Ruan Yu quickly fell asleep as well. When she drowsily opened her eyes after a deep slumber, she found that the room’s lights had been turned off, and she, who had originally been on top of the covers, was now somehow wrapped inside the blanket.
The bed was warm, with the heat source right beside her.
She turned over and drifted back to sleep.
This time, she slept until daybreak.
Ruan Yu was awakened by a dry, slightly ticklish sensation on her face. She felt someone caressing her face, their movements subtle, yet magnified a hundredfold against her skin.
She opened her eyes to find an unbuttoned sleeping shirt collar, beneath which was a strong, powerful chest displaying full muscles and fluid lines that made one blush.
The bedding and his body carried the fresh scent of shower gel.
Teng Yi had showered and changed clothes at some point.
Seeing her awake, he remained silent, just propping up his head and lying on his side, watching her.
Ruan Yu covered her face, trying to escape from his blanket, but he pulled her back with one arm, holding her close again.
“Why are you running?” His voice was clear, showing no signs of a hangover. By the sound of it, he must have been awake for quite a while.
“I… I…”
Ruan Yu was completely flustered, stuttering “I” several times without knowing what to say.
It was bad enough that she had fallen asleep in his bed, but she had slept so soundly. She wondered if she had snored, ground her teeth, or talked in her sleep… probably not, since her roommates had never mentioned any such bad habits.
“I’ve seen everything there is to see,” Teng Yi suddenly said.
Hearing this, Ruan Yu quickly looked down to check her clothes.
Her clothes were perfectly intact, so what did he mean by seeing everything?
“I meant your face,” Teng Yi held her hand. “No need to cover it, just wipe the drool first.”
Ruan Yu instinctively wiped the corner of her mouth with her thumb, then looked up to see him laughing while holding his forehead, realizing she’d been teased again.
“Last night…” she wanted to explain why she had stayed.
“I asked you to stay last night, I remember,” Teng Yi hugged her, rubbing his chin against the crown of her head. “But Miss Valedictorian, falling asleep so defenseless, aren’t you taking me too lightly?”
When Teng Yi had woken up in the middle of the night, she had been lying on top of him. Although separated by a blanket, their position, one above the other, had stirred his desires.
Didn’t she know that men were wolves, especially young, vigorous ones like him?
His body’s response had been too honest, and fearing he might frighten her, he had quietly gotten up to take a shower.
“I was too tired, and besides, I trust your character.”
“My character? What character?” He pretended to ponder, then suddenly realized, “Oh right, I’m a good person, an exceptionally good person.”
This was what Ruan Yu had told the taxi driver last night.
“You heard that?”
“Yes, Miss Valedictorian. Next time before handing out a ‘good person card,’ remember to check if the other person wants to accept it. Like last night, I didn’t want to be a good person.”
As he spoke, he leaned in to kiss her lips.
“Don’t!” Ruan Yu dodged his kiss. “I haven’t brushed my teeth yet.”
“I don’t mind.”
“Still no.”
She jumped out of bed and ran to the bathroom.
In the bathroom, the toiletries Teng Yi had prepared for her during her previous stay were still there – the toothbrush holder, toothbrush, and towel seemed to have never been moved.
Looking at these small items, she suddenly felt like this place was her home.
Teng Yi followed her in and, seeing her standing lost in thought at the sink, reached out to ruffle her messy hair.
“What is it?”
“You never got rid of my toothbrush?”
“No.”
“Why?”
“I always felt you would come back,” he answered frankly and confidently.
“Hmph.”
“Brush your teeth quickly,” he squeezed toothpaste onto her brush for her. “We’ll go downstairs for breakfast after.”
–_–
Breakfast was brought back by Teng Hao, who had braved the cold wind to cycle to the street to get takeout. He was pitiful – finally getting a chance to sleep in during the holiday, yet still being ordered around by his brother.
When Teng Hao left, he was alone, but when he returned, Ren Yunshen was sitting on the back of his bicycle.
Ren Yunshen wore a light chestnut-colored duffle coat, her hair in two braids, one hand gripping Teng Hao’s jacket, the other holding a large breakfast bag that had left red marks on her fingers, yet she was still beaming with joy.
“I sent you to buy breakfast, and you ended up making Yunshen help,” Teng Yi scolded his brother.
Hearing this, Yunshen quickly waved her hands in denial.
“I didn’t make her help, she insisted on coming along,” said Teng Hao.
When Teng Hao had left, he’d heard piano music coming from Yunshen’s house and knew she was awake, so he texted to ask if she wanted him to bring her breakfast.
