Chapter 29

After the sports meet, London officially entered late autumn. For some reason, the weather started to cool down in late November this year, whereas in previous years, it didn’t get cold until December.

The school’s Halloween holiday was from October 30th to November 2nd.

Around October 27th or 28th, the places Zhu Yu frequently visited were already decorated with Halloween-themed spooky elements.

Several large trees downstairs from his apartment were also adorned with colorful lights and grimacing pumpkin lanterns.

There were glowing green lights inside the ghostly skull heads placed along the road, and as soon as night fell, the entire apartment complex became eerie and terrifying.

Inflatable decorations such as creepy zombies, mutated bats, and hanging zombies were placed around the walls and the exterior of the building.

Next door was a residential area, and every time Zhu Yu passed by there, he would feel like he was trapped in a scene from Plants vs Zombies — the solitary house surrounded by various kinds of zombies.

The zombies were made to look grotesque and lifelike, adding to the terrifying atmosphere.

Recently, the only streetlamp on the small path leading to the apartment was no longer working due to years of neglect, leaving it without any light.

Everything about it gave an unsettling feeling.

Today, the coffee shop was decorating for Halloween, and Zhu Yu voluntarily stayed to help with the setup for a while.

He sent Bai Chen a message saying he would be about an hour late getting home and wouldn’t be going for dinner. Bai Chen didn’t ask any further questions and simply replied with “Okay.”

Now, Zhu Yu was walking alone back to the apartment, holding the snacks and cake that August had given him in both hands. He didn’t have an extra hand to hold his phone for light, so the only thing lighting his way was the eerie green glow from the ghostly skull heads along the side of the road.

“Ah-choo.” The wind rushed into his collar, making him shiver.

The wind swirled around the neighborhood, rustling the leaves, sounding like ghosts crying out, scaring Zhu Yu into speeding up his pace.

He wasn’t usually a coward, but being in an unfamiliar foreign country made him feel uneasy, especially since there was no one else on this road. Some of the pumpkin lanterns along the way even had talking devices inside them.

As he passed by, Zhu Yu could hear the pumpkins making strange, eerie sounds.

Who wouldn’t be scared here?

Moreover, the ghosts here were different from the ones in China. Chinese ghosts usually have clear reasons for their vengeance, but foreign ghosts tend to be indiscriminate in their attacks.

The more Zhu Yu wanted to hurry down this road, the longer it seemed to stretch.

Since entering this dimly lit path, he couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was following him from behind.

But Zhu Yu didn’t dare to look back.

He could only quicken his pace, taking small, hurried steps, but strangely, the faster he ran, the closer he felt the presence behind him.

As he passed through the path and turned a corner, a tall dark shadow appeared not far in front of him, moving toward him, forcing Zhu Yu to stop in his tracks.

How could this be a two-sided attack?!

The sky was too dark, and Zhu Yu couldn’t see the person clearly, but he could tell by the figure that it was a tall adult male.

He was getting closer.

The reason Zhu Yu could tell he was getting closer was because the man was walking straight toward him, showing no intention of avoiding him.

Zhu Yu’s breath caught in his throat, and he froze in place.

He quickly calculated his chances of winning if he had to fight this man — the chances of winning were zero.

Zhu Yu felt desperate. He hurriedly switched the items he was holding to one hand, trembling as he pulled out his phone from his pocket. He found Bai Chen’s contact in the list and was about to dial when, suddenly, a bright light appeared in front of him. Startled, Zhu Yu flinched, and instinctively screamed.

“Oh my God!”

The person coming toward him suddenly turned on a flashlight.

Zhu Yu shrank his neck, too scared to even lift his head, and cried out desperately, “I don’t have any money!”

“Xiao Yu?” The person in front of him gently called his name.

The familiar voice, calm and reassuring as always, mingled with the whistling wind, wrapping around Zhu Yu’s ears and instantly calming his anxious heart.

Zhu Yu looked up through tearful eyes. Under the light of the flashlight, his eyes glistened with tears, his eyelids were slightly red, and his nose and cheeks were flushed from the cold wind, making him look pitiful.

