The atmosphere between Gu Chen and Grandma Hou was very warm throughout the meal. Grandma Hou would laugh at almost every word Gu Chen said. People who didn't know them might have thought they were a grandmother and grandson.
Li Yifan was stuffed, so following tradition, he sprawled on the sofa to dry his belly, and turned on the TV to watch The Legend of Zhen Huan.
The seven dishes and one soup were almost completely devoured, mostly thanks to Li Yifan. Xiang Yu was afraid that he would follow in Wang Zehao's footsteps.
"Hey, Grandma washed some fruit, want some more?" Gu Chen, wearing the pink apron that Grandma Hou had gotten from the market, handed the fruit plate to Xiang Yu.
The grapes were plump and tempting in color, but Xiang Yu was already full and didn't eat any. She just took them and looked at Gu Chen's outfit in front of her, unable to utter a word for a long time.
Seeing his initiative, Gu Chen said, "I'll help Grandma wash the dishes. She gave them to me so the oil wouldn't splash on me." She then turned around and added, "I think it's appropriate. What do you think, deskmate?"
“…That’s good.” Xiang Yu continued, “Take it off, I usually wash the dishes.”
"What do you mean 'you wash' and 'I wash'? Don't be so polite, why are we being so formal?" Gu Chen waved his hand, then seemed to suddenly remember something: "If you want to wear this, I can take it off for you."
After saying that, he reached out to untie the sash behind his back, but Xiang Yu quickly stopped him.
"Keep it for yourself."
System: You went home? And you brought 80 points with you?
The system appeared and disappeared without a trace, appearing whenever it pleased. Xiang Yu leaned against the kitchen door, watching Gu Chen and Grandma Hou chat, while answering the system's questions in his mind.
-Xiangyu: Yes, he's going to come along.
System: Tsk, you said you didn't like her at first, but you still brought her home.
-Xiangyu: ...
Xiang Yu watched Gu Chen making Grandma Hou laugh, pursing her lips as if lost in thought. The system thought he didn't want to talk again and was about to hang up when Xiang Yu answered.
-Xiangyu: It's not that I dislike it, it's just that I'm not used to it.
System: So now? Have you accepted it?
Gu Chen tidied up the kitchen quickly. After washing the dishes, he even wiped the sink inside and out with a rag. He was busy with both his hands and his mouth, smiling broadly and making the old lady happy at the same time.
Xiang Yu hadn't seen Grandma Hou so happy in a long time.
"Um."
The system responded to Xiangyu, not noticing that it also made a sound in reality. It was quiet enough, but Gu Chen still managed to catch it.
"Did you say something, deskmate?"
"No."
Grandma Hou liked Gu Chen very much and asked him, "Xiao Chen, what are you doing in City B?"
Gu Chen said, "I want to experience the local culture and customs of City B, and also help out at the local welfare homes and nursing homes."
When Grandma Hou heard that he was going to a welfare home or nursing home, she looked at him with even more admiration and liked him very much. She asked with concern, "Do you have a place to stay in B City? A hotel or something?"
"No, not yet." Gu Chen smiled. "I was thinking of going out for a walk later and finding a place to stay nearby. It'll be convenient to come over if it's close by."
"Why waste that money?" Grandma Hou waved her hand at him. "You can stay here. The small room originally belonged to his parents. The bed is big, so let Yifan squeeze in with him. You can sleep in the other room."
Things weren't going quite right. The two were chatting enthusiastically, and Xiang Yu didn't intend to speak. She just stared at Gu Chen to see how he would respond.
Staying is fine too; there are empty rooms, so it saves me the trouble of going back and forth. Xiangyu doesn't mind this.
Gu Chen said, "Hey, why bother with that? It's too much trouble."
It's actually not that complicated.
Just as Xiang Yu was about to try and persuade him to stay, he heard him say something.
"I can just squeeze in with my deskmate. It would be too much trouble for my cousin to move."
Xiang Yu: "???"
