Shen An was thrilled, of course, but once the excitement faded, he glanced at the sofa and his smile collapsed instantly.
Sigh~
He couldn’t even remember the last time he’d slept on a sofa.
It was the middle of the night, and there wasn’t even a blanket in sight. He couldn’t very well go back and disturb Zhao Qingyu, could he?
She was probably tossing and turning, wide awake herself right now.
Shen An scratched his head and resignedly headed to the sofa. He grabbed the throw pillows—one for his head, the other as a makeshift blanket—and lay down flat, closing his eyes.
He’d had a bit of wine earlier, and the pleasant buzz helped him drift off quickly. His eyelids grew heavy, and soon he was fast asleep.
Night deepened, and then it seemed like only a moment had passed before the first rays of dawn pierced the darkness.
The sun hadn’t risen yet, and the moon hadn’t fully set.
The sky had lightened, though, with the pale outline of the moon still hanging on the horizon.
Even though it was deep autumn, fall in the south was so fleeting it felt like summer. By five or six in the morning, it was already broad daylight.
Shen An was still lost in deep slumber. This was usually his deepest sleep phase; he wouldn’t wake easily.
He might not have stirred, but someone else did.
Oh, not quite—she hadn’t slept at all.
Zhao Qingyu, who had spent the entire night tossing sleeplessly in her room, could no longer contain her restless anticipation. That endless night had left her utterly frustrated.
It wasn’t her first time pulling an all-nighter, but last night had felt unbearably long.
That featherlight kiss was like an invisible lock—not on her forehead at all, but deep in her heart.
It had chained her heart to his.
Even if the lock was as faint and illusory as the moon now hovering in the sky, it was enough.
She quietly opened her bedroom door and tiptoed out, glancing furtively around the living room.
Thank goodness it was fully light now; the morning sun streaming through the windows illuminated everything.
It was still a bit hazy, but not pitch black.
From the corner of her eye, she spotted Shen An curled up on the sofa.
The pillow he’d been using as a blanket had fallen to the floor, and he was huddled into a tight ball—whether from the nighttime chill or something else, she couldn’t say.
“Heh, you mocked my sleeping position, but yours isn’t any better,” Zhao Qingyu muttered under her breath.
Yet seeing him curled up like that tugged at her heart unexpectedly.
It must have been cold last night…
She turned back to her room, grabbed a bedsheet still warm from her body heat, and crept closer, careful to muffle her footsteps.
She didn’t want to wake him.
When she reached his side, Zhao Qingyu crouched down slightly and tenderly draped the sheet over him.
In his sleep, Shen An seemed to sense it. On pure instinct, he clutched the sheet tight and wrapped it around himself.
It startled her, and she thought for a second that she’d woken him.
She studied his face carefully. Seeing no sign of his eyes fluttering open, she finally relaxed.
The scene now felt reversed.
Last night, Zhao Qingyu had pretended to be drunk while Shen An gazed at her.
Now, she was crouched by his side, watching his peaceful sleeping face.
“Hehe~ You’re cuter when you’re asleep than when you’re awake.”
“At least you don’t make me want to throttle you every five minutes.”
Just looking at him brought an involuntary doting auntie smile to Zhao Qingyu’s face.
Then, almost without thinking, she reached out a hand.
Yes.
Unable to help herself, she mimicked the way Shen An had playfully tormented her face the night before, poking his cheeks lightly with her fingers.
She did feel a bit sorry for him, though, so she wasn’t as ruthless as he had been—just a few gentle prods, nothing meant to hurt.
Hmph~
Zhao Qingyu pouted, chiding herself for going soft.
This guy deserved a real thrashing.
But she just couldn’t bring herself to do it.
She raised her hand several times, only to let it fall as lightly as spring rain on his cheek.
Suddenly, she arched a brow in annoyance.
She should have brought her phone…
She’d rushed over so hastily last night that she’d forgotten it.
She’d wanted to snap a photo for posterity.
Oh well~
Fine, on account of how well-behaved you were last night, I’ll let you off the hook this time.
Zhao Qingyu mock-glared at him, shaking her little fist in front of his closed eyes, then propped her chin on her hand and watched him quietly.
Squatting was getting tiring, so she simply sat down cross-legged.
He slept, and she watched him sleep.
It was a strangely wonderful feeling.
Tossing and turning in bed alone had bored her to tears, and watching him sleep should have been just as dull, right?
Yet it didn’t feel dull or tedious at all.
Just gazing at his face conjured a flood of images in her mind, like watching a movie.
And then, drowsiness hit her.
After a sleepless night, exhaustion crashed over her fiercely, leaving no room for second thoughts.
She slumped against the edge of the sofa beside him, her head pillowed on its soft surface, and quietly drifted off.
Around seven or eight in the morning, Shen An’s eyes snapped open right on schedule.
Ever since starting school, his internal clock had been meticulously tuned by his packed class schedule.
The first thing he saw was Zhao Qingyu’s sleeping face, inches from his own.
He blinked, stunned for a few seconds, then yelped in shock and shoved her away with a slap. “Fuck!”
Thud.
A dull impact echoed as Zhao Qingyu jolted awake in pain. She blinked in confusion, not yet grasping what had happened, only registering a sharp ache in her arm.
Shen An quickly scanned his surroundings.
Oh, right—the living room. Crisis averted.
He let out a long breath of relief.
Waking up to Zhao Qingyu that close had made him fear he’d sleepwalked into her room and done something he’d regret.
