The air seemed to freeze at this moment. Chi Xu's hand halted in mid - air, and their gazes locked onto each other.
The world grew silent in an instant. All the faint noises receded rapidly like the ebbing tide.
Jiang Yuan could only hear her heart pounding in her chest. The clear and powerful beats seemed to remind her that this moment of flutter was so real and intense.
The lazy sunlight outside the window slanted in, filling the floor.
It was brightly shining, just like her inexplicable mood.
The warmth from his fingertips passed through the thin tissue paper. Her face was burning, as if roasted by an unnamed fire, and her eyes flickered.
The ambiguity seemed to blend into the air along with his movement, spreading bit by bit.
She wanted to dodge, but thought it might be too deliberate. So she could only stand there stiffly, trying her best to avoid looking directly into his eyes.
Chi Xu was also feeling a bit uncomfortable. The action of using the tissue to wipe the girl's mouth froze in place.
He just saw a trace of soup on Jiang Yuan's mouth and naturally picked up the tissue to wipe it.
Chi Xu's Adam's apple bobbed. He lowered his eyes, pretending to be nonchalant, gently wiped the corner of her mouth, and quickly withdrew his hand.
"Um..."
They spoke simultaneously, then stared at each other in a daze.
Chi Xu touched his hot ears and coughed lightly. "You go first."
Jiang Yuan didn't act coy at all and said directly, "I'll do the dishes later."
"No need. I'll do it." Chi Xu quickly picked up his chopsticks, ate the noodles faster, finished them in a few mouthfuls, and without giving Jiang Yuan a chance to refuse, he took both his and her bowls to the kitchen to wash.
It was like he was fleeing in a hurry.
Jiang Yuan propped her head up with her hand and watched him enter the kitchen. Then the sound of dish - washing came from the kitchen.
"Am I that scary?" she murmured to herself. Then she remembered that she had blushed just now while Chi Xu remained calm - faced, but his ears were so red that they seemed about to bleed. It was kind of cute.
Jiang Yuan smiled to herself. Staring at Chi Xu's back moving back and forth in the kitchen, she smiled complacently, like a hunter who had finally caught her prey.
It was already after 2:30 p.m. when they arrived at the police station. After explaining their purpose, someone led them in. They were separated to give their statements, and Jiang Yuan told everything in detail.
The three people were temporarily detained at the police station.
Chi Xu asked her if she wanted to go and see them, but Jiang Yuan directly refused.
Meeting those three people was already extremely unlucky. If she went to see them again, first, it would affect her mood, and second, there was no telling what other bad luck might befall her.
Jiang Yuan was already scared. She was just waiting for the result and for that family to return her money.
Chi Xu had become her new landlord.
"Do you know? The original landlord rented out this room. The whole place for one person was only 1000 yuan. The master bedroom and the side bedroom were 600 and 400 yuan respectively."
Chi Xu deliberately mentioned the lower prices. The original rent for the whole place was 1800 yuan, and the master bedroom and side bedroom were 1000 and 800 yuan respectively.
He didn't want to put too much financial burden on Jiang Yuan.
"Ah? They charged me so much more!" Jiang Yuan couldn't help raising her voice. She was both angry and surprised. "Greedy merchants! They're so money - minded."
"Yes, they are." Chi Xu looked at the girl with a curved eyebrow, smiling softly. He ruffled her hair. "I'm your new landlord from now on. You have to be nice to me."
New people moved into the new house. The side bedroom was for Chi Xu. He spent the whole afternoon moving in and out, packing his things and going to the supermarket to buy some furniture. He was extremely busy.
Jiang Yuan also went to help him from time to time.
Later, when she was really tired, Chi Xu urged her to go to her room to rest, and then she stopped.
After taking a shower, Jiang Yuan lay on the soft big bed and rolled over. Only then did she feel a sense of reality.
Wow! She was actually living with Chi Xu. Did this count as co - habitation?
Bah, bah, bah! What co - habitation? It wasn't at all. This was just a good roommate relationship.
Jiang Yuan giggled. She patted her own face, trying hard to make the upturned corners of her mouth go down.
She opened the memo. The memo was still at the time of the last mountain - climbing trip.
It hadn't been updated for a long time.
It was really amazing. She had reunited with Chi Xu in college. After the reunion, she pretended to chase him, and then the two of them, by some strange fate, ended up living together.
It was more exciting than a novel.
It was a pity that she couldn't tell others, not even her roommates.
So Jiang Yuan ran to the memo and typed away, venting her emotions.
As night fell, after Chi Xu finished packing his things, he went back to his room, picked up the old phone on the table, and opened the memo as usual.
There was new content in the memo.
[Ah! I never thought I'd live with Chi Xu one day. It's not like the childhood pretend - play. It's really, really living together, just like co - habitation. But it definitely can't be co - habitation! We're just normal roommates sharing the rent!]
[The noodles Chi Xu cooked at noon were so delicious. I wonder if his stir - fried dishes are as delicious as the noodles. I'm so curious. I must encourage Chi Xu to cook stir - fried dishes when I get the chance.]
[I have to say, Chi Xu was really handsome today. He saved me from trouble. If he hadn't come, those three unlucky people might have really succeeded. They thought I was a weak girl and easy to bully. I'll say it again. Chi Xu is incredibly handsome. I'll remember this for a lifetime.]
[I have to treat him to a good meal later. Now that he's my new landlord, I have to curry favor with him. Right, curry favor. What should I give him? I'll give him something to eat. The enamel - bowl strawberry cake has been so popular recently. I want to try it.]
One sentence after another. Leaning against the desk, Chi Xu scrolled through the phone screen, and the smile on his lips just wouldn't stop.
The enamel - bowl strawberry cake?
Chi Xu looked at these seven words and memorized them carefully.
He remembered that he had added the owner of the cake shop near the school. The enamel - bowl strawberry cake had appeared in the shop owner's Moments.
There was a knock on the door of the side bedroom, and then the door pushed open by itself.
Jiang Yuan saw Chi Xu staring at his phone and laughing happily. She raised an eyebrow.
Chi Xu's smile froze instantly, as if he had been frozen.
"I can't be blamed for this. Your door wasn't closed properly. I just knocked a few times, and it opened by itself." Jiang Yuan quickly explained. Looking at his phone, she somehow felt it was a bit familiar.
She wasn't sure. She needed to take a closer look.
Chi Xu coughed lightly and turned off the screen nonchalantly. Noticing that Jiang Yuan was still staring at the phone, he nervously put it behind his back, not letting her see anymore.
"What's up?"
Jiang Yuan's eyes lit up, as if she had discovered a new continent. She smiled slyly and joked, "Who are you chatting with? You're smiling so happily."
"A friend." Chi Xu replied concisely. Seeing Jiang Yuan trying hard to crane her neck to see the old phone, he felt even more nervous. Afraid that she would notice something, he directly stuffed the phone into his pocket.
Jiang Yuan felt a bit disappointed that she didn't see what she wanted. She casually asked, "What shall we have for dinner?"
"Can I cook?" Chi Xu asked.