Looking at Su Mengyao’s face brimming with smiles and Su Mengli’s silent expression, even someone as dense as Mo Xiangwen finally realized what was going on.
It turned out he’d been set up by Su Mengyao and Su Mengli working together.
“Nuoya and I have been out looking at houses all day,” Mo Xiangwen said thoughtfully. “We’re covered in sweat. There’s no way we can stay tonight—we have to go back and shower.”
“We have bathrooms here,” Su Mengyao replied with a laugh. “And they’re way better than the ones in the school dorms.”
“This isn’t about the bathroom,” Mo Xiangwen said, shaking his head in refusal. “I don’t have a towel here, or any clean clothes to change into.”
“Nuoya’s a girl, so she could maybe borrow yours, but I can’t.”
“Besides, it’s too late to go out and buy clothes now.”
“Do you have clothes at the studio?” Yan Nuoya suddenly spoke up, breaking her silence. “It’s too late to get back to the dorms at this hour, isn’t it?”
Hiss… When she put it that way, it did make sense.
He’d forgotten that while he could crash at the studio, he still needed to go back to the dorm to shower.
Why had he even agreed to play Flying Chess with them—and for so long? Mo Xiangwen fell into thought.
“Ahem, no problem.” Su Mengyao cleared her throat lightly and said seriously, “We can lend you clothes to wear.”
“?” Mo Xiangwen shot Su Mengyao a glare. “What kind of weird talk is that? I’ll just go back and sweet-talk the dorm auntie instead.”
Still, if it was just him heading back alone, it would be a lot easier.
Even if he couldn’t find a bike-share at the neighborhood entrance, walking back wouldn’t be unsafe.
With that in mind, he turned to Yan Nuoya and asked, “How about you, Nuoya? Why don’t you think it over and do what Mengyao suggested—just stay here and rest?”
“What about you?” Yan Nuoya glanced out at the balcony, where the sky had long since turned pitch black, too dark to see her hand in front of her face.
“I’ll head back, of course,” Mo Xiangwen said. “If I can grab a bike-share, it’s less than twenty minutes to school.”
“It’s too dangerous for you to go back alone at this hour,” Yan Nuoya said, shaking her head. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“It’s fine,” Mo Xiangwen joked to reassure her. “If Nuoya came with me, I’d actually worry about your safety.”
“But if it’s just me? No robber would pick me, whether they’re after money or… something else.”
“Hey, hey, don’t worry!” Su Mengyao said quickly. “Who said anything about borrowing? We’ll just give you a few new sets, okay?”
“It’s not about new or not,” Mo Xiangwen said helplessly. “No need to discuss it—I’m not staying.”
“Ignore Mengyao; she just likes joking around,” Su Mengli sighed. “Wait here for a bit.”
A moment later, she emerged from her room carrying two large plastic bags.
Su Mengli set both bags on the coffee table, then pointed to the one on the left and said to him, “Here, these are your clean clothes.”
She turned to Yan Nuoya and pointed to the other bag. “Nuoya, yours is this one.”
Mo Xiangwen started to say something, but then he thought better of it. Su Mengli wasn’t the type to pull pranks like that, so out of trust in her, he opened the bag in front of him first.
Inside were several sets of brand-new, soft plain-colored short-sleeve athletic wear and matching pajama pants. He rummaged through carefully and found they were all the same style in different sizes, complete with unopened packs of men’s underwear and socks in various sizes—thoughtfully prepared.
Yan Nuoya opened her bag as well. Inside were several sets of simple, elegant women’s loungewear and pajamas, along with brand-new women’s undergarments and socks in a full range of sizes.
Both of them looked up at Su Mengli in surprise, their eyes full of questions.
Su Mengli met their gazes, waving her hand slightly with a helpless yet gentle smile tugging at her lips. “Don’t look at me. It was Mengyao who dragged me out to buy them at noon today.”
Su Mengyao scratched her cheek a bit sheepishly and added softly, “Big Sis reminded me to get multiple sizes, just in case they didn’t fit.”
The preparations were almost too thorough—as if they’d been certain he’d stay over tonight.
Mo Xiangwen suddenly remembered the slippers Su Mengli had prepared for them when they first arrived, equally considerate. For a moment, he wondered: What if Yan Nuoya hadn’t asked to stay over today?
Were these preparations really just for a simple overnight stay?
It wasn’t like they were in some scam hotspot luring people in for organ harvesting—what could happen in one night?
“I didn’t realize you’d prepared everything so… thoroughly,” Mo Xiangwen said uncertainly, probing gently. “You don’t really need us to stay just for one night, do you?”
