What to Do if I Am Noticed by the Straight Guy Next Door?

After leaving the agency, Su Bin referred to the introduction of major telecommunications companies in Country B in the “Study Abroad Student Guide” and managed to buy a local SIM card. He also subscribed to a package that offered cheaper rates for international long-distance calls.

In fact, this was his most urgent task. Every second of being “out of contact” with Chen Xiaotian felt like an eternity to Su Bin.

“Darling…” In the next second, he dialed Chen Xiaotian’s phone number.

“Why did you call so late? I waited for you until 2 a.m. last night,” Chen Xiaotian worriedly said.

“I’m sorry. As soon as I got the SIM card, I called you right away… I missed you so much!” Su Bin apologized and explained, but he had a silly smile on his face.

“I was worried that you’d be clueless and get abducted as soon as you left the country,” Chen Xiaotian expressed her concern after a day and night of worrying.

Su Bin felt a little unhappy. “Am I that silly in your eyes?” He recounted everything that happened to him in Country B since his arrival, including the instant noodle incident in the morning and the handsome blond foreigner. He told her every detail, and Chen Xiaotian burst into laughter over the phone.

“See, I can handle things on my own, right?” Su Bin said while making the phone call and looking at the bus stop sign. “I’m going to check out some houses soon.”

“Okay, okay,” Chen Xiaotian praised him and asked, “What kind of house are you going to see?”

Su Bin replied, “I’m not sure. The house is quite far from the university, but the rent is much cheaper than those studio apartments in the city center. The tenants are all Chinese… As long as the conditions aren’t too bad, I’ll settle for it. It’s only for a year, and I don’t want to bother with moving around.”

Chen Xiaotian asked about the prices of both options and said, “You’re not short of money. Just rent a studio apartment.”

Su Bin replied, “Am I not short of money?”

Chen Xiaotian was puzzled. “Didn’t your dad give you money when you went abroad?”

Chen Xiaotian knew everything about Su Bin’s family. She knew that Su Bin’s dad was a successful businessman and had always been generous with money to Su Bin, who had been obedient and sensible since childhood. His dad would use money to compensate for the lack of emotional support.

“Don’t mention him…” Since Su Bin decided to go abroad for the exchange program, his dad hadn’t made a single phone call. He only said two sentences, the first one being, “How much does it cost to study abroad for a year?” The second one was, “I’ve transferred money to your account, take care of yourself.” Thinking about this, Su Bin felt a bit annoyed. “He only knows how to give me money. What use is money? I don’t want his money!”

Chen Xiaotian fell silent.

Su Bin realized that his tone wasn’t good and quickly said, “I want to earn money myself, spend less, and try to marry you as soon as possible.”

Chen Xiaotian responded, “So I have to wait for ages?”

Su Bin replied, “It’ll be soon, maybe even tomorrow?… I’ll go buy a lottery ticket!”

“You… You’re just talking nonsense!” Chen Xiaotian laughed.

The two of them exchanged banter, not in a very happy mood. Suddenly, Su Bin had the urge to say those three words that he failed to send in the text message before boarding the plane: “Xiao Tian, I…”

“Hey, it’s already late! I have to go for evening self-study,” Chen Xiaotian abruptly interrupted him. “If there’s something fun, let’s talk about it next time we call.”

Su Bin said, “…Okay, then you should go quickly!”

Chen Xiaotian said, “Take care of yourself out there, and call me later!”

Su Bin was touched and said, “Okay, don’t worry about me. I’ll call you later. Love you!”

After hanging up the phone, Su Bin felt extremely down, but thinking about Chen Xiaotian’s advice, he quickly gathered his spirits and set off to view the houses.

It would take about thirty minutes by bus from the city center to the bus stop Allen mentioned on the phone.

As soon as Su Bin got off the bus, he saw a tall and thin Chinese guy leaning against the edge of the bus stop. The person wore frameless glasses and had a gentle demeanor, appearing a few years older than Su Bin.

Seeing Su Bin getting off, the guy naturally looked over and said, “Michael?”

Su Bin went up to shake hands with him and said, “Hello…” He felt a little anxious because he wasn’t prepared to speak English to another Chinese person, even though his idol was Yu Minhong.

The guy gave Su Bin a gentle smile and said, “I’m Yang Chengzhe, but you can call me Joe.”

Hearing the guy speak Chinese, Su Bin felt relieved. “Oh, I’m Su Bin!”

Yang Chengzhe remarked, “You look quite young.”

“Really?” Su Bin chuckled foolishly. “I was born in 1990. How about you?”

