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After the morning tutoring session, Cheng Mofei returned home loaded with comics.
Shen Yu also added Cheng Zhiyu as a friend on WeChat, offering to help with any chemistry questions she might have at any time.
However, he noticed that Cheng Zhiyu's gaze kept drifting between him and Cheng Mofei, filled with curiosity, excitement, and other emotions. She seemed to be in the middle of secretly shipping a couple.
Shen Yu guessed that Cheng Zhiyu likely didn't know her cousin was homophobic. He figured he wouldn't be able to extract any useful information related to Cheng Mofei's homophobia from her, so he didn't have high hopes.
Cheng Mofei placed all the comics in the car's trunk, looking distressed. He planned to deal with them later when Shen Yu wasn't around, and eventually return them once Shen Yu stopped tutoring Cheng Zhiyu.
Cheng Mofei's home wasn't far from Cheng Zhiyu's. It only took a few turns to get there by car.
In fact, every time Shen Yu came to Cheng Mofei's house, he felt nervous, not just this time.
He had never really experienced the warmth of family, so he didn't know how to behave.
Cheng Mofei had been his lover, and they were very close. Shen Yu could completely rely on Cheng Mofei.
Now, Cheng Mofei was just his roommate, and Shen Yu had to face everything on his own..
A few minutes later, Shen Yu was sitting at the dining table in Cheng Mofei's house, his bowl piled high like a small mountain.
"This is my Auntie's specialty, twice-cooked pork. Xiao Yu, you should try it," said Cheng Mofei's mother.
"This dish is made with vegetables we grew ourselves. I just picked them from the garden at noon, they're especially fresh," she added.
"This one was stir-fried by your uncle. The taste might be a bit average, but it's still good enough to try," Cheng Mofei's father commented.
"Xiao Yu is so thin, you should eat more," Cheng Mofei's mother urged.
"No need to be polite, just treat this place like home," she added.
Shen Yu was speechless.
Like home, huh... He certainly didn’t get to eat such delicious food at his own home.
Cheng Mofei picked up another piece of mushroom and added it to the growing pile in Shen Yu’s bowl, saying, "Balanced nutrition."
It was almost like he was building a food pyramid on Shen Yu's bowl.
Shen Yu quickly covered his bowl and whispered, "I'll take some more after finishing this."
It wasn't until they realized that Shen Yu was almost unable to reach the rice at the bottom of his bowl that the three of them finally stopped piling food on his plate, laughing as they did.
The small square table was filled with seven or eight dishes, a clear sign of the Cheng family's hospitality.
In his past life, due to Shen Yu's preference, the first time he met Cheng’s parents was at a restaurant. He liked the more commercial setting; the distance made him feel more comfortable.
After that, he rarely went to Cheng Mofei’s house for meals.
This situation was quite rare. He never expected to experience this kind of warmth in this life, especially in this current situation.
...It wasn't bad.
He didn’t dislike being cared for or looked after. It was just that he felt a lot of pressure, so he would often avoid facing it.
This time, he promised himself he would be braver and not shrink away.
The Cheng family didn’t follow the custom of no conversation during meals, and the atmosphere at the dinner table was very pleasant.
Cheng Mofei’s mother sighed, "Xiao Fei hasn't brought a friend home for dinner in a long time."
Upon hearing this, Shen Yu paused in his chewing and looked at Cheng Mofei with confusion.
Cheng Mofei was definitely not lacking in friends, nor was he unwilling to bring friends home. Otherwise, Shen Yu wouldn't be here today.
Cheng Mofei met Shen Yu's gaze and explained, "Because my grandma was sick, I went to study out of town for middle school. I lived on campus. All my friends from middle school are now living in other places, so it's not convenient for them to come over."
Shen Yu was aware that Cheng Mofei had studied in another city. In his past life, Cheng Mofei had mentioned it briefly, but not in much detail. After all, it had been a long time since they met in middle school, and his memory had long been blurred.
Shen Yu asked, "What about Xiao Xiong and Sun Xinghe?"
Cheng Mofei picked up a piece of rib and said, "My home is a bit far from school, and there’s nothing interesting at home..."
Most of their group activities were held at places like internet cafes.
