ROBEPTQ chapter 32

Five, four, three, two, one…

Finally, it was six o’clock. Bai Sijun suddenly stood up, accidentally sending his office chair flying about a meter away. His colleagues were startled by the commotion, looking at him with surprise as he raised his head.

“Uh, I’m leaving now.”

He pushed his chair back into place, then picked up the backpack he had packed the night before and clocked out at the punch clock, being the first to do so.

“Xiao Bai, are you going on a trip this weekend?” a colleague asked, poking their head out.

Bai Sijun smiled and replied, “Something like that.”

The Friday evening rush hour was like hell itself. Bai Sijun held the snacks he had just bought tightly to his chest, afraid of being squished by the sardine-packed subway.

When the subway reached the outskirts, some sections of the track were above ground. Bai Sijun could clearly see the sun gradually sinking, casting a layer of nightfall outside the window. He hadn’t had dinner, feeling a bit hungry. He bought quite a few pastries, and although he could have opened them to eat some, he decided to endure and wait to eat with Mei Yuchen.

The subway station to the villa area was only a ten-minute walk. However, for some reason, it felt particularly far today. When he rushed to Mei Yuchen’s house, it was approximately 8:10 PM.

As he walked forward, unconsciously glancing towards Mei Yuchen’s house, he saw a slender figure standing on the second-floor balcony not far away.

The figure had both hands crossed in front of the chest, elbows resting on the railing, body leaning forward. Anyone could see that this person was waiting for someone.

Bai Sijun couldn’t help but hook the corner of his mouth, speeding up his pace towards Mei Yuchen’s villa.

The front door of the villa was already open. Bai Sijun, being familiar with the place, pushed the door open and then, to his surprise, saw Mei Yuchen standing at the entrance of the foyer, waiting for him.

If it were still the dead of winter, Mei Yuchen would never easily go outside. Bai Sijun felt as if he saw a hedgehog waking up from hibernation, eagerly awaiting his feeding.

“Waited long?” Bai Sijun handed the snack box to him.

Mei Yuchen took the snack box and placed it on the shoe cabinet without answering Bai Sijun’s question. Instead, he handed Bai Sijun a key.

“What’s this?” Bai Sijun guessed Mei Yuchen’s intention, but still asked.

“From now on, open the door yourself,” Mei Yuchen said, pulling Bai Sijun’s wrist and leading him inside. “Follow me.”

Only after entering the dining room did Bai Sijun understand why Mei Yuchen was so anxious to pull him inside. On the dining table was a plate of uniquely shaped green pepper shredded pork, a plate of clumped-up shredded potatoes, and a pot of tomato and egg soup with little water.

Bai Sijun raised an eyebrow, “Can you cook?”

Mei Yuchen circled behind him, hands resting on his waist, pushing him towards the dining table as he said, “No, try it quickly.”

It seemed like he couldn’t.

After Bai Sijun sat down and tasted a bite of the green pepper shredded pork, he immediately wrinkled his features at its excessive saltiness.

“How is it?” Mei Yuchen sat next to him, leaning on his chin.

Having written numerous book reviews, Bai Sijun had naturally developed the skill of giving ambiguous responses.

“Mmm—The green pepper is cooked just right, melting in the mouth, and the shredded meat perfectly absorbs the aroma of the bean paste, making it mouthwatering. However, if you added less salt with the bean paste, it might be worth considering.”

Mei Yuchen pursed his lips, saying dejectedly, “I knew I made it too salty.”

Seeing him like this, Bai Sijun couldn’t help but console him, “It’s okay. It goes well with rice.”

Mei Yuchen lifted his eyes, a hint of light in them, whether unintentional or deliberate, and said, “Then, you have to finish it all.”

Fine, Bai Sijun pursed his lips, reluctantly nodding.

After eating dinner, Bai Sijun conscientiously cleaned up the mess Mei Yuchen left in the kitchen. When he returned to the living room, Mei Yuchen had already opened the snack box, sitting cross-legged on the sofa, waiting for him to come over.

Bai Sijun sat down next to him, asking, “Why don’t you eat first?”

Mei Yuchen handed him a plastic spoon, then skillfully laid down on his thigh, looking up at him, “Feed me first.”

Bai Sijun was too lazy to mock him for having no hands anymore.

Holding the snack box in his left hand, he used the right to scoop a spoonful of the snack and fed it into Mei Yuchen’s mouth. Mei Yuchen closed his eyes, appearing to thoroughly enjoy the moment.

“Still haven’t finished the ending?” Bai Sijun asked.

“Mmm,” Mei Yuchen responded with a bite on the spoon, then continued, “You take a look at the previous parts first.”

“Okay,” Bai Sijun agreed.

As Mei Yuchen leisurely enjoyed the snacks, he suddenly opened his eyes and asked, “Why have you been feeding me all along?”

Bai Sijun was puzzled, “Isn’t that what you asked me to do?”

“I mean,” Mei Yuchen paused, “why aren’t you eating yourself?”

Mei Yuchen didn’t bring it up, and Bai Sijun had actually forgotten about it. He nonchalantly replied, “I’m fine as long as I see you eat.”