When he saw that it was Bai Chen, Zhu Yu couldn’t hold back anymore and burst into tears. Bai Chen’s heart skipped a beat, and an overwhelming feeling of concern wrapped around his chest. He quickly moved forward and took the items from Zhu Yu’s hands. Zhu Yu, feeling weak in his legs, collapsed into his arms.

“You scared me to death!” Zhu Yu buried his face in his chest, clutching at his shirt with both hands, softly whining in complaint, “Why didn’t you turn on the light? You almost scared me to death!”

Bai Chen held him in his arms. With his free hand, he gently patted Zhu Yu’s back, softly comforting him. His voice was full of guilt, “Sorry, Xiao Yu, I was going to meet you at the intersection ahead, but I got delayed because I just received a call.”

“I didn’t turn on the light because I didn’t expect to meet you here.” He patiently explained.

Zhu Yu, small and skinny, was practically hidden in Bai Chen’s arms from behind.

Zhu Yu’s heart was still racing from fear. He figured his heart rate must be over 120 beats per minute. He buried his face in Bai Chen’s chest and complained, “I wasn’t scared at first, but I kept feeling like someone was following me, so I got a little scared.”

“Then I ran and ran, but when I turned the corner, I saw you, and you didn’t turn on the light. Do you know how tall you are? I thought you were with him!” Zhu Yu said as he lifted his head to look behind him.

It was empty behind him. There was no one there. But then the voice from the recorder inside the glowing green pumpkin lantern by the bushes suddenly started, scaring Zhu Yu to hide even further into Bai Chen’s arms.

“Help, senior!” he cried.

Although, perhaps it was just his imagination earlier.

But there was no denying that Zhu Yu was genuinely scared by this “illusion.”

So, still shaken from the scare, Zhu Yu was easily startled by the slightest sound or movement.

Bai Chen held him close and reassured him, “It’s okay, it’s just the sound from the pumpkin lantern.”

He spoke softly to comfort him.

Then he lifted his head to look behind Zhu Yu.

He gazed into the distance, his expression momentarily still, his pupils inexplicably deep. Then, he slowly withdrew his gaze, lowered his head, and spoke to Zhu Yu in a gentle, low voice, “Sorry, I scared you.”

He added, “If I finish work late in the future, I’ll come to the café to pick you up.”

Zhu Yu shook his head, not wanting to trouble him.

“No need,” he replied. “The streetlights will be fixed in a couple of days, and I’m not really that scared.” After he finished crying, Zhu Yu felt a little embarrassed.

He was a grown man, after all, and it was embarrassing to be frightened by something like that and cry in another man’s arms. He felt not only embarrassed but also ashamed.

So, after speaking, Zhu Yu pulled away from Bai Chen’s embrace.

Bai Chen didn’t respond to him directly. Instead, he asked, “Have you eaten dinner?”

Zhu Yu shook his head. “I didn’t have time. I came straight home after work. I’ll just grab something quick later.”

He then raised his hand to wipe his tears with his sleeve, but Bai Chen grabbed his wrist and handed him a tissue.

Zhu Yu sniffled, took the tissue, and wiped his face. The tissue carried Bai Chen’s signature locust flower scent. He took a deep breath.

“And I brought back some little cakes from the café.” After wiping his tears, he pointed to the bag Bai Chen was holding.

Bai Chen raised his hand, took the tissue that Zhu Yu had used to wipe his tears, and put it in the pocket of his coat.

Then he looked down at the large bag he was holding, glanced at Zhu Yu, and said, “I made sauerkraut fish for dinner. It’s a bit complicated to prepare, and I just finished cooking, so I haven’t had dinner yet. Would you like to join me?”

“Hey, hey, hey?!” Zhu Yu’s eyes lit up, and he looked at Bai Chen excitedly. “Sauerkraut fish?!”

Bai Chen nodded lightly.

