The indoor lights spread like a splash of ink, outlining the simple silhouette of the man sitting on the sofa. It was like a sketch. His hands were propped on his knees, and his shadow on the ground was stretched long by the light.
He tilted his head back. His complexion was as fair as jade, and his quiet black eyes seemed to hold some indescribable meaning.
Jiang Yuan felt a lump in her throat. She subconsciously turned her head away, her gaze pausing on his hands propped on his knees.
His fingers were well - defined, fair and slender.
"I went out to play with friends, so I'm a bit late," Jiang Yuan said guiltily, her voice much softer than usual.
Wait a minute. Jiang Yuan just realized why she was feeling guilty. She hadn't had an affair or done anything wrong. Moreover, she and Chi Xu were just ordinary roommates sharing an apartment.
It was just that she had chased after someone and then gone to play with another boy.
She had just chatted with him for a while.
Jiang Yuan took off her shoes, closed the door, and sat directly next to Chi Xu on the sofa. She mumbled, "You didn't sit here waiting for me for a long time, did you? When did you get back?"
"At around eight," Chi Xu replied simply. He didn't look at her but stared intently at the corridor leading to the master bedroom.
It was dark there without any lights on.
"What are you looking at so intently?" Jiang Yuan was confused. She followed his gaze but didn't notice anything special after looking carefully for a while.
Just as she was about to look away, suddenly, a pair of green eyes emerged from the darkness and quickly approached her.
Jiang Yuan instinctively let out a scream. Thinking it was some kind of monster, she threw herself at Chi Xu and jumped into his arms. Her hands wrapped around his neck and held on tightly.
Her voice trembled uncontrollably. "Ghost, ghost! There's a ghost! I'm going to die, Chi Xu!"
Chi Xu found it both funny and helpless. He gently patted her on the back to comfort her. "It's not a ghost. Turn your head and take a look. I guarantee you'll be in for a surprise."
"No way. This is not a surprise. It's clearly a scare!" Jiang Yuan clung to him even tighter, her eyes tightly closed.
Chi Xu was almost choked by her.
"Really, it's not a scare. It's definitely a surprise."
"I don't believe you. You're such a big liar!" Jiang Yuan was on the verge of tears, accusing Chi Xu of his shameless behavior.
He must have staged this to scare her.
"Meow~"
A soft meow suddenly echoed in the living room.
Jiang Yuan immediately opened her eyes and turned her head. It was Jiaojiao.
Jiaojiao jumped onto the sofa and lay there with her head tilted.
Her round eyes were so bright.
Seeing Jiang Yuan looking at her, Jiaojiao got up and walked a few steps forward. She rubbed her head against Jiang Yuan's trouser leg and let out soft meows.
Jiang Yuan was instantly stunned. All her fear just now disappeared in an instant.
It was actually Jiaojiao, the cat she had been looking for for so long!
"How much longer do you want to strangle my neck? I could hardly breathe. You're trying to murder your roommate, Jiang Yuan," Chi Xu reminded her in a soft voice.
Jiang Yuan came to her senses. Her face flushed red. She quickly let go of her hands and sat on the other side of the sofa.
Jiaojiao trotted over as well. Her snow - white fur was as soft as a cloud.
Jiang Yuan's attention was once again drawn to Jiaojiao. She carefully reached out her hand, stopping a few centimeters away from Jiaojiao to let the cat get familiar with her scent before stroking her.
Jiaojiao seemed to still remember Jiang Yuan. She actively moved closer to Jiang Yuan's hand and rubbed her face against her palm.
As she rubbed, she made a purring sound.
So cute, so cute, so cute.
Jiang Yuan's heart was about to swell like a balloon. It was so full that it "popped" in extreme satisfaction, exploding into gorgeous fireworks.
"Chi Xu, why does Jiaojiao purr like that?" Jiang Yuan asked him in a soft voice, her back turned to him, afraid of disturbing this moment.
Chi Xu glanced at them and smiled faintly. "It's how she expresses her happy and comfortable mood. Jiaojiao really likes you."
"Of course she does," Jiang Yuan said proudly, stroking Jiaojiao from the top of her head all the way to her chin.
Jiaojiao closed her eyes comfortably, and her whiskers twitched with her breathing.
"By the way, how did you find Jiaojiao? I've been looking for her for a long time but couldn't find her," Jiang Yuan suddenly remembered and asked.
"I found her outside the school. It was so dark then. I confirmed that Jiaojiao was a stray cat, so I took her to the pet store to get cleaned up and bought some food and supplies for her. Look, they're all there," Chi Xu said.
Afraid that Jiang Yuan couldn't see clearly, he got up and turned on the light in that dark area.
Jiaojiao's litter box and food bowl were clearly there.
"Oh, so that's why I saw you staring at that direction when I came back. You were looking at Jiaojiao," Jiang Yuan suddenly understood.
She had thought the green thing that came out of the darkness was a monster.
It was really a surprise.
A scare followed by a pleasant surprise.
"Yeah. There was suddenly someone in the living room. I was afraid of scaring Jiaojiao, so I didn't call her. I just waited for her to come out on her own. It's just that she's too enthusiastic and likes you too much," Chi Xu said with a soft smile, looking tenderly at Jiang Yuan stroking Jiaojiao.
"I was still wondering when you'd come back. If you came back at dawn and got scared by Jiaojiao, I wouldn't have bothered to care about you," Chi Xu added.
So that's why Chi Xu had been asking her when she'd be back on WeChat.
Jiaojiao suddenly moved, interrupting Jiang Yuan's train of thought. She was startled and withdrew her hand. She looked at Jiaojiao with a mixture of confusion and curiosity.
Jiaojiao stood up. Her pink paws stepped on the soft sofa, then she simply lay down, rolled over, and showed her belly, with all four paws in the air. Her wet eyes looked at Jiang Yuan pitifully.
"Meow~"
The meow was soft and delicate.
Jiang Yuan's heart melted again, turning into a puddle of water.
"Since you're so sincere in your invitation, I won't be polite anymore!"
Jiang Yuan pounced on Jiaojiao and took a big whiff of her.
She raised her head again and said, "Jiaojiao, Jiaojiao, how can you be so cute? Your body is so soft and delicate. It's so much fun."
Then she continued to "sniff" Jiaojiao.
Chi Xu, who had witnessed the whole process, thought, "..."
Jiaojiao? Jiaojiao?
Soft and delicate body?
How does it feel...
Chi Xu shook his head helplessly and just let Jiang Yuan be.
Jiang Yuan spent a full fifteen minutes "sniffing" Jiaojiao. Finally, Jiaojiao couldn't take it anymore. With a "meow", she ran to one side and hid on Chi Xu's left side.
Her tear - filled eyes seemed to be accusing Jiang Yuan of her unrestrained behavior.
Jiang Yuan giggled. She spread out her hands and ignored Chi Xu. She said to Jiaojiao, "Jiaojiao, I'm not a heartbreaker. I only like you."
Chi Xu thought, "..."
Jiang Yuan grabbed Jiaojiao, hugged the cat who looked completely defeated, took a big whiff, and finally let her go. She gently patted Jiaojiao's little head.
"Be a good girl. Sleep with sister tonight. Sister's going to take a shower first."
Jiang Yuan quickly ran back to her room to take a shower. Suddenly, only Chi Xu and Jiaojiao were left in the living room.
Chi Xu placed one hand on Jiaojiao's head and stroked her gently from time to time. He let out a sigh and said in a soft voice, "Do you think I should step up my game?"
The floor wasn't very high, and the sound of her saying goodbye to a boy downstairs clearly reached his ears.