The small fridge in the guest room occasionally emitted a faint humming sound from its cooling system.
The noise was subtle, usually easy to ignore.
But now——
Ruan Xi straddled Cheng Daichuan, their eyes locked.
The earlier urgency to silence him had quietly faded, and her other senses sharpened.
The hum of the fridge was especially clear, and Cheng Daichuan’s body heat felt unusually intense…
Ruan Xi was wearing shorts today, the skin on the inside of her legs pressed tightly against the denim fabric of Cheng Daichuan’s jeans.
After loosening her threatening grip, her hands now rested gently on the back of his neck.
Such a posture was too intimate.
She suddenly withdrew her hands, shrinking her shoulders, and her two hands awkwardly curled into fists hovering between them.
Still clutching her pounding heart, Ruan Xi stubbornly said, “I’m not getting down, I’m… Mount Tai Crush!”
That phrase sounded so familiar and infuriatingly silly.
Ruan Xi thought to herself that she must have gone crazy during her shower not to come up with a better excuse than the dumb thing Shi Chao said back in high school to ease awkwardness.
Cheng Daichuan started laughing again.
He looked in a great mood, his laughter making his whole body tremble, causing Ruan Xi— still sitting on him— to tremble along.
Ah, Ruan Xi, now’s definitely not the time to be shy. Cheng Daichuan wasn’t being sarcastic— he was mocking her!
Blushing with embarrassment and anger, Ruan Xi snapped, “Cheng Daichuan, you’re not allowed to laugh!”
“I’m not laughing at you.”
“You totally are! Why didn’t you take photos when I finished my makeup? Only those ugly ones of me…”
Cheng Daichuan picked up his phone to examine it. “Where’s the ugly part?”
“Stop looking.”
Her hands finally found a use—covering the screen of Cheng Daichuan’s phone, she panicked and pressed down on two of his fingers. “Your hair’s messy and your mouth is open!”
Cheng Daichuan smiled. “Isn’t it kinda cute?”
Ruan Xi finally understood why people say “Don’t hit a smiling face.” Even if it was teasing, just hearing Cheng Daichuan say “kinda cute” made her cheeks burn.
She retorted defiantly, “Cheng Daichuan, I’ll crush you!”
“Not light at all, who do you want to crush?”
“I’m heavy! Last night I ate a ton of red wine braised chicken, fried sausage, and apple pie!”
Cheng Daichuan suddenly moved.
His hand holding the phone, with two fingers pressed down by Ruan Xi, didn’t move, but his other arm circled behind her, lifting her hips and standing up straight from the sofa.
Ruan Xi gasped, unable to continue blocking the screen, instinctively grasping his shoulders and neck.
He held her with one arm, weighing her up and down. “Just that? Mount Tai Crush?”
Cheng Daichuan had just returned from the gym; his toned muscles were clearly visible.
Sunlight filled the guest room, making Ruan Xi squint, her hand brushing against the dampness on Cheng Daichuan’s short-sleeved shirt.
Her ears felt like they were burning. In a quieter voice than usual, she pushed his shoulder gently. “You… put me down…”
“Not saying you’ll crush me anymore?”
“…Not anymore.”
Cheng Daichuan put Ruan Xi down, slipped his phone into his pocket, grabbed some clothes from the sofa, and headed toward the bathroom. “Hungry? I’ll take a quick shower, change, then we can go for breakfast?”
Ruan Xi pursed her lips and gave a soft “Mm.”
Only after Cheng Daichuan walked into the bathroom did Ruan Xi realize why they had been messing around earlier.
She hurried after him, stopping at the bathroom door. “Cheng Daichuan, delete the photos…”
Cheng Daichuan stood inside, pulling off his shirt with one hand and turning his head. “Hmm?”
Ruan Xi quickly backed away. “Why aren’t you closing the door when you change?!”
“Why…”
His tone teasing, “Maybe because I didn’t think anyone would come chasing after me.”
“Delete the photos.”
“You don’t want them?”
“No! Delete them!”
The bathroom door closed, and Cheng Daichuan called out from inside, “Alright, I’ll shower first, then delete them right after.”
