Chapter 51: Making a Move

Ming Can rarely felt drowsy at inappropriate times, let alone falling asleep outright.

Although she was physically outside, her mind seemed as relaxed as if she were at home, treating Chi Xiao’s arm like some alien-shaped pillow, leaning against it as if she had no bones.

It was just this pillow.

It was oddly hard.

Hugging it tightly made her chest feel a bit uncomfortable.

Because she had unreasonably pulled his arm over, Chi Xiao’s hand, which had originally been resting on his own leg, was naturally dragged along and ended up resting on Ming Can’s leg.

At that moment.

Chi Xiao’s five fingers seemed like malfunctioning components, only stiffly curling slightly when they first touched her leg, and then not daring to move at all. His broad hand loosely covered her leg, the palm deliberately hovering without making contact.

Even through the thick winter dress, the slender outline of the girl’s legs was visible, narrower than his palm, as if they could be held with just a gentle grasp.

Ming Can seemed to have found the most comfortable sleeping position, pressing her legs together and finally ceasing to move.

If she hadn’t been wearing a skirt today, which restricted her movements.

Chi Xiao thought.

She might have even tried to clamp his hand between her legs.

Ming Can’s sleeping posture was now set.

Chi Xiao felt her warm breath by his neck, her chest pressing against his elbow, and his hand resting on her leg. In just a few minutes, his entire body from head to toe felt numb, as if he were enduring a prolonged torture.

Chi Xiao moved the laptop on his lap down to his lower abdomen, close to his hip, closed the development software, and randomly picked a TV drama to watch.

Ten minutes, twenty minutes, thirty minutes passed.

When Ming Can opened her eyes, her mind was still hazy, wondering when she had bought such a pillow—one with hard bones and muscles, and scorching hot to the touch.

As her vision gradually cleared, what came into view was an open laptop, its screen playing a red-themed war drama.

Holding the computer so close, could he even watch comfortably?

Ming Can yawned, her gaze shifting to see a familiar, well-defined hand resting on her thigh, the veins on the back of the hand prominent and pronounced.

Instantly, she was wide awake.

Ming Can abruptly sat up straight, her hands letting go, and Chi Xiao retracted his arm at the same moment.

Oh my god!

What had she done?!

Internally, Ming Can felt as if the sky had collapsed, but she struggled to maintain her composure on the surface. She asked, “How long did I sleep? Why didn’t you wake me up?”

“Half an hour,” Chi Xiao replied. “You didn’t sleep well last night, right? Why would I wake you?”

“But I… you…” Ming Can stammered, pausing for a long time before finally blurting out, “Fine.”

Chi Xiao glanced sideways. “Fine what?”

Ming Can said, “I took advantage of you before. Today, you took advantage back. Now we’re even.”

Chi Xiao suddenly laughed. “You pulled my arm over and clung to it tightly, refusing to let go, and now it’s me taking advantage of you?”

He closed the laptop, his entire body still tense, the veins on his arm pulsing. He clenched his fist, his skin still seeming to retain the sensation of her body, a certain part of it feeling particularly soft.

Although the experience had been extremely unbearable.

Still.

If you really thought about it.

He was indeed the one who had taken more advantage.

Ming Can was well aware of her habit of hugging things in her sleep. This wasn’t the first time she had hugged a living person—when Miaomiao slept with her, she would also be tightly pulled into her arms.

To be fair, the cause of this incident lay with her, and it was hard to argue otherwise.

Ming Can didn’t know how she had managed to fall asleep in such a place, completely unconscious for thirty minutes, as relaxed as if she were at home.

She sat in silence for a while, unable to shift the blame, and then resorted to being shameless.

“So, what do you want?” Ming Can extended her own arm toward him. “Do you want to hug it back?”

Chi Xiao grabbed her arm and pushed it back. “No need.”

Ming Can smiled. “You’re such a good person.”

Ignoring her sarcasm, Chi Xiao packed his laptop into his bag, stood up, and looked down at her. “In the future, when you’re with others, be more cautious.”

Ming Can was taken aback.

She had always been like a porcupine, arming herself to be invincible. This was the first time someone had told her she wasn’t cautious enough.

Ming Can stood up as well, defending herself, “I’ve never been like this before.”

Chi Xiao slung his laptop bag over his shoulder and raised an eyebrow. “So, it’s only like this when you’re with me?”

Ming Can was momentarily speechless. After a pause, she said arrogantly, “That’s right. Because you’re so boring, being around you just makes me sleepy.”

“Alright,” he nodded, not at all ashamed. Instead, the corners of his lips curled up. “As long as you only get sleepy around me.”

Ming Can pressed her lips together, her cheeks slightly warm, unable to come up with a retort.

