A new year, a new beginning.
The heavy snowflakes fluttered down, covering the traces of the old year.
Jiang Yuan had truly forgiven Chi Xu deep in her heart. Although she didn't say it out loud, she proved it with her actions by moving back to the apartment.
For this, Chi Xu specifically cancelled all his affairs and carefully prepared a candlelit dinner in the apartment. Jiaojiao, dressed up like a matchmaker, was lying on the sofa listlessly.
As the new year began, the first semester of freshman year was gradually coming to an end. The final exams were approaching. Teachers of each subject had marked the key points, and Jiang Yuan rushed to the library every other day to review.
Most of the courses were easy ones, and most of them required memorization. She was so busy that she was completely worn out.
Chi Xu also had many exams. His courses were more professional than Jiang Yuan's, so the difficulty was naturally higher.
"Look, each function and variable used in the C language has a unique name so that it can be recognized..."
In the room, Chi Xu had the desk lamp on and was watching a C++ learning video. He was taking notes while thinking. The time in the upper right corner of the tablet showed it was already 2 a.m.
"Meow!"
Suddenly, there came a strange meow from the living room, followed by a rustling sound. Chi Xu was startled. He paused the video, thinking that a thief had broken into the apartment.
It couldn't be Jiang Yuan. She should be asleep at this time, and since there was an independent bathroom in her room, she wouldn't go to the public toilet in the apartment.
Just as he placed his hand on the doorknob, he turned his head and looked around. He picked up a thick book and gently opened the door a crack.
It was almost completely dark outside. The small night - light installed under the wall was faintly on.
It was installed on purpose before to avoid stepping on Jiaojiao in the dark.
Jiaojiao's figure flashed by. Seeing the door of Chi Xu's room open a crack, she immediately slipped in and rubbed against his feet.
The rustling sound came from the living room. The person might be rummaging around.
At this moment, many images flashed through Chi Xu's mind. Jiang Yuan's room was closest to the living room. If there was a thief in the house and he didn't find what he wanted in the living room, he would probably sneak into Jiang Yuan's room.
Because Jiang Yuan's door must be open at this time.
Normally, before going to bed at night, Jiang Yuan would carry Jiaojiao to bed and sleep with her. She would leave the door ajar for Jiaojiao to come and go.
Chi Xu tightened his grip on the book and took a deep breath. He picked up his phone, quickly typed a text message, and sent it to the police and the security guard downstairs.
Almost holding his breath and not blinking, he gently pushed the door open.
Not a single sound was made.
His figure blended into the darkness. He tiptoed bare - footed towards the living room. He hoped to surprise the thief and knock him out with the thick book "Dream of the Red Chamber" in his hand.
The pale moonlight shone in through the window. The person was sitting on the living - room sofa, supporting his/her chin with both hands and muttering something with the head down.
Looking carefully in the dim moonlight, he was stunned. Wasn't this Jiang Yuan?
What on earth was she doing in the middle of the night?
It turned out that there was no thief in the apartment.
Immediately, Chi Xu let out a sigh of relief. The tense string in his heart finally relaxed. He shook his head with a smile.
As he got closer, he was about to ask her what was wrong. Suddenly, he saw her closing her eyes and mumbling something incoherently.
The strange feeling in his heart became more and more obvious. Chi Xu turned on the flashlight of his phone and carefully shone it on her.
Only then did he find that Jiang Yuan was sleepwalking.
One must never wake up a sleepwalker.
Chi Xu immediately turned off the flashlight and sent another text message to the police and the security guard, explaining that it was a misunderstanding.
He quietly sat on a stool, moved a bit closer, and concentrated to listen to what she was muttering.
"The individual and society are in a relationship of unity of opposites. In a socialist society..."
After listening for a while, Chi Xu was speechless.
If he remembered correctly, this was the content of the ideological and political exam that every freshman had to take.
Even in her dream, Jiang Yuan was still memorizing books.
Should he praise her for sleepwalking just to memorize books?
Chi Xu fetched his tablet, put on his earphones, and accompanied Jiang Yuan to review beside her.
When the sky began to show a faint glimmer of dawn, Jiang Yuan opened her eyes. The ceiling came into view.
She was stunned. Staring at the strange - yet - familiar ceiling for a few seconds, the soreness in her body came to her awareness belatedly. She felt uncomfortable all over.
Something was wrong. Wasn't this the ceiling of the living room? Why was she here?
Jiang Yuan suddenly came to her senses. She propped herself up with both hands. The quilt slipped off her shoulders. The texture under her palms was softer than the big bed she usually slept in. She stared blankly down.
It was the shape and appearance of a sofa.
Why was she here? She remembered that she had gone to bed last night, and the quilt covering her was the one in her own room.
Turning her head, she saw Chi Xu sleeping messily on the other sofa. He was tall, and the sofa was too small, so he had to curl up his legs and lean on the sofa to sleep.
She had no memory of last night. Jiang Yuan remembered going to bed, and when she opened her eyes again, this was the scene.
The knowledge points in her mind were extremely clear.
Hearing the noise, Jiaojiao happily slipped out of Jiang Yuan's room, jumped directly onto the sofa, and stepped on Chi Xu's foot. Chi Xu let out a muffled groan and slowly woke up.
Rubbing his eyes, he saw Jiaojiao rubbing against Jiang Yuan all the time. He stretched and said in a hoarse and lazy voice that was unique to just waking up, "You're awake, Yuanyuan."
There was a faint pain in his arm. Chi Xu rubbed it and wondered, "What's going on? It didn't hurt last night, and I didn't sleep on it."
The culprit, Jiaojiao, meowed.
Jiang Yuan held back her laughter and naturally changed the topic, "Why am I here?"
"Oh, you might have been sleepwalking last night. You were sitting here memorizing books in the middle of the night." Chi Xu sighed helplessly. "Yuanyuan, are you too tired recently? How about taking a break? The exams are usually quite easy."
He didn't mention that he had almost fallen asleep last night while Jiang Yuan was still mumbling non - stop. He had forced himself to stay awake until she finished sleepwalking and covered her with a quilt before going to sleep.
He was also afraid that something might happen, so he didn't dare to move or leave. He just sat there properly and accompanied her.
"Sleepwalking?" Hearing this word, Jiang Yuan opened her mouth in shock. "It can't be. I've never sleepwalked before."
After saying that, she nervously looked Chi Xu up and down. "Did I do anything excessive?"
"No, nothing at all. You just sat here memorizing books. I checked some information. It said that it might be because you've been under a lot of pressure recently, over - tired during the day, and had poor sleep at night. It's not a big problem. You just need to have a good rest."
"No way. The exams are next week. I don't have much time to review." Jiang Yuan firmly refused.
Chi Xu smiled slightly. He had already guessed it. He said unhurriedly, "Which is more important, your health or the exams?"
"You must rest today. I'll supervise you."
Jiang Yuan was speechless.