At 11:00 AM, Gu Yebai was startled awake by the sound of knocking on the door.
“Ah…”
The moment his consciousness was pulled back from the haze, he sluggishly realized — he was still lying in bed.
And on the other side of the bed, Gao Hongyi was there too.
Initially, when he first lay on the same bed with her, the tension was so great that it kept him awake nearly all night.
But later, sleepiness soaked into his nerves like warm water.
He ultimately hadn’t been able to stay awake for long.
“Hello, who is it?”
Gu Yebai sat up.
The slight movement of the blanket caused Gao Hongyi to slowly open her eyes as well.
She raised a hand to rub her sleepy eyes, her movements lazy and completely defenseless.
Her semi-transparent red lace nightgown draped down along the lines of her body.
The soft fabric clung to her skin, and with the rise and fall of her breath, it seemed to alternate between clinging and pulling away.
Her pale collarbones, her shoulder line, and her skin, which looked exceedingly tranquil in the light, all seemed to have been placed there unintentionally.
Gu Yebai’s Adam’s apple bobbed slightly.
In the next second, he almost instinctively turned his face to the side.
‘Too close. Too dangerous.’
“Uncle Bai?”
“I’ll go open the door, Hongyi. Someone is knocking.”
“Go ahead, Uncle Bai,” Gao Hongyi’s voice carried the characteristic softness of someone who had just woken up.
“I’m still a little sleepy, and I want to sleep for a little while longer.”
She rolled over.
The fabric of her nightgown slid gently with her movement, revealing a section of her long, fair legs.
“Hello, please sign for this.”
The voice from outside the door dragged Gu Yebai back from that moment of distraction.
By the time Gu Yebai set the computer down and returned to the room, Gao Hongyi had already sat halfway up.
The blanket had slipped down to her waist.
She stretched, and her body’s curves unfolded without reservation at that moment.
Gu Yebai decided to change the subject.
“How much did this computer cost?”
“A little over 80,000,” Gao Hongyi said, lazily twisting her proud, charming body on the bed like a cat.
“Uncle Bai, I can’t find my socks. Can you help me find them? I also want to get out of bed and see your new computer. This is a gift I carefully selected for you, you know.”
When she had arrived, she had been wearing a pair of off-white pantyhose.
“Wait, over 80,000?”
“Return it. My god, 80,000 — are you talking about yen or won?”
“It’s yuan.”
“Anyway, hurry up and help me find my pantyhose. Besides, it’s impossible to return the computer. It’s very cheap, okay? I have several outfits that cost more than that. That kimono I bought in Kyoto last time was over 100,000 yuan. It’s top-tier genuine silk, hand-dyed. So, you should just try out this computer with a clear conscience. After that, we’ll go out for a walk and see that Provincial Key School you were supposed to attend. Tomorrow, we’ll head back to Donghai.”
“But…”
Gu Yebai looked at the packaging box, hesitating to move.
“You’re so wordy.”
Gao Hongyi seemed to have grown a bit impatient with him.
“I bought this for myself, all right? Normally, I’ll just lend it to you. You can use it to write your novels.”
“Fine, okay…”
“Oh, right. Here are your socks.”
Gu Yebai found the pantyhose in the wardrobe.
They were off-white.
To the touch, the material felt exceptionally smooth.
“Come, help me put them on.”
Gao Hongyi extended her slender, fair ankle toward Gu Yebai.
Gu Yebai instinctively took half a step back.
“Put them on yourself.”
“I’m lazy.”
She tilted her head to look at him, her tone so light it didn’t even sound like a request.
“The world outside the covers is so cold. Do you really have the heart to make me leave the warmth? Helping a girl put on stockings is a masculine virtue, you know.”
Those ankles were excessively white.
The lines were slender, with almost no redundant curves.
Reluctantly, Gu Yebai had no choice but to help Gao Hongyi put on the off-white pantyhose.
The stockings were slowly pulled up from the tips of her toes.
As the fabric rubbed against her skin, it made a sound that was barely audible.
Yet, that sound caused Gu Yebai’s nerves to tighten bit by bit.
The off-white pantyhose clung to her, and the curve of her calves was perfectly outlined.
The muscle lines were soft, yet filled with a sense of strength.
His fingertips inevitably brushed against her legs.
Though separated by the stockings, the sensation was still vivid.
Gao Hongyi looked down at him, the corners of her lips curling upward.
“Uncle Bai, your hands are shaking.”
“They are not!”
“Did my legs make you feel excited? That’s quite normal, Uncle Bai. I’ve studied dance and I practice yoga frequently. My legs are very beautiful, aren’t they? You’ve stopped talking — are you thinking about lewd things?”
“No, I’m not!”
“If you want to touch them, that’s perfectly fine too. I’ve heard that touching a girl’s legs through stockings is very helpful for one’s physical and mental health. It might even provide you with all sorts of inspiration.”
“There is no way I’m touching them!”
Gu Yebai felt that staying in the same room as a demon like Gao Hongyi meant his rationality could snap at any moment.
“Right now, I just want to look at the computer!”
“Fine, I’ll stop teasing you.”
Gao Hongyi brushed back her red hair, laughing so hard she trembled.
The computer’s operating speed was breathtakingly fast.
It truly lived up to the price of over 80,000 yuan.
It had a dual-screen design, a 5090 graphics card, and a top-tier CPU.
At this price point, there was no such thing as “value for money” anymore; it was simply a toy for the wealthy.
With a computer of this caliber, it was impossible to experience lag while writing. If it did lag, it was probably the author’s brain that was lagging.
As his fingers tapped out every single word on the keyboard, the screen responded almost simultaneously.
“Aside from writing, you can also play all sorts of computer games,” Gao Hongyi said.
“I’ve heard that you boys are all very interested in games.”
As long as Uncle Bai was addicted to games and stayed obediently at home, he wouldn’t wander off.
Especially in Donghai.
That was a dazzling, superficial world.
If Uncle Bai were to be charmed by some girl in Donghai, Gao Hongyi felt she would definitely cry.
Therefore, giving him a good computer was a very necessary thing.
Even if he went out, she had to monitor him constantly.
Even if his social circle consisted of men, she had to stay on high alert.
For example, that ‘Yukino’ was extremely dangerous.
Gu Yebai didn’t seem to have noticed yet that Gao Hongyi had taken the liberty of deleting her from his friend list.
“Uncle Bai, do you like it?”
“I love it.”
This was the first time Gu Yebai had ever touched such a high-end, expensive computer.
Before this, he had been using a Redmi Note 9 to write.
It was the version with a shattered screen, too.
It probably wouldn’t even sell for 100 yuan on Pinduoduo.
Now, he had finally received a massive upgrade.
The moment he touched the ROG laptop, he really didn’t want to let go… He couldn’t wait to write a 10,000-word novel.
However, Gao Hongyi didn’t give Gu Yebai the chance.
She had already put on her trench coat, changed into tall boots, and tied her scarf.
“Alright, Uncle Bai, let’s go eat. What kind of food do you want for lunch? French, Japanese, or Cantonese?”