Yang Chengzhe gave Su Bin a meaningful look as if to say, “Oh, a post-90s person…”

Due to the rise of the “non-mainstream” culture for a period of time, some people born in the 80s felt that those born in the 90s were different, so teasing was inevitable when they met. However, this was only a small portion of people who stood out. Fortunately, Yang Chengzhe didn’t have any bias in his eyes; he was just curious. He said, “I was born in 1986, so I’m older than you by quite a bit.”

Su Bin responded, “Then I’ll call you Brother Cheng (Brother Cheng)!”

Yang Chengzhe laughed happily and said, “Sure, you can call me that in private. But if Allen is around, you should still call me Joe.”

Su Bin asked, “Is Allen the landlord?”

Yang Chengzhe paused for a moment and smiled, shaking his head. “No, he’s also a tenant. I rented this house first, and there have been several different tenants before Allen moved in two years ago.”

Su Bin said, “Oh, then why did the agent call him?”

Yang Chengzhe explained, “He has more requirements for potential roommates, so I let him make the decisions.”

Su Bin remembered the strange questions from that morning and thought, so those were all Allen’s personal preferences! But Su Bin didn’t understand and asked, “Why can’t I call you ‘Brother Cheng’ in front of him? Is that also his special requirement?” He raised an eyebrow, curious.

Yang Chengzhe replied with an inclusive expression, “Not really. It’s because he doesn’t speak Chinese, so out of politeness, we all speak English when he’s around.”

Su Bin developed a favorable impression of Yang Chengzhe’s thoughtfulness and consideration. “Is Allen not Chinese?”

Yang Chengzhe pondered for a moment and said, “I can only say he has Chinese heritage, but he was born and raised here, so he’s more like a BBC*…”

As they spoke, they arrived at the shared house. It was a traditional B-country villa surrounded by greenery and similar residential buildings. The house had two floors, a private garden, and an open parking area.

The outdoor environment was excAllent, and Su Bin was already quite satisfied upon seeing it.

After Yang Chengzhe led him inside, the interior surprised Su Bin even more!

Unlike the dirty and messy dormitories he was used to in China, this place was exceptionally clean and tidy.

Fabric sofas and an European-style bookshelf occupied the main positions in the living room, while other furniture and decorations were neatly arranged. What caught Su Bin’s attention the most was the stationary exercise bike by the window!

For a boy who loved sports, there was no one who wouldn’t like a stationary exercise bike. However, due to the limitations, Su Bin rarely came across one in China, and now he saw one in the living room, and his eyes lit up!

Seeing Su Bin’s unreserved expression, Yang Chengzhe chuckled and said, “That belongs to Jin Fei.”

“Oh? Who is Jin Fei?” Su Bin asked, but his gaze was still fixated on the exercise bike.

Yang Chengzhe replied, “He’s another roommate.”

Su Bin couldn’t resist and walked over to touch it. The sleek design, paired with Beats headphones and a Sony dynamic screen… his mouth was watering!

Yang Chengzhe looked at him with the eyes of someone observing a child. “Jin Fei is a great guy. You’ll have plenty of opportunities to play with it in the future. Let me show you the rooms first.”

“Okay, okay!” Su Bin said, but he felt like there was no need to see the rooms anymore. He would be happy even if he stayed in the living room!

Yang Chengzhe gave a brief introduction to the layout of the rooms and then pointed to the only bedroom on the first floor. “That’s Jin Fei’s room. He’s around the same age as you.”

Su Bin asked, “Is he not here?”

Yang Chengzhe replied, “He went back to his home country and hasn’t returned yet. I heard he’s taking a flight the day after tomorrow.”

Su Bin said, “But isn’t the school starting the day after tomorrow?”

Yang Chengzhe smiled and said, “Yes, that’s how he is. He leaves right after finishing exams and only comes back when classes start. He says there’s nothing interesting here, and things are more fun back home.”

Su Bin imagined Jin Fei’s personality and felt they would have common topics to talk about.

The two of them went upstairs, and Yang Chengzhe first showed Su Bin his own room. It felt just like his personality—clean and refreshing. The plain bed and neatly folded bedding didn’t appear messy. However, the writing desk was piled with various materials and books, and his notebook was still open.

“I’m working on my thesis recently, so my desk is a bit messy,” Yang Chengzhe explained.

Su Bin was puzzled. “But why do you have to rush on your thesis right after the school starts?”

“I’m pursuing a Ph.D. at M University, and I also work as a teaching assistant. Our academic schedule is different from yours, and we don’t really have long vacations. It’s like a full-time job,” Yang Chengzhe explained.

“Wow…” Su Bin looked at Yang Chengzhe with admiration. “Dr. Yang!”

Yang Chengzhe smiled faintly and glanced at the room. “But I won’t be staying here for long.”

