| BYSG | Sleeping In | 28
A mild case of internal heat can make people uncomfortable for a while, but sugar mandarins have high sugar content.
Consuming too many can lead to elevated blood sugar levels, increasing the risk of diabetes, and may also cause diarrhea, yellowed skin, and digestive issues.
That’s why Shen Yu was keeping an eye on Cheng Mofei.
Cheng Mofei, however, looked completely innocent and confused. "I didn't!"
He knew Shen Yu was looking out for him. Besides, the last time he suffered from internal heat, it was because of the sugar mandarins Shen Yu bought.
It made sense for Shen Yu to be concerned. Cheng Mofei had been cooperating, carefully controlling his daily intake, and had never secretly eaten more.
…Okay, fine.
He had only snuck one once. And he had been caught by Shen Yu, who immediately deducted his entire ration for the next day. He never dared to do it again after that.
But this time, he really hadn’t done it!
What was going on?
"Two are missing," Shen Yu said.
Two… two.
Shen Yu had an excellent memory. If he said two were missing, then two were definitely missing.
Cheng Mofei’s gaze slowly shifted to the two roommates sitting across from him.
The two of them were grinning at him, flashing their teeth.
Cheng Mofei immediately realized what had happened. He cursed and elbowed them one by one.
“You two sneaky bastards ate them and framed me, didn’t you?”
“Give me back my mandarins.”
“Spit them out. Now.”
They had both witnessed Cheng Mofei getting caught and scolded by Shen Yu for sneaking mandarins before. Taking advantage of his absence to pull a stunt like this was way too satisfying.
The dorm instantly turned into a chaotic mess.
Shen Yu couldn’t hold back his laughter.
The fatigue from hosting the welcome party vanished completely.
Being around Cheng Mofei always felt particularly relaxing.
…
Since Cheng Mofei hadn’t actually been the one to sneak the mandarins, Shen Yu didn’t deduct any from his ration.
The next morning, he got up early, placed the mandarins on Cheng Mofei’s desk, and then headed out.
Another full day of part-time work.
Originally, Shen Yu had planned to fill both Saturday and Sunday with shifts, but since his mother was coming, he decided to work only half a day on Sunday. He wanted to spend the afternoon doing something more meaningful.
On his way back Saturday night, Shen Yu sat by the window in the subway, counting the money he had earned.
He divided it into three portions.
One for his daily expenses.
One for buying a gift for his mother.
And one for his "relationship fund" with Cheng Mofei.
To make sure all three portions were more than enough, he knew he had to keep working hard at his part-time jobs.
On Sunday, as usual, Cheng Mofei drove him to Cheng Zhiyu’s house. After tutoring her, he picked Shen Yu up again, and they had lunch together at his place.
Cheng Mofei’s parents had long gotten used to Shen Yu visiting and welcomed him warmly.
But this time, after lunch, they went straight back to school without lingering.
It wasn’t that Shen Yu didn’t want to stay and hang out with Cheng Mofei—he still hadn’t finished exploring his house—but he had promised his mom to pick up his blanket that afternoon.
A promise was a promise, so he had to go back.
While still in the car, Shen Yu sent a message to his mother.
She replied quickly: [Xiao Yu, an older brother might come with me to bring you the blanket. He’s my current husband's child from his previous marriage. Do you mind? If you do, I can come alone.]
Shen Yu was momentarily stunned.
He had already mentally prepared himself to interact with his mother’s new family, so he wasn’t particularly anxious about it. He certainly didn’t mind.
If he remembered correctly, the "older brother" his mother mentioned should be Ning Que, who later became a doctor.
In his past life, Shen Yu’s health had been poor, and he had encountered Ning Que a few times in the hospital.
But they had barely spoken.
Shen Yu replied: [I don’t mind.]
Immediately, he saw the typing indicator appear on his mother’s end—she had clearly been waiting for his response.
Mom: [His name is Ning Que. He’s two years older than you and currently a junior at Yan Medical University, right next to your school.]
Yanda University and Yan Medical University were indeed very close—only separated by a small plaza. The two schools occasionally even held joint events.
After that, his mother briefly explained the family dynamics.
Ning Que’s biological mother and her current husband had been in a business marriage, with no emotional foundation.
A few years after giving birth to Ning Que, the woman had an affair during the marriage and ran off abroad with her lover, and never returned after many years.
This made the relationship between both families tense and awkward.
As a result, Ning Que was raised by his maternal grandparents.
Later, when Shen Yu’s mother married her current husband and gave birth to their daughter, Ning Yuan, they moved to a new home in a school district.
Coincidentally, it was close to Ning Que’s middle school, so they brought him over to live with them for a while until he went to college.
After all, children are the most innocent in a failed marriage.
Fortunately, Ning Que was a mature and understanding child. He took good care of Ning Yuan, played with her, helped her with her studies, and even took the initiative to help out with household chores.
Shen Yu carefully read through his mother’s messages.
It was clear that she saw him as a young adult, which was why she was sharing these details with him.
At the same time, she was cautious with her wording, afraid that he might feel uncomfortable or upset.
After all, his mother had never taken care of him, yet she had cared for someone else’s son for so many years.
It would be a lie to say he felt nothing—he was quite jealous of Ning Que.
But beyond that, there weren’t any other negative emotions.
