???
Live together? Jiang Yuan slightly parted her lips and stared blankly for a while before she finally found her voice.
She suspected that Chi Xu was joking.
Looking at him with clear eyes, she made a decision on her own: "Stop joking. Let me treat you to a meal."
When they were kids, Chi Xu was the only one in his family and there were extra bedrooms. She often went to his place. Sometimes when she was too tired during the lunch break, she would take a nap there. Her parents just turned a blind eye.
But she had never lived under the same roof with Chi Xu.
That was when they were kids. Things were different now.
"I'm not joking," Chi Xu said firmly, putting away his usual laziness and raising the property certificate in his hand. "I'm your landlord now."
Then his tone changed. Half aggrieved and half sad, as if afraid of being rejected, he said, "Wouldn't you have the heart to leave me with nowhere to live, Yuanyuan?"
Jiang Yuan couldn't help but say, "You could live in the dormitory. Didn't you always live there before?"
"Someone in the dormitory snores. It keeps me awake," the boy said slowly, enunciating each word clearly with a somewhat long tone.
He just stood there with his head down. His dark eyes were full of grievance and the corners of his eyes were tinged red.
"I'm a light sleeper and easily affected. I haven't slept well for many days."
He looked just like a little puppy abandoned by its owner, pitifully pleading for Jiang Yuan's consent.
Jiang Yuan's throat tightened. She clutched the corner of her clothes, not knowing whether to agree or not for a moment. "So you bought this house?"
"Yeah. I talked to the previous owner in advance," Chi Xu said. There was a faint hint of grievance in his voice as he quietly looked at her.
Actually, he had found out where Jiang Yuan had rented a house and bought it at a price higher than the previous owner's expectation. The deal was quickly made.
Jiang Yuan sighed. It seemed that she had snatched the house from Chi Xu. This was a house he had wanted to buy for a long time.
Maybe she should just forget it, ask the old man and the little girl to return the rent, and find another place to rent.
Jiang Yuan was standing by the door frame, her gaze moving from the property certificate to Chi Xu's face. She blinked her eyes.
Suddenly, she realized something.
She almost forgot that she wanted to chase Chi Xu, win his heart, and then dump him mercilessly.
Living with Chi Xu, she could tempt and seduce him, making him fall head - over - heels for her.
Although... Chi Xu had helped her a lot in this matter. It was indeed a bit immoral for her to still have such thoughts.
But one thing was one thing. She could make it up to him in other ways later.
In just a few seconds, Jiang Yuan seemed to have had an epiphany and understood everything. She was overjoyed.
Just as her lips began to curl up, she forced it down. Her voice trembled as she tried to sound reluctant. "Well... okay then."
Hearing this, Chi Xu looked up at her. His previously dull eyes instantly brightened up, as if a ray of light had shone into them. The whole person suddenly lit up.
He was a bit smug. Tilting his head slightly, he smiled with his eyes curved. "Thank you, Yuanyuan~"
He even dragged out the end sound.
Jiang Yuan's face flushed slightly. Pretending to be calm, she took out a pair of disposable slippers. "You're welcome. Come in. Let's help each other tidy up. We'll go to the police station to give a statement later."
"Thank you, Yuanyuan~" Chi Xu seemed to have discovered a new world. He looked at Jiang Yuan curiously and deliberately dragged out the end sound again to thank her.
He saw that Jiang Yuan's ears were completely red. The smile on his lips could no longer be suppressed and spread widely.
He stepped on the slippers and slowly walked in with Jiang Yuan to tidy up the place together.
It was already noon when they finished tidying up. The takeout wouldn't arrive for a while, and they were too lazy to go downstairs after a busy morning.
Jiang Yuan suggested they cook noodles instead. They had just bought noodles and vegetables last night.
Chi Xu volunteered that he could cook noodles.
"Hey, Chi Xu, don't waste my ingredients. Or I'll beat you up," Jiang Yuan followed Chi Xu into the kitchen.
Chi Xu put down the noodles and helplessly pushed her out. "Have you forgotten? I lived alone when I was a kid. If I didn't know how to cook, I would have starved to death."
Moreover, during those two years of constantly moving around, his mother had some mental problems and his father was busy dealing with debts.
All the household chores fell on him.
He had to learn to do things he didn't know how to do.
It was never about whether he could do it, but whether he was willing to do it.
Jiang Yuan was slightly stunned. She accidentally touched on the past. She pursed her lips silently, glanced into the kitchen, and patiently reminded him, "Okay then. Remember to call me if you need any help."
She turned back and said as she walked away, "Remember, don't be shy. You cook the noodles and I'll do the dishes."
It was not until Jiang Yuan disappeared from his sight that Chi Xu turned around, went back to the stove, and skillfully added some water to the pot. After the water boiled, he gently put the noodles into the pot, stirred them with chopsticks to prevent them from sticking together, and then washed the vegetables and put them in.
Fifteen minutes later, two bowls of steaming noodles were placed on the table.
The fragrance of the noodles filled the air. Jiang Yuan ran to the table quickly, twitched her nose, and took a deep sniff.
"It smells so good," she couldn't help but say. She pulled out a chair and sat down. Chi Xu sat opposite her.
"Eat, eat. Try how it tastes."
Jiang Yuan couldn't wait to pick up the chopsticks, twirled up some noodles with green vegetables and delicious soup on them. She blew on them gently and put them into her mouth.
The chewy noodles, the sweet vegetables, and the mellow soup blended in her mouth.
It was incredibly delicious.
Jiang Yuan's eyes lit up. After taking the first bite, she wanted the second and the third. She mumbled incoherently, praising Chi Xu for cooking such delicious noodles. It was the best noodles she had ever eaten in the world.
She also gave Chi Xu a thumbs - up.
She had underestimated Chi Xu before.
She had eaten the noodles Chi Xu cooked when they were kids, but they were just so - so at that time, barely edible.
She didn't expect that in the past three years, Chi Xu's cooking skills had improved so much. The noodles were getting more and more delicious.
Jiang Yuan began to wonder if Chi Xu could cook other dishes as well and if they would be as delicious as the noodles.
For a while, the two of them in the room didn't say a word. There were only the soft sounds of sucking noodles and the clinking of bowls and chopsticks.
Jiang Yuan was busy eating. Talking would only delay her enjoyment of the delicious food.
Chi Xu ate slowly, occasionally looking up at Jiang Yuan and curling his lips with an even deeper smile.
She was so cute even when eating noodles.
What should he do?
Soon Jiang Yuan finished her noodles. She picked up the bowl and drank all the soup in it. Her eyes sparkled with satisfaction.
Seeing that Chi Xu hadn't finished yet, she mumbled, "Hurry up. We still have to go to the police station after you're done."
Chi Xu's heart was about to melt.
Seeing a trace of soup on Jiang Yuan's lips, he took a piece of paper from the side, subconsciously stood up, leaned over, and gently pressed his fingertips on her lips through the tissue.
Jiang Yuan was stunned and locked eyes with him.