“Of course not—it’s about renting,” Su Mengyao said, feigning surprise as she countered matter-of-factly. “Weren’t you and Nuoya house-hunting to move out together?”
“Or…” She paused, winking playfully at him as she drew out her words. “Do you think our place isn’t good enough?”
He had to admit, the situation had caught him completely off guard.
He’d wanted to politely decline, but when he thought it over, he didn’t have any real reason to refuse.
The place was great, and his potential roommates were close, trusted friends. What could be better?
“No, I’m just a little surprised,” Mo Xiangwen said with a smile. “Please let me move in, Miss Su.”
“Oh! So sensible,” Su Mengyao said, seeming pleasantly surprised before breaking into a bright smile. “I thought you’d hem and haw about it.”
“No, no,” Mo Xiangwen joked. “Since Eldest Miss Su set me up like this, how could I refuse? I might not make it out the door in one piece.”
“Pfft.” Su Mengyao couldn’t hold back her laugh and gave his shoulder a light punch with her small fist. “Set you up? You make me sound so evil.”
“No, no—you’re the beautiful and kind-hearted Eldest Miss Su,” Mo Xiangwen said earnestly. “Evil couldn’t touch you with a ten-foot pole.”
“Really?” Su Mengyao asked, batting her big eyes.
“Really,” Mo Xiangwen nodded firmly.
“So, between me and Big Sis, who’s prettier?” Su Mengyao puffed up her cheeks and posed the deadly question.
“?”
Aren’t you and your sister basically identical? Who’s prettier?
“You’re both pretty, okay?” he answered immediately.
They weren’t boyfriend and girlfriend, so there was no need to play favorites.
But even without that, he had to consider their feelings—and they were right there.
Besides, the two of them really did look the same.
“Alright, since you’ve agreed,” Su Mengli said with a light laugh. “Let’s show you and Nuoya the rooms first.”
“Okay.”
Su Mengli led them to a door, pushed it open, and flicked on the light.
The room was spacious and bright, with a decent-sized window. It was spotlessly clean—actually bigger than the master bedrooms in some of the rentals they’d seen that day.
The furnishings were simple: a large bed made up with fresh sheets and blankets, and a wardrobe.
The creases in the sheets and duvet cover were crisp and clear—they’d obviously just been unpacked and put on.
“Is this the master bedroom?” Mo Xiangwen asked, puzzled. “Why aren’t you using it and leaving it empty as a guest room?”
“You wish,” Su Mengyao teased from behind him. “This is the second bedroom. It was originally for Dad when he’d visit occasionally.”
“But he never did, so we just bought new bedding for you.”
The second bedroom was this big? Still, Su Mengyao was probably telling the truth—who’d leave the master empty for no reason?
“Is this okay?” Mo Xiangwen hesitated. “It was meant for your dad, after all.”
“No problem—he won’t come anyway,” Su Mengyao said, shaking her head with a hint of dissatisfaction. “It’s just sitting empty. Why not put it to good use?”
Mo Xiangwen didn’t want to comment, so he changed the subject and pointed nearby. “The master’s next door, then?”
“No, next door’s the study,” Su Mengyao corrected. “The master’s behind us—the one across from this.” She pointed further back.
“Is the master yours or Mengli’s?” Mo Xiangwen asked casually.
“We share it,” Su Mengyao said offhandedly.
“You and Mengli?” Mo Xiangwen noticed another door next to the master and asked curiously, “Why share when there’s that other room?”
“That one?” Su Mengyao shrugged carelessly. “That used to be my room. Back when we only had the one bedroom for rent, it was this one you’re in now.”
“The study’s no place to sleep, so I figured Big Sis’s bed is big enough for both of us—no problem.”
“So I’ll give my room to Nuoya and bunk with Big Sis.”
“That way, you and Nuoya each get your own room.”
At those words, Mo Xiangwen and Yan Nuoya both froze in place.
“……No, that’s not right. We should just let Nuoya stay in this empty room instead.” After pondering for a long time, Mo Xiangwen slowly said, “How could we let you be forced to share a room with Mengli just because of us?”
“As for me, I can just find someone else to share with in another apartment in this neighborhood.”
“What do you mean ‘forced’? Mengyao and I get along great.” Seeing that her worst fears had come true, Su Mengyao hurriedly explained, “Back when we were at home, we often shared a room, you know.”
“Yeah, Mengyao and I have always gotten along well since we were little.” Standing in front, Su Mengli chimed in supportively.
She and Mengyao hadn’t originally planned to mention it, but since they were all living under the same roof, it was bound to come out sooner or later.
Their initial plan had been simple: if Mo Xiangwen didn’t ask, they wouldn’t say anything.
