AAUMOBIP C13

Chapter 13

Xiao He: ?

What on earth was Yun Ge up to this time?

He didn’t get it, couldn’t understand it, but decided to step outside and see for himself.

“The car’s parked right below your dorm, sister-in-law, come quickly.” Song Zhiyuan’s voice carried a trace of panic.

A suspicion formed in Xiao He’s heart. He hurried out, spotted the familiar license plate, and walked over, knocking on the passenger-side window.

The glass was tinted, impossible to see through from the outside.

The rear window rolled down, revealing a fully disguised face.

“Hi~” Yun Jingqiu greeted him with a smile.

Xiao He: Not funny.

“What are you doing here?” Xiao He asked. Instinctively, he glanced around. Seeing that no one seemed to notice them, he finally let out a sigh of relief. “Come out quickly, I’ll take you to the dorm.”

“There are a lot of people on campus. What if someone recognizes you?” Xiao He scolded.

Yun Jingqiu replied, “Xiao He wanted chicken feet, so I came to deliver takeout for him.”

He lifted the food container to show Xiao He.

Xiao He felt a wave of emotion.

So Yun Ge had noticed his message—he just wanted to give him a surprise.

But this surprise… might be a bit too much.

Luckily, there weren’t many students around at the moment. Assistant Song’s car wasn’t an ostentatious luxury vehicle either, so not many people paid attention.

Still, Xiao He couldn’t bear the thought: if Yun Jingqiu’s identity were exposed at school…

Wouldn’t Yun Ge just become a monkey trapped in a zoo, watched from all sides?

Song Zhiyuan cursed under his breath: “I won’t get in your way. Call me when you’re done.”

Xiao He nodded. “Okay.”

Yun Jingqiu stepped out of the car, right hand holding the food box, plaster cast still fixed around his left arm.

He wore a mask and sunglasses, a black bucket hat pulled low, his face completely hidden.

But as Yun Jingqiu emerged, Xiao He still felt dazzled.

He had seen him plenty of times before, yet every time Yun Ge appeared, the difference in aura between a celebrity and ordinary people was crystal clear.

And Yun Ge happened to be the type with exceptional presence.

Just by getting out of the car, he drew people’s attention.

Xiao He suspected some eyes were curious about what Yun Ge actually looked like—after all, this kind of getup was rare to see on campus.

Not daring to risk discovery, Xiao He quickly grabbed Yun Jingqiu’s right hand, slipping his own under the handle of the food container so they carried it together, then dragged him toward the dorm building.

Xiao He’s dorm was on the third floor. They took the stairs.

“Head down. Hunch your back,” Xiao He ordered.

Yun Jingqiu did as told.

Even then, they still attracted looks.

Inside a dorm building, someone dressed like this stood out sharply.

Yet Yun Jingqiu couldn’t remove his mask, hat, or glasses.

“Xiao He? What’s this about?” A student heading downstairs stopped. He happened to know Xiao He, a fellow graduate student from the same program, though they didn’t interact much.

Xiao He’s scalp prickled. He scrambled for a plausible excuse: “He had cosmetic surgery. Still recovering, can’t be seen in daylight.”

The student believed him, nodded, and offered a greeting before moving on.

Forcing his way through, Xiao He finally brought Yun Jingqiu to his dorm, shut the door, and at last breathed freely.

“Cosmetic surgery? Can’t be seen in daylight?” Yun Jingqiu repeated each word slowly.

Xiao He defended himself, “I couldn’t just tell him you’re Yun Jingqiu! That excuse was already pretty good.”

“Tsk.” Yun Jingqiu didn’t dwell on it. Instead, he opened the food box.

“It’s still warm, Xiao He. Hurry and eat.” He naturally found Xiao He’s desk, set the box down, and sat in Xiao He’s chair.

Xiao He pulled over his roommate’s chair and sat beside him.

“You came without saying anything?” Xiao He grumbled. “Let me tidy up my desk, it’s too messy.”

“It’s not messy, it’s cozy,” Yun Jingqiu countered.

He examined the dorm closely, eyes landing on Xiao He’s desk arrangement, smiling.

Yun Jingqiu had rarely stayed in dorms. Through middle and high school, he was a day student. In college, once he entered the acting program, he immediately started working as an extra.

Though the school assigned him a dorm, he seldom lived there. Most of the time he followed crews, living in hotels they provided.

At the very beginning, he was only a background actor, working day-to-day. When jobs required overnight stays, he would scrape together money for a cheap inn nearby.

When he had no work, he would return to his dorm.

Later, as his reputation grew, he began landing better supporting roles. Crews would put him up in hotels, often sharing with other actors or staff.

By then, he had a little money of his own, so he rented a place off campus, moving out of the dorm entirely.

As he climbed higher, moving from fourth- or fifth-lead to second lead, occasionally even first lead, the crews began booking him private rooms.

Yun Jingqiu often said he was simply lucky, to rise step by step to where he stood today.

So now, sitting in Xiao He’s four-person dorm, he felt not just nostalgic, but also curious.

His gaze swept over the half-finished milk tea, the still-open laptop. He chuckled softly.

The screen was still on CNKI’s homepage—it looked like Xiao He had been reading academic papers.

“Hurry and eat before it gets cold,” Yun Jingqiu urged, pulling out chicken feet from the box, plus a small container of rice. “It’ll taste better with rice.”

“I just ate dinner…” Xiao He replied weakly.

The chicken feet looked delicious, but he didn’t feel like eating.

What a pity.

