Chapter 35 Are you going to bed together?
Xu Yuewei didn't like that post on WeChat Moments, but she couldn't help but think about it.
Judging from their identities, Zhou Xu and Assistant Pan are completely unrelated and unlikely to have met through work. They could be acquainted in various ways, but given Assistant Pan's personality, he probably wouldn't rashly like someone else's daily posts if they were just casual acquaintances.
However, judging from the situation when Jiang Shiyan came to the coffee shop that day, Zhou Xu and he did not know each other.
That's enough. No matter how close the two lines get, as long as they don't intersect, that's fine.
Ye Wanzhi had taken her medicine and was asleep. Xu Yuewei got up and went to the bathroom to wash up, trying to be quiet and not make any noise.
As is her habit, she first went to the sink and bent down to wash her face.
The towel absorbed the water droplets; the soft fabric felt comfortable. She buried her face in it, inhaling and exhaling.
He then slowly took off his clothes, went into the shower, and stood under the showerhead to wet his body.
Just then, the phone that had been on the sink suddenly vibrated.
The bathroom door was closed, and the buzzing sound radiated throughout the brick walls of the space. Fortunately, the door was closed, so it shouldn't disturb the person sleeping soundly in the bedroom.
Xu Yuewei didn't intend to answer, but just when the ringing finally stopped, it rang again a while later, as if it would keep ringing until she answered.
Fearing something urgent might happen, Xu Yuewei wrapped a bath towel around herself, her wet hair still on, and pushed open the glass door.
She held the towel under her armpit with her left hand, wiped it dry on the towel with her right hand, and then picked up her phone.
The cold air outside seeped into her pores, making her shiver, and she turned back into the bathroom.
The screen displays a local phone call.
Xu Yuewei stared at the unfamiliar number, her thoughts drifting like willow catkins.
After the call connected, she whispered "hello".
"It's me."
The cold sound spread out, striking the damp black brick wall, more torturous than the previous buzzing, and reflected back to hit her anxious yet resolute heart.
You guessed right.
She remained silent, waiting for his next words.
At this moment, Jiang Shiyan was in the VIP lounge bathroom, leaning against the wall next to the sink, his left hand supporting his phone and lightly touching his cheek, while his right hand reached under the tap to wet it—a meaningless gesture that revealed his agitation.
He asked softly, "Did you have a good day?"
Xu Yuewei immediately thought of Assistant Pan's "like," and her guard was even higher than usual. She asked him, "It's so late, what urgent matter do you have to call me about?"
"Can't I call you unless it's urgent?" Jiang Shiyan said slowly. "You didn't take it as a joke when I said I was pursuing you, did you?"
The moisture that splashed into her ear canal while washing her hair seemed to diffuse deeper under the stimulation of the sound waves. She felt itchy in her ear and uncomfortable, so she moved her phone away, held it in her hand, and turned on the speakerphone.
The man's voice became more aggressive as it amplified: "If you've forgotten something this important, you can't be expected to remember anything else."
"...anything else."
"I told you, I can't stand you being ambiguous with that kid."
Xu Yuewei pulled the bath towel, creating several creases, and held her breath.
The world she had been deliberately avoiding opened its doors to her again, and his voice, like a phantom wind, swept her inside.
"Don't you have anything to explain?" Jiang Shiyan waited for a long time without getting an answer, wishing he could reach her through the internet.
Xu Yuewei took a moment to find her voice: "I'd like to ask, why does your assistant know Zhou Xu?"
"Don't change the subject, and don't play dumb. You really don't know what I care about?"
He restrained himself and suppressed his anger, but still punched the sink countertop.
"I only have one question for you: are you dating him?"
"..."
Xu Yuewei realized early on that she wasn't a very brave person. When faced with things she didn't want to face, she would bury her head in the sand like an ostrich.
Shortly after being inserted, a soothing warmth spread throughout the body, but once comfortably sinking in, the scorching temperature and tight pressure also caused pain.
So they had no choice but to abandon this place and flee to the next sand dune.
She was used to this pattern of behavior, so the more he pressed her, the more she wanted to escape.
But this time, perhaps because she couldn't see his furious face, she regained her courage.
"I remember saying that I have someone I like."
