After Being Pestered by My Gloomy and Clingy Roommate 19

Chapter 19: Nineteen

When the movie ended, the house lights in the theater were all turned on by the staff.

Seeing that everyone else was starting to leave, Yu Jiang also prepared to go.

She turned her head to look at Chu Qingzi beside her. Her gaze only lingered on her face for a moment before it was drawn away by the bucket of popcorn.

Plump, golden kernels of popcorn were piled into a small, slightly convex hill in the round bucket. This appearance, almost identical to how it was at the beginning, proved only one thing—

“Qingzi, how is there still so much popcorn left? Did you not eat any just now?”

Chu Qingzi was a little slow to react. “Popcorn?”

Quickly, she looked down at the thing lying obediently on her lap and showed an apologetic expression. “Baby, I was so engrossed in the movie just now that I forgot we bought snacks.”

The snacks were bought by Chu Qingzi for them to eat together, so Yu Jiang probably had to take half the blame for this—

Because she hadn’t remembered it either.

Cold popcorn couldn’t compare to the taste of freshly made.

But to throw it away…

Yu Jiang couldn’t help but feel a pang of regret. After all, a combo for two like this cost several dozen yuan.

Chu Qingzi was the one-and-only roundworm in her stomach.

Yu Jiang had only frowned for a moment, and her inner conflict was completely exposed in her eyes.

She suggested in a warm voice, “There’s an air fryer in the kitchen. Let’s take it back and reheat it. If it’s really inedible, we can throw it away then, okay, baby?”

“Qingzi, you’re so smart! I almost forgot we have an air fryer at home. Let’s go back and try it!”

Who would have thought that as soon as she finished speaking, she would encounter the biggest obstacle of their return journey—their hands were still held together.

The lights overhead cascaded down like silver gauze. Fortunately, the angle at which it fell was not perfect.

The two soft ears on Yu Jiang’s head, which had quietly turned pink, were covered by a well-placed shadow.

She said shyly, “Qingzi, I’m not cold anymore. You can let go of my hand.”

Chu Qingzi didn’t do as she was told, but instead put on that innocent face that Yu Jiang was all too familiar with.

“But I’m cold now. Can you warm my hand up for me too, baby?”

Yu Jiang: “…”

The little hammer of conscience appeared again, thumping against her fragile heart, over and over.

Yu Jiang really couldn’t bring herself to do something as vicious as “burning the bridge after crossing it,” so she could only let out a tearless “mm.”

Just as they reached the entrance of the theater, Chu Qingzi let her go.

Yu Jiang was delighted. “You’re not cold anymore?”

Chu Qingzi shattered her hopes with a warm voice, “Where do you want to wait for me, baby? I’m going to the restroom and will be right back.”

Yu Jiang took the popcorn bucket she handed over and said sullenly, “Then I’ll wait for you in the lobby. I’ll also go ask the staff for a to-go bag.”

Her aggrieved expression was made very cute.

Like a milky, round pet that appears as a mascot in cartoons, soft and fluffy on the surface. When it gets upset and pouts, its small body would deflate.

The audience watching from outside the screen would always feel the urge to reach into the screen and give it a good squeeze.

Chu Qingzi looked at the charming and unaware Yu Jiang, the gentle undertone in her eyes darkening slightly.

As if possessed, she reached out a hand towards that face she had longed for day and night. The moment it was about to touch, the invisible glass barrier between them shattered with a crack.

The next second, startled awake, ripples spread across the gentle lake stirred by the wind. She didn’t explain anything, just lowered her eyes and, with an unchanged expression, opened her palm in front of her.

“Do you have a tissue, baby?”

Yu Jiang didn’t think much of it. It was perfectly normal for a good friend to want to touch her face.

Her other hand was holding the unfinished Coke, so she couldn’t free it to hand one to her. She simply stretched her arms out to the sides, gesturing for her to get it herself.

“It’s in my pocket. You can look for it.”

Chu Qingzi’s gaze fell, scanning her two pockets.

Both pockets were slightly bulging, but it was easy to tell which one held a phone and which one held a pack of tissues*.

Chu Qingzi took the entire pack of tissues.

Yu Jiang also turned around to ask the staff for a to-go bag.

In the quiet restroom, the sound of something being thrown into a trash can suddenly rang out.

After disposing of the item, Chu Qingzi went to the mirror and began to wash the hand that had touched the tissue packaging.

The clear glass mirror reflected the exquisite and dazzling face of the person in it.

Her expression was rather cold, and the corners of her lips, which were usually smiling, were now curved in an arc of almost unapproachable indifference.

