Chapter 23

Bai Chen was clearly stunned for a moment. His expression froze, and his tone became puzzled. “Why do you feel that way?”

Zhu Yu seemed to slide off the bed like he had no bones, settling beside Bai Chen. “I noticed it.”

“I think you’re nice to everyone, look.” Zhu Yu spoke casually, sitting in a relaxed posture and speaking softly.

Bai Chen had to lean in a little to hear what Zhu Yu was saying.

“On the first night we met, you treated me to dinner. Later, you helped take care of Liu Bo. Even though we agreed I would buy the groceries and you would cook, I haven’t bought groceries in a long time. And when I said I wanted to exercise with you and sleep at your place, you agreed without a second thought.” Zhu Yu counted off each thing with his fingers, recounting it one by one.

He lowered his eyelashes, and the warm light shone on him, giving his striking pink hair a golden hue, just like when Bai Chen had first seen him. They were sitting close, and Bai Chen glanced at him, noticing the fine, soft fuzz on his face.

It was strange. Even though Zhu Yu was very thin, from this angle, Bai Chen could still see a hint of baby fat on his face.

As soon as Zhu Yu finished speaking, Liu Bo squeezed through the gap in the door and wedged himself between them.

Zhu Yu exclaimed, “Liu Bo, how did you get in?!”

He had clearly locked the cat in the living room before going to bed. When did the bedroom door open?

Bai Chen replied, “I left a crack in the door.”

“It felt too sorry for itself outside,” Bai Chen added, reaching out to lift Liu Bo into his arms, scratching the cat’s chin in the process.

Liu Bo made a mewing sound, happily lifting his chin for Bai Chen to scratch.

Zhu Yu quickly shook his head. “Stop changing the subject.”

His soft hair swayed as he moved. Since they were so close, his hair brushed against Bai Chen’s ear.

That sensation of an unknown itch went straight to Bai Chen’s heart. His pupils darkened, and his expression turned somber.

Zhu Yu must have washed his hair at home. It smelled very nice, a noticeable shampoo scent that was pleasant and not overpowering.

“And I also messed up your live stream, but you never told me,” Zhu Yu’s voice carried a sense of guilt.

Bai Chen’s gaze deepened. “Did you? I didn’t pay attention to the comment section.”

“Yes, I did!” Zhu Yu nodded emphatically and continued, “The summary is that when you’re being so kind to others, it seems like you don’t consider yourself at all.”

“Consider myself? What about considering myself?” Bai Chen asked.

“It’s about considering whether it’s convenient for you or if it’s suitable. You always agree to whatever I say,” Zhu Yu muttered, lowering his eyelashes.

Bai Chen’s throat subtly moved.

In fact, unless necessary, Bai Chen generally didn’t want to share his past with others.

It was not a past worth remembering.

He patiently explained, “Xiao Yu, you misunderstood.”

“I don’t feel inconvenienced. I’ve told you before, before I met you, I didn’t have any really close friends.” In truth, he had no friends at all, but Bai Chen didn’t want to admit this fact in front of Zhu Yu.

He continued, “So after meeting you, everything I’ve done is what I thought I could do for a friend.”

“And none of this has caused me any trouble.”

“But has it caused you trouble?” Bai Chen lowered his head and looked up at Zhu Yu from below, placing himself in the position of someone lower.

Zhu Yu shook his head. “I don’t think you’re just like this with friends.”

“You won’t refuse anyone. Otherwise, why would you do group assignments by yourself? Why would you be the only one to fix the problems when something goes wrong with the group assignment?” Zhu Yu lifted his eyelids and asked him.

Zhu Yu was angry. “They probably think it’s great, they don’t mind letting you do everything so they can take it easy, because you won’t refuse anyway.”

“If something makes you uncomfortable, you should refuse!” It was hard to imagine that this spoiled, unruly young master was actually giving advice to someone.

Bai Chen’s throat tightened as he realized why Zhu Yu had asked him which classroom he was in that evening.

“Sorry, I didn’t realize that was a flaw. I’ll change.” The environment he lived in for the past few years had shaped this habit in him, one of doing selfless work without expecting anything in return.

“But Xiao Yu, I don’t think your requests make me uncomfortable,” Bai Chen said again.

The next moment, Zhu Yu’s long, butterfly-like eyelashes trembled, and his eyes shone under the light. “Really?”

