Chapter 11 Fierce and stubborn, two unruly whorls of evil hair...
Jin Zhao had seen people cry before.
There's a little girl next door who cries a lot.
When she cries, tears and snot stream down her face, and her voice is deafening, making it impossible for anyone to calm down.
But Jiang Xiliu's crying was completely different.
Her voice was soft and weak, and when she cried so hard she could hardly breathe, she would let out a soft sob.
The sound was even less loud than the force of her unconsciously patting his arm.
"Stop crying." Jin Zhao let her pat him for a while, until his arm was almost numb from the weak patting, before he finally managed to sit up.
He reached out to grab the light cord at the foot of the bed.
He had barely moved his body, and before his fingers even touched the light cord, a warm hand suddenly wrapped around him.
Jiang Xiliu had somehow reached her arm over to him and was now gripping the waistband of his pajama pants, not with much force, but with a tight grip.
Her voice was still choked with sobs, whimpering: "Where are you going?"
Jin Zhao paused, his Adam's apple bobbed, and he lowered his voice than usual: "Turn on the light."
"Don't turn on the lights!" the young lady shouted, thinking she sounded fierce.
Her voice was still trembling from crying, lacking any intimidating power; instead, it sounded like a grumpy kitten whining.
That damn penniless bastard actually wanted to see her make a fool of herself!
Jin Zhao looked down and could vaguely see the top of her head buried in the pillow, her dark, soft hair brushing against the blue cotton pillowcase.
His head throbbed: "How can I know what's wrong with you if the light isn't on?"
I feel wronged everywhere!
But what she felt most aggrieved about at that moment was: "I can't sleep. This bed is so hard, it hurts my bones."
Jin Zhao reached out and touched the bed. He didn't feel anything uncomfortable. Even if it wasn't super soft, it was definitely not "bone-breaking": "If the bed is hard, sleep in the middle and bear with it for one night."
Jiang Xiliu raised her hand to wipe away her tears: "I can't bear it."
Even though her crying wasn't loud, it was more noticeable than the crying in Jin Zhao's memory.
He paused for a few seconds, then compromised again: "So what do you want to do? There's only one bed in this room."
Not only was there only one bed, but there was also only one pillow.
When he touched the bed earlier, he was thinking of helping her move the pillow up, but as soon as he touched it, he felt that the texture was wrong.
The pillow was soaked with the young lady's tears, wet, cool, and heavy.
Jiang Xiliu blinked her watery eyes and made her request with a matter of course: "Lie down and be my bed."
She spoke bluntly, and even moved to the middle of the bed to make room for him, staring directly at Jin Zhao.
The room was dark, with only a very faint light, so Jin Zhao couldn't see her expression clearly, but he had a strange intuition that if he dared to refuse, he wouldn't be able to sleep tonight.
Jin Zhao moved further inside, following her lead.
He deliberately adjusted his posture, slowly stretching his shoulders and back, pressing his back firmly against the bed, trying to make his posture appear relaxed.
Jiang Xiliu stared intently at his movements. Seeing how self-aware he was, a slight smile finally appeared on her lips, and most of the anger in her eyes dissipated. She muttered softly, "That's more like it."
She didn't hold back at all. She wiped away her tears, moved to the side using both her hands and feet, and the next second, she pressed her whole body against him.
Her cheek was pressed against his warm chest, her arms were wrapped around his waist, and her feet were gently placed on his legs. She really treated him like a soft "human bed".
At first, Jin Zhao could feel her head gently rubbing against his chest, as if she was looking for a more comfortable position. But after two minutes, that little movement stopped.
The sound of even breathing came from his arms. Jin Zhao lowered his eyes and could only see the top of her head.
There are two unruly, wicked whorls of hair on top.
Jin Zhao stared at the two whorls of hair for a long time, using the light that seeped in through the cracks in the window, before he could make out their shape clearly.
For some reason, the words his elders had once said flashed through his mind: "People with double hair whorls are both fierce and stubborn."
At the time, he just found it funny, but now he suddenly felt that the words "fierce and stubborn" were tailor-made for Jiang Xiliu.
...
As dawn broke, the morning in the bungalow area was enveloped in a warm glow.
Many of the people renting in this area make a living by setting up stalls near the school gate. The stall owners who manage to stay here long-term do so because their skills are recognized by the students; everything they make is incredibly delicious!
Jiang Xiliu was awakened by this fragrance.
She sniffed, the crisp scent of soap mingling with the oily aroma of meat buns wafting from next door, and the distant smell of crispy egg pancakes, all rushing into her nostrils.
Jiang Xiliu's stomach, which hadn't eaten much last night, started growling uncontrollably. Without even opening her eyes, her eyelashes still stuck together, she instinctively rubbed against the heat source and then slapped Jin Zhao's face haphazardly.
Her voice sounded weak and listless, yet still carried her usual commanding tone: "Go buy me breakfast."
The system, which hadn't dared to utter a sound all night, suddenly popped up, its mechanical voice tinged with a cautious probing.
[System 0777: Miss, why don't you open your eyes and look at Jin Zhao's expression? Our poor little male lead looks like you're about to drive him crazy.]
Jiang Xiliu's eyelashes, which had been trembling slightly, instantly froze.
The more it urged her to look, the less she would look.
