To think it would end like this. They were both soaked to the bone, and after that whole trip, they ended up right back at his apartment complex!
At the door.
They looked at each other, neither saying a word, likely recalling the absurdly romantic stunt they had just pulled.
Their clothes were soaked, dripping onto the floor.
Seeing Jiangg Yao shivering from the cold, Chen Yuan quickly opened the door.
The warmth of the apartment enveloped them the moment they stepped inside.
Chen Yuan hurried to the bedroom for a clean bath towel. He returned and draped it over Jiangg Yao’s shoulders. Her lips were so pale from the cold that he felt a sudden wave of relief they had returned instead of him trying to walk her home.
Otherwise, forget catching a cold—she would have been soaked silly. It was a half-hour walk, and the roads could be dangerous. Plus, it was nighttime. The slightest problem would be a hundred times harder to resolve than in the daytime.
From a safety standpoint, the supposed awkwardness of a man and woman being alone in a room didn’t seem so important anymore.
As Chen Yuan gently toweled her hair, a pang of guilt hit him. He hadn’t realized how bad it was outside. The downpour didn’t seem that intense looking down from his apartment, but once they were in it, they could barely open their eyes.
Jiangg Yao shuddered. A moment later, she seemed to recover and, with a look that suggested she wasn’t quite satisfied, she said, "That was kind of thrilling."
"Thrilling? You won’t find it so thrilling when you catch a cold." Chen Yuan reached out and gently pinched her soft cheeks, puckering her lips into a fishy pout.
"It’s fine if I catch a cold. I won’t be the only one. If you don’t get sick, I’ll just infect you," she mumbled, her words muffled.
"Alright, alright."
"So tonight... I’m staying at your place."
"Yeah, seems like it’s your only option. Go on, take a hot shower. You can wear one of my shirts or something from the closet. Just pick whatever and make do for now."
"O... okay."
Jiangg Yao said in a small, shy voice, looking down.
’In the end, it’s a man and a woman, all alone, about to spend a not-so-quiet night together. What a mess this has turned into!’
Clutching the towel, she scurried to the bedroom door, then suddenly turned back as if remembering something. "Um, do you have any sleep pants?"
"I do, but you probably won’t be able to wear them. They’re the drawstring kind, and your waist is so small they’d just fall right off. I think I have a pair of big boxer shorts, though. Have a look for those."
"Boxer shorts? Uh..." Jiangg Yao paused for a few seconds. "How big are they?"
"Kind of like beach shorts."
"Oh, I can probably wear those then. They’re just like shorts you’d wear in the summer."
Chen Yuan scratched his head, perplexed. "Just wear whatever you want. It’s not like we’re sleeping in the same bed. There are three bedrooms and a study. You can take the master bedroom, and I’ll take the guest room. A guy can sleep anywhere. I’m not picky."
"Absolutely not!"
To his surprise, Jiangg Yao shook her head vigorously at his words, completely against the idea.
’He’s so clueless!’ she thought to herself.
On the surface, it seemed like Chen Yuan was being considerate and protecting her, but it only highlighted how clueless he could be. Jiangg Yao decided not to beat around the bush and said exactly what she was thinking: "Just imagine it. I’d be sleeping in a room all by myself while it’s thundering outside and the wind is howling like a ghost. I’d be curled up under the covers, trembling, covering my ears with every clap of thunder, scared out of my mind. How could I possibly get any sleep?
"On top of that, it’s an unfamiliar environment, so I’d have trouble sleeping anyway. If you don’t stay with me, you’ll probably find me unconscious by morning."
Just imagining the scene felt like hell to Jiangg Yao.
"Okay, we can talk about it later. Go take your shower first."
"Okay. You be good and wait for me."
Jiangg Yao gave a little fist pump and disappeared into the bedroom.
The bedroom door clicked shut. Soaked to the skin, Chen Yuan couldn’t sit on the sofa, so he went to stand by the heater, letting the warm air wash over him. He couldn’t help but sneeze.
Rubbing his nose, Chen Yuan’s gaze drifted unconsciously toward the master bedroom. Just on the other side of that door, his adorable girlfriend, Jiangg, was probably rustling out of her clothes.