“I want to eat it!” Zhu Yu didn’t beat around the bush. If he liked something, he would just say it. No need for anyone to guess his thoughts. He would tell them directly. “Actually, the little cakes can be kept in the fridge and eaten tomorrow, right?!”

As soon as he heard there was something delicious for dinner, all the earlier events were completely forgotten by Zhu Yu.

His mood instantly lifted.

Who cares?

At this point, let’s just eat!

Bai Chen smiled gently, his eyes curving slightly.

“Yes,” he replied.

Zhu Yu chuckled again, tugging at Bai Chen’s sleeve as they walked forward. “Let’s go back quickly and eat. The sauerkraut fish is going to get cold!”

When he was with Bai Chen, Zhu Yu felt completely fearless.

In his eyes, even the strange decorations along the roadside had started to seem cute.

“I’ll go home first and pack Liu Bo’s dinner. Senior Brother, you’ll have to wait for me. We need to eat together!” Zhu Yu said eagerly.

Bai Chen said, “I already fed it before I left. If you’re hungry, we can eat when we get home.”

Zhu Yu replied, “I knew it!! Senior Brother, you definitely wouldn’t want Liu Bo to go hungry. Looks like I should’ve given you a spare key to my place earlier.”

Previously, after moving back, Zhu Yu had planned to return the key to Bai Chen.

But Bai Chen told him to keep it in case of an emergency.

So, Zhu Yu gave Bai Chen a spare key and said the same thing.

When Zhu Yu was happy, even the tuft of hair on top of his head looked more spirited.

Bai Chen’s gaze fell on Zhu Yu’s head, then slowly moved away as they entered the elevator together. He smiled and asked, “Aren’t you worried I’ll go to your place and cause trouble when you’re not around?”

Zhu Yu put his hands on his waist and kindly reminded him, “I think it’s you, Senior Brother, who should be worried about that.”

His tone and expression were serious, not like he was joking.

Bai Chen found his seriousness adorable. He was amused by Zhu Yu’s earnest tone and expression and couldn’t help but laugh.

It was an uncontrollable laugh.

As he laughed, his eyelashes trembled, his shoulders shook, and a row of white teeth showed. A deep, magnetic laugh rumbled in his throat, his brows and eyes relaxed, and his dimples made him look incredibly gentle.

It was rare for Bai Chen to laugh like this. In Zhu Yu’s memory, Bai Chen usually smiled in a restrained way. Even if he did laugh, it was a light, shallow laugh, nothing like the laughter he had now, which was almost uncontrollable.

Zhu Yu stared at Bai Chen, mesmerized. Bai Chen was good-looking, and when he laughed, he was even more attractive. Just watching Bai Chen laugh made Zhu Yu smile too. It was hard to imagine that just ten minutes ago, Zhu Yu had been scared and crying uncontrollably.

—

Probably because he had been hungry all afternoon and was startled at night, Zhu Yu ate two big bowls of rice in one go.

The bowls at Bai Chen’s house were larger than Zhu Yu’s face. When he picked up the bowl to drink the soup, the bowl covered his entire face.

Bai Chen ate slowly, his gaze constantly on Zhu Yu.

“Really, Senior Brother, if I had to wait one more second for dinner, I’d have starved to death.” Zhu Yu sniffed and then said, “Before I knew that shadow was you, I had already thought of my last words.”

Bai Chen was curious. “What were they?”

Zhu Yu replied, “I was going to burn a few pictures of the late New Oriental chefs for me. When I met them in the afterlife, I was going to beg them to cook for me.”

Bai Chen’s expression didn’t change as he casually asked, “What about me?”

Zhu Yu picked up a piece of tofu and put it in his mouth. “You definitely have other tasks! At least once a week, you should make a big, and huge feast and bring it to my grave.”

Bai Chen chuckled again. “Then you don’t need to include that in your last words.”

Zhu Yu looked at him. “Why?”

Bai Chen just smiled and didn’t answer. He lowered his head, picked out a piece of fish without bones, and placed it in Zhu Yu’s bowl.