“Sssla—”

It was the sound of the transparent seal on the packaging being torn open.

Chu Qingzi wiped the remaining water droplets from her hands, bit by bit. Finally, she stuffed the brand-new pack of tissues back into her own pocket.

On the other side.

Yu Jiang got a to-go bag from the staff. Just as she had put the popcorn inside, a familiar voice sounded by her ear.

“Baby, I’m back.”

The figures of the two gradually receded.

Their simple, everyday conversation quickly melted into the surrounding noise.

“Baby, I’m sorry. I wasn’t holding it steady when I got up just now and accidentally dropped the tissues.”

“It’s just a pack of tissues. Why are you apologizing to me? Oh right, speaking of tissues, did you know that in these public places…”

There were no classes the next morning.

Yu Jiang woke up early but got up late.

By the time she had tidied up and come out to the living room, it was already past eight o’clock.

She went into the kitchen and poured a glass of warm water. Instead of going back to her room, she sat down on the sofa with the glass.

The living room was very quiet. Yu Jiang scrolled through her phone by herself, her movements so light that not a sound could be heard.

Just as she finished the last sip of water, the doorbell rang.

The person at the door was not a delivery driver, but a courier from a certain e-commerce platform.

Yu Jiang and the courier stared at each other. “JD? I haven’t bought anything from them these past few days?”

The courier had clearly seen this kind of thing before and said calmly, “If the phone number and address are correct, it should be something a friend bought for you.”

A friend?

Yu Jiang’s face stiffened. She thought she knew what this was.

The courier had just left when the food delivery driver arrived.

Yu Jiang saw the person off again, then looked down, struggling and vexed, at the delivery box on the floor.

What should I do with this camera?

She couldn’t think of anything for the moment and decided to deal with it after breakfast.

Yu Jiang went back to her room, put down the delivery box, and went out to call Chu Qingzi.

A few minutes later, at the dining table.

Yu Jiang took the spoon Chu Qingzi handed her. Just as she was about to start eating her congee, the phone placed to the side suddenly lit up.

Even without seeing the specific message content, she could be certain that the person looking for her at this time was definitely that damn pervert who was as persistent as a ghost.

Yu Jiang had no intention of paying her any mind.

But the other person was like a piece of sticky candy that couldn’t be shaken off, sending new messages nonstop.

Chu Qingzi, across from her, was peeling an egg for her. She unintentionally noticed the unusual state of her phone and gently reminded her, “Baby, it looks like someone is looking for you. Do you want to check your messages first?”

Yu Jiang deeply regretted not putting her phone back in her pocket just now, which had given the damn pervert an opportunity.

She forced a stiff smile. “Then I’ll take a look.”

【Nameless Pervert: Wife, good morning!】

【Nameless Pervert: Wife, good morning!】

First, there were nearly twenty morning greetings. After sending those, the nameless pervert finally changed the message content.

【Nameless Pervert: Wife, the logistics on my end show that the camera has been signed for by the recipient. Have you received the package?】

【Nameless Pervert: Have you used a camera before, wife? If not, I have a detailed user manual here. You can refer to it when you use it~ (super obedient.jpg)】

【Nameless Pervert: (Self-made camera manual in PDF format with pictures and text.pdf)】

【Nameless Pervert: I stayed up all night to prepare this for you~ Aren’t I so well-behaved, wife~ (face tilted up, asking for praise.jpg)】

【Nameless Pervert: For the sake of me being so well-behaved, can you take a selfie with the camera and send it to me! (expectant starry eyes.jpg)】

【Nameless Pervert: If you don’t want to take a picture of your face, taking a picture of another part of your body is also fine! Even if you only take a picture of your little finger, I’ll still love it!】

【Nameless Pervert: I promise! I will definitely treasure your little finger just like I treasure your other photos!】

Her good mood completely ruined by her, Yu Jiang was overcome with a surge of anger. She immediately opened the camera function on WeChat and, with a foul expression, took what she considered to be the most insulting photo possible.

【(Flipping the bird.jpg)】

The nameless pervert replied in a second.

【Nameless Pervert: (Ring.jpg)】

***

Translator’s Notes

1. Roundworm in her stomach (肚子里的蛔虫, dùzi lǐ de huíchóng): A common Chinese idiom used to describe someone who knows you so well they can read your mind, similar to the English expression “knows you inside and out.”

2. JD (某东, mǒu dōng): A common way to refer to JD.com (京东, Jīngdōng), a major Chinese e-commerce company, similar to Amazon.