Chapter 28 Part 2: The Roommate Retrieval Plan

He didn’t say the rest, but the Shen brothers, having known him since childhood, fully understood the self-blame and pain behind that “besides.”

“We’re not qualified to comment on this,” Shen Yinan said, dropping his usual flippant attitude.

“But you need to resolve the conflict between you two.

He’s probably feeling wronged too.”

Xie Yan ate his meal with his head down, his tone rarely sullen.

“That’s just it.

I don’t know how to resolve it.”

Lin Chuji wouldn’t even come back to the dorm, so he was definitely truly angry.

But once the topic was brought up, neither could back down, and it would only get tense again.

He was so soft-hearted that, even after all this, when the box of cold medicine ran out, Xie Yan found another one had appeared.

He didn’t know when Lin Chuji had secretly come back.

But the more considerate Lin Chuji was, the more guilty Xie Yan felt.

Shen Yibei spread his hands.

“No solution.

You’ll have to figure this out yourself.

We really can’t help.”

Shen Yinan propped his chin on his hand, sighing as he recalled the past.

“We’ve always hung out together, the three of us.

We’ve never really had a fight.

And we’ve never dated to gain experience.

We don’t even know how to comfort someone.”

Xie Yan found it amusing.

What did this have to do with dating?

It’s not about coaxing a roommate to come back.

But thinking this way, he did start to consider an opportunity to break the ice.

After class, he returned to the dorm.

Lying in the very empty and lonely double room, he opened the chat with Lin Chuji.

He could still see Lin Chuji’s moments, so at least he hadn’t been blocked.

Lin Chuji wasn’t replying to private messages, so Xie Yan could only comment on his moments.

But this person had very few updates—only an empty forced repost of a public account article from the architecture department a couple of days ago.

He liked it.

Then he thought for a moment and started commenting.

Crab Boss: Well written.

Good article, worth sharing.

Crab Boss: Any others?

Send them to me.

Crab Boss: Thinking about adding a double major recently.

Crab Boss: Never mind, don’t send them.

Just print them out and bring them back to the dorm for me.

When Lin Chuji came out of the shower and saw the string of notifications, he was a bit confused.

We haven’t spoken for a week, and he suddenly has some kind of episode today?

[lark]: ?

[lark]: Find them yourself.

He replied under the post, not by private message.

Crab Boss: Don’t want to look.

Had a cold a few days ago, dizzy, can’t read.

[lark]: Then go to sleep.

Crab Boss: Can’t sleep.

The dorm AC seems broken.

Super hot.

[lark]: Then stay hot.

I’m fine with the AC at home.

Crab Boss: …….

The Shen brothers had also liked that post.

Two days later, receiving a bunch of notifications, they clicked in, saw the conversation, and choked.

Shen Yinan immediately called.

He started ranting, “I’m seriously… crying here.

Your ice-breaking skills are truly breathtaking.”

Xie Yan also thought there was a problem.

He stared at Lin Chuji’s cold, biting words.

“I can’t find another way.

I don’t know anyone else with such a sensitive personality.”

He thought of his childhood group of friends.

If they argued, they’d just fight it out and be fine.

But Lin Chuji… he couldn’t lay a hand on him at all.

That slender waist would break with one squeeze.

“Try a placating approach.

Like bringing him breakfast or sharing notes,” Shen Yibei said carelessly.

Xie Yan found this a bit strange.

This approach seemed too similar to the little tricks in that book about turning a straight guy.

He thought for a moment and clicked his tongue.

“Reliable?

Sounds like it might not work.”

But Shen Yibei, after all, was a smooth talker who hung out often, quite confident in himself.

“Trust me.

Try it first.

If it doesn’t work, move on to the next trick.”

Xie Yan answered lazily, “Fine.

I’ll try it.”

He hung up and happened to see Zhao Heng post a photo of some pastries in his moments.

They were nicely plated.

Soft and chewy snow-skin mochi, four flavors, looked pretty good.

So he asked for the shop’s address.

[z]: This place is hard to buy from.

You need to queue early.

[z]: Only fifty servings a day.

When they’re gone, they’re gone.

[Crab Boss]: Okay, thanks.

