Even though I insisted that I wouldn’t leave, Mi Cai remained unmoved. She coldly threw out a “do as you please” and then fell silent.

I am a man of my word, so I wasn’t joking with Mi Cai. I immediately found a thick down jacket from my suitcase, wrapped it around myself, and sat in the hallway, determined to outlast Mi Cai. I absolutely didn’t believe that she would just watch me spend the night in the cold hallway.

I sat in the hallway with great patience for nearly an hour, but I gradually began to despair. The current trend was that this malicious woman, Mi Cai, really intended to leave me to my own devices in the hallway.

Thinking of her sleeping in a warm bed while I had to endure the cold wind from the hallway, I felt a wave of frustration and helplessness. It seemed that it was difficult for me to coexist peacefully with this woman. I had just returned to Suzhou today, and she had unreasonably shut me out. I really couldn’t understand why she treated me this way.

In my frustration, I found another thick coat to wrap myself in, which finally made me feel a bit warmer. The fatigue from a day’s journey gradually made me sleepy.

I fell asleep leaning against the wall. I don’t know how long it was before I felt someone nudging me. I opened my eyes groggily, and Mi Cai’s face gradually came into focus.

She looked at me in surprise and said, “You really didn’t leave?”

“Do I look like someone who doesn’t keep his word?” I tried to stand up from the ground, but my legs were already numb and immobile.

Mi Cai just looked at me without saying anything.

“Can’t you be a little nicer to me? I just arrived in Suzhou, and you locked me out! That’s not how you do things!”

“Why didn’t you go to a hotel?”

“You make it sound so easy. Do hotels not cost money?”

“You can’t just sleep in the hallway. If I hadn’t come out to check, would you really have slept here all night? You’re like a fool!” Mi Cai sighed.

“Foolish or not, I’ve never lived with dignity in front of you anyway… Help me up first, my legs are numb.” I reached out my hand to Mi Cai.

Mi Cai hesitated for a moment, then took my hand. Feeling the warmth and softness of her hand, I suddenly felt an inexplicable palpitation. Mi Cai struggled to say, “Zhao Yang, can you put in some effort? You’re giving me all your weight, I can’t pull you up!”

I finally snapped out of my daze, put my other hand on the ground, and with Mi Cai’s help, managed to get up from the ground.

I stomped my feet to relieve the numbness, then said to Mi Cai, “Don’t tell me you’re not going to let me in later!”

Before Mi Cai could answer, I took a big step towards the door, intending to secure a favorable position. If she dared to say no, I would lock her out first.

I had a good plan, but I didn’t expect that the numbness in my leg hadn’t completely disappeared. One of my legs couldn’t exert any strength, and I stumbled and fell heavily to the ground.

Mi Cai let out a scream, which only amplified my embarrassment. It had been a long time since I had been so humiliated, so I simply lay on the ground without moving.

“Zhao Yang, are you… okay?” Mi Cai poked my body with her finger and asked cautiously.

“Not really!… It hurts!”

Mi Cai asked anxiously, “Where did you fall?”

“My face!” I answered with a single word. It didn’t really hurt, but the key point was that I had lost face!

Mi Cai moved to my front, squatted down, and looked down at me. I kept my head down and didn’t say a word.

Mi Cai poked my head with her finger and asked, “Can you stand up by yourself?”

I decided to play along, and grunted, “Let me rest for a while, I feel dizzy… Can you help me bring my luggage in first?”

“Oh.” Mi Cai responded, but I couldn’t see if she had helped me. So I turned my head and peeked at her. I breathed a sigh of relief. Mi Cai had indeed taken my guitar into the room first, and then dragged my suitcase in.

After Mi Cai had brought all my luggage in, I jumped up from the ground and casually walked into the room, sitting on the sofa with my legs crossed.

Mi Cai stood with her hands on her hips, frowning and asking, “Weren’t you just crying out in pain? How come you’re acting like nothing happened now?”

“I have a strong self-healing ability!” I replied shamelessly, then picked up a tangerine from the coffee table and started peeling it.

“What self-healing ability? You were just pretending, weren’t you?”

“Who was pretending? I took such a big tumble and fell flat on the ground. Do you think it hurt? If you don’t believe me, you can try it yourself!”

“Boring!”

“I am boring.” I looked around the room, which felt even more familiar than my own home. It still had the same feeling, but there were a few more plants on the balcony that could grow in winter.

I complimented Mi Cai, who was standing across from me, “You’ve done a good job with this room. It retains its original charm and has some green plants added. It looks very lively!”

“It’s my room, of course I have to put effort into it. Unlike some people who only smoke in the room and produce carbon monoxide!”

I laughed nonchalantly, then changed the subject, “Is there anything to eat? I’m hungry and want some late-night snacks.”

“The rice and flour you left last time are still here. If you want to eat, make it yourself.” Mi Cai yawned and turned to go back to her room.

“Let’s eat something together later. I’ll cook some nourishing porridge. It’s good to eat something before bed.”

“I’m very sleepy now, I don’t need to nourish.”

“Then just keep me company. I’m a bit bored by myself.”

Mi Cai ignored me and continued to walk towards her room. I immediately got up and followed her into her room.

“What are you doing in my room?” Mi Cai noticed me behind her and asked with caution.I complained, “We’re so familiar with each other, can you stop being so tense all the time? I just want to borrow a set of bedding from you. It’s so cold, you can’t expect me to sleep on a bamboo mat, can you?”

Mi Cai’s expression eased slightly, “Weren’t you hungry? You go cook something, I’ll help you make the bed.”

Now it was my turn to be wary. I looked at Mi Cai and said, “Are you really that kind? You must be up to no good!”

“Then you can go sleep on the bamboo mat.” Mi Cai said, pushing me out of her room and preparing to close the door.

Of course, I couldn’t let her have her way. I held the door and said, “I’m so wise, I doubt you can pull any tricks on me. You go make the bed, I’ll go cook.”

Mi Cai gave me a dissatisfied look, then walked to the storage cabinet, took out a set of bedding, and carried it to the room I used to live in.

……

Mi Cai was tidying up the room for me, while I washed the rice, added water, and put in some red dates and lotus seeds.

While waiting for the rice porridge to cook, I went to the room I was about to move into, supervising Mi Cai. After being tricked by her several times, I had to stay alert around her.

——————

Everyone remember to check in, checking in has many benefits. Continuous check-ins can earn you lottery tickets and upgrade your account level.