After finishing skewers with the Drama Club members and taking a stroll along the nearby street to walk off the meal, everyone else headed back to school or their off-campus residences.
Song Qiuyu also slowly led Jiang Xiao toward their rental apartment.
Along the way, many people were loudly playing short dramas and novels on their phones, creating a lively atmosphere.
But Song Qiuyu and Jiang Xiao maintained a tacit silence, simply walking side by side quietly, with neither breaking the dead quiet.
It wasn’t that they didn’t want to talk; they were just waiting for the other to speak first.
As they walked, Song Qiu Yu suddenly heard a startling sound from a young woman’s phone nearby:
“Old Man Heaven, please rain down some ‘D’! F*ck me to death!”
As soon as the sound played, the young woman unsurprisingly became the focus of the entire street, her entire face blushing red like a tomato.
Seeing this, Song Qiuyu’s face turned red as well.
She couldn’t quite explain why, but she just felt embarrassed along with her.
Watching the young woman run off at lightning speed, disappearing in the blink of an eye, she blinked her eyes, puzzled, and slowly turned her gaze back to the person beside her.
Sure enough, Jiang Xiao was also looking.
She grabbed a corner of his clothes. “Jiang Xiao, what are you looking at?”
“Looking at what you’re looking at.”
Jiang Xiao rubbed her head, responding calmly.
“Then… do you think it was nice to look at?”
Song Qiuyu didn’t let go, still holding onto his clothes, and continued walking forward.
“Hmm, nice!”
Jiang Xiao nodded affirmatively.
“What?”
Song Qiuyu’s footsteps abruptly halted.
“I said it was nice.”
Jiang Xiao seemed to glance back, saying with a light laugh.
Song Qiuyu took a sharp breath, her mind almost short-circuiting.
She completely couldn’t understand why Jiang Xiao would suddenly say such a thing.
The only explanation she could think of was one—he was deliberately teasing her!
She deliberately put on an angry face. “Say that again?”
“I said it was nice.”
Jiang Xiao repeated with a smile.
“Oh…”
Song Qiuyu turned her face away, trying her best to show all her displeasure on her face.
“What’s wrong?”
Jiang Xiao grabbed the small hand that was clutching his clothes, his gaze lingering on her pouting expression as he tried hard to suppress the corners of his mouth.
Hearing this, Song Qiuyu just sulked in silence.
In the past, she would usually obediently speak her mind, but today was different; she decided to play mute for a while.
There were already the matters of the love letter and the skewers that hadn’t been resolved, and now, on top of that, there was one more thing she needed to settle with Jiang Xiao!
Entering the hallway of the rental apartment, all the noisy sounds were blocked behind an iron door, the wide street replaced by a narrow hallway.
The hallway lights were bright, clearly illuminating the girl’s face, which was increasingly struggling to hide her thoughts, making Jiang Xiao unconsciously pull her closer.
“Mmm…”
The sudden shortening of distance instantly made Song Qiuyu’s heart beat faster.
But Jiang Xiao seemed completely unaware of her inner turmoil, just holding her hand on his own, slowly intertwining his fingers with hers.
“What are you doing?”
The connection between fingers and heart, the slight tickling sensation from the friction and kneading of their fingertips, made Song Qiuyu’s heart beat even faster, and her footsteps began to slow.
She gave Jiang Xiao an annoyed look, preparing to pull her hand away and deliberately push him off, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. In the end, she did free her hand, but when it landed on him, it turned into little fists lightly pounding his chest.
Her mind went blank for a moment. Had she actually just made such a girly gesture?
This was major progress…
She should be happy about it, but what surfaced in her heart before happiness was shyness.
The little fists still resting on his chest gradually softened, completely unable to stay firm.
This was just too much like a shy, delicate woman, but men probably find it quite endearing.
But I’m so embarrassed myself, what do I do?!
“Hmph, I don’t want to talk to you for now. We’re sleeping separately tonight.”
She simply tapped Jiang Xiao’s chest lightly five or six times, then, mustering up what she thought was a very domineering aura, shook off his hand and quickly walked upstairs.
Jiang Xiao didn’t say a word, just followed behind her with a smile.
A moment later, Song Qiuyu stopped in front of the rental apartment door and fished the key out of her pocket.
“Are you angry?”
Just as she was about to use the key to unlock the door, Jiang Xiao’s hot, moist breath suddenly swept over the nape of her neck like foxtail grass, his amused voice tickling her heart.
“So you did know!”
Song Qiuyu pretended she had just realized, using the key to open the door.
“Yeah, I know. I’ve known all along.”
Jiang Xiao followed her into the rental apartment.
After closing the door behind him, he took a deep breath, then looked seriously at the person who had turned to face him. “I also know a certain cat has been jealous all evening!”
“Huh?”
Song Qiuyu was stunned. A cat? What cat?
“This cat has been looking like it wanted to settle accounts with me the whole way back, rubbing its paws together the entire time, so fierce.”
Jiang Xiao deliberately made a pained expression, rubbing the spot on his chest where her little fists had pounded.
Song Qiuyu suddenly understood. Did this ‘cat’ refer to her?
