Homeless (2)

After entering the house, Yue Qianling sat obediently on the sofa, staring listlessly at the claypot rice.

Fortunately, tomorrow is the weekend, otherwise, she really wouldn’t know how to go to work.

Gu Xun then grabbed a towel and sat down beside her, casually drying his hair. With his other hand, he picked up his phone and dialed the landlord’s number.

“What? Out of battery? Didn’t you remember to change the batteries?”

“…I forgot,” Yue Qianling felt embarrassed, her voice lacking any confidence. She even lowered her head while speaking, “Can I get someone to unlock it for me?”

“Of course not!” The landlord’s voice suddenly raised, almost sending Yue Qianling away, “If the lock is opened, it’s useless, it needs to be replaced with a new one.”

Yue Qianling frowned for a moment, then asked again, “How long does it take to replace it with a new one?”

“Replacing it doesn’t take long, but where are you going to find someone to do that for you this late at night? Besides, I just bought that lock, it cost more than three thousand. If you want to replace it, you have to get one at the same price.”

“……”

Yue Qianling drooped her head and let out a sullen “Oh.”

The landlord asked again, “What about your spare key?”

“Of course it’s inside.”

As she said this, her eyes suddenly lit up.

But the next second, they dimmed again.

Just to be safe, she did leave a spare key with Yin Xue.

But it was such a coincidence that she went to Hangzhou tonight—

After handing back the phone to Gu Xun, Yue Qianling hung her head and sighed heavily.

“Why sigh? Just get a new lock.”

Gu Xun was still leisurely drying his hair, his tone so relaxed that Yue Qianling wanted to hit him.

“Over three thousand isn’t a small money, you know?”

Yue Qianling glared at him and said again, “Let me make another call.”

Seeing her dialing, Gu Xun straightened up a bit and leaned towards her ear, asking, “Who are you calling?”

Yue Qianling: “My college roommate.”

Upon hearing this, Gu Xun let out a faint “oh”, “You’re going to stay at your roommate’s place?”

“She’s in Hangzhou, where else can I stay?”

Yue Qianling explained too much, simply handing the phone back to him, “Unlock it.”

Gu Xun didn’t take it, nor did he look at her. He picked up the remote and turned on the TV, casually saying, “0814.”

“Oh.”

Just “oh”?

Gu Xun turned his head, wanting to say something, but saw that Yue Qianling had already unlocked the screen and started dialing, seemingly not paying any attention to the password.

Back when they were freshmen, their whole dorm changed their numbers together, only the last four digits were different, so Yue Qianling remembered Yin Xue’s phone number.

A few seconds later, the call was answered.

“Hello?”

“It’s me.”

As soon as her voice came through, Yin Xue knew who it was.

“How can it take you so long to get takeout?! Quick! Tell me what’s going on with Gu Xun?! Oh wait, why did you change your number?!”

Yue Qianling covered the receiver and said urgently, “Don’t ask about that for now. My password lock is out of battery, and I got locked outside when I get the takeout. When are you coming home? I can only rely on the spare key I left at your place now.”

“Ah?”

Yin Xue was suddenly struck by this unexpected turn of events, her gossiping thoughts dispelled as she thought seriously, “My sister’s wedding is tomorrow, and I booked a flight for Sunday night. I really have no other way.”

“……”

She’s completely done for.

After hanging up the phone, Yue Qianling looked at Gu Xun with a helpless expression.

On her face were written the five big words “What do I do now?”

Yet Gu Xun simply lounged lazily on the sofa, tilting his head, looking straight at Yue Qianling without saying a word.

The two of them stared at each other in silence.

One second, two seconds, three seconds…

In the quiet atmosphere, the meaning conveyed in Gu Xun’s eyes became more and more obvious, making Yue Qianling feel like even the air was heating up.

Suddenly, he raised a hand, propping up his head, and with a hint of mischief in the corner of his lips, he asked.

“Do you prefer sleeping on the bed or the sofa?”

His voice was low but clear enough for her to hear.

Yue Qianling: “……”

Indeed.

Actually, she hadn’t even thought about it at first.

But after Gu Xun said that, she carefully considered it and realized that there didn’t seem to be any other solution.

Only his smile and deep voice made it impossible for Yue Qianling to treat this as a simple instance of giving shelter.

