Chapter 36

Ruan Nianchu majored in arts in college. After entering the university, she was assigned to a mixed-gender dormitory. Interestingly, except for her, the names of the other three roommates were all in ABB format, named Hu Lailai, Lin Youyou, and Ding Wenwen. With Ruan Nianchu also having the nickname “Nian Nian,” the dormitory supervisor gave them a nickname, calling them the “ABB family.”

The relationship between them was very good.

However, after graduation, with four girls getting married, busy with work, and some immigrating, their contact with each other gradually decreased. After all, the older one gets, the more ties in life and concerns there are, leading to inevitable distance between friends.

But the charm of true friends lies in the fact that no matter how long they haven’t seen each other, a smile can bring back the initial feeling.

Ruan Nianchu was extremely happy.

And Hu Lailai across from her was obviously even more excited.

“Ah! It’s really Nian Nian!” The girl’s exaggerated and high-pitched voice was just like in the old days. Hu Lailai’s big bright eyes looked at Ye Mengchen with her hand under her bottom and said, “I’ve met Nian Nian! Come on, Ye Mengchen, let’s go over there!”

Ye Mengchen’s face was cold, “Do you want me to find a whip for you and whip me directly?”

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“…”, Tw Nykzyk rswvle, zssjkdt yttaklhle, “R oyp oasdt.”

“Eblal olal usw oasdt?”

“R pbswzed’v byhl valyvle usw zkjl y esdjlu vs akel sd.”

Zl Yldtnbld: “…”

Swyd Lkydnbw pwrralpple y zywtb yde tzydnle yv Zl Yldtnbld. Gzvbswtb bl bye y pvlad qynl, vblal oyp y bkdv sq kdewztldnl kd bkp lulp. Tl rwv esod Tw Nykzyk, bwttle bla, yde vbld xyel bkp oyu vbaswtb vbl nasoe vsoyaep vblx.

Mbl qswa sq vblx xlv qynl vs qynl.

Mos sq vblx olal nbyvvkdt dsd-pvsr, obkzl vbl svbla vos bye nsze lmralppksdp yde alxykdle pkzldv.

“Tso nskdnkeldvyz!” Tw Nykzyk tayccle Swyd Lkydnbw’p byde, rzlypydvzu pwarakple, “Pke usw nsxl vs vbl csaela nkvu qsa y vswa vss?”

Ruan Nianchu smiled at her, “No. Our unit is here for a performance tour. I heard this town is famous, so I came to take a look.”

“Soga.” Hu Lailai’s way of speaking was very anime-like. Turning her head, she saw Li Teng, and her eyes lit up, “Nian Nian, who’s this?”

Ruan Nianchu said, “Li Teng, my boyfriend.”

Hu Lailai suddenly realized, waving at Li Teng, “Hello, Mr. Li!”

Li Teng politely smiled, “Hello.”

Ruan Nianchu smiled and looked at Li Teng, introducing him happily, “This is Hu Lailai, my college roommate. We’re very close. And this is Ye Mengchen.”

After the introductions, it was almost noon. The four of them found a small restaurant nearby to eat, sitting down and chatting while eating.

During the meal, Ruan Nianchu inquired about the recent situation of the other two roommates.

Hu Lailai swallowed the food in her mouth and said, “Ding Wenwen went to Canada in her second year after graduation. I heard she’s now involved in international negotiations. Lin Youyou is even busier, a well-known journalist. She spends half of the year doing news and the other half accompanying her husband, Xiaochi. I haven’t seen her for a long time.”

Ruan Nianchu was taken aback and sighed deeply, “I didn’t expect someone as aloof as a mythical figure to be so attached to her husband. Tsk.”

Hu Lailai, with the look of someone who has seen the world, patted her shoulder and said, “Oh, you’re just too young. Since ancient times, aloof people have always been meant to be broken.”

As the conversation fell, Ruan Nianchu bit her chopsticks and squinted at Li Teng, implying something.

However, he remained indifferent and calmly picked up a piece of large beef tendon for her.

Ruan Nianchu blinked, looked at the beef tendon in her bowl, then at him, feeling a little puzzled.

Li Teng said coldly, “Eat more meat. Being too thin isn’t healthy.”

Hu Lailai, who was sitting beside them, witnessed this scene and couldn’t help but lean in close to Ruan Nianchu’s ear, marveling, “Your boyfriend is really good to you. Nowadays, there aren’t many handsome men who are so gentle. You’ve hit the jackpot!”

Is that so?

Ruan Nianchu looked at the beef tendon for a while, hesitating to pick it up with her chopsticks. Why did she always feel like Li Teng just wanted to feed her until she became plump?

