Chapter 37 Taking the Initiative: "Then I'll make it up to you, with a kiss."...
Night fell, and all was quiet.
The moon hung in the sky, quietly shifting its position, and its clear, watery light gradually fell into the dim room.
The cooling fan of the computer case in the room emitted a low, breathing-like hum.
Beside the window was a small workbench with several instruments on it. Curled data cables were piled up in a tangled mess, and the side-by-side monitor screens on the table glowed faintly.
Xing Ze sat at the table with messy draft papers in his hands. He stared at the screen for a long time before raising his hand to close the software.
Then he casually took off his glasses and leaned back in his chair.
The phone on the table vibrated, showing a new message.
He picked it up, lowered his eyes, unlocked it, and opened WeChat.
[S University's All-Knowing Scholar: I've accepted your friend request. We can start chatting now.]
His gaze lingered on the message for half a second, then he casually clicked on the profile picture.
Suddenly, another message came in.
[S University All-Knowing Student: Hello, are you a junior?]
[S University's All-Knowing Student: Junior, are you interested in learning to drive? Summer driving lessons have no waiting lists, one person, one car, quick pick-up! [Handshake][Handshake] Instant discount upon registration, summer specials~ Contact us for details.]
Xing Ze ignored the two messages and continued browsing his Moments.
His profile picture is a cheerful little sheep, and his WeChat Moments background features three lines of colorful text.
[Boldly confess your feelings, like a Haidilao customer]
[Used goods trading, cross-promotion]
[Life assistance, food sharing]
Xing Ze frowned slightly and scrolled down.
The content on WeChat Moments is diverse, numerous, and highly active. Most of the accompanying images are chat logs with others, and the text is often tagged with labels such as "confessing love," "asking for help," or "looking for someone."
Among a multitude of miscellaneous inquiries on his WeChat Moments, such as "Ask about the food delivery app," "Ask about the version of calculus for the xxth grade," and "Ask about the campus run schedule," he spotted one that read, "I want to find out who this handsome guy is in Management 232 this afternoon!"
He clicked on it.
The accompanying photo was a blurry, unedited picture taken from the back row, but people still actively replied below.
"My goodness, girl, your hands are shaking so badly! How could you take such a blurry picture!"
Even though it's blurry, you can still tell from the back of his head that he's definitely a handsome guy.
Suddenly, an insider rushed out: "This is xxx from our School of Management!"
Someone else replied to this comment: "You can still recognize it even though it's so blurry?"
"Of course, he's a regular at the school walls, you know."
"xxx is the hot commodity in our management school, hahaha, but too bad he has a girlfriend. Girl, you should try to snag someone else."
"Why are so many people commenting on this post? The last time this many people commented was when someone confessed their love to Mu Tingyu, right?"
Xing Ze glanced at the text, but stopped abruptly when he saw the three characters "Mu Tingyu".
Someone replied, "Ah, is that Senior Mu from the School of Environment? She's already graduated, but the walls are still covered with her legends."
Some freshmen who just entered the school don't know who this is and are asking for clarification below.
"I was fortunate enough to see it; it is truly beautiful. It's a pity that the younger students won't have the chance to see it."
"Senior Mu is my ideal woman, sob sob! She's nothing like those other girls! She's so kind and gentle! [crying]"
"Although Sister Tingyu has graduated, she remains my one and only goddess [withered rose]..."
"Thanks for the invitation. I once volunteered with her, and we held hands when we were forming a human wall at XX Lake [smoking cigarette emoji]."
A wave of envy, jealousy, and resentment immediately swept through the crowd.
Xing Ze scrolled to the bottom, but no one mentioned what day the post confessing his love to Mu Tingyu was from.
At this rate, this wall posts at least a dozen messages a day; if I keep scrolling down, I'll probably be scrolling until tomorrow night.
He swiped his finger, reopened the chat window, and sent a message directly.
He's probably a night owl over there too; he'll be back soon.
[S University Know-It-All: Oh, how come people are still asking about Tingyu even though she graduated so long ago?]
[S University's All-Knowing Student: Junior, you're late!]
Xing Ze thought for a moment and then replied.
[X: Is that post still up on WeChat Moments? I want to see Mu-senpai's photos.]
A "[You little brat]" emoji came through.
