Chapter 34 Rivals - Living Together?

The dishes were served one after another.

Xie Changyu composed himself and said to the person opposite him, "Let's eat."

Shen Du hummed in response, her expression blank. Xie Changyu assumed she was in a bad mood, so he didn't dare disturb her. He pursed his lips, his appetite also not very good.

The atmosphere between them is really strange right now.

And so, in the quiet atmosphere, the two began to eat. Xie Changyu, though he had no appetite, was genuinely hungry and ate only a little less than usual. But when he looked up and saw that the person opposite him was eating even less, he was surprised: "Why are you eating so little? Are you on a diet?"

Chen Du put down his chopsticks, showing no emotion: "I can't eat when I'm in a bad mood."

Xie Changyu scratched his head in frustration, thinking that he should have said it later. He was so angry that he couldn't eat. It was his fault, but he didn't know how to bring it up.

The air seemed to freeze again.

Shen Du's dark eyes looked at Xie Changyu, his eyelashes trembling slightly. "Didn't you arrange a hotel for me?"

Xie Changyu subconsciously breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that the person had taken the initiative to speak to him, and quickly replied, "Yes, do you want to go to the hotel now?"

"Hmm." Shen Du seemed a bit down, his face expressionless. "Aren't we going out to play this afternoon? I'll put my things there first."

"You said you'd take me to the aquarium when we met, does that still stand?"

This was the first time Chen Du had spoken so much since they met, making Xie Changyu feel flattered and hesitant to refuse. He quickly replied, "Of course it counts!"

Without thinking much about it, he put on his coat and said to Shen Du, "Eat something else, then we'll go to the hotel."

Chen Du hummed in agreement, then obediently picked up his chopsticks and continued eating.

Xie Changyu watched with satisfaction for a while, and when she saw that the person really couldn't eat anymore and put down their chopsticks, she smiled and said, "Let's go."

The two quickly arrived at the hotel they had booked. Xie Changyu paused at the entrance. This was his second time here, and his last visit had left him with unpleasant memories—the source of all evil.

His mood immediately plummeted, and he stood there with a complex expression.

Chen Du glanced up at the hotel name, his eyes flickered slightly, then turned to the person beside him and asked softly, "Aren't we going in?"

Xie Changyu snapped back to reality, took a deep breath, and said, "Let's go in."

The two went in side by side, and were led by the receptionist to a deluxe king room. When he entered, he couldn't help but frown when he saw the familiar scene. He stopped the receptionist and asked, "Excuse me, are you sure this is the room?"

The receptionist smiled and said, "Of course, this was specially prepared for you by Young Master Gu."

Hearing about Young Master Gu gave Xie Changyu a headache, especially since Sui Sui was still with him. He was afraid the other party might misunderstand something, so he said somewhat guiltily, "I understand, you can leave now."

He was afraid that the receptionist might say something else.

After everyone left and the door closed, Xie Changyu finally turned his attention to the room's furnishings. The more he looked, the deeper his brows furrowed. Wasn't this the room Gu Qingjia usually stayed in? He had wondered why this guy was suddenly being so kind; it turned out he was up to this.

But now that others have brought them, there's no way to change them, so this is the only way.

He was lost in thought when the person next to him suddenly asked, "Who is this Young Master Gu she's talking about?"

Xie Changyu looked away, his hand clenched slightly, he licked his lips lightly, and pretended to be calm and composed, simply replying, "One of my roommates."

"roommate……"

Shen Du's face was pale, his pupils were black, and even his gorgeous and exquisite makeup could hardly suppress his indifference. He lowered his eyes and said, "I understand."

It wasn't appropriate for him to be in a room with a girl, especially since they weren't officially dating yet. So, after standing there for a minute, Xie Changyu suggested that he go out for a bit and let her tidy herself up while he waited for her outside.

Chen Du declined, saying calmly, "I'm quite tired after the flight. Let's rest here for a while."

"Together?" Xie Changyu hesitated upon hearing this request. He didn't really want to stay in the room any longer; it kept reminding him of that night and made him very irritable. So he said, "I'll just sit on the sofa downstairs for a while. It's not very nice for me to stay here since you're a girl."

But Shen Du grabbed his hand and said, "You're rejecting me again."

That one sentence stopped Xie Changyu from refusing. He sighed, glanced at the person in front of him, and compromised, "Alright, then I'll sit on the sofa in this room for a while."

As he spoke, he opened his hands, found a seat, and hugged a cushion, saying in a serious tone, "Go lie down on the bed."

Chen Du withdrew his hand, a strange glint flashing in his eyes, and said, "Okay, I'll go to the restroom first."

Xie Changyu nodded obediently: "Okay, go ahead."

After a short while, once he saw the person go in, he looked around the room and felt extremely uncomfortable, as if fleas were crawling all over him. He was restless and uneasy.

