ROBEPTQ chapter 5

Before Bai Sijun could speak, the call was abruptly disconnected. Glancing at the time, it was already 11:30 at night, and the subway had stopped running. Where could he buy snacks for Mei Yuchen at this hour?

Without much thought, Bai Sijun quickly got out of bed to change clothes. This was the first time Mei Yuchen had contacted him voluntarily, and he needed to seize this opportunity, no matter what.

Hurriedly leaving the apartment building, dense raindrops obscured his vision. He realized he had forgotten to bring an umbrella. He returned to the elevator, but both elevators happened to be going up. Anxiously waiting for a while, he found the elevators unusually slow that day.

The rain outside had lessened compared to earlier. Thinking that Mei Yuchen was unpredictable and could change his mind at any moment, Bai Sijun gritted his teeth, changed his direction, and ran outside the residential area in the rain.

He lived in a bustling area, and a large commercial district was nearby. He quickly hailed a taxi.

The driver, sipping on wolfberry water, was reluctant when he heard how far they were going. Bai Sijun promised to pay for the return trip, and with renewed enthusiasm, the driver stepped on the gas.

The nighttime roads were not as congested as during the day. The taxi sped along the clear roads, and Bai Sijun, watching the retreating streetlights, belatedly thought about the issue of snacks.

Any normal person would know it’s impossible to buy snacks so late at night. So, snacks were likely just a pretext, and Mei Yuchen’s real purpose was to have him come over.

However, Mei Yuchen might actually be hungry, and the feeling of hunger might serve as an opportunity for Mei Yuchen to think about him.

Various speculations intertwined in his mind. Bai Sijun absentmindedly ran his hand through his hair, feeling frustrated with this unpredictable situation.

After some thought, he decided to open a food delivery app and ordered fried rice for Mei Yuchen.

This way, he wouldn’t blame him for showing up empty-handed.

When the notification arrived on his phone that the food had been delivered, the map showed he was six kilometers away from the destination.

The driver, seeing Bai Sijun constantly checking his phone, asked, “In such a hurry at this late hour? Work matters?”

Bai Sijun forced a smile, replying weakly, “No choice, work-related issues.”

The driver shook his head, sighing, “Young people these days have it really tough.”

In the outskirts, the rain intensified. Bai Sijun, getting out of the taxi, was soon drenched like a drowned rat.

Fortunately, Mei Yuchen’s villa gate was right in front of him. He pressed the doorbell, but unlike the previous two times, the gate didn’t open immediately. Instead, a cold voice came from inside, “Who is it?”

Bai Sijun found it strange. Mei Yuchen should be able to see him on the intercom, and who else would be coming at this time?

Without dwelling on it, he removed his hands, shielding his forehead from raindrops, and replied, “It’s me, Bai Sijun.”

The heavy rain blurred his vision instantly, but the gate still didn’t open.

“What are you here for?” Mei Yuchen asked.

“…Didn’t you ask me to come?” Bai Sijun felt a bit bewildered.

“The delivery has been received. You can go back now.”

“Wait.” Suppressing the unnamed anger rising in his heart, Bai Sijun said kindly, “Look at the time; there are no more cars around here now.”

There was no response from inside. The raindrops on the down jacket made a sound like ticking seconds, marking the passage of time.

After a few seconds, the gate opened.

Bai Sijun hurriedly entered the entrance, took off his soaked clothes and scarf, while Mei Yuchen leaned against the wall, watching him.

“Do you have two identical scarves?” Mei Yuchen asked.

“I bought a new one,” Bai Sijun thought to himself, not sure who had given him this trouble.

“Go take a shower first,” Mei Yuchen said, walking upstairs. “The bathroom is on the first floor. I’ll bring you some clothes.”

Originally, Bai Sijun didn’t intend to make it so troublesome, but his cuffs were already soaked, and his pants were uncomfortably sticking to his legs.

He walked towards the bathroom, passing through the living room. By chance, he glimpsed an unopened takeout bag in the trash can. If he remembered correctly, the name of the restaurant on the bag was the same one he had ordered the fried rice from.

…It seemed his initial guess was correct. Mei Yuchen’s real purpose was to have him come over, and hunger was just an excuse.

Looking at the trash can, the garbage bag covering it had slipped down a bit, revealing the edge of the trash can. It was evident that Mei Yuchen had put a lot of force into throwing away this takeout.

Bai Sijun suddenly understood why Mei Yuchen had intentionally not opened the door for him earlier.

He was angry.

Because the takeout arrived before Bai Sijun, Mei Yuchen thought Bai Sijun had no intention of coming and had just ordered takeout to appease him.

Even if the misunderstanding was cleared up later, he still wanted to make it difficult for Bai Sijun to feel better in his heart.

Really hard to please.

Bai Sijun sighed helplessly.

But considering it again, Mei Yuchen calling him over was definitely related to the new book. Although the process was a bit rocky, it was better than not being contacted at all.

After Bai Sijun entered the bathroom, he quickly took off all his clothes. After being soaked in the rain, the most pleasant thing was to take a hot bath.

When the surroundings were enveloped in a misty vapor, Bai Sijun heard a knock on the door. He knew Mei Yuchen had brought him clean clothes and a towel. “Just come in,” he said.

