"How was work today?"
The homeliness of the question made Wen Rui pause, chopsticks hovering for a split second over the freshly fried prawn tempura he'd been angling for.
"It was fine," he replied. Then, thinking that Zhou Ye might be asking because he wanted to know and not just because he was making small talk, Wen Rui added, "We'll be filming some of the outside scenes soon, so I might be back late the next couple of days."
He regretted the words as soon as they left his mouth. Zhou Ye hadn't asked for his schedule, why had he felt the need to share? It wasn't like their lives revolved around each other or anything—
"I see. Will you be back for dinner?" Across the table, with the bright city lights as his backdrop, Zhou Ye was handsome in a simple black shirt, still wearing those glasses of his that gave him top student (1) airs, if top students also looked like they could hold part-time jobs as models.
"I…I'm not sure? Probably not? Why?"
Zhou Ye calmly picked up the last piece of tempura and placed it in Wen Rui's bowl in one fluid motion. His actions seemed so natural that protesting would make Wen Rui feel like he was kicking up a huge fuss about nothing. He mumbled his thanks and placed it in the dipping sauce, which had just the right amount of grated daikon radish in it.
"If you're planning on eating at home, I'll set aside time to cook." Zhou Ye actually pulled out his phone and started sifting through his planner app. The table was too wide for Wen Rui to have a good look at it but at a glimpse, it was packed to the brim with colour-coded events and there was hardly a free block of space in an entire day.
Other students had part-time jobs, Zhou Ye looked like he was already working full-time for his family's company. He supposed owning a nightmare of a schedule like that was also one of the reasons why Zhou Ye could go around gifting watches that cost more than cars to his friends. From that point of view, he didn't require anyone's sympathy.
"It's fine," Wen Rui said quickly. The last thing he wanted was to add to the burden that Zhou Ye was already managing on a daily basis. "It'll be too much of a hassle, I can always order something in—"
The glance Zhou Ye shot him was disapproving. "Once in a while is fine, but too much outside food is bad for the health."
Wen Rui gaped down at the feast before him. "Young Master Zhou's definition of 'outside food' doesn't seem to match most people's definition of 'outside food'," was all he could say to that.
Zhou Ye had been camping at the coffee table with his laptop once more when Wen Rui had returned from the set earlier that evening. It was rare to see Zhou Ye in the apartment this early but he'd said that he'd taken half-day leave to work on his dissertation.
There had been no time for either of them to cook—not that Wen Rui could have whipped up anything fancier than instant noodles, to be honest—so Zhou Ye had said that he would "order in food". In those exact words. Wen Rui had taken this to mean he was using a delivery app and had agreed to eat anything before going up to take a shower.
He should have known better. Eleme and Meituan (2) were foreign concepts to this young crown prince of the Zhou Dynasty, whose solution to a food shortage was to hire a chef. Last minute. From a Michelin restaurant.
Even Wen Rui's mother hadn't spoiled him nearly this much.
Zhou Ye frowned. "It's still outside food," he argued.
"…it was prepared in our kitchen. How much more 'homecooked' can food get?"
Something Wen Rui said seemed to please Zhou Ye because the furrow on his brow lightened and the corners of his lips quirked upwards. It was the same look he always got on his face whenever he was about to become particularly irritating and Wen Rui eyed him warily.
Sure enough, "Who are you married to, Takegawa-san or me?"
It was a good thing Wen Rui hadn't been eating when Zhou Ye asked that shocking question because he would otherwise have choked.
This didn't stop him from spluttering in an embarrassed frenzy now though. "What does that have to do with anything?!" He reached for his cup of green tea, 'Takegawa-san or me' reverberating in his burning ears.
Zhou Ye laughed softly. It was such a rare sight that Wen Rui found himself distracted by it. It reminded him of their time spent bickering by the windows of class 3-1, the golden sun streaming in and making the stuffy afternoon even less bearable.
