Shang Jue stood still for a while, and after a moment, his intelligence returned. He turned to the person by the door and said, “After we finish moving things, I’ll clean the floor.”
Lu Yuxing replied, “No need.”
Ge Zhi Cheng and Lin Xu Ying, seeing the floor getting dirty, immediately came over, surrounding Shang Jue’s bed and chattering, “Shang Jue, do you have a lot of stuff? Can this one suitcase hold everything?”
Shang Jue smiled and said, “A couple more trips should be enough.”
Ge Zhi Cheng enthusiastically said, “How about I go with you? You won’t have to make an extra trip.”
Shang Jue was taken aback and said, “No need to trouble you… besides, it’s getting pretty late.”
Ge Zhi Cheng insisted, “It’s not a trouble! It’s exactly because it’s late that we should go together; otherwise, you’ll be busy until the dead of night.”
Lin Xu Ying added, “I’ll come along too, just in case two of us aren’t enough.”
Ge Zhi Cheng looked at Lu Yuxing and suggested, “What about Lu Ge? Why don’t we all go?”
Lin Xu Ying said, “Let’s skip Lu Ge; he has an injury on his head.”
Ge Zhi Cheng nodded, “Oh, that’s true.”
Lu Yuxing: “…”
Thus, Lu Yuxing was forced to stay in the dormitory.
Shang Jue had already packed his things into the suitcase in advance, and when they arrived at his house, the moving went quickly, and they returned in just an hour.
The items moved over quickly, but setting them up took time, and there were boxes between Shang Jue and Lu Yuxing’s bed positions.
Initially, Shang Jue intended to keep to himself and keep his luggage on his side of the dividing line, reminiscent of the boundary between the Chu and Han states. However, feeling constrained in his own territory, he pushed two boxes over.
As he quietly tidied up, Ge Zhi Cheng was beside him, excitedly describing how spacious Shang Jue’s home was to Lu Yuxing.
“The mattress in Shang Jue’s bedroom is so comfortable; it’s much better than a wooden bed. The bathroom is super bright… Living outside is just great, but it’s a pity Lu Ge didn’t come with us to see it.”
As Ge Zhi Cheng talked, he noticed the two people next door had suddenly gone very quiet.
Feeling a bit awkward, he lowered his voice and asked, “I even took a few photos; Lu Ge, do you want to take a look?”
Lu Yuxing pursed his lips, showing no intention of responding, and honestly didn’t know how to engage.
He had slept on Shang Jue’s bed, used Shang Jue’s bathroom, and even turned on the stove in the kitchen for the first time. His familiarity with some areas might even exceed Shang Jue’s… What part of Shang Jue’s house hadn’t he seen?
In this strange atmosphere, Ge Zhi Cheng stubbornly moved closer to Lu Yuxing, showing him the photos on his phone.
He could sense a significant change in Lu Yuxing’s attitude toward Shang Jue since he regained his memories. Although it wasn’t as confrontational as it had been at first… it was still very different from the brotherly bond they had shared recently.
He hoped they could ease their relationship.
With his back to them, Shang Jue felt uneasy as he pinched the bridge of his nose in the shadow cast by the bed.
Once the quiet settled behind him, he finally shook out a new towel to wipe the table. The surface was pretty clean; someone likely cleaned it regularly. Shang Jue knew without thinking that it was Lu Yuxing who did it, as this guy couldn’t stand dirt in the living space.
Half an hour before the lights went out, Shang Jue finally finished tidying up, changed his clothes, and went to take a shower.
After running back and forth between school and his house twice that night, and spending two hours fussing in the dormitory, he was thoroughly exhausted.
As he dried his hair and prepared to return from the balcony, he ran into Lu Yuxing, who was coming out of the dormitory.
Shang Jue didn’t greet him and intended to walk past him, but Lu Yuxing closed the balcony door, blocking his way.
The scene felt strangely familiar.
Shang Jue asked, “Is there something you need?”
The enclosed balcony was pleasantly filled with the scent of Shang Jue’s shower gel. After a two-second pause, Lu Yuxing said, “You… are you short on money? Because of the previous conflict with your family?”
Shang Jue became alert: “You’re not planning to ask me to move out now, are you? I’ve already brought my things over.”
Lu Yuxing frowned, “That’s your bed space. What right do I have to ask you to leave?”
