Chapter 721 - RW 1.16

"Well, have a taste first, Gege. I bet you'll never find anyone better than me in cooking!" 

Huang Jinren chuckled full of amusement at Yunyu's somewhat childish pride. He picked the stir-fried vegetables. He ate it, and the taste exploded in his mouth.

"Wow…" Jinren was surprised. "I didn't know that simple stir-fried vegetables can be this tasty. You really have a good hand to be a cook, Yunyu."

"Hehe, of course!" Yunyu nodded happily and then prepared the plate for the meat and pizza. They started eating together in harmony as Yunyu finally ate a very healthy and filling dinner after so many ramen days. 

"Burrpp! Oops—Sorry, Ge. Hehe, I can't help it," Yunyu burped out loud after eating so much. 

"Hahaha! It's fine. At least you have a good dinner tonight, right?"

"Mhm! Thanks to you, Jinren-Ge!" Yunyu said happily. "Ah, we should get something for dessert. I think I have ice cream in the fridge. 

Yunyu got up from the chair and checked the fridge. The moment he opened the fridge, Jinren saw everything inside—which was… nothing. 

Bai Yunyu had nothing in his fridge except two small packs of ice cream. Huang Jinren was stunned.

"Ah, there it is, glad I have two…." Yunyu said as he checked the fridge. 

"Yunyu… your fridge… you have nothing?"

"A-Ah!" Yunyu hurriedly picked the ice creams and closed the fridge. His face turned reddish as he was embarrassed. Jinren-Ge had found out about his broke-ness. "T—This is the ice cream, Gege. Enjoy the dessert!"

Yunyu tried to shift the topic, but Huang Jinren didn't touch the ice cream and continued staring at Bai Yunyu. 

"You have nothing in your fridge, but you have this large duplex. Bai Yunyu… what did you do for a living? You're not in college, right?"

Huang Jinren knew it wasn't his right to pry on Yunyu's privacy. But he couldn't help to get worried about Yunyu's wellbeing.

Yunyu lowered his head and shook it slowly, "I um… I work part-time…." 

"You work part-time? You don't pay the rent fee, right?"

Yunyu shook his head.

"Then how could you have nothing in your fridge?

"T—That—" Yunyu was tongue-tied because if he had to tell the truth, he would say he spent almost all his money to support Han Ye Gege. 

Huang Jinren knew that Yunyu was hiding something. He darted his eyes at the fridge door and saw many stickers of Han Ye.

Now he was reminded that Yunyu was Han Ye's big fan, so his money might be…

"Did you use all of your money to buy his merchandise?"

…

Yunyu cast his gaze down and dared not answer. Although he and Jinren-Ge had only known each other for 1 day, his concern looked genuine. 

"Bai Yunyu, did you spend all of your money to support Han Ye? The man that had hit you this afternoon?"

Yunyu nodded weakly, "B—But, I'm doing it out of my own free will. Please don't mind about it so much, Jinren-Ge…."

"Yunyu, you—" Huang Jinren wanted to say that Yunyu was a total idiot for supporting a scum like Han Ye. But it seemed that Yunyu genuinely loved Han Ye, maybe as a fan, or maybe as a person who knew. 

Huang Jinren sighed to calm himself down. He didn't want to demean what Yunyu liked. Also, he had to inquire about Yunyu to Han Ye's manager. 

Because it seemed, there was more than meets the eye here.

In the end, Huang Jinren picked the ice cream and ate it. He switched the topic, so Yunyu wouldn't feel uncomfortable. 

"Anyway, your bruise, is it still hurting?"

"Mm… it's still painful, but the nosebleed has stopped, and I've compressed it with ice compress. Jinren-Ge, how come you can leave the movie set this early? I mean, my scenes have been completed, but you're the main antagonist. You should have a lot of scenes, right?"

"I do. But apparently, that bastard Han Ye has something to say to Director Shen. It seems to be very important as well. That's why Director Shen just told everyone to stop filming today and continue the day after tomorrow because he already promised a break for one day."

"J—Jinren Gege, please don't call Han Ye Gege a bastard…" Yunyu begged. He felt guilty that he was the source of animosity between Huang Jinren and Han Ye.

"You two are still working together. Please don't get mad at him. Look, I'm 100% fine," Yunyu persuaded, although both of them knew that he wasn't okay. 

It was just his effort to protect Han Ye. 

Huang Jinren's gaze darkened, and it scared Yunyu. So he quickly asked, "I wonder what Uncle Shen and Han Ye Gege were talking about. I mean, it must be important, right? Since all filming is stopped that day."

Huang Jinren took a deep breath to calm himself down, "I don't know either. But at least you've done your part. There is no way for him to bully you anymore."

Knowing the topic would continue to revolve around Han Ye over and over, Yunyu initiated, "We should watch a movie instead! I have a good movie I want to watch!"

Huang Jinren smiled, and they walked to the living room, sitting on the long sofa with a big T.V. in front of them. 

Yunyu checked the movie list on his T.V. and then clicked one, "Uh.. this is a new movie, it's a sweet rom-com called Rent A Boyfriend, about childhood sweethearts that were separated and reunited because of a rental boyfriend app. It's hilarious and sweet at the same time!"

Huang Jinren frowned, "You like watching romcom? No action or adventure?"

"Hm… I like that too. But honestly, I like watching rom-com because it reminds me of a life I don't have," Yunyu said with a smile. 

"The life you don't have?"

"Yeah! The life of Ying Jie, the female lead of that movie, is so well-loved by her childhood sweetheart turn husband, Meng Bao. Meng Bao loves Ying Jie so much. He dotes on her, protects her at all cost, and always listen to what she wants. Their relationship is honestly really beautiful. Especially after their family accepted each other…."

"It's the life that I will never get, and I like to watch it—to watch someone who is well-loved, secretly wishing that I have that kind of person in my life too… someone who would dote on me, protect me, and listen to my worries."

"Though… it's just a useless wish, haha—"

…

…

The atmosphere turned awkward instantly, and Yunyu felt guilty because he started rambling about unnecessary stuff, "A—Anyway, let's just watch the movie, you'll like it, Jinren-Ge!" 

Yunyu pressed start, and the movie started, but Huang Jinren's eyes weren't on the T.V.

He kept staring at Yunyu while Yunyu was absorbed watching the movie. He knew that he was interested in Yunyu the moment their eyes met, but he didn't know that he also wanted to dote on this guy and protect him from harm.

Maybe it was just a trace of pity after listening to Yunyu's tragic story, but one thing is for sure, he wanted Yunyu to be happy… with him.