That's so weird.

When he was alone, his mind finally came back to him, and he recalled everything that had just happened, which was eerie in every way.

He took out his phone, opened the chat window, paused for a moment, and for some reason, suddenly sent an emoji. Then he stopped completely, holding his breath, and didn't hear anything.

Xie Changyu's eyes flickered, and just as she was about to stand up, a voice, neither too loud nor too soft, came from the bathroom, "Could you help me get my bag?"

"Ah, okay." Xie Changyu was taken aback when he suddenly heard the voice. He stood up and looked around before spotting the bag on the bed. He picked it up, walked to the bathroom door, and knocked. "I brought it."

A moment later, the door opened slightly, and a pair of slender hands reached out. "Give it to me."

Xie Changyu stared at the hands, finding them increasingly strange. Could a girl's hands really be this big? Although he was very puzzled, he still obediently handed over the bag.

Just as he finished delivering the items and was about to turn around, a deep voice came from the still-open doorway: "Is there something you want to tell me?"

"Huh?" Xie Changyu was stunned by the question and said blankly, "I don't have any."

He's already told her what he was hiding, and everything's fine now. Could it be because he didn't tell her about his girlfriend?

But his guess was overturned the next second: "You just sent me a message."

"Oh, that's it." He suddenly realized that it was because he saw the message he sent. No wonder he asked that question. He said with an embarrassed look, "I was just sending it for fun."

"I see."

The door was closed. Xie Changyu looked at his hands, shrugged, and then sat back down in the same spot. This time, he took off his coat. He had already turned on the air conditioner, and he was wearing thick clothes underneath. He was planning to lie down and rest for a while, so he had to take it off.

Inside the bathroom, Shen Du held a makeup remover pad he took out of his bag and wiped off his makeup in front of the mirror, his eyes indifferent. As time passed, the face in the mirror gradually revealed its true appearance.

Pale skin, dark eyes.

His phone started vibrating again, but Chen Du ignored it and continued cleaning his face. After finishing, he splashed water on his face to clean it and gently wiped it clean with tissue paper.

After he finished, he turned on his phone and, unsurprisingly, found someone going crazy again, and this time, a really crazy one.

[Shen Zisui: I said no!!! You're not allowed to remove your makeup!!!]

[Shen Zisui: You bitch, I showed you my clothes and chat history just so you could pretend to be me temporarily! Not so you could replace me! You dare take off your makeup!!]

[Shen Zisui: You're not allowed to stay in the same room with him!]

[Shen Zisui: You dare? You dare!]

There were many more similar statements that basically forbade him to remove his makeup. Chen Du lost patience and typed a few words: "We'll talk again when you can come out."

Good heavens, those words struck at Shen Zisui's weak spot, making him even angrier and more twisted while he was locked up. He bit his lip so hard it almost bled, and unleashed a torrent of words, "You just wait!"

Chen Du closed the chat window and stared at his contacts, seemingly lost in thought.

Outside, Xie Changyu sat for a while, feeling bored, but didn't see anyone come out. He found it strange and wondered what they were doing inside.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. He hesitated for a moment, thinking it was the receptionist who had forgotten to mention something, so he put on his shoes and got up to open the door. Then, to his surprise, he saw a face that he really didn't want to see right now. "Gu Qingjia? What are you doing here?"

Indeed, standing outside was Gu Qingjia. Facing the questioning, he calmly raised an eyebrow and retorted, "This is my family's hotel. Isn't it normal for me to be here? But you, didn't you come out to have fun? What are you doing here?"

He slowly approached the body in front of him, a slight smile playing on his lips, but his eyes held no trace of amusement. "So, you're here to book a room?"

Caught off guard by the question, Xie Changyu was at a loss for words. He had come out on a date, not to book a hotel room, but he had indeed been in the same room with her. If they had seen him, he would have no way to explain himself. So he stubbornly said, "Didn't you let me stay here? Can't I rest for a while after playing around? Besides, you've already given me this room, so why are you knocking on the door?"

"I'm used to it, I forgot." Gu Qingjia said casually, a statement that both of them knew was a lie. Xie Changyu's lips twitched. This guy must have come to knock on the door on purpose, he's like a persistent ghost.

He pushed the person out, straightened his body and tried to block the gaze that was subtly peering inside. "Alright, you've seen the person and asked your questions. I need to rest now. You can go."

Gu Qingjia crossed her arms and refused nonchalantly, "No, I want to go in too. If you stay in my room, what am I supposed to stay in?"

Xie Changyu's temple twitched slightly. "What did you say?!"

"I want to go in too."

"roll."

With just one word, Xie Changyu lost his patience. He slammed the door shut and locked it from the inside, afraid that the other party would try to open it with the key card again. Only after locking it did he breathe a sigh of relief.

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Author's note: Shen Du says: Honey, open the door, it's me, your brother.