Chapter 152: Who Wouldn’t Get Thirsty Playing Like This?
The Pirates of the Caribbean movies were really fun to watch. The only problem was that the phone screen was a bit too small.
So Lin Yibai had to lean closer and closer to the person holding the phone, her love rival. Bit by bit, she leaned in until their arms were touching.
Sometimes, people say they’re doing something for one reason. But really, their heart is thinking something else.
That’s how it was with Xia Changyu, his thoughts were starting to drift.
The light scent of the girl beside him surrounded his nose. It made him feel like he was lost in a field of flowers, dizzy and enchanted.
Then a cool breeze blew through, and Lin Yibai suddenly felt cold.
She asked suspiciously, “Hey, hey! Is this one of your tricks again? Did you turn the air conditioner really low on purpose to freeze me, so I’d have to lean on you?”
Xia Changyu wanted to cry and say, “No, I swear I didn’t!”
He already felt super happy with how things were going, why would he pull sneaky tricks now?
Plus, turning the AC that low on purpose would be way too obvious!
He scratched his head and tried to explain, “It’s because there’s a typhoon, so the air’s already really humid. You know that, right? And all the windows are closed, so... I swear I didn’t do anything weird!”
Lin Yibai gave a cold snort and took the AC remote to turn off the central air. But soon, she realized the boy really hadn’t lied.
Why do people say southern China feels hotter, even when the temperature is the same?
It’s because of the humidity.
In the north, if it’s hot, you can just hide in the shade and feel better.
In the south, even if you hide in a basement, you’ll still feel like you’re in a sauna.
To put it simply, humidity holds heat.
Not long after, Lin Yibai started to feel hot and uncomfortable. She was now stuck, too cold with AC, too hot without it.
Beep, beep beep beep~
She turned the AC back on.
Xia Changyu asked, “Didn’t you just say it was cold?”
Lin Yibai rolled her eyes and said with a huff, “Is this how you chase a girl? Always making me look bad on purpose?”
Xia Changyu said, “I didn’t mean it like that.”
When Lin Yibai heard that, she got even more dramatic and teased him.
“Then what did you mean? You were trying to... ah—uh—emmm—sorry! I lost my temper with you.”
She shook her head and felt a bit embarrassed.
Did I really just act like a girl throwing a tantrum?
Did I actually pout and play cute with the boy next to me?
Am I... becoming more girly?
She could feel herself falling deeper and deeper into this feeling.
No, no! I can’t act like a real girlfriend, not yet... because I’m still not officially his girlfriend.
Sigh... sigh!!
Being a man is not easy!
While Lin Yibai was blaming herself, Xia Changyu was feeling nervous too. He thought he had made her upset somehow and sat there a little stiff, trying to behave properly.
If this counted as a date, then it was a very weird kind of date.
She wanted to bring the mood back to how it was earlier. So... what should she do?
If Xia Changyu wasn’t going to play tricks, then she would.
Beep, beep beep beep beep~
Xia Changyu: ???
What’s going on?
The sound of the remote was loud enough for anyone to hear. Even a deaf person could hear all those beeps!
It was early July, mid-summer. But the air in the room was getting colder and colder.
Xia Changyu was full of questions. But he didn’t dare ask her if she was really feeling hot.
Until... the girl pulled a blanket from the sofa and wrapped herself in it.
So she was cold, right?
Then why did she turn the AC so low again?
Was she trying to waste electricity out of spite?
Just as he was wondering, the girl gently poked his side with her elbow and asked.
“Hey, aren’t you cold?”
Xia Changyu, ever the gentleman and used to being modest.
“I’m okay. I think it’s fine.”
Lin Yibai made a meaningful sound. "Ohhh~~~"
Then: "Beep beep beep beep~~~~"
The air conditioner was set to 16°C (about 60°F). It really couldn’t get any colder than that. Xia Changyu's thoughts started spinning. Finally, he came up with a possible answer.
Wait... is she trying to get revenge on me?
The movie on the phone kept playing, and after a little while, the girl asked again.
"Hey, are you cold?"
Cold or not cold? That was the question.
Xia Changyu still didn’t seem to get what was really going on. Trying to act tough, he replied, "I think I’m fine."
Lin Yibai: “Ohhh~~~”
Seriously, Lin Yibai was starting to understand why some girls act the way they do. But at the same time, she felt like she was falling deeper into the trap of becoming too girly.
Clearly, all she had to do was explain things directly. Just say it out loud and be clear. That should be enough, right?
But why was she now acting like a girl, playing guessing games with the boy next to her?
She had already promised herself she wouldn’t fall into this girly behavior trap...
But still... argh!!!
She was acting more and more like a girl, and it was so frustrating!
Also, you stupid love rival, are you dumb?
Would it kill you to just say you're cold?
If you don’t say it, how can I move on to the next step and fix the awkward feeling I created earlier?
So once again, she asked, “Are you cold?”
Xia Changyu finally noticed that something wasn’t right. The girl’s intentions were too obvious now.
After all, who asks the same question three times unless they’re waiting for a certain answer?
Clearly, his first two answers were wrong.
So this time, he replied, “Cold… yeah… it’s kind of cold, but it’s not reall—”
Before he could finish, the girl shot him a sharp look. The first part of the answer was enough! Who told him to keep going and say extra stuff?
But finally, Lin Yibai let out a breath of relief. She opened up part of the blanket she was wrapped in. Turned her head away, and mumbled.
“See? I told you it’s kinda cold. If you don’t mind, we can share the blanket. It’s not like your house has extra ones anyway. The other ones either smell musty or are just unusable.”
Xia Changyu: Oh God!!!
Can I please travel through time?
He wanted to go back to the moment when he said “I’m not cold” the first two times
And beat up his past self.
Because clearly, the right answer was, ‘Yes, I’m cold!’
She really—!!
Xia Changyu, playing the role of the male companion, was on the verge of tears.
She had not only handed him the solution, she had also blocked off all the wrong answers.
If he still managed to mess up, he might as well just apologize and disappear.
Xia Changyu was a little shy, but gave a silly smile and said, “Then… let’s share the blanket, haha… I—I’m not laughing, hahaha… really, I’m not laughing… hehe.”
Lin Yibai opened the blanket a little wider, and pulled her "stupid love rival" under it with her. Then she let out a cute little sigh.
Before long, two heads were sticking out from under the same blanket, watching the movie on the phone together.
They were really close. Not a couple, but closer than most couples.
Lin Yibai was leaning half her body against Xia Changyu. The feeling of his body made her feel a little dizzy and confused.
Strong.
Firm.
Heavy.
Warm.
But she wasn’t the only one feeling overwhelmed. Xia Changyu was feeling it too.
Let’s be honest. They were both young and full of energy. Now they were sitting this close together under one blanket. It was like playing with fire.
Especially since Xia Changyu suddenly remembered, under the girl’s short black-and-white school uniform, she was wearing tight yoga shorts. They even showed the perfect shape of her body…
His mouth was dry, his tongue was dry~~~