Chapter 10 Returning Home Late
Chai Qianning's pupils suddenly widened, and she immediately turned her face away, facing the back of the sofa. At the same time, Sheng Muxi shifted her gaze elsewhere.
For about ten seconds, neither of them spoke.
Then Sheng Muxi spoke first: "She's awake."
Chai Qianning propped herself up and looked blankly at the dimly lit surroundings: "Hmm..." Her voice was slightly nasal and had the low, hoarse sound that comes with waking up.
Sheng Muxi went to turn on the light. Chai Qianning looked around on the sofa, found her phone, turned it on, and glanced at the time. It was a little past 11:40. Fortunately, it wasn't too late.
But she had slept for about... Chai Qianning calculated that it was probably more than an hour.
That must have exhausted Sheng Muxi, making her lean on him like that the whole time.
She stared at Sheng Muxi for a long while, opened her mouth, but no sound came out.
As the living room brightened, Chai Qianning's furrowed brows relaxed, and she saw Sheng Muxi walking over and looking at her.
"Did you have a nightmare?"
"Um?"
“I was watching you sleep just now. You would frown for a while, and then suddenly open your eyes, as if you were startled awake.”
".."
She frowned as she thought, and suddenly opened her eyes as she realized she had to go home.
Chai Qianning ran her fingers through her hair, letting them slide down: "I forgot... what I dreamt about..."
If she had to describe it, she dreamed that she bought a very smooth blanket that felt very comfortable to rub against.
Thinking of this, Chai Qianning's ears burned a little, and her eyelashes drooped.
She went around behind the sofa and found her hair tie that had fallen on the carpet. After bending down to pick it up, she raised her hand to tie her hair up, but her eyes were fixed on Sheng Muxi in the kitchen.
Is she going to have a midnight snack this late?
She put the keys on the coffee table into her pocket, straightened her slightly disheveled clothes, and was about to tell Sheng Muxi that she was going back when she saw the other person bring out a glass of milk from the kitchen.
"Drinking some warm milk can help you sleep."
It seems the other person thought she had trouble sleeping.
Chai Qianning took it somewhat slowly, holding it in her hand, and said, "Thank you."
She brought the rim of the cup to her lips, letting a few drops of milky white liquid leak out around her, then stuck out the tip of her tongue and rolled it in.
Sheng Muxi rested her chin on her hand and said casually, "How come you can fall asleep while watching horror movies? I was worried that you were too scared to sleep at night."
Looking at it this way, it's clear she was overthinking it.
Chai Qianning racked her brains for reasons. Was it because she was too bored? Because she wasn't afraid at all? Then why was she constantly leaning against the other person?
After finishing half a glass of milk in one go, Chai Qianning licked her lips: "I stopped watching halfway through. I think I felt safer next to you, so I got sleepy. I'm the kind of person who can sleep a lot."
Sheng Muxi said "Oh," her eyes alluring, her long, wavy, honey-brown hair draped over her white pajamas, swaying slightly with the two straps on the side.
“I’ve actually noticed that you sleep a lot; you sleep at least twice as much as a normal adult.” Sheng Muxi took the cup she had finished drinking from.
"..." Chai Qianning cleared her throat: "Next time you fall asleep, you can wake me up."
"There will be a next time?" Sheng Muxi glanced at him from the corner of her eye, her tone rising: "You just casually fall asleep in my house, aren't you afraid I'll do something to you?"
Chai Qianning smiled gently: "Teacher Sheng, do you know how?"
It's still uncertain who will do something to whom first.
Sheng Muxi seemed to be thinking about something, and after a few seconds she replied, "I won't take advantage of someone in distress, but there's no guarantee that something unexpected won't happen."
The woman raised her beautiful eyebrows slightly, clearly trying to warn her that girls need to protect themselves when they're out, but Chai Qianning didn't interpret it that way.
At 12:03 AM, the hallway was empty, and the elevator stopped on a certain floor. Chai Qianning pressed the button, and the icon turned red. Because there were hardly any people, the elevator quickly reached the eleventh floor.
As she walked downstairs, Chai Qianning patted her throbbing head. She wasn't someone who could fall asleep anywhere easily; she was slightly sensitive to unfamiliar beds. Therefore, sometimes even when she was extremely sleepy outside, she wouldn't actually fall asleep.
Falling asleep at Sheng Muxi's house was unexpected. She didn't like things getting out of her control, and her mind was in complete turmoil.
The bright, incandescent light in the elevator made her face appear deathly pale. To outsiders, her serious, thoughtful expression would seem rather blank, a reflection of the contrast between her inner and outer self.
If the elevator doors were to open right now and someone were standing outside, they would definitely be startled by her disheveled hair and expressionless face.
When she got home, the living room lights were off. She glanced at Chai Shuqing's bedroom door out of the corner of her eye and saw light coming through the crack in the door, so it seemed that Chai Shuqing was still awake.
She turned on the light and changed her shoes. Chai Shuqing heard the noise, came out of the room, and stood in front of her. She slapped one hand on the wall and leaned to one side, casting a large shadow on Chai Qianning's face.
Chai Qianning looked up and saw Chai Shuqing standing in front of her, holding out her palm: "Checking up on me! Why are you home so late!"
When Chai Shuqing made a mistake, her older sister, Chai Qianning, liked to educate her in a parental tone. So she imitated her, mimicking her parent's tone and even slapping her hand against the wall in the same way.
“You know, when I’m not home, you can do whatever you want, I don’t have time to care about you. Do whatever you want. But when I’m home, you’d better behave yourself. Where have you been gallivanting around so late?” Chai Shuqing frowned.
