Chapter – 62
Just as he finished that deliberate “ahem,” there was a knock on the door.
Jiang Jian: “……”
Luo Shuxin: “Come in.”
Luo Yue pushed the door open, holding a fruit plate with neatly cut apple pieces.
“Have some fruit—oh? Xiaojian, why are you sitting there? Xiaoxin, you should share half your desk—”
“It’s fine, it’s fine,” Jiang Jian immediately cut in.
“I don’t need it.” He lifted the handout in his hand. “I can just look at this. I don’t need a desk. I can sit anywhere.”
Luo Yue moved the apples toward Jiang Jian. He picked up a piece.
“Thanks, Sister Luo.”
She then went to offer some to Luo Shuxin, but he refused. She came back, casually dragged over a chair, placed the fruit plate on it, close to the bed so Jiang Jian could eat more easily.
Guests should always be prioritized. Nothing wrong with that.
After Luo Yue left, Jiang Jian hesitated for a moment, then got off the bed, hugged the fruit plate, and shuffled closer to Luo Shuxin.
Luo Shuxin was working through a practice workbook recommended by a teacher—not one that the whole class was required to buy. It had been suggested, but not mandatory.
He hadn’t completed all of it either, only selecting certain types of problems. Different workbooks had different strengths and weaknesses. Some sections were poorly chosen and not worth doing—just a waste of time.
Jiang Jian ate an apple and casually forked another piece, bringing it to Luo Shuxin’s lips.
“You practice like this every night?”
Luo Shuxin turned his head and bit the apple.
“Not necessarily.”
Jiang Jian: “What do you mean ‘not necessarily’? Sometimes you practice even later than tonight?”
Luo Shuxin had just finished a problem. He paused, looked at Jiang Jian, and said,
“Do you need something?”
Jiang Jian froze mid-chew, stopping for about two seconds before slowly resuming.
Jiang Jian: “I was just curious what time you usually go to bed. Your light’s still on—I can’t fall asleep.”
Luo Shuxin: “And besides that?”
Jiang Jian: “……”
Luo Shuxin didn’t know what Jiang Jian had come over for, but he could tell—it probably wasn’t just to urge him to sleep.
Especially since, before Luo Yue knocked, someone had made that suspicious “ahem.” After clearing your throat like that, you’re supposed to say something.
Jiang Jian finished chewing an apple, swallowed, and stared at Luo Shuxin for a while.
Then he forked another piece.
……
Luo Shuxin, unhurried, began spinning his pen unconsciously.
Jiang Jian: “Nothing.”
He carried the fruit plate back to the bed.
After taking two steps, he turned around again.
“Do you want some?”
Luo Shuxin: “……”
Luo Shuxin lowered his head and went back to his workbook.
Jiang Jian finished the apples, brushed his teeth a second time, and even seriously started reading his English handout.
By the time he finished reading, Luo Shuxin was still doing problems. Jiang Jian checked his phone—it was almost 1 a.m.
Brutal.
No wonder he’s a top student. Talent and hard work. If he doesn’t become a genius, who will?
Jiang Jian couldn’t hold out any longer. He tossed the handout next to his pillow, hugged the cat, lay down, tucked himself in properly, and said,
“I’m going to sleep.”
Luo Shuxin responded with a quiet “Mm.”
Jiang Jian closed his eyes. He’d been so sleepy while reading the handout that his eyelids kept drooping. He thought he’d fall asleep immediately once he lay down, but instead he couldn’t sleep at all—his mind stuck in a strange state of exhaustion mixed with alertness.
The bed was Luo Shuxin’s.
The blanket was Luo Shuxin’s.
The pajamas were Luo Shuxin’s.
Jiang Jian lay there with his eyes closed, letting his thoughts drift.
Oh right—the cat was Luo Shuxin’s too.
He was completely surrounded by Luo Shuxin’s scent.
The moment that thought surfaced, Jiang Jian’s heart jumped violently.
He snapped his eyes open, feeling as if he’d just seen a ghost.
Something felt strange, though he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.
Giving up, Jiang Jian pulled the blanket over himself and the cat and secretly played on his phone.
He wandered around WeChat first. The message he’d sent earlier asking Shao Xing about his arm had already gotten a reply, so he answered.
Then he aimlessly scrolled through various apps until all his frequently used ones had no new updates left.
Only then did he hear the sound of Luo Shuxin packing up his books.
Jiang Jian hurriedly turned off his screen and pretended to be asleep.
Through the blanket, he heard Luo Shuxin turn off the desk lamp, push back his chair, turn off the bedroom light, and then sit down on the folding bed nearby.
The folding bed made a soft sound as it took his weight—noticeable in the quiet night.
After that sound, Jiang Jian could clearly feel that Luo Shuxin’s movements became even more careful.
Jiang Jian poked his head out of the blanket and whispered,
“Actually… I’m not asleep yet.”
You don’t need to be that careful.
Luo Shuxin: “……”
Luo Shuxin: “Why are you whispering?”
Jiang Jian paused, belatedly realizing he might have been influenced by the atmosphere. He cleared his throat and replied in a normal voice,
“Nothing.”
At that moment, Yige crawled out from Jiang Jian’s blanket, jumped onto Luo Shuxin’s folding bed, and curled up, clearly planning to sleep there.
Jiang Jian: “……”
Luo Shuxin: “Go to sleep early. We have to get up early tomorrow.”
The folding bed was very close to Jiang Jian’s bed. In the dim night light, Jiang Jian could make out the outline of Luo Shuxin’s face.
As always, expressionless. When Jiang Jian hadn’t known him well, he’d thought that face looked cold and indifferent. But maybe because they’d grown closer, he’d subconsciously added a filter—because now, even though Luo Shuxin’s features hadn’t changed at all, even with that blank face just sitting there, Jiang Jian could read something like gentleness from it.
“Um…” Jiang Jian spoke tentatively. Maybe the darkness gave him a sense of safety. He carefully chose his words.
“I… I don’t think I ever said… thank you?”
Jiang Jian: “I really didn’t want to go home tonight. Thank you to you and Sister Luo for taking me in.”
Luo Shuxin: “……Don’t you think that sounds cheesy?”
Jiang Jian: “……”
Jiang Jian suddenly wanted to pounce onto Luo Shuxin’s bed and strangle him.
He was thanking him sincerely. Wasn’t he supposed to say something like “You’re welcome”?
Jiang Jian was itching to move—but unfortunately,
he couldn’t.
