043. Early Morning
“Up so early, huh?”
As Wen Yang stretched and got up, he immediately spotted that skinny back hunched over the computer.
He rubbed his sore shoulders, took a glance around, and paused at the adjacent bed, which was still neat and untouched.
“You didn’t sleep all night?”
“Why are you ignoring me?”
He grumbled, traipsing over to the computer, squinting down to see Ning Chu’s delicate little feet perched on the rattan chair, her body curled up into a ball, drooping her head like a wilted flower as she snoozed away.
Look at those slightly red circles under her eyes. She must’ve been up past midnight at least.
Wen Yang glanced at the computer screen, where a romance movie was playing on repeat, very serious business.
“Can’t believe you like this stuff.”
He turned to the computer desk, where seven or eight little cards lay scattered, each adorned with heart-melting pictures and swoony text.
With a flick of his wrist, he collected the cards and tossed them into the trash. Wen Yang tapped his aching head and turned to the bathroom to freshen up.
Although he crashed quickly after drinking, his sleep was far from restful. Waking up felt like he’d gone ten rounds with a heavyweight champion—head throbbing, body sore, and let’s not even talk about the potential b*tt pain!
It was only six in the morning. After washing up, Wen Yang had nothing to do, so he turned on the TV and set the volume to minimal, glancing occasionally at that petite figure.
He hesitated, wondering if he should carry Ning Chu back to bed.
But was there really a need? It felt a bit… questionable.
What if someone misunderstood?
But hey, they were both guys, right? What’s there to misunderstand?
Wen Yang raked his fingers through his messy hair, thinking about how Ning Chu had cared for him lately. He stood up, gently nudged Ning Chu’s shoulder, and softly said, “Wake up, go sleep in bed.”
“Wake up?”
No response.
Seeing this, Wen Yang had to take action. He slid one arm behind Ning Chu’s head and cautiously tucked the other under her folded legs, trying to move her to the bed without waking her.
He lifted her slightly, surprised at how light she was.
“Definitely not even close to a hundred pounds.”
Ning Chu looked frail, yet her body was soft, and her skin felt cool, as delicate and smooth as flour.
Wen Yang peered down, almost unable to see the fine hair on her arms up close, careful not to disturb her. In mere seconds, he had her gently placed on the bed and tucked a quilt over her.
“Now I can play on the computer!” Wen Yang turned around and plopped down at the computer, tossing aside thoughts of games. Time to watch some interesting anime—way better than the daytime news droning on!
After finding a show, he glanced back nervously, relieved to see Ning Chu still unmoving.
About three episodes in, there was a gentle knock at the door, and Wang Jie’s voice floated in: “Are you awake?”
Wen Yang quickly jumped up and opened the door to find Wang Jie with two bags of breakfast.
“Woke up too early and had nothing to do, so I went out to get you guys something to eat.” Wang Jie handed him one of the bags and continued, “Pork buns, soy milk, and a fried dough stick—you and Ning Chu can share.”
“Awesome, thanks!”
“Is Ning Chu awake?”
“Not yet. I bet she slept in pretty late last night. Probably won’t be up until noon.”
“Shao Qing too; first time hearing him snore.”
Wen Yang suddenly had a thought: “You don’t think those two sneaked off to have fun while we were drunk, do you?”
“Impossible! I was jolted awake by an extremely high-pitched noise last night, and when I woke up, Shao Qing was still glued to his phone!”
“Who’s that?”
From inside the room, a soft, lazy voice chimed in, and Wen Yang turned to see Ning Chu crawling up from the foot of the bed, her confused, tear-brimmed eyes peeking out as she arched her back to look toward the door.
“Why’s it so noisy…?”
“I brought food!” Wen Yang waved the plastic bag in hand. “Pork buns, soy milk, fried dough stick—want some?”
“I’m so sleepy…”
Her voice was so soft, almost girly, that Wen Yang felt a bit strange.
Just when he was about to say something, Ning Chu let out a sharp gasp.
“How did I fall asleep?!”
“Exactly! That kind of noise woke me up last night!” Wang Jie nodded furiously, peering into the room to check the situation.
Ning Chu sat at the foot of the bed, startling herself awake. She glanced down at her clothes and looked around.
“Thank goodness, thank goodness~”
She let out a sigh of relief and looked up at her two roommates, her nose catching the aroma of the pork buns, and her stomach immediately protested with a growl.
“Let’s eat! After we’re full, we can go back to sleep.” Wen Yang set the breakfast down on the table and asked, puzzled, “What time did you go to bed last night? Did my snoring bother you?”
“Not really.”
Ning Chu rubbed her sore eyes, yawning as she got out of bed to put on her shoes. “I’ll wash my face first… Wait! How did I end up in bed?!”
“You were already sleeping in bed when I woke up.”
Of course, Wen Yang couldn’t spill the beans about moving her just to keep playing on the computer.
He was already suspicious that Ning Chu might have a bit of a crush on him, following him around like a little shadow. He didn’t want to risk saying anything about her potentially catching a cold.
“Really?”
Her memory of last night was hazy. Ning Chu thought for a moment and couldn’t recall anything, so she nodded in agreement with Wen Yang’s claim, looking confused as she walked towards the bathroom.
“I want to go back to the dorm and play on the computer.” Wang Jie sipped from his soy milk, munching on breakfast while muttering, “Bars aren’t that great either. Why did Shao Qing drag us along? We could just play a couple of games and rank up instead.”
“But what if we drop rank?”
“Then it’s still a bit more fun at the bar.”
Not two minutes later, Ning Chu sprinted back to the table, freshly washed up, with a meat bun in hand, her big eyes darting from the two seated guys, suddenly bursting with an idea.
“How about we take the bus back first?”
Last night, Zhang Shaoqing mentioned taking the housemates for massages… a hotspot for Little Emperor Wen! God knows whether they’re good or bad.
“Isn’t that a bit awkward?”
“Well, he has a car and might not even wake up until noon. We can just text him to let him know what’s up.” Ning Chu attempted to sway Wang Jie to her side. “Otherwise, it’ll just be the three of us sitting here with nothing to do in the morning. Playing on the computer back at the dorm is way more comfortable, right?”
Wang Jie scratched his head, looking conflicted, his gaze shifting to Wen Yang.
Wen Yang wasn’t exactly thrilled about this “betrayal” either, frowning deeply. “If you want to play games, we could just find an internet cafe nearby.”
Internet cafe…
The key is not to let Zhang Shaoqing lead you astray!
Seeing them both hesitate, Ning Chu made a bold move, grabbing Wen Yang by the wrist and tugging at Wang Jie’s sleeve, practically dragging them out the door. “Let’s go back! If Shao Qing gets mad, I’ll take responsibility, okay?”
She rarely showed such determination. “I want to go back and catch up on sleep! I can’t sleep well here!”
“Wait, that’s not—”
“Don’t ‘wait’ me!”