Cheng Mofei's mother interrupted, "Who says there's nothing fun? Your dad was even thinking of getting rid of the movie room because it wasn't being used."
At this point, Cheng Mofei's mother suggested, "Why don't you take Xiao Yu to watch a movie this afternoon, and then stay for dinner tonight? If you leave, I’m not sure how long it’ll take for your dad and me to finish all this food."
Cheng Mofei looked at Shen Yu after hearing his mother’s suggestion.
It was up to Shen Yu, as he was fine with whatever—he just needed to see if Shen Yu was willing.
Under the gaze of several pairs of eyes, Shen Yu, who had been chewing on his chopsticks, nodded.
He didn’t have any plans for the afternoon or evening and was happy to stay at Cheng Mofei's house a little longer.
In his past life, when he visited the Cheng family, he hadn't seen the movie room, so it must have been converted into another room later on.
Though he wasn’t particularly interested in watching movies, if it was with Cheng Mofei, he’d be more than willing.
By the end of the meal, Shen Yu had eaten so much that he was stuffed and kept hiccupping. Cheng Mofei’s mother, seeing this, kindly brought him some digestive tablets.
Since reuniting with Cheng Mofei, he was either being fed or on the way to being fed.
The majority of the "feeding" came from Cheng Mofei, but the other two roommates always shared snacks with him as well. It seemed like they all understood his background and situation.
Though they never spoke about it, they took good care of him.
In his past life, he had a rather ordinary relationship with his university roommates. He was always busy with part-time jobs, and he only returned to the dorm at night to sleep, so there wasn’t much interaction.
Over time, he became more and more distant, and after graduation, they naturally lost contact. Fortunately, they never had any friction, and it remained a typical roomate relationship.
In this life, he wanted to make more friends.
After finishing the meal, Shen Yu intended to help clear the dishes, but Cheng Mofei gently pushed him onto the nearby sofa.
He was a guest, so naturally, Cheng Mofei wouldn't let him do any work.
Shen Yu didn’t insist. He casually opened his phone and took a quick glance, noticing that Fang Xiang had sent him several messages.
Fang Xiang's military training lasted a bit longer than Shen Yu's. It started earlier, ended later, and would continue until next week.
Today, he had finally succeeded in requesting rain, so there was no outdoor training, and they got half a day of rest.
Fang Xiang: [National Day is almost here, are you coming back for the holiday?]
Without hesitation, Shen Yu replied: [Not coming back.]
Fang Xiang: [If you’re not coming back, National Day won’t feel the same [crying emoji]]
Fang Xiang: [But it’s probably better that you don’t come back, it’s more comfortable outside.]
Fang Xiang: [By the way, have you seen your mom in Yancheng City?]
Since they had grown up together, Fang Xiang knew all too well about Shen Yu's family situation.
After his rebirth, Shen Yu had hurriedly changed his college application to Yanda University and went to Yancheng City alone, which had made Fang Xiang worry for a long time.
At that time, Fang Xiang, like the old Shen Yu, thought that neither his father nor his mother offered him a good place. One was harsh, the other indifferent—both treated him the same way.
Moreover, both of them had started new families.
For Shen Yu, there was no place for him anywhere.
Shen Yu couldn’t tell him about his rebirth, so he could only reassure him that Yanda University’s chemistry department was one of the top in the country and was the best choice for him.
He had changed his application only for academic reasons.
In fact, in his past life, the teachers had also urged him to apply to Yanda University, but he had stubbornly refused because his mother was there. Looking back now, it felt childish and laughable.
Fang Xiang thought that Shen Yu had come to terms with it, so he didn't press the matter further. After all, the future was the most important thing, but he was still worried.
Shen Yu: [No, Yancheng City is so big, it's not that easy to run into her.]
Fang Xiang: [Right. Do you think she knows you got into Yanfa University?]
Shen Yu paused for a moment before slowly typing: [Maybe.]
She should know.
In his past life, after he had started university and gotten his own phone number, he had received a call from his mother, congratulating him on his excellent college entrance exam results and getting into such a good university.
But at that time, his tone had been cold and hostile, and after hanging up the phone, he immediately blocked her.
After that, there had been no further contact between them.
