12 incoming calls
Are you sleeping with someone else?
"That's not entirely true, hahaha..."
“I know! Younger boys tend to be clingy, and they might take things that are consensual between adults seriously. And Huaihuai, you just got out of a relationship, so you must be worried about being clung to by a young boy, right?”
The conversation gradually veered away from Xu Huaihuai's original intention, but seeing Zhong Xuelu's sincere analysis, Xu Huaihuai couldn't interrupt and just listened obediently to the experienced teacher's lecture like a good student.
The elementary school kid that Zhong Xuelu mentioned drove the car over.
Lin Xu opened the car door for them, and the two sat down in the back seat to talk.
Zhong Xuelu continued to share her experiences and insights with Xu Huaihuai without reservation, saying, "Huaihuai, the best way to handle these fleeting affairs is to remain lukewarm and let him figure it out himself. If he's sensible enough, he'll make it clear that he's offering a massage—"
Realizing there was another younger brother in the car, Zhong Xuelu lowered her voice and whispered in Xu Huaihuai's ear: "It's not that we can't consider making him a regular male guest, but if he still wants a formal title, Huaihuai, you'd better watch out. If he dares to ask for a title today, he'll dare to ask for a marriage certificate tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow he'll want you to give him a fat baby."
Xu Huaihuai didn't dare look in the rearview mirror, afraid of making eye contact with Lin Xu. She could only nod frantically, secretly praying that the talkative Zhong Xuelu was inexperienced and would finish speaking soon.
"Some young boys are manipulative and scheming. They don't show their true colors at first, seemingly innocent and harmless, but in reality, they are plotting step by step to control you. They want not only your body but also your heart. Don't forget that bastard Ling Zhou. Wasn't he good at pretending before he got married?"
Xu Huaihuai extracted key information: the male lead, Ling Zhou, was very good at pretending before getting married.
Perhaps we can discover something by following this topic?
"Sis, where are we going?" Lin Xu asked quietly after listening to their conversation for a while.
Zhong Xuelu then remembered the important matter, "Let's go find Wei Mingxue, pick her up, and go back to Xincheng together."
"Sister Huai, we've arrived. Shall we go back to sleep?"
Xu Huaihuai felt herself being gently shaken. She opened her eyes and saw Lin Xu standing by the car door. Zhong Xuelu and Wei Mingxue were not in the car. She was a little awake, but still sleepy. She was the type of person who would fall asleep as soon as she got into a car. "Where are they?"
"Sister Lu took her to be settled."
"Oh, oh, oh." It's still a bit amazing to think about it. I don't know how Zhong Xuelu convinced Wei Mingxue to go back to the new city with them.
Lin Xu helped her remove the U-shaped pillow and tidied her disheveled hair. "Get down. Are your legs numb?"
"No, I'm just sleepy."
Lin Xu reached out, and Xu Huaihuai used the help to get out of the car. Although she was sleepy, she consciously went to pull her own suitcase.
Before his hand could reach the lever, Lin Xu grabbed it first. "Let me help you get it up. Your right hand is still injured, isn't it?"
"Oh. Okay." Xu Huaihuai was so sleepy that her eyes were about to close.
As soon as she got home, Xu Huaihuai fell asleep on the sofa. After traveling for several hours, she was feeling a bit low on energy.
I dozed off for a while, and vaguely heard noises coming from the kitchen.
The food smelled just like home cooking.
She thought her mother had come to cook for her. She hardly ever had time to cook, and her cooking skills were limited to just getting the food cooked through. Her mother thought that eating takeout all the time was unsanitary and unhealthy, so whenever she had free time, she would take a long-distance bus for several hours to come from her hometown to cook for her.
But he never stayed long after cooking, always heading back home the same day, as there was a large family waiting to be fed back in his hometown.
To put it bluntly, they're just a bunch of useless good-for-nothings who expect to be fed. They're all damned good-for-nothings.
For a moment, a deep gloom appeared in Xu Huaihuai's not-so-clear eyes.
