Chapter 4: An Unexpected Intruder

Li Huangxuan opened a drawer and took out a white pill bottle, shaking out two tablets.

Lin Ximeng hurried to the living room, poured a glass of water, tested the temperature, then handed it to him.

After taking the medicine, Li Huangxuan looked much better.

He explained, “Three years ago, I was on a long-distance bus when there was a landslide. A large rock hit my head, and I had to take a year off from school to recover.”

Lin Ximeng asked worriedly, “So this is a lasting side effect?”

Li Huangxuan shook his head. “The doctor said I’ve basically recovered. I haven’t had a headache in nearly a year—probably because I got caught in the rain today.”

“I’m sorry, it’s my fault for insisting we go out for hotpot,” Lin Ximeng said, a little guilty.

“It’s not your fault. My brain probably just needed a bit of a rinse,” Li Huangxuan joked, trying to ease her guilt.

But she didn’t laugh.

Sigh, still bad at talking to girls, huh?

Lin Ximeng shifted her gaze to the computer screen and saw the document for Li Huangxuan’s novel.

“You wrote this?”

Li Huangxuan looked a bit embarrassed. “My writing isn’t great. I just wanted to tell his story.”

“Let me read it.” Lin Ximeng flipped to the first chapter and began reading attentively.

Li Huangxuan felt extremely nervous.

Just like when a teacher used to check his homework back in school.

The novel was only a rough beginning—the plot hadn’t really developed yet—so Lin Ximeng finished it quickly.

She frowned and said, “The writing is a bit immature. The pacing lacks dramatic tension, and the foreshadowing is too on-the-nose…”

“Hey, hey, hey—can’t you say something nice for once?” Li Huangxuan cut her off.

He had just been touched by how she brought him water, but now she was back to being brutally honest—loveable and annoying all at once.

“I’m just being honest. It’s how you improve!” Lin Ximeng said with a pout.

“Look at this person—so much nicer with words,” Li Huangxuan said defiantly, pulling up the only review he’d received.

LeoMeteorShower: Really great! Keep it up, author!

There was even a little free gift attached.

Many beginner writers fumbling through the darkness cling to these seemingly trivial gestures to keep going.

Resting her chin on her hand, Lin Ximeng leaned a little closer toward him.

“Hey… do you have a girl you like?”

The scent of her body wash drifted right into his nose, making Li Huangxuan’s heart skip a beat.

He cleared his throat. “Of course I do.”

Lin Ximeng stared directly into his eyes. “Really? Is she pretty?”

Li Huangxuan nodded. “Of course—prettier than you.”

Her expression dimmed instantly, tinged with a trace of sadness.

Li Huangxuan was surprised.

A teasing remark like that actually made her upset?

Could it be she couldn’t stand the idea of someone prettier than her existing?

“Alright, alright—you’re prettier, okay?” he relented.

Lin Ximeng smiled softly.

The girl Li Huangxuan was referring to was named Xu Wanqing, a gentle young woman from the Jiangnan region.

A few months ago, the two of them had joined the company as fresh graduates.

As fellow newcomers to the workplace, they had plenty of common ground and interacted frequently at work.

As time went on, Li Huangxuan developed special feelings for Xu Wanqing.

This must be what people call a secret crush.

Zhang Chuan had encouraged him many times to make the first move, but Li Huangxuan never dared to act on it.

Whenever it came to matters of the heart, he couldn’t help but shrink back.

He turned the question on Lin Ximeng: “So, what kind of guy was your ex-boyfriend?”

“Ex-boyfriend?” Lin Ximeng looked confused.

“Didn’t you say you came to Jiangcheng to clear your head after a breakup?” Li Huangxuan rolled his eyes.

“Oh, him? He really wasn’t anything special,” she said, then stood up. “Get some sleep.”

With that, she turned and walked out of the room.

Li Huangxuan stared at her retreating figure—those slender, pale calves peeking out from beneath her skirt.

A faint fragrance still lingered in the air.

It felt like an intruder had suddenly barged into his life.

---

7:00 AM, the next morning.

Lin Ximeng knocked on his door from outside. “Li Huangxuan, wake up. Breakfast is ready!”

Li Huangxuan grabbed his phone from the nightstand, lit up the screen, and nearly exploded.

It was Sunday—heck, even on weekdays, he rarely got up before eight.

“What are you yelling for this early?”

“I bought breakfast. Hurry up,” Lin Ximeng said, pushing the door open.

In this lousy rental place from Grandpa Zhang, the bedroom doors couldn’t even be locked; all it took was a twist of the knob from outside.

Through groggy eyes, Li Huangxuan saw Lin Ximeng’s stunning face and instinctively shrank under the covers.

“What are you doing in here? I’m not even wearing pants.”

Lin Ximeng chuckled. “Aren’t you under the blanket? You’ve got five minutes. Wash up and come eat.”

After she left the room, Li Huangxuan muttered to himself, “We’re just roommates. What do you think you are—my mom?”

There was no hope of going back to sleep after that. Grumbling, he dragged himself to the bathroom.

He brushed his teeth while complaining in his head.

When he used to live with Zhang Chuan, they never even ate breakfast on weekends. Getting up before noon to catch lunch was already an achievement.

At the table sat two bowls of century egg and lean pork congee, a plate of soup dumplings, and a small dish of pickled vegetables.

Lin Ximeng sipped her congee while scrolling through her phone.

Li Huangxuan plopped into a chair and grabbed a dumpling to chew on.

“Let’s make a deal,” he said. “From now on, just eat breakfast on your own. No need to wake me up—I like sleeping in.”

“No way. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day,” Lin Ximeng replied flatly.

Li Huangxuan frowned. Do you seriously think you’re my mom? Or do you just have control issues?

Then she handed him a printed sheet of paper. “This is the co-living agreement I’ve drafted. Please review it and follow it strictly from now on.”

Li Huangxuan took one look and nearly passed out.

Trauma from senior year of high school suddenly surged through his brain.

The agreement outlined specific bathroom time slots, designated zones for personal belongings, daily cleaning duties, noise level restrictions, and more.

Some of it, he could still grudgingly accept. After all, co-living with a woman meant certain things needed boundaries.

But other parts of it were so ridiculous that he just couldn’t take it anymore…

“Mengmeng, why are you making me wake up at seven every morning?” Li Huangxuan pointed at one of the clauses.

“The early bird catches the worm. People who sleep in every day won’t get anywhere in life,” Lin Ximeng replied with full confidence.

“And what’s this about having to be home before ten at night?” Li Huangxuan raised his voice.

“If you need to get up early, you obviously have to go to bed early too. If you come home too late and make noise, it’ll affect my sleep,” Lin Ximeng argued, her reasoning clearly self-serving.

Li Huangxuan suddenly found that the bun in his mouth had lost all its flavor.

We’re just roommates.

The way she was talking, it felt like she was exercising some authority that didn’t belong to her.

Did this fairy drop from the sky just to make my life miserable?