“You used to say the same thing to those boys!” He knew her too well, but now he wasn’t sure. “Damn it, but that’s your hand.”
Jiang Shiyan initially didn't take Zhou Xu seriously, genuinely considering him a mere immature kid.
The anger that was bottled up inside him and had nowhere to go was not directed at Zhou Xu himself.
"If you really had something going on with him, you had many opportunities to tell me, instead of letting me find out about you two on someone else's phone."
He paused for a moment, then finally let out his venting, "Just like if you fall for someone else, you can break up with me first, that's common sense, right?"
He was certain she fully understood what he was saying, and then issued an ultimatum:
"Xu Yuewei, if you still have any feelings for me, please condescend to explain yourself, okay? If you really have nothing to say to me, just hang up the phone, and I will never contact you again."
He regretted his words as soon as he spoke them, his thin lips pursed and his chest heaving.
There was no response on the other end of the phone. He took his phone away and glanced at it; the number was still increasing, and the call hadn't been disconnected.
Xu Yuewei closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the cold brick wall.
As the steam in the bathroom dissipated and the temperature dropped, her thick, long, wet hair clung to her bare back, drawing heat from her body every second.
The past kept repeating itself, finally returning to that rainy night in late summer.
She and the man her family hoped she would marry came out of a luxury hotel. He treated her to a buffet that was comparable to a Manchu Han Imperial Feast, but she had no appetite and ate only a meager meal.
It was raining heavily outside, and there were large puddles on the road. She walked through them in her high heels without realizing it, when suddenly a warm hand landed on her shoulder.
The man who had just said goodbye to her caught up with her again and said, "It's raining so hard, let me take you home."
The home he knew her to be Lan Yue Ya Ju was a prestigious residential complex, but the home she planned to return to after saying goodbye to him was just an old neighborhood that, in the eyes of such a rich young man, resembled a slum.
I want to go back and eat oden with Jiang Shiyan.
She shook her head, her movements wide, as if she wanted not only to refuse but also to shake off his hands that were clinging to her.
Then, the man let go of her, but not because she shook him off.
The man was suddenly attacked from behind, lost his balance, and waved his umbrella twice in the air. Then, he was grabbed and twisted behind his back like a prisoner. He cried out in pain and almost knelt down.
The umbrella landed on the ground, and the man crouched down, allowing Xu Yuewei to see Jiang Shiyan behind him.
He didn't frown, nor did he show anger in his eyes; he simply opened his mouth slightly and breathed heavily.
"Let him go!"
Then things spiraled out of her control.
...
The shampoo residue left in my hair wasn't rinsed off completely, and now it's running down my forehead and seeping into my eyes, causing an unusual stinging sensation.
Water droplets rolled down from the ends of her hair to her waist, triggering an itch in her nasal cavity.
Xu Yuewei reached for the shower switch behind her, gently flipped it out, and a moderate flow of water poured down, relieving her discomfort, but it felt as if she had been drenched in that summer night's rain again.
While doing these things, she held her phone far away, and the only sound in the small bathroom was the gurgling of water hitting the floor.
Jiang Shiyan heard it: "What's that sound? Where are you?"
"I'm taking a shower."
After she finished speaking, two heavy, muffled breaths came from the other end of the phone.
"...Are you still with him?"
The water from the showerhead was pouring onto my head.
Penguins, roses, heavy rain.
See, if we do it again, the result will be the same.
Thanks to saying goodbye all night, she became more adept at severing ties than before.
Xu Yuewei gripped her left wrist with her right hand to calm her hand holding the phone. Water droplets dampened the screen, but her voice was dry.
"I had a great time tonight, I was very happy."
"...will be even happier."
For a moment, no one spoke.
After a moment of silence, Jiang Shiyan's voice calmed down, without the previous fluctuations.
"You want to go to bed?"
Although she wanted to hint at it, his directness caught her off guard.
She let out a very soft "Mmm..."
"Then I want to see the photos of us in bed."
Xu Yuewei opened her eyelids, hardly believing what she had just heard.
Jiang Shiyan tapped his fingers on the sink countertop, still in the mood to tap out the rhythm of the waning crescent moon.
"You've lied to me enough. This time I want to see it for myself."
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