"Mom, could you not go home today...?"
Xu Huaihuai, who had originally wanted to use her sleepiness to try and be affectionate with her mother, was completely awakened when she saw Lin Xu in the kitchen.
Lin Xu thought she might be about to cry, given the fleeting look of disillusionment, shock, and despair on her face.
But Xu Huaihuai's tone was unexpectedly calm: "Sorry, I wasn't fully awake just now and mistook you for my mom."
"It's alright." Lin Xu adjusted the heat. "The last dish will be ready in a while. Sister Huai, why don't you wash your hands and have some soup first?"
"Wait a minute before drinking, I want to take a shower first." Xu Huaihuai had already turned to leave, but then turned back and tugged at the apron strap tied behind Lin Xu's back. "Lin Xu, you're such a good husband."
After saying that, she turned to leave without waiting for Lin Xu's reaction, but Lin Xu called out to her, "Wait a minute, Sister Huai."
Lin Xu used plastic wrap to wrap the gauze on her right hand. "Be careful not to get it wet."
"Okay, go check the pot, it'll burn in a minute."
"It'll be fine with a small fire." Lin Xu reluctantly went into the kitchen, continuing to maintain his husbandly demeanor.
Xu Huaihuai removed the wet plastic wrap, and her phone just then received a delivery notification from the property management.
Lin Xu heard the doorbell ring and brought it in for her; it was a delivery package from the pharmacy. "What's wrong? Are you feeling unwell? Does your hand hurt? Did you get it wet?"
His face was full of concern, and he was about to walk towards Xu Huaihuai when Xu Huaihuai stopped him. "It's okay, it's okay. You can put the medicine in my room for me."
Xu Huaihuai carefully peeled back a bit of the gauze on her right hand. The skin underneath was still red, but it wouldn't hurt as long as she didn't apply any pressure. "Is the food ready?"
"Okay. We can eat now, I'll go first..."
He was very tactful. Xu Huaihuai glanced at him and said, "Let's eat together."
Carrot, corn, and pork rib soup; mushroom stewed chicken; broccoli and shrimp stir-fry; steamed egg custard.
It was a standard three-dish-and-one-soup meal, perfectly matching Xu Huaihuai's recipes—light and delicious.
Because her right hand was not strong enough, Xu Huaihuai ate slowly with a spoon using only her left hand.
The meal was quiet throughout; neither of them spoke. Lin Xu silently added food to her plate. He ate faster than Xu Huaihuai, putting down his chopsticks first and preparing to clear the dishes after she finished eating.
Xu Huaihuai also put down her spoon.
Aren't you going to eat?
"Hmm." Xu Huaihuai had no appetite. For some reason, she recalled some chaotic and old memories. It was a memory she had deliberately tried to forget but failed to do so.
In that somewhat faded memory, there were two women fighting. One of them was her mother, whose face was bruised and swollen. The other woman was about to slap her in the face, while her father stood by, smoking indifferently.
That day was her birthday. Her mother got up very early to buy groceries and cook her favorite dishes.
But the dinner table was overturned, and the parents, who were only superficially harmonious, finally broke off their facade. The third party then gloated and beat the woman of the house.
She hid behind the curtains, watching the ash from her father's cigarette fall, and felt only cold.
In her hazy vision, she saw the lifeless, cold light of the lamplight and her father with another woman. They looked like two twisted snakes.
It's so cold. The chill spread through her limbs, and desire became her way of forgetting the pain; she suddenly had a strong urge to make love.
There was still a lot of food left, so she didn't eat much. Lin Xu stacked the bowls and chopsticks and took them to the kitchen. He turned on the water and prepared to wash the dishes.
"Don't wash the dishes, Lin Xu, go take a shower." Xu Huaihuai looked at him from the kitchen doorway, her expression indifferent as she spoke.
Lin Xu couldn't decipher her overly calm expression, but she understood what she meant. Was she serious?
Lin Xu turned off the water, his eyes filled with complex emotions. He confirmed with Xu Huaihuai, "Sister Huai, you didn't drink today."
