Qiu Wuji went home to cook, and invited Mengmeng over today.
Chu Ge had also gone last time, to meet her friends, and Qiu Wuji felt it was a good idea…
It's about getting to know each other's worlds, it's part of the process. As for whether Chu Ge would be seduced by the young women, Qiu Wuji verbally warned and was filled with jealousy, but deep down he trusted Chu Ge completely.
Gu Ruoyan and Yueying are both so outstanding, and Chu Ge hasn't shown any interest in them. Mengmeng is pretty, but she's still clearly not as good-looking as them.
Of course, Mengmeng might be more outgoing than them… um…
Never mind, it's not that bad.
The cucumbers they bought for face masks were immediately eaten by the two of them, one each, munching away all the way into the neighborhood.
"You live here?" Zhu Mengmeng munched on a cucumber, looking around. "This neighborhood is quite quiet; it seems perfect for you."
Qiu Wuji laughed. "My boyfriend writes books, and the first requirement for any rental is quiet."
"Now you really talk about 'boyfriend' all the time?"
"Yeah."
"How far have you gone? Have you slept together?"
Qiu Wuji felt a little embarrassed. Did lying in bed count?
Zhu Mengmeng guessed a bit from her expression, clicking her tongue. "You...you're twenty-five, and you've never even done that, tsk."
More than twenty-five, she'd never done it in ten thousand years!
Qiu Wuji retorted, "So what if I haven't? Is that something to be ashamed of? I...I think you're the ones who are ashamed!"
"What era are we living in? Are you a guy or something? Still using such outdated language." Zhu Mengmeng smiled, hugging her and whispering in her ear, "It's very comfortable, aren't you curious at all?"
"What's there to be curious about!" Qiu Wuji wanted to throw her out.
As they entered the stairwell, Qiu Wuji suddenly had a thought, and his left hand abruptly reached out and pressed down on empty air.
The air distorted, revealing Chu Ge's face, deformed from being pressed down. It seemed he had intended to kiss her, but it had been directly crushed.
"Trying to ambush me? You've gone bad now," Qiu Wuji sneered.
Chu Ge felt utterly wronged. He had intended to appear invisible and give Qiu Wuji a "surprise," but unexpectedly saw someone with him. Not daring to reveal his abilities, he had remained hidden in the stairwell.
Then Qiu Wuji noticed something amiss as soon as he entered and shoved him down.
"Whoa!" Zhu Mengmeng exclaimed, finally realizing what had happened. Was there a thief? She pulled out a large lotus root and started hitting it hard, yelling, "Thief!" Chu Ge quickly retreated, Qiu Wuji pulled back his hand from his face, grabbed the lotus root instead, and said with a forced smile, "Mengmeng, it's a misunderstanding..."
"...Oh, he looks familiar, just like in the photo, your boyfriend." Zhu Mengmeng also put away her boyfriend, looking at Chu Ge with suspicion: "Superpowers?"
Qiu Wuji smiled slightly: "You have them too, what are you pretending for?"
Zhu Mengmeng: "Damn." The three of them got on the elevator. Chu Ge naturally took Qiu Wuji's basket, hesitated for a moment, and then held out his hand to Zhu Mengmeng: "Your bag looks a bit heavy, give it to me too."
Qiu Wuji stood between the two, expressionless: "That's her boyfriend, you don't need to worry about him."
Zhu Mengmeng: "..."
Chu Ge: "?"
"First time meeting your boyfriend, and you're already badmouthing me like this?" Watching Chu Ge go to open the door, Zhu Mengmeng grabbed Qiu Wuji from behind, gritting her teeth: "I misjudged you, Qiu Qiu!"
Qiu Wuji remained silent.
Zhu Mengmeng lowered her voice again, "But he's so gentle! He even thought to help me carry my things. These days, you don't find any young guys this considerate..." Sure enough, you're right to criticize her; beware of your best friend.
But then again, yesterday I was trying to impress his mother, today it's his turn to impress my friend. Let's see who scores higher?
Hmph.
Qiu Wuji took a bite of cucumber.
Chu Ge secretly glanced at her eating cucumber, swallowing hard.
Qiu Wuji noticed and asked curiously, "You want some too? There's another one."
"No, no, I don't want any." Chu Ge turned her head away.
Zhu Mengmeng chuckled, biting Qiu Wuji's ear and saying, "Your boyfriend's a virgin too."
Qiu Wuji was surprised: "How did you know?"
"Hehe, so cute."
"Cute my foot!" The three went inside. Chu Ge's performance was Oscar-worthy: "Well, Qiuqiu, your friend's here. Spend some time with him. I'll cook today."
You can't cook anything, even fried rice?
Qiu Wuji gritted his teeth, forcing a fake smile: "Mengmeng and I are cooking and playing. You go stand aside. Have you finished typing?"
Chu Ge hadn't finished typing, and upon hearing this, he said hypocritically, "Entertaining friends is more important..."
"Alright, that's none of your business. Mengmeng, come with me." Qiu Wuji pulled Zhu Mengmeng into the kitchen.