She suspected she might be suffering from delusions of being eaten.

After finishing the meal, Hu and Ye couple said they had to leave. There were too many people in Baixi Town, and they had already wandered around in the morning. In the afternoon, they were planning to visit another scenic area.

Hu Lailai reluctantly asked Ruan Nianchu several times to come and visit her in Yuncheng.

After entering society, having experienced the cruelty and treachery of human nature, the friendship from student days became even more precious.

Ruan Nianchu smiled and agreed.

Hu Lailai and Ye Mengchen walked hand in hand, gradually disappearing into the distance. The young woman was like a little magpie, running around noisily, but every time she didn’t run more than half a meter, she would be pulled back by the man and hugged into his arms.

Ruan Nianchu smiled, watching them until they disappeared into the crowd.

Li Teng stood beside her, his gaze falling on her gentle smiling face.

After a moment, Ruan Nianchu suddenly laughed and said, “Before, I often thought that love was too abstract. I didn’t know what it really looked like.” She turned her head to face Li Teng, mysteriously raising a finger, “But now I know.”

Li Teng looked at her crescent-shaped eyes and asked, “Oh? What does it look like?”

That raised finger pointed to the distant crowd. Ruan Nianchu smiled and replied, “It’s like my roommates.”

Hu Lailai’s love story was like a fairy tale. The beginning, the process, and the outcome were not particularly dramatic, but each aspect could ignite a girl’s heart. With a background of childhood friends, a lighthearted and humorous pursuit, and the warmth of family, Ruan Nianchu thought that such love was truly deserving of the saying—when you grow old, you will feel happy when reminiscing.

She told Li Teng this not with any particular purpose, just sighing casually. If it had been someone else, she would have sighed the same way.

And he fell silent for a few seconds after hearing her words.

The next moment, he held her slender white finger, clasping her hand tightly in his palm.

Ruan Nianchu’s eyes flickered slightly.

She realized that since they met seven years ago, no matter how cold Li Teng appeared on the surface, his body temperature was always warm. She didn’t know if this contradiction was inherent in him.

Li Teng stared at her for a while, then let go of her five fingers and intertwined his fingers with hers, holding her hand tightly.

After a moment, he looked away and held her hand tightly, leading her deeper into Baixi Town, his expression indifferent, “Touching your hand won

But Ruan Nianchu felt that she shouldn’t bear the brunt of this foolishness; the leader of the performance troupe should bear it—after finally getting some free time, she ended up spending two-thirds of her weekend here, and she might as well have stayed at the hotel to sleep.

Poor planning.

Moreover, Baixi Town and the surrounding ancient towns near Yuncheng didn’t have much difference; they all had ancient-style buildings, plus vendors selling various tourist souvenirs, leaning towards commercialism.

Ruan Nianchu didn’t feel like walking around after visiting a few places; she was feeling lazy.

Li Teng lowered his eyes, observing the girl squatting on the roadside like an ostrich, with her head drooping, looking listless. He frowned, “Are you not feeling well?”

“I’m fine,” Ruan Nianchu shook her head.

“Then why are you squatting here and not walking?”

She pouted, unintentionally sounding a bit coquettish in her tone, “I’m tired.”

Li Teng disliked women who caused trouble, but when it came to her, he had no temper. After a few seconds of silence, he said, “Choose whether you want to be carried or whether you want to walk.”

Ruan Nianchu was caught off guard by this multiple-choice question and chuckled dryly, “I choose to find a place to have tea.”

In the end, they did find a café to have tea.

The elegant and pleasant decor, the warm sunlight, and the transparent glass ceiling intertwined with wisteria flowers; everything was suitable for sleeping.

So Ruan Nianchu lay down on the sofa in the elegant room, closed her eyes, her expression content.

She fell asleep in no time.

Li Teng glanced at his phone. There were several messages from Yang Zhengfeng in his inbox, all asking about the situation in coded language. He replied expressionlessly: “The snake has left its hole, one male, one female.”

Then he cleared his inbox.

Beside him, Ruan Nianchu had her head resting on the armrest of the sofa, breathing evenly, her sleeping face peaceful. A strand of hair hung down from her ear, resting against her cheek.

He looked at her for a moment, then reached out, tucking that strand of stray hair behind her ear. He then pinched her chin and shook it lightly before closing his eyes to rest.

Outside the transparent glass, the sky, which had been clear for most of the day, suddenly darkened, and a lightning bolt flashed across.

A heavy rainstorm came out of nowhere.

*

Ruan Nianchu woke up at six in the evening. When she woke up, she found herself covered in a man’s coat.