"Do I have to drink alcohol before I can do it with you?" she asked indifferently, discussing adult topics in a way that was hard to decipher.
Lin Xu didn't answer; he only said, "Sister Huai, you're not right."
"Then I'll find someone else." Xu Huaihuai didn't even turn her head, and was about to leave in her nightgown.
Lin Xu hugged her from behind, his voice low and filled with grievance and confusion, as he pressed his lips against her neck, "Why..."
Xu Huaihuai didn't answer his question. She looked down at Lin Xuhuan's hands on her waist—beautiful hands that matched her stereotypical image of a puppeteer. But the muscles betrayed his nervousness.
He was actually afraid of her leaving.
She pried the hand away expressionlessly, her actions colder than she had ever expected. "If you're not going to do it, you can leave."
Someone is destined to get hurt by the icicles this summer.
Lin Xu had just finished showering and pushed open the half-closed door to his room. Before he could even adjust to the darkness, Xu Huaihuai hugged him. Xu Huaihuai pressed against Lin Xu's still slightly damp chest, her voice carrying a hint of accusation: "Why did it take so long? Were you trying to run away?"
Fearing that Xu Huaihuai might get impatient and leave immediately, Lin Xu, who had timed it perfectly to within ten minutes, was speechless.
"No. Really, Sister Huai." Lin Xu gently patted Xu Huaihuai's back to comfort her.
Her emotions seemed to have stabilized somewhat. But everything tonight was too abnormal. Lin Xu couldn't help but worry.
Xu Huaihuai reached for the belt of Lin Xu's bathrobe but couldn't budge it. "It's knotted? What does that mean? Are you trying to keep me at bay?"
"Sister Huai, I'm just afraid you'll regret it."
She let go of his hand and took a step back. Lin Xu instinctively wanted to move forward, but he remained rational and did not take another step.
Xu Huaihuai, however, saw through his attempt to suppress his intentions.
She tore off the thin, loose nightgown robe just a step away from Lin Xu.
Thin fabric piled up at the feet.
Eyes that have gradually adapted to the darkness can see jade-colored skin.
Like a hazy moonlight.
He heard her somewhat nonchalant tone: "Lin Xu, are you just going to stand there and watch me play by myself?"
Her skin felt cool.
"Sister Huai, are you really not feeling unwell?"
Even though the two people were physically close at this moment, Lin Xu felt that this was the farthest they had ever been, even farther than the distance between two different time periods.
Xu Huaihuai's vision was a little blurry. She leaned against Lin Xu's neck and gently bit the side of his neck, where the mole was bright red.
“No…” Her left hand rested on his chest, and her right hand hung down on his back. “Your heart is beating so fast.”
Just as their lips touched, a cell phone rang at an inopportune moment; it was Xu Huaihuai's phone.
The ringing stopped once, then started ringing again without any regard for the situation.
Xu Huaihuai pushed Lin Xu aside and looked at the phone screen that lit up in the darkness. "Hold this for me..."
"Do I absolutely have to answer?"
Lin Xu helped her take it from beside the bed; it was a call from a stranger.
"Just in case something happens."
Xu Huaihuai answered the call, her breathing uneven as she leaned against Lin Xu, trying to answer calmly, "Hello? Who is this?"
Lin Xu cooperated and didn't move.
There was a pause before I heard anything on the other end of the phone.
Xu Huaihuai was about to hang up. What a pointless, spam call.
"Are you sleeping with someone else?" A pleasant male voice suddenly rang out on the phone, but his words were completely inappropriate.
I felt like I was being spied on. A needle-like chill seeped into my skin.
Xu Huaihuai was so startled that her hand trembled, and her phone slipped off onto the bed.
"What's wrong? Who called?"
Just then, the male voice came through the hands-free phone. He seemed to understand already, "Xu Huaihuai, you really are sleeping with someone else."
[Author's Note]
Who called at this hour? (Guess who?) [Winner's guess]
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