Ah?
Song Qiuyu nearly lost her breath in shock.
She stared at that incredibly familiar Zhen Lou Map and, after a few seconds, realized immediately—it had to be Xie Zhuran and Lin An’s doing!
Are they craving red bean again or what, so annoying…
The Zhen Lou Map showed the floor level was quite high. Bracing herself, she scrolled down a few times to take a look.
Everyone was curious about Jiang Xiao’s girlfriend’s identity. For Song Qiuyu, who had once been suspected, the situation was even more complicated.
A bunch of so-called “know-it-alls” popped up afterward, claiming they had seen through everything from the start.
Some were sarcastic, some sour grapes who said it was all overrated since they couldn’t have it themselves, and some were relieved Song Qiuyu wasn’t gay and boldly declared they would go after her.
This flood of diverse comments nipped Song Qiuyu’s desire to clarify things right in the bud.
Maybe this was fine after all?
The two of them were finally just clear-cut friends, classmates, roommates—no one would misunderstand anymore.
For now, Jiang Xiao was a guy with a girlfriend.
As long as no one found out that girlfriend was actually Song Qiuyu, everything would be fine.
Well, let’s just let Xie Zhuran and Lin An off the hook this time.
Speaking of which, just yesterday afternoon, Xie Zhuran, probably feeling guilty about selling out his friend before, gifted her several pretty expensive game skins!
Thinking of this, Song Qiuyu instinctively reached up to her neck, covering those embarrassing love bites through the high collar of her gray sweater.
Her heart was beating fast.
She turned to look at Sang Tian, who was watching her with a worried expression, and suddenly understood—so, Sang Tian had always been concerned about her and Jiang Xiao’s relationship?
She blinked, put on a playful smile, and said, “She is pretty, but I still think I’m a little better!”
Sang Tian was startled, unable to figure out what was on her mind, and simply thought she was joking to make herself feel better.
The Song classmate she knew was like this—if Jiang Xiao liked someone else, she wouldn’t fight or compete, only wish him happiness.
If only she could do something for Song Qiuyu.
After buying everything they needed, everyone left the shop together.
As they walked, Song Qiuyu slowed her steps and glanced sideways.
At the shop entrance stood a vending machine, and behind its clean glass sat a brown plush bear, tilting its body between a pink rabbit and a blue Doraemon.
The brown plush bear was chubby and very cute.
Looking at it, Song Qiuyu was overwhelmed by a sudden, powerful urge… she wanted it, she really wanted that adorable bear…
But Doraemon was obviously better, who could say no to Doraemon!
“Song Qiuyu?”
Jiang Xiao called out.
“Coming!”
Song Qiuyu felt embarrassed to admit it, choosing to toss that ghost-possessed impulse out of her mind.
But Jiang Xiao noticed. He glanced at the brown plush bear she had been looking at, his lips curving up in a thoughtful smile.
They went to the market afterward and bought some fresh groceries, then everyone returned to the rental apartment to start cooking together.
They chatted as they worked.
As the conversation went on, everyone joined in on the winter break hot spring hotel trip.
They also discussed the direction of the Da Shangdan Plot and the script for the Haunted House Promotional Video.
The haunted house boss had already said he’d cover all their theme park entry fees during the promotional shoot.
The rest of the day passed lightly and happily.
The only inconvenience was Song Qiuyu scrambling to change her sanitary pad because of her period, but with Jiang Xiao’s help, things were much easier.
The next morning, Jiang Li and Jiang Yu left South Wind City with smiles, full of excitement for the winter break.
So, once again, only Song Qiuyu and Jiang Xiao remained in the rental apartment.
Their cohabitation continued.
Four and a half days remained until their couple relationship task ended.
At the same time, the filming of the Haunted House Promotional Video began.
But for this video, making money wasn’t the main goal—the real purpose was to squeeze every bit of free time the two of them had!
Of course Song Qiuyu knew that, once her younger brother and sister left, a lot could happen if she and Jiang Xiao continued living together in the same apartment.
This wasn’t about trusting Jiang Xiao anymore—the person she trusted least right now was herself.
So she made plans for the next few days well in advance, and Jiang Xiao didn’t seem to notice her shameless, sneaky scheming at all.
Her little schemes were going smoothly.