She felt her cheeks heating up, so she turned away and said seriously, “I prefer the sofa.”

“What a coincidence.”

Gu Xun drew out the syllables, one word at a time, “So do I.”

“……”

***

Once she accepted this reality, there was nothing more for Yue Qianling to worry about.

Was she really going to wander the streets alone just to avoid any hint of impropriety?

Moreover…

In her mind, there was no safer place than Gu Xun’s home right now.

So she nodded in resignation and started unpacking the takeout, preparing to eat.

Just as she picked up her chopsticks, Gu Xun, who had finished drying his hair, quietly sat down next to Yue Qianling.

Although he didn’t say a word, his presence in the quiet living room was undeniable.

Yue Qianling was acutely aware of what it meant for her to stay the night, or even two nights, at Gu Xun’s place.

Not to mention that their relationship seemed to no longer be ordinary friends.

As a result, every sensory cell in Yue Qianling’s body suddenly became extremely sensitive.

Even though the two of them were separated by a pillow, Yue Qianling could still smell the scent of his shower gel.

In the couple of bites she took, her peripheral vision kept wandering toward Gu Xun several times.

“Want to watch a movie?”

Gu Xun suddenly asked.

“Huh?”

Yue Qianling snapped back to reality, her gaze wandering as she subconsciously said “oh” in a daze, “Right now? But I’m in my pajamas.”

“I’m not asking you to go out.”

Gu Xun picked up the remote and switched to the horror category.

“Pick one?”

Yue Qianling: “……”

Where would there be a girl picking a horror movie?

She randomly pointed at one with a less scary cover.

“The one in the middle of the first row.”

Gu Xun gave an “mm” and directly clicked on it.

The opening scene of the movie was quite harmonious, showing a family of three driving to a scenic forest for camping, with gentle accompanying music.

However, Yue Qianling couldn’t focus on the plot.

Though Gu Xun hadn’t said a word, seemingly focused on watching the movie, the sound of his breathing was right beside her, the soft inhales and exhales a constant reminder to Yue Qianling that they were alone together.

The more she thought about it, the more distracted Yue Qianling became.

The air conditioner was on, yet she felt hot, and there were even signs of sweat on her palms.

Suddenly, she felt Gu Xun raising his arm, moving towards her.

Yue Qianling instinctively stiffened, feeling like he was about to hug her.

The next second, Gu Xun bent his elbow and leaned on the sofa back next to Yue Qianling, his wrist propping up his temple.

Yue Qianling: “……”

She let out the breath she was holding.

After a while, Gu Xun suddenly lowered his arm again, leaning his whole body towards Yue Qianling.

“……”

Her breath tightened, her fingers unconsciously tightening around her skirt.

But Gu Xun just leaned over to reach for the light switch on the wall beside her.

Damn it.

Even though the tension was relieved, Yue Qianling felt like she couldn’t handle such excitement anymore.

However, just as the lights dimmed, Gu Xun didn’t retract his hand.

In that position, he only had to tilt his head down to clearly see Yue Qianling’s trembling eyelashes.

And the faint fragrance on her body.

Their faces were less than a fist’s distance apart, their breaths were tightly intertwined, the rhythm becoming faster and faster.

Yue Qianling’s heart leaped back up to her throat again.

After a moment, Gu Xun swallowed, his voice low: “Are you scared?”

It was just three completely normal words, but at this close proximity, they seemed to carry other implications to Yue Qianling’s ears.

She subconsciously raised her chin, only to find that it brought them even closer.

It was as if she could feel the warmth of his chin on her lips.

Yue Qianling quickly lowered her head again.

“…Not scared.”

“Oh…”

Gu Xun lazily sat back, and the distance between them widened, allowing Yue Qianling to breathe more easily.

“Then why were you so tense just now?”

Yue Qianling tightly pursed her lips, not speaking.

Afraid that opening her mouth would reveal her thoughts.

The atmosphere relaxed again.

Gu Xun leaned against the sofa, glancing at Yue Qianling several times.

But she seemed oblivious to his gaze, staring intently at the TV without blinking.

So, Gu Xun patted the space next to him.

“Come closer.”

Yue Qianling stared straight at the TV.

“I’m not scared.”

“Oh.”

After a moment, Gu Xun moved right beside her, his pants and her skirt tightly touching.

“I’m scared.”