Chapter 25: The ambiguous relationship between love letters spreads silently.

At 9 p.m., An Kejia returned to the dormitory from outside, carrying three cups of milk tea, and said, "Babies, male guest number four is treating you to milk tea."

Fan Xin looked up from the computer, puzzled: "Huh? Where did number four come from?"

Zhou Yu also looked over.

"Ugh, I don't even know how to say it." An Kejia handed out the milk tea to them and said, "He's also a freshman. He's a bit shy. Not long ago, he asked me if I wanted to drink milk tea. I was feeling a bit sleepy at night, so I said yes. Who knew he would buy milk tea for our whole group? Some of them couldn't sleep after drinking it, so they asked me to bring it back."

Fan Xin was astonished: "Wow, what kind of charm do you have that attracts so many suitors? Are there any other people in your group who have a crush on you?"

An Kejia waved her hand: "He's the only one who has a crush on her. The other three are all openly swooning."

Zhou Yu took it and asked, "Did he only ask you?"

"I asked first, so I guessed." An Kejia chuckled, "It might not be a crush, but just wanting to spend money."

Fan Xin laughed uncontrollably: "How is this any different from when you wanted to give food to someone you liked in high school but were too shy to do so, so you ended up inviting the whole class to eat together?"

"There's nothing I can do, I'm just that popular." An Kejia pretended to be troubled. "Now I have to choose one of the four, it's really difficult."

Zhou Yu was amused by her: "Stop trying to exude your charm."

"This is a passive skill; it triggers automatically when you touch someone," An Kejia joked. "How about I give you two?"

Fan Xin quickly waved her hand: "I can't accept such wealth, please don't."

Zhou Yu was drinking half of her milk tea when Fan Xin's words from not long ago suddenly popped into her mind, and she pondered for a few seconds.

There are still three days until Saturday. I don't know if I'll make it in time.

*

On Friday night, Zhou Yu was scrolling through Weibo, seeing that Chen Jingchi had been working very hard these past few days, posting several work photos every day to appease his fans. Although he was as indifferent as ever, and the captions were just random emojis, his fans were very receptive, and the number of comments was soaring.

Every time Zhou Yu browses Weibo, he sees his posts trending.

She only dares to watch now, not like. Because of what happened last time, she gained a lot of followers, but they were all just there to watch the show. Zhou Yu didn't want to get into trouble, so it was best to keep a low profile.

I was looking at the picture he posted of himself leaving get off work today when I received a new message on WeChat.

Chen: [We'll have a get-together at 6 PM tomorrow]

Chen: [Location]

Zhou Yu clicked on the location to check, and it was an apartment complex near the school. A question flashed through her mind: Could this be Chen Jingchi's home?

She saved the location and replied: 【Okay】

I then checked the logistics information; it was shipped the day before yesterday and won't arrive until tomorrow morning. Hopefully, there won't be any delays.

After washing up and climbing into bed, Fan Xin asked, "Do you have any plans for tomorrow?"

An Kejia was still replying to messages on her computer: "Yes, I'm busy compiling the list of attendees for the amusement park."

When Zhou Yu looked up, he saw Fan Xin looking at him expectantly, and smiled, "I have one too."

"Ah..." Fan Xin sighed, "How come I'm all alone now? I wanted to go see a movie."

Zhou Yu added, "I'll go with you on Sunday."

Fan Xin was immediately appeased: "Okay, okay, I'll buy the tickets."

On Saturday morning, Zhou Yu kept a close eye on the logistics progress. She only breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the status change to "delivering" at 10 o'clock.

At 6 p.m., Zhou Yu arrived at the location sent by Chen Jingchi on time. It was a high-end private apartment with facial recognition. She stood at the apartment door and sent a message to Chen Jingchi.

Two minutes later he came down to pick her up, dressed casually, his hair a little messy, and his gaze was gentle. Zhou Yu immediately noticed something was amiss and asked, "Did you just wake up?"

"Hmm." Chen Jingchi's voice was very low. He led her into the elevator, pressed the button for the 18th floor, and then his gaze fell on the white canvas bag on her back.

He must have been exhausted from working non-stop these past few days, so he finally got a day off and slept to his heart's content. Zhou Yu was looking at the floor buttons, hesitating when to hand over the things, when Chen Jingchi's phone rang. He glanced down at it, then reached out and pressed the button to reopen the elevator doors that were about to close.