Bai Chen nodded. “Yes, really.”

Zhu Yu let out a sigh of relief, gesturing. “It just feels like you’ve given so much.”

“Making me seem like a freeloader,” Zhu Yu accurately described himself.

Being with someone as gentle as Bai Chen, Zhu Yu, who was usually carefree and didn’t pay much attention to details, couldn’t help but start noticing them, even speaking more softly.

People influence each other, but the ones being influenced are often unaware of it.

It was just like the Zhu Yu back in China, who would never have thought this much for someone else.

Bai Chen smiled warmly, and the dimples on his cheeks appeared. “Who says such things about themselves?”

Zhu Yu huffed, “I was exaggerating.”

He adjusted his relaxed posture, straightened his back, and asked, “So, is it comfortable to sleep on the floor?”

“Actually, your bed is pretty big. I don’t move around much when I sleep. If you sleep here, I won’t crowd you,” Zhu Yu said.

Bai Chen shook his head. “I’ve slept on the floor for a while before. It wasn’t uncomfortable.”

“Why did you sleep on the floor?” The strong wind outside rustled the leaves. Zhu Yu pulled the blanket tighter around himself, looking like a curious child as he asked, “You always say ‘before.’ Did you have any bad experiences before?”

Bai Chen glanced away and looked at the clock on the bedside table, gently reminding him, “Xiao Yu, it’s already late. Let’s go to sleep.”

His obvious attempt to change the subject was so clear that even the oblivious Zhu Yu could notice it.

But Zhu Yu understood that Bai Chen didn’t want to talk much about his past, just as he didn’t want to share too much about his own family with others.

So, Zhu Yu wisely decided not to ask any further questions.

He picked up Liu Bo and gently climbed into bed.

The room was heated, and the temperature was almost like summer, not cold at all, and even a bit warm for Zhu Yu.

Zhu Yu curled up under the blanket like a little caterpillar, pushing himself toward the edge of the bed. He poked his head out from under the covers, bent his arm, and rested his chin on it, quietly watching Bai Chen, who was getting ready to turn off the lamp by the bedside.

“Senior Brother,” Zhu Yu suddenly called out.

Bai Chen turned his head slightly. “What’s up?”

Zhu Yu smiled, his lips curling upward as he quietly asked, “Senior Brother, what event did you participate in at the sports meet?”

“Go, it’s a club activity from the study-abroad department,” Bai Chen said, dimming the light to its lowest setting.

For the school here, the sports meet was not just about physical sports” the school emphasized overall develoo’clockent in morals, intelligence, physical health, aesthetics, and labor.

Zhu Yu was shocked. “You know how to play Go?”

Bai Chen spoke calmly, not thinking it was anything to be proud of. “Mm, I learned it before.”

“Is there anything you don’t know how to do?” Zhu Yu asked, his pupils involuntarily dilating in surprise.

Bai Chen smiled softly, pressing his lips together. He reached out and covered Zhu Yu’s eyes, then turned off the light with the other hand. “There’s a lot I don’t know how to do.”

“Go to sleep early. Good night, Xiao Yu.”

With his eyes covered, Zhu Yu’s hearing became much more sensitive.

Bai Chen’s voice was low, and it wasn’t clear whether he was a little tired, but his voice had a magnetic tenderness that felt gentle and alluring. It seemed to tug at something deep within, striking a tight, resonating chord in Zhu Yu’s heart, causing his ears to inexplicably heat up.

Zhu Yu’s voice was muffled. “Aww.”

He felt like a rusty robot, stiffly pressing his hand to his chest as he lay flat on the bed.

His eyes were fixed unblinkingly on the ceiling in front of him.

Heart, you’re really broken…

—

Perhaps it was because he was so worried about his little heart, but Zhu Yu fell asleep restlessly.

In the middle of the night, he dreamt that he went to see a doctor.

The doctor asked him what was wrong.

He said his heart had been inexplicably racing lately, and his body would feel hot, so he asked the doctor what might be going on.

The doctor said he might have fallen in love with the person who was talking to him.

Zhu Yu immediately thought of Bai Chen, quickly denying it, saying that he was in such a miserable state that he couldn’t even think about falling in love with anyone—he’d be invincible if he hadn’t killed anyone.