Zhu Yu contentedly picked up the fish and put it in his mouth, chewing as he thought. After a few seconds of brain freeze, his eyes immediately lit up: “You mean, I can actually have your big meals every week from now on?!”

“Yeah, if you want, we can start this weekend,” Bai Chen nodded.

Zhu Yu put down his chopsticks, cupped his chin with both hands, and looked at him with admiration, his tone completely sincere: “Senior Brother, this time, I’m really going to swear to follow you to the ends of the earth, along with Liu Bo.”

Bai Chen felt a bit uncomfortable being stared at by Zhu Yu’s eyes that seemed to glow.

It was really too cute.

So even though Bai Chen didn’t respond, the corners of his lips curled up a little more.

After they finished eating and were washing the dishes together, Zhu Yu said beside him that he had already prepared his Halloween costume for tomorrow, asking Bai Chen if he had found his black shirt and black trench coat.

“I’ve got them ready,” Bai Chen said.

“Do you have a white scarf?” Zhu Yu asked him.

Bai Chen nodded. “I have a beige one, will that work?”

Zhu Yu thought for a moment. “That should be fine, I was also going to say if you didn’t have a white scarf, I could lend you one of mine, I have so many scarves!”

Bai Chen lowered his long lashes and stared at the foam-filled bowl in his hands. His lips moved, and then he said, “The beige scarf probably wouldn’t be quite right.”

“After all, it’s a downgraded version of the Godfather,” Bai Chen added.

Zhu Yu immediately felt that Bai Chen made a valid point and said, “Okay, I’ll go find mine and bring it to you later!”

Bai Chen’s lips curved up. “Thanks, Xiao Yu.”

“No need to thank me,” Zhu Yu said, his tone excited. After all, he had been looking forward to Halloween for a month.

Then he added, “By the way, Senior Brother, tomorrow, we definitely must not get separated. I asked around, and Jon said that every year on Halloween, the plaza gets really crowded, and of course, there are also a lot of thieves and scammers.”

“Alright,” Bai Chen responded.

After washing the dishes, Zhu Yu immediately went back and ransacked his wardrobe. He finally found the box where he kept his scarves at the very bottom, and there were many scarves inside.

There were three white scarves. Zhu Yu picked them up, compared them, and took out his absolute favorite one.

—

The busiest day of the four-day holiday was Halloween night on the 31st.

Zhu Yu was so excited that he had trouble sleeping.

At two o’clock in the morning, he was still scrolling through a music app, saving interesting videos to share with Bai Chen.

As a result, when Bai Chen woke up, he saw more than thirty messages from Zhu Yu and thought something must have happened to him in the middle of the night.

When he clicked on the messages, he found that it was Zhu Yu sharing videos and posts, and he couldn’t help but feel helpless.

He replied to the messages one by one, from top to bottom.

Afterwards, he went downstairs for a morning jog in the park.

On the way, he encountered several people wearing Halloween makeup.

The props and makeup were very realistic, but Bai Chen didn’t look for too long. He never liked to stare at people for too long.

On his way back, he made a special detour to visit the dorm manager, politely asking her to get the staff to fix the streetlights as soon as possible.

By the time he returned home, he had just finished making breakfast when he received a message from Zhu Yu asking how he was doing.

Bai Chen smiled slightly as he replied: 【You woke up at a good time, I just finished breakfast. After you’re done washing up, come over and eat.】

While brushing his teeth, Zhu Yu replied: 【Senior Brother, do you want the truth?】

【Bai Chen: What’s wrong?】

【Zhu Yu: Actually, I was woken up by the smell of the breakfast you made.】

【Zhu Yu: Hehe.】

【Zhu Yu: 【Hehe.jpg】】

After sending the messages, Zhu Yu quickly spit out the foam in his mouth. He had borrowed this toothpaste from Bai Chen.

Bai Chen had just set the breakfast on the table when Zhu Yu hopped over to him, purposely spread his arms to block Bai Chen’s way, and lifted his chin, saying: “Trick or treat.”