“Don’t you have any manners?!”
Wang Shuang shouted loudly to mask his own unease. Li Mengjiao, seeing his complete lack of CP-shipping tact, rolled her eyes dramatically.
No wonder Xie Qian couldn’t resist piling exam papers on Wang Shuang—his lack of perceptiveness was infuriating!
Wen Ying started to return the jacket, but Xie Qian strode into the elevator, saying, “No need, give it back tomorrow.”
Li Mengjiao winked at Wen Ying.
Wen Ying couldn’t figure out what was up with Xie Qian tonight.
Even if she tried to convince herself their friendship was purely platonic, draping his jacket over her was far too intimate for just friends.
Eliminating all the wrong answers, the remaining one, no matter how absurd, had to be correct.
Could it be… could Xie Qian want their friendship to evolve?
Impossible! How could she think that? This was Xie Qian!
When Wen Ying returned to her room and noticed the stain on her trousers, Xie Qian’s seemingly irrational “intimate act” suddenly made perfect sense.
In an instant, her face flushed red down to her neck.
If someone cracked an egg on her face now, it’d fry instantly—that’s how hot her cheeks were!
Why didn’t the heavens just send a rope to strangle her and be done with it?
So embarrassing!
Wen Ying was doomed to a sleepless night.
First, He Zhen’s girlfriend had helped her in the bathroom, and now Xie Qian had noticed the stain on her trousers.
Xie Qian had thoughtfully given her his jacket to spare her embarrassment in front of Wang Shuang.
With Wang Shuang’s clueless nature, if he’d blurted out, “Wen Ying, your pants are dirty,” she’d have exploded on the spot.
Everyone was seated at the restaurant, and Xie Qian’s move was so timely that Wang Shuang surely hadn’t noticed.
But… Xie Qian had!
Periods were normal for every girl, and Wen Ying was used to handling them maturely, even in unexpected situations.
But being embarrassed in front of others was one thing—being embarrassed in front of her idol was a whole different level.
Right now, Wen Ying couldn’t care less about He Zhen and Rebecca, or Xie Jinghu, Zhao Dong, and that lot, or even Manager Chen and her dad back in Chengdu, or how to keep Wu Chunqin’s son Shen Huan from going astray. None of that was urgent. The pressing issue was: how was she going to face Xie Qian tomorrow?!
After a shower, lying in bed, Wen Ying’s gaze kept drifting to the chair by her bed.
Xie Qian’s jacket was draped there.
Could she just act shameless, pretend nothing happened, and return it without awkwardness?
Or, with a darker thought, keep the jacket and not return it!
Xie Qian had plenty of clothes and wouldn’t miss one winter jacket. It was a feasible plan.
But not returning it meant keeping it. She couldn’t just throw it out. If she brought it back to Chengdu and Manager Chen found it, it’d be a catastrophic misunderstanding.
Sigh, she had to return the jacket.
Compared to Manager Chen’s hurricane-like outbursts, a little embarrassment was nothing.
Besides, it was Xie Qian.
Warm-hearted beneath his cool exterior, not some loudmouth like Wang Shuang.
As long as she didn’t bring it up, Xie Qian wouldn’t mention this awkward incident. Wen Ying was confident of that.
With these jumbled thoughts, Wen Ying fell asleep.
All night, she was enveloped by that crisp, clean scent. With Xie Qian’s jacket by her bed, it felt like Xie Qian himself was there. In her dreams, Wen Ying smiled.
Being reborn was truly wonderful.
Deep in her subconscious, Wen Ying sighed for the umpteenth time.
…
Xie Qian couldn’t sleep either.
Despite appearing calm on the walk back, his heart was anything but, unlike Wen Ying’s pounding pulse.
For a moment, under the streetlights, their shadows—one tall, one short—were so close, almost like they were holding hands.
In his peripheral vision, he caught Wen Ying’s profile.
In the warm yellow light, her cheeks had a faint pink glow.
At that moment, Xie Qian felt an inexplicable urge, his fingers twitching.
It startled him.
Why did he want to hold Hamster’s hand?!
He could justify draping his jacket over her to save her from embarrassment as a friend, but wanting to hold her hand was definitely not a “friend” thought.
Wen Ying had held his hand before, running across the music academy’s field to escape security, purely out of necessity, with no ulterior motives.
Now, wanting to hold her hand was an ulterior motive!
He could strategically outmaneuver Xie Jinghu and Zhao Dong, steering them into his plans, even securing their film company. But now, this academic prodigy faced a problem he didn’t know how to approach.
The answer was right there.
Behind the window.
Push it open, or tear through the paper, and it’d be undeniable.
But for the first time, Xie Qian wasn’t thrilled by a simple solution. He hesitated before the answer, lingering at the window.
One more step, and the window would open, no longer allowing self-deception.
The answer was on the verge of revealing itself… Xie Qian couldn’t think further. This strange feeling disrupted his calm, keeping him awake.
…
In the next room, Wang Shuang was also sleepless.
This was rare for him.
Carefree by nature, Wang Shuang only knew “insomnia” when tormented by tough exam questions.
His jacket hung in the closet, door closed, yet a faint fragrance lingered.
What kind of perfume was that potent?
This was freaking weird!
Wang Shuang stared at the closet with a grim expression, but his heart felt the opposite.
Not quite excitement, but something made his teenage heart race wildly.
It was a feeling he’d never had with his previous “girlfriends”!
Unable to resist, Wang Shuang opened the closet, burying his face in the jacket.
The scent filled his senses again, making his body feel light… Bang! He slammed the closet shut, diving into bed and pulling the covers over.
Good grief, sniffing his own jacket? He was acting like a creep!
If he liked the scent, he could just ask Li Mengjiao what perfume she used tomorrow.
Hiding under the covers, Wang Shuang frantically told himself: Not fragrant at all, not fragrant, really not fragrant!
That night, three people lay awake, while the only one sleeping soundly, without a care, was Li Mengjiao.
Shipping CPs was fun, but filming was exhausting. If they didn’t wrap soon, the crew would be stuck in Shanghai for the New Year!
