Ten minutes later, Lin Cheng escorted Lu Xiaoxiao to the downstairs entrance of her hotel.
She stood there in a daze, her body swaying unsteadily. Lin Cheng steadied her by the shoulder. “Can you stand steady?”
Lu Xiaoxiao didn’t answer. With her eyes closed, she toppled forward into his arms.
Passersby in the hotel lobby shot them curious glances. Helpless, Lin Cheng hoisted Lu Xiaoxiao over his shoulder and headed to her room. After entering the room password, the door swung open, and he gently laid her down on the soft bed.
The bedsheets were pristine white, and on the bedside table sat a balled-up pair of her black stockings. Lu Xiaoxiao kept her eyes shut, her breathing even and steady. Lin Cheng hesitated for a moment before lightly grasping her ankle and slipping off her shoes.
She had been so compliant just moments ago, but now she suddenly began to squirm. No sooner had Lin Cheng set her shoes aside than her small foot, still clad in white silk stockings, kicked lightly at his waist.
It didn’t hurt at all, and he paid it no mind. Instead, he fetched a bottle of ice water from the minifridge and placed it on her bedside table. Spotting some ice cream inside, he grabbed a Cornetto and settled by the window to watch the rain falling under the streetlights below.
He had no intention of lingering—it was just that he worried she might throw up later. Better to wait until she was fast asleep.
He polished off the Cornetto quickly and, still craving more, retrieved another from the fridge. As he finished that one, he heard a faint rustling from the bed. Lu Xiaoxiao was fumbling groggily with the buttons of her blouse.
“I’m still here,” Lin Cheng reminded her gently.
But Lu Xiaoxiao didn’t respond. Instead, she sat up abruptly and shrugged off her blouse, flinging it aside. Beneath the black top was a simple white bandeau—not exactly provocative. She slowly opened her eyes, her hazy gaze locking onto his.
Lin Cheng could see the drunken fog in her eyes.
“Why haven’t you left?” she mumbled, without bothering to cover her chest.
“I was planning to slip out once you were asleep, but the rain’s coming down harder now. I don’t have an umbrella.”
“You could… play games on the computer.”
“Sure.” Lin Cheng nodded agreeably and took a seat at the desk. Lu Xiaoxiao’s account was still logged in, so he jumped straight into ranked matches with it. She soon flopped back down onto the bed, though Lin Cheng could have sworn he heard the rustle of her skirt being tossed aside as well.
He glanced back casually. She had wrapped herself tightly in the blanket, only her head poking out. She looked to be asleep.
Once the game loaded, Lin Cheng played a couple of matches. An hour slipped by before he stood to stretch, his gaze drifting to the bed. Lu Xiaoxiao’s sleeping position was anything but ladylike. What had started as a tight cocoon was now a tangle: one leg clutching the blanket, her straps slipped down, leaving her ample chest half-exposed.
The rain outside had stopped. It was time for Lin Cheng to head home. He made for the door but paused at the sound of Lu Xiaoxiao’s groggy call. “You’re leaving?”
“Yeah, the rain’s cleared up. Time to go home.”
“Don’t go.” She propped herself up suddenly.
Lin Cheng had already reached the door and cracked it open. He froze, turning to meet her eyes. Lu Xiaoxiao’s dark gaze bored into him, gleaming almost unnaturally in the dim room.
“I can’t sleep. Watch TV with me.” Her tone carried the weight of a command.
“Oh. In that case, mind if I take a shower first?”
Lin Cheng pivoted toward the bathroom, snagged a robe from the rack, and washed up thoroughly. When he returned to the bedside, freshly clean, he found Lu Xiaoxiao fast asleep again. Women and their drunken promises—never to be trusted. Still, now that he was showered and changed, he shrugged and climbed onto the bed anyway. Flicking on the TV, he cast anime clips from Bilibili on his phone. He had a whole collection of classics bookmarked.
Lu Xiaoxiao’s eyes fluttered open at some point, fixing on the screen where a man donned a transformation belt and declared, “I have no dreams of my own, but I can protect the dreams of others…” before morphing into Kamen Rider Faiz.
“What’s this?” she asked.
“Kamen Rider Faiz.”
“That line…”
“Ah, Si Ming ripped it off once.” Lin Cheng replied offhandedly.
Lu Xiaoxiao blinked in stunned silence for a long moment. “So… that’s where it’s from?”
“Yep.”
“Then I want to watch it from the start. Switch to episode one.”
“…”
With a helpless sigh, Lin Cheng rewound to the first episode—might as well relive the classic. Lu Xiaoxiao sat up a little, her head naturally coming to rest on his shoulder.
Lin Cheng said nothing, his attention glued to the screen. After all, nothing beat Kamen Rider.
He lost track of when she dozed off again, but even in sleep, her fingers clutched the hem of his robe. Lin Cheng slipped out of bed quietly and tucked the covers around her snugly. In her sleepy murmur, he caught, “Don’t… touch me like that.”
He couldn’t help but chuckle. “I’m not. I’m heading out.”
“Next time…”
“If fate brings us together again… can I have one more hug?”
“Pervert.”
Lin Cheng smiled wryly. In a playful impulse, he reached out and pinched her soft cheek. Then he shed the robe, changed back into his clothes, and slipped out as Lu Xiaoxiao drifted off once more.
The rain had ceased outside, and dawn was breaking. Time to go home.
A City was a place where rain fell often.
When Lin Cheng woke again, a light drizzle pattered against the window. He lived on the thirteenth floor, where Black Cat perched on the sill, watching the rain. After washing up, Lin Cheng scooped it into his arms. Black Cat wriggled briefly before settling down. He leaned against the window, lost in thought, until a message from Litchi buzzed in.
“Xu Wanyue’s agreed to our partnership. Those East City folks have been stirring up trouble around here lately. I’m thinking of sending her to mess with them a bit—test the waters while she’s at it.”
“Sounds good. Your call.”
“Also, I dug into that Lu Xiaoxiao situation… She used Evolution Blood, right?”
“Yeah.”
“So your run-in with her that day… not entirely coincidental?”
“A necessary chance encounter.”
“???”
“Who could say no to a white-stockinged schoolgirl beauty radiating mature allure?”
“…”
Lin Cheng had successfully killed the conversation. Litchi went radio silent, leaving him free to game without interruptions. When he tired of that, he ordered takeout. His place was a modest two-bedroom apartment in an older building—faded but functional, complete with a kitchen. He occasionally got the urge to cook, but living alone made it tricky: one dish felt too skimpy, two too much… and so the impulse always fizzled out.
Once gaming lost its shine, he retreated to the spare room he’d turned into a study. Under the bright lamp, he lost himself in books for hours as the day faded. Outside, the rain came and went in fits.
Lin Cheng finally closed his book and gazed out. A faint mist clung to the windows. He stretched out on the bed, listening to the gentle patter, savoring the lazy interlude.