[Author's Note: Gu Chen: No need to bother, I'll sleep with my deskmate.]
Chapter Twenty-Four: Gu Chen - Is this the charm of a soulmate?
Chapter Twenty-Four: Gu Chen: Is this the charm of a soulmate?
“That’s not appropriate, you’re a guest.” Grandma Hou didn’t agree to Gu Chen’s request right away, not for any other reason than that she simply felt that it was not proper to let the guest sleep with the host.
"There's nothing inappropriate about it." Gu Chen wanted to go over and put his arm around Xiang Yu to show how close they were, but since he was holding a rag in his hand, he could only go over and stand next to him to appear closer. "I'm close to my deskmate. We sleep together at night and can discuss our studies."
Xiang Yu didn't believe that this guy would discuss studies with her at night. To be precise, for the sake of her sleep quality, she didn't want to discuss any topics with Gu Chen at night, but since they were just sleeping together, she wasn't too particular and didn't refuse.
Xiang Yu remained silent, and Grandma Hou took this as agreement, nodding in response, "Alright, it's chilly at night, I'll get you another blanket."
The elderly person has a habit of taking a nap in the afternoon. After chatting for a while, they would get tired and doze off. When asked what they wanted to eat in the afternoon, they said they wanted to go and rest.
Gu Chen and the others didn't dare to order any food. The old lady was already exhausted from preparing a whole table of dishes by herself, so no one dared to suggest it.
At this point, Xiang Yu and Gu Chen joined forces to coax the old lady back to her room to rest, saying that they would discuss what to eat in the afternoon and tell her the result later.
"Okay, just tell Grandma what you want to eat, and Grandma will be happy to cook for you!" Grandma Hou patted Xiang Yu's hand and smiled before going back into the house.
The old man didn't like to sleep with the door closed, preferring to leave it open for ventilation. Seeing this, Li Yifan stopped watching "Empresses in the Palace" for fun, turned off the TV, and went back to his small room. He kept the door tightly closed so that no one outside would know whether he was playing games or doing his homework inside.
In an instant, the lively atmosphere in the living room vanished, leaving only Xiang Yu and Gu Chen standing there. Xiang Yu didn't just stand there dumbly; she went back to the entrance hall, picked up the backpack she hadn't had time to put back in the bedroom, and took the white backpack next to it back to the bedroom as well.
The house is a self-built three-bedroom, two-living-room house. The bedroom where Xiangyu lives is the largest, but the furnishings inside are the simplest. A two-meter-long bed and a desk and chair are all the possessions of the master bedroom.
He placed their backpacks on the desk, sat down in front of them, opened the leftmost drawer, and closed it again after a moment.
Xiang Yu yawned, rubbed the tears that had welled up in his eyes from sleepiness, gave up on the idea of doing two sets of math problems, and lay down on the bed.
The quilt was warm and fluffy, and you could smell the sunshine inside. Grandma Hou had already aired the quilt for him before he arrived.
"Classmate." Gu Chen whispered as he approached, and seeing that Xiang Yu was sitting up in bed, he asked in a low voice, "Are you going to sleep?"
"Hmm." Xiang Yu felt heavy-eyed as soon as she fell asleep in the familiar place. She shrugged and looked at him. "What's wrong?"
"Hey, it's alright now." Gu Chen walked to the other side of the bed. "I was thinking of taking me out for a walk, but if you need to rest, forget it and go to sleep."
"..." Xiang Yu watched as Gu Chen naturally pulled the pillow to the center and then lifted the blanket to lie down. She couldn't help but push him away with her hand: "We're not sharing a blanket."
"ah?"
"Go to the closet in the cabin and get a blanket." Xiang Yu said, then paused, realizing it wasn't quite right, and got up, lifting the blanket: "I'll get it for you."
"Oh, no!"
Gu Chen lost control of his strength, and Xiang Yu didn't expect this guy to reach out and grab him. He lost his balance and fell backward onto the bed.
