“Why did you change your mind again?”

Xie Shu looked at the message from Ruan Nianxi, raising an eyebrow in inquiry.

Hadn’t she previously refused to let him meet her parents? What changed all of a sudden?

Was she… ready to face the issue now?

Ruan Nianxi lowered her head and softly murmured, “Mm,” her eyes still glued to her phone as her fingers typed away.

On the other side, Jian Qing was still in the dark. She thought “Xie Shu” had agreed to meet, but the location…

Although Jiangling University was large, it was still within the school grounds. She worried about the chance encounter with Ruan Nianxi if luck wasn’t on her side.

She hadn’t gone home tonight and wasn’t sure if she’d return to school or hang out elsewhere tomorrow. It was better to be cautious.

If Ruan Nianxi saw her meeting Xie Shu, she would definitely be furious.

Jian Qing, feeling uneasy, continued to negotiate with “Xie Shu” about changing the meeting place, but “Xie Shu” insisted on returning to school immediately after his part-time job and didn’t want to go anywhere else.

Seeing no room for negotiation, Jian Qing relented.

Fine.

School it is.

There were plenty of leisure shops in the school living area. She could just book one for their meeting and leave right after.

So, Xie Shu watched as Ruan Nianxi chatted with her mother for a while, finally settling on a café at the school for their meeting.

After they finished talking, he retrieved his phone and found a video to watch while Ruan Nianxi leisurely ate her dinner.

With nothing else to do afterward, Xie Shu took Ruan Nianxi on an adventure in the canyon. To make it easier to form a team, he first sent a message to his dorm group, calling all his “sons.”

In the group chat, upon learning that Xie Shu wouldn’t be returning to the dorm tonight, his friends jealously ranted for a long time.

He had just started dating and already wasn’t coming back to the dorm on weekends?

They didn’t need to think twice to assume he was staying at a hotel, which was simply… simply… disgraceful!

After criticizing Xie Shu for not returning to the dorm, they begrudgingly logged into the game.

That night, the jungle king and his support sister explored every corner of the canyon, while the other three lanes fought “lonely” battles against their opponents…

Late at night, Xie Shu checked the time and ended the game with his friends.

After the game, they returned to the group chat to criticize Xie Shu again, saying that a boy who didn’t come home at night would never find a girlfriend.

Xie Shu countered with a triple response: [I already have a family. I’m with my wife right now. You guys are the ones who won’t find girlfriends.]

Three sentences left the three “unfilial sons” speechless.

Meanwhile, Ruan Nianxi, sitting beside Xie Shu, was so nervous she didn’t know what to do.

Seeing Xie Shu chatting in the group, she anxiously walked to the bed, clutching her clothes tightly, her gaze shifting to the bathroom.

After hesitating for a long time, she finally said in a trembling voice, “Then… I’ll take a shower first.”

Though her voice was soft, the room was quiet enough for Xie Shu to hear her clearly.

Hearing her mention a shower, Xie Shu immediately put down his phone and stood up.

“Alright, it’s late. Remember to rest early. We can play again tomorrow,” Xie Shu said, putting his phone in his pocket. He glanced at Ruan Nianxi before turning to leave.

Ruan Nianxi was puzzled. Seeing Xie Shu about to open the door, she asked, “Where are you going?”

Xie Shu paused, then answered, “To sleep.”

“Where?”

“Next door.”

“You… booked two rooms?”

“Yes.”

“……”

Silence filled the room.

After a few seconds, Xie Shu realized what was going on.

When they went out today, he had all their IDs and small items. He had booked two rooms at the hotel and received two room cards. He remembered Ruan Nianxi was playing with a cat at the time, so she probably didn’t notice.

After entering the room, he saw it was still early, and they hadn’t eaten yet, so he thought they’d stay in one room for a while and then go to their separate rooms to sleep.

So, had she misunderstood the whole time?

This…

Xie Shu chuckled. He walked back to Ruan Nianxi, gently hugged her, and kissed her forehead. “The hotel has plenty of rooms, so of course, we should stay separately. It’s still early.”

Ruan Nianxi understood what he meant by “early.”

After speaking, Xie Shu leaned close to her ear and whispered, “Let’s leave it at that for today. Goodnight, Ruan Ruan.”

Then he left.

Ruan Nianxi stood in the room for a long time.

She didn’t move until a long while later.

She pursed her lips, her cheeks puffing up, then silently let down her bun, her long hair falling over her shoulders. She turned and went to the bathroom.

She didn’t know how long she stayed in the bathroom. When she came out, she was wrapped in a towel, sitting on the bed, staring at her phone in a daze.

After a long while, she suddenly threw her phone to the side.

Ugh, so annoying!

She had been looking forward to this for so long!

And nothing happened!

After sulking for a while, she picked up her phone again and saw a message from Xie Shu.

He must have finished washing up too, sending her a “Goodnight, sleep early.”

Seeing the message, Ruan Nianxi put away her little emotions and happily replied, “Goodnight.”

Her mood visibly improved.

Lying in bed, she was too excited to sleep, just like the night she was confessed to. Even though her eyes were tired, her mind was extremely alert.

Today was their date!

Ruan Nianxi hugged a pillow, overjoyed, then buried her head into it, pretending it was Xie Shu. She couldn’t help but roll around on the bed.

Today was so happy. She loved dating so much. If only they could date every day!

Thinking this, she rolled around a few more times, her excitement growing, making it impossible to sleep.

She kept hugging the pillow, but it was just a pillow, not a real person.

If it were a real person…

She would definitely press Xie Shu down and kiss him!

That feeling must be wonderful~

After a long time of excitement, Ruan Nianxi’s mood gradually calmed down. As she did, she suddenly remembered her mom’s matter.

Ruan Nianxi: “……”

Ugh, she wouldn’t let them find Xie Shu.

Doing things behind her back was so annoying.

She had agreed to meet at the school just to help Xie Shu out of a difficult situation.

“Xie Shu” had agreed, but whether they actually met was another story.

Xie Shu had a part-time job tomorrow…

So she had to find something else to do!

Next door.

Xie Shu, who had long washed up and lay in bed, couldn’t sleep either.

Every time he closed his eyes, he thought about Ruan Nianxi kissing his Adam’s apple that afternoon. The tingling sensation quickly spread through his body.

But the feeling of experiencing it firsthand and recalling it were worlds apart. The tingling back then was incomparable to the memory now. His legs had almost gone weak then, but now there was no such feeling.

Even touching his own Adam’s apple now had no effect.

Hmm… it seemed it depended on the person.

He needed to experience it again.

Thinking about this made Xie Shu’s heart race. Lost in thought, he picked up his phone and sent a message to the photographer he had hired today, urging him to speed up.

Emm… even if he couldn’t experience it again, looking at the photos would do.