After finishing this chapter, Shi Ling stretched and went out to find him.
The corridor was still pitch black, with only a sliver of light filtering in from outside, making it seem even more dark and mysterious.
Shi Ling slowly walked into the corridor, turned on her flashlight, and shone it on the wall next to her, illuminating photos of deceased philosophers and economists, which made her feel even more uneasy.
However, she hadn't taken more than a few steps when she heard Chi Cheng's voice, "Baby?"
He had been standing at the corner at the end of the corridor. When he saw her, he walked over, a trace of scarlet still between his fingertips.
The two walked towards each other and soon embraced in the middle.
Shi Ling asked him, "How did you know it was me?"
Chi Cheng smiled. "Your footsteps."
Shi Ling asked him, puzzled, "What kind of thing is it?"
Chi Cheng looked down and saw her eyes, which, even in the dim light outside, were still bright, as if reflecting moonlight.
He thought for a moment, "It's very light, not a single step is dragged."
He then asked her, "Can you recognize my footsteps?"
Shi Ling thought about it carefully. When she was in the IELTS class, she was usually one of the first or two to enter the classroom. Every time Chi Cheng came in, she could hear him even with her head down.
"You often drag your feet and don't walk properly."
You never realize how deeply you understand someone.
Every little gesture and habit of his will be etched into my mind.
Chi Cheng hugged her and laughed, and Shi Ling chuckled softly as well.
In the darkness, they couldn't see each other's expressions, only through direct contact. When he laughed, Shi Ling could feel a tremor. And when she laughed, her breath brushed against the area near his Adam's apple.
Chi Cheng asked her, "Are you sleepy?"
Shi Ling had yawned several times in the classroom, but she was forcing herself not to fall asleep.
"A little. I only have two chapters left to finish. I can take a nap when I get back to the classroom."
When the two returned to the classroom hand in hand, they found that Lu Xinyan had already fallen asleep.
Yi Yi made a shushing gesture to the two of them.
Shi Ling nodded.
They tiptoed back to their seats, and Chi Cheng put his arm around her. "Want to take a nap?"
He patted his thigh, then added with a hint of mockery, "Free."
Shi Ling glanced at Yi Yi and Wu Yunqi in front of her, feeling a little embarrassed.
The next moment, Chi Cheng grabbed her waist and knocked her down.
He brought an extra coat with him when he came out, and draped it over Shi Ling, making her look like a silkworm cocoon.
Shi Ling tried to struggle free.
He held her down and leaned close to warn her, "Don't move around, or you'll get hurt."
Shi Ling glared at him, but Chi Cheng simply reached out and covered her eyes, plunging her into darkness.
The tiny, brush-like eyelashes tickled Chi Cheng's palm.
His tone softened, "Go to sleep, I'll wake you up in a bit."
**
The most painful night passed. After sleeping and waking up repeatedly, everyone except Wu Yunqi finally finished at dawn.
Chi Cheng played the Switch until it ran out of battery, and then he fell asleep lying down because he was so tired.
Shi Ling had already gotten up to write her thesis, but seeing how sleepy he was, she didn't wake him.
It wasn't until the others were packing their things that Shi Ling gently nudged him.
Chi Cheng squinted and propped his head up with his hand, "What are you doing?"
He was completely out of sleep and not fully conscious, so he instinctively used Cantonese.
Upon recognizing Shi Ling, Chi Cheng switched back to Mandarin in a hoarse voice, "Are you leaving?"
He stayed up all night with her, and a layer of stubble appeared on his chin, making his face look far less radiant than usual.
But his hairstyle had a messy, beautiful quality, which gave it a unique charm.
After they finished printing and submitted their papers, the other three went back to their dorm to catch up on sleep.
Although Chi Cheng had officially met Shi Ling's roommate, he hadn't treated many of them to meals.
Chi Cheng, well aware of this, proactively told Shi Ling, "They say that winning over your girlfriend's best friend is half the battle won."
Shi Ling had no idea that they all spoke highly of him in private, so he didn't need to try to win their favor anymore.
However, Shi Ling had no objection to Chi Cheng's suggestion to treat her roommate to dinner.
After submitting their papers, they had half a week to prepare for their defense, so the time was quite ample.
After Yunqi submitted her paper, they made plans to have hot pot together.
The temperature in City C in May hadn't risen quite as much, but the atmosphere was just right when we entered the hot pot restaurant.
