ATPN Chapter 58

Chapter 58: I Think I Want You to Like Me

Yu Zhanrong skillfully picked up a long, thin strand of noodles with his chopsticks, gently blew on it a few times, and then put it in his mouth.

As the noodles entered his mouth, his eyes narrowed slightly, as if immersed in the deliciousness. He didn’t want to talk; talking would only affect his speed of eating.

The noodle soup was rich in color and tasted delicious, he didn’t know what ingredients were used to make it. The chewy noodles were soaked in the mellow soup, absorbing the flavor of the broth. It was really too delicious.

Sitting across from him, Song Baiyan couldn’t help but smile with relief as he watched him eat so contentedly, and said softly, “Eat slowly, no one’s going to snatch it from you.”

Yu Zhanrong, who was focused on the food, only hummed a couple of times in response, without slowing down the movements of his hands.

These noodles looked pretty ordinary from the outside, but he didn’t expect them to taste so good. If his stomach capacity wasn’t limited, Yu Zhanrong really wanted to have two more bowls.

Just then, Song Baiyan said with a smile, “I’ve treated you to such delicious noodles, can you do senior brother a favor?”

“Huh?”

Yu Zhanrong tilted his head to look at him.

“I have something to take care of in Haicheng tomorrow afternoon, and I estimate I’ll be gone for two days before I can come back. Can you take care of Ah Li for me these two days?”

“No problem,” Yu Zhanrong nodded without hesitation.

“You should still remember the door code. Just feed it some cat food every day and clean the litter box.”

Yu Zhanrong made a soft “hmm” sound, thinking that it would be quite difficult to forget this door code.

The noodle restaurant wasn’t very far from Purple Fragrance Garden, so the two decided to walk back together, taking it as a post-meal stroll.

Night had already fallen, and the sky was as dark as ink. The streetlights on both sides of the street were brightly lit, and the pedestrians strolling were bustling, with many couples holding hands and walking along the street.

The light from the street lamps stretched Song Baiyan’s shadow very long. Yu Zhanrong deliberately lagged behind him a little, so that the two long shadows on the ground were tightly attached together, like a pair of intimate lovers.

Looking at the closely connected figures, a sense of joy that was hard to express welled up in Yu Zhanrong’s heart. He took out his phone from his pocket and secretly pressed the shutter, taking a photo to commemorate their first close contact.

At this moment, Song Baiyan, who was walking in front, suddenly turned around and asked, “What are you doing?”

Yu Zhanrong’s heart tightened, but he quickly regained his composure and said nonchalantly, “Nothing.” Then he happily put his phone back in his pocket.

He looked up at a brightly lit cake shop on the side of the street, his eyes flashing with excitement, and unconsciously licked his lips as he suggested, “Look, there’s a cake shop over there, shall we go in and have a look?”

Song Baiyan didn’t care; he wasn’t very interested in those small desserts, but the person beside him seemed to like them very much, his eyes shining.

“Let’s go.”

Walking into the store, the shelves were filled with all kinds of dazzling pastries. Yu Zhanrong wandered around, and his eyes involuntarily locked onto the durian mille crepe.

The layers upon layers of golden crust, sandwiched with delicate, smooth cream and rich, sweet durian pulp, just looking at it made people drool.

Yu Zhanrong couldn’t help swallowing, muttering to himself, “I really want to eat it…” But when he thought that Song Baiyan had never liked the smell of durian, he forcibly resisted the urge and stubbornly shifted his gaze away.

Even so, his longing gaze did not escape Song Baiyan’s keen observation.

Song Baiyan glanced at the durian mille crepe inside and asked softly, “Do you like it?”

Yu Zhanrong was taken aback and quickly shook his head, reaching out to grab Song Baiyan and trying to change positions. If he looked any longer, he wouldn’t be able to resist it.

Song Baiyan was such a smart person that he instantly understood Yu Zhanrong’s thoughts. He had long known that this little junior brother knew him more than ordinary people, but he didn’t expect that he even knew that he didn’t eat durian.

So, he asked with great interest, “What? You know I don’t like the taste of durian?”

Yu Zhanrong looked up at him, hesitated for a moment, and said, “We went to the fruit store together before, and you frowned when you saw durian, staying far away, as if you wanted to avoid it.”

Song Baiyan chuckled, “Was it that obvious?”

Yu Zhanrong nodded emphatically, “Yes, yes, yes, very obvious.”

“Then why don’t you buy it when you clearly like durian mille crepe?” Song Baiyan walked back to the freezer where the durian mille crepe was placed, asking him in a coaxing tone, “Hmm? Why?”

Yu Zhanrong racked his brains, thinking about what kind of reason would be more reliable.

He couldn’t just say that because Song Baiyan didn’t like it, he was afraid that he would feel like he couldn’t even eat the same things as him, so he pretended not to like it, right?

What’s the difference between that and a confession?!

“I, I’m afraid of smoking you out. You don’t like this smell. If I buy it, you’ll have to smell it all the way.”

Song Baiyan stared seriously into his eyes, wanting to see how credible this reason was. Yu Zhanrong’s heart was racing from his gaze.

After a while, Song Baiyan looked away, accepting the reason.

In the end, Song Baiyan bought a whole durian mille crepe. On the way back, Yu Zhanrong hesitated several times, wanting to say something but stopping himself.

Could it be that he wants to try it?

Yu Zhanrong’s expression was a little complicated. For someone like him who loves to eat durian, it was a delicacy, but he also knew that for those who didn’t like it, trying it would be like dying.

Could it be for him? But Song Baiyan didn’t say anything, and he was afraid that he was being presumptuous, which would be even more embarrassing.

Song Baiyan carried the very flavorful cake all the way, and only stopped Yu Zhanrong when he came out of the elevator, giving him the thing in his hand.

“Yu’er, you don’t have to be so cautious with me. Just do what you want to do, eat what you want to eat, you don’t have to worry about me.”

Yu Zhanrong lowered his head, silently picking at his fingers, and muttered softly, “How is it possible not to worry? It’s not easy to build up a relationship, and I don’t want it to be affected by these trivial matters.”

Song Baiyan didn’t know why he was being so careful, but he sincerely hoped that Yu Zhanrong could happily be himself.

“I won’t have any opinions about you or dislike you just because we like different things. You don’t have to deliberately suppress your personality to accommodate me.”

Hearing these words, Yu Zhanrong nodded obediently, “Okay, I understand.”

Song Baiyan reached out and gently ruffled Yu Zhanrong’s hair, “Good boy, go back.”, watching him walk into the room, closing the door before turning back.

On either side of the door.

Yu Zhanrong couldn’t help but touch the place where Song Baiyan had just ruffled his hair, his expression dazed.

I don’t want to pretend to be good, but I can’t help it. As soon as he’s in front of Song Baiyan, he subconsciously restrains his personality, completely uncontrollably.

Every “good boy” from Song Baiyan was reminding him

“I like the well-behaved ones.”

You like the well-behaved ones.

And I want you to like me, so I want to become a little more well-behaved.