The next day, the sunlight poured in through the not-fully-closed curtains, illuminating the room.
On the bed, there were two quilts. One was kicked into a messy heap, half hanging onto the floor, with the person inside curled into a small ball, revealing only a tuft of white, fluffy hair. The other quilt lay neatly and properly in place.
The stark contrast between the two sides was clear, but they stayed within their own boundaries, coexisting peacefully.
However, perhaps the sunlight was too bright, as Jiang Shi turned over several times, and finally, he lifted his leg and kicked the quilt on him off the bed.
The quilt hit the ground with a dull thud, and Jiang Shi mumbled, “Jiang Lele, shut up…”
Not long after, Jiang Shi felt the chill and rubbed his arms, trying to find something to cover himself with. Soon, his hand touched the quilt next to him, and he gave it a tug.
It didn’t budge.
Frowning, Jiang Shi’s sleeping face still looked fierce as he struggled for three seconds before rolling over into the warm quilt next to him. He even threw a leg over it like an octopus and wrapped himself around the heat source.
Content and satisfied, he smacked his lips in his sleep.
He was dreaming, and in his dream, Xie Xu was there, drying his hair, holding his hand, and catering to his every whim.
However, fans and Jiang Lele were chattering noisily nearby, mocking him as a coward and ridiculing him for only being able to talk big.
In a fit of rage, he pushed Xie Xu’s shoulder against the wall and kissed him—
On the lips.
Then, he tasted something like crayfish, rich and spicy.
Even in the dream, Jiang Shi felt something was off. He wanted to figure it out, so he opened his eyes.
Half-buried in the quilt, he raised his head slightly, his face peeking out, only to see a gray quilt.
Wait a minute. Wasn’t he kissing Xie Xu against a wall? And wasn’t his quilt supposed to be blue?
Jiang Shi felt a wave of confusion as he slowly became aware that he seemed to be hugging something.
He squeezed it gently with his fingers, feeling the unique elasticity of human skin.
Realization hit him, and he looked up—
And met Xie Xu’s peaceful sleeping face.
Jiang Shi’s brain froze for a moment as he slowly, stiffly scanned around the room.
The layout might be similar, but the environment was different.
Jiang Shi: “…”
Can someone explain how he ended up in Xie Xu’s room, sharing a bed for the night?
Puzzled, Jiang Shi suddenly thought of a serious problem.
Did they… do it?
He glanced down at himself. His shirt was tucked securely into his pants, covering him even more thoroughly than usual…
Damn it.
He’s such a coward.
Jiang Shi cursed himself inwardly several times. Here they were, sharing a bed after drinking. Why didn’t they do anything?
Just as Jiang Shi decided to pretend to cuddle Xie Xu to sleep to make up for it, his gaze landed on the hairdryer on the bedside table.
It looked very familiar.
Jiang Shi stared at it for a moment before fragments of memory began to surface in his mind.
A connected group call.
Calling out Xie Xu’s name and ordering him to open the door.
Complaining about how difficult it was to use the hairdryer while wrapping the cord around his arm.
Shamelessly reaching out to touch Xie Xu’s hand, then insisting on switching hand to touch the mole on his other hand because he was unsatisfied.
Damn it. Those unfilial sons actually dared to fool him!
Jiang Shi instinctively wanted to find them and settle the score but suddenly realized something—
Wait, switching hand to touch?
A sentence he blurted out last night echoed in his mind.
“Touched my little bird while peeing.”
“So I couldn’t hold your hand.”
What pee? What bird?
Jiang Shi was petrified on the spot.
What the hell did he do last night?!!
He vaguely remembered Xie Xu giving him a long look after that remark and then rolling him up in the quilt. After that, his memory went blank.
Jiang Shi lowered his head and buried his face in the quilt.
Then, he smelled a warm citrus scent.
It was Xie Xu’s scent.
Sniffing the scent, Jiang Shi resignedly stuck his head out again, pressing his chin against the quilt.
Running away wouldn’t solve the problem.
He tried to calm down and think from Xie Xu’s perspective. If someone had told him something like “I touched my little bird in the bathroom” and refused to hold hands, how would he react?
An answer quickly formed in his mind—
That person didn’t wash their hands after peeing.
Jiang Shi: “…”
‘Kill me now.’
The thing is, he did wash his hands!!! He washed them three times! He just didn’t dare to keep holding Xie Xu’s hand afterward!
All the pretentious reserve he had earlier evaporated with that “little bird” comment, leaving his dignity shattered and flung into outer space.
To make matters worse, his limbs were now draped all over Xie Xu. Especially, his hand gripping Xie Xu’s arm tightly, almost as if tying him up.
Suppressing his embarrassment, Jiang Shi tried to figure out how to escape this awkward situation. In the end, he decided to sneak away first. If Xie Xu asked, he’d just play dumb and pretend he didn’t know anything.
Anyway, Xie Xu had drunk quite a bit too.
Holding his breath, Jiang Shi carefully lifted his hand, slowly removing his limbs from Xie Xu and creeping out of the quilt. Before leaving, he even tucked the quilt back around Xie Xu.
