Wang Ruoxi reached outside the dormitory, at the dorm gate, where Yuan was waiting for her near his car.
"Xu Yuan, just wear your face mask first. Otherwise, if any of the dorm girls see you like this, they'll start shouting, and a huge crowd will gather here."
He nodded and took out his mask from his pocket. He wore it and said, "Now how will I get inside?"
Wang Ruoxi said, "Come with me."
He followed her. Then Wang Ruoxi took him near our room's window and said, "Look, Xu Yuan, I don't have a better option than this. You need to climb through this window. This is the only possible way to get inside."
Then she handed him some long scarves and said, "Look, I tied a few of my long scarves together in a tight knot, so don't be afraid that you'll fall."
He took a deep sigh, looked at the window, then at the scarf, and said, "No, I don't need this."
The moment he said that, Wang Ruoxi was about to say something. Her mouth was half open, but Xu Yuan had already climbed the window with the help of the walls, without any rope or scarf, and got inside our room.
"Unbelievable," she said while looking up at the window. "He must have been trained with fine professional martial arts skills."
Meanwhile, the moment he entered the room through the window, his eyes saw only one thing—and that was me, covered in a blanket from head to toe like a mountain.
He took slow steps towards me, very slowly, and reached where I was sitting. He knelt down on the floor in front of me and said, "Zhao Shiza."
His voice made me think—why is he here now? And how did he get inside the dorm? What is he doing here?
His voice raised too many questions in my mind, but everything was without an answer. But at this moment, I didn't want to face him. This was the only thing I knew right now.
I tucked my blanket more tightly around myself.
But he is Yuan. How can I forget that?
He slightly took one hand and pulled the blanket down from my head in just one easy go, no matter how tightly I was holding it. He pulled it down so effortlessly.
The moment the blanket was pulled down, my hair was messy and my eyes were red. He got a little worried seeing me like this, but he didn't ask me a single word.
He just hugged me tightly. At that moment, one of his hands was behind my head and the other hand was rubbing my back slowly to calm me down.
He said, "I won't ask you why you are crying and behaving like this, because I know something big has definitely happened. Otherwise, you wouldn't behave like this. You are such a strong girl, and if you are like this, it means there is something you can't handle alone. And for that, I am here. I am right here in front of you. I'll hear you. If you want to say anything, just say it. I won't ask anything. I'll just listen. Just let out your pain. I promise I'll carry it for you. I'll carry it for you."
He said all this in a shaking voice.
I broke the hug, looked at his face, and said, "Yuan, thanks for understanding me. But I am crying because I failed my class test that was held yesterday. Its marks won't be added to the final exams, but still, I have never failed before. Even if I didn't study, I never failed. So I am not able to handle this failure."
I said it in a way so that he would believe me.
Meanwhile, Yuan thought in his mind: I know something is off with you today. This is not the complete truth—it's a half truth. But I respect you and won't push you further. You'll tell me whenever you feel like it. For now, whatever you are saying is the truth for me.
Then he exhaled sharply and said, "I call you a silly girl, but it doesn't mean you literally do such a silly thing and cry over it."
"There is nothing silly in that," I said in a tiny voice.
"Crying and behaving like this just because you failed one class test that won't even be added to your final exam is silly. I didn't expect you to behave like this. You know what it tells about you?"
"What?" I asked.
"That you can't handle failures, and it shows you in the wrong light. We need to learn from our mistakes and try not to repeat them in the future, not behave like everything in the world has shattered and tomorrow is doomsday."
"Doomsday?" I asked.
"Yes, doomsday," he said.
"You are getting pissed at me, I know," I said while crying. "You must be thinking how childish and stupid I am. Even at the age of 22, I behave like this. I know, I know. One day you'll want to break up with me and think it was your worst decision to make me your girlfriend. I know. And if you really want to do that, you can. I won't stop you. Trust me, I'm used to being hurt by you. It's nothing new for me. And trust me, I won't blame you either."
Tears started rolling down uncontrollably.
He immediately cupped my face with both his hands and said, "Are you really gone mad? What the heck are you saying? Do you even realise it?"
"Yes, because I know it's coming," I said.
"What? Breaking up with you?" he asked.
I nodded.
He exhaled sharply and said, "That's why I call you a silly girl. See, you just proved me right. Nothing in this whole universe will ever be able to take me away from you. Nothing. Did you hear that properly? Nothing."
"Then why were you scolding me just a minute ago?" I asked, looking down.
"Scolding you?" He laughed softly. "This is what you call scolding?"
I nodded again.
"That wasn't scolding. That was the way someone cares for his precious treasure."
"Precious treasure?" I asked.
"Hmm. Precious treasure," he repeated.
"Who is the precious treasure here?" I asked.
"Don't act fool, silly girl. I know you know," he said.
"No, I really don't," I said.
"You really don't?" he asked.
He then looked around the room and pointed at the study table. "This is my precious treasure. Please take care of it, because one day I'll come and take it back with me."
A small smile appeared on my face. "Okay, I'll take care of your precious treasure. But come soon to take it back from me. Otherwise—"
"Otherwise?" he asked.
"Otherwise, I'll give your precious treasure to someone else," I said.
"Don't you dare. Don't even think of giving something that is mine to someone else. I need to tell you this first—I am a very calm person, but if someone even puts an eye on what is mine, I'll be the baddest person on this whole planet."
"Okay, okay, Mr. Bad," I said.
"Now that's cool," he said.
"Tell me, how did you come inside the room?" I asked.
"Wang Ruoxi helped me," he said.
"Isn't Wang Ruoxi becoming your personal assistant?" I said.
"Of course. I gave her the responsibility to take care of my girlfriend when I'm not around, and she's doing her job quite well," he said.
"Now it feels more like she's your friend, not mine," I said, pushing him lightly.
"Now tell me, Yuan—who is the monkey?" I asked, looking into his eyes.
He smiled and said, "I am."
Then I said loudly, "Wang Ruoxi, you can come in."
"Wang Ruoxi?" he asked.
I nodded. "Yes, she's standing outside."
The door opened slightly. Wang Ruoxi entered with a smile and said, "You two took too long. I need to go to the washroom. You guys carry on. And Xu Yuan, I hope you'll get outside the dorm the same way you entered."
After saying that, she went into the washroom immediately.
"Okay, now bye-bye, Yuan," I said.
"It's so hard to leave such a cute girlfriend like this," he said dramatically.
I blushed. "We're meeting on set tomorrow anyway, so why this drama?"
He smiled and said while climbing down the window, "It's still 15 hours, 29 minutes, and 21 seconds left."
"You're so accurate," I said. "Be careful."
He landed safely and looked up at me, smiling mischievously. "Don't you know your boyfriend is trained in martial arts?"
"I know, I know. Stop flexing," I laughed.
"Finally, the three-day holiday is getting over. Can't wait to meet you on set tomorrow," I said.
He waved and walked toward the dorm gate.
Inside the car, his smile faded. His eyes turned sharp.
Am I the reason she failed her class test? Did my love overwhelm her? Did preparing for our date take away her study time? I don't know the exact reason behind her behaviour today, but I can sense it's not just this. It's definitely combined with something else. Only she knows, and she's not ready to tell me yet. I won't rush. I'll wait. I'll earn her trust—until she feels safe enough to tell me.
He started the car and drove away...