Bai Sijun’s university dormitory didn’t have a private bathroom. During those four years, he bathed in a communal shower with other male students. He never thought there was anything wrong with men seeing each other’s bodies, so he didn’t wait for Mei Yuchen to bring things before starting to shower.

The bathroom door was behind Bai Sijun at a slight angle, and he heard the sound of the door opening.

He continued to immerse himself in the hot water.

He had expected Mei Yuchen to leave after putting things down, but after a long time, all he could hear was the sound of flowing water.

Curiously, he turned his head and saw Mei Yuchen standing with arms crossed, leaning against the door frame, his gaze unabashedly fixed on his back.

Bai Sijun was taken aback. “Is there anything else?”

Mei Yuchen withdrew his gaze without saying a word and left, closing the bathroom door behind him.

Alone in the bathroom, Bai Sijun turned and touched his back. Apart from the protruding shoulder blades and spine, there was nothing.

—What was Mei Yuchen looking at just now?

After a quick shower, he put on the short-sleeved shirt and long pants that Mei Yuchen had brought. The clothes seemed new, with clear creases. Bai Sijun was slightly shorter than Mei Yuchen, but their body shapes were similar, and he didn’t feel uncomfortable wearing Mei Yuchen’s clothes.

Wiping his hair, he walked back to the living room. Mei Yuchen was lazily leaning against the sofa armrest, with his long legs curled up on the sofa—one leg standing, and the other lying flat.

On the coffee table was Bai Sijun’s “Walking on the Edge of Life.” Sitting next to Mei Yuchen, Bai Sijun asked, “Have you read this book?”

“I read a few pages,” Mei Yuchen replied. “Not interesting.”

Bai Sijun pursed his lips, unsure how to respond, so he continued to dry his hair.

The living room fell into silence, only the sounds of the towel and hair rubbing against each other.

At some point, the towel in his hand became damp. Bai Sijun put it down, glanced at Mei Yuchen beside him, and realized he had been looking at him. The gaze mirrored the one from the bathroom.

“What’s wrong?” Bai Sijun asked, puzzled.

“Nothing,” Mei Yuchen said, standing up and walking towards the hallway. “You can sleep in the guest room on the first floor.”

“You’re going to sleep?” Bai Sijun asked in astonishment. “shouldn’t we talk a bit?”

Mei Yuchen continued walking. “No need to talk. I’m tired.”

Bai Sijun felt exasperated. He wanted to say that being willful should have limits. Mei Yuchen had called him over so late from such a distance, and now he was just leaving him hanging. But what came out of his mouth was, “Okay, good night.”

However, as Mei Yuchen, who had already stepped onto the stairs, suddenly stopped and said without context, “He lied to you.”

Bai Sijun instinctively asked, “What?”

“Your editor,” Mei Yuchen paused, “I know him. He likes to boast.”

Bai Sijun was stunned for a few seconds before realizing Mei Yuchen was trying to comfort him.

This person had mocked him for this very thing during the day, and now he was turning around to tell him not to worry.

Bai Sijun couldn’t understand Mei Yuchen’s thoughts, but when he thought about the takeout incident, he felt Mei Yuchen might not be as complicated as he seemed on the surface. The daytime mockery might have been triggered by something he said.

A surge of determination rose in his heart. He took a big step forward, grabbing Mei Yuchen’s wrist, his tone urgent, “Can you write, then?”

Mei Yuchen didn’t turn around, nor did he answer.

“It’s unrelated to my work,” Bai Sijun’s Adam’s apple moved, cautiously saying, “But personally, I hope you continue to write…”

Mei Yuchen pulled his hand back from Bai Sijun’s grip, saying indifferently, “Got it.”

Bai Sijun watched his retreating figure, unsure of what this “got it” represented.

Nevertheless, it could be considered progress. After all, initially, Mei Yuchen didn’t take him seriously, and now he at least listened to what he had to say.

Walking to the corner of the living room to turn off the lights, Bai Sijun’s eyes passed over the book lying quietly on the coffee table.

He had only read half of the book, and when he brought it, there were clear creases in the middle.

But now, the dividing line represented by the creases had disappeared, and the last few pages of the book were slightly upturned.

Mei Yuchen wasn’t a complicated person; he just spoke without thinking.

Bai Sijun silently smiled, turned off the living room lights, and went to bed.

Work started at 9 a.m., and Bai Sijun set an alarm for 6:30 a.m.

The next morning, when the alarm sounded like a death sentence, Bai Sijun couldn’t help but complain about Mei Yuchen in his heart.

If this person hadn’t inexplicably called him to such a distant place, he could have slept for at least another hour and a half.

But after the drowsiness completely faded, he resigned himself. After all, he had ended up with such a willful writer.

His down jacket and scarf were still damp and unwearable. On the coat rack hung Mei Yuchen’s coat, and Bai Sijun felt it wasn’t appropriate to wear it directly. So, he went to the second floor, wanting to see if Mei Yuchen had woken up.

The second floor had only two rooms besides the tea room. The two doors looked identical, and Bai Sijun didn’t know which room Mei Yuchen was sleeping in.

Bai Sijun pressed his ear against one door and listened but heard no movement. However, when he listened to the second door, he heard the crisp sound of “click, click” from inside.

No matter how you listened, it didn’t sound like a person sleeping.

After a while, a flash of white light crossed Bai Sijun’s mind, and he suddenly realized that it was the sound of typing.

Mei Yuchen was actually typing?!