Then he noticed the sheet draped over him… from her bedroom.
Oh…
His mind raced, piecing it together in an instant.
Hiss.
A flicker of horror crossed his face. He looked up to see Zhao Qingyu staring back, expressionless.
Shit…
“You… You can just go die, Shen An.”
Zhao Qingyu glared at him through gritted teeth, her fist swinging out without mercy, laden with unspoken resentment and grievance.
This was the second time already!!
No one had ever slapped her twice in her life—not from childhood to now. Shen An was the first, and maybe the only one who ever would be.
The greatest humiliation she’d ever endured—and twice in a row, no less.
A massive humiliation!
And he’d shoved her without a second’s hesitation, making her wonder if he truly found her that repulsive.
All that previous tenderness and sweet talk—had it just been an act?
Shen An didn’t dodge. He took the full force of the punch squarely.
No helping it; this was entirely his fault.
She’d gotten up early to kindly tuck him in, and he’d repaid her with a slap to the face.
Of course, he still had to play up the pain a bit. He flopped back on the sofa, wailing pitifully.
Hmph!
Cold fury flashed in Zhao Qingyu’s eyes as she huffed through flared nostrils.
“It wasn’t on purpose, Senior Sister…”
Shen An said softly. “I opened my eyes and there you were. I thought… I thought…”
“Thought what?”
Zhao Qingyu narrowed her eyes.
“I thought I was dreaming.”
“Oh? So you hate me that much? Dreaming of me is a nightmare?” Her tone grew icy.
“Definitely not a nightmare.”
“Is that so? Then explain this slap.” Zhao Qingyu lifted her chin, pointing to her neck.
The slap hadn’t actually landed on her face.
“I was afraid I’d done something wrong,” Shen An said, scratching his head. “I didn’t want to disrespect your purity, Senior Sister.”
Zhao Qingyu: ?
Was it a dog who kissed my forehead last night before leaving?
But she couldn’t say that.
Because she’d been “drunk.”
“Speaking of which, why are you up so early, Senior Sister?” Shen An stretched lazily. “And thanks for the blanket—that was sweet of you.”
Zhao Qingyu pressed her lips together, refusing to reply.
“But why’d you sleep slumped over the sofa?”
Shen An pressed on. “Bad night?”
Zhao Qingyu: …
“None of your business,” she said flatly.
“Heh, it’s not, but still—I think you need to work on your tolerance, Senior Sister.”
Zhao Qingyu snorted coldly. “None of your business.”
Shen An shrugged and lay back down. “Yeah, guess not.”
He wasn’t about to keep sweet-talking her endlessly.
Look at that attitude. Was that remorse?
Infuriated, Zhao Qingyu yanked the sheet off him. Shen An didn’t care; he just curled up and kept sleeping.
“Shen An!”
She glared daggers at him.
Shen An raised a brow, reached out, and yanked her onto the sofa beside him.
“You—”
Before Zhao Qingyu could struggle, she was face-to-face with him, pressed tight against his body.
“Since you’re sleepy too, Senior Sister, why not nap a little longer?”
Shen An blinked at her, his voice gentle.
“Let me go!” Zhao Qingyu said coldly.
“Nope.”
“Let go!”
“Not letting go.”
Seeing his smug grin, Zhao Qingyu felt utterly powerless.
This was the price of losing the upper hand…
One wrong step leads to mistake after mistake.
She let out a sigh. “Let go of me already. I need to go back and take a shower.”
“Oh? You’re still gonna shower?”
“What else? I reek of booze. And you’re not sleeping anymore either—go take a shower.” Zhao Qingyu pouted.
“I’m fine either way…”
“Go take a shower!”
“Alright… I’ll shower.” Shen An smiled and released Zhao Qingyu.
But for all his words, Shen An didn’t budge an inch. He stayed sprawled on the sofa.
Zhao Qingyu had no choice but to haul him up by force.
“Ow, what’s the rush? I shower fast. Let me sleep another half hour…” Shen An refused to move, no matter what.
“Hurry up and shower. We have stuff to do.”
Zhao Qingyu urged him on.
“Hm?” Shen An blinked in surprise. “We leaving already?”
Zhao Qingyu paused in her efforts, her voice softening. “Not quite yet.”
“Right, I haven’t even asked you yet, Senior Sister. When are we heading out?” Shen An sat up on the sofa.
“This afternoon…” Zhao Qingyu ruffled her slightly messy short hair. “The plan is to head back around five or six.”
“That’s called evening,” Shen An corrected.
“I like calling it afternoon. Got a problem?”
“Uh, to each their own. No objections here.”
“Hmph.”
“So what about the daytime?” Shen An yawned. “Any other plans?”
“Shower first, then I’ll tell you.” Zhao Qingyu narrowed her eyes.
“Huh?” Shen An sounded reluctant. “Really? I wanted to veg out all day.”
“You’ll have plenty of time to lie around once we’re back!”
Zhao Qingyu snorted coldly and turned away. “I’m heading back to shower now. If you’re still lounging on the sofa when I return, you’re finding your own way home.”
“Hey, at least change the lock back first!”
Shen An shouted in helpless protest, but he couldn’t stop Zhao Qingyu from leaving—or alter the fact that he remained “imprisoned.”
Click.
The door shut. Shen An clutched his forehead.
Great. Now he had to put up with this all day.
After a moment’s thought, he dragged himself off the sofa anyway and headed to the bathroom to shower. He also picked up the blanket that had fallen to the floor and tossed it back into his room.
