Chapter 037

After helping Ji Chen apply the shoulder cream, Meng Li felt at ease, even if she wasn’t sure whether it would be effective or not.

Ji Chen put on his clothes, and they both sat—one on the sofa, the other on a chair—staring at each other in silence.

Although they had spent some time together in the school dormitory, this was the first time Meng Li had come to Ji Chen’s house.

She felt a little awkward, and after a brief pause, she spoke up. “Well, if there’s nothing else, I’ll head back now.”

Ji Chen looked at her and asked, “Where are you going?”

Meng Li hesitated, her tone light. “I… I’m just going back to queue for tickets…”

Ji Chen’s eyes darkened for a moment. He lowered his head to adjust his sleeve. “Do you have the ability to do that? After they open the ticket window tomorrow morning, there’s going to be a fierce competition for tickets. If you can’t handle that, you might as well stay here and wait. There’s no way you won’t get a ticket.”

Meng Li understood what he meant. After the ticket window opened tomorrow, some people would inevitably miss out on tickets and would likely resort to fighting for them.

At this point, there was no way to avoid a confrontation if things escalated.

Originally, Meng Li had thought no one would dare to provoke her, but now it seemed there were always people who weren’t afraid of anything.

It was too late to go back to school, and there was no bed for her at the Cheng family’s place, so returning there was out of the question.

After thinking for a while, she nodded at Ji Chen. “Then I’ll wait here.”

Seeing her nod, Ji Chen felt a sense of relief in his heart.

His tone softened slightly. “Wait here. If Zhuo Xi and the others can’t get tickets, I’ll give you mine.”

They had been brothers for a long time, and loyalty was important to them. Meng Li didn’t suspect Ji Chen of anything further.

Once she relaxed, she started feeling a little tired, her eyelids drooping slightly.

Ji Chen noticed the tiredness on her face and asked, “It’s so late, why don’t you take a nap first?”

Meng Li turned her head to look around. She didn’t want to push herself too hard. Considering that Ji Chen treated her like a brother, staying up at his place for the night seemed completely normal. She returned her gaze to him and said, “Then I won’t hold back.”

Ji Chen stood up from the sofa and led Meng Li to his room. “No need to be polite. Treat me the same way you treat Zhuo Xi and the others. You can sleep in my room, and I’ll sleep in my parents’ room.”

Meng Li followed him, nodding as her eyelids grew heavier.

Once they entered the room and Ji Chen turned on the light, he gave a few more instructions before stepping out. Meng Li yawned and sat down on the edge of the bed, staring into space.

She had originally planned to stay up all night and catch up on sleep somewhere tomorrow, but now that she had a place to sleep, she figured she might as well take a nap.

However… could she sleep without washing up first?

And it was summer, too.

Meng Li picked up her jacket and sniffed it, making a face of distaste.

Before she could even put the jacket down, there was a knock at the door.

Hastily putting the jacket aside, Meng Li stood up and went to open the door. She found Ji Chen standing outside, holding two buckets of water and a kettle of hot water for her.

He said to Meng Li, “The bathhouse is closed now, and this is the only hot water we have at home. You’ll have to make do with it.”

Meng Li nodded at him. “Thanks.”

Ji Chen turned and handed her a basin and a bucket. “I’ll go to the yard and use the well water to rinse off quickly. Don’t peek, alright? When you’re done, call me, and I’ll help you pour the water.”

Meng Li rolled her eyes and muttered, “Who would want to peek at you…”

She then took the basin and bucket from him, turning to place them inside the room.

Once her body was in contact with the water, she felt a little more comfortable, and the overwhelming sense of drowsiness wasn’t as strong.

As she wiped her body, she instinctively glanced out the window.

Although she couldn’t see anything, she could hear Ji Chen outside, fetching water.

In that brief moment, an odd thought suddenly popped into her mind.

It was so random and out of the blue—she suddenly wondered: Does Ji Chen know that I’m a girl?

As soon as the thought appeared, memories that seemed to support it rushed into her mind.

Ji Chen’s attitude toward her had completely shifted. From the very first moment he saw her, he seemed to want nothing more than to get rid of her, but now he was showing her endless care and attention.

During their time in the school dormitory, he always seemed to take a walk at night, almost as if he deliberately left her with some time to take a bath. And just now, when she had tried to remove his clothes to look at his shoulder injury, he had been so resistant.

Then there was the odd question he had asked—whether she treated Zhuo Xi and the others the same way.

