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Chapter 87: The Girl’s Boudoir

A cool breeze blew into the room, and Li Mu, wearing a short-sleeved shirt, shivered. He went barefoot to close the window gap and casually pulled the curtain, which had only been slightly opened, shut tightly.

At the beginning of November, just a few days later, it would be the start of winter, which also meant that the weather had begun to cool down completely.

The air conditioner was old-fashioned and did not have a heating function. Even if it did, Li Mu would not turn on the heating.

Anyone who has turned on the air conditioning for heating in winter knows how stuffy it can be.

Moreover, Li Mu really liked winter.

Summer was too hot; you couldn’t shed your skin, but in winter, you could wear several layers of clothing.

For some unknown reason, winters had become warmer year by year in recent years. Last winter, Li Mu had managed with just a short-sleeved shirt and a warm coat with fur.

In the south, especially in a place like Cangnan, winter generally wasn’t too cold, and a few layers of clothing were usually sufficient.

He opened the wardrobe and found that there didn’t seem to be any winter clothes; there was only a thin coat.

He needed to find an opportunity to have his family send over those thick clothes, along with a quilt.

Today was Saturday, and he had slept in, only getting up at eleven. He had been typing until one in the afternoon, skipping both breakfast and lunch.

His stomach growled, and he had no choice but to leave the room. There was no sign of the little girl in the living room, but there were still some warm dishes on the dining table, as if they had just been eaten.

“Lu Xiaoxi?”

“Little Green Plum?”

Li Mu called out twice and gently knocked on Lu Xiaoxi’s door. He tried sending her a message and called her on WeChat, but there was no response.

He directly turned the doorknob.

The girl’s boudoir was filled with a faint fragrance. The curtains were wide open, bright and fresh, contrasting sharply with Li Mu’s room.

Every corner was cleaned thoroughly, and even the clutter on the table was neatly stacked.

The slightly messy mattress on the bed revealed the girl’s sleeping posture. Li Mu could even imagine Lu Xiaoxi curling up like a little caterpillar, twisting and turning in bed.

Seeing the various small items by the bedside, Li Mu was taken aback.

There were some wrinkled red paper cranes, a sunny doll with a smiling face, a small wooden car in the corner, and a little dog plush toy on the pillow.

It seemed that Lu Xiaoxi was also a nostalgic person, just like him.

He could barely remember the old sunny doll from back in the day.

Inside, the ping pong ball had their names written on it, surrounded by a big heart. He wondered if Lu Xiaoxi had seen it.

This was a small item symbolizing their innocent past, worth keeping.

Wait, where was Lu Xiaoxi?

Li Mu just realized this and wanted to call Lu Xiaoxi again when the sound of the front door opening suddenly came from behind him.

Lu Xiaoxi returned to the living room, carrying a package in both hands, her cheerful demeanor froze when she saw Li Mu in her room.

“Why is Li Mu in my room?…”

“You pervert!” the little girl exclaimed as she reacted.

“Uh, let me explain.”

“Explain what!” Lu Xiaoxi’s face turned red as she threw her underwear, which was hanging on the wardrobe handle, into the wardrobe, “You saw everything!”

“Well, you put it away just now, so I saw it.”

“How dare you admit it!!” Lu Xiaoxi punched Li Mu’s waist, pinching and poking him.

“That’s useless; I’ve trained myself to be invulnerable… Ouch, hey! Don’t twist!”

“Invulnerable? I think you’re a perverted invader! How dare you trespass into a girl’s room!”

“Isn’t it because I was worried about you? You didn’t respond when I called, and you didn’t answer the phone. Who knew if something had happened to you?”

“Really?” Lu Xiaoxi raised an eyebrow, half in disbelief. She glanced at her phone and found it was true.

Two unread messages and two missed calls, all from this guy.

Hmm, she had misunderstood Li Mu.

“See? Shouldn’t you apologize to me?”

“I won’t.”