“… Oh.” Shang Jue finally responded to his question: “I’m not lacking. That’s not it.”
“Then why move back?”
To chase after you. Would saying that make you uncomfortable?
Shang Jue replied, “I want to move back, so I did.”
Lu Yuxing had nothing more to say.
Shang Jue had previously mentioned he preferred living in the dormitory, so it was reasonable for him to suddenly want to move back.
Lu Yuxing didn’t want to think too much of it to avoid disappointment.
The two faced each other in silence for a moment. Shang Jue lifted his glass-like eyes, staring at Lu Yuxing’s face in the dark, and softly asked, “Do you want me to leave?”
Lu Yuxing felt almost breathless from the question, his heart aching.
If I wanted you to leave, I would have transferred half the rent to you before you even stepped into the dorm.
Finally, he said, “What does it have to do with me? If you want to stay, then stay.”
—
Recently, Shang Jue has been sleep-deprived. This evening, he fell asleep on the wooden bed in the dormitory and had an exceptionally good rest. He didn’t set an alarm for the break and slept until noon the next day.
When he woke up, he looked at the ceiling, which was quite close, and slowly remembered that he had moved back into the dormitory.
A desk lamp was lit under the opposite bed. Shang Jue turned his head, resting his side against the pillow, and saw Lu Yuxing’s back. The beige sweater on his shoulders was bathed in a thin layer of warm light.
Shang Jue hadn’t felt a hint of peace in a long time.
He got up, changed clothes, and washed up, making a series of soft sounds that weren’t particularly loud.
However, these subtle noises made it impossible for Lu Yuxing to concentrate on his book.
His phone, carelessly thrown into the corner of the desk, vibrated a few times. Lu Yuxing got distracted and glanced at the WeChat message, turned off the desk lamp, and put on his jacket to head out.
“Lu Ge, are you going to eat? It’s only eleven, so early?” Lin Xuying asked.
Lu Yuxing paused and said, “...No.”
Seeing this, Lin Xuying frowned. “Did Old Wang send you to the counselor's office again?”
“Yeah.”
Hearing this, Ge Zhicheng angrily scolded, “Is this idiot ever going to quit? It’s been over a week; his injury is almost healed, and he’s still pestering us!? Lu Ge’s wound has only just scabbed over!”
Lu Yuxing felt a strong gaze from behind him and turned his head, making eye contact with Shang Jue.
Caught peeking, Shang Jue didn’t know how to react, so he simply gave Lu Yuxing a big smile, radiant like sunshine.
“...”
Fireworks exploded in Lu Yuxing’s mind.
He quickly averted his gaze and turned to leave.
Having slept for over ten hours the previous night, Shang Jue felt quite energetic at the moment.
He searched for Tian Miao’s name among his hundreds of contacts but realized he hadn’t added the person. So, he asked Wen Jiayue to help push Tian Miao’s account and sent a friend request.
After a while, the request wasn’t accepted. The other two people in the dormitory went to the cafeteria and eagerly asked Shang Jue if he wanted to join them.
Shang Jue nodded in agreement.
While eating, he casually inquired about Tian Miao. As soon as Ge Zhicheng heard Tian Miao’s name, he could barely eat.
“Since Lu Ge was discharged from the hospital, that idiot hasn’t calmed down at all. He almost goes to find Old Wang every day, saying he wants to seek justice.” Ge Zhicheng rolled his eyes in anger. “If he wants justice, why doesn’t he dare to call the police? Afraid of leaving a record for excessive self-defense? This week, Lu Ge has been called to see Old Wang several times, and every time he comes back to the dorm, he looks terrible.”
Shang Jue curled his lip slightly, his eyes devoid of any smile.
After finishing their meals and clearing their trays, Shang Jue’s phone received a message notification. He glanced at it and saw the friend request had been denied.
He clicked to send the request again, adding a note: “Do you want to die?”
After a while, the request was accepted.
[Tian Miao]: What do you want?
Shang Jue lowered his gaze and replied with a few words.
[Shang Jue]: “Breaking wealth to avert disaster.”
—
Footnote: "破财消灾" (pò cái xiāo zāi) - In this context, it implies that Shang Jue believes that spending or losing money might help him avoid greater troubles or misfortunes related to Tian Miao.
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