During lunch break, Shen Xiyan had a simple meal in the Dining Hall, then took Lin Ci and Shen Wen (Wenwen) to the Private Room to escape the heat.
The moment he pulled out the key and opened the door, a rush of cold air hit them.
Wenwen, who had been dizzy from the sun, immediately perked up.
Seeing that the room was empty, she pushed past Shen Xiyan and dashed inside, standing right in front of the Air Conditioner vent to dry the sweat off her body.
“Brother! It’s so cool! I never want to go back to the classroom again… The classroom has Air Conditioning too, but it’s absolutely never turned on at noon. The school is so stingy!
I heard that when the Air Conditioners were first installed, someone even brought identical remote controls from home like Lei Feng, and during lunch break, they’d go around turning them on one by one.
But within a few days, the school leaders caught on and then unified the power supply to cut it off. No matter how many methods you have, you can’t generate electricity with love!
Come on!
Friction creates heat, or water flowing — anyway, no electricity.
For people like us who can’t go home, we can only use the lingering morning cold to escape the heat. It’s not that it’s useless; it’s just like a ‘stuffed little pig.’”
Compared to Wenwen, Lin Ci was much more restrained.
Her face had two flushed red patches from the sun, fine sweat gleaming at the tip of her nose, and her hair stuck to her cheeks. Her clear and delicate face was both enchanting and elegant.
But before entering, she still checked by the door to confirm she didn’t need to change her shoes or wear shoe covers.
Only then did she confidently walk in and sit on the sofa to enjoy the 16°C cold breeze, her dazed expression slowly thawing.
“Don’t block the vent; Lin Ci won’t get any breeze!”
“Zero… oh.”
Lin Ci smiled and waved her hand. “It’s nothing. You dry yourself off first; it’s really too hot outside.”
“Don’t always spoil her.”
Shen Xiyan walked over and pinned Wenwen down on the sofa, sitting beside Lin Ci. “If the cold wind blows directly on your head, you’ll catch a cold and start whining.”
“No way! I’m super healthy!”
Wenwen rolled up her sleeves, revealing her white and tender arms, then flexed her elbow with effort. The skin there was as smooth as tofu.
Shen Xiyan reached out and pinched her arm. Even though she was flexing hard, her arm was still soft and squishy. His hand slipped along her arm and scratched her armpit.
“Eek~~ All sweaty!”
“What are you doing! Hahaha… It’s ticklish!”
Wenwen flopped onto Lin Ci’s lap, affectionately rubbing against her upper thigh, refusing to pay attention to her annoying brother.
Then, feeling thirsty, she shouted, “Hey-ho!” Arching her small waist and jumping with her legs, she tried to imitate the heroic backflip she’d seen on TV.
But obviously, she overestimated herself. She didn’t jump up but tumbled off the sofa instead, rubbing her knees and limping to stand.
“Brother, is there any water here? I’m so thirsty…”
“37°C water, do you want some?”
“37°C?”
Wenwen was momentarily stunned. Shen Xiyan pretended to pull down his pants.
“Brother!!”
“Hey! Don’t hit, don’t hit… Just kidding. Isn’t there a fridge over there?”
Shen Xiyan casually pointed in a direction. “For Qin Sheng’s sake, you can drink a few bottles, but don’t pick the expensive ones. Don’t want people saying you’re spoiled.”
“I know.”
Wenwen ran over and grabbed two bottles of mineral water, handing one to Lin Ci.
She twisted open the cap and gulped down half the bottle, belching in an unladylike way, then dazedly stared ahead, feeling like life couldn’t get any happier.
“Brother, can I take off my shoes? My feet are so hot…”
Shen Xiyan rolled his eyes. “Why don’t you just take off your clothes too?”
“If it were just me and Lin Ci… of course you can take them off, but now there’s an extra irrelevant person. Who? Me?”
“What do you think?”
Wenwen kicked off her breathable running shoes, pulled off her white ankle socks, and let her two fair, delicate feet feel the cold air from the Air Conditioner, moaning with comfort.