This filming gig successfully packed their schedules full; any remaining time was only enough for personal assignments and prepping for their final two exams.
Even so, she still couldn’t escape being dragged out by him for dates.
After all, the filming location was the theme park—there was no way to avoid it.
Finally, after four days, the Haunted House Promotional Video was completed.
Only half a day remained before the couple mission would end.
Right now, Song Qiuyu was sitting in the library, headphones on, watching the finished promotional video, unable to stop herself from smiling.
This video told the story of tourists, accompanied by their most trusted partners, venturing into the haunted house to battle and chase down the haunted house NPCs.
Those partners included Pokémon, various cards, the photo of Uncle Ying, and more.
The response was great.
Not only did the haunted house’s revenue increase, but the whole theme park’s profits were boosted.
Their follower count skyrocketed; with a bit more effort, becoming a million-fan influencer was no longer a dream.
Everything was getting better.
The only thing left uncertain was what would happen between her and Jiang Xiao.
Song Qiuyu closed the video and looked at her current phone wallpaper.
It was a half-body photo she and Jiang Xiao took yesterday.
In the wallpaper, she was half-tilting her face, lightly wrapping one arm around Jiang Xiao’s head, while Jiang Xiao nuzzled his head close to hers, his strong arms wrapped tightly around her slender waist from behind.
No matter how you looked at it, they were a couple madly in love.
Besides the half-body photo, they also took a lot of sticker photos yesterday.
She thought that was the end of it, but Jiang Xiao insisted she save one as both her phone and computer wallpaper.
He was clearly trying to fully wedge himself into her world, making sure she always felt his presence.
Well, maybe that’s just how people in love act.
Still, their relationship seemed off, no matter how you looked at it.
Thinking back on these days of being forced on dates, Song Qiuyu rested her cheek on her hand, furrowing her brows, finding it all very troublesome.
She should feel forced, but somehow she seemed to be enjoying it a little.
It was supposed to be Jiang Xiao’s one-sided passion, and she was just playing along, acting as the girlfriend who adored him, but she seemed to be getting more and more into it, losing herself in the role.
Maybe… being Jiang Xiao’s girlfriend was just that addictive.
Geez…
So dangerous, really so dangerous.
She glanced at the time, packed up her things, slung on her backpack, and walked hesitantly toward the rental apartment.
Hopefully Jiang Xiao wasn’t home right now—she needed to start moving her things out as soon as possible!
It was a rent of 6000 per month, after all. Just because of her agreement with Jiang Xiao, she’d rented it for a whole week and hadn’t even stayed in it.
It was almost physically painful.
Climbing the stairs, her heart started pounding, and she unconsciously prayed that in this last half-day, Jiang Xiao would really let her off the hook.
Of course, even if Jiang Xiao was kind enough to forgive and let her go, she’d still take care of him as always!
She would remember how good he’d been to her, treat him twice as well in return, and they’d become the very best of brothers in the world!
Her atonement wouldn’t end there—she had to see for herself that Jiang Xiao found true happiness!
She would use the rest of her life, all her energy, to make it up to him…
So…
Song Qiuyu paused in front of the rental apartment door.
She dug out her keys from her pocket, but her hand was trembling slightly as she brought it to the lock.
After all, she’d been playing little tricks for four days—even the calmest person would feel a little guilty.
Let alone someone like her.
No, this won’t do…
If she bumped into Jiang Xiao now, he’d see right through her in a second!
Shutting her eyes, Song Qiuyu took a few deep breaths, forcing herself to calm down.
Firmly gripping the key, she slid it into the lock, gave it a gentle twist, and opened the door.
No one was in sight, but Jiang Xiao’s addictive scent had already drifted into her nose, making her think of his face, his voice, biting her lip in embarrassment.
It was faint.
Maybe he’d just come back for something.
Thinking so, she held her breath, praying even more sincerely, walked into the room, and closed the door behind her.
She walked to the living room.
Suddenly, a low chuckle came from the direction of the sofa.
Song Qiuyu froze, her footsteps growing heavy, as if every step forward was a countdown to her own doom, unable to take another step.
Her hands clenched tight, she turned toward the sound, and saw the person lying on the sofa lazily sit up, turn his face, and look at her with a smile.
Their eyes met, and Song Qiuyu’s heart gave a violent leap—she couldn’t breathe.