Chapter 105
Perhaps thanks to the alcohol, Zhuang Chi had a dreamless night’s sleep.
It was just that when she opened her eyes, the scene before her was not her familiar dormitory, making her suspect for a second that she was still dreaming and hadn’t woken up. But then she realized this place wasn’t entirely unfamiliar either. For instance, the coffee table in front of her looked more and more familiar—
“You’re awake?”
A cool voice suddenly came from nearby, startling the oblivious Zhuang Chi. She turned her head and saw Gu Ximian. She had clearly just woken up not long ago herself, still wearing a thin, long nightgown and holding a glass of milk. Both her movements and voice carried a lazy charm. “Good morning.”
“…Good morning…”
Zhuang Chi couldn’t react very quickly. She reflexively returned the greeting in a daze, only realizing several seconds later that she seemed to be sleeping on the sofa in Gu Ximian’s home.
Oh, good, not the bed, Zhuang Chi thought.
…Wait a minute, what was she feeling relieved about? This was still very strange! Zhuang Chi abruptly sat up, throwing off the thin blanket that had clearly been intentionally placed over her. She tried hard to recall what happened last night, but it was truly a bit difficult. Her memory of the time at the hot pot restaurant was still clear, but things became a bit fuzzy after leaving the restaurant. It felt like fragmented memories, so hard to piece together…
Meanwhile, Gu Ximian, who was obviously clearer about the course of events than she was, watched with a cool detachment. She gracefully walked over and sat down beside her, but not only did she have no intention of explaining the current situation, she even added fuel to Zhuang Chi’s confusion: “What? Have you already forgotten everything you did last night?”
…How scary. It sounded like she had done something terrible. Zhuang Chi’s heart pounded with fear, but her faintly aching head wasn’t helping. She had to muster her courage and ask Gu Ximian, “…What did I do?”
Gu Ximian didn’t answer immediately, and her face gave nothing away. She just drank her milk as if nothing was wrong. This made Zhuang Chi very anxious. She stared at her expectantly, and she didn’t know if Gu Ximian had misunderstood the meaning in her gaze, but in any case, she paused, quickly put down her cup, and turned her head away as if to dodge it.
“…What’s wrong, staring like that,” she said softly, her tone sounding very nonchalant, “Want to ‘have a taste’ again?”
What “have a taste”? Zhuang Chi was very confused. Was she talking about the milk? And… “again”?
She thought long and hard, and some memories of her sitting on this sofa last night gradually surfaced in her mind. It seemed she had taken a cup from Gu Ximian’s hand…
Zhuang Chi wasn’t sure, but she pieced together a guess from the available information and said in a small voice, “…Did I snatch your food last night?”
“…”
Gu Ximian was silent for a long time before finally letting out a silent sigh and turning to push her. “…Go wash up.”
Just like that, Zhuang Chi was muddle-headedly pushed to go wash up. While brushing her teeth, she suddenly realized that the pajamas she was wearing were also Gu Ximian’s. During this time, her dormant memories gradually revived. She remembered showering at Gu Ximian’s house last night, then expertly finding her way to the sofa to sleep, and also…
—Have a taste.
The moment she remembered, she almost swallowed the toothpaste foam in her mouth. Zhuang Chi was in a state of chaos for a good while before she remembered to rinse her mouth. The tip of her tongue was numb and cool from the mint-flavored toothpaste. She bit down on it, and this action quickly made her think of what she had done yesterday. With a whimper, she squatted down in front of the sink, both shy and feeling that what she had just said was so foolish.
…Okay, it’s best to stay away from alcohol in the future, Zhuang Chi thought. And now… what kind of expression should she wear to face Gu Ximian?
No matter how embarrassed she was, she still had to go out. After washing up, Zhuang Chi dawdled back to the living room, but the expression she had worked so hard to compose was for naught—Gu Ximian wasn’t in the living room. She was busy with something in the semi-open kitchen, her back to her.
