Lin Zhexia couldn’t remember when she fell asleep last night.

In her memory, she finally cried herself to sleep for a while, then woke up again. When she opened her eyes, Chi Yao was carrying her to the bathroom.

“…” Chi Yao, seeing she was awake, said, “You’re covered in sweat.”

Lin Zhexia: “I’ll wash myself.”

“Your legs are weak, you couldn’t even hold onto my waist when I asked you to. Can you stand on your own?”

“…”

Chi Yao held her by the waist and carefully placed her on the bathroom sink, then went to adjust the water temperature.

Lin Zhexia’s hands propped against the cold marble countertop, still feeling her entire body burning hot.

She eventually closed her eyes midway through the bath, falling into a deep sleep. When she woke up the next day, the person beside her was gone.

Her whole body felt like it had fallen apart.

As she drowsily wondered where Chi Yao had gone, she heard sounds coming from the kitchen.

The white shirt from last night was now completely wrinkled. She dug out her sweater from the wardrobe, put it on, and walked out of the bedroom in slippers.

Chi Yao was in the kitchen making breakfast for her.

The young man wore a very loose set of home clothes, the pant legs hanging down to his ankles, his whole demeanor still casual, but his cooking movements added a rare gentleness to him.

Sunlight streamed in from the side window as he flipped a poached egg in the pan, not looking up: “Awake?”

Lin Zhexia: “Mm.”

Chi Yao: “Are you uncomfortable anywhere?”

She was uncomfortable everywhere.

But she was too embarrassed to say so.

“No,” she perked up, “I’m strong and healthy.”

Chi Yao turned off the stove, picked up the fried egg with chopsticks, and placed it on the plate beside him. Hearing her words, he said meaningfully: “Is that so?”

Lin Zhexia’s brow twitched.

She vaguely sensed something coming.

Sure enough, the next second, Chi Yao said: “So next time when you’re crying and saying you can’t take it anymore, it means you want me to continue.”

He changed his tone at the end, “After all, you’re so… strong and healthy.”

“…”

She knew it.

“I was just putting on a brave face,” Lin Zhexia’s hands retracted into her sweater sleeves as she desperately tried to save face. “I’m very fragile, but I care about appearances.”

Chi Yao knew she was too tired last night and was just teasing her casually. He quickly moved past the topic, picked up the toasted bread, and brought the plate to the dining table: “Come eat.”

Lin Zhexia obediently sat down: “Oh.”

While nibbling on the toast, Lin Zhexia thought for no reason: Does this count as living together?

This realization came belatedly.

Because she had spent so much time with Chi Yao since childhood, she had too many experiences of being in the same room with him.

So at first, she didn’t think staying at his place was anything special, only briefly feeling awkward and helpless at the thought of sleeping together.

She took a sip of milk, which was just the right temperature, neither cold nor hot.

As she put down the glass, she thought:

So this is what it feels like to live with him in the future.

All her fantasies about the future landed in this moment, taking on concrete images.

If her future life were like this…

It seemed quite nice.

“What are you smiling about while eating?” Chi Yao asked her.

Lin Zhexia didn’t want to answer: “Is there a law that says you can’t smile while eating?”

Chi Yao ate faster than her, and the two would occasionally bicker just like before, neither giving way: “Remember the rule in your house where guests wash dishes?”

Lin Zhexia accelerated her breakfast-eating speed to avoid washing dishes because she ate too slowly.

She stuffed the remaining toast into her mouth and said with her cheeks bulging: “But I’m not a guest.”

Chi Yao gestured for her to continue.

Lin Zhexia felt a bit embarrassed, her voice becoming slightly muffled: “…I’m the lady of the house. We don’t have a rule that the lady of the house has to wash dishes.”

“Tsk,” Chi Yao reached over and took the plate from her hand, “I accept that reason.”

—

After breakfast, Lin Zhexia lay on the sofa, refusing to move.

She was too tired.

She lazily checked her phone for a while, and He Yang had sent her a message-

Just went to your house looking for you; your mom said you returned to school.

Lin Zhexia skillfully replied with a period:

Da Zhuang: …

Da Zhuang: What the hell do you mean by “returned to school”? The school isn’t allowing students to stay, right?

Da Zhuang: Is your Lian University different from our Normal University?

Lin Zhexia had to deceive He Yang too, otherwise she might be exposed through Lin He, so she replied: Of course they’re different, even the admission scores are different.

Da Zhuang indeed ended the chat in a second: Goodbye.

Chi Yao had some professional work to handle and went to school. Lin Zhexia stayed in the living room all day watching TV.

During the holiday season, there were two popular TV series.

She watched for a while, then the doorbell rang.

Afraid of disturbing Chi Yao, she didn’t call him but sent a message on her phone-

Someone’s at the door-

Did you buy something, or is a friend looking for you

Chi Yao only replied with three words-

Go open it

Lin Zhexia walked to the door and saw a delivery person through the gap.

The delivery person handed her a bag: “Hello, Ms. Lin, your delivery.”

Lin Zhexia blankly extended her hand: “…Ah, thank you.”

She hadn’t ordered anything.

But as soon as she took the bag, she immediately realized who had ordered it.