[S University's All-Knowing Scholar: Stop watching, what's so interesting? You still won't be able to catch up even if you do [picking nose]. Tingyu is notoriously hard to get in our school, and besides, she's already graduated. If you can't forget her after watching, you're doomed!]
Xing Ze's gaze lingered on the words "can't catch up" for a moment, then his eyes relaxed, and he typed a reply.
[X: You can only give up after watching it.]
[S University's All-Knowing Scholar: Oh?]
[S University's All-Knowing Scholar: Okay, since you insist, I have some photos here too, let me look through them.]
Xing Ze rested his head on the soft headrest and waited patiently for a while.
After a few buzzing sounds, photos came from the other end.
He lowered his eyes and slowly opened the first one.
That was a face that looked a little younger than it does now, but it was still incredibly beautiful.
Perhaps at a volunteer activity, the photo shows a large red banner in the background, a bright blue sky, and shining sunlight. She is wearing a simple white T-shirt, her eyes curving into two sweet little arcs, waving her arms high. Her hair is sticky with sweat on her smooth forehead, but she doesn't look disheveled at all; she looks youthful and energetic.
The next photo is from the library, probably taken from a magnified, candid angle, so the image quality is a bit blurry. She sits quietly in the corner, reading a book while sucking on a yogurt straw. Sunlight streams in from the window, outlining her honey-colored hair and soft profile, with her long eyelashes casting delicate shadows on her face.
Xing Ze lowered his eyes, his fingers unconsciously moving across the screen, as if trying to reach through the screen and time to touch the girl's hair.
He watched it quietly for a while, then scrolled down to find a video.
He turned off the volume and opened the video.
It was a silhouette of her walking. She tilted her head back, her steps light as a deer's, her canvas bag swaying casually at her side. Suddenly, she grabbed her companion's arm, gave it a playful shake, then tilted her head and rested it on her shoulder.
Xing Ze recognized that it was Shao Yue.
His eyes softened, and he watched the video repeatedly.
[S University's All-Knowing Scholar: How is it? Isn't it beautiful?]
He scrolled past the message that popped up at the top and long-pressed to save the video.
Then exit and save the previous two photos one by one.
[S University's All-Knowing Scholar: Oh right, I also found that post. Luckily, I took a screenshot, otherwise I really wouldn't have been able to find it. It's just that I can't find the picture that person used; it was one of the few times Tingyu wore a skirt. Sigh, what a pity.]
[S University's All-Knowing Scholar: [Image]]
The image shows a date from two years ago.
The person on the other end said, "Hey, I want to confess to Mu Tingyu from the School of Environmental Science. She's totally my type. Is there any way I can get her contact information? I almost got rejected in person the other day."
The comments below are all unanimously negative.
"What's the point of continuing if you've already been rejected?"
"Our guy who doesn't talk about love, next up."
"Okay, I got it. Go have fun."
Xing Ze glanced at it and then left.
X: Thank you.
[S University's Top Expert: Such a lukewarm reaction? Don't you think it's good?]
Xing Ze paused as he exited the chat window, then typed two more words.
X: It looks good.
[S University's All-Knowing Scholar: I knew it! How could anyone think that listening to speech isn't pretty? [holding a rose]]
[S University's All-Knowing Student: Hey junior, do you want to learn to drive? There's a real discount, and you won't have to wait in line for driving lessons during summer vacation! ...]
There was no further reply.
The room was quiet.
Moonlight filtered through the gauze curtains, silently falling on the edge of the bedside, like a hazy mist, softly and gently spreading over the sleeping person on the bed.
Xing Ze got up and gently sat on the edge of the bed.
The mattress sank slightly, and he reached out and rubbed the man's cheek with the back of his fingers.
The girl's profile was calm and gentle, with a few strands of hair clinging to her forehead, and her breathing was even.
He lowered his eyes and slowly brushed her hair aside, his movements gentler than moonlight.
She seemed to sense something, her eyelashes trembled slightly, and she unconsciously moved her head to touch his hand.
Xing Ze paused, his gaze lingering on her face, his eyes filled with tenderness.
The girl looked completely at him with trust, nestled comfortably against his hand, and fell into a deep sleep again.
He recalled how Mu Tingyu had been clutching her pillow and trying to crawl into his room last night, and sighed silently.
They really love to cause trouble.
I wonder if she was just as boisterous in college.
Shaoyue is right, she is indeed very, very popular at university.
