After leaving the gates of Jinghai University, the black Maybach seemed to find liberation, its speed instantly picking up, exhaust fumes fading into nothingness.
In Jinghai City, the world inside the school gates and the world outside them were completely different, especially the neon-lit nightlife.
Above the river, the brilliant lights were intoxicating. Towering buildings rose straight up, magnificent and luminous. The riverbank was crowded with a bustling flow of people.
The original owner of the body had managed to exceed his own expectations and get into Jinghai University. He’d collected a few thousand yuan in red envelopes from relatives and friends, and it was no joke that he’d almost spent it all in just a few days. Going out for drinks every night cost at least 500 yuan per person, minimum.
Under the streetlights, the boy’s profile looked even sharper, though his expression was relaxed and casual.
Chu Ci had casually hung his sunglasses on his collar. His Adam’s apple was very attractive, its protruding shape full of vitality. The arm steering the car with one hand was veined and strong.
“What flavors do you like? I’ll just pick the restaurant, or else you’ll never be able to decide.” Chu Ci said. He had just gotten the general gist about his good-looking roommate.
Although he was quite curious how a person could change so drastically in an instant, that wasn’t within his sphere of concern. He had noticed that He Yuxuan came from a small county town and had an ordinary family background, likely not very worldly. As for a person’s character, good or bad, that had never been part of Eldest Young Master Chu’s rules for friendship.
That’s why he spoke so directly; Chu Ci was always blunt.
In his past life, He Yuxuan had also rarely made decisions. People around him usually chose for him, and those choices had always been quite satisfying. He happily accepted.
Occasionally, he glanced at the familiar street scenes outside, filled with a sense of how things remained the same but people had changed. He hadn’t expected to end up in a car so soon with someone so unexpected.
“Can we have Cantonese food?” He Yuxuan asked, thinking of the slight acne marks on his face.
“Mm.” Chu Ci input a navigation destination and continued driving.
He Yuxuan finally had ample time to observe the young man sitting beside him, this guy who had just opened his mouth and invited him to dinner.
The young man’s aura didn’t seem very warm. Dressed head-to-toe like a direct, rich young master, the Balenciaga logo on his black t-shirt was very conspicuous.
They say people who love wearing this brand like to show off. He Yuxuan never wore it; he preferred LV because, after trying them on, its cut best suited his figure. But at this moment, he felt that some people were indeed born to show off, their aura completely natural.
If anyone who knew Chu Ci saw this scene, they would probably think the young master had taken his little paramour out.
Strangely, the pretty boy didn’t have a hint of a fawning expression, as if this was only right and proper.
But actually, He Yuxuan, fully aware that he was mooching a free meal, felt quite unsettled inside. For now, he mentally awarded Chu Ci a “Nice Guy” card.
The phone screen resting on He Yuxuan’s thigh lit up a few times, messages popping up. He Yuxuan picked it up with his slender, distinct fingers to look. It was the club president sending photos, along with a request for him to help publicize the club.
He’d already used the guy’s toothbrush, so he definitely wouldn’t go back on his word. Lowering his gaze, he tapped the screen to reply: “Received.”
He then clicked through the photos again, thinking about which one to post or whether to post them all. But he had almost no contacts in his Moments feed; it probably wouldn’t help much with publicity.
While He Yuxuan was hesitating, Chu Ci, who had been maintaining his cool-boy persona, finally stopped just handsomely driving by himself. He glanced sideways multiple times.
“Who’s that? What are the photos for?”
Heh, your eyesight is really good, He Yuxuan couldn’t help but silently complain about the protagonist Shou’s occasional lack of boundaries.
But, well, mooching…
“It’s from the Photography Club I joined. The president asked me to post on Moments to promote it.” He Yuxuan summarized briefly.
Chu Ci immediately understood the situation. While waiting at a red light, he simply leaned in for a closer look, instantly catching the scent of shower gel from his pretty roommate.
Tsk, such a generic smell, Chu Ci thought. Then, unconsciously, he subtly sniffed again.
“Just post this group photo. Otherwise, what will people think you’re up to?” His tone was as self-assured as ever.
He Yuxuan thought his point was quite valid. Although the people in this group photo were a bit small, it was clearly promotion for a club.
“Mm.” He responded softly.
He then started editing his Moments post, quickly finishing and publishing it.
Just as He Yuxuan was about to turn off the phone and put it back on his thigh, Chu Ci snatched it, casually pressed a few things, and when he returned it, gently placing it back on He Yuxuan’s leg, a new friend had appeared at the very top of his message list.
“My WeChat. We’re roommates, there’ll be plenty of times we need to contact each other.” Chu Ci said without batting an eye.
He didn’t know why he had started spouting nonsense. It was a completely natural reaction, even though he’d never, ever thought about staying in touch with any roommate before. “Roommate” wasn’t even a categorized relationship to him.
But acting on a whim had always been Chu Ci’s style.
“Okay.” He Yuxuan, a little OCD, straightened the phone’s position perfectly and politely curved his lips into a smile.
Chu Ci casually glanced at his expression in the rearview mirror and smirked slightly, the expression disappearing quickly.
The young master’s efficiency was indeed high. Soon, He Yuxuan was brought to the entrance of a high-end hotel; the Cantonese restaurant was on the 10th floor.
It was quite famous. He Yuxuan had heard some of the people in his past circles mention it when discussing collaborations, but he hadn’t liked socializing much, so he’d never been there before.
It was almost unbelievable, but Chu Ci, who didn’t look like a good guy at all, was actually taking someone out to eat for the first time. He had directly chosen a place he’d been to for a family gathering before. The environment was nice, the class was sufficient.
As for the taste, Chu Ci ate like some legendary general swallowing ginseng fruit—his taste buds weren’t very sensitive; everything seemed about the same to him.
