OS - 9

The Zhou family lived here, and basic social obligations had to be maintained.

During the year of Zhou Yu’s father’s funeral, the weather was terrible—three consecutive days of heavy snow. Many people came to help, but they didn’t accept even a pack of cigarettes as thanks. A ledger in the drawer recorded all the condolence money given by those who attended. According to local customs, no matter the amount, an extra yuan was always added.

For happy occasions like weddings, gifts were typically given in round numbers. Only close relatives or good friends might choose amounts with auspicious meanings, such as “forever and ever” or “long-lasting happiness.”

Zhou Yu asked her neighbors and decided to match their gift amount, placing the money in a red envelope with Liu Fen’s name written on it.

The gift registry was set up at the hotel. When Zhou Yu arrived, Cheng Wanyue was directing Cheng Yuzhou to help her take photos with the bride. Cheng Yuzhou was essentially acting as a phone stand.

Today, he wore a baseball cap, so from Zhou Yu’s angle, only his sharp profile was visible.

Madam Qian, the grandmother, handed over Yan Ci’s red envelope. The person recording the gifts was a relative of Dr. Wang. Upon hearing that it was from Yan Ci, he initially wanted to return it.

“We can’t accept a child’s gift.”

“It’s Yan Ci’s heartfelt gesture. Please accept it.”

“Alright, I’ll take responsibility for accepting it. We must invite him over for a meal.”

Zhou Yu knew Yan Ci would send this gift. She arrived late, just as the banquet was about to begin.

Regardless of who came, the ledger usually recorded the head of the household’s name. Zhou Yu watched as the registrar counted the amount, wrote down Yan Ci’s name, and then accepted the red envelope.

Cheng Wanyue waved at Zhou Yu. “Ah Yu, come sit here.”

There was a spot next to her, so Zhou Yu went over.

“Ah Yu, do you notice anything different about me today?”

Zhou Yu studied her carefully for a moment, then smiled. “Your eyeshadow and lipstick.”

Cheng Wanyue batted her eyes. “Do they look good?”

“Yes.”

“My brother couldn’t tell. He’s been acting strange these past two days, like he’s heartbroken.”

Stars hung in the sky, shining brightly whether in the countryside or the city. Who wouldn’t love them?

Zhou Yu watched Cheng Yuzhou weave through the crowd. It wasn’t until he reached their table that she realized she was sitting in his seat.

“It’s fine—you sit.” Before Zhou Yu could stand up, Cheng Yuzhou sat down beside her.

This table had extra chairs, making it slightly crowded. As he sat down, he brushed against Zhou Yu’s leg. She felt his warm presence and subtly closed her legs, creating some distance between them.

The surroundings were lively, and after exchanging greetings, Zhou Yu didn’t know what else to say—they weren’t that familiar.

Each table had the same dishes. From start to finish, he barely touched his chopsticks, occasionally fiddling with the plastic film covering the table.

“Not used to the food?”

“It’s alright.”

Few boys would attend banquets with adults. Cheng Yanqing didn’t come—he was probably dragged here by Cheng Wanyue and likely found it boring.

There were no extra clean chopsticks, so Zhou Yu simply pointed at a plate of cold dish in front of her with her fingers. “This is pickled papaya threads, sweet and sour. Very appetizing. If you don’t like greasy dishes, you can try it.”

Cheng Yuzhou looked at Zhou Yu, wanting to laugh.

After making a foolish mistake once, he had intended to keep his distance from her, treating her merely as Cheng Wanyue’s friend. Yet, here she was, being kind again.

“Banquets are like this—it’s all about the热闹.” Zhou Yu thought about Cheng Wanyue mentioning earlier that he was heartbroken and probably didn’t have much appetite. “I think this is quite tasty.”

Cheng Yuzhou only took a few strands. Papaya wasn’t a particularly juicy fruit, and toward the end, it had a slight bitterness, but it alleviated the greasiness in his mouth. He took another bite.

Zhou Yu tilted her head, her lips curling up slightly.

Cheng Wanyue was busy editing photos to post on her social media. Madam Qian chatted with her old friends. The table behind them was filled with female guests discussing their children and families.

“My daughter’s grades dropped this year. She used to consistently rank within the top 50 in her grade, but last semester’s final exam placed her at 89th.”