Unexpectedly, as soon as the message was sent, the piano music upstairs stopped abruptly, and after a while, Ren Yunshen ran out of her house and directly sat on the back of his bicycle.
She hadn’t said anything, but Teng Hao knew she wanted to go with him.
Ren Yunshen particularly loved following Teng Hao around. Even Ren Tianhai found it strange – in his memory, Ren Yunshen used to hate going out, perhaps because she couldn’t speak. She feared the streets and avoided crowds, but after meeting Teng Hao, she had completely changed. She wanted to go everywhere as if with Teng Hao by her side, she would dare to venture even into a dragon’s lair.
Teng Hao rode out of the residential complex with Ren Yunshen.
This young lady, who usually ate milk and toast, couldn’t move her feet once she saw the steaming, fragrant breakfast outside. She greedily wanted everything, and Teng Hao indulged her by buying it all, which was why the bag was so big and heavy.
Ruan Yu wanted to help Yunshen carry the bag, but Teng Yi directly took it instead.
Teng Hao followed from behind, and as he passed by Ruan Yu, he said meaningfully, “Sister-in-law must be tired from last night, eat more later.”
Before Ruan Yu could react, a chestnut had already landed on the back of Teng Hao’s head.
“What nonsense are you spouting, kid!” Teng Yi glared at his brother.
Ruan Yu glanced at Teng Yi, their eyes met, and her face immediately turned crimson.
Teng Hao ran into the house holding his head and howling, while Yunshen followed with a smile…
The four sat together in the dining room, Ruan Yu and Teng Yi on one side, Yunshen and Teng Hao on the other.
Ruan Yu wanted to eat zongzi, but couldn’t untie the strings. Seeing this, Teng Yi brought the zongzi to himself, patiently unwrapped it, and placed it in Ruan Yu’s bowl.
Ren Yunshen stared at them intently, her face full of envy.
“What are you looking at?” Teng Hao asked, puzzled. “Do you want zongzi too?”
Before Ren Yunshen could shake her head, Teng Hao had already grabbed a zongzi and, copying his brother’s actions, quickly removed the leaves and placed them in Ren Yunshen’s bowl.
“Eat up, it’s red bean filling, you like sweet things, don’t you?”
Ren Yunshen lowered her head with a sweet smile, completely looking like someone in love. Teng Yi and Ruan Yu both watched Teng Hao, who was carelessly stuffing Xiaolongbao into his mouth, completely unaware.
After breakfast, Teng Yi drove Ruan Yu back to school. In the car, Ruan Yu couldn’t help bringing up Yunshen and Teng Hao again.
“Yunshen seems to really like Teng Hao.”
“Mm.”
Those girlish feelings were obvious to anyone with eyes, only Teng Hao was foolishly oblivious, completely a case of being blind to one’s own situation.
“What does Teng Hao think?”
“This kid’s missing a screw, probably can’t see it.”
Besides, Teng Hao had someone he liked.
That Wang Jingyao, he’d had feelings for her for a long time.
“What should we do?”
“Don’t worry about it. In matters of the heart, outsiders shouldn’t interfere. Let nature take its course.”
Ruan Yu nodded and said no more.
She only prayed that both would be alright and that even if they couldn’t stay in this pure, beautiful moment forever, they wouldn’t be hurt by a bad outcome.
–_–
The New Year’s holiday passed quickly.
Riding the momentum of the New Year’s cultural performance, the Journey to the West Dance Studio officially opened. To complement the opening promotion and deepen people’s understanding of street dance, Teng Yi decided to launch a “Bringing Street Dance Back to the Streets” event.
The event was set at the fountain in Liao City’s Xiulin Plaza. Besides inviting friends from the street dance community to perform, Teng Yi specially invited Ruan Yu to be the host.
This was Ruan Yu’s first time hosting an off-campus event. She was nervous, but she didn’t show it in front of Teng Yi. She knew that with the new company opening, he was more nervous than her, and she didn’t want to add to his pressure.
On the day of the event, Chen Manbai got up early to do Ruan Yu’s makeup, and then their entire dorm went to help at the venue.
Only after arriving at the venue did Ruan Yu learn that Teng Yi’s master Sam had also come.
Sam was Black, dressed in a heavy hip-hop style with a thick silver chain around his neck. His tall, sturdy build made him look somewhat intimidating, but when he smiled, showing his big white teeth, he had an inexplicably adorable quality.
Ruan Yu heard Teng Yi introduce her to Sam as his “girlfriend,” and Sam immediately showed a delighted expression. He warmly hugged Ruan Yu and called her “pretty.”