Rubbing her sleepy eyes, she looked at her phone and yawned, “It’s so late already… Let’s go, if we don’t leave now, it’ll be pitch black.”

There was a pot of fruit tea on the table, with two cups beside it. Li Teng picked up one of the cups and took a sip, saying in a flat tone, “I’ve booked two rooms at the inn next door. We’ll stay here tonight.”

Upon hearing this, Ruan Nianchu’s movements halted. She frowned, “…It’s just over a hundred kilometers away; there’s no need to stay here.”

Li Teng said, “There was a heavy rainstorm this afternoon, and there was a landslide on the highway. It’ll be repaired by tomorrow.”

“…Is that true?” Her expression clearly showed a hint of disbelief.

Without a word, Li Teng opened his phone and scrolled a few times before handing it to her. She took a look and saw a news report about a landslide that caused the highway to be closed. The news was sent by “Border Express.”

With solid evidence proving that he hadn’t lied, she rubbed her forehead, finished the fruit tea in her cup, and then followed Li Teng out of the café.

The blue stone road outside was damp from the heavy rain, and the town, washed by the rain, had become deserted, finally revealing some ancient and elegant charm. Ruan Nianchu took out her phone and casually took a photo of the street scene. Saved.

The inn was booked by Li Teng with a phone call.

The receptionist checked the information and gave them two room keys. Room 307 and 315, conveniently separated by a corridor, facing each other.

The two of them took the elevator together.

The elevator had mirrored doors. The reflection showed a man and a woman; the former looked calm, while the latter seemed pensive. Then Ruan Nianchu looked at Li Teng in the mirror and said, “Booking two rooms, I think you’re quite the gentleman about this.”

Li Teng also looked at her in the mirror, his tone flat, “If I weren’t a gentleman, do you think you could still stand here in one piece?”

“…,”

“After entering the room, stay put and don’t wander around. If you really need to go out, let me know,” Li Teng instructed.

“Oh,” they both responded before heading to their respective rooms.

After entering her room, Ruan Nianchu threw herself onto the bed and played around for a while. Suddenly, she remembered that her handbag was still with Li Teng. She had forgotten to take it with her when she left the café, and he had casually helped her carry it.

So she used the hotel’s landline to call him.

After a ring, he answered.

“What’s up?” he asked.

“My bag seems to still be with you,” she said, hesitating whether to go and get it herself or ask him to bring it to her.

Then she heard Li Teng say, “Wait.”

A few minutes later, she heard a knocking on the door, bang bang.

Ruan Nianchu opened the door and took the bag, “Thanks.”

Li Teng glanced around her room without much expression and said, “Check your room yourself to see if there are any issues.”

“What do you mean?” She didn’t understand.

Since Li Teng couldn’t explain it to her, he simply bypassed her and went in directly, checking every corner meticulously—under the table, under the carpet, under the bed… every nook and cranny.

Ruan Nianchu closed the door suspiciously, thought for a moment, and asked him, “Are you afraid of another mishap like that night?”

He didn’t answer, just turned to look at her, pointed, and said, “Check your bed and pillow.”

“Oh.” She nodded obediently, kicked off her slippers, jumped onto the bed, and felt around. Then she stood up on tiptoe and checked the ceiling light.

The mattress was bouncy and soft, and she couldn’t reach the light on the ceiling for quite some time.

She had to jump.

But she misjudged the force of her jump. She stumbled forward and went straight into Li Teng’s back, her face suddenly changing color as she let out a low cry.

Li Teng frowned, turning around in an instant. The girl was like a koala, leaping into his arms.

He instinctively caught her with both hands and steadied her forcefully. But her momentum was too strong, and he was knocked back a few steps, his back hitting the light switch on the wall.

With a click.

The room plunged into darkness.

Instantly, everything fell into a deathly silence.

“…,” Darkness was the most frightening. Ruan Nianchu’s breathing suddenly became a bit rapid, her heart beating fast. She wanted to say something, but when she lifted her head, her forehead brushed against something hard and angular, with rough stubble.

It was Li Teng’s chin.

Her body stiffened abruptly.

After a moment, he rolled his throat lightly, lowered his gaze, and in the darkness, sought out her sweet breath. In a hoarse voice, he murmured, “Ruan Nianchu.”

“Yeah,” she responded, her voice trembling as she remained in his arms.

He pressed his forehead against hers, closed his eyes slightly, and affectionately rubbed against her, “A kiss?”

Ruan Nianchu’s face blushed slightly, “No.”

“I’ll take that as a yes.” Li Teng smiled faintly, found her lips, and kissed her deeply.

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