He glanced toward the door and spotted his bear slippers placed neatly next to Xie Xu’s, side by side.
Jiang Shi decided to take the shortcut by stepping over Xie Xu.
Before taking any action, he calculated the distance to avoid stepping on Xie Xu. He decided to stretch his leg a little further.
Just as one leg landed on the other side of Xie Xu, ready to quietly retrieve the other leg, he turned his head—and met Xie Xu’s gaze. At some point, Xie Xu had opened his eyes.
Jiang Shi’s heart skipped a beat. Startled, he lost his balance, and with only one leg on the bed, he toppled toward the floor.
Thankfully, Xie Xu reacted quickly, wrapping an arm around Jiang Shi’s waist and pulling him back. Jiang Shi instinctively braced his hands against the pillow near Xie Xu’s head to steady himself.
The wall slam from his dream had turned into a bed slam in reality. (yes, kabedon)
The soft pillow beneath Jiang Shi’s weight sank slightly. Xie Xu tilted his head to glance at it.
Jiang Shi felt Xie Xu’s gaze land on his hand.
Xie Xu spoke, “Your hand—”
Without thinking, Jiang Shi blurted, “I washed my hands after using the bathroom!”
Xie Xu looked at Jiang Shi, whose face was now bright red, and suppressed a smile. “I meant, your hand is pressing on my hair.”
Jiang Shi: “…”
He scrambled to his feet, quickly tucking his hands behind his back, his entire body radiating awkwardness as he wished he could disappear on the spot.
How could he be so stupid!!!
Xie Xu noticed that Jiang Shi’s blush extended all the way to his neck. His lips moved slightly but he didn’t say anything.
Jiang Shi saw the hesitation in his eyes and gritted his teeth. “Captain, if you have something to say, just say it. I can handle it.”
What other stupid things had he done last night?!
Xie Xu paused for a moment before finally speaking. “Maybe, we can chat about that without this position.”
Jiang Shi blinked, confused. Slowly, he lowered his head and saw that he was sitting on Xie Xu’s body. To be precise, on Xie Xu’s waist.
Jiang Shi: “…”
He wished he could pack his bags and move to another planet.
As Jiang Shi sat there frozen, the awkwardness growing, his toes pressed into the bedsheet as if trying to leave imprints on it. Suddenly, he felt a pair of hands on his waist.
Xie Xu sat up and gently moved him to the side.
Jiang Shi was thin, and with his shirt tucked into his pants, the curve of his waist was even more pronounced. Xie Xu’s hands easily encircled him as he lifted him.
After placing Jiang Shi steadily on the side, Xie Xu stood up. “I’ll go wash up first.”
Now alone in the room, Jiang Shi, finally thawing from his petrified state, looked toward the bathroom. From his angle, he could only see Xie Xu’s back.
Safe!
Jiang Shi leapt off the bed and quickly put on his slippers, yanking his shirt out of his pants to cover his waist.
Being held by Xie Xu just now had made him realize that he looked as thin as a pole. He had no sense of authority whatsoever.
While adjusting his clothes, he opened the door. His phone vibrated in his pocket, but he ignored it, too focused on escaping as fast as possible.
Just as he turned left to head back to his room, he bumped head-on with someone.
Jiang Lele stumbled backward from the impact, rubbing his nose and muttering, “Captain, why are you in such a rush first thing in the morning?”
But when Jiang Lele opened his eyes, his gaze landed on a pair of pink bear slippers.
He froze mid-motion, his hand still on his nose. Slowly, his gaze traveled upward until he met Jiang Shi’s stunned face.
“Little White Hair?” Jiang Lele looked even more shocked than Jiang Shi.
Why was Jiang Shi coming out of Xie Xu’s room? And looking so disheveled, with his pants nearly falling off?!
Meanwhile, Yuan Yang was knocking on Jiang Shi’s door nearby. Hearing the commotion, he frowned. “Jiang Shi’s already up? No wonder he didn’t answer the door.”
“You all really need to stop muting your phones. It’s almost three in the afternoon, and none of you are awake! Do I really have to come wake you up myself?”
After grumbling, Yuan Yang glared at Yu Hui and Zhao Jiu, who were leaning lazily against the wall. “Why can’t you all learn from Xiao Shi!”
Jiang Shi was the most diligent one. He’d probably had a light breakfast of bread and milk and was already training in the practice room by now. That’s why Yuan Yang couldn’t find him.
But as Yuan Yang stepped past Jiang Lele to address Jiang Shi, his expression softened. “Xiao Shi, have you had breakfast—”
The word “yet” got stuck in his throat as his eyes landed on Jiang Shi’s unmistakable bear-print pajamas.
Yuan Yang: “?”
He froze, his gaze slowly shifting to the open door of Xie Xu’s room behind Jiang Shi.
A brief silence followed, and the atmosphere grew strange.
Jiang Shi paused before awkwardly explaining, “I just woke up and went into the wrong room.”
However, his hand was sore from holding up the waistband of his pants, and he couldn’t hold on any longer. Despite the four pairs of shocked and puzzled eyes on him, he couldn’t help but subtly hitch his pants up.
