It’s almost as if doing something wrong doesn’t count as wrongdoing unless you get caught red-handed. Awkward moments feel incomplete without witnesses.
Before Lu Xingyan and Shen Xingruo could react, there was a sudden knocking at the door, “It’s me.”
— Pei Yue’s voice.
A phrase flashed through Lu Xingyan’s mind, “Misfortunes never come singly, but come in pairs, just as blessings come in pairs,” he wasn’t sure if it was appropriate, but amidst the confusion in his mind, he silently felt somewhat cultured.
The door was unlocked, and with Pei Yue’s greeting, she intended to push the door open.
The faint sound of the door lock twisting came to their ears, while the dripping sound of Vitasoy milk continued.
In that moment, all their senses seemed magnified tenfold, a hundredfold.
Shen Xingruo’s head felt a bit numb, and her chin was sore from being poked.
For a brief moment, her mind went blank for two or three seconds. Suddenly coming to her senses, she suppressed her discomfort, pressing down on Lu Xingyan’s thigh as she got up.
She didn’t care about urgency, directly wiping the milk stains from her lips onto Lu Xingyan’s T-shirt, then pulling the air conditioner quilt from Lu Xingyan’s bed, covering his lower body directly.
— At the moment of covering, Pei Yue came in with two cups of milk.
Shen Xingruo remained composed, walking up to Pei Yue, even raising the corners of her lips, and taking the two cups of milk from Pei Yue’s hands.
“Thank you, Auntie Pei.”
Her voice was normal too.
Lu Xingyan was still bewildered.
Shen Xingruo completed this set of quilt-covering actions with a difficulty level of 88 as smoothly as flowing water, precisely controlled within seconds before his mother entered the room.
What’s more remarkable was that immediately after this set of high-difficulty movements, she seamlessly transitioned into a set of model student performances with a difficulty level of 99, her face neither blushing nor skipping a beat, her smile sweet yet poised, maintaining closeness without losing politeness, it could be said there were no flaws.
Pei Yue entered the room, feeling that something was not quite right, but she couldn’t pinpoint exactly what it was.
She glanced around, smiling and exchanging a few words with Shen Xingruo, then her expression changed in a second, warning Lu Xingyan to listen to Shen Xingruo’s tutoring properly.
As she was about to turn and leave, she suddenly paused, “Lu Xingyan, what are you covering yourself with?”
Shen Xingruo spoke for him, “He said he’s cold.”
Pei Yue looked Lu Xingyan up and down, “Wearing short sleeves on the upper body and covering with a quilt on the lower body, what are you playing at? If you’re cold, why don’t you wear a coat?”
Shen, acting as his spokesperson, continued, “He said his legs are cold.”
Pei Yue seemed to understand something in an instant, she stepped forward and pinched Lu Xingyan’s ear, “Are you bothering Ruoru? Don’t mess around with me. Let me tell you, focus on your tutoring. Don’t give me any trouble!”
After the warning, she turned to Shen Xingruo and said, “Ruoru, if he causes any more trouble, just ignore him and go back to your room to sleep. His level is just like that anyway, you kindly tutor him, but he doesn’t have any motivation!”
Shen Xingruo stood quietly there, neither agreeing nor disagreeing, looking very obedient and aggrieved.
Lu Xingyan wanted to say something to defend himself, but before he could speak, he was glared at by Pei Yue.
Two minutes later, Shen Xingruo escorted Pei Yue out.
Watching Pei Yue disappear around the corner of the stairs, Shen Xingruo gently closed the door and returned to the room.
There was a faint, sweet smell of milk in the room.
Once Lu Xingyan saw Pei Yue leave, he immediately lifted the air conditioner quilt from the bed, glanced down, and then let out a sigh.
His pants were damp in the middle, visibly swollen, with a puddle of creamy Vitasoy milk on the floor.
If Pei Yue had walked in on this scene just now, with Shen Xingruo’s head still resting on his lap, Lu Xingyan didn’t know whether his mother would have banished them forever or married them off on the spot.
Shen Xingruo couldn’t help but recall the scene just now. She discreetly shifted her gaze, standing a distance away, not approaching.
Lu Xingyan got up and walked to the wardrobe, grabbing clothes as if nothing had happened, casually asking, “What were you doing just now? I hadn’t even reacted yet and you’ve already spilled milk all over me.”
Shen Xingruo replied, “I didn’t blame you. Yet you’re trying to shift the blame onto me.”
Lu Xingyan noticed an unopened khaki hoodie in his wardrobe, exactly like the one Shen Xingruo was wearing. It seemed to be a solid color without any patterns, completely contrary to his style, so he had never worn it.
He picked up the hoodie and said, “Blame me? What do I have to blame for? I was just minding my own business, doing my homework diligently, while it was you causing trouble.”
Before Shen Xingruo could speak, he shook the new clothes he had just taken out, “Hey, I’m going to change clothes, turn around.”
Shen Xingruo didn’t move.
He raised an eyebrow, and pinched the corner of his clothes as if he were going to pull them up, “Hey, I’m going to take them off.”
This time, Shen Xingruo reacted quickly, immediately turning around and walking to the desk.
Lu Xingyan teased her intentionally, seeing her serious expression, he smirked, took the clothes, and went to the bathroom.
By the time Lu Xingyan changed clothes, Shen Xingruo had already tidied up the mess under the desk.
They sat back down.
Shen Xingruo felt something was off, looked up and down at Lu Xingyan’s clothes, and then suddenly said, “Your clothes are the same as mine.”
Lu Xingyan paused his writing, raising an eyebrow.
Shen Xingruo met his gaze and asked, “Why are you wearing the same clothes as me?”
“Why can’t I wear what I bought with my money?” Lu Xingyan looked at her calmly, “I just happened to see a piece of clothing that’s the same as yours. I thought of wearing it to show respect for you. Do you think I’m intentionally trying to match outfits with you?”
Shen Xingruo didn’t respond, tapping the desk with a pen expressionlessly, “Write your answers.”