But if he did ask, they’d try to brush it off if possible.
As for outright lying to Mo Xiangwen and Yan Nuoya, they saw no need for that.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea either.” As expected, Yan Nuoya sided with him, saying softly, “If it comes down to it, I can sleep on the sofa in the living room. It’s no big deal—I’ve done that plenty of times at the Studio.”
Su Mengli and Su Mengyao exchanged a glance and sighed in unison.
“See, Sis? I told you they wouldn’t go for it.” Su Mengyao grumbled. “These two are cut from the same cloth. There’s no way they’d be okay with an arrangement like that.”
Su Mengli shot them a helpless look as well, hesitating a moment before saying, “Well, actually, there is another option.”
“Come with me.” With that, Su Mengli led the way out of the room once more.
Mo Xiangwen and Yan Nuoya exchanged puzzled glances, wondering what this other option could be.
“Come on, hurry up!” Su Mengyao urged from behind them. She placed a hand on each of their backs and gave a gentle push. “Let’s go take a look.”
Unexpectedly, the “other option” Su Mengli had in mind was right next door.
He recalled Su Mengyao mentioning earlier that this neighboring room was a study.
Pushing open the door revealed a massive bookshelf dominating the space. Even at one meter seventy-five, Mo Xiangwen would probably have to stand on his tiptoes to reach the top shelf.
Of course, the shelf was quite large, but they hadn’t filled it completely—the top few layers were still empty.
For someone of Su Mengli and Su Mengyao’s height, grabbing books from any shelf was a breeze.
In front of the bookshelf stood a table.
It didn’t have any standout features, aside from being particularly long.
Noticing his curious gaze, Su Mengyao took the initiative to explain, “Sis and I use this table for practicing calligraphy and painting.”
She gave an embarrassed smile. “Though, to be honest, I haven’t practiced once since we moved here.”
“You’ve got some nerve saying that.” Su Mengli rolled her eyes at her. “Mom would be furious if she knew you were wasting such a great talent now that you’re in college.”
Su Mengyao stuck out her tongue and said nothing more.
Though it was called a study, to Mo Xiangwen’s eyes, it was hardly different from a slightly smaller secondary bedroom.
The window was a bit on the smaller side, but it was half-open at the moment, allowing a pleasant breeze to waft in even from the doorway.
As for lighting, judging by the view from the window, it shouldn’t be an issue.
Of course, the bookshelf and table made the space feel a tad cramped.
Still, there was plenty of room for a single bed.
He could discuss it with Su Mengli and the others—maybe he could take this room.
Mo Xiangwen was mulling this over, surveying the room, when his peripheral vision caught something on the right side that seemed out of place in a study.
He turned his head quickly and sure enough, there was a single bed—about two meters long and one-and-a-half meters wide.
Compared to the narrow one-point-two-meter beds at school, this one looked spacious indeed.
“I originally thought the study wasn’t suitable for having a friend stay over,” Su Mengli explained. “But Mengyao said you two would rather bunk here than accept my earlier suggestion.”
Her earlier suggestion? Did she mean Su Mengyao giving up her room for them and squeezing in with Su Mengli instead?
From the way they were talking, that seemed to be it.
“Mengyao was right,” Mo Xiangwen said with a slight nod. “If it came to that, even if Yan Nuoya and I moved in, we wouldn’t feel at ease.”
Yan Nuoya nodded slightly in agreement.
“See, see? I told you so, Sis.” Su Mengyao grinned and pulled a funny face at her. “Good thing I insisted on calling the handyman at noon to bring over a bed.”
Su Mengli sighed. It wasn’t that she hadn’t thought of this.
Some things, whether out of friendship or simple politeness, just made her reluctant.
Even if she’d considered it, she hadn’t wanted to stick her friends in the study—it felt too makeshift, too discourteous.
“The study is a bit smaller,” Su Mengli said, forcing a smile. “But Mengyao and I measured it out carefully. A bed would fit without making it feel too cramped.”
“And this long table isn’t really being used anyway,” Su Mengyao added quickly. “If we move it out, we could easily fit a desk and chair for a computer setup.”
“As for cabinets, we can’t exactly install a big one like in the other rooms,” Su Mengli said with a hint of regret. “But a small one about half-person height should work just fine.”
“That’s the situation with the study,” Su Mengli finished, a touch embarrassed. “Let me know if you can live with it.”
Then, as if worried they might take issue with it, she quickly added, “Of course, I still think my original plan was pretty good too.”
“I’ll take the study.” Mo Xiangwen said without hesitation.
“I’ll take the study.” At almost the exact same moment, Yan Nuoya agreed just as firmly.