Even an anonymous campus wall whose operator is unknown can affectionately call her "Tingyu".
He asked Shaoyue for her WeChat contact information on the school wall, intending to see how many people had mentioned her name there.
He wanted to see what others had told him about her dazzling college years, a period he had never experienced.
But when he actually saw those comments, those words that revealed his affection, he felt like he was just asking for trouble.
He could barely contain his jealousy, jealous that they could see Mu Tingyu, whom he could not.
Xing Ze's eyes showed a hint of gloom as he poked her face with his hand.
Mu Tingyu was completely unaware of his change in mood, and remained close to his hand, her breath falling softly on him.
That look of complete dependence seemed to belong only to him.
He lost his temper, helplessly curving his lips into a smile, and sat on the edge of the bed, quietly watching her for a while.
Then he bent down and carefully kissed her forehead.
-
Early in the morning, Mu Tingyu was woken up by her alarm clock as usual.
I was stunned for a moment when I opened my eyes.
Then she realized that she had slept in Xing Ze's room last night.
She was alone in bed, sleeping in a very unladylike spread-eagled position.
She blinked, instinctively reached for her pants, and then breathed a sigh of relief.
Thankfully, nothing leaked.
She sat up, then realized what was happening and looked at the pillow next to her with some confusion.
—The ground was flat and there was no sign of anyone having slept there.
She paused for two seconds, then quickly got out of bed and put on her slippers.
Five minutes later, she was brushing her teeth in the second-floor bathroom while trying hard to recall the memory.
Last night, Xing Ze said he needed to look at a program. He sat down in front of the computer as soon as he came in and told her to go to sleep first.
She remembers stubbornly trying to stay awake for a while, but eventually she couldn't hold back and fell into a deep sleep.
I don't know if it was because Xing Ze's bed was softer, but I slept incredibly well all night and slept until dawn. I have no idea what happened after that.
...Did Xing Ze really not sleep all night?
She held her toothbrush in her mouth, increasingly uneasy, and hurriedly finished tidying up before tiptoeing downstairs.
When she reached the corner on the first floor, she grabbed the handrail and leaned out to take a peek.
Xing Ze was in the kitchen.
She tiptoed and carefully moved over.
Xing Ze stood in front of the stove, seemingly cooking porridge. The bubbling sound from the pot effectively masked her footsteps.
She chuckled to herself, and like a thief, slowly moved behind him, intending to startle him, but he suddenly turned around.
"!"
She was so startled that she leaned back, then was pulled back and held tightly.
Xing Ze's helpless voice rang out above his head: "Childish brat."
Mu Tingyu placed her hands on his chest, still somewhat shaken: "How did you know I was behind you?"
Xing Ze put his arm around her waist, his brows and eyes relaxing: "If you were to become a spy, you'd definitely be the first one caught."
"......"
His words were too sharp, so Mu Tingyu didn't respond and asked directly, "Didn't you sleep last night?"
Xing Ze raised an eyebrow: "I'm asleep."
"Really?" Mu Tingyu asked doubtfully, "There are no marks on your pillow."
"She's asleep," Xing Ze said calmly. "Last night you kept clinging to me like an octopus, have you forgotten?"
Mu Tingyu: "?"
"Wait a minute," she said, looking completely taken aback. "When did this happen? How come I didn't know about it?"
Xing Ze stared at her with his eyes down, without saying a word.
Seeing his inexplicably aggrieved expression, Mu Tingyu suddenly felt a little itchy inside.
Is her sleeping posture really that bad?
However, when I woke up this morning, I was indeed sleeping in a very bold starfish position, almost taking up the entire bed.
The evidence is conclusive and cannot be denied.
Mu Tingyu met his gaze, narrowed her eyes somewhat ingratiatingly, and reached out a finger to scratch his shirt, trying to get away with it.
The next second her hand was grabbed.
The two remained in an embracing position, their faces close together, their breaths gently mingling.
Her heart fluttered, and she blinked slowly: "Then, did you not sleep well last night?"
Xing Ze's gaze naturally fell on her delicate lips, and he slowly hummed in agreement.
"All right."
Her voice was soft as she slowly moved her hands up and hooked them around his neck.
"Then I'll make it up to you with a kiss."
She used a little force to pull the person down, bringing their face close to hers.
Xing Ze felt the soft touch on his lips and paused in his breath.
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