Her rare silence seemed like an implicit agreement to his words.

After Miaomiao finished her class, the three of them prepared to leave.

Besides the children’s sports center, there was also a gym on this floor. A yoga class had just ended, and a crowd of young men and women poured out of the gym.

Chi Xiao went to the restroom to splash cold water on his face. Thinking that Ming Can and Miaomiao were waiting for him outside, he hastily dried his face with a couple of tissues. With water droplets still clinging to his eyelashes and temples, he hurried out of the restroom.

As he stepped out, he ran into three young girls who had just finished their yoga class. They looked up at him, their eyes filled with admiration.

Standing at 190 cm tall, dressed in black, his figure tall and imposing, with fair skin and strikingly handsome features, such a handsome man was hard to find even on TV, let alone in real life. The girls couldn’t hide their excitement. The most outgoing one, with a ponytail, boldly stopped Chi Xiao to strike up a conversation. “Hey, handsome, can we get to know you?”

The path wasn’t wide, and with the three of them walking straight toward him, Chi Xiao had no way to avoid them.

Ming Can and Miaomiao were waiting for him at the end of this path.

Chi Xiao’s brows furrowed slightly, showing a hint of impatience.

Being approached like this was a common occurrence for him, and it usually didn’t bother him. He would simply reject them coldly, as he had done every time before.

But today, Ming Can was here.

Chi Xiao couldn’t help but recall that day on the beginner’s slope at the ski resort. He had seen Ming Can stop, seemingly waiting for him. Just as he was about to reach her, someone suddenly ran over to strike up a conversation with him.

He was forced to pause for a moment.

Even though he hadn’t exchanged more than a few words with that girl, Ming Can, upon seeing him being approached, had turned and skied away without looking back.

After that, he never caught up to her again.

Chi Xiao knew that Ming Can hadn’t left because she was upset about seeing him being approached. She didn’t feel possessive over men. She simply disliked being in such situations. If another girl was flirting with someone, she would stay far away, not wanting to be mistaken as having any connection to the man, lest the other girl feel uncomfortable or she herself get caught up in unnecessary drama.

If Ming Can saw him being approached now, she would probably take Miaomiao and hide far away.

Chi Xiao said, “Sorry, I’m in a hurry.”

He didn’t even glance at the girl who had approached him and started walking away.

“Wait,” the girl persisted, jogging a couple of steps to catch up and block him again. “Can I at least get your WeChat?”

Chi Xiao replied, “No.”

The girl blinked. “Do you have a girlfriend?”

Chi Xiao didn’t answer. The girl let out a relieved sigh and smiled. “Then let’s get to know each other. We’re both working out at the same gym, so we might run into each other again.”

This floor only had one gym and one children’s sports center, so the girl assumed Chi Xiao was a customer of the gym.

His patience had already worn thin. Just as he was about to step away again, a familiar voice called his name from not far away with a flat tone—

“Chi Xiao.”

Ming Can was standing at the end of the hallway, holding Miaomiao’s hand. Her gaze landed on his face, then swept over the girls blocking him.

For once, she didn’t turn and leave. Her expression was conflicted, as if she was extremely uncomfortable in such a situation, and she snapped impatiently, “Hurry up. Miaomiao’s getting tired.”

Miaomiao looked up at her mom and whispered, “Mom, I’m not tired?”

Ming Can glanced down and mouthed: You talk too much.

The girl who had been chatting with Chi Xiao also turned to look in the direction of the voice.

There stood a girl dressed like a banana—yellow top, green skirt, an outfit that was hard to compliment, but her face was strikingly beautiful. Her almond-shaped eyes sparkled, her cheeks rosy, and her radiant beauty made even the bizarre outfit seem charming and appealing.

She was holding the hand of a five or six-year-old child, who was as cute as a little star, waving in their direction.

Chi Xiao’s irritation instantly eased.

The girls blocking his path automatically stepped aside.

At that moment, Chi Xiao suddenly felt a bit more patient.

Despite being impatiently urged, his usually icy expression seemed to melt, his eyes softening with an inexplicable sense of relief.

“Sorry,” he sighed apologetically. “My family is very strict.”

The girls watched as he walked toward the woman and child waiting for him.

“Family? He looks like he’s only in his early twenties. Does he already have a kid that old?”

“Wait… could he have been taking the kid to the children’s sports center next door?”

“Probably. He and that kid look so alike.” The girl who had been the main one flirting was about to lose it. “Oh my god, what did I just do? Why didn’t he answer when I asked if he had a girlfriend? He has a wife!”

…

When Chi Xiao returned, Ming Can didn’t say anything. The three of them walked to the elevator together.