This is something they learned from their mother.
God knows how many times Chai Qianning heard this passage from her mother when she was a child. She could recite it by heart. Later, whenever Chai Shuqing made a mistake, she would change a few words and apply it to her own younger sister.
Now, her younger sister is applying these words to herself.
But instead of finding Chai Shuqing's words intimidating, she found it amusing to watch her childish imitation of an adult, and couldn't help but let out a few soft, cheerful sounds.
"The imitation is still a bit off."
Seeing that it was no use, Chai Shuqing released her hand from the wall and muttered, "Can't you cooperate a little?"
"Okay, I came home so late because I accidentally fell asleep at Teacher Sheng's house. Report complete, is that alright?"
Chai Qianning smiled, then turned her head and saw the mess of dishes on the dining table. Her smile suddenly faded, and she looked at Chai Shuqing incredulously: "I told you to wait for me to come back and clean up, and you actually waited for me to come back and clean up?"
Chai Shuqing said innocently, "Otherwise what? You always say I don't listen to you, but I did this time."
Chai Qianning: "..."
She dragged herself to the dining table to clear the dishes and take them into the kitchen. Chai Shuqing, who had been making sarcastic remarks just moments before, actually followed her into the kitchen to help.
Chai Qianning was in charge of washing it with dish soap, while Chai Shuqing was responsible for rinsing it with clean water. Remembering what had just happened, Chai Shuqing asked, "Sister, why did you fall asleep at Teacher Sheng's house?"
"I watched a movie, but it was so boring that I fell asleep."
The window framed the night in a rectangle, hanging on one side of the kitchen wall. The glass lamp on the ceiling cast a slow, flowing light. The two women stood side by side, their shadows cast on the floor.
Chai Shuqing turned her head to the side. She had a pair of gentle almond-shaped eyes that were exactly the same as Chai Qianning's, and her eyes sparkled with light: "What movie?"
"A ghost movie, you've seen it, the one with the waterweed-covered head."
"Pfft." Chai Shuqing lowered her head and laughed for a while, her shoulders shaking.
Chai Qianning didn't know what was so funny, and suddenly asked her, "When did you change your homeroom teacher?"
"They changed a long time ago. The previous homeroom teacher went home to have a baby."
Chai Qianning turned on the tap, hummed in response, and then said nothing more.
Chai Shuqing opened her mouth, glancing at Chai Qianning several times, but couldn't help but ask, "Sister, do you like Teacher Sheng?"
Chapter 11 Subconscious
Do you like Teacher Sheng?
These words, mixed with the sound of water from the faucet splashing on the plates and sink, clearly reached Chai Qianning's ears.
Her hand holding the plate paused, and she turned her gaze away in the dim light: "Hmm?"
"I was just guessing." Chai Shuqing quickly lowered her head and put the washed dishes into the cabinet.
There was a dishwasher next to her, but it was a bit broken. Chai Qianning usually lived alone, and even when she cooked for herself, she didn't have many dishes or utensils, so she didn't use them much and hadn't gotten around to replacing them with a new one.
At that moment, a spot of light fell from above. Chai Shuqing looked at that spot and said, "You've lived here for so long, and I've never seen you interact with your neighbors. Things like watching movies or sleeping in someone's house are things that only people who are very close would do."
Chai Shuqing turned her gaze back and glanced at him sheepishly.
Chai Qianning's expression changed very little as she wrung out the rag: "Hey, you can also see that Teacher Sheng and I have a very deep neighborly relationship."
Chai Qianning gave her a thumbs up: "Your observation skills are excellent."
Chai Shuqing: "..."
——
After sleeping at Sheng Muxi's house for a while, Chai Qianning thought she might have trouble sleeping that night, but she didn't at all.
She fell asleep while playing on her phone in bed and slept until she naturally woke up the next day.
When she woke up, it was already past nine o'clock. She stayed in bed for a while, then got up to wash up and made two breakfasts. After that, she went to wake Chai Shuqing up.
Chai Shuqing was reluctantly lifted up by Chai Qianning. Before she even opened her eyes, she started muttering, "What are you doing? You won't even let me sleep in during my holiday."
"Eat breakfast before you go back to sleep, otherwise it's bad for your stomach." Chai Qianning opened the curtains in her room, and the glaring sunlight streamed in. Chai Shuqing shielded her eyes with her hand, yawned, and went to wash up.
While eating breakfast, Chai Qianning placed her phone beside her. After Chai Shuqing came out of the bathroom, she sat opposite her, held the milk in her hands for a while, and then put it to her lips to drink.
During this time, the phone on the table vibrated several times. Chai Qianning picked it up and checked it, swiping her finger up and down on it. Chai Shuqing, chewing her food, swallowed and said, "It shouldn't be Teacher Sheng sending you a message, right?"
Chai Qianning stared at the screen for a moment: "No."
She placed her phone face down on the table: "Delivery."
"Oh, it's a package. I thought it was a message from someone who likes you." Chai Shuqing said casually.
Chai Qianning's gaze paused for a second before she pushed the phone to the other side. Chai Shuqing was taken aback, and upon meeting her usual smiling eyes, she knew she shouldn't have said that.
She glanced at her phone screen: "You're not going to make me go downstairs to get your package, are you?!"
"So clever."
Chai Shuqing slid down the chair as if she had no bones: "I don't want to."
She glanced outside; the sun was blazing. "It's so sunny outside, and..." Chai Shuqing swiped across her phone screen, her pupils dilating. "Sis, what did you buy? Why are there so many packages!"
"I bought it for you too."
"What did you buy for me?"