Chapter 6 #2
“See you tomorrow.”
The three guys bade her farewell. Everyone was very polite.
Zheng Weize was the first to share his opinion. “The landlord’s so rich. What does he do?”
He looked at Chang Jinxing expectantly, assuming, from Chang Jinxing repeatedly calling him Yuwen, that they were close with each other.
Chang Jinxing dodged the question. “You’ll have to ask him yourself.”
“He’s the sub-landlord,” Chen Hong put in. “The house isn’t his. He’s just looking after it for someone else. The original homeowner is the one who hired the two housekeepers, too.”
“Oh.” Zhang Yuwen’s charm as a rich young master dropped several notches in Zheng Weize’s eyes. “Doesn’t he need to work, then?”
“He said his primary job is proofreading for a publisher,” said Chen Hong. “He just has to correct typos and grammatical errors in manuscripts when he gets them.”
“I saw him go out earlier with some manuscripts. He must have gone to the publishing house,” Chang Jinxing said as he made more coffee. “The other tenant hasn’t moved in yet. How about we go out to celebrate and have fun together once he’s settled in?”
“Sounds good!” Zheng Weize said, even as he tried to work out how much money he had left. Guys like him would have their fun even if they had to skip meals. At worst, he’d just have to survive on instant noodles the rest of the month.
“Sure,” Chen Hong said. “What about hiking? I know a few scenic trails.”
“My friend runs an airsoft arena in the suburbs, like real-life Counter-Strike,” said Chang Jinxing. “It’s pretty affordable, and there are a bunch of us, so we can have a match.”
“Okay, let’s go with that. We’ll play airsoft first,” Chen Hong said. “Is the landlord coming?”
“He’s—” Just then, Chang Jinxing heard a noise outside. “Oh, is he back?”
Because Riverbay Road was a quiet place with few vehicles passing by, the sound of anyone talking was audible.
Liang Zheng dropped Zhang Yuwen off at the intersection.
Zhang Yuwen declined his request to see the gay tenants and refused to let Liang Zheng walk him to the door; if his roommates saw Liang Zheng, it’d be harder to pass him off as the homeowner later.
Zhang Yuwen got out of the car at the intersection. He spotted a figure carrying a packaged piece of furniture and walking toward the end of the road, where Zhang Yuwen’s house was.
The figure in question was Yan Jun, who by now was feeling pretty nervous.
He had come by in the past few days to observe on the sly, which was how he learned that Zhang Yuwen was more active during the day and retired to his room early at night.
Usually, he did not appear again in the living room after dinnertime.
The photographer typically returned after 10 p.m., and the other one, who seemed to be a live streamer, holed himself up in his room from seven to ten.
He hadn’t figured out the fitness trainer’s routine yet, but he couldn’t wait until the middle of the night to move because he needed to pick Xiao-Qi up later. He had to take a chance.
Then someone tapped him on the back, startling him. “Hi!”
Yan Jun realized with mixed feelings that it was Zhang Yuwen. “Hi.” He forced a smile in the darkness.
“Need help?”
“Nah, it’s fine.” Then, on second thought, Yan Jun said, “Actually, you can help me with the suitcase.”
“Are you moving in today?”
“Just moving some stuff over first. What about the others?”
“They’ve all moved in. What’s that?” Zhang Yuwen asked in -passing, referring to the object Yan Jun was carrying on his shoulder. It looked like a bookshelf.
Yan Jun thought about it and decided to tell the truth. “It’s a simple baby crib.”
Zhang Yuwen was taken aback at first, but then it dawned on him. “Oh yeah, for your niece.”
Yan Jun nodded. His plan had been to move in secretly while no one was around. He couldn’t let anyone see this crib. But just as he feared, he ran into Zhang Yuwen on arrival. At times like this, Yan Jun knew he had to be honest—sure enough, Zhang Yuwen readily accepted it.
“I still have to go to my brother and sister-in-law’s place later,” Yan Jun told Zhang Yuwen. “I’ll move in a few days after.”
“Are you staying at their place?” Zhang Yuwen asked.
“Yeah. They’re in Jiangnan…”
Zhang Yuwen scanned his fingerprint to open the door and was greeted by three people sitting on the sofa and drinking coffee.
“Hello!” Chang Jinxing, Chen Hong, and Zheng Weize chorused in unison, catching Yan Jun off guard. Once again, his crib was exposed under the bright lights of the living room.
“Whoa, what’s that?” Chang Jinxing asked.
Everyone hurried over to help Yan Jun unload. Abandoning himself to despair, Yan Jun was forced to let them scrutinize him and the socially humiliating crib.
“Are you having a baby?” Zheng Weize asked, sounding curious.
“Ahem!” Zhang Yuwen tried to hint to him not to dig deeper, but Zheng Weize, who had low emotional awareness and zero social experience, didn’t get it. He shot Zhang Yuwen a confused look.
Yan Jun shook hands with them and realized he hadn’t introduced himself. “I’m Yan Jun. Nice to meet everyone.”
“What were you guys chatting about?” Zhang Yuwen asked, changing the subject.
“Hanging out,” Chang Jinxing said. “It’s Thursday today. How about we play real-life CS this Saturday? Yan Jun, are you free?”
The question mystified Yan Jun. He’d never met anyone so convivial. Instinctively, he threw Zhang Yuwen a glance: Did you guys plan this beforehand?
Zhang Yuwen’s first impulse was to agree to Chang Jinxing’s proposal. After all, it would be a great opportunity to observe his subjects and gather material for his novel. But then he wondered if he needed to maintain his own fa?ade. “How much per person?”
This question reminded everyone: You haven’t paid your rent yet.
Chang Jinxing automatically bypassed the subtext about the rent. “One hundred, and that includes dinner.”
Yan Jun, who had by then retreated to his room with his belongings, listened to the discussion outside. Since the crib had already been discovered, he figured there was no point in continuing to be secretive, so he set about assembling it.
So cheap? Zhang Yuwen thought, but he couldn’t make his reaction obvious, so he nodded. “I see.” Turning to Yan Jun, who was doing his own thing and not taking part in the conversation, he asked, “Yan Jun, are you going?”
“Are you?” Yan Jun returned through his partially opened door. “I’ll go if you are.”
Eh? Everyone looked at Zhang Yuwen. What kind of maneuver is this? Zhang Yuwen thought.
“All right,” Zhang Yuwen said, “then let’s go together?”
So it was that the group came to a consensus. Come Saturday afternoon, they would play airsoft and have dinner together after.
Chen Hong put down his coffee mug and went over to help Yan Jun assemble the crib.
“Let me help you!” Yan Jun didn’t have any tools, not even a screwdriver or a wrench, so Chen Hong retrieved some from the odds and ends he’d brought over from his bankrupt gym.
Everyone pitched in with suggestions, and finally, Xiao-Qi’s crib was set up.
“I have to babysit my niece sometimes, just for the time being,” Yan Jun explained to Chen Hong, “but I won’t bring my brother and sister-in-law here.” Chen Hong nodded in understanding.
Yan Jun thanked everyone and left without telling anyone where he was going. He didn’t return the entire night.
Zhang Yuwen found it intriguing. Why would Yan Jun say, “I’ll go if you are?” He sensed a barely perceptible undercurrent. Was it because Zhang Yuwen was the only one in this house Yan Jun was willing to trust? Or was Yan Jun just giving him face?
This was a subtle emotion that Zhang Yuwen had rarely touched on in his writing.