“Alright, alright, don’t be jealous. I know what you care about most—it’s that girl’s love letter.”
Jiang Xiao walked closer to her.
“It’s not just that.”
Song Qiuyu didn’t retreat either, staring unblinkingly into Jiang Xiao’s eyes.
She hadn’t originally intended to act spoiled; she just wanted to calmly discuss serious matters with him.
If it went well, she’d then naturally confirm their relationship status—officially becoming a couple.
But, under his gaze, her body and emotions acted contrary to her thoughts.
She involuntarily showed an expression that seemed to crave affection and spoke in a coquettish tone:
“You also stole my skewers to eat, and right in front of me, you praised another girl for being nice to look at!”
Hearing this, Jiang Xiao couldn’t help but chuckle. He gently pinched her chubby little cheek and leaned his face closer. “Then shall I explain them to you one by one?”
“You should have explained long ago—”
Song Qiuyu bit her lip, symbolically kicking Jiang Xiao’s shin.
“Sorry, sorry.”
Jiang Xiao smiled brightly.
“What can I do? Who made my Xi’er Cat look so adorable when she’s jealous?”
Huh?
What ‘Xi’er Cat’!
Song Qiuyu was stunned for a moment, and the next second, faint wisps of steam seemed to rise from the top of her head.
She gritted her teeth lightly.
The words to refute him were stuck in her throat, hard to say. She felt that arguing now would only have the opposite effect.
But if she didn’t refute it, wouldn’t that mean admitting she was a cat?
She desperately searched for cool air to relieve the heat in her body, but Jiang Xiao had already aggressively occupied all her personal space.
She could only let her mind short-circuit further in the increasingly hot, confined space.
The escalating shame was already beyond relief.
She could only press her lips together, adopting the most submissive posture, and make her defense in a voice as thin as a mosquito’s hum: “I’m not a cat. Xi’er is just Xi’er… not a cat you keep.”
“But you said it yourself. Just this morning, you said you were a cat I keep.”
Jiang Xiao took her hand again, his long, slender fingers sliding between hers, slowly interlocking with her smooth, soft little hand.
Feeling her slight trembling, he didn’t stop. Instead, he pressed forward step by step.
“I never said that.”
Song Qiuyu averted her gaze. It was a lie, and she felt guilty.
“No, you did.”
Jiang Xiao stared intently at her.
“Do you have proof?”
Song Qiuyu snorted lightly.
“Uh, I actually don’t, because I never thought the always-most-honest Xi’er would actually deny it.”
Jiang Xiao sighed.
“Then there isn’t any! Anyway, Jiang Xiao, I can understand your desire to tease me, but that doesn’t mean I’ll…”
Song Qiuyu nervously stepped back.
Soon, her back was against the cool, hard wall. There was no more retreat.
“Doesn’t mean what?”
Jiang Xiao watched her eyes, chasing after her shy, evasive gaze.
“Doesn’t mean I’ll always indulge you. Don’t forget, I’m a girl now too. If I encounter something I don’t like, I’ll throw a tantrum!”
Under Jiang Xiao’s deep gaze, Song Qiuyu felt as if her whole body was entangled by thick, long vines, completely unable to move.
That gentle gaze was even more like a fishing hook, slowly pulling out, strand by strand, all the little thoughts she had suppressed and hidden deep in her heart.
She couldn’t quite resist, lowering her head, which happened to rest against Jiang Xiao’s solid chest.
Her ink-black hair slipped down from both sides of her nape, revealing a small section of flushed, delicate skin.
She tightly clasped Jiang Xiao’s warm, large hand. “So… Jiang Xiao, you’re not allowed to deliberately make me jealous anymore!”
Jiang Xiao lowered his eyes, slowly embracing her, using his body heat to warm her slightly cold little hands.
Even though it was already spring, due to her female constitution, her hands and feet were always cold.
“My jar of jealousy…”
Song Qiuyu seemed to squeeze out the words she had held back for a long time, one by one, from between her teeth.
“Hmm?”
Jiang Xiao listened attentively.
“My jar of jealousy can tip over!”
Song Qiuyu said firmly.
“So has it tipped over now?”
Jiang Xiao raised an eyebrow.
“You…”
Song Qiuyu almost choked. She gritted her teeth, pressed her lips together, and fiercely stomped on Jiang Xiao’s sneaker.
“See? This is what happens when the jealousy jar tips over!”
“Wow, Qia’er Cat is so fierce!”
Jiang Xiao didn’t even glance at the stepped-on shoe, just smiled and stared at her using her fiercest look, trying hard to mimic a tigress.
“That’s not…”
Song Qiuyu could clearly see Jiang Xiao was enjoying this and couldn’t help but feel a bit moved.
“Alright, alright, be good.”
Jiang Xiao gently smoothed her ‘fur,’ coaxing her as he always had.
He unconditionally accepted her emotional outburst after her jealousy jar tipped over.
“Don’t think patting my head a few times will make it better. You won’t be able to coax me today!”
Song Qiuyu lightly slapped away Jiang Xiao’s hand that was patting her head and tentatively pushed him.
