Chen Xu was really sweating now!
Although he didn't want to admit it, Chen Xu knew in his heart that he was probably really as Zhan Jing said: plagued by anxiety and insecurity.
When he's with a girl, he always overthinks things, and before he knows it, the opportunity has slipped away. Some girls, like Guan Yi, make things very difficult for Chen Xu. He's completely unsure of Guan Yi's feelings for him. His roommates, Wu Yuan and the others, have been telling him to win Guan Yi over, but he just doesn't dare.
Because this woman is such a swindler!
Before he knew it, he was able to get along very well with her, but he knew it was a beautiful trap and dared not jump in. Chen Xu was always worried that if she really only saw him as a friend, would confessing his feelings cause a rift in their relationship?
Chen Xu is a person who cares a lot about his friends, and because of this personality, he has missed many opportunities. Moreover, he has always believed that if a relationship between a man and a woman becomes ambiguous to a certain level and then he is rejected, then they are no longer suitable to be friends, and it is best not to even see each other.
I never expected Zhan Jing to know me so well!
Chen Xu really felt that this girl's eyes could see through everything.
Hearing that Chen Xu had fallen silent, Gao Xiaojie smiled awkwardly, realizing that her words had been a bit too harsh. So she quickly changed the subject and asked, "So what do you guys usually talk about during your dorm room chats?"
Chen Xu thought for a moment and said, "It's basically about discussing which girl is prettier and stuff like that. Yeah, that's the topic we talk about the most. Oh, and some of you guys know I'm pretty close to you guys. You even asked me to bring you love letters."
"Love letters? That's so old-fashioned. These days, everyone just sends text messages."
Chen Xu chuckled and said, "Love letters are rather subtle. The three of you are all campus beauties; what ordinary person would dare to harbor lustful thoughts about you?"
"Come on," Gao Xiaojie said, "By the way, where are those love letters? I haven't received a single one."
Chen Xu shamelessly said that I used them all as draft paper, so you can't see them.
Gao Xiaojie exclaimed, "Ah!" and said, "You're kidding me? Those were love letters for me! I hadn't even seen them, how did you just throw them away?"
Chen Xu said, "It's not just yours, there are also those for Guan Yi and Zhan Jing... well, anyway, you guys would just throw these love letters away anyway, so I'll take care of them for you first!"
Gao Xiaojie was stunned when she heard this. She exclaimed, "Damn, you're so shameless!"
Chen Xu chuckled and said, "It's nothing, I was just kidding. It's all some bastards who come to me asking what you guys like to eat, what your hobbies are, and if I know any ways to get close to you guys. And I just brush them off."
Gao Xiaojie thought that made more sense. Sending people away and keeping love letters are two different things. This guy was actually quite decent; well, he did help her get rid of some flies. Gao Xiaojie asked, "Then let me ask you this: of those people, were there more people pursuing me, or more pursuing Guan Yi or Jingjing?"
Chen Xu thought for a moment and said, "That's about right. A lot of people ask about all three of your hobbies at once, so you're probably still choosing. It's quite a dilemma."
Hearing this, Gao Xiaojie got a little angry and said, "Damn it, why are all you guys like this? Trying to take three at a time, are you?" Chen Xu quickly said, "No, no, I have no such idea."
Then Gao Xiaojie thought for a moment and asked, "So let me ask you, among the three of us, who do you think is the prettiest? And if you had to choose, who would you choose as your girlfriend?"
Hearing this, Chen Xu felt dizzy again, thinking to himself, "Why are all women like this?"
Guan Yi had already asked this question before, and I had barely managed to brush it off. Now, this girl has brought it up again!
Gao Xiaojie, seeing that Chen Xu wasn't speaking, asked, "Hey, what are you staring at? Hurry up and say something!"
Chen Xu figured he'd already been shameless once, so he didn't care about being shameless again. So he said, "You're beautiful!"
