Chapter 37

One o’clock in the morning

A long sigh echoed through the room. Song Wenzhou opened his eyes in the dim light, feeling wide awake with no trace of sleepiness.

It had been over two hours since he got into bed, but despite trying to fall asleep, his mind kept wandering back to the words Mu Chi had said to him that afternoon.

“I’m chasing you.”

Song Wenzhou had been stunned for at least ten seconds after hearing that sentence.

Obviously, Mu Chi hadn’t been waiting for a response. He had continued speaking while Song Wenzhou was caught off guard, “Sorry for being late, I actually wanted to say this three years ago.”

Three years ago, when Mu Chi hadn’t gone abroad yet.

In his confused thoughts, Song Wenzhou briefly recalled that he had a vague sense of what Mu Chi was preparing to say back then, but hearing it in person now still had a profound impact on him, leaving him unsure how to respond.

This also led to missing the perfect opportunity to answer. By the time he collected his thoughts, Mu Chi had already changed the subject.

He must have looked really foolish at that moment. Song Wenzhou raised a hand to cover his eye, feeling like compared to the composed Mu Chi, he was practically a novice.

“Do you have time tomorrow?”

Song Wenzhou remembered Mu Chi asking him that before leaving.

At the time, his mind wasn’t quite clear, and he simply said, “Yes.”

“Then let’s go out and have some fun,” Mu Chi had said without waiting for a response, adding, “It’s settled, I’ll pick you up at ten o’clock.”

After saying that, Mu Chi waved and turned to leave, his posture tall, even breaking into a light jog as he walked away, not leaving any opportunity for Song Wenzhou to refuse.

Song Wenzhou glanced at his phone and checked the time. With less than eight hours remaining until 10, he realized if he didn’t go back to sleep, he would probably struggle to wake up in the morning. So, he pulled the blankets higher, trying to rid his mind of Mu Chi’s lingering presence, forcing himself to sleep.

The next day, still in a deep sleep, Song Wenzhou was woken up by a knock on the door. Ren Suyi’s voice calling for him to get up sounded muffled as if it were coming from behind a thick fog. He groggily responded, and only when Ren Suyi mentioned Mu Chi’s name did he suddenly wake up.

“You have two minutes, hurry up and get up,” Ren Suyi said before her footsteps faded as she left the door.

There was no need for two minutes. Song Wenzhou was out of bed in less than half a minute.

Fortunately, the room was heated, and he had the habit of wearing pajamas to sleep, unlike some people who preferred to sleep naked. So, stepping out of the warm bed didn’t feel cold.

Running into the living room, Song Wenzhou saw that Mu Chi was sitting comfortably on the sofa, holding a cup of hot water that Ren Suyi had poured for him, smiling as he chatted with her.

Seeing Song Wenzhou rush out in his pajamas, Mu Chi put down the cup and lifted his eyelids to look at him, his smile deepening. “Zhouzhou, you’re up?”

“What are you doing here so early?” Song Wenzhou asked.

“It’s already ten o’clock,” Mu Chi looked at him, his tone unconsciously tinged with a bit of grievance. “Didn’t we agree to meet at ten o’clock yesterday?”

He had planned to wait downstairs for Song Wenzhou, but after sending the message and waiting a long time with no reply, he decided to come up on his own.

Today happened to be Saturday, and Song Wenzhou’s parents weren’t working. When Ren Suyi opened the door for him, Mu Chi couldn’t help feeling a bit guilty, as if this time he was determined to steal someone’s son away, unlike the casual visits before.

Song Wenzhou didn’t know exactly what time he had fallen asleep the night before, and when he woke up, he was surprised it was already 10. Feeling guilty, he said, “Sorry, I didn’t realize.”

Ren Suyi still remembered that three years ago, Mu Chi had helped Song Wenzhou. She gave Song Wenzhou a gentle glare and pretended to scold him, “When you make plans to go out with friends the next day, you should go to bed early. Waking up so late and making Xiao Mu wait at your house—how rude!”

Song Wenzhou opened his mouth to argue, but before he could, Mu Chi had already spoken on his behalf, saying a few words that made Ren Suyi smile widely.

Seeing that there was no chance for him to interject, Song Wenzhou simply called out a greeting and returned to his room to wash up.

Just as he finished changing his clothes, there was a knock at the door. The door opened slightly, and Mu Chi poked his head in, politely asking, “Can I wait for you in your room?”

Song Wenzhou nodded and reached out to adjust the chair at his desk. “Come in, I’ll be done soon.”

Mu Chi sat down on the chair at his gesture, while Song Wenzhou went to the bathroom to wash his face.