As long as his mother was happy, that was enough.
At a red light, Cheng Mofei smoothly brought the car to a stop. He glanced sideways at Shen Yu and asked, “What are you looking at so seriously?”
Shen Yu, still replying to his mother’s message, shared the situation with Cheng Mofei.
After listening, Cheng Mofei commented, “Your mom must be a very good person.”
Most people wouldn’t truly accept their ex-husband’s child, let alone personally take care of them.
Birds of a feather flock together—Shen Yu’s mother’s current husband was probably a good person too. That meant Shen Yu would likely get along well with them.
Shen Yu smiled, hummed in agreement, and looked up at the high clouds in the sky.
"She’s very good."
…
In the afternoon, they had arranged to meet at the main entrance of Yanda University. Shen Yu asked Cheng Mofei to come along, saying it was because the blanket might be too heavy for him to carry alone.
But in truth, he had a selfish reason—he wanted Cheng Mofei to meet his mother.
Cheng Mofei, of course, agreed without hesitation.
When they arrived at the school gate, they saw a car parked there with its trunk open.
Shen Xunyan and Ning Que had already gotten out and were looking in their direction.
Ning Que had the classic tall stature of a northern man, likely about the same height as Cheng Mofei. He had sharp features, wore glasses, and had a closely cropped haircut.
He didn’t look like a doctor at all—if anything, he looked like someone you wouldn’t want to mess with. He looked more like a street gang member than a medical student.
Finally, with less than half a meter between them, Shen Yu stopped and took the initiative to introduce them.
"Mom, this is my roommate, Cheng Mofei."
Cheng Mofei immediately smiled and greeted Shen Xunyan, "Hello, Auntie."
Cheng Mofei looked like the typical sunny, cheerful, and good-looking college student—it was hard for any parent not to have a good first impression.
Shen Xunyan took one look at him and immediately liked him. "Xiao Yu told me you two are the closest. You’ve been taking such good care of him—it must be a lot of trouble for you."
Cheng Mofei hadn’t expected Shen Yu to introduce him to his mother in such a way.
He suddenly felt as if their close friendship had been officially certified, and the thought made him ridiculously happy. He nodded and said, “Of course.”
Then, Shen Xunyan introduced Shen Yu and Ning Que to each other.
The two exchanged polite nods. The atmosphere wasn’t exactly warm, but there was no hostility either.
“Your schools are so close. You should grab a meal together sometime when you’re free,” Shen Xunyan said cheerfully.
Both Shen Yu and Ning Que nodded in unison.
It was as if they had an unspoken understanding—they both instinctively recognized that they shared one common goal:
As long as Shen Xunyan is happy, that’s all that matters.
With that realization, everything became much simpler. The interaction shifted into minimalist mode.
At Shen Xunyan’s suggestion, they even exchanged WeChat contacts.
Since parking wasn’t allowed for long at the school gate, they didn’t linger. After chatting for a while, Ning Que took the blanket out of the trunk and instinctively handed it to Shen Yu—only to have another hand reach over and take it first.
It was Shen Yu’s roommate.
Shen Yu showed no surprise at Cheng Mofei’s action, as if he had long grown accustomed to being taken care of—like it was second nature by now.
Ning Que, much like his appearance suggested, wasn’t exactly a model citizen. Having grown up with little supervision, he had developed freely, doing whatever he pleased.
He started dating at a young age—not to the point of being morally corrupt, but he was definitely a wanderer at heart. A true casanova.
He was also bisexual, and there had never been a shortage of both men and women around him.
It wasn’t until he was taken in by Auntie Shen and her husband that he started pretending to be more reserved.
He knew Auntie Shen genuinely cared for him, filling a void of motherly love he had lacked growing up. He was grateful for that.
Auntie Shen hadn’t just brought a blanket for Shen Yu—she had prepared one for him too.
Because of that, for years, he had maintained a carefully crafted image in front of her—quiet, responsible, and sensible. He didn’t want her to know about his messy past, didn’t want her to be disappointed in him.
As for Auntie Shen’s biological son?
Ning Que didn’t mind looking after him, just as he did with his younger sister. If Shen Yu was willing to see him as a brother, he was more than happy to take on that role.
But because of his experiences, he had also become a seasoned player in relationships, with a sharpened sixth sense.
As he watched Shen Yu and Cheng Mofei walk away, Ning Que’s gaze lingered for a moment before he withdrew it, closed the trunk.
"Auntie, get in the car. I’ll take you home."
No matter what, minding his own business was always the safest choice.
…
Back in the dorm, Shen Yu couldn’t wait to unwrap the blanket and spread it out on his bed.
The blanket his mother had prepared carried the warm scent of sunshine. Just running his hands over it, he could already imagine how cozy it would be.
With his own thick blanket now, he figured Cheng Mofei wouldn’t be squeezing into his bed like the past few nights.
But to his surprise…
Tonight, Cheng Mofei didn’t bring a blanket.
Just a pillow.
Without hesitation, he casually tossed his pillow next to Shen Yu’s, then lay down like it was the most natural thing in the world.
"Let me see just how warm the blanket your mom got you really is."
Fresh out of the shower, Xiao Xiong clicked his tongue twice at the sight and teased, "Sleeping with our Xiao Shen every night, huh?"
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