ALL NOVEL Chapter 14 - I’ll follow your lead.
Ye Jishu pushed open the door.
Leaving the hallway and returning to his dorm room, the light in the room dimmed abruptly.
Only the laptop on his lower bunk emitted a faint bluish glow, casting a dizzying reflection on the ground amidst the swaying rainstorm outside.
He turned his head and glanced at the center of the screen.
The download progress bar had reached its end; installation was all that remained before the game could start.
Ye Jishu turned and closed the door.
The door scraped against the floor.
When it finally shut with a click, the sound of rain from the hallway vanished instantly.
The dormitory was engulfed in silence and stifling heat.
As Ye Jishu pulled out his chair and sat down, a faint, trembling voice buzzed from behind him, like the sound of a fly.
“Were those… your friends just now?”
It was his roommate’s voice.
But before Ye Jishu could respond, the roommate hurriedly and fearfully asked another question.
“They… they didn’t come in, right?”
The tightly enclosed bed shook, creaking audibly.
It wasn’t hard to imagine the panic-stricken figure hiding behind it, desperately trying to shrink further into the depths of the bed.
“No, they didn’t come in,” Ye Jishu replied.
Social anxiety could do that.
His roommate’s condition was so severe it no longer surprised him.
During their entire semester together, Ye Jishu had never seen him leave the dorm room or speak to anyone else. If asked, the roommate would hurriedly say he was busy studying advanced mathematics or calculus, so busy and diligent that he hadn’t even shown his face once.
Meanwhile, those timid, flickering eyes that peered out from behind the curtain crevice always radiated a faint light of cowardice and fear.
Even now, it is the same.
Hearing Ye Jishu’s denial, the roommate let out a relieved gasp, his eyes darting erratically before whispering in an almost inaudible voice, “That’s good… otherwise, I’d have to kill those people… ugh, ugh, that kind of thing is too terrifying…”
The murmuring gradually faded into the curtains.
And those eyes, as they had sunk into the water, slowly disappeared from the reflection on Ye Jishu’s computer screen.
The roommate’s words were too garbled.
Not a single sentence was clear.
But as the dorm fell silent, Ye Jishu instinctively glanced at the bottom-right corner of his computer screen.
—1:00 a.m.
At this time every night, his roommate would go completely silent without fail.
[Maybe he’s getting ready for bed.]
With this thought, Ye Jishu paused while pulling out his phone.
If that was the case, he shouldn’t make a phone call.
Instead…
He decided to send Yan Mei a text message.
To be honest, he preferred texting over calling. Texts allowed him to choose his words carefully and avoid needing immediate responses.
After all, whenever he expressed his thoughts face-to-face, Yan Mei always seemed angrier than before…
Unlocking the phone screen, he saw the chat window with Yan Mei still stuck on the message: “I won’t let anyone ruin this.”
The air seemed even more stifling.
Ye Jishu began typing the words he had carefully considered.
[Want to go to the aquarium tomorrow?]
After sending the message, a sudden wave of nervousness rose within him. He stared at the phone screen without blinking.
Almost immediately after the message appeared in the chat history, the “typing…” indicator popped up on Yan Mei’s end.
Seeing this, Ye Jishu’s heartbeat quickened, and he felt a light sweat forming on his palms.
However—
Minutes passed, and no new message arrived.
Under Yan Mei’s name, the status still reads “typing…”
Ye Jishu: “…”
He kept staring at the screen.
Several more minutes passed, but Yan Mei’s reply still didn’t appear in the chat window.
Ye Jishu’s eyes began to blur from staring too long, and he blinked to relieve the fatigue in his muscles. But this endless waiting… felt like standing before a guillotine.
His gaze inadvertently shifted to his computer desktop.
He wasn’t particularly fond of games.
It was just that he often felt bored, liked the novelty, and found that violent gameplay helped relieve stress during tense moments.
His phone suddenly vibrated as he placed his hand on the mouse, ready to start the game.
Ah.
It was a new message.
Ye Jishu quickly lowered his head and looked at his phone, already bracing himself for Yan Mei’s anger.
Well…
Even he thought that saying they should go after previously refusing was rather unreasonable.
But he really didn’t know what else to do.
Even without saying it outright, he could sense that Yan Mei’s family was well-off—much better than his own. Yan Mei could get whatever he wanted, leaving Ye Jishu clueless about how to appease him. The only things he could offer were cheap trinkets, like the little octopus keychain.
That was from their first date.
Ye Jishu had never been in a relationship before, so he had asked Yan Mei where he wanted to go. When Yan Mei smiled and said, “I’d like to see the places you frequently visit,” Ye Jishu had taken him to the only place he liked going outside—a game arcade.