After watching Song Wenzhou disappear behind the door, Mu Chi withdrew his gaze and casually flipped through the books spread out on the desk.

In order to avoid mixing up the page Song Wenzhou had been reading, Mu Chi made sure to leave the books exactly as they were before, then began idly inspecting Song Wenzhou’s room.

Compared to how it looked three years ago, there hadn’t been much change. But perhaps due to the feeling of having grown up, Mu Chi felt that both the bed and the desk seemed smaller than he remembered.

When they used to sit side by side at the desk to do homework, it didn’t feel crowded, but now, even though he was alone, it seemed to take up most of the space.

Unfortunately, he never got the chance to sleep in that bed, so he couldn’t compare.

Song Wenzhou was quick in the bathroom, finishing up everything in less than ten minutes. As soon as he stepped out, he saw Mu Chi.

Mu Chi had his head slightly lowered, playing with the drawer handle under the desk.

Song Wenzhou mistakenly thought he was about to open the drawer, and fearing that the little things he kept inside would be exposed to Mu Chi, he rushed over and swiped Mu Chi’s hand away, lowering his gaze and saying, “Don’t touch my stuff.”

“Oh?” Mu Chi didn’t mind the tone of his voice and made no attempt to explain. Instead, he was intrigued by Song Wenzhou’s defensive gesture and stared at the closed drawer, “Sorry.”

What could possibly be in there that Song Wenzhou didn’t want him to see?

“Let’s go,” Song Wenzhou said, keeping an eye on his movements, “I’m ready.”

“Okay.” Mu Chi nodded, pretending not to care, but before leaving the room, he casually glanced at the drawer several times.

Next time, when he visits Song Wenzhou’s room, he’s definitely going to take a look at what’s inside.

Neither Mu Chi nor Song Wenzhou had much experience with “dating,” but fortunately, the night before, Mu Chi had done his homework, afraid that if he confessed his feelings, their first outing might be awkward.

By the end of the day, Mu Chi had essentially guided Song Wenzhou through all the typical couple activities that could be found online. There were a few things left undone, but not because Mu Chi wasn’t capable. It was just that he had confessed to chasing after Song Wenzhou the night before, and Song Wenzhou hadn’t yet confirmed whether he agreed or not. Some activities were still too early to do.

Although Mu Chi was eagerly looking forward to it, he didn’t want to come off as a creep.

Finally, at ten o’clock in the evening, when Song Wenzhou said it was time to go home, Mu Chi pretended that they had been so engrossed in conversation that he lost track of time, reluctantly letting Song Wenzhou leave.

If Song Wenzhou hadn’t repeatedly refused, Mu Chi would have even walked him to his doorstep, then invited him in for tea, and later found a reason for him to stay over.

After being taken care of all day, Song Wenzhou quietly warned before getting into the car, “Don’t treat me like a little girl.”

“I’m not!” Mu Chi shook his head vigorously, eager to prove his sincerity, “In my heart, you’re a true man.”

Song Wenzhou: “So, you don’t need to walk me home then.”

“Then, do you have time tomorrow? I’ll come see you.”

“We just saw each other today, and tomorrow again…” Song Wenzhou pressed his lips together, hesitating, “Isn’t that a bit too frequent?”

Mu Chi thought for a moment. He was afraid that seeing Song Wenzhou every day might make him tired of it, so after some thought, he asked, “How about the day after tomorrow?”

Song Wenzhou gave a helpless laugh, nodding lightly.

Mu Chi immediately smiled, took two steps forward, and opened the car door for Song Wenzhou, stating firmly, “I’ll pick you up then.”

Since Song Wenzhou had mentioned that seeing each other every day might be a bit too frequent, Mu Chi started asking him out every other day instead.

Of course, this didn’t apply when Song Wenzhou had tutoring, no matter whether they had plans the day before or not, Song Wenzhou would still “run into” Mu Chi, who would be waiting with food after his lessons, just like before.

As Mu Chi put it: before they had clarified things, he would pick Song Wenzhou up every time he finished tutoring. After they discussed it, their dates were a separate matter, and the two didn’t conflict. There was no such thing as it being too frequent.

Although Song Wenzhou never said it out loud, he actually really liked how Mu Chi kept showing up in front of him every few days.

After some time, the distance that had existed between them due to not seeing each other for a long time disappeared. With Mu Chi having made it clear that he was chasing after Song Wenzhou, each of their interactions was now filled with an unspoken, undefined affection. They couldn’t be as carefree and intimate as good friends, but it was as if their relationship was much closer than that of simple friends.