Zhu Niao finished washing up, changed into the pajamas from the wardrobe, and dried her hair.
Even the hair dryer at Gou Yu’s house felt unfamiliar—she always thought a hair dryer should roar with noise.
The ones here made no sound, which made her suspect they were slacking off.
But who doesn’t slack off at work?
She forgave the hair dryer.
She glanced at the time on her phone and saw it was almost time for a healthy bedtime.
But she wasn’t a healthy person.
So she liked staying up late.
The room’s soundproofing was pretty good, perfect for sleeping—she couldn’t even hear Gou Yu’s father’s screams after being dragged into his room, though maybe he’d stopped screaming altogether.
Zhu Niao curled up on her bed, then suddenly remembered something and turned to look back.
She saw the power outlet, along with a small nightlight and an unplugged phone charger.
Mm, good. She felt relieved.
Then her gaze moved downward and landed on a photo frame.
A very familiar frame, its contents also familiar—she’d seen it last time.
It was a picture of her and Gou Yu kissing at the entrance to the amusement park.
It felt like there were plenty of opportunities like that—many times she’d thought Gou Yu would lean in, but he never once did.
Just like earlier, when he was that close, she even thought maybe he found her cheek soft and wanted to take a bite.
’Back then, he had my tongue caught—even if Gou Yu wanted to force a kiss, I couldn’t have refused, could I?’
She might not have been all that resistant, but Gou Yu had never taken any liberties with her on his own.
Usually so improper, acting like he’d do anything, but when it came to moments she actually expected something, he’d freeze up.
Then he’d start being a jerk again.
If he’s got the guts, why not bring out that boldness he shows when he gets his face stepped on? Why does he always back off at times like this?
’Coward. It’s not like I’d curse him—at most, I’d hit him a couple of times.’
’If he got just a little closer… it wouldn’t be impossible…’
Or maybe she’d hit him too often and scared him off?
That shouldn’t be…
Zhu Niao didn’t know what was wrong with her, but she knew she had an uncontrollable urge to get closer to Gou Yu, to be more intimate with him.
She’d been sleeping with Gou Yu a lot lately, and now the bed felt empty—just her alone was a bit uncomfortable.
Sleeping with Gou Yu was reassuring, but the guy would sometimes get up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom.
Why did he always have to pee in the dead of night?
Come to think of it, Gou Yu’s room was right next to hers.
’No, why am I thinking about all this nonsense? I sound like some bitter wife.’
Zhu Niao shook her head, tossing all those stray thoughts out of her mind.
Right now, the best thing to do was focus on playing with her phone.
Little phone, so fun.
“Little Bird!”
A familiar, slightly loud voice startled Zhu Niao, making her sit up from her curled-up blanket.
She looked toward the door and saw Gou Yu in his pajamas, holding a plush toy under his arm.
“What are you doing, not sleeping this late?” Zhu Niao said, but the corner of her mouth curled into a smile.
“I came to sleep with you.”
Gou Yu’s tone was matter-of-fact.
“Do you even hear what you’re saying? And look at what you’re doing.” Zhu Niao pointed both hands at him. “You barge into a maiden’s boudoir and demand she sleep with you. How’s that any different from a bandit in ancient times?”
“Aren’t you my fiancée?”
“We’re not engaged yet.”
“Future fiancée.”
With that, Gou Yu pulled out a large photo album. “Ta-da! Guess what this is?”
Zhu Niao raised an eyebrow. Years of dealing with Gou Yu had conditioned her to instinctively lash out at his mother.
“Is that your mother’s—”
Then she clapped her hand over her mouth.
She looked up and saw Gou Yu’s mother walking past the doorway behind him, looking refreshed.
’Close one!’
’Good thing I stopped in time.’
“It’s our family photo album,” Gou Yu said. “Are you sure you don’t want to let me in to sleep?”
“Who wants to see your family album?” Zhu Niao turned her head away.
“But I can’t sleep without holding something, and this thing’s uncomfortable—too small for me.” Gou Yu held up the plush toy.
Zhu Niao glanced at it. “Then why are you carrying it?”
“You sleep holding the plushie, and I’ll sleep holding you.” After considerable deliberation, Gou Yu uttered a ridiculously cringey line.
“The fact that you can say that shows you’ve already drifted pretty far from being human,” Zhu Niao said, but her body moved from the middle of the bed to the side.
Come to think of it, when Gou Yu slept at night, he did hold her, but always from behind—they’d hardly ever slept face to face.
Of course, Gou Yu knew that too.
He just didn’t want to risk losing control when they were face to face.
Going to the bathroom in the middle of the night to clear the chamber was really annoying, but holding the soft, fragrant Zhu Niao while sleeping was amazing.
’Damn it, this is all Zhu Niao’s fault.’
“There are even pictures of me in split-crotch pants when I was a kid in here.”
“Then I absolutely must take a look.”
Zhu Niao pulled back the blanket and patted the spot beside her.
Gou Yu pounced onto the bed, tossing the plushie into Zhu Niao’s arms.
Normally, when they were both in bed, the little orange cat would be in Zhu Niao’s arms.
But there was no way to bring the little orange cat on the high-speed train, so Zhu Niao had left it in the dorm room, asking Ye Qingchang to look after it for the weekend.
Even though Yang Shuli was also in the dorm, Zhu Niao doubted Yang Shuli could take care of herself.
As the album opened, Zhu Niao’s expression soured.
“What the hell is this?” She pointed at a picture of Gou Yu in split-crotch pants.
“That should be talent,” Gou Yu said confidently.
“Your ‘talent’ is an eighteen-centimeter line drawn with a black marker?” Zhu Niao rolled her eyes.
She flipped through two more photos and suddenly noticed a cake with candles, words written on it, and across from the cake was Gou Yu making a wish with his parents.
“Gou Wanqing…” Gou Yu rubbed his chin. “Who’s that?”
“That’s my name.” The store manager lady with reddish-brown hair stood at the doorway, her expression flat, as if used to this. Then she helped them close the door.
“Oh, right, my sister’s name. Almost forgot.”
“You did forget,” Zhu Niao said, pointing at the photo. “Why is the birthday cake your sister’s, but the three of you are making wishes? Where’s your sister?”
“Right here.” Gou Yu pointed to a dark corner where Gou Wanqing was wearing a birthday hat.
“You leave the birthday person out in the cold? You guys make wishes before she even gets a chance?”
“She wants both a birthday and a wish? Since when does the world work that way?” Gou Yu said with righteous indignation.