“Then give me a hug.” Li Mu opened his arms.

“…” Lu Xiaoxi pouted, hesitated for a moment, then nudged her little head against Li Mu’s chest and dove into his embrace. Before Li Mu could hold her properly, she immediately wriggled out, “Hugged already.”

“That doesn’t count; I didn’t feel it.” Li Mu was embarrassed.

Does a second count as a hug?

“Doesn’t count, it has to count.” Lu Xiaoxi huffed, ignoring him.

“What were you doing just now? You didn’t answer the phone.”

“I was getting a package, didn’t pay attention to my phone.”

“What did you buy that’s so big?”

“Deng deng! A baking tray! Tonight we’re having barbecue.”

Lu Xiaoxi ran out of the living room, bringing back a cardboard box that was bigger than half of her, proudly showing it to Li Mu, making sure he understood.

“How much was it?”

“Ninety yuan! Pretty good, right? I got a great deal; the original price was over one hundred fifty.”

“…” Li Mu didn’t know if he should tell Lu Xiaoxi the harsh truth.

The original price of online shopping can be easily manipulated. Before a price drop, merchants often raise the original price before lowering it, making it seem like a significant discount.

Aside from official promotions, so-called price drops usually aren’t that much.

Having shopped online for years, Li Mu, whose social circle was filled with discount activities, certainly understood this.

But Lu Xiaoxi, who rarely shopped online, didn’t know.

During her school days, she could buy everything she needed offline, so she hardly shopped online and didn’t understand these tricks.

“Little Green Plum is quite thrifty.” Li Mu looked at the proud girl puffing out her little chest and decided to compliment her.

He patted her head, tousling her hair.

“Don’t mess up my hair! Hehe, I see those barbecue places charge one hundred or two hundred for a meal. If we do it ourselves, it’s super, super, super cheap! The baking tray can be used many times. Later, we’ll go buy pork and beef, slice them up and grill them. Can you grill? I haven’t grilled before.” The girl chattered excitedly.

She was completely tempted by the all-you-can-eat barbecue she saw online!

“Are you sure you want to ask me?”

“I’ll look for videos online instead…”

Li Mu had learned to fry eggs and make fried rice, the basics of cooking, but he was still essentially a cooking novice.

It was hard to imagine that such a big boy like Li Mu would be so scared of oil splatters while frying an egg, keeping a distance and using two fingers to maneuver the spatula…

She knew this was a psychological issue. Even if the oil splatters didn’t hurt, one would instinctively feel afraid. Every beginner in cooking goes through this stage; she had been the same at first.

When it came to cooking, Li Mu was not reliable.

“We also need to buy some garlic, cilantro, and make our own sauce…”

It was still noon, and the little girl was already planning how to eat the barbecue for dinner.

“I’m drooling.” Li Mu watched her, feeling a bit itchy to cook.

“Where?!” Lu Xiaoxi wiped her mouth, slurped, and then realized she had been tricked by Li Mu.

“Hehe, you’re really silly, so adorably silly.”

Li Mu pinched Lu Xiaoxi’s face with both hands, gently pulling it outward, causing her to make a funny sound.

“I admit I’m cute, but I’m not silly at all.” Lu Xiaoxi thought she was quite clever.

“You’re both silly and cute.”

“Not silly!”

“Silly!”

“You’re silly too, your brain is shrunk.” Lu Xiaoxi puffed her cheeks.

“Hey, why are you insulting me?”

“I’m insulting you, just insulting you.” Lu Xiaoxi made a disgusted face, “You haven’t brushed your teeth or washed your face, have you? Your eye boogers are showing.”

“I’m going now, or Little Green Plum’s food will get cold.” Li Mu grinned, and as he passed by, he couldn’t help but ruffle Lu Xiaoxi’s smooth hair.

Having entered Lu Xiaoxi’s boudoir today, being scolded and pinched was nothing to him; it was worth it.

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