Thinking of Chen Jinshan’s double-entendre about not having “slept enough,” Zhou Xiaqing disdains to engage with him; she cannot even be bothered to lift her head.
Chen Jinshan sends another message: “Turn around, go left. I have a seat here.”
Zhou Xiaqing remains expressionless. Her fingers move, and she swipes his message away.
Chen Jinshan: “Hurry! Up! And! Come! Over!”
Zhou Xiaqing still acts as if she sees nothing.
Perhaps stimulated by her indifference, or perhaps because he is losing face, he starts bombarding her with messages:
“Zhou Xiaqing, don’t play dumb! I know you saw it!”
“What’s with the silent treatment?”
“Don’t kick me to the curb now that you’ve gotten what you wanted!”
“You put your clothes back on and now you’re pretending not to know me?”
“Has your conscience been eaten by a dog?”
“You were the one who took my first time.”
Zhou Xiaqing gives the messages a rough glance. When she sees the last line—a melodramatic line frequently seen in old-fashioned, cheesy soap operas—she feels a buzzing in her head, and goosebumps erupt all over her.
Zhou Xiaqing frowns, her face filled with disgust: “What nonsense are you spouting? Can you talk like a normal person?”
Chen Jinshan is calm for half a second: “Sure.”
The next second: “Come over.”
Zhou Xiaqing has no choice but to turn around and head to the left. She sees Chen Jinshan sitting by the carriage door on the other side, sitting upright and staring at her, motionless.
Once she reaches him, he stands up briskly. “Sit down.”
There are people everywhere, and she doesn’t want to engage in a scene-making argument with him, so she simply sits down to be done with it.
Zhou Xiaqing looks down at her phone. Chen Jinshan stands in front of her, his large hand gripping the handle above, his eyes looking toward the buildings lining the windows.
Yet his gaze shifts downward from time to time, landing on her refined face.
The scenes from early this morning surface in his mind periodically.
He unbuttoned her pajamas, kissed her, touched her, coaxed her, and held her.
And… fucked her.
Although this was his first experience, it seems men have a self-taught ability for these things. He led her through several positions, watched her cry, listened to her cries, and kissed her. Everything felt like a dream.
After the last time, she wrapped her arms around his neck, rested her head on his shoulder, closed her eyes, and whispered, “I’m so sleepy,” like a lazy cat.
Her soft, boneless body was glistening with a faint layer of sweat. Her cold, pretty face was flushed with pink. When she lifted her eyes, they were clouded and pitiable, and even her occasional expressions of feigned anger were exquisite and beautiful.
He could not help himself and leaned down to kiss her deeply.
His heart started racing. He was really going crazy.
He needs to think about the hair on Gao Zhiyang’s legs to calm down.
Zhou Xiaqing, who has been looking down at her phone, always feels uncomfortable, as if a sharp gaze is resting on her.
She looks up. Chen Jinshan, standing in front of her, is looking out the window, looking somehow lifeless.
He isn’t looking at her.
Perhaps it’s a bit hot, so he has taken off his jacket and placed it on his bag. Underneath, he is wearing a plain white tank top paired with slightly loose, washed jeans, which is unexpectedly trendy.
His exposed arms have defined lines; the muscles are thin and firm. His proportions are also excellent, with broad shoulders and a narrow waist. His skin, inherited from his mother, is naturally very fair, with his elbows and knuckles tinged with a faint pink, which looks quite cute.
Setting aside all the past entanglements, objectively speaking, this person’s face and body are indeed quite pleasing to the eye.
The only drawback is…
“Looking at what? Do you like me?” Chen Jinshan looks at her as well, his mouth moving, though no sound comes out.
Faced with his provocation, Zhou Xiaqing replies laconically with a silent “vomit” gesture.
She lowers her head and silently completes the second half of that sentence in her heart—
He is just too annoying.
Finally, they arrive at the station.
The four of them get off the subway and follow the massive crowd toward the entrance.
What follows is a long wait for security check. After finally getting inside and checking the waiting times for each park on her phone, they see that they are all at least fifty minutes, with some as long as an hour and a half.
They decisively abandon their original plan and walk straight to the nearest park to line up.
The queue is like a long dragon with no end in sight. Fortunately, Gao Zhiyang is a chatterbox and occasionally makes a dry joke to liven up the atmosphere. Plus, the actual waiting time is much faster than the app suggests, so they don’t find the wait too boring or tedious.
Lining up in front of them are several fashionable local male college students. The four of them are laughing and chatting, creating a great atmosphere. They are tall, and their looks are handsome in their own unique ways; they are clearly the type who are very popular in school.
Xu Ling gives a sharp critique: “You can see all types of handsome guys in this country, everywhere except on the screen or in host clubs.”
Just as she finishes her comment, one of the handsome guys turns sideways, wearing the polite smile unique to locals, and asks something in the local language.
Xu Ling shakes her head to indicate she doesn’t understand, so he switches to English with a slight accent: “Are you models?”
They do look quite like models—one is 175cm and the other 176cm, with beautiful faces and slim figures, but without being awkwardly thin; they are well-proportioned with excellent ratios.
“No,” Xu Ling says. “We’re just college students.”
“You look like one.”
“You too.”
They chat a bit more. Just as they are both taking out their phones to open Instagram to follow each other, Gao Zhiyang’s face darkens a degree.
Zhou Xiaqing is amused by his expression, but since she cannot laugh too obviously, she presses her lips together hard to calm down and suppress her laughter.
At that moment, the second handsome guy also takes out his phone and leans a little closer in her direction.
Suddenly, her braid moves.
Chen Jinshan, standing behind her, reaches out and moves the braid from one side of her shoulder to the front of her chest.
He doesn’t say a word; his movements are natural, and his expression remains flat, without much fluctuation.
The second handsome guy is clearly stunned for a moment, then nods politely at them with a smile and puts his phone away.
After waiting for another ten minutes, they finally get on the roller coaster.
The four of them are assigned to the last row. Zhou Xiaqing has never been on a roller coaster before. As it slowly begins to move, she feels more excitement and thrill at the unknown than nervousness.
Accompanied by the melody of a classic, upbeat song, Zhou Xiaqing experiences a sense of weightlessness and fishtailing like never before; her body is flying in front, while her soul is chasing behind.
Many people in front have their hands raised. Chen Jinshan, sitting next to her, had told her to raise her hands before they got on, saying it would alleviate the sensation of weightlessness, but she was so scared that she gripped the handle tightly, not daring to let go.
After getting off, she is pale and shaken, her stomach churning; she nearly throws up.
They find the nearest restaurant to rest. Zhou Xiaqing drinks some mineral water and rests for a long while, but she still feels dizzy and nauseated.
They had waited a long time to get in, and the tickets were quite expensive, so she feels embarrassed to keep them waiting. She tells them to go play the attractions first while she rests in the restaurant.
As one of the top ten good roommates who moved China, Xu Ling naturally cannot abandon her. After shooing the two boys away, she buys a drink and stays to rest with her.