281. How About We Sleep Together?
==============================
After dinner, the rain showed no signs of stopping.
Noticing that it was getting heavier, Chen Yao’s mind started buzzing.
After all, he was stuck with a stunning beauty nearby. If he went home, he would either be facing his computer or stuck in the kitchen learning how to cook. Any man would know which option to choose.
“It’s raining so hard, how about I just…”
Lin Nan’s mother shot him a glance. “If you want to sleep on the sofa, that’s fine.”
Just as Chen Yao was about to raise his hand in agreement, Lin Nan’s mother turned to bid farewell to everyone and then hopped in Wu Guodong’s car with Lin Nan’s uncle and aunt, ready to leave.
He was left standing there, dumbfounded, suddenly realizing that it might not be very appropriate to just stick around.
“Are you really planning to sleep on the sofa tonight?” Lin Nan poked him in the arm, whispering, “How about I let my cousin sleep on the sofa? You can come sleep on the floor in my room?”
She shyly continued, “Or… we could just sleep together.”
“That might not be appropriate?” He scratched his head, feeling a bit excited, but it still seemed wrong to take Lin Nan’s cousin’s spot.
Plus, it was clear that there were no extra rooms left. Even Lin Nan’s mother had to leave, so staying behind would obviously raise some eyebrows.
But it had only been a few days since they parted, and Lin Nan could hardly bear the longing, especially since Chen Yao had taken up cooking and was slow to respond online, making her wonder if he’d gotten lazy about maintaining their relationship after “winning” her over.
However, after the events of the afternoon, Lin Nan was sure that Chen Yao was still very much interested in her.
“Liu Xinyi!”
“Eh?” The cousin, who had been watching the news in the living room, looked up at the two standing on the stairs.
“Tonight you’re sleeping on the sofa downstairs.”
“Huh?”
“I’ll go upstairs to get you blankets and pillows. You can relax and sleep downstairs with the big TV.” Lin Nan posed with her hands on her hips, speaking with conviction. “The floor is too hard; I can’t let you sleep on that.”
“Sis, I suspect you want to do something with your brother-in-law tonight.” Liu Xinyi rolled her eyes. “Whatever, it’s all good to me.”
Chen Yao leaned against the stair railing, watching Lin Nan’s face, finding it rare to see her being so unreasonable.
Wu Jiaming came down the stairs, poking his head in to suggest, “Why not let him sleep with me?”
Wu Jiaming only caught the gist of their conversation and knew that Chen Yao planned to stay overnight.
“No thanks, cousin.” Lin Nan looked up at him, her eyes filled with a serious threat.
Although Wu Jiaming didn’t find Lin Nan’s stare intimidating—he even thought it was a bit cute—he still took a hesitant step back. “Okay then, let him sleep… um, let Liu Xinyi sleep on the sofa?”
Without hesitation, Wu Jiaming sold out his cousin.
Fortunately, Liu Xinyi didn’t mind where she slept.
Chen Yao glanced around and realized that Lin Nan’s grandparents didn’t appear to mind either, so he readily agreed.
Just like the previous few nights, Wu Jiaming began fiddling with the projector, getting ready to watch two movies that night, while the grandparents headed back to their room to watch TV in bed. Lin Nan dashed up and down the stairs and soon gathered Liu Xinyi’s bedding, bringing it all down to the sofa.
Liu Xinyi didn’t see any problem with sleeping on the sofa. She comfortably lay sidewise, covered herself with a blanket, and propped her head up with one hand to watch a movie.
“Leaving already? You planning to watch a movie down here?”
Having taken care of everything, Lin Nan grabbed Chen Yao’s wrist and dragged him upstairs.
Liu Xinyi shared a knowing look with Wu Jiaming, both exchanging that knowing smile adults use, and nodded at each other, then turned the movie volume up a notch.
When they got back to the bedroom, Lin Nan casually locked the door. As Chen Yao walked in, he noticed there was an extra blanket on the floor.
“Grandpa said there were extra blankets in the house, so you’re fine sleeping on the floor.” Lin Nan climbed onto the bed and turned on the old, clunky TV.
“So you’re just luring me to stay, then not giving me any perks.” Chen Yao shot her an eye roll before bending down to text his parents that he wouldn’t be home tonight.
Having spent over half a month at Chen Yao’s place alone with him, Lin Nan had grown to like the vibe they had together.
She didn’t bother with the TV, lying on her stomach on the bed, resting her chin in her hands, gazing at Chen Yao’s side profile from the floor. Her emotions rose inexplicably, making her legs start to swing back and forth unconsciously, and her body gently swayed side to side.
“What’s up? Do I have rice on my face?” After sending the message, Chen Yao looked up to see Lin Nan staring intently at him, causing him to panic a bit. He rubbed his cheeks and mouth but didn’t find anything messy.
“Nothing, just watching.”
“When you look at me like that, it feels weird,” Chen Yao said, his thick skin showing no sign of embarrassment but still feeling slightly awkward.
He felt the intimate atmosphere in the room thickening palpably.
Could Lin Nan want to continue what happened this afternoon?
He dared not guess Lin Nan’s thoughts, mainly because her brain worked in mysterious ways.
Maybe she just thinks I’m handsome.
“Let’s go to bed early tonight?” Lin Nan suggested.
“Sure, I’m a bit tired today.” Chen Yao stretched then flopped down on the makeshift bed, but he felt the bamboo mat was too cold and uncomfortable.
He had given the blanket that was on the bamboo mat to Liu Xinyi, and there were no spare blankets left at his grandpa’s house.
After rolling around uncomfortably a few times, he attempted to snuggle himself with the blanket.
“How about… together?” he asked, peeking up hopefully.
Lin Nan’s big eyes suddenly looked guilty, her gaze flickering to the upper left as she stammered, “Uh-huh.”
Hearing her affirmative response, Chen Yao immediately scrambled up onto the bed with the blanket, and Lin Nan quickly scooted over to give him half the bed, lying flat on her side, covering half her face with the blanket.
With Lin Nan’s hands gripping the edge of the blanket, the strong male hormones from Chen Yao beside her made her body tense up without her even realizing it.
“Cold?” Chen Yao noticed Lin Nan seemed to shiver a bit.
“…”
Not hearing an answer, he took it as a yes and spread his blanket to share half with Lin Nan. “This should keep you warm, right?”
“Uh-huh…”
Just that it was rather cramped.
There was at least a ten-centimeter gap between them, and after he split his blanket, his side was barely covered.
Lin Nan tugged the blanket up again, exposing only her eyes, cautiously peeking over at Chen Yao and then gently inching closer to him.
Sitting on the bed, Chen Yao focused on the TV and his phone, but when he looked back at Lin Nan, he realized she was almost right beside him.