Originally, it was Chi Cheng's chance to win over Yi Yi, but Yi Yi was won over by him after he spoke a few more words of Cantonese and started frantically promoting Shi Ling.
"Don't let Lingzai's aloof and unapproachable demeanor fool you, she's actually super nice to us. She often helps me get water, and she never refuses to come with me wherever I ask."
Shi Ling looked at the smile on Chi Cheng's lips and couldn't help but pinch his waist.
Yi Yi continued, “Really, you have to be nicer to my Lingzai. Although when I first met her, I thought she was very pretentious and that she was a scheming bitch, especially when she lost her card and Song Licheng found it and gave it back to her.”
She hadn't realized she'd said the wrong thing and continued, "I didn't want to talk to her back then. But then one time I was hospitalized with pneumonia, and Lingzai stayed with me. I was so touched. Lingzai is the typical cold on the outside but warm on the inside."
Lu Xinyan was giving her meaningful glances until her eyelids were practically cramping.
She finally coughed, "Yi Yi, that was a long time ago."
The group of women assumed that Chi Cheng was unaware of Song Licheng.
After Yi Yi realized what was happening, the others looked at each other, unsure of what to say.
Instead, Chi Cheng smiled, though it was unclear whether he was just being generous. "I know, I should thank him for giving me our baby."
Yi Yi sighed, "So you really have to treat Lingzai well."
Chi Cheng glanced down at his phone. "Sorry, I need to take this call."
He and Shi Ling were holding hands offstage. Shi Ling suspected that he was angry or giving them a chance to speak, so she didn't let go of his hand.
Chi Cheng used a little force, and the two hands separated.
After he finished speaking, he got up and left the private room.
Yi Yi was still asking Shi Ling, "He's not angry, is he?"
Shi Ling smiled and said, "It's nothing. He saw Song Licheng; he just went to answer a phone call."
Hearing such a melodramatic story, they all widened their eyes and asked Shi Ling to tell the story.
Shi Ling briefly recounted it.
They all said Shi Ling did a good job, and there was nothing more to talk about with Song Licheng.
Just as she finished speaking, Chi Cheng walked in with a rather unpleasant expression.
Shi Ling was also a little puzzled, but she felt that Chi Cheng wouldn't do something as pointless as eavesdropping at the door, and besides, they hadn't said anything.
Chi Cheng noticed the awkward atmosphere between them, forced a smile, and quickly regained his composure.
"Did you talk badly about me behind my back?"
He always speaks wittily and humorously, and his attitude is casual when interacting with people.
With his smile, which curled up one corner of his mouth, he really did have a roguish look, like a joke.
They all shook their heads, and the atmosphere gradually improved.
Shi Ling sent him a WeChat message asking what happened.
Chi Cheng didn't reply, but squeezed her hand and simply said it was nothing.
Seeing him chatting and laughing so easily, Shi Ling couldn't tell whether he was being genuine or not.
Just assume he's angry about what happened with her ex.
After leaving the restaurant, she and Chi Cheng went back to the hotel, chatting and laughing all the way.
Chi Cheng went into the convenience store to buy cigarettes.
Shi Ling stood outside waiting for him, scrolling through her WeChat Moments.
She had been glancing over them all, but when she saw one, she was incredulous and went back to look.
My heart skipped a beat.
It was sent by the study abroad agency.
Notice: KCL suddenly closed all language course applications today. The official explanation is that the places are full, including those who registered within the last two weeks. You can contact me to apply for a refund of your deposit, but it will take a long time.
Students who haven't reached the required score must take the KCL language exam to achieve the required score for their main course. The deadline for submitting the language score for the main course is the end of July, so please submit it as soon as possible.
Shi Ling immediately thought of the phone call that had just made Chi Cheng's face turn black.
However, Chi Cheng said nothing.
If he was worried about ruining the atmosphere when the group was in a good mood during the meal, then let's not say anything.
But they were the only two left on the journey, and he continued to gloss over the situation, not mentioning it at all.
Shi Ling turned off her phone and saw Chi Cheng coming out of the convenience store.
I casually tore open the cigarette pack and lit one.
I casually asked her, "Where do you want to go this afternoon?"
Author's Note: I'm late with the first update. There will be a shorter second update later, because this chapter is quite long.
Let me explain this language class.