Just after saying this, Zhu Yu felt something was off, and asked the doctor, “Why does your voice sound so familiar?”

The doctor turned around, and it was Bai Chen’s gentle and handsome face.

This immediately scared Zhu Yu awake, who was already feeling guilty.

The room was still pitch black, the sky not yet bright, with the only light coming from the green glow of the alarm clock on the bedside table.

Zhu Yu felt as if his head was being pressed down by some heavy object, unable to move. After a few seconds, he lifted his hand, pulling Liu Bo, who had fallen asleep on his head, off to the side. He glanced at the time on his bracelet—it was just past three in the morning.

What kind of dream was that? It had scared Zhu Yu so much that he couldn’t even get back to sleep.

He covered his head with the blanket, preparing to go back to sleep, but suddenly smelled the strong fragrance of locust flowers.

Hmm? That wasn’t the scent of his own blanket.

He quickly threw the blanket off, staring at the ceiling for a while, and the events of before bed slowly returned to his mind. Oh, right, he wasn’t sleeping at his own house.

After realizing this, he lazily turned over.

The glow from the alarm clock illuminated Bai Chen, who was lying upright, with the blanket only covering his chest. Zhu Yu bent his arm and rested his chin on it, carefully observing the person asleep on the floor.

It was a very delicate yet handsome face, with well-defined features. From the forehead to the high bridge of his nose, there was a smooth line, and the contours were unexpectedly soft. His long eyelashes made Zhu Yu hold his breath.

So how could someone so good-looking and gentle not have any friends?

Zhu Yu was very curious, but it was clear Bai Chen didn’t want to talk too much about it, so Zhu Yu could only remain curious. Gradually, sleepiness overtook him, and Zhu Yu closed his eyes again.

He didn’t dream for the rest of the night.

Until morning.

Bai Chen’s biological clock woke him up at six o’clock.

Opening his eyes, he glanced at his phone, then carefully turned over.

Looking at the bed, the person on it was sleeping soundly, curled up at the edge of the bed, with only half of his head showing. And on that half of his head was a cat.

Liu Bo’s upper body was completely pressing on Zhu Yu’s head.

Both the person and the cat were sleeping peacefully.

Bai Chen folded the blanket and placed it in the wardrobe, then bent down carefully to lift Liu Bo off Zhu Yu’s head.

Zhu Yu, who had been frowning from the pressure, slowly relaxed.

Bai Chen carried Liu Bo out of the room and gave him a can of food.

Once Liu Bo was settled, he went to the bathroom to start washing up.

In order to get an extra minute of sleep, Zhu Yu brought over his own toiletries.

So, when Bai Chen was brushing his teeth, he wasn’t surprised to see an extra set of toiletries on the sink.

The orange cup held a light blue electric toothbrush, with a Samoyed dog design on it.

The toothpaste was orange-flavored, though it was almost used up.

As soon as Bai Chen finished brushing his teeth and came out, the sound of the alarm clock rang from the room. It was Zhu Yu’s alarm that he set for himself, but it stopped after just two seconds, and there was no sound of Zhu Yu getting out of bed either.

Bai Chen seemed to have expected this. He walked up and opened the door to the room. As expected, Zhu Yu was still in bed, with the blanket pulled completely over his head.

Bai Chen walked over and lifted a corner of the blanket. Zhu Yu’s sleeping face appeared.

It was a very obedient face, slightly flushed from the heat under the blanket, his hair spread out on the bed, very pleasant to look at.

“Xiao Yu.” Bai Chen touched his arm with his left hand and said, “It’s time to get up.”

“It’s almost half past six.”

Zhu Yu frowned, casually pulling Bai Chen’s arm and hugging it. He curled himself up tighter, wrapping both arms around Bai Chen’s hand, mumbling, “Liu Bo, I’ll get you some cat food later, don’t bother me…”

His voice was soft and sticky, full of drowsiness and confusion from just waking up.

Bai Chen had already been off balance, and when Zhu Yu pulled him, one of his knees directly landed on the bed.

His other hand quickly pressed against Zhu Yu’s side, preventing himself from collapsing onto him.

But this small movement brought the two of them into a dangerously close proximity.

Zhu Yu’s face was right in front of him. Bai Chen saw Zhu Yu rub his face against his hand, then close his eyes and fall back asleep.