It wasn’t until they entered the elevator and the atmosphere quieted that Ming Can casually asked, “What did you say to them just now?”

From what she knew, Chi Xiao wasn’t the type to chat with girls who approached him.

He was cold and reserved, sometimes barely uttering a word even in front of her.

Chi Xiao slipped one hand into his pocket, his eyes on the floor display, and said nonchalantly, “I told them—”

He paused, then smiled. “My boss called me.”

Ming Can curved her lips slightly, feigning arrogance. “Who’s your boss?”

Chi Xiao shrugged.

It didn’t have to be “boss.”

A different word would work even better.

–

Two more days passed. Aside from his slow progress in cooking, Chi Xiao had quickly adapted to his other tasks and had fully settled into the rhythm of taking care of Miaomiao, managing the child’s daily routine with ease.

That afternoon, he dressed Miaomiao in a low-key black cotton jacket and sweatpants, topping it off with a black knit cap. He himself was also dressed entirely in black, wearing a baseball cap and a mask that covered almost his entire face.

Father and son arrived at the concert hall located in a bustling area to watch Ming Can perform in a classical music concert.

The theme of the concert was “Romanticism: Blooming in Winter.” Although it was an amateur concert jointly organized by several university art groups, the tickets were highly sought after. The large concert hall was packed to the brim. Chi Xiao and Miaomiao’s seats were in the front row, slightly to the left. The view wasn’t as good as the center, but they were closer to where Ming Can was performing.

The opening piece was 《The Snowflake Waltz》, performed by the combined orchestras of University B and University A.

“Brother, look! Sister is over there!”

Miaomiao excitedly pointed to the string section on stage. Ming Can was wearing a black off-the-shoulder gown, revealing her slender, beautiful shoulders, her skin so fair it seemed to glow.

The string section was crowded with musicians, but Ming Can stood in the front row, her beauty and poise making her stand out as the most striking presence in the group.

She slightly raised her shoulders to support the violin, her right hand drawing the bow. Her seemingly delicate arms revealed graceful, flowing muscle lines. The light illuminated her beautiful, focused face, her eyes lowered, her expression completely relaxed. She seemed to be immersed in the music, radiant as a star yet ethereal as a fairy.

Miaomiao overheard several audience members around them praising how beautiful his mom was. At first, he felt proud, basking in the shared glory. But when he heard two young men nearby whispering about whether his mom had a boyfriend, he immediately puffed out his cheeks, climbed up from his seat, and leaned over to whisper a complaint into his dad’s ear.

Chi Xiao glanced at him. “Sit properly and stop fidgeting.”

Miaomiao blinked.

On the surface, Dad appeared calm and composed, but deep down, he thought those two guys discussing Mom were like flies. Mom was right—Dad really was a master of pretending!

Chi Xiao gently pressed Miaomiao back into his seat to avoid disturbing others.

Taking a child to a public place, especially one that requires maintaining silence, controlling the child’s behavior is crucial. It’s a must-learn skill for any mature parent. While he personally didn’t mind the child climbing around in his seat, there was no guarantee others wouldn’t mind. Keeping him in check was also the best way to protect him from receiving disapproving looks.

As the music reached its climax, the musicians became more immersed, their bodies swaying gently with the rhythm, the girls’ skirts rippling like water.

Chi Xiao’s gaze lingered on Ming Can on stage. Today, she had tied her long hair up meticulously into a loose braid at the back, with only a few strands framing her fair face. Compared to the first time he had seen her perform, the youthful innocence in her eyes and brows had faded, replaced by a touch of allure.

That day had been the freshman welcome performance after military training. The entire student body had gathered in the gymnasium, and Chi Xiao’s class happened to be seated right in the front center, offering a clear view of the stage.

Phones weren’t allowed during the performance, so Chi Xiao had brought an English reading book, solving problems under the dim lighting.

The performance received enthusiastic applause, with cheers erupting around him, but Chi Xiao remained indifferent, like an outsider, focused solely on his workbook. When his eyes grew tired, he closed them to rest.

That was until the orchestral performance began.

The melodious, clear sound of the violin drifted over. Chi Xiao skimmed the key points of the question, found the corresponding part in the text, and after selecting the answer, he finally glanced up at the stage out of sheer boredom.

Among the dozens of musicians.

His eyes immediately landed on a girl in a black dress. The stage lights weren’t bright, but she stood out like a bright moon, as dazzling as a diamond.

“Hey, Academic God Xiao, finally done with your problems and have time to watch the show?” a buddy beside him teased.

Chi Xiao didn’t respond. After a long while, as if finally snapping out of a daze, he pointed at someone on stage and asked, “What’s that girl’s name?”