Chapter 9: A Rose with Thorns

Li Huangxuan slurped down the vinegared noodles, while Lin Ximeng sat across the table, resting her chin in her hands as she watched him.

She wore that same innocent, harmless expression.

“Are you still mad at me?”

The smooth and flavorful noodles had already conquered Li Huangxuan’s taste buds.
Now that he was enjoying her cooking, what right did he have to stay angry?

She was always like this—slapping him with one hand and feeding him candy with the other, toying with him like he was nothing.

Li Huangxuan thought, If this girl turns out to be some cunning manipulator, I’m going to be eaten alive.

Zhang Wuji’s mother once said, “The more beautiful a woman is, the better she is at lying.”

Seeing him stay silent, Lin Ximeng reached over and shook his arm.
“I didn’t do it on purpose. I was just really hungry.”

“I know I was wrong, will you please forgive me?”

“Don’t be mad anymore, okay? I promise it won’t happen again.”

Her big dewy eyes blinked pitifully.

As someone who had never even had a girlfriend, Li Huangxuan stood no chance against that look—he surrendered immediately.

“Alright, alright. I’m not mad. The noodles are delicious.”

Lin Ximeng broke into a bright smile. “I knew you were the nicest. After you finish, don’t forget to wash the dishes—I’m going to take a shower.”

Once she went into the bathroom, Li Huangxuan slapped himself across the face three times.

You idiot! Getting bribed by a bowl of noodles. Have you never seen a woman before? You’ve disgraced all men.

Next time she pulls something like this, I swear I’ll tie her up and give her a good lashing with a leather whip—only then will I feel better!

While washing the dishes in the kitchen, he could hear the sound of running water from the bathroom.
His mind began to wander again.

What if I just walked in right now and—

No, that’s criminal!

But surely, I’m not the only man in the world who’s had such thoughts?

Back in his room, Li Huangxuan opened his laptop and logged into the web novel site.

He’d written 40,000 words so far, with another 10,000 in drafts.
But since he hadn’t yet reached the recommended length, his readership was still minimal.

Of course, even for new authors, reaching the recommended length doesn’t guarantee success—over 90% still flop.

Becoming a master of web fiction isn’t something that happens overnight—unless you’re a natural-born literary genius.

But those are one in a million.

As expected, a small gift arrived from “Leo Meteor Shower”—a loyal reader.

The message was simple: “Keep going!”

Li Huangxuan was moved. He didn’t expect to have a dedicated reader so soon.

He couldn’t help but reply:
“Thanks for your encouragement. I’ll do my best!”

Authors and readers bring out the best in each other.

Readers can find joy or emotion in an author’s words.
Authors, in turn, are inspired and motivated to keep going by their readers’ support.

He wrote until 11:30 p.m., yawned, and closed the laptop.

After a quick wash, he turned off the lights and lay in bed.

In the darkness, faces of Lin Ximeng and Xu Wanqing flashed back and forth in his mind.

“The one I like is Wanqing. Wanqing. Wanqing…”

He kept repeating it to himself like a mantra.

He desperately reminded himself not to be tempted by beauty and lose his head.

Xu Wanqing was the gentle, quiet type—his perfect match.

That girl next door? She was probably a rose with thorns.

In a month, she’d pack up and leave, and he’d be left with nothing.

Wait, not even a month—only about twenty days left.

But how could a person control their heart so easily?

That night, all his dreams were about Lin Ximeng.

Seductive, charming, alluring…

(We’ll stop here—going further wouldn’t pass review, and let’s be honest, no one wants to read that part anyway.)

…

At 7 a.m. the next morning, the squeaky rubber chicken alarm blared right by his ear.

Li Huangxuan jumped up, terrified, and instinctively clamped his legs together.

“What the hell?! Get out of here!”

Lin Ximeng smirked. “You’ve got five minutes. Get up and work out with me.”

Watching her walk away, he felt like a guilty kid caught red-handed.

I’ve lived a decent, upright life… How could I have dreamed something like that?

I need to buy a door latch today and lock my room at night.

The morning sun shone over the willows by the riverside.

The ponytailed girl jogging ahead of him was as radiant as the sunlight.

While running, Li Huangxuan chanted in his mind:
“Don’t fall for her. Don’t fall for her. Don’t fall for her…”

Even though deep down, he knew he was lying to himself.

…

As soon as he arrived at work, he made a beeline for Xu Wanqing’s desk, rehearsed lines ready in his head.

“Wanqing, let me explain. Meng—uh, Lin Ximeng—and I only ended up living together by accident.”

“I was still sleeping at home when the landlord uncle just brought her in. I wasn’t even mentally prepared.”

“We’re just roommates, nothing more. She just forgot her key yesterday, that’s all.”

…

He wasn’t good with words to begin with, and the more he tried to explain, the messier it got.
It made him sound even more suspicious.

Xu Wanqing adjusted her glasses.
“Why are you explaining all this to me? Who you live with is your own business.”

Li Huangxuan felt a chill in his heart.

The truth was—they were just coworkers.

What right did he have to explain anything to her?

He might have just lost his shot at ever pursuing her.

“I think Mengmeng is a really cute girl,” Xu Wanqing said with a smile. “She must be fun to live with.”

“What’s cute about her?” Li Huangxuan felt like crying.

He was increasingly convinced last night had been a setup by Lin Ximeng.

He let his guard down—and fell into her trap.

To make it worse, Xu Wanqing didn’t even seem bothered by his cohabitation with Lin Ximeng.
In fact, she had nothing but nice things to say about her.

So she never liked me in the first place? Was it all in my head?

Just as Li Huangxuan was sinking into despair, Xu Wanqing smiled again and said:
“Well, maybe next time we can hang out again. You should get back to work.”

Those words reignited his hope.

There was still a next time—he wasn’t out of the game yet.

If I could date someone like Xu Wanqing, my parents would be over the moon.

That whole day, Li Huangxuan worked with extra energy.

Maybe it was the boost in mood—or maybe the morning workout helped too.

Right before clocking out, Lin Ximeng messaged:
“Will you be off on time tonight? I’m at the market buying groceries. I’ll cook when I get back.”

Li Huangxuan stared at the screen for a while before replying:
“Sure. I’ll transfer you money for the groceries—let’s split it evenly.”

He sent the money—but she never accepted it.

Li Huangxuan felt kind of shameless.

Pursuing Xu Wanqing while enjoying Lin Ximeng’s care… wasn’t that playing both sides?

But he’d liked Xu Wanqing for over two months.
He couldn’t just fall for someone else in three days.

That would make him a total player, right?

It’s like the brain and the heart are two separate systems.

His brain told him: Pursue Xu Wanqing.
But his heart kept drifting toward Lin Ximeng.