The uncle’s fried chicken tasted pretty good.
It was freshly out of the fryer, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, with the chicken meat still bursting with juice.
Taking a bite of a steaming hot piece of chicken followed by a sip of ice-cold cola made Bai Yao squint his eyes in delight.
He completely changed his opinion of Korean fried chicken; it turned out he just hadn’t eaten any good versions before.
Two delivery orders came into the shop, and the uncle was still busy in the back kitchen.
Bai Yao gave Qiu Ye a gentle nudge with his elbow and whispered, “When are we leaving?”
After all, the uncle was Qiu Ye’s savior and didn’t have much to do with him.
Besides, he wasn’t very good at socializing.
Qiu Ye’s lips were covered in sauce.
He replied unclearly, “No rush. At least let me eat my fill, right? Do you want some chicken cutlet?”
He picked up a chicken cutlet he had already taken a bite of.
Bai Yao turned his head away in disgust.
‘He already bit it and he’s still asking me?’
Still, he put on disposable gloves, tore off a small piece from the unbitten end of the chicken cutlet, and tasted it.
“Yeah, it’s better than the fried chicken.”
There was cheese hidden inside the chicken cutlet, making every bite exceptionally satisfying, though it would likely get greasy after a few more mouthfuls.
The phone on the table suddenly lit up.
Bai Yao’s eyes lit up as well.
He pulled off his gloves, snatched the phone, unlocked it, and opened the social media app.
Qiu Ye leaned over curiously to look at the screen, but Bai Yao turned his body, shielding the phone with his back so Qiu Ye couldn’t see.
“Let me see! I can give you some advice, okay? What’s there to be shy about?”
“No.”
It really was a message from Gu Wanwan!
Bai Yao was so happy he almost laughed, but when he clicked into the chat interface, his face suddenly darkened.
With a blank expression, he handed the phone to Qiu Ye.
“Here.”
“What is it?”
Qiu Ye held the chicken cutlet in one hand, while his other arm was still broken and hadn’t healed.
He could only tilt his head to look at the screen, reading word for word, “Bai Yao, do you want to go shopping together this weekend? Isn’t this great?”
Then he looked at the next sentence.
“Can you help me ask Qiu Ye out? Please.”
Under Bai Yao’s dissatisfied and resentful gaze, Qiu Ye felt his scalp go numb.
Ever since Bai Yao had taken care of him in the hospital for a few days, he felt a strange sense of fear toward this roommate, fearing the way Bai Yao looked when he was angry.
Because people with an introverted personality like Bai Yao’s would be as terrifying as a volcanic eruption once they got angry, and there was no telling what extreme things he might do.
‘It couldn’t be because I care about Bai Yao’s feelings, right?’
“It’s fine, I’m not going,” Qiu Ye said indignantly.
“What a jerk! She got your hopes up for nothing!”
Bai Yao put down his phone, acting as if it didn’t matter.
“Whatever. I didn’t want to be in a relationship anyway.”
Qiu Ye observed his expression.
He looked cold, but there was a hint of disappointment between his brows.
Bai Yao looked most gentle and cute when he smiled, like a little angel.
When he was cold, he seemed easy to bully, like a cat that couldn’t be bothered with anyone.
However, seeing this disappointed and unhappy expression made Qiu Ye feel quite uncomfortable.
“Exactly. Women aren’t nearly as fun as games,” Qiu Ye agreed, nodding his head.
Bai Yao was a bit dazed.
He stopped eating the fried chicken and rested his chin on his hands, staring blankly at the wall of the shop.
‘Right now, I really am not worthy of dating…’
He looked like a girl and wasn’t handsome at all.
He was dead broke and couldn’t afford any gifts.
His personality was gloomy, and he didn’t have a silver tongue to make girls happy.
He couldn’t even provide emotional value; on the contrary, he was the one who needed it.
‘Oh… my little brother doesn’t even react anymore. Even when it did react before, it probably wasn’t up to the average level of a normal man.’
Qiu Ye reached out and rubbed Bai Yao’s head.
“What are you doing?”
Bai Yao shook his head, knocking Qiu Ye’s hand off.
