Chapter 35 [VIP]

Pei Xingzhi woke up at noon the next day.

He rubbed his heavy head and got out of bed. He stared blankly around for a while before realizing he wasn't in his own room.

When Xie Nanyi came in, Pei Xingzhi was clutching his obviously oversized clothes, sniffing them like a puppy.

"How did I end up here?" Upon seeing Xie Nanyi enter, Pei Xingzhi brushed aside his loose hair and subconsciously straightened his posture.

Xie Nanyi tilted her head slightly, leaned her shoulder against the doorframe, and said softly, "Who knows? It probably wasn't some drunkard who came to my room in the middle of the night with bottles of alcohol, asking me to drink with him, only to fall asleep first. He says he doesn't like me, but he always comes to my room in the middle of the night..."

Xie Nanyi had only spoken half a sentence when Pei Xingzhi immediately jumped off the bed and pounced on him, trying to kiss him. Xie Nanyi, who was holding a bowl of porridge, instinctively dodged to the side. Pei Xingzhi missed his target and was about to make intimate contact with the ground when Xie Nanyi used his free hand to hook his waist and pull him up again.

"Why are you always so reckless?"

Pei Xingzhi leaned against Xie Nanyi to steady himself. Because of the way he had fallen, he was now pressed against Xie Nanyi. Xie Nanyi's hand unconsciously brushed against his face. Pei Xingzhi was stunned for a moment, and a blurry memory of being drunk suddenly surfaced in his mind.

The image flashed by quickly, disappearing again before Pei Xingzhi could even see it clearly. He rubbed the back of his neck and straightened up, belatedly realizing their awkward position.

"Xie Nanyi, is this for me? You're so kind, thank you so much." Pei Xingzhi, trying to ease the awkwardness, snatched the porridge from Xie Nanyi's hand and drank it all in one gulp, his hearty manner reminiscent of his demeanor the night before.

Xie Nanyi found his arms and hands empty. Looking at Pei Xingzhi's flushed cheeks, he inexplicably recalled the kiss Pei Xingzhi had given him the night before. He coughed lightly, covering his mouth, and turned his head slightly to the side as if to hide his embarrassment.

Does this mean he and Pei Xingzhi have officially become a couple? They've already kissed, and only lovers kiss, right? Besides, it was Pei Xingzhi who initiated it. Even if he resisted before, doesn't his current initiative indirectly show that he likes him too?

And he just got so close to me...

Xie Nanyi's heart skipped a beat. Was he now Pei Xingzhi's boyfriend?

Suddenly in a new role, Xie Nanyi took a deep breath, straightened her expression, and looked down at Pei Xingzhi, who was drinking porridge. She suddenly felt that she should say something.

"Drink slowly, or you'll choke."

"..." Xie Nanyi's words made Pei Xingzhi spit out the porridge he had just drunk, and not a single drop fell onto Xie Nanyi's clothes.

"Xie Nanyi, are you crazy?!" All he did was "accidentally" barge into his room last night after getting drunk. Why is this guy so petty? He cursed him to die right away, and he even felt a little guilty just now. "Fine, you can come to my room again in the middle of the night."

"That's not what I meant." Xie Nanyi hurriedly explained to Pei Xingzhi, not bothering to wipe the stains off his clothes. Making his lover angry on the very first day of their relationship was definitely not Xie Nanyi's style. He was completely devoid of his usual composure, his anxious appearance somewhat comical.

Xie Nanyi's embarrassing moments were truly rare. Pei Xingzhi wasn't angry to begin with. He casually placed the bowl on the table next to him, crossed his arms, and watched him with a leisurely air.

"Okay, I won't argue with you anymore. Hurry up and change your clothes. Also, this outfit I'm wearing is yours, isn't it? Why don't you go to my room and get my clothes? Don't tell me you can't even be bothered to walk those few steps?" Pei Xingzhi complained softly, tugging at his clothes. His experience at the hospital had made him really reluctant to wear oversized clothes.

"Okay." Upon receiving Pei Xingzhi's order, Xie Nanyi immediately ran to the wardrobe, grabbed a clean set of clothes, and changed. Pei Xingzhi thought for a moment, then simply took off the clothes he was wearing. Since they were going to be washed anyway, he might as well wash both at the same time.

Xie Nanyi was taken aback by Pei Xingzhi's action. He stood frozen, staring at Pei Xingzhi, who was shirtless, and suddenly felt a tickle in his nose.

"Oh dear! Your nose is bleeding!" This was the second time Pei Xingzhi had seen Xie Nanyi bleeding profusely. Although it was much better this time, Pei Xingzhi still disliked seeing it. "Where's the tissue? Quickly get some tissue to stop the bleeding!"

Blood trickled down Xie Nanyi's lips, and she licked it with the tip of her tongue, but the nosebleed showed no sign of stopping. Pei Xingzhi searched around but couldn't find where Xie Nanyi had put the tissue. He was about to ask Xie Nanyi when he turned around and realized that Xie Nanyi had somehow gotten behind him.

"Why are you always so easily startled?" Pei Xingzhi was startled by his sudden appearance. He patted his chest, snorted, and said in a complaining tone, "Where did you put the tissue? Even if you don't want to stop the bleeding, you should at least wipe it off."

"No need." Xie Nanyi's voice was a little hoarse. He lifted Pei Xingzhi's hand, looked at the clothes that Pei Xingzhi had just taken off, and pressed them directly against his face, saying in a muffled voice, "This will do."

Xie Nanyi buried herself in the clothes Pei Xingzhi had just worn and couldn't help but take a deep breath; the clothes still carried Pei Xingzhi's scent.

“You…” Pei Xingzhi hesitated, unable to finish his sentence.

What's wrong with this person today?