Zhu Yu had a bit of baby fat, and the soft cheek against his hand felt comforting.

Bai Chen’s breath caught for a moment. He softened a little, thinking that if Zhu Yu wanted to sleep, then he could just sleep a bit longer.

He carefully shifted his upper body, bending down so that Zhu Yu could hold onto his arm.

The warmth of the blanket immediately wrapped around Bai Chen’s hand. He had just washed his hands with cold water, and as Zhu Yu rubbed against him, he noticed something was wrong.

Zhu Yu’s hand froze for a moment, and with his eyes still closed, he gently rubbed again.

The sensation wasn’t right. He rubbed once more, but it still didn’t feel right—why was it so bare?

“Liu Bo, why have you lost your fur?!” Zhu Yu suddenly woke up.

He sat up, still dazed, and looked at what he was holding—“a cat.”

One hand?

Zhu Yu was confused.

He followed the hand upward and saw Bai Chen, bent over, looking at him with a helpless expression.

Zhu Yu instantly woke up.

He quickly pulled his hand away from Bai Chen’s arm and glanced at the alarm clock on the nightstand.

Fortunately, it was only 6:23. Zhu Yu’s heart went from suspended to at ease.

“Senior Brother, good morning,” Zhu Yu said, his hair messy from sleep, his pajamas crooked, with one shoulder almost exposed.

“Time to get up,” Bai Chen quickly composed himself.

He straightened his back and stepped aside to give Zhu Yu space.

Zhu Yu reached for his clothes, “Got it, got it.”

Just as his hands touched the edge of his pajamas, he suddenly seemed to remember something. He looked into Bai Chen’s eyes, “Senior Brother, I’m going to change clothes now.”

Bai Chen coughed awkwardly and turned around, leaving the room.

Zhu Yu quickly changed into his sportswear.

He rushed out of the room, took a quick look at Liu Bo, who was eating canned food, then rushed into the bathroom.

Gurgling, he spat out the foam in his mouth and placed the toothpaste cup on the sink.

Seeing their two toothbrushes side by side, he quietly arranged them to face each other.

Glancing at the time on his wrist, it was exactly 6:30.

Zhu Yu stepped out of the bathroom, feeling refreshed. “Senior! I’m ready!”

“Then let’s go,” Bai Chen opened the door, and Zhu Yu followed behind him.

That morning, they ran around the park as usual, and Zhu Yu, as always, started talking about giving up halfway through.

But Zhu Yu felt he had improved. At least this time, he started saying he was tired only after completing half of the run.

Of course, as expected, he was still dragged by Bai Chen to finish the second half.

—

Later, Zhu Yu stopped being a heavy sleeper. He was very consistent about one thing: after brushing his teeth, he always made sure their toothbrushes were placed facing each other, as if greeting each other.

This childish behavior was easily noticed by Bai Chen.

But Bai Chen didn’t say anything, and sometimes he would even subconsciously align their toothbrushes himself.

A week passed.

Zhu Yu found it much easier to run around the park now.

“Senior Brother, I feel so in sync today, like I’m really in the zone,” Zhu Yu said as he ran alongside Bai Chen, matching his pace.

“In sync with what?” Bai Chen controlled his speed to match Zhu Yu’s.

Zhu Yu was still running out of breath, while Bai Chen’s voice remained much steadier in comparison.

Zhu Yu mimicked Bai Chen’s breathing pattern, inhaling and exhaling, “I feel like I can make it into the top twenty this time.”

Bai Chen asked, “How many people are running the 2000 meters?”

Zhu Yu answered, “I think there are thirty-six people.”

“Alright, you’ll make it into the top twenty,” Bai Chen smiled, encouraging him.

Zhu Yu chuckled, looking somewhat proud and confident.

“Zhu Yu! Good morning!” Someone shouted from behind him, in broken Chinese.

As soon as Zhu Yu heard the voice, he knew who it was.

He stopped and turned around to look at the person running towards him. “Geonju, good morning.”

Bai Chen also stopped.

Zhu Yu introduced Han Geonju to Bai Chen, saying that he was the first friend he made when he came here. They used to often go together to eat Vietnamese pho, but that shop on Huasha Street closed down, so they didn’t hang out as much anymore.

Then, Zhu Yu introduced Bai Chen to Han Geonju.

Han Geonju spoke deliberately, “I know, you’re the senior he often mentions to me.”