Sam didn’t speak much Chinese, but Ruan Yu’s hard-practiced English came in handy. She chatted pleasantly with Sam for a while and even acted as Sam’s translator when he had trouble communicating with others. Sam had a particularly good impression of Ruan Yu, occasionally giving Teng Yi a thumbs up, as if asking where he found such an excellent girlfriend.
After the DJ arrived, the event officially began.
On Saturday, Xiulin Plaza was full of passing pedestrians – couples, best friends, parents with children… people of all ages.
As soon as the music started, it attracted some pedestrians to stop and watch.
After Ruan Yu gave a brief introduction to the event on stage, Teng Yi and his friends took turns showing off their specialties.
Lin Shan and Han Zuo collaborated on a robot dance, Zhou Xi demonstrated Locking, and Caihong and a friend from the street dance community took a different approach, putting on clown makeup and performing clown dance.
The clown dance attracted many children, and some of the braver boys even ran over to interact with Caihong and the others.
The music at the venue gradually mixed with children’s laughter and adults’ chuckling.
Following the performance order, Ruan Yu explained the characteristics and learning techniques of different dance styles. Of course, to avoid mistakes and misleading information, these explanations about street dance knowledge were all written and reviewed by professionals.
Dynamic and alluring music, spectacular and cool street dance, young men freely pursuing their dreams, youth in full bloom.
These performances, which might not be seen even with paid admission normally, were now all presented for free.
More and more people stopped to watch.
Children on the outside who couldn’t see climbed onto their parents’ shoulders.
Taking advantage of the event’s peak excitement, Jian Xiangxiang and others distributed flyers and small gifts printed with Journey to the West’s advertisement.
Those who happened to want to learn street dance signed up directly at the registration desk, while those who were hesitant and had questions could get answers at the consultation table.
At noon, the event didn’t stop.
After the boxed lunches Teng Yi ordered arrived, everyone took turns eating.
Even while eating, Sam didn’t forget to be playful. He went on stage with his lunch box, dancing to the music while eating. The lunch box in his hand seemed glued in place, steady and stable. No matter how he moved or swayed, throughout the entire process, not a drop of soup or grain of rice fell, earning applause and cheers from the crowd.
–_–
After finishing lunch, Ruan Yu went to the bathroom with Jian Xiangxiang.
Coming out of the bathroom, she saw Teng Yi talking with a woman in the outdoor parking lot. The woman was in her early thirties, wearing an ankle-length nude-colored coat, her hair tied in a high bun, a section of fair neck exposed to the air, looking like a proud swan from afar.
“Who’s that? She looks so elegant,” Jian Xiangxiang stared at the woman.
Ruan Yu shook her head. She had never seen this person before, and judging by her attire, she probably wasn’t a friend invited to support the event.
The woman was saying something to Teng Yi while scrolling through her phone screen, occasionally showing the screen to Teng Yi, who maintained a politely distant expression throughout.
After a while, Teng Yi came back and, seeing Ruan Yu and Jian Xiangxiang, walked directly towards them.
“Who was that just now?” Ruan Yu asked.
“A talent scout.”
“Wow!” Jian Xiangxiang was inexplicably excited. “Are they trying to recruit you to their company?”
Teng Yi nodded slightly.
From his reaction, it was clear he had no interest.
Understandably so – he was currently juggling school and entrepreneurship, and couldn’t possibly spare energy for other things. Moreover, after the Red Eagle Street Dance Competition, he was particularly averse to some companies’ star-making methods. Making him become a second Bi Chengjie? No way.
“Which company?”
“Duoguo.”
“Wow! The Duoguo that made Hou Ming famous?”
“Are you interested?” Teng Yi twirled the business card in his hand and offered it to Jian Xiangxiang. “You can have it.”
“What would I do with it? I can’t sing or dance.” Despite saying this, Jian Xiangxiang still took the card and looked at it.
The card had the woman’s name on it, Wang Yuling.
“Let’s go,” Teng Yi put his arm around Ruan Yu’s shoulders.
The three walked back, none of them dwelling on this incident.
The event continued in the afternoon, still very lively. The dancers expressed themselves freely and wildly – they seemed to have completely forgotten their promotional duties, appearing more like they were exchanging skills through music, enjoying dance, enjoying the gathering. This unrestricted, relaxed atmosphere better conveyed the charm of street dance to the audience.
Ruan Yu and the on-site staff had been busy all day but didn’t feel tired at all. Watching Teng Yi dancing freely and laughing loudly in the center of the crowd, she felt she had truly entered his world.
She and he finally had the feeling of fighting side by side.