After parking the car, Chu Ci slammed the car door shut and walked ahead coolly, expecting He Yuxuan to follow closely behind. But when he looked back, the other guy was moving along slowly.
Chu Ci was a sports enthusiast who walked with the wind. Before, no one around him dared to point out that they couldn’t keep up with the young master’s pace. Now, he was the one realizing it for the first time.
His cool demeanor instantly crumbled. He remembered the guy’s injuries from being beaten up still hadn’t healed.
He waited in place, arms crossed over his chest. Seeing He Yuxuan glance at him, a thought struck him, and he turned back, walking alongside him again.
Now there was no hint of the “taking your paramour out” dynamic. After all, whose lover would put on such airs?
“Sorry, my leg’s a bit uncomfortable.” He Yuxuan knew he was slow. Chu Ci wasn’t his family or friend, so he didn’t have to accommodate him, but he explained anyway.
The two were about the same height, standing together. Chu Ci looked like a young master from a wealthy family at a glance. He Yuxuan just looked… really handsome. The kind of good looks that made you overlook his clothes. So they were also very well-matched; it made perfect sense they’d hang out.
“Mm.” Chu Ci reacted nonchalantly but instinctively shielded him a bit, including when getting into the elevator, preventing anyone else from being blind enough to bump into him.
The two new roommates actually weren’t familiar yet, but things were quite harmonious.
For instance, Chu Ci said very naturally, “Delete that Moments post after recruitment ends.”
“Hm? Why?” He Yuxuan felt the other’s train of thought was so jumpy, and wasn’t such an unreasonable request somewhat problematic… Was there something wrong with this book?
“It’s lost its purpose after the time limit, so no need to keep it. Otherwise, the club will keep trying to get freebies out of you forever.” Chu Ci replied very matter-of-factly. After meeting his gaze for a few seconds, he looked away.
Although He Yuxuan felt something was off, it made a lot of sense. And that photo was windy—a tuft of cowlick hair got blown up on his head, super ugly. It could indeed be deleted!
Chu Ci had booked a table and even pre-ordered the dishes. It was a small private room. After the two were seated, waiters streamed in continuously carrying dishes, all signature items.
There was poached shrimp, crispy roast goose, soy sauce chicken… It was quite a lot… He Yuxuan thought it was a bit much for two people.
“These are all signature dishes, try some.” Chu Ci beckoned a waiter to clean and set their utensils, then directed his big dark eyes at He Yuxuan.
The male celebrity didn’t feel much pressure. Who knew how long it would be before he could eat such a meal again in his current situation? Although Chu Ci had a somewhat inexplicable oddness about him, he was a pretty good guy.
“The roast goose seems a little tough…”
“The chicken is a bit oily… slightly…”
“The shrimp is good…” Again, no follow-up. The reaction Chu Ci had imagined didn’t appear.
He Yuxuan’s only self-bought outfit was in the wash, so he’d had to pick a set of generic, grey athletic-style hoodie and sweatpants from the original owner’s wardrobe. But He Yuxuan himself had a magic that made people overlook the quality of his clothes. Looking at him now, Chu Ci just found him rather pure.
The young master’s vocabulary wasn’t vast, his studies not stellar; he couldn’t think of adjectives. The other’s expression was well-controlled, chewing the food in his mouth politely and gentlemanly, also very slowly. Occasionally, he looked at Chu Ci and smiled politely: “Chu Ci, you eat too, or it’ll go to waste.” After saying that, he seemed a bit pained at the thought of so many dishes. But Chu Ci could still sense the other wasn’t particularly, exceptionally satisfied. The taste probably wasn’t stunning enough.
He fell silent for a moment, actually feeling a trace of shame. His magnetic, youthful voice said, “It’s fine, I can finish it, don’t worry about waste.”
Chu Ci had a heavy workout routine; if he wanted to, he could naturally eat a lot without affecting his physique at all. Usually, however, he didn’t eat much with outsiders; no one had that much face with him.
After speaking, Chu Ci started eating at a rather fast pace. Dishes He Yuxuan seemed disinclined to touch anymore, he directly tipped into his own bowl. He basically let He Yuxuan taste everything first. And He Yuxuan, used to being taken care of in his past life, often didn’t notice anything wrong.
“If you don’t like it, don’t force yourself. Just leave it to me.” Chu Ci lifted his eyelids and said directly.
“I don’t dislike it, it’s fine.” He Yuxuan was momentarily stunned, then realized he’d accidentally let some of his old bad habits show again. Are you still a male celebrity? Why are you so picky!
“Next time, I’ll take you to eat somewhere even better.” Chu Ci ignored his polite nonsense, his movements never stopping.
The male celebrity had to maintain his figure, and since the taste was only passable, he ate just a quarter. The young master ate all the rest. Sitting across from him at the end, He Yuxuan was dumbfounded, thinking he really should have hired a professional eating companion in his past life, so much wouldn’t have been wasted.
But the young master was quite nice. Though young, he was really okay. But did there really have to be a next time?! They still weren’t really that familiar… So far they only knew each other’s names, yet they’d already shared a meal.
However, He Yuxuan, who hadn’t yet tried the cafeteria food, was quite worried. Would it really be unbearably bad? Should he agree, should he agree?
“Thank you for today. If you ever need my help in the future, just ask.” He Yuxuan thought it over. Although they weren’t familiar, he had to state his stance; he couldn’t just freeload. There was no such thing in the world as a free lunch, He Yuxuan knew this well.
“Mm.” Chu Ci’s eyes darkened slightly.
“Then don’t go back tonight. Keep me company while I sleep.” He stared intently at He Yuxuan, like a dog, the kind with fangs.
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