“Are you using my hair to wipe your hands?”
Qiu Ye was stunned for a moment.
He rolled his eyes and lowered his head to continue eating his fried chicken.
“How much was it?”
“Thirty.”
Bai Yao was already full.
He continued to space out, playing with his phone and occasionally glancing at Qiu Ye, waiting for him to hurry up and finish so they could leave.
He thought they were just coming over to say thanks, but Qiu Ye ended up chatting happily with the uncle and even started eating fried chicken.
‘Why is he able to chat with strangers like that?’
Bai Yao completely lacked that ability.
At most, he could passively answer questions and give some reactions.
Every time, his toes would curl in embarrassment, and his face would turn red if he spoke more than a few sentences.
He was so envious…
Aside from that time in the hospital, Qiu Ye seemed capable of anything.
“I feel like it’s impossible for me to ever date in this lifetime.”
Bai Yao slumped onto the table, burying half his face in the crook of his arm as he mumbled in a weak voice.
‘Perhaps that perverted stalker woman had similar thoughts, which is why she chose to date someone online she didn’t even like? And then she ended up getting cheated on.’
‘It’s already good enough to have someone like you. What more could I ask for?’
When he first encountered the system, Bai Yao couldn’t understand why that Bus did what she did, but now he seemed to gradually understand.
He even felt a strong sense of empathy…
Hearing these words full of dejection, Qiu Ye looked helpless.
“How is it impossible? I think you’re pretty great.”
“…”
Seeing that Bai Yao wasn’t speaking, he comforted him.
“If you were a girl, I’d definitely like you, okay?”
Bai Yao silently moved his chair, creating some distance between himself and Qiu Ye.
He raised an eyebrow, looking at this gay guy with suspicion.
“I am not fucking gay! I said ‘if’! Do you understand ‘if’?!”
So, if Bai Yao really were a woman, would the confession mission arranged by the system today actually have a chance of being completed? Could he really have moved toward marriage with Qiu Ye step by step?
‘How terrifying!’
It was a good thing he was a man! No matter how well the system planned things out, it couldn’t function if there was a bug.
“Let’s go back.”
“I’ll let the uncle know.”
Qiu Ye wolfed down the remaining chicken pieces in a few bites, then stood up and shouted toward the back kitchen, “Uncle! My classmate and I are heading back to school!”
“Leaving so soon? Why don’t you sit down and have some tea?”
“No need! It’s thirty, right? I’ll scan the code!”
“No!”
The uncle got anxious this time.
He didn’t even watch the fryer in the back and hurried out.
“You’re still a student. Your surgery and hospital stay already cost enough. This meal is on me!”
“I just wanted to support your business, Uncle…”
“My business doesn’t need your support! Just help me spread the word, that’s enough.”
Bai Yao had already stood up and walked to the door.
Looking at the uncle and Qiu Ye pulling at each other inside, he sighed with a headache.
‘Social niceties like this really are a hassle… If it were me, I would have just let the uncle treat me.’
“Don’t hurt your hand again,” Bai Yao reminded him.
“Uncle! Don’t move, you’re hitting my arm!”
Qiu Ye immediately used Bai Yao’s reminder as an excuse.
“Don’t touch me!”
While the uncle hesitated, he quickly scanned the code, paid with his fingerprint, and bolted.
“Let’s go, let’s go!”
Qiu Ye dashed out the door like a whirlwind, and Bai Yao hurriedly followed.
After running dozens of meters in a single breath without any preparation, Bai Yao stopped, hands on his hips, panting heavily.
‘Damn! Qiu Ye is too fast!’ He hadn’t been able to keep up even at a sprinting speed.
“Why did you stop?”
Qiu Ye slowly made his way back to Bai Yao’s side.
“What’s the point of running?” Once Bai Yao caught his breath, he straightened up.
“If the uncle wanted to treat us, you should have just let him…”
“How embarrassing would that be?”
Qiu Ye grinned and draped his arm over Bai Yao’s shoulder.
“Time to go back for a nap~”
‘The way he said that, it makes it sound like we’re going to sleep together.’
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