Zhu Yu nodded, “Yes.”

“You two even run together in the mornings?” Han Geonju asked, his face full of gossip and curiosity.

Zhu Yu explained the situation.

Han Geonju looked at Zhu Yu mysteriously and said, “I get it now, Zhu Yu, run well! I’ll bring some pretty girls and handsome guys to cheer you on.”

Zhu Yu raised his hand and lightly tapped Han Geonju’s shoulder, speaking seriously, “What do you think of me?!”

Bai Chen’s ears twitched, and his usually calm gaze wavered as he looked at Han Geonju.

“I was just joking. I’ll come cheer you on later,” Han Geonju laughed it off. “I’m going back now, you two continue.”

He waved at Zhu Yu.

Zhu Yu nodded, “Okay, see you.”

Han Geonju headed off in the opposite direction.

“Senior Brother, let’s keep running,” Bai Chen said, mentioning that they needed to run one and a half laps around the park to finish this morning.

They still had half a lap to go.

Bai Chen nodded silently and lifted his foot to run ahead.

In the blink of an eye, Zhu Yu was left behind as Bai Chen had already gotten ahead. He hurried to catch up. “Senior Brother, wait for me!”

Bai Chen slowed down and turned to wait for Zhu Yu. When Zhu Yu caught up, he said, “Sorry, I was lost in thought.”

Zhu Yu grabbed the fabric of his waist and quietly asked, “What were you thinking about?”

Bai Chen’s voice was calm as usual. “Nothing important.”

Zhu Yu simply responded with an “Oh.”

—

Later that evening, after Zhu Yu finished his shower, Zhu Ting called him.

Zhu Yu pressed the answer button and switched to speaker mode, placing the phone aside before squatting down to fill Liu Bo’s food bowl.

“Zhu Yu, I heard you signed up for the 2000-meter race at the school sports meet?” Zhu Ting’s clear voice carried a hint of a light smile.

Zhu Yu was speechless. “I was signed up, not by choice.”

“If you don’t want to run, I can take care of it,” Zhu Ting said.

Zhu Yu replied, “Where were you before? I’ve been running morning exercises for nearly half a month now.”

Zhu Ting chuckled lightly. Zhu Yu had never liked sports, so Zhu Ting had always turned a blind eye to it. He just hoped Zhu Yu would exercise and take better care of his health.

“By the way, who is the guy you always run with in the mornings?” He casually asked.

Zhu Yu frowned. “Did you investigate him?”

Then his tone turned cold. “You’d better not have.”

He heard Zhu Ting sigh. “I didn’t.”

“But you’re going to go back home eventually, don’t get too involved with too many people.” Zhu Ting knew his younger brother very well.

As an observer, he could see clearly that the distance between Zhu Yu and that person had already exceeded the limits of friendship for Zhu Yu.

After a while, it would become dangerous for someone like Zhu Yu, who had never been in a relationship.

“Grandmother has relented, and mother won’t stay adamant for too long. If you want to come back, let me know. We can arrange for your withdrawal soon.” He added.

Zhu Yu instinctively picked up the phone and asked, “Really?”

“Mm,” Zhu Ting answered, “If you tell me now, tomorrow when I return from my business trip, I’ll discuss it with the family.”

At first, Zhu Yu was naturally delighted.

In the first few days after he arrived in the UK, his dreams were either about eating Chinese food or going home. Now that there was an opportunity, of course, he thought about going back.

If Zhu Ting had said this three months ago, Zhu Yu would probably have agreed immediately.

But now, it was different.

“Let’s wait a few more months,” Zhu Yu said.

Zhu Ting asked, “Why?”

Why? Zhu Yu squatted down and poked Liu Bo’s back, who was eating, with his finger.

He slowly spoke, “The semester is almost over, I have to finish my studies, right? Plus, Halloween is coming soon. I promised Jon and the others that I’d go out with them for some fun.”

Zhu Ting replied, “I can bring Jon and the others to China to hang out with you.”

Zhu Yu rolled his eyes and scolded, “Are you crazy?! They’re doing fine abroad, why would you bring them to China?!”

“Alright, I’ll listen to you.” Zhu Ting knew Zhu Yu wouldn’t agree, so he added, “What’s most important is that you’re happy.”

