Chapter 23
Xu Xin has a contradictory temperament. He looks like a typical unapproachable person, but his aura is restrained and gentle. Coupled with his peach blossom eyes, even though he is always radiating coldness, he is not annoying.
This leads many girls to subconsciously believe that he is at least a gentleman and wouldn't easily lose his temper, even though they know he doesn't want to talk to people.
So Xu Xin only stood there for a short while, but it attracted two girls who mustered up their courage and moved closer to him.
Bai Lu didn't hear their conversation clearly, but soon the two girls left looking dejected, probably because Brother Xin had rejected them.
He quickly got up, waved, and called out to Brother Xin again.
Xu Xin heard this, and after turning his gaze over, he walked towards them.
"Brother Xin, what are you holding in that hand?"
Xu Xin sat down next to Bai Lu and then sat opposite Bai Nan again. Upon hearing this, he stuffed the things in his hands into his pants pocket.
"It's nothing, let's eat."
Seeing that he didn't want to talk, Bai Lu didn't ask anymore. He saw Bai Nan across from him look up at them, then quietly lower his head again.
Hmph, what a pretentious act!
After finishing their meal, the group parted ways at the crossroads.
Li Ling linked arms with Bai Di, saying they were going to the school supermarket to buy some things together. Bai Lu, on the other hand, ran into some of his roommates and wanted to go to the playground with them.
The remaining three are Huang Wang, Bai Nan, and Xu Xin.
The atmosphere was somewhat awkward. Huang Wang didn't know what had happened between Bai Nan and Xu Xin, and he didn't want to ask directly, so he simply remained silent the whole way.
Bai Nan was recalling what he had just witnessed. Were the two girls trying to add Xu Xin on WeChat? One of the girls seemed to have handed him a note, but he didn't know what was written on it...
Xu Xin lagged slightly behind, and when he looked ahead, his gaze would occasionally sweep over Bai Nan, who had one hand in his pocket, gripping the contents tightly.
The three of them shared a dorm room, so naturally they went into the same building and went to the same floor. However, when Bai Nan returned to the dorm room, she was dumbfounded.
She looked at the empty bed and the clean bookshelf on her desk—no, where were her things?
She turned around to leave the dormitory, wondering if she had misread the room number.
She turned around and almost fell into the arms of the person behind her. She quickly steadied herself and looked up at him.
"You're not mistaken, that's your bed."
Xu Xin's tone was very calm, as if he had expected her reaction.
Bai Nan subconsciously turned around to look at his bed and found that his bed and table were also empty.
Xu Xin: "Take another look and see if there's anything else you haven't taken."
Bai Nan finally realized that Xu Xin had asked the principal for a double room last night, and the principal had agreed to it late at night.
She thought he was joking, so she replied with three '6's. No wonder he was laughing so hard the bed was shaking last night; it turns out it was real!
Huang Wang went straight to the bathroom upon entering the dormitory. When he came out and saw the two still standing there, he subconsciously looked at Xu Xin's bed and was immediately shocked to see that only the school's initial mattress and pillow remained.
"Xiao Di, why is Brother Xin's bed empty?"
He subconsciously asked Bai Nan a question, but then realized something was wrong and quickly looked up at the upper bunk.
"Hey Xiao Di, what happened to your things? I remember you brought an air-conditioning blanket with you when you came."
Bai Nan snapped out of her daze, and upon hearing his words, she suddenly remembered the white stain on the quilt, and her spirits lifted instantly.
"Oh no!"
She blurted out instinctively, then stared at Xu Xin with wide, shocked eyes, "My blanket...you took it too...?"
Xu Xin: "?"
Seeing his expression that said, "Isn't this obvious?", Bai Nan's face turned ashen.
After a while, she comforted herself, saying, "It's okay. He probably didn't notice. Before I left, I folded the blanket into a perfect square, and the side with the white marks was folded inside. He probably didn't see it."
At this moment, Huang Wang also realized what was happening: "Brother Di Xin, are you guys moving to another dormitory? Um... can I come with you?"
Although he was a little afraid of Xu Xin, compared to Wang Zhuo, Li Si, and Peng Lei, Xu Xin was actually more harmless. As long as he wasn't provoked, he wouldn't provoke anyone except Peng Lei.
Upon hearing Huang Wang's cautious request, Bai Nan subconsciously looked at Xu Xin, but Xu Xin merely glanced at him without even opening his mouth.
Seeing this, Bai Nan quickly stammered, "Uh... it's like this, Huang Wang, Xu and Xin applied for a double room, but it can only accommodate two people..."
The light in Huang Wang's eyes immediately dimmed, but he didn't say anything more, and then happily offered his congratulations.
Bai Nan felt a little guilty and was focused on Huang Wang's reaction, so she didn't see Xu Xin's lips curl up briefly when he heard her call him "Brother Xin".
Those deep, peach-blossom eyes curved slightly, the corners of their eyes curving like crescent moons.
Finally, Bai Nan, carrying a set of bear pajamas from the closet, followed Xu Xin out of dormitory 401.
Before leaving, Huang Wang took out aloe vera water from his drawer, wanting Bai Nan to take it and apply it to his sunburned neck.
But Bai Nan firmly refused. She knew that Huang Wang's family was not well-off. Although it was just a bottle of aloe vera water, it was all the skincare products he had. There were still four days of military training ahead, and he needed it more than she did.