"If an outsider cooks it, it's outside food," Zhou Ye explained, so matter-of-fact that Wen Rui didn't know how to call him out on the rubbish he was spouting. "If your husband cooks it, it's homecooked food. Simple as that."
…if Wen Rui didn't know better, he would have thought that Zhou Ye was flirting with him. The teasing glance that followed that sentence made Wen Rui feel like the heating in the room was turned up too high.
But the mere idea was crazy. Girls—and now with the new marriage laws that had been passed, the more adventurous boys—flirted with Zhou Ye, not the other way around.
[How would you explain the watch though?] a traitorous voice inside piped up. [Or his concern? Or his kindness?]
Without realising it, Wen Rui's heart had started to race along with the speed of the thoughts running through his mind. Wasn't Zhou Ye straight? No wait, come to think of it, there had never been a clear indication of this. Zhou Ye back in high school had been surrounded by girls, even ones as perfect as Su Jiali. But he'd always used the excuse that he wasn't interested in a relationship to fob them off.
Had Zhou Ye ever been in a relationship with anyone or was the closest thing this fake marriage that they were both embroiled in?
"Wen Rui?"
"H-Huh?" Wen Rui's chopsticks clattered noisily against the side of his plate. He jumped at the noise, horrified at his own lack of table manners and at getting distracted by his rampant speculations on Zhou Ye's sexuality when the man himself was right there in front of him.
Zhou Ye gave him a considering look. "I asked whether the assistant director responsible for manipulating your schedule showed up for work today," he said evenly.
…Wen Rui hadn't noticed that the conversation was back on such a serious track. He tried to gather his thoughts.
Shaking his head, Wen Rui told him about what had happened to the assistant director, including the rumours that Li Xue had brought up. A part of him was curious about whether Zhou Ye had anything to do with Assistant Director Deng's hasty departure. But Zhou Ye didn't mention whether he had a role or not and Wen Rui wasn't sure whether he should ask. If Zhou Ye had, why didn't he say so? If he hadn't, then it would look like Wen Rui was being presumptuous.
He thought about Jiang Xin and his resolve to settle things with her once and for all before she back a real thorn in his side. What she had achieved against him so far didn't seem like much. Apart from an unreasonable schedule and a couple of temper tantrums during filming, she hadn't bullied him the way some other divas chose to take advantage of their less popular colleagues. But for some reason, Wen Rui couldn't shake off the feeling that she felt more dangerous than just an average spiteful competitor who wanted to lord her fame over everyone else.
But before he could figure out what he could offer Zhou Ye in return for helping him deal with her, Zhou Ye was already asking about it.
"Is your co-star still on set with you?"
Wen Rui looked up. "Do you mean Jiang Xin?"
"I mean whichever one it was who made you fall ill."
Jiang Xin then. Wen Rui nodded.
"I see."
Zhou Ye's smile faded. The terseness that had seeped back into him made Wen Rui wonder if he even needed to ask for help at all.
"Zhou Ye?"
Zhou Ye's eyes met his. Wen Rui found that he couldn't hold his gaze for long. It didn't unnerve him per se but he felt like if he didn't look away, he would see something in its dark depths that he wasn't prepared to examine yet.
This apartment had quickly become so familiar to him in the past few months that Wen Rui wouldn't know what to do if he rocked the boat too hard and capsized it. He had no other home and—
And he liked staying here. With Zhou Ye. He could put a label on it and try and define 'why' when he didn't have so many other things to settle.
"What is it?" Zhou Ye asked. His voice was deeper too and Wen Rui had to swallow past the sudden dryness in his throat.
Yes, it would be a bad time to shift the status quo that they'd established between them now, especially when Wen Rui wasn't sure what direction he expected it to head in.
But that didn't mean he couldn't…test the waters a little?
He bit his lip and said, "I don't like Jiang Xin."
It was the most selfish declaration that he'd made in a while. After losing the love of his parents, he hadn't felt like he had any right.
Until—just maybe—now.