What Are Your Tastes? chapter 9

Do You Live Here?

The studio didn’t have a separate kitchen, and the living and working areas were not clearly divided. At night, there was no one around, unlike a place suitable for living. Since June, Lu Yunchu had been considering finding an apartment. After a summer passed, he finally chose “Blue Bay.”

Blue Bay was an old community, built ten years ago, and was somewhat famous in Sen city at the time due to its diverse layouts and complete garden facilities. However, now that similar or even higher-grade properties were commonplace, it seemed relatively ordinary here.

Lu Yunchu was mainly attracted by its location, close to the studio, less than ten minutes by car. Occasionally, he could walk for exercise, which wasn’t too far. Plus, he rented a small one-bedroom suite, relatively cheap.

Moving in late August. There were few things left by the landlord, and most of the furniture needed to be purchased on his own. He liked to decorate the room, so it suited him perfectly. Most of his household items were custom-made online and delivered. During the first week of moving, there were deliveries almost every day, which he signed for and then installed himself.

Hongchuan’s customization was also delivered a while ago. Lu Yunchu saw Zhou Yanchuan’s friend circle and was very satisfied with this cooperation, helping to advertise it. In the short term, the two would not have any more chances to interact. Lu Yunchu sighed heavily and sat on the newly installed sofa to watch TV.

He rarely watched TV, at most watching videos on his phone or computer. However, the TV in the apartment was left by the landlord. At noon, the landlord specifically called to ask him to confirm if the TV had any problems. At that time, he was outside, but now he remembered and turned it on to take a look.

After flicking through the remote control, he didn’t find any problems. He called the landlord while casually glancing at the TV screen.

Recently, the local satellite TV launched a series of documentaries related to entrepreneurs, and that day was the fourth episode. Lu Yunchu hung up the phone, and the show had just begun. He wasn’t very interested in such programs and was about to turn off the TV when he heard the narrator mention Zhou Yanchuan’s name.

Lu Yunchu was stunned for a few seconds, not very surprised. Zhou Yanchuan already had some fame in Sen City, so it wasn’t surprising for him to be invited to such a program. He put down the remote control and wanted to see what style this local tycoon would present to the media.

Compared to the person he had directly contacted, Zhou Yanchuan on TV was more serious, speaking with a positive energy and almost flawless remarks, although occasionally with a touch of grandeur.

Lu Yunchu only now knew that Zhou Yanchuan had donated money to Wen County many times and even funded the establishment of schools, and had expressed many opinions on youth education on TV.

During the commercial break, Lu Yunchu lifted the trash bag beside the sofa and prepared to throw it away. With his right hand on the door handle, he pushed it open. He hadn’t taken a few steps when the neighbor across the hall happened to open the door, and the security door banged shut. He looked up and met an unexpected face.

Zhou Yanchuan was wearing a white T-shirt and large shorts, with a pair of flip-flops on his feet, clearly not dressed for visiting someone’s home.

Seeing Lu Yunchu, he was also surprised: “Was it you who moved in a few days ago?”

“Yes…” Lu Yunchu opened his mouth, took a moment to figure out what to say, “You, you live here?”

“Yeah, this is my place.”

Although the apartment across the hall was a large two-bedroom apartment, Blue Bay had still been around for a long time. Zhou Yanchuan living in such an outdated old neighborhood was what surprised Lu Yunchu.

“Taking out the trash?” Seeing him standing there dumbfounded, Zhou Yanchuan thought he couldn’t find the trash bin and pointed to the fire escape, “It’s over there.”

Lu Yunchu’s TV was still on, the door wide open now, and the narration of the documentary program was drifting out: “Zhou Yanchuan’s dedication to education…”

Both Zhou Yanchuan himself standing in the hallway and Lu Yunchu were surprised at the same time. Lu Yunchu realized that he was watching someone else’s program, and the main character caught him in the act; while Zhou Yanchuan was embarrassed by the commentary.

“Don’t listen to the nonsense on TV,” finally, Zhou Yanchuan flustered, spoke first, “They wrote the script for me to read. I don’t like reading or studying, but they insisted on making me look like some knowledgeable youth, it’s annoying…”

Hearing him criticize the program in such a tone, Lu Yunchu couldn’t hold back a laugh, and the embarrassment naturally disappeared.

“But you did donate to schools, right?”

“Oh, that’s true,” he nodded, “I just can’t figure out how giving kids books to read has anything to do with whether I like to read or not.”

Lu Yunchu rolled his eyes and continued to laugh, “It has nothing to do with it.”

“Right?” Zhou Yanchuan happily shook his phone, “I’m going to pick up a delivery.” The delivery box was in the main hall on the first floor.

“Okay.”

Lu Yunchu threw away the garbage and returned to his room. The program ended quickly. He was still shocked by the magical fact that “Zhou Yanchuan also lives here.” A knock on the door brought him back to reality, and he saw Zhou Yanchuan again, just a few minutes after they had parted.

“Sorry,” he said, his face turning red again, “do you have any white sugar at home?”

Zhou Yanchuan had been quite busy with work recently, leaving him little time to cook at home and check his stock of seasonings. Today, halfway through cooking, he realized he was out of sugar. Even if he ordered some through his phone, it wouldn’t arrive immediately. Since the new neighbor happened to be someone he knew, he decided to ask him to save himself the trouble.

Lu Yunchu looked at him as if he were an alien.

Ever since he started imagining this person as a character in a CEO romance novel, the Zhou Yanchuan in his mind had become a wealthy tycoon living in a big villa with a row of bodyguards and maids. He had completely forgotten that Zhou Yanchuan had once personally driven him to a small local restaurant for a meal, so he couldn’t imagine Zhou Yanchuan borrowing sugar to actually cook.

Lu Yunchu blurted out, “What do you need white sugar for?”

Zhou Yanchuan found it even stranger. Has his art muddled his brain?

“For braising meat,” he said, losing hope as his pot simmered on the stove. “Never mind, I’ll just skip it.”

“Oh, that—I have some!” Lu Yunchu finally responded.

His kitchen was well-equipped, with solid seasonings stored in several transparent glass jars, each labeled with colorful stickers. He found the jar labeled “white sugar” and handed it to Zhou Yanchuan.

“I’m about to head out and might be back late, so you can return it to me tomorrow.”

“Okay, thanks.”

Actually, not only did Lu Yunchu have an unrealistic impression of Zhou Yanchuan, but Zhou Yanchuan also had preconceived notions about Lu Yunchu. After all, an artist friend he knew was indifferent to worldly concerns, only caring about painting, and Zhou Yanchuan had once teased him about surviving on dew.

From their few encounters, Lu Yunchu had left a similar impression on him. After borrowing the sugar, Zhou Yanchuan dipped a chopstick into it to taste and ensure it was edible.

Nothing seemed off. The sugar jar had a colorful label, its exterior was clean, with no traces of grease, indicating the owner’s meticulousness.

Zhou Yanchuan turned off the stove. His kitchen was right next to the entrance, and he heard the door across the hall closing, probably indicating that Lu Yunchu was leaving.