Chapter 7.7 Different Species: She argued, he missed her lips...

Eugene is indeed a beautiful town; in the sunset, the streets exude a tranquil artistic atmosphere.

Liang Siyu parked his car at a boutique hotel, where the light and shadow on the walls looked like a film reel.

Despite the beautiful scenery, Xu Aida showed no interest in appreciating it and remained seated in the car, almost unwilling to get out: "Ned, don't go too far, okay?"

He walked around and gentlemanly opened the car door for her: "Eugene is quieter, you'll like it here. There's an antique fireplace and a Jacuzzi, you can relax."

"The problem is, I've already booked a hotel, and you canceled it without saying a word." She glared at him; how could he have imagined she'd happily get out of the car?

He rubbed his head: "Ada, do you have to argue with me here? I got up at five o'clock today to wait for you and drove for five hours."

He looked at her with a hint of helplessness in his eyes, as if he were looking at an immature, sulking girl.

She wanted to communicate properly, but his self-righteous attitude of being tolerant seemed to say, "You want my help, but you don't know how to be grateful."

The pent-up frustration that had been building up since noon suddenly exploded. She was both angry and trembling, her eyes welling up with tears: "You weren't listening to me at all!"

Oh no, she's been emotionally unstable lately, and he got tired from driving and forgot about it.

“Ada, I heard you,” he explained hurriedly. “I just wanted to find a quiet place, and this store has pillows of different firmness to choose from, so I’ll sleep more comfortably.”

"Or if you have any other needs, we can change to another hotel. There are plenty of options in town, we're sure you'll find one you like."

She turned her head and blinked twice, then saw the hotel doorman coming to collect her luggage out of the corner of her eye, and finally got out of the car.

Seeing that she still seemed dizzy and unsteady on her feet, he carefully supported her, saying, "It's really okay here, let's go in and take a look?"

Her fingernails dug deep into her palms. She waited, until it was just the two of them. She didn't want to lose her composure in front of others.

This is a bright and comfortable twin room, with both beds being queen-size (1.52 meters wide).

The thick mattress looks very comfortable, and there's a small terrace facing the garden.

The waiter brought over several pillows, and while Liang Siyu was choosing, Xu Aida remained silent, only gazing quietly out the window.

She didn't allow herself to explode until the door closed.

"Ned, do you think that if I always agree with you in the end, it means I've never had a different opinion?"

He then realized that she was still unhappy and wanted to explain again, but she didn't give him any chance to interrupt and spoke faster and faster.

"Yes, I'm the kind of person who's indifferent most of the time and too lazy to put effort into small things. I always feel that these are meaningless conflicts."

"For example, if you have requirements for the restaurant, but I don't, then you can decide. I'm fine with anything; it doesn't matter what we eat."

"But I don't want to eat French food at all today. I'd rather have a hot chocolate in my car and sleep for another half hour."

He stared in shock; she hadn't shown any sign of it at the restaurant, and he'd assumed she really liked the baked apples there.

"Of course, I also have problems. Every time I think it's a small matter and not necessary, but as time goes on, things change. When I feel it's necessary, it seems like I'm being unreasonable."

She took a breath to calm her overly agitated emotions: "Sometimes I wonder if I've been sending the wrong signals, leading you further and further down this path."

“To this day, you think you can cancel my reservation at will without even consulting me. Because you always have a good reason: it’s more comfortable here, the room is better, and canceling is too much trouble.”

Her heart was cold, and she felt a chill run through her body: "You think Ada will get off the bus by herself, will get back in by herself, and will handle and process her emotions by herself, right?"

"Yes, I was stupid. I got off the bus in the end because I didn't want you to be embarrassed in front of others. But you can't assume I don't care just because I didn't get angry."

Unable to hold back her tears any longer, she turned away so he wouldn't see, but her voice choked with sobs, "You're just taking advantage of my concessions."

Liang Siyu took a step back. These words were like a heavy hammer blow; his mind was like a broken oscilloscope, with all the signals scrambled.