As Huang Wang watched Bai Nan's departing figure, he slowly tightened his grip on the bottle in his hand, increasing the pressure until the bottle was slightly deformed.
The bear pajamas that Bai Nan was holding in her arms were ones she had bought herself a year ago. She had bought a large size because she was worried that she wouldn't be able to wear them after she grew taller.
So after swapping bodies with Bai Di, she was able to wear it too, and brought it from home.
As he climbed higher and higher, Xu Xin finally stopped on the eighth floor.
He turned around and pointed to the rooms on both sides of the corridor, saying, "This floor is where the faculty and staff live. Although there aren't many teachers living here, we still need to be careful."
Bai Nan nodded. Although she didn't know what she needed to pay attention to, Xu Xin must have his reasons for specifically instructing her.
As someone who gets something for free, all she has to do is comply.
Xu Xin walked to a door, took out his student ID card, swiped it, and opened the door.
"We've arrived." He made way for Bai Nan to go first.
Bai Nan, holding a bear-themed pajama set, gently pushed open the door, and Xu Xin reached out and turned on the light.
The room's floor was reflective, clean and bright, like a mirror. Two single beds occupied one side of each other, both against the wall. The desk and wardrobe were separate items next to the beds, and there was even a small balcony next to the bathroom, where a clean training uniform was hanging to dry.
"Wow, these conditions are amazing!"
Actually, when she found out it was a teachers' dormitory, she thought the conditions would be better, but she didn't expect it to be this good.
Not only are the bed, wardrobe, and desk new, but even the bathroom has a wet and dry separation design, and there's even a washing machine next to the sink outside—a front-loading washing machine.
Her family only uses a top-loading washing machine. Before that, her maternal grandmother's family didn't have a washing machine, and she and her grandmother had to wash their clothes by hand. Summer was okay, but winter sweaters, cotton-padded clothes, and quilts were the hardest to wash. They often had to fetch water from the well more than a dozen times to get them thoroughly clean.
She ran to the balcony, opened the window, leaned out and took a deep breath. The summer night breeze was blowing by, cool and refreshing.
Xu Xin helped her hang her bear pajamas in the closet, and then went into the balcony with her.
"Xu Xin, did you come to pack up as soon as military training ended?...Why didn't you call me?"
She understood why Xu Xin went to the cafeteria so late. The room floor was so shiny, it must have been cleaned by the dormitory supervisor before he moved in. The desk and bed were also spotless; cleaning these things takes time.
Xu Xin turned his face to the side to let the wind blow on him. Hearing this, he didn't say anything, but simply took out the bottle of aloe vera gel that he had been holding in his hand from his pocket.
"Is your neck still itchy?" His tone was gentler than the summer night breeze, which made Bai Nan pause in surprise.
Seeing that she didn't react, he gently adjusted her shoulder with his hand, turning the back of her neck towards him.
"Stop scratching, or you'll bleed."
Actually, his tone was no different from usual, but Bai Nan could hear the care and warmth in it.
A cool sensation ran down the back of her neck, accompanied by the warmth of his fingertips and the refreshing summer night breeze. The unique minty scent seemed to travel through his hands to her, leaving his distinctive mark on her delicate skin...
Even after she finished washing up and lay down in bed, her ears were still a little hot.
Lights out time had passed, and the room was pitch black. She stood with her back to the aisle, holding her phone in her hand. The chat interface on the screen was still displaying the "Rest in Peace" emoji she had sent the night before.
My fingers swiped and swiped, and finally I mustered up the courage to type a sentence, took a deep breath, and pressed send.
[Munan: Are you asleep?]
A brief buzzing sound came from the opposite bed, followed by the rustling of the blankets and then the sound of fingers typing.
Swish—the screen in Bai Nan's hand lit up a second. She carefully pulled the blanket over her head, held her breath, and opened the new message.
Anonymous: Hmm.
Phew—it's still the Xu Xin she knows.
Everything that happened before the lights went out seemed like a dream. Xu Xin, who was applying medicine to her and gently breathing on her neck, seemed like someone in a dream.
She was afraid that if she breathed too heavily, she would blow him away.
It wasn't until the room was completely dark and my thoughts gradually cleared that I realized what had just happened was reality, and Xu Xin was real.
Mu Nan: I...
Bai Nan realized it was inappropriate after typing it and immediately deleted it. She actually wanted to ask him if he had seen the white stains on the blanket...
After all, as soon as she entered the room, she saw Bai Di's SpongeBob SquarePants blanket, which was laid out very neatly on the single bed. Although the white stain was on the other side, the person who made the bed could definitely see the white stain on the large yellow area at a glance.
She was so conflicted that her molars were grinding together, a bad habit she'd had since childhood.
Swish—the screen lit up again, and Bai Nan quickly clicked on it.
[Anonymous: Nocturnal emission is a physiological phenomenon that frequently occurs during male puberty...]
Bai Nan felt a sudden heat throughout her body.
Xu Xin was actually explaining to her what 'nocturnal emission' is?!
Her mind went blank until another new message popped up.
[Anonymous: So you don't need to worry about it. This is a normal physiological phenomenon for men, similar to menstruation for women.]
Bai Nan: "???"
Is she too old-fashioned? Or did she misunderstand? Did Xu Xin think the white stains on the blanket were nocturnal emission?
But then,
Even though she was conscious,
Shot out...
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