He only realized later how disastrous that choice had been.
It wasn’t until he overheard classmates excitedly discussing their date plans during a general course lecture that he realized something was off.
Initially dozing off, Ye Jishu’s body gradually stiffened on the desk, and his sleepiness vanished instantly.
At the same time, memories flooded back to him.
Yan Mei had looked even more stunning than usual that day, clearly putting effort into his outfit. And yet Ye Jishu, for comfort’s sake, had just worn casual clothes…
He… he had actually taken Yan Mei’s polite words seriously.
The only reason Yan Mei accepted the dark red octopus keychain afterward was probably to salvage the awkwardness of their first date.
When Yan Mei got so angry about the lost toy earlier, it was probably because he remembered their terrible first date and took it out on others. After all, he wouldn’t have such strong feelings over a ten-yuan trinket, even if Ye Jishu had given it to him.
Though the two had gone out together many times since, none of those outings felt like real dates. They were just simple moments of hand-holding and being glued together, lacking the special significance of their first time.
Perhaps it was because they hadn’t visited one of those romantic, atmospheric spots that couples usually frequent. Instead, it was just… ordinary.
[But.. the aquarium]
Just thinking about it made Ye Jishu feel that Yan Mei was taking this date seriously.
So, after racking his brains, Ye Jishu came up with only one solution: to make up for their second date by doing his best to leave Yan Mei with a better impression. That way, he’d be happier, right?
By erasing the only bad memory from his otherwise perfect life, perhaps…
However, Yan Mei’s delayed response left Ye Jishu uncertain about what reaction he might receive now.
Only a few seconds had passed while these thoughts raced through his mind.
A new message suddenly appeared on his screen.
Sure enough—
It was a long one.
Uh-oh.
His heart started pounding again.
Ye Jishu held his breath, narrowed his eyes, and tried to focus on processing the text.
No matter how Yan Mei responded…
He was prepared to accept it.
The anxiety concentrated at his temples, making his head throb with tension.
[Yes—okay! I’m so happy, Jishu! So happy!]
[I’ve already planned the itinerary, so I’ll send you the details now. This is our second official date in four months, and I won’t make the same mistakes as last time. This time, I’ll make sure everything is even better.]
[I checked the weather for tomorrow, and it looks great! It’ll be sunny during the day, with a little rain in the evening. Don’t worry, I’ll bring an umbrella for the two of us, so you don’t need to think about the weather.]
…
[I’ll also bring your favorite gingerbread and chilled fruit tea since I know you like those. Everything’s ready; you just need to wake up at 8 a.m. And also…]
The message kept coming, overwhelming Ye Jishu for a moment:
“…”
Ye Jishu stared at his phone screen for a long time, unsure of what to make of it.
But after carefully reading the entire message, he finally came to a conclusion.
So… he wasn’t angry anymore, right?
Thank goodness.
He didn’t want Yan Mei to be angry.
Ye Jishu’s shoulders relaxed.
Only then did he realize how tense his nerves had been since spotting the missed calls and messages earlier.
Now that the crisis was resolved, his mood improved significantly.
Even though heavy rain continued to pound against the dormitory balcony’s sliding door, rattling noisily, the oppressive humidity and gloom seemed to dissipate. A faint summer breeze slipped through the hallway and under the door, making the night feel a little cooler.
The fingers that had lain heavy on either side of his phone felt lighter now.
Ye Jishu typed a serious reply: [Okay.]
Before locking his phone, he hesitated.
After some thought, he added:
[Sure, I’ll follow your lead.]
—Follow your lead.
It had always been like this.
After confirming that his reply had been sent, Ye Jishu redirected his attention to his computer. Now, he could finally play his game.
Time was limited.
If he had to leave at 8 a.m. tomorrow, that meant waking up by 7 a.m.
Although he was going out with Yan Mei, that didn’t mean he intended to change his original plans.
There were fewer than six hours left now.
But with his skill level, speedrunning the game once shouldn’t be an issue.
He deftly started a new game.
A few minutes later—
The phone he had casually placed on the desk vibrated again.
Even the sound of raindrops crashing against the glass couldn’t mask the faint, weighty buzz.
Distracted, Ye Jishu glanced at it.
The screen lit up with a new message, displaying the content of Yan Mei’s latest text.
It was sudden.
Yan Mei had sent a few more lines—cryptic ones this time.
[I like you too, Jishu. I’ll always listen to you. Whatever you want, I’ll give it to you.]
…
[I’ll be good. Always, always good.]
[It’s just that tomorrow’s date—]
[I must make it perfect.]