“Just eat a little, taste it.” Yun Jingqiu coaxed with a smile. “Even though Brother Wang doesn’t restrict my diet right now, for the sake of my return to the set in a month, I still need to restrain myself.”

He sighed. “I didn’t even eat enough tonight.”

“Then let’s share,” Xiao He suggested.

Yun Jingqiu happily agreed.

True to his word, Yun Jingqiu had only brought enough for a taste, not much at all. The two of them shared the food, feeding each other bites of rice, until the box was empty.

With Yun Jingqiu constantly offering him the better share, Xiao He ended up eating more.

He kept claiming he was full, couldn’t eat anymore, but still wound up eating plenty.

“At eight I need to head to the lab,” Xiao He reminded him. “It’s nearly seven now—you can’t stay for even an hour.”

Yun Jingqiu’s smile froze. “Just an hour?”

Then he waved his hand. “Fine, let’s play a game then.”

He smoothly closed Xiao He’s laptop. “Studying is exhausting—sometimes you need to relax.”

Xiao He thought that was reasonable, so he pulled out his fairly new phone and joined Yun Jingqiu in a match.

Originally, he wouldn’t have been so strapped for cash. He had even saved a few thousand.

But then his computer broke, repairs cost several hundred. Shortly after, his five- or six-year-old phone finally gave out. Instead of repairing it again, he decided to buy a better-performing new one.

That quickly drained most of his money, leaving him only a little over a thousand as living expenses.

Now that was gone too, and Xiao He had to rely on the supplementary card Yun Jingqiu gave him.

Luckily, his monthly stipend would arrive soon.

And Yun Ge’s birthday was coming up. Since the stipend would be paid just before the birthday, Xiao He planned to use it to buy Yun Ge a gift.

For now, though, he enjoyed the rare chance to sit beside Yun Jingqiu, gaming together.

Before long, the alarm reminding him to head to the lab rang.

Just as their match ended, Xiao He glanced at Yun Jingqiu with reluctance, then stood. “I’ll message Brother Song to come pick you up.”

He picked up a mask and cap, carefully helping Yun Jingqiu put them on.

“Video call tonight?” Xiao He whispered in his ear.

Yun Jingqiu’s eyes lit up. “Of course!”

But quickly those sparkling eyes were hidden again behind sunglasses.

“Brother Song’s nearby, he’ll be here soon. I’ll walk you to the car before I go,” Xiao He said.

He still had time to make it to the lab.

“Xiao He, how about moving in with me?” Yun Jingqiu suddenly invited.

Xiao He: ?

“No, I’m fine in the dorm.”

“I already paid a full year’s rent for my off-campus place,” Yun Jingqiu reasoned. “I’ll only be living there one month. After that it’ll sit empty. Wouldn’t that be a waste?”

“It’s right by the school, so it’d be convenient for you to live there too,” Yun Jingqiu coaxed.

Xiao He felt tempted. He knew Yun Ge was only offering excuses to get him to move in.

But they were good excuses, hard to refute.

The dorm was cramped, single beds barely enough to turn over on.

The off-campus apartment was spacious, with a wide 1.8-meter bed and a plush mattress where he could roll around freely.

And after one month, he’d get the whole place to himself.

Every point tugged at his heart.

Still, he wavered. Song Zhiyuan’s message rescued him from the dilemma.

“Yun Ge, Brother Song’s here. I’ll walk you down.” Xiao He quickly said. “I’ll think it over.”

Yun Jingqiu sighed with regret. “Alright.”

Song Zhiyuan had parked in the same spot. Xiao He hurried Yun Jingqiu over, head down and hunched, opened the car door, and pushed him inside.

“Message me once you’re home. I’m off to the lab,” Xiao He said.

Yun Jingqiu nodded. “Okay.”

Xiao He watched the car leave, then walked toward the laboratory building.

It wasn’t far from the dorm—less than ten minutes on foot.

Just before eight, he entered the lab, switched on the lights, noted bacterial growth conditions, and got to work.

He didn’t stay long. By around nine he returned to the dorm.

Grabbing his pajamas, he showered quickly in the dorm bathroom.

Compared to last night’s bathroom, the dorm’s was pitiful.

Xiao He thought so, anyway.

The cramped space, less than thirty square meters, crammed with four lofted beds and desks, with just a narrow path between.

It was oppressive.

He wanted to live with Yun Ge.

Whether a month later, or now.

Once the invitation was made, he couldn’t help comparing both living spaces.

But wouldn’t agreeing too quickly make him seem overeager?

Xiao He hesitated.

The school showers weren’t cheap either—three or four yuan just for one!

Balancing the pros and cons, deep down, his scales had already tipped.

No matter how he tried to convince himself otherwise, yes, he wanted to live in that comfortable apartment.

And although Yun Ge teased him a little too much last night, Xiao He didn’t actually dislike the feeling.

After his shower, towel drying his hair, he picked up his blow dryer. As he blew his hair, he video-called Yun Jingqiu.

The call connected quickly.

Behind Yun Jingqiu was a bed. He sat at a desk, reading his script, looking utterly at ease.

Noticing Xiao He’s nod, he raised a brow, chuckled lightly. “Done showering?”

The blow dryer was too loud. Xiao He couldn’t hear clearly, but from Yun Ge’s faint voice and mouth movements, he guessed he had asked: Done showering?

Xiao He nodded.

Once his hair was half dry, Xiao He put the dryer down.

Looking at the screen—the man serious, handsome—he hesitated, then said:

“Yun Ge, I want to live with you.”