Being his younger brother, Zhu Ting didn’t want to make Zhu Yu upset with him.

Zhu Ting also decided to hold off on telling Zhu Yu about Bai Chen’s past.

Zhu Yu angrily hung up the phone, quickly drying his hair. Bai Chen was going to do a live broadcast today, and given what happened last time, Zhu Yu decided to wait at home until the broadcast ended before going over.

He sat on the couch, propped the tablet up on the coffee table, and opened Bai Chen’s live stream.

It was the usual setup—only his neck and below were visible, wearing simple white loungewear. The apron wasn’t tied tightly, so his chest muscles weren’t as noticeable.

But Bai Chen’s body was still impressive, his arm muscles were especially well-defined, and his fingers were a bit reddened from the cold water. The mole on his hand stood out even more.

And it was unclear whether it was because the sound was coming from the tablet, but Bai Chen’s voice had a slight static buzz, a magnetic, textured sound that made it seem even sexier than usual.

Zhu Yu sat on the floor, propping his elbows on the coffee table and resting his chin in his hands while watching Bai Chen.

“Cut the green peppers into sections and remove the seeds. Stuff them with the minced meat we’ve marinated.”

“Heat the oil in a pan and fry the green peppers until the skin is slightly charred, then pour in the sauce we prepared earlier. Turn the heat to high and let the sauce reduce slowly.”

Tonight, Bai Chen was making stuffed green peppers with meat.

Zhu Yu didn’t know how Bai Chen remembered so many recipes, or how he managed to make each dish look so appetizing.

The delicious smell was drifting from the kitchen and into the living room, and Zhu Yu’s stomach responded with a loud growl.

So hungry—

“If there are no further questions, tonight’s live stream will be ending here,” Bai Chen said, adjusting the camera. His voice was calm and warm.

Tonight, the chat was especially active, and there were more viewers than usual in the live stream.

“Teacher Bai Ze!! I have a question! Are you in a relationship?!”

“Teacher, tonight’s dish is for two people again, last year when you made stuffed green peppers in the live stream, the portion was much smaller.”

“Teacher, we absolutely support you being in a relationship, but can we see your partner?”

“Teacher Bai, please, let me bury my face in those big muscles! QAQ”

“Ha ha ha, whether the teacher is in a relationship is his personal business, asking more would be impolite.”

“Teacher, is your partner a guy or a girl? Are they studying abroad like you?”

—

Zhu Yu cupped his face and looked at the comments.

It seemed like he had really caused Bai Chen a lot of trouble.

Before, the comments in Bai Chen’s live stream were mostly mischievous, but now there were so many gossipy ones. Zhu Yu felt that Bai Chen must be in an awkward position.

However, Bai Chen never responded to comments that weren’t related to cooking, so his lack of response didn’t mean he was guilty.

But Zhu Yu never expected that Bai Chen would actually respond to the comments for once: “I’m not in a relationship.”

“If I were, I’d tell everyone.”

Bai Chen never joked, so the fact that he said these two sentences must have been well thought out.

Zhu Yu thought he had misheard, but the reaction in the comments made him realize he hadn’t.

Bai Chen asked again if anyone had questions about the dish tonight, but no one replied.

After giving some reminders, Bai Chen ended the live stream.

Zhu Yu stared blankly at the end screen of the live stream until a message popped up, snapping him back to reality.

【Senior Brother Bai Chen: Xiao Yu, it’s time for dinner】

Zhu Yu quickly replied: 【Okay!!】

Never mind, time to eat!

Zhu Yu put on his jacket, shoved his phone into his pocket, and said to Liu Bo, “You eat first, I’ll be back to pick you up soon.”

He knocked on the door, and Bai Chen opened it quickly.

“Why didn’t you use your key?” Bai Chen moved aside to let Zhu Yu in.

Zhu Yu pointed to the coffee table. “I left the key there.”

Bai Chen followed his finger and saw that the keys to his room and all of Zhu Yu’s keys were attached to a sunflower-shaped keychain.

There were too many things in Bai Chen’s home that didn’t belong to him.

Ever since Zhu Yu moved in.

The house had become much more colorful.

There were two more plush toys on the sofa, a colorful bouquet of origami flowers on the shoe rack by the entrance, several magnets on the fridge, and even a few of Zhu Yu’s clothes in the room, along with many other things…

While he was lost in thought, Zhu Yu had already changed into slippers and taken the food from the kitchen, bringing it to the table.