Since she had decided to officially become Jiang Xiao’s girlfriend, there were some things that had to be dealt with right now.
For example, Jiang Xiao’s addiction to teasing her!
A little teasing was fine, but too much was going too far.
If Jiang Xiao dares to tease me like this now, then after we get married, wouldn’t I be completely at his mercy?
But thinking about what she herself had done in the past, she couldn’t help but soften.
She suddenly felt that letting Jiang Xiao have his way with her for a lifetime might not be so bad, as long as Jiang Xiao could be happy every day from now on.
Jiang Xiao seemed to pause for a moment, then suddenly had an epiphany, widening his eyes. “Oh, so that’s how it is. So Xi’er, you also…”
“Mmm?”
Suddenly being released, Song Qiuyu was slightly stunned, still a bit unaccustomed to it, and wanted to bury her face in his chest again on her own.
“Ahem!”
Jiang Xiao closed his eyes, cleared his throat with a fist.
When he opened his eyes again, the tenderness in them was even deeper.
“That love letter…”
“I originally thought it was written to you by that girl, so when I found out the truth, I felt a genuine sense of relief and laughed.”
“Ah?”
Song Qiuyu had never imagined Jiang Xiao laughed with that thought in mind.
After all, she was a girl now. Even if she told others she was still a boy, there’s usually mutual exclusion between the same sex. Girls should…
Wait, actually, there is one more sexual orientation that is…
“Xi’er, there’s one more thing I want to apologize to you for.”
Jiang Xiao’s sudden words disrupted her train of thought.
Apologize?
Song Qiuyu stared blankly at Jiang Xiao, slightly furrowing her brows. Was it to apologize for stealing her skewers?
“When I saw you leave with that girl, I had a thought.”
Jiang Xiao nervously clenched his hand slightly.
“To hide you away.”
Song Qiuyu froze.
“I’m very sorry. I will try my best to control this kind of thought, although, actually, I’ve had similar thoughts for a long time.”
Jiang Xiao frowned, looking with utmost seriousness into his girlfriend’s eyes.
“A qualified boyfriend would never let his girlfriend feel threatened.”
“Others can’t hurt his girlfriend, and he himself certainly can’t. A girlfriend is someone to be protected.”
Seeing that the other person seemed stunned, he couldn’t help but feel a bit flustered.
What answer would his honesty bring?
If it’s the Qia’er he knows, she should…
“We really are quite similar then.”
Song Qiuyu laughed.
Jiang Xiao laughed along.
“I think I can understand why the male leads in those TS works always fall irretrievably for the transformed girls.”
Song Qiuyu tilted her head.
Jiang Xiao looked a bit puzzled, not quite understanding these so-called TS works.
Then he saw her rise onto her tiptoes, but she wasn’t just shortening the distance alone; she also grabbed his collar and pulled him down.
This distance was shortened by both of them simultaneously. Immediately after, a captivating smile bloomed on that sweet, well-behaved face.
“Jiang Xiao, it’s not just you. Both of us have an insatiable possessiveness toward each other. We both want to protect the other domineeringly!”
“And, I also…”
She suddenly seemed unable to continue, as if the words that followed were a little secret only she herself could know.
She kept swallowing her saliva. Her tiptoes, held up for too long, were starting to ache.
She couldn’t hold the pose much longer.
“Qia’er, why aren’t you continuing?”
Jiang Xiao couldn’t help but urge her.
“Forget it. You probably understand what I mean anyway. I’d better not say it!”
Song Qiuyu, overcome with shyness, tightly closed her eyes, hurriedly struggled out of Jiang Xiao’s embrace twice, and fled toward the room where she rested.
“Xi’er, if you don’t say it now, I might get insomnia. Do you really have the heart…”
Jiang Xiao’s wounded voice came from behind.
Song Qiuyu’s heart softened.
She decisively stopped walking and looked back, only to see that the other person didn’t look the least bit wounded. Instead, he looked utterly smug, like a hunter who had predicted his prey’s move!
She didn’t get angry with him over this.
Taking a deep breath and clenching her hands into fists, she decided to go all out: “Jiang Xiao, I also want to kiss you, hug you, have you all to myself, hide you away, and only let me, your girlfriend, see you!!”
“So direct?”
Jiang Xiao deliberately raised an eyebrow with a smile, coughing a few times as if embarrassed.
Then, Song Qiuyu ignored him, turning around at once. Like a snail finding its shelter, she creaked the door open, quickly slipped inside, and closed the door.
Jiang Xiao knew very well she probably wouldn’t come out easily again tonight.
But that wouldn’t do. He had to pull her out, even if he had to trick her into coming out.
Leaving aside other things, she was still on her period, hadn’t washed up yet, and had club recruitment again tomorrow.
The length and quality of her sleep were very important.
He’d feel more at ease if he could hold her while she slept.
Just then, beep, his phone suddenly received a new QQ message.
Jiang Xiao took out his phone.
He opened it.
[Wife]: Jiang Xiao, let’s discuss something, okay? Starting tomorrow, let’s officially become a real couple, okay? Be real boyfriend and girlfriend?
Premium Chapter
Login to buy access to this Chapter.