He couldn’t hear a thing, but the power of imagination was infinite.
’This all feels so surreal,’ Chen Yuan thought. When he first came to Lanjing University, he never imagined his life would turn out like this. The love he had always dreamed of was now within his grasp. And Jiangg was so, so wonderful—completely different from those spoiled, immature girls. ’If Quan Yafeng and the guys found out I was dating the most beautiful teacher in the entire school...’
’They’d die of jealousy!’
A smile touched Chen Yuan’s lips. He grabbed a random towel to dry his hair as his traitorous heart began to pound.
’Jiangg was perfect in every way, but there was one thing that bothered him. He could tell she was always accommodating him, as if she felt it was her duty to take care of her younger boyfriend. He didn’t like that.’
Chen Yuan silently vowed to work harder and build a future for himself as quickly as possible.
’He would show her he wasn’t just some kid who only thought about having fun.’
’He knew their age difference was a huge issue. For now, all he could do was strive to get the best grades in the entire school. As for being able to support them both... that was still years away.’
’If their relationship was ever exposed, Chen Yuan couldn’t help but think of his father. He knew that if he just asked, Jiang Zhengfeng would do everything in his power to help.’
’Of course, that was a last resort.’
’It was better to rely on no one but himself.’
’He set a small goal for himself: place in the top ten of his major on the year-end finals. After all, all the students knew Jiangg was a graduate of Yale University, one of the top universities in the world.’
’As her boyfriend, he couldn’t afford to be a slacker.’
Suddenly, Chen Yuan was filled with motivation, as if the same drive that had pushed him to get into Lanjing University in high school had returned.
’But this time, he wasn’t just working hard for himself!’
Chen Yuan was standing in the living room when, with a soft CLICK, the bedroom door opened.
Jiangg Yao stepped out.
She was wrapped in a pure white bath towel, revealing delicate, defined shoulders and a graceful collarbone. Her skin was as smooth as polished jade. They say true beauty lies in the bone structure, not just the skin, and judging by her flawless, perfectly proportioned back alone, she was a top-tier beauty. She was like one of those ethereal goddesses from the entertainment world—the kind who, even without seeing her face, could leave people breathless with just a glimpse of her collarbone as she walked the red carpet.
Jiangg Yao had tied her hair up again, perhaps to make it easier to change. It revealed her elegant, pale neck, making it impossible to look away.
Other than the towel, she only wore a pair of slippers, her smooth calves bare to the air.
’It made him want her to kick off her slippers and step on him.’
’So, so beautiful.’
Chen Yuan stared, mesmerized. ’This is my girlfriend!’ A swell of pride washed over him.
Meeting his gaze, Jiangg Yao grew shy. ’No matter how good I look, he can’t just keep staring like that!’ If his eyes hadn’t been so clear and innocent, she really would have labeled him a creep.
’Maybe my Young Master is just appreciating the view.’
’Right. Appreciating.’
’See? This is the difference between being in love and not. A girl who truly loves her boyfriend doesn’t throw a fit for no reason; she even finds excuses for his behavior!’
She gave Chen Yuan a playful glare and said softly, "Stop staring."
"Ahem—I should, uh, go take a shower." Chen Yuan snapped out of it, his face feeling hot.
"We have to get something straight first, Young Master," she said. "Even though I’m sleeping at your place tonight, we can’t do anything... weird. You have to be good, okay?"
Since she had been the one who didn’t want to leave and had actively decided to return, she must have trusted Chen Yuan deep down.
Still, with things like this, you could never be too careful.
"Understood. I promise."
Jiangg Yao seemed satisfied with his answer. She reached up, pulled the tie from her hair, and fluffed the damp locks. A few strands fell across her collarbone, disappearing into the endless chasm below... She walked toward Chen Yuan timidly, her steps shy and her cheeks flushed pink. The intimate atmosphere was intoxicating.
When Jiangg Yao reached him, she pressed on his shoulders, making him sit. She cupped his face in her hands and whispered in a soft, sweet tone, "That... we have to save for our wedding day."
She gently brushed her nose against his, pressing her forehead to his.
Having done all this, she blushed and fled in a fluster.