But her mouth and hands didn't stop: "Hurry up, I'm starving! It's all your fault for deliberately not feeding me last night. I'm so hungry I can't even open my eyes..."
Jin Zhao took a deep breath, enduring it again and again, until finally he could no longer bear it.
He grabbed her wrist and pulled her off him with a little force.
Jiang Xiliu fell onto the hard bed with a cry of "Ouch!" Her once smooth hair flew wildly, with a few strands sticking to her face.
Her previously half-closed eyes widened instantly, and her voice became forceful: "You hit me!"
With the skill of talking nonsense, Miss can definitely get SSS.
Jin Zhao ignored her words, bent down to grab his clothes from the chair, and began to change, suppressing his sleepiness and the anger that had been stirred up.
After changing his clothes and calming down, he glanced back at the person still glaring at him on the bed: "How am I supposed to buy you breakfast when you're on top of me?"
That makes some sense.
Jiang Xiliu reached out and brushed back her stray hairs, quickly tidying her hair and maintaining her composure as a young lady. Then, she haughtily raised her chin and said, "Then go quickly."
Having learned from yesterday's lesson, Jin Zhao only bought one serving of each item when he went out to buy breakfast this time.
Although the quantity was small, the variety was abundant, and when all the ingredients were put together, the amount was roughly equivalent to the meal of two strong laborers.
When Jin Zhao returned carrying a bunch of bags, Jiang Xiliu had already washed up briefly.
Her phone was dead, and there wasn't even a TV in this dilapidated bungalow. She was so bored that she simply moved a chair outside and sat at the front door waiting for Jin Zhao to come back.
Jin Zhao saw the figure at the door from afar, paused, and suddenly felt a strange, indescribable feeling welled up inside him.
Jin Zhao's parents died early, and his grandmother was in poor health and rarely went out. As far back as he could remember, the front door of his house was always closed and locked.
Now, someone is waiting for him.
"Ah!" Jiang Xiliu spotted Jin Zhao. She dropped the foxtail grass she had just picked up, jumped up from her chair, and rushed over quickly—but she went straight past him, only looking at the bag in his hand. "It smells so good!"
As soon as she finished speaking, she reached into the bag and rummaged through it, picking out the one that smelled the best. She took a bite and squinted her eyes in bliss.
Before Jin Zhao could say a word, she turned and walked into the house with light steps, without even glancing in his direction.
The inexplicable bitterness he felt earlier vanished instantly. Jin Zhao watched her retreating figure, then followed her with a stern face.
What? Someone's waiting for him? Clearly, someone's waiting for breakfast!
Jiang Xiliu had never seen many of the snacks before, and she curiously tried a bite of each one.
She would take a few more bites of what she liked, and spit out what she didn't. Before she knew it, her stomach was full, and she even burped at the end.
Jin Zhao never wasted food, so he quietly cleaned up and ate what was left.
Energetic once again, Jiang Xiliu clung to his neck like a koala: "Let's go! You go to school, I'll go home and get my charger."
The "home" she was referring to is the apartment near Peking University that she mentioned last night.
That house was arranged by Liao Zhu after she forced Jin Zhao to sign the sugar daddy/sugar baby agreement.
The furniture inside was all chosen according to her preferences; it's almost a scaled-down version of where she currently lives.
"Get off me." Jin Zhao would not be fooled by her innocent appearance. "Follow me and walk over there."
The young lady hugged him tighter, rubbed her chin against him, and started talking nonsense: "My legs hurt, carry me across."
Jin Zhao felt the veins on his forehead throb.
Why didn't it hurt when I rushed over to eat?
"Come down!"
Jiang Xiliu ignored him and kept urging, "I remember you have an early morning class today, hurry up, you're going to be late."
Jin Zhao never misses a class. Even when he is struggling financially and needs to work part-time to make ends meet, he would never skip a few easy classes in order to earn more money.
He has always held knowledge in awe.
Moreover, Jiang Xiliu is not someone who can listen to reason; it's impossible to reason with her.
To avoid wasting time, Jin Zhao stopped arguing with Jiang Xiliu and carried the young lady, who was too lazy to move, out of the alley. The narrow alley twisted and turned, and the ground was uneven. He had to be extra careful with his footing to avoid bumping the person on his back. Soon, he was covered in a thin layer of sweat.
It wasn't until they walked out of the alley and the streets became more crowded with pedestrians, with smooth asphalt replacing the stone slabs, that Jiang Xiliu suddenly patted his shoulder and jumped off his back before he could even stand up straight.
Jin Zhao turned his head to look at her, his brows furrowed, wondering what trick she was up to this time.
Jiang Xiliu glared back: "What?"
Jin Zhao pursed his lips and didn't reply.
There was no point in saying anything more, so he simply turned around, quickened his pace, and walked straight toward the school gate, ignoring her completely.
Jiang Xiliu did not follow.
[System 0777: Miss, are you really going to invite Jin Zhao to stay over tonight?]
[System 0777: I'm so touched! You've finally been moved by our poor little Jin Zhao!]
Jiang Xiliu:? ? ?
She immediately denied it: "When did I say I wanted him to come and stay?"
[System 0777: You said it yourself last night at the door.]
A note from the author:
----------------------
Should we let Jin Zhao come and stay? [Glasses]
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