The commotion was quite loud, and the two of them immediately froze, remaining silent and motionless as they listened to the sounds outside, afraid that they would wake Grandma Hou. Fortunately, it was quiet outside.
"What are you doing?!" Xiang Yu asked him through gritted teeth and in a low voice.
Xiang Yu practically crashed face-up onto the bed. Gu Chen reacted quickly, immediately placing his other hand under the back of Xiang Yu's head. However, because of this, he lost his balance and barely managed to brace himself on the outside of Xiang Yu's body with the hand that was pulling him. The two faced each other from opposite directions, their breaths lightly brushing against each other's faces. Gu Chen could even touch Xiang Yu's brow with his lips if he lowered his head.
ambiguous.
If someone witnessed this scene, that word would definitely pop into their mind.
Unfortunately, the other party wasn't in the mood for that at the moment.
"Get up, deskmate, does it hurt?" Gu Chen was worried about his deskmate. He felt that the other person's head had hit his hand hard, so he quickly used his hand to lift the other person's head and rub it a few times.
Xiang Yu propped himself up, angrily slapped the hand off the back of his head, turned and glared at the other person with an expression that said, "You're dead if you don't explain yourself."
Even someone as oblivious as Gu Chen could tell his deskmate was angry, so he quickly explained, "I just passed by the hut, and my cousin is probably already asleep there, it's so quiet." Then, noticing the messy bangs at the back of his head, he couldn't resist helping to tidy them up.
Soften your tone: "Don't be angry, I was wrong."
Just like coaxing your partner.
Looking at the other person's appearance, Xiang Yu suddenly had this thought pop into his head.
Damn, what are you thinking about?
Xiang Yu shook his head to banish the thought from his mind.
To everyone's surprise, this action was taken very seriously by Gu Chen: "Why are you shaking your head? Are you feeling unwell?" He then leaned closer to look at the back of Xiang Yu's head.
"..."
All the anger condensed into a punch, but it was as powerless as hitting cotton. Of course, Xiang Yu didn't let him see it. He pushed the other person's head away and covered him with the blanket in one smooth motion.
"Go to sleep."
Xiang Yu was facing away from Gu Chen, with half of his head covered by the blanket. Gu Chen tried calling him a few times, but he didn't respond. Fearing that his deskmate had already fallen asleep, he stopped calling.
The sound gradually faded, and Xiang Yu closed his eyes tightly. He had been pretending to be asleep, but now he should really be asleep.
"Whoosh—whoosh—"
The back of his head felt cool. Xiang Yu, who was drifting off to sleep, suddenly opened his eyes. The two were sharing a pillow, and Gu Chen was gently blowing on the back of his head.
"..."
Why?
Xiang Yu silently reflected on why he had agreed to this guy's request to return to City B with him. Traveling together was one thing, but why did he let him stay?
The God of War, Baihu, couldn't figure it out after thinking for a long time, and couldn't help but clench his fists.
She gently turned over.
Perhaps this is what friendship is all about. He doesn't have many friends, and you can count the number of truly close ones on one hand. Yet, he only has this one person with whom he shares a bed.
Friendship is rare.
Xiang Yu consoled himself with this thought.
Gu Chen was worried that his deskmate was in pain, so he comforted him in the same way he would comfort a child who had fallen at the orphanage, blowing on the spot where the child had bumped into something with what he thought was the lightest breath.
As he was playing the flute, Xiang Yu suddenly turned around without warning, startling him so much that he immediately held his breath and closed his eyes. He waited a while to make sure the other person was not moving and that he could hear even breathing before daring to open his eyes.
The two were very close, with Xiang Yu's head slightly buried in the blanket, and Gu Chen could even count how many of his thick eyelashes there were.
Very well-behaved.
Her hair was soft, and Gu Chen gently stroked the back of her head with the hand that had been protecting her.
"Gurgle."
Gu Chen seemed to hear himself swallowing.
Besides that, there was his pounding heartbeat.