In the city’s three-year system, there was no reassignment of classes under normal circumstances, and core subject teachers rarely changed.

“Teacher Yan and his wife were great teachers. Maybe switching teachers caused some adjustment issues.”

“Sigh, good people don’t live long.”

“Yan Ci used to be such a good kid. This year, he didn’t even take the college entrance exam—it’s like he’s ruined.”

“…”

As Zhou Yu listened, her previously good mood—triggered by Cheng Yuzhou reaching for the pickled papaya three times—slowly sank.

Cheng Wanyue ate very little during dinner; she was merely here for the热闹. Before the banquet ended, she grew restless.

“Brother, let’s go. Grandma has to listen to opera later,” she pulled Zhou Yu along as they left. “Let’s watch a movie at my grandma’s place. Cheng Yuzhou just bought a projector.”

“I need to go home.”

“It’s only seven o’clock—still early.”

Cheng Wanyue was a mischievous girl, bold and unrestrained, known throughout the school. But to Zhou Yu, she was a very good friend.

She sat next to Zhou Yu, so whatever Zhou Yu could hear, Cheng Wanyue could hear too.

The keys were with Cheng Yuzhou, who opened the door first. Cheng Wanyue ran into the house to get something to drink from the fridge.

This was Zhou Yu’s second time entering Cheng Yuzhou’s room.

The quilt was neatly folded, the books on the shelf categorized, and there was even a pot of moneywort.

Cheng Yuzhou was about to go to the washroom to change, but Zhou Yu said she needed to use the restroom, so he let her go first. However, she came out less than half a minute later.

“What is it?”

Zhou Yu kept her head down, avoiding his gaze. “There’s something on the toilet seat.”

“A cockroach?”

“…No.”

Cheng Yuzhou put down the projector and walked past Zhou Yu. Once inside the washroom, he realized what she couldn’t bring herself to say.

He had forgotten to wash his underwear from that morning.

An extremely rare curse slipped from Cheng Yuzhou’s lips. He ran a hand through his hair, quickly tossing the underwear into the laundry basket, double-checking before leaving.

“It’s fine now.”

“Oh,” Zhou Yu nodded.

Cheng Wanyue was in charge of picking a movie, while Cheng Yuzhou went to change. After taking a shower, he turned off the bedroom lights on the way out to enhance the projector’s effect.

Halfway through the movie, Cheng Wanyue received a call and stepped outside. Zhou Yu sat cross-legged on the cushion, watching attentively.

Cheng Yuzhou cleaned up the crumbs from the chips and invited her to sit on the sofa.

Earlier, Cheng Wanyue had sprawled there eating chips.

“Where’s Wanyue?”

“She left.”

Only the two of them remained in the room. Zhou Yu’s legs were a bit numb, and she didn’t immediately stand up. “I should head home too.”

“Not staying to finish?” Cheng Yuzhou glanced at her. “There’s no scary scenes coming up.”

Cheng Wanyue liked romantic films.

“Then I’ll stay till the end.”

The sofa could fit three people. Cheng Yuzhou still sat in his previous spot, and Zhou Yu moved to sit on the other side. His freshly washed hair hadn’t dried yet, and a towel still hung around his neck. In the movie, the male lead removed his bathrobe, wearing only black underwear. Zhou Yu suddenly recalled the pair she had seen in the bathroom half an hour ago.

She had seen his abs—not any worse than the actor’s.

The faint scent of shampoo lingered in the air, stimulating dopamine production. Her head felt dizzy, as if she had drunk alcohol, producing absurd illusions. The face of the actor kissing the female lead morphed into his. In high definition, she could even see tongues entwining.

The light dimmed, silence enveloped the scene, and intimate breathing sounds were amplified.

She saw him lick a droplet of water from her neck.

This intimate scene lasted two minutes and thirty-six seconds. Then the picture shifted, and the room brightened. Cheng Yuzhou reached for water, casually noticing that the earlobes of the person next to him were already bright red.

“Hot?”

“…A little.”

Cheng Yuzhou found the remote control and lowered the air conditioning temperature. Earlier, Cheng Wanyue had randomly grabbed a canned drink from the fridge—it contained alcohol. Zhou Yu had drunk half the bottle when the movie began.

The juice flavor was strong, and she hadn’t scrutinized it closely. Even with the air conditioner set to 24°C, she still felt hot and finished the remaining half.