Pei Xingyan hadn’t expected to receive a kiss—especially since Lin Xiaoyu had aimed right for his mouth. If he hadn’t instinctively dodged, his carefully preserved first kiss would have been taken away from him just like that.
He didn’t know what to say. Even if he were completely clueless, he could tell now that Lin Xiaoyu’s feelings had changed—they were no longer just friends.
What kind of friend launches a full-on assault on someone’s lips?
But thinking it over carefully, Pei Xingyan felt the problem was still his own fault.
When he was running away, he heard some noise and turned to see Lin Xiaoyu about to fall off the platform. Of course, he couldn’t just stand by and do nothing, so he stepped forward to catch her.
At that moment, Su Shanshan was already very close by. With him holding Lin Xiaoyu in that posture, no one would think they were innocent. So the only thing he could do was turn and run.
And he ran while holding Lin Xiaoyu.
Afterwards, still afraid of being exposed, he pressed Lin Xiaoyu’s entire body against the tree trunk to keep her hidden from Su Shanshan’s view.
Maybe it was this series of overly intimate actions that caused Lin Xiaoyu’s misunderstanding.
Pei Xingyan angrily pounded his chest, like a dominant gorilla in the jungle.
He was furious!
How had things turned out this way?
Whether he was or wasn’t a scumbag now, he was tangled up emotionally with several girls. How was he supposed to handle this?
Pei Xingyan lowered his head and paced out from the other side of the woods.
“Baby?” A familiar female voice called out.
Pei Xingyan looked up and saw Su Shanshan standing there, as if waiting for him. They bumped right into each other.
Then she grabbed his arm, trapping him in the depths of an unfathomable valley.
“Baby, so you were here all along~” Su Shanshan instantly brightened up. She swayed back and forth, leaving a variety of touches on Pei Xingyan’s arm.
“Mm.” Pei Xingyan nodded weakly.
Just having been kissed by one girl, and now being tightly held by another, his guilt only deepened.
“But baby, what are you doing here?” Su Shanshan asked with a puzzled look. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you. I thought maybe you found me annoying and left first.”
“Not at all. Watching you paint is pretty interesting,” Pei Xingyan explained. “I just came out for a walk—my legs went numb from sitting too long.”
“Mm~” Hearing that, Su Shanshan happily hummed to herself, completely unbothered that her arms pressed against something. “Baby, you’re so sweet, liking the way I work even more makes me love you~”
“Ha…”
Pei Xingyan felt utterly weak inside and could only smile awkwardly.
The two of them leaned on each other as they strolled along the shaded path.
Pei Xingyan glanced around nervously, relieved to see Lin Xiaoyu was nowhere nearby.
“Baby, speaking of which, I just saw a really pretty girl~” Su Shanshan suddenly said, as if she knew what he was worried about. “She was wearing a long dress, sitting in that pavilion we often hang out at.”
Pei Xingyan felt like his breath was catching. Forcing himself calm, he asked with a smile, “How pretty was she?”
“Ah! Baby, why do you care about that?” Su Shanshan pouted and gently headbutted him.
“I just think you’re already so beautiful, it’s rare to hear you praise someone else.”
“Hehe~” Su Shanshan brightened again, tilting her head. “You say I’m pretty, but how pretty? Am I the most beautiful in the world?”
“Yes, yes, you’re the most beautiful in the world.”
“mua~” Su Shanshan blew him kisses nonstop, her walk growing cocky.
After some playful teasing, Su Shanshan returned to the earlier topic. “Baby, that girl was eating something in the pavilion, I think it was bird’s nest soup or something.”
Pei Xingyan’s heart sank again. He knew that pretty girl was Lin Xiaoyu.
But he hadn’t expected her to go back and sit in the pavilion to keep eating—that was the same thing he’d eaten. Did she really not mind?
“Baby, do you want some?” she asked. “When you come to my place, I’ll cook some for you, okay? I heard it’s good for your skin~”
“You just eat it. If you get any prettier, you’ll become an immortal,” Pei Xingyan declined tactfully. Then, curious, he asked, “By the way, I still don’t know where you live.”
“I’m in this city, near Qingshui Manor,” Su Shanshan said. “How about I take you there this weekend?”
“No thanks…” Pei Xingyan felt like his heart was about to jump out of his chest.
He was way too familiar with that place—Ye Ziwei, and even his old home, were all in Qingshui Manor. It was a villa area; although the lots were large and houses far apart, it was inevitable he’d run into someone else.
If he really followed Su Shanshan there and got caught by Ye Ziwei, he’d be in deep trouble.
Su Shanshan snorted unhappily.
But then she rolled her dark eyes and got a new idea.
She asked again, “Baby, where do you live? Will you take me to see?”
Though Su Shanshan didn’t understand the concept of personal boundaries, this was still a bit much.
What made it worse was Pei Xingyan had no idea how to respond.
“Actually…” His voice dropped low. “I don’t have a home right now…”
Su Shanshan’s steps halted. Her eyes grew wide and round. “What… do you mean?”
“Literally, I don’t have a home. The house I lived in was taken by the bank. If it weren’t for the school dorm being cheap, I’d be living under a bridge,” Pei Xingyan said honestly.
“……”
Su Shanshan fell silent, staring at him, unable to say a word for a long time.
“Surprised, huh?” Pei Xingyan laughed self-deprecatingly. “To be honest, I’m—”
He paused, not finishing his sentence.
The girl beside him pulled him into a tight hug. She rested her head on his shoulder, burying her face there.
Her voice trembled with pain, and she seemed on the verge of tears. “Baby, you’re so pitiful!”
“Ah no, actually I—”
“Don’t refuse. From now on, my home is your home. I’ll shield you from the wind and rain, okay?” she said earnestly, giving him no room to decline.
She answered for Pei Xingyan herself, “It’s settled. You’re not allowed to say you have no home anymore.”
Honestly, Pei Xingyan felt a little moved. Those words struck straight at his heart.
Of course, if Su Shanshan hadn’t taken advantage of this moment to run her hands over him, he might have felt even more touched.
But no matter her true feelings, he engraved her words deeply in his heart.
“Baby… no need to say more. This weekend, I’m taking you home!” Su Shanshan declared dominantly. “I’ll put your fingerprint into the door lock, so it’ll be your home from then on.”
She looked at him, her beautiful eyes flashing and sparkling.
Pei Xingyan suddenly found himself at a loss for how to refuse.