Chapter 24

Although it was a very simple, home-cooked meal, it was the first time Xu Er had eaten food prepared by Song Ruichi, so he complimented every single dish.

Naturally, Song Ruichi was not entirely unmoved. His expressions of gratitude grew increasingly helpless as he fully played along with Xu Er, eventually peeling crab meat for him. As to why he started peeling crab for Xu Er, Xu Er didn’t know; he was too busy eating.

True to his reputation as someone who cooked often, Song Ruichi had prepared just the right amount of food, perfectly enough for the two of them to finish every dish and the soup.

After the meal, the two of them cleaned up the dining room and kitchen together. Once they were finished, Xu Er washed his hands at the sink first, with Song Ruichi waiting in line behind him. After washing up, Xu Er took the hand towel Song Ruichi handed him and stood to the side. Watching Song Ruichi’s profile as he washed his hands, Xu Er remarked, "It feels like we're living together."

Song Ruichi suddenly began to cough.

Xu Er laughed. "What's wrong?"

Song Ruichi shook his head. "You certainly say the most shocking things."

Xu Er looked puzzled. "Huh? What's wrong with living together?"

Song Ruichi replied, "Nothing at all."

Since the topic had come up, Xu Er took a moment to reminisce. "When I first graduated from college, I lived with someone else."

Song Ruichi’s hand-drying motion suddenly slowed. He slowly turned his head to look at Xu Er. "With whom?"

"I didn't know them; I found the listing online. It was a two-bedroom apartment, and my company at the time was nearby, so we just lived together." Xu Er tilted his head, thinking. "For about four months, I think. Later, I changed jobs."

Song Ruichi said, sounding incredibly helpless, "That’s called a flatshare."

Xu Er said "Ah," then added, "Right. What we have is called living together."

Song Ruichi: "..."

Naturally, Song Ruichi asked, "Are we living together?"

Xu Er: "No."

Song Ruichi: "Then what are you talking about?"

"That's not what I meant, it was a hypothetical," Xu Er said, his voice rising slightly. "Why are you like this! What do you mean? Don't you want to live with me?"

Song Ruichi was completely choked up. He then asked, "Do you want to live with me?"

Xu Er: "No."

Song Ruichi: "I'm asking you seriously."

Xu Er: "Huh?"

Song Ruichi: "Huh?"

Xu Er thought for a moment, then stuck with his answer: "Let's not. It's too far from my company."

Song Ruichi opened his mouth, but said nothing, closing it again. Besides, this was clearly a house Song Ruichi had bought himself; if they were to "live together," that would mean Xu Er moving in, and he couldn't bring himself to do that.

Xu Er headed toward the living room, continuing to talk about his previous flatshare. "That roommate of mine, even though we lived together for four months, we basically never saw each other. Even if I ran into them on the street now, they’d still be a stranger." Xu Er sat down on the sofa. "It was quite nice, not having to interact."

Song Ruichi asked, "Do you not like interacting with others?"

Xu Er: "Not exactly, it depends on the situation."

Song Ruichi suddenly asked, "What makes me different?"

"What makes you different?" Xu Er repeated the question, pondered it for a moment, then said, "You are different, of course."

Xu Er thought about what exactly made the difference. "I liked you quite a bit the first time I saw you," he said, adding, "on that mountain."

Song Ruichi smiled. "Is 'like' so easy for you to say?"

Xu Er suddenly felt shy, but he insisted, "It's nothing."

Song Ruichi asked again, "So, when you came to ask for my WeChat, how much was for your younger brother, and how much was for that first meeting?"

Xu Er actually wanted to say that when he was at the cafe, he hadn't realized Song Ruichi was the same handsome guy from the mountain, but upon deeper reflection, that didn't feel entirely accurate. People have subconscious drives; looking back now, just being the idol of his little brother probably wouldn't have been enough to make Xu Er approach him so boldly.

"Eighty-twenty, I guess? No, wait, seventy-thirty?" Xu Er thought about it and changed his answer. "Eighty-ninety?"

Maybe fifty-fifty could hold up too.

"I don't know," Xu Er finally said.

Song Ruichi didn't press further.

Soso walked over from the balcony, passing by Xu Er. After spending so many days together, Xu Er had come to understand some of Soso’s behaviors, so after the human and the cat stared at each other for a few seconds, Xu Er took out the snack strips from under the coffee table.

After feeding Soso, Xu Er wondered if it was time to go home. He looked up at Song Ruichi.

***

It was as if he could understand Soso, because Song Ruichi saw right through him at that moment.

However, Song Ruichi didn't say anything about going home or staying; instead, he asked, "Do you want to go out and have some fun?"

Xu Er, who was currently bored, sat up straight. "What kind of fun?"

Song Ruichi thought for a moment. "Are you afraid of the dark?"

Xu Er shook his head. "No."

Song Ruichi: "Are you afraid of ghosts?"

Xu Er: "No."

Song Ruichi: "There’s an 'Otherworld Experience Center' near the university town. Want to try it?"

"Sure," Xu Er asked. "What is it?"

Song Ruichi: "It's a bit like an escape room, but you don't need to solve puzzles. You just experience the story."

Xu Er nodded. "Sounds good."

Immediately after, Xu Er asked, "Who have you been there with?"

Song Ruichi hesitated, stopping himself. He glanced at Xu Er out of the corner of his eye. "What's wrong?"

Xu Er was taken aback. He couldn't understand why he had asked that.

"Nothing," Xu Er said, taking out his phone. "What's it called? Let me look it up."