Mei Yuchen squinted at him for a moment, then suddenly sat up, took the spoon from his hand, scooped a spoonful of snacks, and handed it to Bai Sijun’s mouth, urging him like he was coaxing a child, “Ah…”

Bai Sijun stared blankly at the spoon that Mei Yuchen had just used. In the next moment, he found himself caught in a dilemma of whether or not to open his mouth.

Mei Yuchen furrowed his brow, prompting, “Hurry up and eat.”

Bai Sijun’s Adam’s apple moved, then he reluctantly opened his mouth and bit down on the spoon Mei Yuchen offered.

In that instant, he couldn’t help but glance at Mei Yuchen, and suddenly thought of the scene when he had cooked fried rice for Mei Yuchen.

Back then, Mei Yuchen had looked at him, biting the spoon in a similar way, and the allure in his eyes had made his head spin.

He wondered how Mei Yuchen saw him now.

Before he could dwell on it, the spoon in his mouth was abruptly taken away. The next second, the snack box in his left hand was also taken, and when he realized it, he was already lying on the sofa. Mei Yuchen’s hands were on either side of his head, looking down at him from a higher vantage point, and his eyes were unusually deep.

“Bai…”

“Mei…”

Both spoke at the same time, then fell silent simultaneously, as if waiting for the other to speak first.

Mei Yuchen gazed at Bai Sijun for a while, then suddenly lowered his head. Bai Sijun hesitated for a moment, then quickly turned his head to look at the coffee table, saying, “Let me see your manuscript.”

Mei Yuchen’s exhale stopped by his ear, and Bai Sijun was almost certain that if he hadn’t turned his head, Mei Yuchen’s lips would have covered his.

His heart was pounding, and Mei Yuchen’s heavy breath by his ear seemed like a dangerous signal, making his heartbeat even more uncontrollable.

“Bai…” Mei Yuchen spoke again, his lips brushing against Bai Sijun’s earlobe.

Bai Sijun remained frozen, and before he could react, the earlobe received the moist touch of Mei Yuchen’s tongue. His body trembled uncontrollably for a moment, then, as if awakened, he suddenly pushed Mei Yuchen’s shoulders with both hands.

“Mei, don’t do this.” Bai Sijun said with a slight frown, “Let me see your manuscript.”

Mei Yuchen’s eyelids drooped, slowly sitting up from Bai Sijun. He spoke expressionlessly, “Just knew it’s about the manuscript.”

Bai Sijun propped up his upper body, not daring to look at him directly as he said, “I’m your editor.”

Mei Yuchen pursed his lips unhappily, then stood up and went upstairs. Bai Sijun knew he was not pleased and subconsciously wanted to say a few comforting words, but at the moment, he didn’t know what to say.

Fortunately, after Mei Yuchen went upstairs, it didn’t take long for him to come down with his laptop. He handed the computer to Bai Sijun and said, “About 120,000 words, take a look first.”

“Okay,” Bai Sijun took the computer.

He usually read books quickly, and a book of around 100,000 words could be finished in less than two hours. However, today he deliberately slowed down, reading each word carefully.

The story continued with the protagonist installing the love game, creating an ideal female character in the game, and then, just like dealing with a real-life lover, initiating a romance with this character.

From the details between the lines, it could be seen that the game was not just about dating. When Bai Sijun reached about sixty or seventy thousand words, he vaguely guessed that, in the end, the male protagonist would be trapped in this game. However, he hadn’t figured out the specific form of entrapment.

Compared to the ending, Bai Sijun was more concerned about the narrative pace and the characters’ psychology.

The overall rhythm of this novel was relatively light, and the character personalities were clear, quite different from Mei Yuchen’s usual style.

Bai Sijun, halfway through reading, couldn’t help but furrow his brows. When he finished the last sentence, he had completely lost interest in the ending of this novel.

Mei Yuchen had been quietly watching TV, Bai Sijun glanced at him with a frown, didn’t know how to start, and just swiped the touchpad up and down with a confused expression.

After a while, Mei Yuchen seemed to notice his strange actions, locked the screen, and asked, “Have you finished reading?”

“Mmm,” Bai Sijun responded expressionlessly.

The air became somewhat silent. Bai Sijun knew that his reaction was evident, so Mei Yuchen must have sensed his dissatisfaction with the manuscript.

“Is there a problem?” Mei Yuchen asked.

Bai Sijun closed the computer slowly, took a deep breath, and looked at Mei Yuchen, asking, “Mei, do you like me?”

The air fell silent again, and Mei Yuchen’s expression showed a momentary daze, probably not understanding why he would ask such a question at this moment. He furrowed his brows slightly and said, “I like you. Isn’t it obvious enough?”

Bai Sijun’s Adam’s apple moved, and with some difficulty, he said, “Maybe you shouldn’t like me anymore.”

The “川” character between Mei Yuchen’s eyebrows deepened suddenly. Bai Sijun knew he absolutely couldn’t soften this time, so he coldly and straightforwardly said, “Look at what you’ve written; it’s simply a brainless love story.”