The Oscar-winning Chu Ge coughed twice and went straight back to his room to type... This Mengmeng seems a bit naive. Oh well, whether she's cute or not, what's more important than typing? He's been busy these past few days; if he wastes any more time, Panda's fists will be punching him through the internet. It's a pity I wanted to discuss spatial abilities with Qiuqiu… Oh well, maybe tonight, maybe we can chat in bed, hehe.
As a result, Chu Ge's performance won the approval of both Qiuqiu and Mengmeng.
Qiu Wuji could tell that the guy's acting was obviously fake; he really didn't care about Mengmeng at all, not bad, not bad.
Mengmeng thought this man would even insist on cooking…
She nudged Qiu Wuji, who was cleaning pig kidneys, and whispered in her ear, "Qiuqiu, you can't handle this boyfriend, let me handle it."
"Get lost, how can I not handle him?"
"Of course you can't handle him, look, he's a grown man, full of vigor, he has needs, right?"
"So what? It's normal."
"Not normal at all. Before you moved in together, he could take care of himself, but now that you're living together, it's less convenient for him. And you're so tempting, yet you won't let him touch you, what is he supposed to do?"
Qiu Wuji's hand, which was cleaning the kidneys, froze, lost in thought.
For some reason, it made sense.
Zhu Mengmeng continued, "And then, you fed him kidneys, pig tails, and chives! It was absolutely awful... He even fantasized about eating cucumbers, just like those pathetic shut-ins in my group..." Qiu Wuji weakly said, "Mengmeng, I think you've offended someone."
Zhu Mengmeng: "?"
"Ahem," Qiu Wuji said, "You're the one who asked me to buy these things."
"So you couldn't control yourself, huh? You just bought them without thinking anything of it." Zhu Mengmeng said sadly, "Luckily you always live at home, so he hasn't had a chance to cheat. But if you need to go on a business trip or go back to your hometown, what if you have some beautiful, alluring woman outside? Wouldn't he be scrambling to confess?"
Qiu Wuji's eyes began to glaze over.
I really have to go back to my hometown.
"So!" Zhu Mengmeng patted the juicer beside her: "This strategist believes that what His Majesty needs isn't a juicer, but a juicer princess!"
Qiu Wuji ate his meal with a heavy heart, his eyes constantly darting towards Chu Ge's face.
Chu Ge ate in bewilderment, thinking Qiu Wuji was testing him to see if he would flirt with Mengmeng, so he sat upright and didn't exchange a single word with Zhu Mengmeng throughout the meal.
Zhu Mengmeng, on the other hand, watched the couple with great interest, finding it quite amusing.
One was twenty-eight, the other twenty-five, yet both of them reminded Zhu Mengmeng of her school days, of that beautiful youth, sweet and innocent, warm and slightly bittersweet.
That's so rare in this world.
She wisely didn't disturb them any longer, and after lunch, she decisively took her leave, giving the two adorable young people some space.
Qiu Wuji didn't stand on ceremony to keep her; she was already being kind by not being thrown out... What was the point of inviting this girl over for dinner? She made everyone uneasy; she'd be better off inviting her mother-in-law.
She saw Zhu Mengmeng out, then, with a belly full of things to do, silently went into the kitchen to wash the dishes.
A pair of strong arms wrapped around her from behind. Qiu Wuji stiffened for a moment, but didn't instinctively nudge him like she had the first time, quietly letting him hold her.
They were boyfriend and girlfriend now.
Actually, Qiu Wuji quite liked this position; she could feel Chu Ge's genuine affection and fondness.
Chu Ge, as usual, rested his chin on her shoulder and said softly, "What's wrong? You seem a bit preoccupied today."
"Nothing," Qiu Wuji offered an excuse, "Lying in bed with a man is too much of a shock for me, it's disgusting, I've been in a daze all day."
"Is it really necessary..." Chu Ge sighed, and said softly, "If you're worried about that, you can just sleep in the other bed tonight... I'm only doing this to appease Mom anyway."
Qiu Wuji did intend to sleep in the other bed tonight, but hearing him say this so readily made her a little uncomfortable. He didn't even offer to offer her a chance!
But then Chu Ge continued, "Chu Ge's shoulder is reserved for Qiu Wuji, ready for you to use as a pillow anytime."
Qiu Wuji's slight discomfort vanished instantly, and she grumbled, "Then you wait, who wants to use a pillow? You're overthinking it."
Chu Ge didn't take offense, and naturally kissed her cheek, continuing to hold her.
Qiu Wuji felt warm and cozy, not wanting to move. She just wanted to lean against him like a cat, too lazy even to do the dishes.
The afternoon sun streamed in through the window in front of the sink. Qiu Wuji, annoyed by the glare, turned her head slightly and nestled in his arms.
As if receiving a signal, Chu Ge lowered his head again, trying to gently touch her lips.
Qiu Wuji's eyelashes fluttered, and she closed her eyes.
In the sunlit kitchen, all was quiet, utterly silent. Only the young couple's quiet kiss, their breaths barely audible.