Hearing Chen Xu's quick reply, Gao Xiaojie muttered, "Answering so fast, it's obvious he's lying." Chen Xu broke out in a cold sweat, and then heard Gao Xiaojie say, whether to herself or to Chen Xu, "Actually, if we're really comparing, I don't think I'm worse than Guan Yi, but I don't know if she's better than me either."
Upon hearing this, Chen Xu immediately asked, "Please, you already know the answer, why are you asking?! Why don't you just say Zhan Jing?"
Gao Xiaojie said, "Jingjing is my good sister, and I'm not jealous of her even though she's prettier than me. As for Guan Yi… although she saved me once and helped me a lot, I always feel like I can't get close to her. I owe her something. I'll definitely repay her in the future; I don't want to owe her anything." Hearing Chen Xu sigh with feigned maturity, Gao Xiaojie said, "Why are you sighing? That's just how women are, isn't it? It's so strange, isn't it?"
Chen Xu really wanted to say that it was quite inexplicable, but he thought it was better to keep quiet for now, so he remained silent and did not answer.
Gao Xiaojie said, "Hey, why is it so quiet? Are you asleep?"
Chen Xu replied, "Hmm, I'm asleep. I'm sleepwalking right now."
"Boring," Gao Xiaojie muttered, then said, "Go to sleep, go to sleep, this is really boring."
The room fell silent again. Because the bedroom was small, Chen Xu slept on the edge of the bed, so the actual distance between the two was less than three meters. In such a quiet room, they could hear each other's heavy breathing.
Actually, Gao Xiaojie was incredibly nervous. Even though she was outgoing, she was still just a girl, and this was the first time in her life she'd ever slept alone in a room with a man. It would be a lie to say she wasn't nervous. Her mind was racing with all sorts of wild thoughts, fearing that Chen Xu might suddenly become possessed and take advantage of her. Plus, she wasn't used to sleeping in the same bed and wasn't very sleepy, so she tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep. But after a while, she heard Chen Xu's breathing gradually become steady and long. Gao Xiaojie tentatively called his name softly a couple of times, but there was no response. She realized that he was truly asleep!
Gao Xiaojie felt a sense of relief, though she wasn't sure what kind of emotion it was. Mostly, she felt relieved, but there was also a vague, indescribable feeling.
She remembered a joke that went like this: A man and a woman were lying in bed. Before going to sleep, the woman said, "If you dare touch me, you're a beast." The man obediently stayed still. The next morning, when he woke up, the woman slapped him and said, "You're not even as good as a beast!"
Gao Xiaojie certainly didn't want Chen Xu to act like a beast, but his "worse than a beast" behavior still left her somewhat dissatisfied deep down. She thought to herself, "I'm as beautiful as a flower, loved by everyone, and you can sleep so soundly?"
Therefore, women are inherently contradictory creatures. If a man flirts with them, they will accuse him of being lecherous and shameless, and some with fiery tempers might even resort to violence. But if a man ignores them, the trouble is much greater; women will complain that the man is blind to their worth, and they will be even angrier than if they had been flirted with.
To put it simply, almost every beautiful woman has a touch of narcissism. To put it irresponsibly, the more beautiful a woman is, the more narcissistic she tends to be… Of course, narcissism isn't necessarily a bad thing; many women today take pride in it. Besides, if someone has the looks and talent, a little narcissism is perfectly acceptable.
However, someone like Sister Furong is really scary!
Of course, when it comes to beautiful women, it has nothing to do with Sister Furong. But girls like Gao Xiaojie are the type who might scoff at a man's compliments on their beauty and think he might have ulterior motives. However, if you tell them they're not pretty, they'll definitely erupt like a volcano.
Chen Xu's indifferent attitude really discouraged this young woman, but she could only keep quiet and couldn't say anything... What could she say? If this continued, she might suffer internal injuries.
Was Chen Xu truly indifferent?
How is that possible?