From the sounds, it seemed like she was using a frying pan. Zhuang Chi grew curious, temporarily setting aside her discomfort. She walked up behind Gu Ximian and peeked over her shoulder, saying with sudden realization, “Frying eggs, huh.”
“Mm.” Having already heard the movement behind her, Gu Ximian responded faintly, then added a bit unnaturally, “…As long as you can tell.”
It wasn’t that she was doing a terrible job—for a simple dish like fried eggs, it couldn’t be that bad. It was just that this was indeed Gu Ximian’s first attempt. She couldn’t quite grasp the heat, so they were a bit burnt and didn’t look very appealing.
Originally, when she lived alone, the butler would bring her breakfast in the morning and then drive her to school after she finished eating. But this morning, Gu Ximian didn’t want the butler to disturb them, so she told him not to come. She thought making breakfast wouldn’t be difficult. Toasting bread slices with the toaster went very smoothly, but now she had suffered a small setback in her egg-frying career. She was a little dejected, busy plating the two overcooked eggs from the pan, when she heard Zhuang Chi’s exclamation, full of friendliness and praise: “How could I not tell! It looks delicious! Is one of them for me? Thank you!”
What a non-picky puppy. Gu Ximian’s lips curled into a silent smile. She then deliberately put the plate aside, turned to tease her, and said with a straight face, “Who said that? Both are for me to eat.”
“Ah…” Zhuang Chi’s expression immediately showed disappointment, but she quickly cheered up and suggested, “Then do you have any extra eggs I can borrow? I’ll fry one too, and then trade with you, okay?”
Amused by her, Gu Ximian’s eyes curved into a smile. “Don’t bother frying, we won’t be able to eat any more.”
Zhuang Chi laughed along with her. She knew Gu Ximian was just teasing her and had played along. Seeing Gu Ximian smile made her happy too. At the same time, she felt a subtle emotion. This was the first time she had experienced a morning like this, seeing Gu Ximian the moment she opened her eyes, and even getting to eat breakfast she had prepared… What a wonderful feeling.
It was as if her mood was constantly rising, floating lightly on the clouds, allowing Zhuang Chi to suppress the embarrassment she felt from recalling last night’s memories. She confessed to Gu Ximian naturally, “Gu Ximian, I remember now.”
At first, Gu Ximian looked at her with an uncomprehending gaze, but after a few seconds, she reacted. Her breath hitched slightly, and then she lowered her eyes. She clearly understood what Zhuang Chi meant, yet she still had to feign ignorance: “…Remember what?”
Cute, Zhuang Chi thought.
It was strange. Zhuang Chi considered herself someone who wasn’t keen on physical contact in her past life, but that didn’t seem to apply to Gu Ximian. After becoming lovers, when she looked at Gu Ximian like this, she seemed to easily feel thirsty, and then… the thought of wanting to get closer would easily pop up.
Reason was wailing that she was about to become a terrible person, but Zhuang Chi still couldn’t restrain the feeling of wanting to get closer. She leaned slightly toward Gu Ximian and asked instead of answering, “The milk… can I have a taste too?”
They both tacitly understood what this sentence meant. Gu Ximian didn’t say anything, only pressing her lips together tightly. After a long while, she let out a soft “mm.”
Zhuang Chi got her wish and leaned over, exchanging a kiss with her lover in the warm morning sunlight.
Now this morning was finally on the right track. Zhuang Chi sat down at the dining table and finally found a suitable opportunity to express her apologies and gratitude to Gu Ximian: “Was I really drunk yesterday? I must have caused you trouble, I’m sorry…”
Gu Ximian’s hand, which was reaching for a slice of bread, paused. Then, she nonchalantly continued to take it, smoothly changing the subject: “Not at all. Let’s eat before it gets cold.”
Zhuang Chi obediently began to eat her breakfast. She placed her portion of the fried egg into the toasted bread slice. The simple breakfast was already tempting enough. She took a large bite. The edge of the fried egg was very crispy, and the crisp crunching sound made her squint her eyes happily. After swallowing, she noticed Gu Ximian was looking at her, her own breakfast untouched, her expression looking a little nervous. Zhuang Chi immediately offered unsparing praise, as enthusiastic as a salesperson: “It’s really delicious! So crispy! The seasoning is also super well done!”