The bag was full of snacks, all her favorites.

In the past, when she went to Chi Yao’s house to watch TV, she always brought her snacks. Later, as time went on, he would keep some at home, though he wouldn’t admit it, claiming they were gifts from others. But Lin Zhexia had silently scoffed more than once about what kind of friend would gift him snacks.

This time she came in a hurry, and Chi Yao probably didn’t have time to prepare. Guessing she would be home watching dramas, he must have ordered delivery for her despite being busy.

She took a photo of the contents of the bag and sent it to Chi Yao-

Did you buy this

Boyfriend: The ghost bought it

Lin Zhexia couldn’t help but laugh, then curled up on the sofa with the snack bag: Not bad.

Boyfriend: Do I get a reward when I come back

Lin Zhexia: I’ll think about it

After sending that, she opened a bag of snacks and continued watching the show. As she watched, she fell asleep again. Chi Yao returned around early evening, before dinner time.

She had just woken up when Chi Yao returned.

Her eyes weren’t fully open, and she vaguely saw a figure crouching in front of her, lightly patting her head, as if she were some kind of pet staying at his house: “Hungry?”

Lin Zhexia became more conscious: “Not hungry.”

After all, she had eaten so many snacks in the afternoon.

“Still uncomfortable?”

“…Not uncomfortable anymore.”

As soon as she spoke, Chi Yao, crouching in front of her, asked: “What about my reward?”

“What reward?”

Lin Zhexia was slow to react, having completely forgotten their earlier conversation.

When she regained her senses, she slowly sat up on the sofa, curled her legs, and summoned the courage to beckon Chi Yao with her finger: “Then come a bit closer.”

Chi Yao was currently crouching, his wrists resting on his knees. Even while crouching, his legs still looked exceptional. Hearing her, he leaned forward, moving closer to her.

Lin Zhexia raised her arms to encircle his neck, leaned in, and kissed him.

“That’s it?”

“That’s it,” Lin Zhexia released her hands, “Don’t push your luck.”

Chi Yao didn’t pursue the subject. He stood up, extended his hand to her, and pulled her up from the sofa: “Let’s go, I’ll take you out for dinner, and we can stop by the supermarket.”

Lin Zhexia had come in a hurry, and although they had furnished many things together before, they hadn’t considered that she would be staying temporarily, so the house still lacked many daily necessities for women.

Having stayed home all day, Lin Zhexia also wanted to go out for a walk.

So they both changed clothes and went out together. Before leaving, Chi Yao hung the gray scarf from the entrance around her neck.

He wrapped it carefully several times, bundling her up like a ball.

“It’s quite cold outside, aren’t you wearing one?” Lin Zhexia’s voice came out muffled through the scarf.

“Oh, I need to maintain my image.” Chi Yao finally tied a knot for her, “It’s enough for you to embarrass yourself alone.”

Lin Zhexia: “…Maybe I should give this scarf back to you. I don’t want to be the green leaf that makes you look good.”

Chi Yao didn’t want to negotiate with her and held her hand as they left.

After a simple dinner, they went to the supermarket.

Passing the women’s products section, Lin Zhexia felt more embarrassed than Chi Yao.

Because the shelves were filled with various brands of sanitary pads.

Lin Zhexia tugged at his sleeve: “Sanitary pads… I can buy these myself.”

Chi Yao: “Can’t I buy them?”

Lin Zhexia asked back: “Don’t you feel embarrassed?”

Chi Yao studied the sizes and types of sanitary pads, throwing a few packages into the cart: “You might need them, so no, I don’t.”

The remaining things they needed to buy were pajamas, new towels, and the like.

Lin Zhexia followed behind the cart, walking very slowly. When they passed the freezer, she paused, then carefully reached out to take a box of ice cream.

At home, she would be scolded by Lin He for eating ice cream in winter.

So she subconsciously thought Chi Yao might not let her buy it either.

She thought she had secretly hidden the ice cream at the bottom of the cart without Chi Yao noticing.

Soon, it was time to check out.

The two lined up at the cashier, and when it was their turn, Chi Yao took out the items from the cart one by one.

“No more food items?” the cashier asked, “We have discounts on food items today, better to scan them all together.”

Lin Zhexia guiltily glanced at the cart, unsure whether to mention it.

Chi Yao spoke up: “There is more.”

Then his hand moved aside the top layer of items, as if finding a snack hidden by a child, and took out the box of ice cream she thought hadn’t been discovered: “This one.”

Lin Zhexia said softly, “How did you know I took it?”

Chi Yao: “The entire mirror on the freezer side, you didn’t see it?”

Lin Zhexia: “…”

Chi Yao added, “You can only eat one stick per day.”

Lin Zhexia opened her mouth: “Oh.”

At the end, while the cashier was scanning other items, Chi Yao said: “I bought you ice cream, aren’t you touched?”

Lin Zhexia’s flattery came immediately: “Very touched, today is an unforgettable day in my life, I will always remember—”

“Then help your boyfriend get something.”

Chi Yao lowered his voice, pointing to the retail shelf behind, his tone deliberately prolonged as he said in a voice only the two of them could hear, “…Go get a box of what you opened yesterday, you should know the size.”