It was the kind of moan that would make a guy lying on the bed want to take off his pants immediately.
Shen Xiyan covered his nose, utterly disgusted. “It stinks! Put your shoes back on!”
“Stinky?” Wenwen cupped her foot and sniffed.
Shen Xiyan nodded vigorously. “Stinky!”
“You’re the stinky one! You stink all over!”
Wenwen angrily jumped up and kicked Shen Xiyan. If she were taller, she might have even shoved her foot into his mouth as punishment to eat her toes.
And not just eat, but lick them clean!
“Stop messing around…”
Shen Xiyan dodged her kicks until he had both her feet firmly held. Only then did Wenwen calm down.
Her feet were fair and exquisite; even the reddish soles looked adorable.
No wonder so many foot fetishists found such things irresistibly cute—like the Little White Rabbit glaring with red eyes, or little feet, or little dicks… Ah, that’s not cute.
“Still kicking? Watch out or I’ll tickle your soles…”
“You dare? Let go!”
Wenwen hurriedly pulled her feet back, her cheeks blushing, her tender lips pouting, and her big beautiful eyes giving him a sideways glare, trying hard to roll more whites.
Shen Xiyan sniffed his own hand and then deliberately made a disgusted face.
Though people always say “fragrant sweat dripping,” how could human sweat really smell fragrant?
But because Wenwen was his little sister and cute, Shen Xiyan honestly couldn’t smell the stench.
In fact, her cuteness made him subconsciously feel it smelled good. He just thought it wasn’t appropriate to take off shoes here.
Seeing this, Wenwen’s eyes curved happily, and the corners of her mouth lifted like a little fox who had succeeded. She even hummed, “Stink to death!”
Shen Xiyan was both annoyed and amused.
He didn’t mind Wenwen taking advantage of him like this. After all, whenever she really caused trouble, the one getting spanked on the sofa was always her.
This was called “minor faults forgiven for the sake of greater harmony.”
“You can take off your shoes, and even your socks, but you absolutely can’t step on the sofa. Over there is a hammock, here is the floor mat, and the one by the wall can be lowered into a small bed. You can sleep wherever you want…”
“Got it… Do I really need you to teach me manners?”
Even if Shen Xiyan didn’t say anything, Wenwen wouldn’t dare to walk barefoot on the sofa.
Being seen like that would get her scolded for having no “family upbringing,” which she hated most because both her parents and aunt were good people.
She quickly climbed into the hammock to rest.
Eyes closed, she fell asleep like a little pig, even humming two contented sounds.
Seeing this, Shen Xiyan stood up and made space on the sofa for Lin Ci. “I’ll go wash my hands. You can sleep on the sofa; I’ll take the floor mat…”
“Okay.”
Lin Ci looked around and asked, “Weren’t Song Wan and her friend supposed to be here? Why is it just the three of us today?”
“Don’t know, maybe they didn’t come. You guys sleep where you want…”
Shen Xiyan said this and pushed open the door to the Handwashing Room.
He froze when he saw Su Jin just getting up, wiping herself with tissue.
“Glug…”
The sound of swallowing.
A poem instantly popped into his mind:
“Clear river shimmering with the Hanyang trees, fragrant grass flourishing on Parrot Islet.”
Unlike the shadows Qin Sheng had seen before when trying to cover things up, this time Shen Xiyan truly saw the Black Grass in Snow.
Su Jin noticed him too. Her pale face instantly flushed red with embarrassment and anger. She pulled up her pants, took off her earphones, and was about to shout.
Shen Xiyan suddenly waved his hands wildly, covered his eyes, pointed beside him to indicate there were others around, and whispered frantically, “I didn’t know you were here!”
“!!!”
Su Jin’s blood pressure skyrocketed, and her pupils trembled.
Shen Xiyan felt the same.
Sis, I can understand you listening to music on the toilet—I like that too—but at least lock the door!
He glanced again at the door lock…
And his heart instantly sank.
Did Song Wan never expect anyone else to come in here from the start?
The lock?
Where the hell is the lock?