling out to him like a forbidden fruit.

He turned to glance at Yun Li and Yun Ye, who were still engrossed in their game.

A perplexing desire began to grow within him, tempting him to disrupt the current equilibrium.

He picked up the strawberry and took a slow bite.

Only ten minutes had passed since they finished the first level of the game. Fu Shizhe helped Yun Ye take off the equipment first, verbally guiding Yun Li to start the second game. Recording a short segment of today’s task would then complete their major accomplishment.

After Yun Li began the game, Fu Shizhe gestured to Yun Ye, beckoning him over.

“Have some strawberries.”