Xie Yan set an alarm to wake up early the next day, turned off his phone screen, and went to sleep.

The room was dark.

He unconsciously looked at the empty bed across from him, staring for a few seconds.

After pulling up the blanket and lying down, he muttered quietly, “These days, you don’t come to my bed to sleep anymore.”

***

Lin Chuji woke up late the next day.

When he rushed to the lecture hall with his books, class had already been going for ten minutes.

Through the glass, he saw the densely packed heads inside.

He was hesitating at the door whether to skip class when the door opened from the inside.

Their eyes met.

Dead silence.

Lin Chuji met the professor’s gaze and said awkwardly, “Good early…

I mean… good morning.

Sorry I’m late.”

The professor looked at him with a smile, as if he had known beforehand.

“You’re Lin Chuji, right?”

Lin Chuji was shocked.

“How do you know my name?”

Class had only been in session for a few days.

He always sat alone in the back row, never distracted or disruptive.

He should have had a very low profile.

What was going on?

Meanwhile, people in the classroom were already rustling with laughter.

The professor stepped aside, motioning him to come in, and explained, “I just took attendance.

Everyone was here except you.

Actually, someone answered to your name, but apparently, because he’s quite famous, he was immediately exposed.

That left a deep impression on me.”

Lin Chuji: “…….”

He hadn’t expected such a brainless celebrity idiot to exist.

He was very confused but didn’t dare look openly at the seats.

He just muttered under his breath, “Who was it?

I shouldn’t know them.

I don’t know any classmates.”

The professor pointed to the center of the first row.

“Xie Yan from the medical school.

This student from another department is quite generous.

He said you two are roommates, that you weren’t feeling well, so he came early to save you a seat.

He even chose the very center to take notes for you, afraid you might miss any part of the lecture.

Truly touching.”

The surrounding students were laughing uncontrollably.

What?

How could Xie Yan, a medical student, be here?

Lin Chuji looked in the direction he was pointing and gradually turned to stone.

They hadn’t seen each other for days.

It had rained a few days ago and the temperature had dropped.

Xie Yan was wearing a black softshell jacket.

His brows were clear, his eyes bright.

He had lost his usual approachable demeanor, looking very sharp.

But the moment their eyes met, he curled his lip at Lin Chuji, and his gaze instantly softened.

Lin Chuji wanted to drag him out and beat him up.

The professor turned to look at him.

“He is your roommate, right?

He’s not some random person trying to scam us, is he?”

The whole room burst into synchronized laughter again.

Lin Chuji squeezed out from between his teeth, “…Yes, he’s my roommate.”

“Then there’s no problem.

Aren’t you going to sit down?”

The professor said cheerfully.

“Looks like he saved an empty seat right next to him.”

Lin Chuji: “…….”

Standing in the crowded lecture hall under everyone’s gaze, he once again felt the urge to drop out.

Can I run?

Which is more awkward—turning around and leaving now, or sitting there for forty minutes of torture?

I can’t decide.

Xie Yan still looked at him with that expression, his pen still doodling.

“Don’t waste everyone’s class time, Lin Chuji,” the professor said, smiling with a hidden blade.

Lin Chuji, who always sat in the corner and never made eye contact with the teacher, now felt his spirit drain away as he walked toward the first row with feet weighing a thousand pounds.

He was utterly despondent.

To make matters worse, Xie Yan was sitting right in the center of the first row.

For Lin Chuji to get to the empty seat, everyone in the row had to stand up one by one to let him pass.

He watched as a line of people very deliberately stood up, each with a look of anticipation, passing by him.

His expression was so awkward it was about to crack.

He walked inside with his head down, constantly saying, “Sorry, really sorry.”

A few meters felt like a century.

Finally, he reached Xie Yan’s side and sat down.

When he took his seat, his palms were sweating.

The professor waved his hand grandly, drawing everyone’s attention back.

“Alright, that little diversion has woken you up from your early morning drowsiness.

Let’s continue.”

Lin Chuji sat stiffly on the stool, slowly opening his book, when a notebook was pushed over to him.

“I took notes for you.

Impressive, right?