“I didn’t, Ada, I didn’t, don’t think of me like that…” he murmured weakly, trying to defend himself.

Before he could finish speaking, he saw her swaying, and he couldn't bother explaining anymore, "Ada!"

Xu Aida rarely loses control of her emotions like this, and it is a huge drain on her. In addition, she has been feeling unwell for the past two days, and at this moment her whole body feels weak, as if she has suddenly developed muscle weakness and can no longer support her small frame.

He quickly carried her to the bed. She covered her face with her arms, but he could see the tears in the corners of her eyes.

He knelt down beside the bed: "No, it's not like that. I just wanted to make you more comfortable. I didn't think that much about it. I really didn't mean it."

Xu Aida tried to hold back her tears, and listening to his dry, trembling voice, she began to regret it again—her final accusation was too heavy for Ned now.

She had wanted to say these words several times in her past life when they were in a long-distance relationship. But seeing how tired he was, and cherishing their time together, she always couldn't bring herself to say them.

She suppressed her emotions and said, "I'm sorry, that accusation was too harsh. I take it back."

She gasped for breath and emphasized again, "But I feel very uncomfortable because you didn't tell me about changing hotels. You can't do this, do you understand?"

He nodded immediately and gripped her hand tightly: "We can't just change hotels randomly. We need to ask you what you want to eat beforehand. You like hot chocolate when you have a headache..."

A wave of helplessness washed over her. Looking at his reddened eyes, she felt a pang of pity and reluctantly nodded.

Men and women are sometimes like different species. She thought of herself as a simple and straightforward girl, but men always have the ability to simplify things another layer, simplifying them in ways you never even considered.

They were perfectly in sync when discussing the most complex research and papers, and he greatly respected her ideas and professional judgment; yet, coordinating such trivial matters in life required so much effort.

Let's leave it at that for now; at least she said it.

The room was quiet. Seeing that she was pale, he suggested, "Would you like something to eat?"

"An energy bar will do." All she wanted to do now was lie down and go to sleep.

He was about to retort when he suddenly realized that she was too tired, so he quickly found an energy bar in the mini bar and made her a cup of hot tea.

Sure enough, she forced herself to sit up and eat, and fell asleep a few minutes after lying down.

He stared at her, his heart aching. She was curled up, so small, leaving a large empty space around her.

He tiptoed into bed, and seeing that she was completely unaware, he boldly reached out and wrapped his arms around her. Good, she was asleep and didn't push him away.

Let's just lie here quietly for a while. For the past three days, while she was awake, his world had almost collapsed. She closed her heart to him and wanted to distance herself from him.

Only now, while she is asleep, can he see the woman he once knew, lying safely and unguarded in his arms.

He didn't know how he got through those three days; suspicion and unease were almost consuming him.

He was torn between fearing that she was serious about breaking up and fearing that she was actually sick. He didn't know what to do.

That was the first time she had seriously lost her temper with him. He was so nervous that he felt like his brain had shut down. He could only grasp the most superficial information and agreed to everything, no matter what.

Perhaps he was clumsy and didn't do well in his first relationship, but he truly loved her.

"Don't go," he whispered, so low it was almost inaudible, "Ada, don't go."

She didn't wake up, but as usual, she instinctively snuggled closer to him. He was instantly overjoyed, but quickly realized he was in trouble.

But she knew nothing, and moved again, her nose brushing against his upper arm, her body pressing even closer.

Holy hell, he's a fool. How could he think that just holding her was enough? They haven't been intimate for two nights...

He couldn't help but lower his head, bury his face in her hair, deeply inhale her scent, and kiss her hair—heaven knows how much he missed her lips, but he dared not.

His throat was dry, his blood was burning, like a traveler on the verge of collapse, seeing an oasis before him yet fearing it was a mirage.

He gazed at her lips, imagining that she would kiss him, laugh, and whisper "Ned" to him, just as she had before...