A stunningly beautiful woman was sleeping next to him, her breath sweet and fragrant. And he had just witnessed such a breathtaking scene. Honestly, if he didn't have any thoughts at all, he wouldn't be a man. Otherwise, why would Chen Xu go out and take a cold shower in this freezing weather? Even with a healthy body, he shouldn't be wasting it like that, right? After the cold shower, Chen Xu felt a little unwell, thinking, "Damn it, could I be this unlucky? Have I caught a cold?"
Some things really do happen as soon as you think about them. Chen Xu had just thought about catching a cold when he suddenly sneezed violently.
Gao Xiaojie exclaimed, "Ah!" and said, "You have a cold?"
Chen Xu rubbed his nose and said he was fine, but as soon as he finished speaking, he sneezed again, and then another, and so on for three or four times before he finally stopped. After he stopped, Chen Xu, still trying to save face, forced himself to say, "It's nothing, hehe, it's nothing."
Gao Xiaojie asked with concern, "Is it still cold on the ground?"
Chen Xu continued, saying it was nothing. But in reality, although there was a carpet on the ground, it was still the dead of winter. Even with a weakening atmosphere and global warming, the nights were still below freezing. Lying on the ground, you might not feel anything, but the ground was damp and quite cold.
Hearing Chen Xu sneezing incessantly, Gao Xiaojie thought it would be a terrible mistake if Chen Xu caught a cold because of her. After all, she was a guest, and she had taken over his bed as soon as she arrived. So Gao Xiaojie said, "How about this, you sleep on the bed... I'll sleep downstairs."
Upon hearing this, Chen Xu said, "That won't do. You've just been sick and you're not fully recovered. Besides, you're a girl. If you catch a cold and something happens to you, how am I supposed to explain this to Zhan Jing? It's okay, it's okay, I'm fine." As soon as he finished speaking, he sneezed twice in a row, followed by the sound of him wiping his nose with a tissue.
Gao Xiaojie realized she couldn't possibly go downstairs to sleep; otherwise, she'd probably catch a real cold. But Chen Xu's sneezing seemed incessant. After a long while, she finally made up her mind, gritted her teeth, and said, "How about you come to bed tonight... and sleep next to me..."
Chapter 95 of the main text, oh dear!
Chen Xu could hardly believe his ears when he heard this. He scratched his head for a while before finally saying, "What? What? You want me to sleep in the same bed with you?"
Gao Xiaojie had already made up her mind, and she was the kind of person who wouldn't change her mind once she made up her mind. Although she was still a little embarrassed, she tried her best to make her tone calm: "Well, just come up and sleep here. Otherwise, if you really get sick, then it will really be my fault. But don't get any funny ideas! I don't want to make you sick, but if you dare to touch me tonight, hmph... I have scissors under my pillow! Be careful, I might just slit you!"
Hearing the girl's blustering words, Chen Xu rubbed his nose and said, "Never mind, I like to toss and turn in my sleep, and I might accidentally bump into something and be done for. By the way, why don't you put a few bowls of water in between? You could imitate Brother Liang and Sister Zhu."
Gao Xiaojie spat and said, "You're the one who's like Liang Shanbo," but then, realizing the implication was even more ambiguous, he yelled, "Damn it, I'm giving you one last chance. Are you going to sleep with me or not?!"
Chen Xu wasn't about to back down. He said "Go," but then realized his words were even more ambiguous. So, blushing, he said, "Don't worry, I'll sleep on the edge of the bed, on my side."
Then Chen Xu quietly wrapped himself in the blanket and lay down on the bed, and the two of them immediately fell silent again.
Because although it was a double bed, a double bed is only so big. The two people were way too close. They could smell each other's breath. Although Gao Xiaojie kept moving away, and Chen Xu was also pressed against the edge of the bed, they could basically touch each other's blankets with a simple movement, and could even feel the soft warmth of the other's body under the blankets. Startled, they immediately pulled their hands back.