Xie Nanyi's nosebleed looked alarming, but thankfully it wasn't the kind that would actually bleed uncontrollably. However, the clothes he used to wipe the blood were probably ruined. He wasn't particularly interested in designer brands, only knowing that this one was probably very expensive. Using such expensive clothes to wipe a nosebleed—rich people are so extravagant.

"It's just one piece of clothing; I have plenty more." The implication is: if you like wearing your boyfriend's clothes, you can wear my other clothes.

"You're just wasting your time like this every day." Pei Xingzhi grimaced at Xie Nanyi's words; he couldn't stand hearing rich people say such things.

Xie Nanyi automatically ignored the sarcasm in Pei Xingzhi's words, automatically attributing it to Pei Xingzhi being concerned about his finances from a partner's perspective. Her inner joy couldn't be hidden and showed on her face.

"Are you crazy?" He was the one who got drunk last night, so why is Xie Nanyi acting like he's drunk today?

"I'll go back and pack up first, then I'll treat you to dinner tonight." Although he had forgotten what happened after he got drunk last night, he still remembered his promise to treat Xie Nanyi to dinner.

After returning to his room and changing his clothes, Pei Xingzhi opened his communication app and glanced at his chat box with Boss Pei. The messages he had sent over the past few days were still marked as unread.

Pei Laoda had never been out of contact for so long before. He asked his parents, but they didn't know what mission Pei Laoda was on this time either. Pei Xingzhi was afraid that if he said too much, they would worry too much, so he didn't dare to ask any more questions.

He complained to Boss Pei about the group assignment and said a bunch of other things, but Boss Pei still didn't respond.

Pei Xingzhi comforted himself not to overthink things. Taking advantage of the long afternoon, he organized the materials needed for the next project and also caught up with his classmates. Since moving out of his old dormitory building, he had had fewer opportunities to interact with other students. Unlike Xie Nanyi, he didn't just sit there and let connections fall into his hands; he still needed to pay attention to some necessary social interactions.

The busy days of the past few days had honed Pei Xingzhi's time management skills to a high degree; he finished his work at just four o'clock. He glanced at the time and began to ponder what to treat Xie Nanyi to. He had taken advantage of Xie Nanyi too much lately, and since she had finally accepted his invitation, he couldn't be too perfunctory.

He couldn't afford anything too expensive, and Xie Nanyi probably wouldn't eat anything cheaper either, leaving him with only mid-range options as a compromise. Having secured the funds, the question then became: what to eat for Xie Nanyi?

He and Xie Nanyi had been living together for so long, yet he still didn't know what Xie Nanyi liked to eat or what she couldn't eat. Pei Xingzhi looked up at the ceiling, deciding to ask for outside help.

[Sweetheart Bunny]: Do you have time?

[Chu Ling]: ?

[Sweetheart Bunny]: Exactly, I have a question for you. If you were to invite a relatively wealthy person to dinner, what would be a good option?

Pei Xingzhi felt it was a bit strange to directly tell Chu Ling that he wanted to invite Xie Nanyi to dinner, so he sent the message in a roundabout way, and it turned out like this.

[Chu Ling]: Are you going to treat Xie Nanyi to dinner?

[Sweetheart Bunny]: No.

[Sweetheart Bunny]: Okay, I'm going to treat Xie Nanyi to dinner. What do you think I should treat him to?

Pei Xingzhi's straightforward admission was met with a long silence from Chu Ling. Just when he thought Chu Ling wouldn't reply, a long string of messages suddenly came from the other end.

[Chu Ling]: [Link]

[Chu Ling]: [Link]

[Chu Ling]: I know a few good restaurants, you can take him to try them.

Pei Xingzhi had already given up on Chu Ling as his strategist, but unexpectedly, he very generously prepared the final result for him.

Pei Xingzhi randomly clicked on one and browsed through it. The environment and taste reviews were good, and the price was within his acceptable range.

[Sweetheart Bunny]: Thank you so much! I was struggling to decide which place to go, and you helped me a lot!

[Chu Ling]: Have a nice date.

Pei Xingzhi switched pages to book a restaurant, and just then missed Chu Ling's message.

Having made the reservation at the restaurant, Pei Xingzhi breathed a sigh of relief and got up to take a cup to the living room to get some water.

When Pei Xingzhi returned, he happened to pass by Xie Nanyi's door. Xie Nanyi hadn't closed the door. Having learned from his previous experience, Pei Xingzhi deliberately lowered his head to avoid looking at Xie Nanyi's room. Just as he was about to enter the bathroom, the door suddenly opened from the inside.

Xie Nanyi was dressed in a formal suit, and her hair looked like it had just been styled.

"You..." Pei Xingzhi hesitated, looking at Xie Nanyi's attire. "Is there something you need tonight?"

He had already promised to treat Xie Nanyi to dinner tonight, and the restaurant was booked, so where was he going dressed so formally? It was the first time he had ever seen Xie Nanyi dressed like this, and he couldn't help but take a few more glances.

"Didn't Xiaozhi invite me to dinner?" Xie Nanyi awkwardly tugged at his tie; he still wasn't quite used to wearing this kind of clothing.

"You're going to wear this to dinner with me?" Pei Xingzhi was speechless. The place they were going to couldn't possibly be that high-class.

"Yes." This was his first date with Pei Xingzhi, so it naturally had to be a bit formal. "What's wrong?" He did look a little strange; he really wasn't suited to wearing formal attire.

"That's good, that's good. I'll go back and change my clothes first." Pei Xingzhi couldn't bear to dampen his enthusiasm, so he waved his hand and fled in a hurry.

Pei Xingzhi ran back to his room, hesitated for a long time, and then opened his father's chat window and started typing.

[Sweetheart Bunny]: Dad—help! Your son wants to invite your future daughter-in-law to dinner!