In this life, he had only seen his mother from a distance once. He hadn't dared to get too close, nor had he dared to make any further moves—partly because he didn't have a clear plan yet, and partly because he was waiting for that phone call in this life.
Sensing that Shen Yu wasn't in the best mood, Fang Xiang switched the topic: [Once you get familiar with Yancheng City, I'll come visit you next year.]
Shen Yu: [Sure, I'll be waiting for you.]
There wasn’t really much to familiarize himself with; the popular tourist spots hadn’t changed much in the past ten years. A quick review of some guides would suffice. The main thing was to save up money.
In his past life, when Fang Xiang came to Yan City, Shen Yu didn’t have much time to spend with him due to work and health reasons. This time, he definitely had to make it up to his friend.
The two chatted casually, and soon Cheng Mofei returned after cleaning up the dishes.
He was looking down at his phone and said to Shen Yu, "Pick which milk tea you want to drink."
Shen Yu took the phone and saw that Cheng Mofei had already chosen his drink. The flavor was the same as before: ice with less sugar.
Shen Yu carefully selected a drink he liked, choosing no ice and full sugar.
He had a sweet tooth, while Cheng Mofei always preferred no sugar or less sugar. Shen Yu used to think they were completely “not compatible,” but Cheng Mofei always called it “complementary.”
It took him an entire lifetime to verify that, and perhaps Cheng Mofei was right.
Even if he wasn't, this time, Shen Yu was going to believe in it regardless.
"Done." Shen Yu handed the phone back to Cheng Mofei.
Cheng Mofei briefly glanced at Shen Yu’s order, then directly placed the order and paid. "Let’s pick a movie first. By the time the milk tea arrives, we would have already digested everything.”
"Okay."
Cheng Mofei’s mother had gone for her afternoon nap, and Cheng Mofei’s father had stepped out to handle some business, making the house quiet.
The movie room was on the second floor and it was near Cheng Mofei’s bedroom. The door to the room was open, keeping it well-ventilated.
As they passed by, Shen Yu quickly glanced inside.
It wasn’t much different from his past life—morning sunlight streaming in, the room well-lit and tidy.
On the walls were some basketball posters, and next to the desktop were several game controllers. It had its own attached bathroom. It was clear that it was the bedroom of a child raised in a loving home.
Shen Yu remembered his own room at the Shen family home—it was in a dark corner, small, and after he entered university, it became a storage room. It was filled with things that didn’t belong to him, and the only thing left in the room that could still be used was the bed.
Shen Yu didn’t feel envy or jealousy over Cheng Mofei’s room. He only felt relief—relieved that the person he liked was happy.
“This is my room,” Cheng Mofei said, suddenly pausing. “If you want to play games, we can do it after the movie.”
He knew Shen Yu didn’t even have a laptop. The only electronic device Shen Yu owned was his broken phone, and he wasn’t sure if Shen Yu would even enjoy playing video games.
But he still wanted to introduce Shen Yu to it.
"Alright." Shen Yu was decent at video games, most of which he had learned from Cheng Mofei in his past life.
The movie room was at the very end of the hallway. The room was equipped with excellent soundproofing and light-absorbing materials, making it pitch black and quiet, so much so that they could hear each other's breathing.
Cheng Mofei, familiar with the setup, quickly turned on the projector and handed the remote to Shen Yu. "You choose."
Shen Yu didn’t hesitate. He took the remote and began to carefully select a movie.
He had a purpose in mind while choosing.
In his past life, after getting together with Cheng Mofei, the two of them had watched many movies together.
Shen Yu particularly loved curling up in Cheng Mofei’s arms, being held while watching movies. It was the most comfortable way to watch, and because of this, even though he wasn't particularly fond of movies, he ended up watching quite a few.
Before long, his attention was drawn to a foreign film.
If he remembered correctly, the second and third male characters in this movie were a couple, and they were also roommates, much like their current situation.
It was perfect for "treating" Cheng Mofei's "homophobia."
Since there was no new progress yet, he had no choice but to stick to his previous, clumsy approach—watch more, interact more, and maybe, just maybe, Cheng Mofei would come to understand.
"Let’s watch this one," Shen Yu said.
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