Black and white cat

After leaving Jiang Yanyan's house, the two didn't rush back to their own homes but instead went into a milk tea shop by the roadside. The main reason was that they needed to thoroughly reconcile their accounts; if something like last-minute tutoring happened again, even Nuwa herself wouldn't be able to save the day.

"You mean," Ruan Xiyan said in disbelief, "we still have to do tutoring for the summer?"

Lu Er was drinking the coconut milk tea she had just ordered when she heard the words. She coughed and turned her face away, saying, "Yes."

"...Anyone would think something's wrong with us if this continued." Ruan Xiyan slumped completely into his chair. His phone vibrated, and he picked it up. Teacher Mina had sent him an address via WeChat.

Wait a minute? Ruan Xiyan's eyes widened to the size of coins, and he jumped up: "Why does your tutoring location look so familiar... Ah, it's the same as mine."

Lu Er didn't understand and looked puzzled.

"I forgot to tell you, my mom signed me up for tutoring classes during the summer vacation." Ruan Xiyan fell back to her original spot. "It seems you only signed up for English, while I signed up for Chinese, math, and English. It's quite a coincidence that we're in the same tutoring class."

Lu Er thought to himself, at least it will save me some trouble.

Her thoughts barely formed before Ruan Xiyan's next words shattered them: "Oh, and there's more, not just academic tutoring." He touched his nose, "...I also have art classes on weekends. Academic classes are from Monday to Friday, and art classes are on weekends."

Upon hearing Ruan Xiyan's words, Lu Erfang remembered his identity. Huai'an No. 3 Middle School had both academic and art students, with the latter making up a smaller number. The school's teaching staff was insufficient to provide separate academic classes for art students, so for the first two semesters of high school, art students were scattered across various classes, studying alongside academic students. It wasn't until the summer of their second year that they entered a unified intensive training phase.

There were only two art students in Class 18, and Ruan Xiyan, an art student, often missed evening self-study sessions. Unfortunately, she ran into Lu Er, who had no interest in where others went.

Therefore, they tend to overlook such important matters first.

Tutoring, art class... a soul swap, like a downpour in a house, books used as skateboards, two lives completely thrown into chaos.

Lu Er's eyebrows and lips were furrowed, and she was deep in thought when a male voice suddenly came from behind her: "Xi Yan? You're here?"

The shout startled both of them. Lu Er turned around and saw a man with a buzz cut looking in their direction from a distance; at first glance, the man's face seemed somewhat familiar.

Lu Er immediately understood. This was Chen Xiang, a friend of Ruan Xiyan; she had seen her on the day the holiday started. From her memory, the two seemed to have a good relationship.

Unlike her, Ruan Xiyan instinctively raised her hand: "What a coincidence..." Lu Er glanced at her with a hidden knife in her peripheral vision, and Ruan Xiyan suddenly came to her senses, slowly lowering her hand.

"How could I run into you here?" Chen Xiang walked over, and after seeing who was on the other side of the road, his face showed surprise. "...Class monitor? What a coincidence, you two met here too?"

"A chance encounter," Lu Er said succinctly.

Chen Xiang didn't think much of it and sat down next to Lu Er: "Oh, I was wondering why you guys... I was playing basketball at the nearby court and came in to buy a milk tea because I was thirsty. I thought your back looked familiar, so I called out, and sure enough, it was you."

Lu Er took a small step to the side, but Chen Xiang casually put his arm around her shoulder and said, "I'm short a few more, are you coming? I haven't been able to ask you to play ball for several days during the holiday, what have you been doing all this time?"

Lu Er wasn't used to such close physical contact with anyone, and for a moment she felt resistant and wanted to pull away. But her brain worked quickly, and she judged that pushing him away now would not be a wise move.

The itching on her skin flared up again and again, but she barely managed to suppress the discomfort: "I have tutoring, I don't have time to go."

Chen Xiang said thoughtfully, "That tutoring class your mom signed you up for? I thought you were joking. That's terrible, you'll have to study all summer. You might as well have gone to Xinjiang to play in the sweltering heat. At least you're having fun."

The interaction between the two was observed by the real Ruan Xiyan, who was sitting opposite them. He could only silently chew on his mango pomelo sago.

Lu Er couldn't hold back any longer. She stood up abruptly and said, "It's getting late. I'm going back now."

"So fast?" Chen Xiang, oblivious to the situation, didn't think much of it and just watched Lu Er's departing figure with a puzzled look. "Hey, why are you being so aloof today? What, trying to cultivate a new persona for the new semester? Oh, class monitor, are you going back too?"

Ruan Xiyan nodded "aloofly" and then left the milk tea shop.

—

Ruan Xiyan's home is in Bihu, the core area of ​​Huai'an, home to countless wealthy families. Second-generation rich kids, returnees from overseas, and high-level executives are everywhere.

Lu Er bypassed another upscale villa and finally returned to Ruan Xiyan's house. He entered using facial recognition; the house was so spacious it seemed even the longest hand couldn't touch the ceiling.

She stood there in the entryway, momentarily stunned. Feeling something bump against her feet, Lu Er looked down and saw the robot vacuum slowly walking around her.

Lu Er rubbed her brow with her thumb, clearing away the random, stubble-like thoughts that were popping up in her mind, before entering Ruan Xiyan's bedroom.

Besides the necessary furniture, Ruan Xiyan's bedroom had more than enough space to build her own toilet. Otherwise, Lu Er wouldn't have had the means to play a chase game with that big golden retriever.