The atmosphere remained ambiguous, and both of them had their hearts pounding with nervousness. Chen Xu kept telling himself, "I'm not a weirdo, I'm a gentleman. I'm not a weirdo..." He repeated it hundreds of times, hypnotizing himself like counting goats, until he finally drifted off to sleep.
Gao Xiaojie was also very nervous. She waited and waited, clutching a hot water bottle, terrified that Chen Xu might suddenly lose control and do something monstrous to her. Her mind was a complete mess. The thought of actually asking to sleep in the same bed with this beast—if word got out, her pure and innocent reputation would be ruined. What if something else happened… Oh dear, should she make him take responsibility? Or should she just kill him to silence him?
Gao Xiaojie was thinking about this when she fell asleep. As she drifted off, she vaguely heard a "beep" sound, followed by the air conditioner beeping—was the power coming back on? But it could also be a dream. Gao Xiaojie rubbed her nose and went back to sleep.
The power had indeed come back on, but Chen Xu had turned off all the lights during the previous power outage. So, the only appliances running were the two laptops and the air conditioner. And normally, even if the power came back on, the air conditioner wouldn't turn on by itself without the remote, but the remote was right next to Gao Xiaojie's pillow. She turned to the side and accidentally pressed the button, and the air conditioner started whirring away again.
People with common sense should know that when sleeping in the dead of winter, it's not the cold that matters, but the heat.
If the room isn't too cold, it's fine to sleep under the covers without air conditioning, and you can sleep soundly and comfortably. But if the blankets are too thick, you might get hot at night and kick them off, making you more susceptible to catching a cold if a breeze blows.
Gao Xiaojie has this inexplicable habit of kicking off her blankets. Last night, she caught a cold because she got hot and started kicking off several blankets... Since Zhan Jing's down comforter is very thick, she learned from her experience and only used this one blanket this time. But unexpectedly, the temperature rose after half an hour of turning on the air conditioner, and she got hot again.
So, half-asleep, Gao Xiaojie kicked off the covers. And now, the two sleeping figures were no longer just leaning against the edge of the bed; after several turns in their sleep, Chen Xu was now lying on his side, his head almost resting on Gao Xiaojie's pillow, while Gao Xiaojie was also lying on her side, one of her thighs sticking out from under the covers and resting on Chen Xu's calf…
The air conditioner blew for a while until the room temperature reached a stable level, then it went into standby mode. Gao Xiaojie was now half-exposed outside the blankets, and feeling a bit cold, she groggily reached for the blanket next to her. She then felt something warm beside her, and in her half-asleep state, she leaned against it…
The next morning, Chen Xu rubbed his nose and felt a little cold, so he groggily opened his eyes.
At that moment, he saw an incredibly bizarre scene!
Gao Xiaojie's thick, yellow down comforter had been kicked under the bed at some point, and she was now nestled against him like a little bird, her head resting near his chest, her cheeks flushed and a few drops of drool at the corners of her mouth...
Gao Xiaojie pressed herself very tightly against Chen Xu, and Chen Xu could feel two soft mounds against his body... Because some girls don't like to wear bras to bed, and Gao Xiaojie had always had this habit, Chen Xu could vaguely see a large expanse of white skin through the neckline of her pajamas, and a small red dot...
Chen Xu couldn't help but swallow hard, thinking to himself that this girl from Jiangnan looked so thin and frail, but she was surprisingly well-endowed! Although she couldn't compare to Guan Yi, the sight of her almost made Chen Xu's nose bleed.
At that very moment, Chen Xu wrapped one arm around her waist—or rather, half of his hand was resting on Gao Xiaojie's bottom—while Gao Xiaojie wrapped her other arm around Chen Xu's waist as well. Their pose looked incredibly intimate!
More importantly, the two of them shared only one blanket and hugged each other tightly, probably for the entire night.
Chen Xu immediately felt a sense of dread. He didn't have time to think about what it would feel like to have a soft, warm woman in his arms. What he was thinking was that if Gao Xiaojie woke up now, he would be in deep trouble no matter what he did!
