Chapter 158: The Tortoise and the Hare

“If you’re uncomfortable sleeping like this, take it off and put it aside. I’ll go out and get you some hot water.” Chen Lu said earnestly, “Anyway, I’ll leave after I get you to sleep.”

As soon as he finished speaking, he was suddenly hugged tightly by the girl, her whole body pressed against him.

“I don’t want you to leave…” Liang Zhirou whispered, perhaps a little weak from being sick, making her voice inexplicably soft.

Hiss…

Chen Lu gasped. This silly girl was getting better and better at acting cute!

Who could resist this?

“Then I won’t leave. I’ll go get you some hot water and come back to keep you company.”

“No, not even that.”

Liang Zhirou hugged him even tighter, and Chen Lu couldn’t help but feel that the little cat between them seemed softer without the restraint.

“You’re making me want to act like a scoundrel.” Chen Lu said.

“I’m a patient…” Liang Zhirou emphasized again.

Chen Lu slightly arched his back, feeling helpless.

After silently chanting “I am a righteous gentleman” a few times, he said softly, “Then I’ll just try to get you to sleep.”

He said he would try to get Liang Zhirou to sleep, but he actually had no experience. To be precise, the last time he tried to get a girl to sleep was when he was still in elementary school, trying to get Chen Mo to sleep.

But Chen Mo was a special case. Even if she had a ton of homework left undone, she would fall asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow. Getting a sick Chen Mo to sleep didn’t require much effort.

The two of them stared at each other in the darkness. Even though they couldn’t see clearly, they could still see the contented smiles on each other’s faces.

Chen Lu sighed and admitted, “I really don’t know how to get someone to sleep.”

Liang Zhirou blinked, “I don’t know either. I’ve never been lulled to sleep…”

Just as Chen Lu was still pondering, the girl suddenly sat up, placed his arm on her pillow, and carefully rested her head on it.

Seemingly still unsatisfied, she burrowed into Chen Lu’s arms before finally settling down.

“This is good.” Liang Zhirou said with her eyes closed. She felt like she could fall asleep soon.

After all, she had never felt this peaceful before.

When she first came here to spend the night, she was still a little nervous. Now, that feeling had completely vanished. Chen Lu had repeatedly proven with his actions how deeply he loved her.

Seeing the slight upward curve of her lips, Chen Lu also smiled faintly, “You’re too easily satisfied. How about I tell you a story?”

Liang Zhirou looked up at Chen Lu, “Wouldn’t it be a little childish for me to listen to stories at my age?”

Although she actually wanted to experience it…

“It’s okay. Aren’t we being childish together?” Chen Lu’s expression was calm, his tone nonchalant.

As long as he could make this silly girl happy, being childish wouldn’t hurt.

Liang Zhirou didn’t say anything, she just hugged Chen Lu tightly, the sweet curve of her lips refusing to disappear.

Chen Lu smiled and kissed the girl’s forehead. This silly girl seemed to have a different personality when she was sick, she looked adorable no matter how you looked at her.

He simply searched for a fairy tale and read it in a soft voice.

It was actually quite fun.

Two people, adding up to forty years old, could still enjoy researching fairy tales.

When he couldn’t help but make fun of the plot, he would always make Liang Zhirou laugh.

“What do you think the Big Bad Wolf eats?” Chen Lu asked.

“Meat, of course.”

“So, does it eat meat while making friends with the little animals in the forest?” Chen Lu continued to ask.

Liang Zhirou burrowed further into the blanket, “I suddenly feel like the story you’re telling is getting dark…”

What kind of person was this? How could someone think of that aspect of things?

She always felt that her boyfriend was a bit psychologically dark.

Chen Lu smiled at her, “Actually, that kind of plot is quite normal. For example, I’m here being your boyfriend, while thinking about how to eat you up.”

“Scoundrel.” Liang Zhirou lightly kicked Chen Lu with her foot inside the blanket.

Chen Lu arched his back again, pretending to be calm, “Don’t move around.”

“You’re definitely thinking about bad things.”

“I’m not. My body has its own thoughts.”

After their intimate moments, Liang Zhirou couldn’t help but wonder about Chen Lu’s reactions, so she timidly asked, “Are… are you uncomfortable?”

“It’s fine,” Chen Lu insisted, though he sounded unconvinced.

“If you’re really uncomfortable, then… then I’ll help you,” the girl whispered.

Chen Lu was stunned. He realized he no longer needed to ponder where Liang Zhirou learned these things. Before his brain could process his thoughts, his mouth blurted out, “Are you serious?”

Liang Zhirou pouted at him, humming softly, “You said you weren’t.”

“You…”

Reason and intelligence returned, choking all the words Chen Lu wanted to say. All he could manage was a hasty threat, “I warn you, if you keep this up, you’ll regret it.”

Liang Zhirou burrowed under the covers, revealing only half her face. Her clear, beautiful eyes blinked at him, “I’m still sick.”

“…”

Chen Lu froze. This was the first time he had fallen into a pit Liang Zhirou had dug, experiencing the humiliation of being completely unable to retaliate.

This silly girl was progressing too fast. It had always been a one-sided crush, but now things seemed different.

Chen Lu suddenly woke up to the fact that Liang Zhirou was becoming smarter. If he continued like this, he would soon become the hare in the tortoise and the hare fable.

Wouldn’t that make him, the master of boiling frogs, a laughingstock?

He managed to change the subject, continuing to read the story in a steady voice. When he tried to say something else, he realized the girl beside him had fallen asleep.

Even in her sleep, a subtle smile played on her lips.

The content of the story didn’t matter to her. As long as she heard Chen Lu’s voice, she felt at ease.

Chen Lu quietly lay down beside her, slowly closing his eyes.

After a while, he suddenly opened them again.

He couldn’t sleep.

He sighed, sat up, tucked the covers around the sleeping girl, and finally returned to his own room.

…

The next morning.

It had rained sometime during the night, making the morning unusually cool.

Liang Zhirou woke up at her usual time, and after washing up, she went to Chen Lu’s room.

The girl rested her chin on her hands, quietly watching Chen Lu sleep.

She wouldn’t tell Chen Lu that she was constantly thinking about how to make him happy.

How else could she learn all those flirtatious lines?

She’d never even been in a relationship before.

She couldn’t help but admire him, so she took out her phone and decided to capture the moment.

Just as she adjusted the phone, Chen Lu’s alarm clock went off.

Chen Lu and a flustered Liang Zhirou looked at each other, the atmosphere suddenly awkward.

“Are you better?” Chen Lu asked.

Liang Zhirou nodded shyly, “Yes.”

“Let me check.”

Liang Zhirou pursed her lips, climbed onto the bed, and obediently leaned in.

“…I thought you were going to touch my forehead.”

She shouldn’t have believed him!

“I’m checking your conscience, you sneaky little thing, taking pictures of me.” Chen Lu stopped joking, sat up, and placed his hand on the girl’s forehead. He was relieved to find her temperature was normal.

This silly girl was getting more and more mischievous. If he hadn’t set several alarms because he was worried about her temperature rising again, she would have gotten away with it.

After turning off the alarm, another ringtone filled the room.

This time it was Liang Zhirou’s phone. Ever since Chen Lu sang “What Can I Do” for her, the song had been her ringtone.

Liang Zhirou glanced at the caller ID and immediately stood up.

“My… my mom is calling!”