If she were a guy, would it be so strange for her to act like that toward Zhuo Xi and the others?

And now, instead of asking her to go wash up in the yard with him, he had gone through the trouble of fetching water for her.

He probably worried she would be cold, which was why he even brought her a kettle of hot water.

As these thoughts crossed her mind, Meng Li felt a sudden tightening in her chest. She instinctively raised her hand to cover it.

She had become nervous, and she couldn’t help but feel that her guess might be closer to the truth than she’d expected.

But…

If he knew, why was he still pretending not to?

Meng Li blinked rapidly, and a sudden realization hit her—Wait…

Damn… she suddenly felt like… he had been flirting with her all along.

Her mind raced, the tension in her thoughts growing even more intense. Hastily, Meng Li finished washing up, quickly put on her clothes.

The clothes were Ji Chen’s, and they were much too big for her.

She sat on the edge of the bed for a moment, adjusting herself, unsure if her assumptions were right.

But thinking about it, Ji Chen had been nothing but kind to her lately, and hadn’t done anything that would raise further suspicion. Her nerves slowly began to ease.

After a moment, she cleared her throat and called out to Ji Chen, “Are you done?”

Ji Chen’s voice came from outside the door. “Done.”

A few seconds later, there was a knock at the door.

Ji Chen entered the room and helped Meng Li carry the water outside to pour it away.

As they lifted the large bucket together, Meng Li couldn’t help but glance up at Ji Chen from time to time, watching his expression closely.

After stealing a few glances, Meng Li couldn’t discern anything unusual, so she didn’t ask further.

She lay down on the bed, turned off the light, and the room was plunged into darkness.

In the quiet of the night, Meng Li blinked in the dark, still wondering if she was being too sensitive.

After a while, the weight of sleepiness overcame her, and she closed her eyes, drifting off to sleep.

Whether Ji Chen knew or not didn’t seem to matter much.

Before long, they would all go their separate ways.

Ji Chen, who had gone to sleep in his parents’ room, also fell asleep quickly.

When he had first moved into the school dormitory, knowing that Meng Li was a girl and that he was sleeping on the bunk right above her, he had struggled with insomnia for two or three nights. But eventually, he had gotten used to it and fell asleep without a second thought.

After the long day and all the exertion, he was exhausted, and once asleep, he slept deeply.

In the middle of the night, Ji Chen woke up groggily. He could barely open his eyes, but he fumbled in the dark, heading to the bathroom.

After using the bathroom, Ji Chen returned in a daze.

He followed the familiar path, instinctively heading toward his room. He pushed the door open, climbed into bed, and fell asleep in one smooth motion.

Once in bed, he immediately drifted off to sleep. Half-conscious, he turned over and casually flung his arm out, only to land on something soft.

For a moment, he didn’t register what it was, and simply pulled his arm back to continue sleeping.

But as he drifted further into sleep, something made him suddenly open his eyes.

In that moment, it clicked—somehow, in his dazed state, he had stumbled back to his own room. And lying next to him was Meng Li.

His room didn’t have a lock; he never locked the door when he slept.

Ji Chen turned his head and saw Meng Li lying on her side, eyes closed, breathing evenly in peaceful sleep. Yet, instead of getting up, he remained still, watching her quietly.

In the dim light, he could only make out the soft, blurred outline of her figure.

Almost instinctively, Ji Chen moved his head a little closer to Meng Li, getting so close that his nose nearly brushed against hers.

In the dark night, Ji Chen could smell a faint fragrance on Meng Li, and all he could hear was the sound of his own heartbeat.

Her face was so close to his. If he moved just a little bit more, his lips would almost touch hers.

The air around him began to feel thin, and breathing became gradually more difficult.

His heart pounded heavily in his chest, as if it might leap out at any moment.

Just as his lips were about to brush against hers, Ji Chen suddenly sat up, quickly got out of bed, and hurried out of the room.

…

Meng Li was woken by a commotion. As soon as she opened her eyes, she saw four people standing at the foot of her bed.

The four of them were staring at her, all looking utterly confused.

They had come to find Ji Chen, but they hadn’t expected to see Meng Li in his bed.

The four of them were still frozen in place when Ji Chen entered the room, quickly ushering them out.

Meng Li sat on the bed, still dazed, suddenly feeling unsure whether she should get out of bed or stay put.

Listening to Xiao Jianguo and the others talking outside with Ji Chen, Meng Li felt so embarrassed that her scalp almost felt like it was about to explode.