A large screen sat horizontally on the computer desk beside the bed, with an iPad next to it. Headphones, game controllers, and other e-sports equipment hung on the wall. Lu Er approached the sofa chair and saw a burgundy baseball cap still lying quietly inside.

A room full of personal touch.

Lu Er walked around the bedroom and only found a sketchbook. She guessed that Ruan Xiyan's studio would be in another separate room.

Lu Er flipped through the first few pages, which contained sketches, watercolors, quick sketches, and a variety of drawings in the notebook, including half-length portraits, landscapes, and comics.

Lu Er was unaware of Ruan Xiyan's achievements in the art field. From her perspective alone, Ruan Xiyan's paintings were quite aesthetically pleasing. In short, they were the kind of works that Lu Er couldn't easily pass off as something inferior.

Lu Er thought for a moment, then knocked on the door of the next bedroom and indeed found Ruan Xiyan's studio. The walls and bookshelves were covered with certificates and trophies from various art competitions, a dazzling sight.

She looked down, still clutching the sketchbook in her hand. The boy's fingers, long and clean from years of painting, were covered with a thin layer of calluses in a few places.

The thought of imitating Ruan Xiyan's painting, tutoring, and personality made Lu Er's head ache even more.

This is such a hassle.

—

When Ruan Xiyan arrived at Lu Er's house and was about to open the door, he suddenly realized that he still had to cook.

She frantically opened her phone to call Lu Er for help, but received a text message from Lu Guoyang first. It basically said that his family was out having fun and would be eating out that night, leaving Lu Er to fend for herself.

Ruan Xiyan's anxious heart immediately relaxed. After walking a few steps, he wondered why they hadn't invited Lu Er along on the family outing.

Thinking about Lu Er living with his second aunt and uncle, Ruan Xiyan silently stopped speculating. But now, he seemed to understand why Lu Er had this personality.

Ruan Xiyan couldn't cook, so she planned to just make do. After rummaging through the cupboards at home for a while, she found a bag of braised beef flavored instant noodles.

It's not expired, it's still edible. Ruan Xiyan started boiling water to make instant noodles, since no one was home. He hummed a little tune, playing some music while waiting for the water to boil.

Ruan Xiyan opened the only music app on her phone, looking for her earphones. She searched almost half the room, but couldn't find them.

Just then, Lu Er sent him a message, asking about his dinner that day.

Ruan Xiyan sent a voice message: "Your family isn't home, so I had to fend for myself. I just cooked a bowl of instant noodles. Do you have earphones? I wanted to listen to some music."

【Slow Momo】: It should have been buried under the physics textbook, in the first compulsory course.

He even remembers the subjects so clearly. While being impressed, Ruan Xiyan searched for her target and, sure enough, found a wired pair of headphones under the book.

He turned to go to the living room. Suddenly, a meow came from inside the room.

It was crisp and clear; Ruan Xiyan was certain it wasn't his imagination. He lowered his eyelids and saw a black and white tabby cat that had appeared on the floor sometime during the night.

Last night, the room was too stuffy, so Ruan Xiyan left the window open to let in some fresh air. She forgot to close it today, so this black and white cat must have gotten in through the crack in the window.

"Where did this black cat sheriff come from?" Ruan Xiyan called to it. "Mimi, are you hungry? Do you want some instant noodles?"

He had nothing to feed it; it was probably someone else's cat that had escaped. Distracted, Ruan Xiyan went back to the living room to eat instant noodles.

After finishing her instant noodles and entering her room, Ruan Xiyan found it was still there. Not only was it there, but it had also taken over Lu Er's bed.

"Hey. This isn't my bed, get off!" Ruan Xiyan hurriedly waved her hand to shoo it away, but no matter how she tried, the black and white cat refused to leave the room. It stood at the foot of the bed, determined not to leave.

Ruan Xiyan reached out to pet its head, but it twisted its head away and wouldn't let her touch it. Ruan Xiyan felt both annoyed and amused: "What do you want? I don't have any food for you."

My phone vibrated; it was a message from Lu Er.

【Slow Momo】: I'll teach you how to cook tomorrow. You should be free in the morning, come over here.

【11】: Okay.

Glancing at the black and white cat, Ruan Xiyan continued typing: "A black cat sheriff came to your house and won't leave, nor will it let you pet it."

Lu Er knew what was going on: "It's a stray cat from around here. Sometimes it comes over to me begging for food. There's cat food in the first drawer on the left side of the desk. Take some and feed it."

Unexpectedly, this kitten really had a story. Ruan Xiyan did as she was told, pouring some cat food on the ground. The black and white cat actually ate it all, and after a hearty meal, it leaped from the windowsill and disappeared into the night.

The night grew heavier. In the bathroom, Ruan Xiyan was showering herself with hot water, feeling as if her face was steaming hotter than the bathwater itself.

His gaze was fixed on the ceiling, and every movement of his hands as he kneaded the skin was done with utmost care. It was as if he were washing not his own body, but a fragile porcelain doll.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but chuckle at himself.

By the way, it seems that the laundry detergent, soap, and shampoo she uses all smell the same?

It has a faint, delicate fragrance that disappears upon closer inspection.

Ruan Xiyan picked up the shampoo and glanced at it. It was lavender.

On the other side, Lu Erqiang suppressed her burning face and quickly finished washing herself. Lying on the bed, she involuntarily covered her face with her ten fingers, her heart pounding louder and louder with each beat.

I'm destined to have a sleepless night again.