Her praise was clearly effective. Gu Ximian’s expression softened slightly. She took a bite of her own as if to cover up, chewed slowly, and after swallowing, said in a small voice, “I’ll do better next time.”
“If you lived here,” her voice became even softer, her hand unnaturally denting the bread, “…you could eat it often.”
“It’s already very good. Besides, I can’t let you do it all by yourself. If I lived here too, then I would definitely have to take on half of the breakfast duties. Otherwise, that would be too much.”
Zhuang Chi responded without thinking, treating it as a hypothetical and not thinking too deeply about it. But after a few bites of her egg sandwich, she didn’t hear a response from Gu Ximian. Only then did she vaguely sense something. Her chewing slowed, and she stared blankly at Gu Ximian. She didn’t even bother to swallow the food in her mouth, her cheeks half-puffed. Her heart thumped violently when her eyes met Gu Ximian’s hesitant gaze.
She forced the food down, almost choking but not caring. She blinked several times before voicing the suspicion rising in her heart: “‘If you lived here’—is that… an invitation?”
Gu Ximian was quiet for a moment, then let out a soft breath and replied, “…Yes.”
Caught off guard by her unexpected frankness, Zhuang Chi stared at her stiffly for a moment, her mind in chaos. She stammered out a useless phrase: “…That’s… that’s pretty sudden…”
“Is it sudden?” Gu Ximian, on the other hand, seemed much calmer now, pressing on without leaving any room. “Since we’re already lovers, the next logical step should be living together, right?”
…It sounded very reasonable, but when Zhuang Chi thought about it carefully, something was off. “…But we’ve only been lovers for three days?”
“So what?” Gu Ximian refused to yield an inch, suddenly looking at Zhuang Chi with a determined and serious gaze. “Since I’ve already decided it’s you, why should I wait any longer?”
Gu Ximian spoke so seriously that Zhuang Chi, who was initially flustered, was also led to consider the matter with a serious attitude. She hesitated for a long while before gently shaking her head. “…Gu Ximian, I still think living together is something that requires very careful consideration, especially…”
She bit her lip and sighed. “…especially since I’m an Alpha, no matter what. You shouldn’t… trust me too much.”
Gu Ximian silently raised an eyebrow, understanding the implied meaning in her words, yet she couldn’t help but wonder: she was already an Alpha with exceptionally outstanding self-control, yet she repeatedly reminded her not to trust her too much. It inevitably made one a little curious… under what circumstances would she lose control, and what would she be like when she lost control.
“…How about this,” Gu Ximian decided to take a step back to advance, taking a small step back. “Anyway, the final exams are in two weeks, and then it’s winter break. We won’t mention this for the next two weeks. Then, after the final exam results are out, whoever has the higher GPA gets to decide.”
“…”
It sounded like a very fair proposal, but it only sounded that way. Zhuang Chi looked at Gu Ximian wordlessly as she leisurely added, “Speaking of which, my grades are pretty good.”
…Of course, she knew that. One of the settings she had given Gu Ximian in the book was top-tier grades.
Zhuang Chi didn’t know how to react to this proposal. She wasn’t bad at studying, but she still didn’t think she was at a level where she could compete with the female protagonist. So she protested with a wry smile, “…Do you really think this competition is necessary? There’s no suspense.”
“Then you can just agree with me,” Gu Ximian smiled back at her, tilting her head somewhat provocatively. “This is what I want. If you’re going to refuse me, don’t find other reasons. Just tell me directly that you’re not willing.”
“As for whether I trust you… I invited you to live with me, not because I trust you won’t do anything.”
Her voice was soft, falling into Zhuang Chi’s heart and stirring up unsettled ripples.
“—But because even if you did do something, I wouldn’t blame you.”
Post a Comment