"They've arrived, wait for me a moment," he said, and then stepped out of the elevator.

Zhou Yu had no choice but to press the open button and wait.

Voices could be heard coming from outside the glass door, and a woman's voice could be faintly heard. Zhou Yu tilted his head to look outside, but unfortunately the angle was wrong, and he could only hear the voices but not see the people.

Zhuo Wencheng was still bragging about how he passed the facial recognition at the gate using Chen Jingchi's photo, and someone told him, "You'd better ask the property management to upgrade the cameras. What if a fan comes and just barges into your house?"

Zhan Li complained, "Who would be so bored as to try it like you?"

Tan Bei tugged at his arm, reminding him, "You know what, die-hard fans are capable of anything."

Chen Jingchi remained unusually quiet, seemingly oblivious to what was happening. The group walked to the elevator and saw the person waiting for them inside. Zhuo Wencheng greeted him with a fresh "Hey!": "Zhou Yu, long time no see!"

After echoing "Long time no see," Zhou Yu finally got a good look at the girl. She looked familiar, and he remembered seeing her before in the school clinic, walking with Zhan Li.

"Hello, I'm Tan Bei, Zhan Li's girlfriend." Tan Bei walked up to her with a smile. "On the way here, we were wondering if you would come."

"Hello." Zhou Yu wasn't very talkative with people he didn't know well, but he smiled at her to show his friendliness.

Zhuo Wencheng and Zhan Li were carrying two bags that looked like drinks and snacks. Zhou Yu only glanced at them, but Tan Bei noticed them immediately. She took a bottle of sparkling beverage from Zhan Li's shopping bag and held it up to her: "Try this, it's delicious and not too sweet. There was only one bottle left on the shelf when we bought it, so here you go."

Zhou Yu originally intended to observe, but seeing her so enthusiastic, he was quite flattered and belatedly accepted the gift and thanked her.

Zhuo Wencheng joked from the side, "Xiao Zhan, your status will have to be moved down a bit."

Zhan Li is usually sharp-tongued, but he softens when he's with his girlfriend, laughing and saying, "I've always had a very low status in my family."

Tan Bei shook his hand and smiled sweetly, "I'll buy it for you when we get back."

Zhuo Wencheng was so overwhelmed by their sweetness that his teeth ached. He turned to Chen Jingchi and said, "Poor single dog."

Chen Jingchi seemed to have just woken up, his eyes finally clearing, and he glanced at him inexplicably: "Say it to the mirror, not to me."

"..."

He glanced at the indifferent Chen Jingchi, then looked back at Zhou Yu, who was also silent, and finally obediently looked at his reflection in the elevator car wall.

The elevator arrived at the eighteenth floor. After entering the apartment, Zhou Yu looked around. The apartment was clean and tidy, with a two-bedroom, one-living room layout and a balcony. The living room was very large, and a set of black pajamas was casually draped on the armrest of the long sofa against the wall. It must have been Chen Jingchi who changed out of it before leaving.

He picked up his pajamas, went to the balcony, and threw them into the washing machine. The group placed their belongings on the coffee table and sat down on the sofa; they were clearly regulars.

Although November is late autumn, winter comes early to the north of the Yangtze River, especially before nightfall when the temperature drops rapidly. Zhuo Wencheng asked them if they wanted anything cold, and after receiving an affirmative answer, he took a few cans of alcoholic beverages and put them in the refrigerator. Seeing the fruit in the crisper drawer, he turned around and asked, "Brother Chi, did you buy this fruit?"

Chen Jingchi closed the balcony door: "Du Heng bought it."

"Then I'll take it out and wash it," Zhuo Wencheng said.

Zhan Li casually asked, "Isn't he coming?"

Chen Jingchi's hair has grown a bit recently, and his bangs hang down and block his eyes when he doesn't style them. He raised his hand and ran a couple of handfuls through his hair: "I'm not coming. I said I don't hang out with young people."

Zhuo Wencheng was cutting a pomelo in the open kitchen when he interjected, "You talk as if he's that old. He's not even thirty yet."

Zhan Li was speechless: "I really don't know if you're praising him or criticizing him."

Tan Bei pulled Zhou Yu to sit down next to her, took out two unopened blind boxes from her bag, and handed them to her: "This is for our first meeting. Do you like opening blind boxes?"

