After this whole ordeal, Lin Xi was, yet again, without clothes.
In the end, Xue Yang failed to keep his clothes to himself.
This just went to show that taking in strange girls was way too much trouble. If this kept up, he'd be the one with nothing to wear.
"Xue Yang, for the sake of my pitiful state, won't you let me have the bed? Please?"
Lin Xi put on her most pitiful expression, an attack with immense destructive power.
However, the one she was facing was Xue Yang.
"No way!"
"You're so ungentlemanly. No wonder you don't have a girlfriend."
Xue Yang stiffened slightly. "That's right, I don't have a girlfriend. So, with a defenseless and beautiful girl like you sharing a room with a single man like me... who knows what could happen?"
"You wouldn't," Lin Xi stated with certainty.
Xue Yang paused again. "What makes you so sure I wouldn't?"
"Because I read your diary. Anyone who can write an outline for such a beautiful novel has to have good character."
"You read my diary?"
Lin Xi almost bit her tongue off. In her haste, she had let it slip.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to. I just wanted to know what kind of person you were and whether you'd try anything. And it proves that a person who can write such beautiful stories can't be a bad person."
"Have you ever considered that while I might not do anything now, that could change over time? Don't forget, I'm a normal adult male."
CLANG. The door to his room swung shut.
Lin Xi touched the bridge of her nose, thankful it hadn't been hit.
What a temper.
The next day, Lin Xi didn't wake up until ten o'clock. Seeing Xue Yang already up and about nearby, she felt a pang of annoyance at herself for having slept so soundly.
"Why didn't you go to school today?"
Hearing her voice, Xue Yang continued what he was doing, no longer as hesitant as before.
"It's Saturday. I don't have class."
"I forgot."
"Now that you're awake, go brush your teeth and eat breakfast."
When Lin Xi came out after brushing her teeth, Xue Yang was still busy. She trailed behind him, her eyes filled with a clear sense of bewilderment.
"What are you doing?"
"Cleaning the kitchen. I can't afford to eat out all the time. Cooking for myself is clean, hygienic, and tidy. Most importantly, it saves money."
"But I don't know how to cook."
"Then what do you know how to do?"
"I know how to eat."
"You're really something else!"
"Of course," Lin Xi replied proudly.
Ever since she was a little girl, she'd be praised from top to bottom if she took just a couple of extra bites of the food their maid prepared. The maid would even get a bonus for it.
At 1:14 PM, the two of them finally sat down for their first meal in the rented apartment.
There was a plate of stir-fried pork with chili peppers, a tomato and egg drop soup, and rice. The meal was simple but very homey, and it looked quite appetizing.
Lin Xi had never had a meal like this before. "I never thought you'd be such a good cook."
Xue Yang placed a bowl of rice in front of her. "Alright, little girl who only knows how to eat, sit down and have your meal."
"Pfft—" Lin Xi burst into laughter. "You're actually pretty funny."
After lunch, Lin Xi volunteered to wash the dishes while Xue Yang returned to his room to write.
CRASH!
The sound of a dish hitting the floor and shattering echoed from the kitchen.
Xue Yang put down his pen and walked out to find Lin Xi with her hands covered in dish soap bubbles, looking up at him with a wronged expression. "I didn't do it on purpose."
There had only been three plates to begin with. Now that one was broken, only two remained.
"You really do only know how to eat. Step aside, I'll wash them."
"I can learn."
Xue Yang let her watch as he efficiently cleaned up the broken shards and then began to wash the remaining dishes.
"You don't need to use so much soap; this much is enough. Wet a cloth, wipe the dish, and then just rinse the soap off with water. That's it."
"Xue Yang, you're amazing. You can cook and wash dishes, too."
As Lin Xi watched his serious profile, she felt her heart skip a beat on a whim. He's actually quite handsome, she added silently.
"When I was a kid, I used to do this to earn money from my mom. I'd get paid a certain amount for each dish I washed and use the money to buy spicy strips."
"My dad always gave me my allowance directly; I never had to earn it."
"That takes away half the fun. Money you earn yourself is much more satisfying to spend."
"You're right. What are spicy strips?"
"You've never had spicy strips?"
"No, I've never even heard of them."
"Then your childhood was truly pitiful. Spicy strips are a rare delicacy; everyone who's tried them says they're delicious."
"Really? I'll have to try them sometime."
Xue Yang just smiled and said nothing.
After the dishes were done, Lin Xi went to the bathroom to wash the clothes she had bought the previous night, while Xue Yang returned to his room to continue writing his outline. This was one of his favorite ways to pass the time—filling his notebook with all sorts of little stories.
"Xue Yang, there's nowhere to dry my clothes."
"You can dry them on my balcony. The sun is perfect there right now."
Lin Xi struggled in with a bucket.
"You did a good job washing them, but it'd be better if you wrung them out a little more."
"I'm not strong enough. You help me."
Xue Yang put down his notebook, picked a piece of clothing out of the bucket, and effortlessly wrung it dry.
Lin Xi naturally took it and put it on a hanger. Xue Yang smoothly took the hanger and placed it on the line outside. Not a word was spoken, but a strange, tacit understanding flowed between them.
He picked up another item, wrung it dry, and they repeated the process.
After a few more times, Xue Yang reached for another piece of clothing, but Lin Xi suddenly shrieked.
"Wait, not that one!"
After her shout, both of them froze.
It was a pair of pink, lacy, semi-transparent panties. They had a Hello Kitty pattern on them... which was very cute. It bore a slight resemblance to Lin Xi's flustered expression, though in comparison, she was even cuter.
Lin Xi snatched the panties from Xue Yang's hand and wailed, "Boo hoo… It's tainted now!"
After they finally managed to hang all the clothes, Lin Xi returned to the living room, which had already become her exclusive domain.
Back in his room, however, Xue Yang found he could no longer focus on writing.
The balcony was now filled with Lin Xi's clothes, a colorful and eye-catching display that was impossible to ignore. Especially those pink, transparent panties. Xue Yang could still feel the phantom sensation of them in his hands.
Silky and smooth. It felt incredible.
Xue Yang took a deep breath and rolled his shoulders. Suddenly, a strong gust of wind swept across the balcony, rattling the hanging clothes. The next moment, the pink, semi-transparent panties slipped from the hanger and landed right on Xue Yang's face. As fate would have it, that was the exact moment Lin Xi walked in.
"Xue Yang, you pervert!"
"...If I said it fell on its own, would you believe me?"