The bathroom sounded like endless gentle rain. Ruan Xi sat on the sofa, her hands fluttering beside her ears like busy bee wings, tirelessly fanning herself.
It was useless.
Her ears were still burning no matter how much she fanned, and her heart couldn’t calm down.
That moment when Cheng Daichuan lifted her from the sofa had unsettled her completely.
He even weighed her up.
Her mind went blank, and her toes curled reflexively.
Ruan Xi drank half a bottle of mineral water, trying to calm herself.
Sliding open her phone, she scrolled through all of Cheng Daichuan’s social media updates, then glanced at other friends’ posts.
Finally, she noticed Zhang Xu’s profile video cover, but didn’t click it. Distracted, she backed out of the social feed, rubbing her heated earlobe.
Ruan Xi remembered a past moment—
On the last day of the Double Ninth Festival Holiday, Ruan Xi and Shi Chao had been holed up at Cheng Daichuan’s place.
The official reason: to have top student Cheng Daichuan help Shi Chao with homework.
In reality, the table was piled high with snacks.
They had prepared a big plate full of sliced blood oranges for him.
The ride-hailing car had stopped downstairs. Aunt Shang was holding up her phone, repeatedly apologizing to the driver. She waved to the two boys with a smile before putting on her heels and running downstairs.
The blood oranges were sweet, fragrant with a strong fruity aroma.
Ruan Xi bit into one and glanced back.
The balcony was covered with a climbing clematis plant, adorned with many blue-purple six-petaled flowers.
Ais crouched beside the flower-covered wall, staring out at the lush pear tree, watching a magpie perched on the treetop.
After spending so much time with Ais, Ruan Xi had overcome her fear and even thought it was a handsome animal.
She held an orange slice in her mouth to take a photo of Ais, adjusting angles and composition for a long time.
When she turned back, only one slice of blood orange remained on the fruit plate.
Shi Chao was eyeing the leftover slice, claws ready to snatch it.
Ruan Xi hatched a plan, waving mysteriously: “Shi Chao, I have something to tell you.”
Shi Chao immediately withdrew his claws. “What? What what what?”
Ruan Xi leaned into Shi Chao’s ear. “Only nine hours left of the holiday.”
Shi Chao acted like his tail had been stepped on, clutching his head. “No! My holiday! Don’t leave me, don’t leave me!!!”
Amid Shi Chao’s deafening cries, Ruan Xi happily bit into the last slice of blood orange.
Mmm, delicious.
When Shi Chao heard the munching sounds, he snapped out of it, and the two of them immediately started their usual epic battle (two clumsy chickens pecking at each other).
Shi Chao threw a plush toy at Ruan Xi, nearly hitting her, but Cheng Daichuan reached out and caught it.
Just then, Ais came over and rubbed affectionately against Cheng Daichuan’s leg, meowing.
Shi Chao said, “Look, Boss Cheng, even Ais is standing up for me. The referee can’t play, that’s unfair!”
Cheng Daichuan lazily tossed the plush toy back to Shi Chao. “Who asked you to be the referee?”
With backup, Ruan Xi smugly said, “Ais isn’t standing up for you. It’s scolding you for eating too much, making the ground shake like an earthquake when you run.”
“Wow, Xi Zi, your insults are really classy now.”
“Nyah nyah.”
Cheng Daichuan popped open a can of cat canned food and sighed, “You two aren’t doing your homework, right?”
Cheng Daichuan was terrifyingly disciplined; he finished his homework on the first day of the holiday.
When Ruan Xi and Shi Chao asked about it, he said casually, “Aunt Shang comes home late anyway, just doing some to pass the time.”
Ruan Xi wanted to say, was that even human language?
But she had to annoy Shi Chao, so she acted obediently and dragged Cheng Daichuan to explain math problems.
Cheng Daichuan explained seriously, while Ruan Xi secretly flashed a “peace” sign with two fingers and gave Shi Chao a cheeky smile.
Holding Ruan Xi’s lollipop-shaped gel pen, Cheng Daichuan tapped her forehead. “Am I your BGM?”
Ruan Xi covered her forehead, mumbling, “Who has BGM with math problems?”
That made Cheng Daichuan laugh.
But Ruan Xi also had obedient moments.