His fingers stopped just a centimeter away from her, trembling as he clenched them into a fist.

He staggered to his feet, rushed into the bathroom, closed the door, locked it, and clenched his fists against the cold ceramic.

The water was warm, like her body temperature, and his mind was filled with her smiling face.

The next day, Xu Aida slept well, woke up very early, and her annoying headache disappeared.

She turned her head and saw Liang Siyu still fast asleep on the other bed; he must have been exhausted yesterday.

She got out of bed lightly, took a half-hour hot bath, and felt her stomach was empty when she got up. She sneaked out of the room to get a hamburger—McDonald's was the only place that opened at six o'clock.

After filling her stomach, she decided to take a walk near the hotel. Swiping the card to open the door now might wake him up, so she decided to let him sleep a little longer in peace.

She knew that they hadn't really talked things through yesterday, but at least they had released some emotions, and the frustration and anxiety she felt after being reborn had eased somewhat.

Moreover, as my health improved and I felt refreshed, I had the leisure to take walks.

She walked around for a long time and saw a deer in the corner. She took out her phone to take a picture and then discovered several missed calls. So she called Liang Siyu back.

"You ran away again, didn't you? I shouldn't have trusted you, you liar. Last night..." came a furious roar from the other end of the line.

Her ear hurt, so she held the phone a little further away: "Listen, I'm just taking a walk around here, I'll be back at the hotel in a bit."

There was a eccentric Liang Siyu in the hotel.

He approached her, staring intently at her: "Why didn't you answer my call right away?"

"Sound your phone." She met his gaze. "Don't blame me, I forgot to turn it back on after the meeting."

Indeed, after the seminar at UW that day, once they returned to their rooms, they were so focused on the people in front of them that they forgot everything else.

He looked away: "Then you should have said something before you left."

“You’re sleeping, and besides, my luggage is all in the room,” she said cheerfully.

He insisted on arguing: "Who knows what you'll do to avoid me? Maybe you'll just drop your luggage and run away."

She retorted, "The computer is here too. I can't just abandon my own computer, can I?"

He paused for a few seconds before finding a reason: "...You have a habit of backing up your data, so it's not like you can't leave your computer behind."

She couldn't take it anymore: "Ned, don't go too far. You're just making a scene as soon as you wake up. I bet you haven't even thought about backing up your computer."

He lowered his head. Indeed, when he woke up, she wasn't in the room, and the bed was cold. He panicked immediately, afraid that she had left without saying goodbye again, and frantically called her, but she didn't answer right away.

She held her phone up to his face: "It's off silent now, you can reach me anytime. Are you done? If you're done, come down for dinner."

After breakfast, they drove out of Eugene, passed through Ashland at noon, and headed towards the mountains.

A light rain mixed with snowflakes fell, and an electronic screen lit up along the roadside, displaying the message "Chain Control Ahead." Several vehicles were already parked in the emergency parking area.

Liang Siyu parked the car and said, "I'll take care of it, you don't need to get out."

She was already standing outside the car when he took the snow chains out of the trunk.

"Get in the car, it's raining now. If you really want to learn, I'll teach you indoors next year." He squatted down and began installing, his movements swift.

"Okay," she replied casually, squatting down next to him. "Let me take a look first."

Upon closer inspection, I felt a bit discouraged. Indeed, the difference between those with poor hand skills and those with natural talent is significant.

In her later years at JHU, snow chains were often needed in winter. She knew how to use them, but it was just a matter of "knowing" how; she would have to do it several times to get it right. He, on the other hand, did it like magic.

He glanced at her, his words tinged with a hint of probing: "Actually, you don't need to learn, I can do it."

"Hmph, you're the one who can't be relied on!" She rolled her eyes, got up, and got into the car.

I should really record this sentence and bring it up when he changes careers in two years, so he can see how embarrassing it is for him.

He gave a wry smile and continued installing the other tires. She doesn't even want to rely on him, so how could she be so sure he's unreliable?