Zhou Yu felt embarrassed to accept the gift and looked at her, saying, "I didn't know you were coming, so I didn't prepare a gift for you."

"It's okay." Tan Bei smiled at her. "I didn't know you would come. We bought these on our way here. We didn't know if you would like them."

Zhou Yu had never bought such exquisite little toys before. When Tan Bei introduced the characters to her after she unpacked them, she listened with a mixture of confusion and curiosity.

Zhan Li poured a glass of juice into a disposable cup and handed it over: "Try the new flavor."

Tan Bei took the glass and wanted to give it to Zhou Yu first, but unfortunately Zhou Yu raised her hand and bumped into it, causing the pink juice in the glass to spill onto her gray coat, soaking the cuffs.

Tan Bei quickly put the cup on the coffee table and reached for a tissue: "Sorry! I was going to give you one!"

"It's alright, it's alright." Zhou Yu knew she meant well. "I'll go wash it off, it'll come off."

Tan Bei wiped the juice off her with a tissue while feeling guilty, saying, "Take it off, I'll help you wash it."

"No need, you sit down, I'll wash up quickly." Zhou Yu quickly stood up and looked at Chen Jingchi, "Where's the bathroom?"

Chen Jingchi led her to the bathroom door and turned on the light.

Zhou Yu took off her coat; it was still a bit chilly in the evening wearing only a long-sleeved shirt. She rolled up her sleeves, put the juice-stained sleeves in the sink, and was about to turn on the water to wash them when someone tugged at her wrist. Turning her head, she realized that Chen Jingchi hadn't left and was still standing behind her.

He turned the switch around and said, "Use hot water."

Chen Jingchi stood very close, her shoulder touching his arm. The excessive contact made Zhou Yu a little uncomfortable. After feeling that the temperature was about right, she took a small step forward and pressed herself against the sink countertop, creating some distance between them.

The juice was just brightly colored; it was relatively easy to wash off clothes. Feeling the person behind him move away, Zhou Yu's tense shoulders relaxed.

Just a few seconds later, Chen Jingchi came back with the laundry detergent, placed it beside her, and stood by watching her wash.

It's hard to ignore a living person in a small space. Zhou Yu glanced at him twice, but didn't want to shoo him away. His hesitant expression piqued Chen Jingchi's interest.

“What are you looking at?” he said. “Just ask.”

"It's nothing." Zhou Yu just wanted to quickly wash his sleeves and get out of there.

She had something to hide, and she couldn't maintain her usual composure when she was alone with him. Chen Jingchi was a shrewd man and not easily fooled.

His behavior has been very abnormal these past few days, and Zhou Yu can't figure out why. She's afraid that she might become abnormal like him.

Unaware of what her reaction might have made Chen Jingchi think, he looked at her profile and abruptly asked, "Where are the few people?"

Upon hearing this, Zhou Yu turned to look at him, puzzled. Seeing his amused expression, she racked her brains for a moment before understanding what he meant, and for a moment she wanted to laugh.

Why is he so concerned about Xu Yue? Zhou Yu couldn't help but feel this way after it happened once or twice.

"Oh." She tried her best to restrain herself and went along with him. "Then where is he?"

"Don't you have his WeChat?" Chen Jingchi said. "Ask him yourself."

"That's not a good idea." Zhou Yu lowered her head, went over her sad thoughts twice in two seconds, and then continued, "If we chat for a few more minutes, we'll become as familiar with him as we are."

After the words were spoken, neither of them spoke, and the only sound in the silent space was the rushing of water.

After about ten seconds, Chen Jingchi spoke up, his voice tinged with an undeniable sense of pleasure: "Laugh if you want to, I can see you."

A large mirror hung on the wall in front of Zhou Yu, illuminated by a lamp. She knew Chen Jingchi had definitely seen her chuckling. She gave up resisting, looked up at her reflection, and met his equally smiling eyes.

Then, emboldened, she smiled with her eyes crinkling.

A subtle, almost imperceptible ambiguity spreads silently.

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Author's note: Thank you for the nutrient solution, everyone!!

Reader "keyee" added 1 unit of nutrient solution to the water.

Reader "Lily" watered with nutrient solution +1

Reader "Qiqiqiqi" added 1 unit of nutrient solution to the water.