The problem is, these days, what you fear most is exactly what happens. Chen Xu was just about to sneak up and pretend nothing had happened to cover Gao Xiaojie with the blanket when he suddenly sneezed loudly!
Luckily, Chen Xu turned his head to the side when he sneezed, otherwise it would have hit Gao Xiaojie right in the face. But the problem was that his loud sneeze woke Gao Xiaojie up. Gao Xiaojie, still sleepy, wiped his mouth, rubbed his eyes, and mumbled, "Don't make a sound, let me sleep a little longer."
Then she actually pressed on Chen Xu's chest, like loosening a pillow, and then pressed her head against it.
Chen Xu was truly speechless. Seeing the girl clinging to him like a koala, he dared not move. But just then, Gao Xiaojie's eyes suddenly snapped open. When she realized she wasn't leaning on a pillow, but on Chen Xu, she let out a blood-curdling scream!
The scream came right next to Chen Xu, startling him. A woman's voice isn't just loud, it's also incredibly sharp, like a dolphin's cry. Gao Xiaojie's scream truly had a touch of Vitas's style, almost shattering Chen Xu's eardrums. So Chen Xu rubbed his ears and said, "Damn it, stop yelling! Get up!"
Gao Xiaojie saw that a large part of her collar was sticking out and screamed in fright. She pushed Chen Xu away and jumped out of bed. Looking around, she realized that the blanket had been kicked off the bed. She grabbed the blanket and wrapped herself up in it.
The problem was that Chen Xu was badly hurt by her push. Caught off guard, he tumbled off the bed. Luckily, there was a carpet underneath, and a makeshift mattress on the floor, so although the fall was bad, he wasn't seriously injured. Lying on the mattress, Chen Xu yelled, "Damn it, are you crazy? Look at yourself! You're the one who stole my blanket!"
Chen Xu's words made Gao Xiaojie recall the scene from earlier. Her blanket was under the bed… so she must have kicked it off. Gao Xiaojie was well aware of her bad habit of kicking off the blanket. Realizing she couldn't blame Chen Xu, she said dejectedly, "I'm sorry, but… but…" She stammered for a long time without getting to the bottom of it. Then she said fiercely, "Don't tell anyone what happened last night, or else…" She wanted to threaten him, but as she said this, her nose suddenly stung, and her voice softened: "If you tell anyone, I'll kill myself!"
Chen Xu broke out in a cold sweat upon hearing this, thinking, "Is it really that serious?" He had just checked his clothes and found them to be intact; he hadn't done anything heinous. However, the thought that he had touched what he should have touched and seen what he shouldn't have seen made Chen Xu a little deflated, saying, "No, no, nothing happened last night."
Upon hearing this, Gao Xiaojie immediately said, "That's right, nothing happened!"
Seeing the girl's face flushed red, wrapped in the blanket looking like a suffering woman, Chen Xu's mischievous thoughts arose. He chuckled and lay on the bed, asking, "So you don't want me to take responsibility?"
"Go to hell!" Gao Xiaojie threw a pillow at him.
Chapter 96: Infiltrating the Cake Shop
After getting up, Chen Xu washed his face and brushed his teeth, trying hard not to think about what had just happened. Then, in the living room, he continued doing the first fifteen of the one hundred and eight movements…
Chen Xu can only manage the first fifteen reps; he twists his back on the sixteenth. Guan Yi, that vixen, has laughed at him countless times for being a useless piece of trash. Chen Xu doesn't really want to, but every time he sees Guan Yi's slender waist twisting so dramatically, he truly feels useless… and he also thinks, what if such a vixen-like vixen were in bed…
Oh dear, I'm blushing! How could I have such a filthy thought?
While performing the exercises, Chen Xu mentally chanted in his stomach, "I'm not a weirdo, I'm a gentleman." After doing this for a while, Chen Xu went to take a shower. This time, he dared not use cold water and took a hot shower instead. Gao Xiaojie had also gotten out of bed, changed his clothes, and was fiddling with something.