Eating the freshly cut blood oranges Cheng Daichuan gave her, focusing on the homework, she could abandon all playfulness and distraction.
She finished two full sets of exams in one go.
Looking up, it was already past eight in the evening.
Shi Chao and Cheng Daichuan were discussing ordering takeout.
Ruan Xi peeked over to watch.
Shi Chao, starving and pressed against Cheng Daichuan, got hungrier the longer he looked, and headed to Cheng Daichuan’s kitchen. “Chuan Bao, the takeout is taking too long. I’ll just cook instant noodles?”
Shi Chao rummaged through the kitchen.
Cheng Daichuan casually tugged at the drawstring of Ruan Xi’s hoodie. “Got something to say?”
Ruan Xi thought it was about Shi Chao’s embarrassment, glanced at his back, and eagerly nodded.
Cheng Daichuan leaned in, chuckling softly in her ear. “Less than four hours left of the holiday.”
Ruan Xi’s smile froze.
She touched her ears, slowly turning to look at her pile of remaining homework. She muttered to herself, “Who taught Cheng Daichuan to be like this?”
Cheng Daichuan smiled. “Guess.”
Later that day, Ruan Xi eventually couldn’t resist the temptation of instant noodles and ate first before continuing her homework.
Only, she was in such a rush that she burned her tongue.
Yet, she always felt the burning sensation was not on her tongue, but deep in her ears, where Cheng Daichuan had whispered to her.
So… how did she ease that?
By doing homework?
No homework left to do now.
Ruan Xi could only lazily scroll through her phone amidst the sound of running water.
Big data algorithms caught her search history and pushed a bunch of couples’ photo pose suggestions.
Those recommendations told Ruan Xi about a classic couple’s hug called the Kangaroo Hug.
The guy supports the girl’s hips and lifts her up face to face.
The girl wraps her legs around the guy’s waist and her arms around his neck…
It’s very intimate, very sweet, perfect for kissing.
But…
Aside from missing the neck wrap, isn’t that exactly the same pose Cheng Daichuan and she had just done?
So at the moment Cheng Daichuan stood up holding her, when she was panicked and unbalanced…
She must have instinctively wrapped her legs tightly around his waist to avoid falling.
Right?
Good.
Now not only were her ears burning, her whole body felt ready to explode.
Cheng Daichuan came out of the shower and immediately saw Ruan Xi lying limp on her single bed like a giant stuffed doll with the fluff all squeezed out.
Her hands were folded on her stomach, her head hanging off the edge of the bed, and in her ears were Cheng Daichuan’s Bluetooth earphones, looking peaceful and content.
Ruan Xi was listening to the Clear Heart Mantra.
Those unfamiliar Buddhist chants mixed with soothing music played repeatedly in her ears.
It seemed to help, at least she wasn’t going crazy.
After a while, she felt a bit hungry, craving the bacon soft-boiled egg salad from today’s menu.
She swallowed and was just thinking about the soft-boiled eggs when the Bluetooth earphone in her left ear was suddenly taken away.
Ruan Xi opened her eyes.
The owner of the earphones leaned over her, smiling charmingly as he looked at her, slipping the earphone into his own ear. After finishing, he raised an eyebrow. “Listening to what?”
Ruan Xi glumly climbed off the bed. “Clear Heart Mantra.”
Cheng Daichuan, fresh from his shower with a clean scent, smiled and removed the earphone from his ear.
He tapped the back knuckle of his index finger on Ruan Xi’s nose. “Starving dumb?”
“…Not at all.”
“Let’s go, time for breakfast.”
Ruan Xi followed Cheng Daichuan out the door.
Thinking back to the whispered moments and the earlier Kangaroo Hug, she felt increasingly annoyed.
Suddenly, she raised her hand and gave Cheng Daichuan a hard slap on the back.
Cheng Daichuan took it in stride. “Deleted the photos.”
“I wasn’t talking about the photos.”
“What’s up?”
Ruan Xi pouted and stared at him for a full two seconds. “Nothing, there’s a mosquito.”
Actually, she was thinking:
If she had a secret crush on her good friend she couldn’t shake off, Cheng Daichuan was definitely to blame!
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