She didn’t pay close attention to what they were saying, but she didn’t need to guess—of course, they were probably asking why Ji Chen had brought her back.

Last night had been so chaotic that no one had noticed what Ji Chen had done.

Now that they had gotten their tickets, they came directly to find him.

Meng Li understood very well that just because Ji Chen treated her like a brother didn’t mean Xiao Jianguo and the others did the same.

Arguing here wouldn’t lead to anything good, so she quietly got out of bed, put on her shoes, and prepared to leave.

Once outside, she deliberately ignored Xiao Jianguo and the others. She turned to Ji Chen and said, “I’ll head out now.”

Ji Chen walked up to her. “Let me walk you out.”

Meng Li waved her hand. “No need. I need to go find Zhuo Xi and the others.”

When Ji Chen heard Zhuo Xi’s name, he didn’t insist on walking her out.

He added, “There’s a bike in the yard. Just pick one and go.”

Meng Li saw the unpleasant expressions on Xiao Jianguo and the others’ faces. She didn’t want to stay even a second longer, so she quickly nodded and headed out the door.

However, once outside, she didn’t ride the bike. Instead, she left the military compound and made her way to Shuiyue Temple.

Back at Ji Chen’s house, he was surrounded by Xiao Jianguo and the others, who had him pinned on the sofa.

With one leg propped on the edge of the couch, Xiao Jianguo eyed him suspiciously. “Brother Chen, come on, tell us—what’s going on here?”

Ji Chen smiled casually. “Nothing much, just ran into ‘him.’”

Qian Yan raised an eyebrow. “You didn’t actually make up with him, did you? Otherwise, why would you bring him back to stay up all night?”

Ji Chen didn’t feel like spinning more lies, so he simply nodded. “We’re brothers now.”

Zheng Hang blinked in disbelief. “Are you serious? Don’t you remember how many times he fought with us before?”

Ji Chen shrugged, completely unfazed. “That was then, this is now. Everything changes, doesn’t it?”

Xiao Jianguo was at a loss for words. “No matter how much things change, how can you become brothers with that thug? Doesn’t it make you lose face?”

“Not at all,” Ji Chen replied matter-of-factly. “I’ve accepted it. From now on, we’re brothers. Unless…”

Xiao Jianguo and the others leaned in. “Unless what?”

Ji Chen smiled—a knowing, cryptic smile.

The group exchanged confused glances, waiting for an explanation, but Ji Chen wasn’t about to give them one. Instead, he simply said, “You’ll find out when the time comes.”

Xiao Jianguo, Zheng Hang, Zhang Yue, and Qian Yan all stared at him, speechless.

Really keeping us in suspense, they thought. When exactly is ‘the time’?

…

By the time Meng Li reached Shuiyue Temple, it was already midday. She quietly climbed over the wall, made her way to the meditation room, and found that Zhuo Xi and the others were all sleeping inside. They must have stayed up all night and were now catching up on sleep.

Meng Li didn’t disturb them. She grabbed her toiletries and went to the courtyard to fetch water from the well to wash up.

Afterward, feeling still a bit sleepy, she found a small corner in the communal bedding area and lay down to sleep again.

This time, Meng Li woke up alongside Zhuo Xi and the others, and it was already evening.

Wei Dong saw that she had returned on her own and immediately came over to check if she was injured. After a quick inspection, he asked, “Whose clothes are you wearing?”

Meng Li shrugged her sleeves a bit, feeling somewhat guilty. “Uh… Ji Chen’s…”

Wei Dong wasn’t happy to hear Ji Chen’s name, but his intelligence was still intact. He rolled his eyes at her. “What, you two are now life-and-death brothers?”

Meng Li could clearly hear the bitterness in Wei Dong’s words. She probably understood that they all had a deep animosity toward Ji Chen, so they would naturally feel uncomfortable about such things.

She smiled, trying to lighten the mood. “You guys are my life-and-death brothers.”

Wei Dong, hearing that, felt a bit satisfied and didn’t press the matter further.

Zhuo Xi saw that Meng Li was in a good mood and could tell that she and Ji Chen had gotten along well, so he didn’t press her for more details.

He grabbed his things, preparing to go wash up, and said to Meng Li, “We’ve got all the tickets. After we grab a bite to eat, it should be about time for the show. We’ll head over then.”

Meng Li nodded and sat down on the nearby couch bed. “Alright, you guys go ahead and wash up.”

After speaking, she picked up the banana fan on the small table and began fanning herself.