When Song Shi'an returned to the dorm, his phone vibrated.
He took it out and saw a message from Mother Song: "I sent you a few things. They've arrived at your school. Remember to pick them up."
Song Shi'an replied, "Okay," and ducked into the parcel station as he passed to collect the package.
The box wasn't big, but it was heavy in his hand, weighing at least seven or eight jin.
He carried it back to the dorm and nearly tripped over the threshold as he pushed open the door.
Inside, Pei Zhiyan sat at his desk looking at his computer, while Jiang Ye and Chi Xun were still playing dead in bed.
One was buried under his blanket with only a tuft of red hair showing; the other had a pillow over his face, his pose resembling a crime scene.
Pei Zhiyan looked up at him, his gaze sweeping over the big box in his arms. "How did the talks go?"
Song Shi'an set the package on the desk and caught his breath. "Pretty well."
"Did Shen Lingshu talk to you personally?"
Alarm bells went off in Song Shi'an's head, his mind racing. Oh no, oh no. This was the original novel's male lead, and Shen Lingshu was his fiancée.
Although Pei Zhiyan didn't seem particularly invested in the engagement, what if he actually cared deep down?
What if he thought Song Shi'an had some ulterior motive for signing with his fiancée's company?
Song Shi'an immediately turned the box around and began opening it, speaking as casually as he could. "Yeah. President Shen left as soon as we finished talking. Just what you'd expect from a big boss-she's really busy."
Pei Zhiyan hummed in acknowledgment. "Stars Entertainment is currently the best entertainment company in the country. You can't go too far wrong joining them."
Song Shi'an breathed a sigh of relief, nearly giving a live demonstration of his heart dropping back into place. Thank goodness. This domineering CEO roommate didn't seem to mind much.
He opened the box to find bags of vacuum-sealed beef jerky neatly stacked inside.
He picked up a bag and examined it. Every slice had been cut to an even thickness and coated in a layer of dark brown sauce, with chili and sesame seeds embedded among the meat fibers. Just looking at it made his mouth water.
He found a pair of scissors and snipped open the seal.
In an instant, an overpowering meaty aroma mingled with five-spice and chili exploded through the dorm like a bomb, so rich he could almost see the trail it left as it spread through the air.
Jiang Ye shot upright on the top bunk as though someone had triggered a spring.
His red hair looked like a chicken's nest, his nose twitching wildly. His eyes were still half-closed, but his mouth had already reacted. "What's that smell? It smells amazing!"
"My mom sent some beef jerky."
Jiang Ye's eyes flew fully open. He flipped over and jumped down from the top bunk, his bare feet pattering across the floor as he ran over. "Our mom sent us beef jerky!"
Song Shi'an held the bag high. "You certainly know how to take advantage. Since when was she our mom?"
"Your mom is my mom. Our mom is our mom." Jiang Ye reached for the jerky, hanging off Song Shi'an's arm. "Come on, come on, let me have a bite. Just one."
Jiang Ye pulled so hard that Song Shi'an tilted sideways, leaving him no choice but to take out a slice and hand it over.
Jiang Ye took it and stuffed the whole slice into his mouth. After a couple of chews, his expression went from anticipation to bliss, then from bliss to intoxication, before finally settling on something approaching reverent gratitude.
"Does your mom need another son?"
"No."
"Does she need a son-in-law?"
"Get lost."
Chi Xun also poked his head down from his bed, his glasses crooked on his nose and his hair as messy as a bird's nest. Once he caught the aroma, he climbed down from the top bunk with astonishing speed.
The two stood on either side of Song Shi'an, both pairs of eyes fixed on the jerky in his hand like two large dogs waiting to be fed.
Their stares gave Song Shi'an the creeps. He gave each of them a few slices, then packed a separate little bag and set it on Pei Zhiyan's desk.
Pei Zhiyan gave a slight nod and said, "Thank you."
Song Shi'an picked up his phone, took a photo of the jerky, and sent it to Mother Song. "Got it. It's delicious. My roommates said it smells amazing too."
Mother Song replied instantly. A voice message popped up, her voice clearly happy. "As long as you like it! I specially dried an extra ten jin this year. Your dad said we'd made too much to finish, but I told him there are several of you in your dorm. Share it around and it'll be gone in two days. If you like it, Mom will make even more next year!"
After listening to the message, the corners of Song Shi'an's mouth lifted.
He put down his phone, took out a few more slices, then resealed the rest and tucked it into his cupboard.
With jerky stuffed in his mouth, Jiang Ye mumbled, "Why are you hiding it away? Shouldn't you put it in the communal area for everyone to share?"
"If I put it there, you'd finish it all in half a day."
"Where's your trust in your roommate?"
"Nonexistent."
Chi Xun adjusted his glasses, taking Song Shi'an's side for once. "Shi'an's right. Last time Jiang Ye said he was treating everyone to chocolate, he ended up eating more than half the box himself."
"It was a limited edition!"
"And?"
Ignoring their bickering, Song Shi'an sat down and took the script Shen Lingshu had given him out of his backpack.
The title, "Endless Summer," was printed on the cover. A sticky note beside it bore a few lines written in fountain pen, the handwriting crisp and efficient. He removed the note, opened the script, and began reading.
Chi Xun passed behind him and leaned over for a glance. "A youth campus drama, huh? What's the male lead's character like?"
"Haven't looked."
"Then what were you looking at, flipping through it all that time?"
"I was looking for whichever character has it worst."
Chi Xun fell silent for two seconds, gave him an "I knew it" look, and walked away.
Song Shi'an flipped through the entire script before finally stopping at the page where one character first appeared.
Xia Yu.
A boy in the neighboring class when the female lead was in her second year of high school, one grade above her.
The script's description was simple, but this character's biography made Song Shi'an linger for a long time.
Xia Yu had mild autism and depression. His parents were busy with their business year-round. His family was well-off, but money was all they could give him.
He barely spoke to anyone at school. His grades were above average, and he neither caused trouble nor fit in. He was the sort of person whose classmates would only remember after graduation, when they looked through their class photo and thought, "There might've been someone like that."
His connection with the female lead began with a chance encounter. She came across some people bullying him behind the laboratory building, went over, and shouted at them, driving them away.
She helped him pick up the books scattered on the ground, dusted them off, and handed them to him.
Xia Yu neither thanked her nor looked at her. He simply stood there holding his books, only slowly raising his head once her footsteps had faded into the distance.
Afterward, the female lead occasionally ran into him in the corridors. He always walked alone, close to the wall, one backpack strap longer than the other and his uniform cuffs a little dirty. Yet he never stooped or hunched his shoulders; his back was ramrod straight.
Once, during a big cleanup, the female lead was carrying a basin of water upstairs when he happened to be coming down. He reached out of his own accord, took the basin, and helped carry it upstairs, then left without a word.
When the female lead later mentioned it to a friend, the friend said, "Isn't that guy a little weird?" The female lead thought for a moment and said, "He just doesn't talk, that's all."