Su Bin was surprised and asked, “Ah? Are you moving out?”

Yang Chengzhe replied, “No, I’m going to switch rooms with Allen.”

Su Bin was puzzled and asked, “Why?”

“It’s a long story,” Yang Chengzhe led Su Bin to see the rented room while explaining, “Originally, I had a friend who planned to come to M University this year, and that room was reserved for him. But his visa had some last-minute issues, so he can’t come anymore.”

Yang Chengzhe opened the door and said, “This is it.”

The small room, about ten square meters in size, was neatly arranged. A single bed measuring 1.2 meters wide was placed against the wall, followed by a wardrobe, a writing desk, and a wall-mounted bookshelf, all sufficient for one person’s use. For a Chinese university student used to living in a dormitory with four people, this kind of private space couldn’t be better.

Yang Chengzhe continued, “This room and the adjacent one are a suite, sharing one bathroom. Originally, when my friend was coming, I didn’t mind sharing with him because Allen…” Yang Chengzhe pushed his glasses, “He’s a bit of a germaphobe and values personal privacy.”

Su Bin asked, “Who lived in this room before?”

“No one lived here. It used to be Allen’s study,” Yang Chengzhe replied.

Su Bin said, “…”

“When Allen heard that my friend couldn’t come, he moved all his things back to his own room. We bought a new bed, wardrobe, and writing desk from IKEA for my friend, but since he’s not coming, we thought it would be a shame to let it go to waste, so we decided to rent it out to someone else,” Yang Chengzhe explained.

“I see…” Su Bin nodded.

Yang Chengzhe looked at Su Bin and asked, “Do you mind sharing the bathroom with me?”

Su Bin waved his hand and said, “I don’t mind at all!” He had a favorable impression of Yang Chengzhe, who seemed like a friendly older brother.

Yang Chengzhe smiled and said, “That’s good. Allen has been busy recently, but we can move things together on the weekend.”

“I’ll help you then,” Su Bin’s determination to stay had become clear. He planned to return to the youth hostel to retrieve his luggage shortly.

Yang Chengzhe asked, “Do you have a lot of luggage? Do you want me to help you carry it?”

“I can manage on my own!” Su Bin thought about Yang Chengzhe’s thesis and felt that he must be busy. He didn’t want to trouble him further.

Yang Chengzhe gave Su Bin his phone number. “If you have any problems, feel free to give me a call.”

Su Bin felt touched. “Brother Cheng… thank you!”

Yang Chengzhe replied, “What’s there to thank for? We’ll be living under the same roof from now on, so don’t be too polite with me.”

On the way back to the youth hostel, Su Bin sat on the bus, looking at the exotic scenery outside the window. Although he felt lonely and melancholic due to his separation from his girlfriend, the warmth of his newly acquainted roommates filled him with anticipation for his future life.

That night, Su Bin dragged the two 20-kilogram suitcases back to his new place on his own.

Seeing Su Bin sweating profusely, Yang Chengzhe felt apologetic and said, “If I had known, I would have accompanied you… Jin Fei could have driven us, he has a car.”

“It’s alright…” Su Bin weakly waved his hand and slumped onto the sofa, too exhausted to say anything.

Yang Chengzhe looked at his watch and said, “I should have prepared a welcoming feast for you, but Allen still hasn’t come back…”

“It’s okay, Brother Cheng,” Su Bin glanced at the kitchen and said, “Do we have any food? We can just make something simple to eat.”

Yang Chengzhe furrowed his brows for a moment, seeming hesitant, but he quickly said, “Sure, you sit down. Let me check what’s in the fridge and cook a couple of dishes for you.”

Su Bin wanted to help, but Yang Chengzhe understood that he was tired from moving his luggage and politely declined. Su Bin was deeply moved and thought to himself that he had guessed right—his roommates can all cook! Thinking about cooking and eating together with them in the future made him feel warm and cozy.
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Author’s Notes:

[Studio]: A type of student apartment, equivalent to a one-room unit, small in size but fully functional, with no shared spaces.

[BBC]: Abbreviation for “British Born Chinese,” referring to Chinese people born in the UK. They are sometimes referred to as “banana people” (yellow on the outside, white on the inside), as they identify more with white culture and ideologies. Similar terms include ABC (American Born Chinese).

[Spin Bike]: A stationary exercise bike commonly found in gyms. It combines cycling exercises with unique effects such as music and visuals, making the workout experience energetic and dynamic.

Author’s Remarks:

Ladies, please don’t rush to criticize Xiao Tian. She’s not a materialistic girl. There’s a story behind it, but the male protagonist will definitely break up with his girlfriend first before developing a romantic relationship with Little Gong. He won’t be two-timing. I hope everyone can be patient.