Even across majors, I can still organize them so clearly,” Xie Yan boasted.

Lin Chuji squeezed out from between his teeth, “What are you doing in my class?”

Xie Yan straightened up, slowly leaned back in his chair, looked straight ahead, and said sincerely, without his usual teasing, “I came to apologize to you.

I didn’t want to cause you public embarrassment.”

He was explaining his earlier intention.

Lin Chuji gripped his pen, his ears half-listening to something about public building technology principles, absentmindedly following the blank of the notebook and writing below.

He said “oh” and didn’t respond.

The characters on the notebook were very free and easy, sharp and edged, with a bit of defiance.

They reminded Lin Chuji of that day, when Xie Yan said he liked to rely on himself.

The writing mirrored the person.

Lin Chuji moved his lips.

“Apologize for what?

For making me sit in the first row?

For making the professor remember me because I was late?

Or…”

He felt the professor glance over and fell silent.

Xie Yan didn’t speak.

He just turned sideways and unzipped his backpack.

Lin Chuji’s elbow accidentally brushed against his and quickly moved away.

He just felt very awkward.

Not seeing or speaking for a week felt like being thrown back to before they knew each other.

Out of the corner of his eye, Lin Chuji watched Xie Yan’s movements, trying to focus on the front, but his writing and scribbling were a mess.

Then an envelope was pushed over.

“What’s this?”

“Open it and see.

Unless you want to be caught whispering in class,” Xie Yan reminded.

Lin Chuji quickly shut his mouth, looked down, opened it, and smoothed it out to read.

“Dear Lin Chuji,

Sorry it took me so long to come to you.

This adoption matter is one of the few hurdles I can’t easily get over.

Even now, at this moment, I still can’t openly and generously tell you to just accept your family’s generosity.

But regarding my attitude before, I apologize.

My reaction and my words made you sad.

So even if we each have our own reasons, I am still the one in the wrong.

I’m sorry.

From age thirteen until now, I’ve been trying to reconcile with myself.

But it’s hard, really too hard.

I’ve regretted it countless times, blamed myself countless times.

If the hands of time could be turned back, I would definitely not have made that phone call.

So I’ve considered all the subsequent suffering as my punishment.

I know I’m a bit too stubborn and too obstinate, but I can’t forgive myself.

I hope you can understand.

I’ve been thinking a lot these past few days.

I know you extended a hand to our family from the kindest and purest perspective.

I will consider it.

I will seriously consider it.

But it might still take a long time.

Finally, the soup that day was very good.

If you’re still willing to make it for me again, your classmate Xie Yan is willing to exchange it for the pastries he queued for at 5:30 in the morning.”

Lin Chuji looked at the neat, confident handwriting that filled more than half the page, feeling a bit at a loss.

He was just too sincere.

In this day and age, did anyone still write a letter by hand just to say sorry?

Actually, after that day, he had already understood Xie Yan’s thought process.

As Xie Yan had said, since he wasn’t the person involved, he couldn’t truly appreciate his feelings.

He couldn’t judge from on high, nor could he be indignant that the other didn’t accept.

Not returning to the dorm, not seeing each other again—he just didn’t know how to break the ice.

He couldn’t find an opening or a kind opening line.

Even making eye contact made him feel numb, and he would just turn and run.

But Xie Yan was always the one taking the initiative.

Even if he was just an ordinary roommate, Xie Yan had given him one hundred percent sincerity.

“I…

I’m not angry anymore,” Lin Chuji moved his lips.

Afraid the other wouldn’t believe him, he added, “Really.

I respect your decision.”

Xie Yan hummed in acknowledgment and asked quietly, “What about the soup?”

Lin Chuji nodded eagerly.

“I’ll make it as soon as I get back.”

“Never mind the soup.

Just move back to the dorm soon.

It’s so empty and cold alone,” Xie Yan said.

“But what pastries?

Queuing at 5:30—they must be really good…

I want to trade…”

Lin Chuji whispered, covering his mouth for fear of getting caught.

You’re being a bit too cute, Lin Chuji.

Xie Yan curled his lip, tapped lightly on the desk drawer to remind him, feeling pleased.

“Already gave it to you.

So dumb.”

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