“Senior Brother, let’s eat,” Zhu Yu said, setting up their bowls and chopsticks and speaking to Bai Chen by the door.

Bai Chen snapped back to his senses. “Okay.”

They almost ate at this table every day, and even their seating positions had become fixed.

Zhu Yu was very familiar with where everything was placed in his house.

But they were just really good friends.

“Senior Brother, you don’t know, when I watched the replay of your live stream making stuffed peppers with minced meat, I almost couldn’t…” Zhu Yu hadn’t finished his sentence when he realized he had made a mistake. Didn’t this basically mean he had confessed to watching Bai Chen’s live stream before?

Obviously, Bai Chen had also realized this. He stopped eating and put on an expression as if he was attentively listening.

Zhu Yu cleared his throat awkwardly, and Bai Chen poured him a glass of warm water, kindly saying, “Eat slowly, take your time.”

“What I meant was that I had seen someone else make it on a live stream before, and I kept wondering when you would make it, but I didn’t expect you to make it tonight on your live stream, and it was so, so, so, so delicious!” Zhu Yu’s tone was especially excited as he awkwardly changed the subject.

The shadow in Bai Chen’s eyes faded, and he lifted his gaze to look at Zhu Yu. “Really?”

Zhu Yu nodded eagerly. “Of course! Senior Brother, you need to believe in your cooking skills, it’s even better than those ^[1]Michelin chefs refers to chefs who have been awarded Michelin stars, a prestigious rating given by the Michelin Guide to recognize exceptional culinary skills and high-quality restaurants. It’s … Continue readingMichelin chefs in China!”

Bai Chen’s lips curved into a slow, pleasant smile, his brows lifting slightly, and he looked in a good mood.

He didn’t say anything but pushed the plate of food a little closer to Zhu Yu.

Zhu Yu took a bite of the mushroom and suddenly remembered the comment he saw in the live stream earlier. He couldn’t help but ask, “Senior Brother, do you prefer boys or girls?”

Cough cough cough… Bai Chen set down his chopsticks and quickly covered his mouth with his hand, coughing several times. Zhu Yu hurriedly grabbed a tissue for him.

“Senior Brother, are you alright? Drink some water,” Zhu Yu said, handing him the glass of water.

Bai Chen took the glass and had a sip, thanking him.

“Why are you asking this all of a sudden?” Bai Chen looked uneasy.

He noticed that the water he was drinking was the same glass Zhu Yu had just used, and his hand, which was hidden under the table, suddenly trembled, nearly making him cough out the water he just swallowed.

Zhu Yu blinked and honestly replied, “I saw the comment in your live stream today.”

“You watched my live stream?” Bai Chen asked.

Zhu Yu nodded. “I clicked in just as you ended the stream after seeing that comment.”

Bai Chen hesitated, saying, “As for liking someone, I guess it depends on the feeling?”

“Ah! That’s true. So, Senior Brother, do you have someone you like?” Zhu Yu immediately followed up with another question.

Cough cough cough… Bai Chen coughed even harder.

Zhu Yu was startled and stood up, pouring more water for Bai Chen, saying, “I won’t ask, I won’t ask anymore.”

Maybe this was something too personal for Bai Chen to talk about. After all, he felt that Bai Chen was a more reserved person.

“How about you?” Bai Chen asked, wiping the water off his mouth with a tissue, lifting his eyes to look at Zhu Yu.

Zhu Yu openly admitted, “I like boys. I realized my sexual orientation when I was in middle school.”

“Does your family… say anything about it?” Bai Chen asked, a bit curious.

Zhu Yu replied, “What could they say? As long as I don’t cause them any big trouble, they’re just grateful.”

Zhu Yu chuckled as he spoke.

Bai Chen also smiled in response.

Whenever he talked about himself, Zhu Yu couldn’t help but share stories from his childhood with Bai Chen.

“It was in fourth grade, I think. I remember back then, my math grades were really bad. I was at the bottom of the class in math, along with the chubby kid and Xiao Jie. Once, we had an exam. Xiao Jie scored 5 points, the chubby kid got 10, and I got 15 points. The question was about a geometric progression… right?” It was clear that Zhu Yu wasn’t good at math. He hesitated a bit and looked at Bai Chen, wanting affirmation from him.