Song Ruichi gave him the name of the place and added, "I went with a group of friends."

Xu Er quickly found it on his phone. He noticed that the shop did offer two-player scenarios, but the reviews all said the same thing.

"The more people, the more fun it is," Xu Er read the reviews aloud, then looked up at Song Ruichi. "Are we just going as the two of us?"

Song Ruichi couldn't help but let out a soft breath, then said, "Shall I ask my friends?"

Xu Er nodded. "Sure."

Song Ruichi chuckled. "Not socially anxious anymore?"

Xu Er chuckled back. "The reviews said a group of six or seven is the perfect combination." He tapped his phone. "Besides, things like this are mostly about interacting with the NPCs, so there's no need for social pressure." He added, "I'll ask Xu Chen, too."

Song Ruichi: "Alright."

Both of them started messaging people, but unfortunately, Xu Chen was currently attending a lecture and couldn't get away for a while.

While Song Ruichi was busy calling people, Xu Er kept reading the reviews. The more he read, the more interested he became; it looked like a lot of fun. No wonder Song Ruichi had asked if he was afraid of the dark or ghosts—some people in the reviews had been scared to tears, but even then, they said they would come back to experience different stories.

Meanwhile, on Song Ruichi’s phone, he had sent three messages into a group chat:

"Anyone there?"

"Otherworld."

"Me and Xu Er."

Those three messages immediately caught the attention of the four people in the group who were currently on their phones.

Song Ruichi estimated the time: "Arrive within forty minutes."

Everyone replied one after another: "No problem!"

Then, Xiao Xia asked: "Can I bring Yuan Yuan?"

Xiao Xia: "It can be played with seven people."

Song Ruichi replied directly: "No."

Xiao Xia: "? Why? He went last time."

Song Ruichi: "Not this time."

Song Ruichi: "You two are too 'couple-y'."

Xiao Xia: "Why!"

Xiao Xia sent an aggrieved emoji.

Chen Yu: "Isn't being 'couple-y' better? Let Xu Er see what it's like."

Song Ruichi: "No need."

Song Ruichi: "He doesn't need to see that."

Xiao Xia: "He saw it this morning."

Xiao Xia: "Why not now?"

Shi Ziyi chimed in: "Are you afraid of scaring Xu Er? Or are you afraid of Xu Er discovering something?"

Ying Jing: "You two are always hugging and kissing; it’s definitely easy to scare a straight guy."

Song Ruichi turned his head to look at Xu Er.

***

Perhaps catching the peripheral movement, Xu Er turned his head as well.

"What’s up?" Xu Er asked. "Did you get enough people?"

Song Ruichi: "I did."

Turning back to his phone, Song Ruichi sent a message to the group: "Bring him."

Shi Ziyi: "Eh? Why the change of heart?"

Song Ruichi: "Keep it low-key."

Xiao Xia: "You got it."

Xiao Xia: "We won't kiss in front of Xu Er."

Song Ruichi: "..."

However, a little while later:

Xiao Xia: "Ah, can't bring him, Yuan Yuan is busy right now."

With six people confirmed, Song Ruichi switched apps to buy the tickets. After he finished, someone in the group tagged him.

Shi Ziyi asked: "@S, what’s the plan? Do you need us to provide some assists?"

Song Ruichi: "Don't start."

Once Song Ruichi coordinated the time with the shop, he took Xu Er there. It was a half-hour drive. When they arrived, Song Ruichi’s friends were already there, waving at them.

It was a familiar scene; they had waved at Song Ruichi just like that when they were at the bar.

After they walked over and sat down, Xu Er realized that none of the faces were strangers; he had seen them all in various places before.

Soon after, a female staff member came over to introduce the background of the story. They were going to an alien planet where strange things had been happening lately, and creatures on the planet were disappearing into thin air. They were there to solve the mystery.

The six of them took their respective roles; they were "Earth Experience Officers," each with a different character. Once they stepped through the door, they would be in space.

Xu Er drew the role of a wealthy young master. Coincidentally, Song Ruichi drew the role of his neighbor—the wealthy man himself. Each character had different experiences, which sounded very cool.

"There will be some interactions inside," the staff member said. "You can improvise based on your character."

"This is quite interesting," Xiao Xia asked Song Ruichi. "How many stars is this one rated?"

Song Ruichi said, "Five stars."

Xiao Xia: "The last one was five stars, too, right?"

Song Ruichi: "Yeah."

Xu Er thought to himself, so Song Ruichi had played with them before.

"Um, miss," Shi Ziyi suddenly raised his hand.

Staff member: "Yes?"

Shi Ziyi: "Is this scenario scary?"

Staff member: "There are some scary parts."

Shi Ziyi nodded and asked, "The interactions are between us and the NPCs, right?"

Staff member: "That's right."

Shi Ziyi: "Can we interact with ourselves?"

Staff member: "Yes, feel free to improvise."

Ying Jing, standing next to him, remarked, "It's just playing house."

The staff member smiled. "You could put it that way."

Xiao Xia: "Large-scale playing house."

Shi Ziyi asked again, "Is there any romantic plot?"

The staff member shook her head. "There isn't one in this scenario."

Shi Ziyi: "Then can we create a romantic plot?"

The staff member glanced at everyone present, seemingly understanding something. "Everyone is free to improvise."

"Got it," Shi Ziyi laughed. "So, neighbors or childhood sweethearts, that’s all fine, right?"

Neighbors?

Xu Er had something to say about that.