Bai Chen corrected him, “It was an arithmetic progression.”

“Oh, right, an arithmetic progression. Anyway, we had an arithmetic progression question. It was so funny! I was really upset when I only scored 15, but when I saw Xiao Jie’s and the chubby kid’s scores, I didn’t feel bad anymore.” Zhu Yu laughed carelessly, and Bai Chen couldn’t help but laugh along with him, influenced by Zhu Yu’s laughter.

“So the three of us became the best friends in elementary school. We were so silly back then. After watching some martial arts drama, we liked to act all heroic and help those in need. Oh, well, our good intentions just made the teachers’ lives miserable. The class monitor from elementary school still doesn’t like me because we interrupted his confession to his crush.”

As Zhu Yu talked about his childhood, Bai Chen felt like he was intruding into Zhu Yu’s past. He watched Zhu Yu laugh and couldn’t help but join in.

—

The school started preparing for the sports day.

Colorful flags were hung up everywhere.

The day before the sports day, the school canceled classes. Zhu Yu was glad to have some free time, so he worked part-time at a café for half the day.

In the afternoon, Zhu Yu said he was going to the supermarket and sent Bai Chen a message asking if he wanted to go together.

Bai Chen happened to need to buy something too, so he went with Zhu Yu to the supermarket on Huasha Street.

“It’s over there. It used to be a Vietnamese noodle shop, but now it’s a fried chicken place, though the chicken isn’t even that good!” Before entering the supermarket, Zhu Yu pointed to the Vietnamese noodle shop he used to like.

Bai Chen glanced over. The fried chicken place was already fully renovated, and if Zhu Yu hadn’t mentioned it, Bai Chen wouldn’t have realized it had once been a Vietnamese noodle shop.

“Vietnamese noodles…” The two walked into the supermarket side by side. Bai Chen paused for a moment before continuing, “There should be tutorials online. I’ll make you some tonight.”

Zhu Yu immediately grabbed Bai Chen’s sleeve, his eyes sparkling, “Really? Really!”

Starry eyes.jpg.

Bai Chen was nearly overwhelmed by Zhu Yu’s enthusiastic and admiring gaze.

He raised his hand and gently turned Zhu Yu’s head away, speaking helplessly, “Yes, really.”

“But you have to be careful, Xiao Yu.”

“Okay!” Zhu Yu pushed a shopping cart over from the side.

Bai Chen naturally took the cart from his hands.

Zhu Yu also placed one hand on the cart handle. “My part-time wages came through today, so let’s buy some beef. We’ll have steak tonight to celebrate and cheer for tomorrow’s sports day!”

“Okay, anything else you want to eat?” Bai Chen nodded.

Zhu Yu thought for a moment. “The rest, let’s see what you want.”

Zhu Yu was wearing his orange overalls again today, with a white shirt underneath and a sunflower brooch on his chest, looking very colorful.

Bai Chen was wearing a brown long coat with a white hoodie underneath, which made his figure look even taller and more slender.

When standing next to Zhu Yu, the difference in their height and build was obvious, but there was an inexplicable sense of compatibility between them.

The two of them walked to the vegetable section. The British and Chinese people are quite different” unlike the Chinese, they don’t seem to enjoy food as much or spend time studying different kinds of cuisine. For them, eating is just about sustaining life.

Zhu Yu didn’t understand this at all.

Bai Chen explained, “This might be why they use the ^[2]Engel’s coefficient (恩格尔系数) is an economic concept that measures the proportion of household income spent on food. It’s used to assess the standard of living—generally, the lower … Continue readingEngel’s coefficient as a standard measurement.”

Zhu Yu picked up a few potatoes and put them in the cart. “Engel? If he ate the food you made, would he still mention the Engel’s coefficient?”

Bai Chen was amused by Zhu Yu’s words.

He didn’t respond verbally but just pushed the cart behind Zhu Yu.

Whenever Zhu Yu placed vegetables in the cart, Bai Chen would pick them up and carefully inspect them, replacing any that didn’t look fresh.

After they finished with the vegetables, Zhu Yu headed towards the snack section.

Bai Chen silently followed behind him.

As they passed the daily necessities section, Bai Chen casually grabbed a tube of orange-flavored toothpaste and placed it in the cart.