Wen Chu: “!!!”
In a flash, the memory suddenly returned.
That night, outside the dormitory building, because she had been embarrassed and affected by the couples around them, she had said they could hug next time.
She had thought the male lead would understand that she had only said it out of politeness.
After all, neither of them had mentioned it again afterward, and she herself had long since thrown the matter to the back of her mind.
She never expected him to bring it up again today.
“Then… one hug?”
Wen Chu thought about it.
It was just a hug anyway.
They had already hugged once.
It wasn’t a kiss.
And this time, they weren’t outside the girls’ dormitory.
There were only the two of them here.
Besides, they were technically boyfriend and girlfriend.
So a hug should be fine, right?
Xi Liye’s eyes darkened.
He released the hand holding her wrist, but did not move away.
“Mm.”
He answered softly.
His voice sounded lower than before.
Then he unfastened his seatbelt and leaned slightly toward her.
Wen Chu felt Xi Liye’s arm reach out and gently circle around her shoulders.
Her body instantly went tense.
Every sense in her body focused on the place where they touched.
Because she had not yet put on her coat, this hug felt more intimate than the last one.
She could feel his scent, his body warmth, and the faint vibration of his heartbeat as his chest drew close.
His chin seemed to brush lightly against the top of her head, bringing a slight ticklish sensation.
The hug was not tight.
It could even be called restrained.
Only after an unknown amount of time did Xi Liye slowly loosen his arms and pull away slightly.
“Alright. Go back and rest early.”
His hand itched slightly, so he gently patted the top of Wen Chu’s head.
As if granted amnesty, Wen Chu hurriedly grabbed her coat, put it on, and fumbled to open the car door.
“Goodbye.”
After leaving those words behind, she got out of the car and quickly walked toward the school gate.
Only after her figure disappeared through the gate did Xi Liye slowly withdraw his gaze.
His fingertips still seemed to retain the feeling of touching the fabric over her shoulders and back.
The faint citrus scent in her hair seemed to linger at the tip of his nose.
He lowered his head and checked his phone.
The hug just now had lasted five minutes.
“Next time,” he murmured softly, light flowing through his eyes, “maybe I can try… a little longer.”
The car drove into the night, heading toward his apartment.
Meanwhile, Wen Chu, who had escaped back to the dormitory, lay in bed and stared blankly at the ceiling.
Her heart was still pounding wildly.
The heat on her cheeks had not faded for a long time.
Her mind kept replaying that restrained yet overwhelming hug.
And the clean, pleasant scent on him when he drew close.
Breakup plans.
Affection bombing.
At that moment, all of it seemed distant and unreal.
…
In the following days, Wen Chu was often dragged to Xi Liye’s apartment and forced to study for CET-4.
Two hundred words a day was still far too advanced for her.
Her brain was clearly more suited for understanding concepts.
Anything that required pure memorization simply refused to enter her head.
Another day passed.
After finally finishing another demonic tutoring session, she collapsed on the sofa.
“Two more days. I’ll finally be free.”
She muttered weakly.
Two days later was the CET-4 exam.
These past few days, her roommates had also been in the critical stage of preparing for CET-4 and CET-6.
Unlike Wen Chu, however, they were taking CET-6.
It wasn’t that Wen Chu hadn’t thought of asking them for help.
But according to Li Yue:
“Isn’t CET-4 something anyone with hands can pass?”
Huada was one of the top universities in the country.
Anyone who got in should have decent English scores.
Surely no one would be unable to pass CET-4, right?
Wen Chu, who had relied entirely on other subjects to drag her college entrance exam score upward: “…”
Even the original owner’s English score in the college entrance exam had been better than hers.
Lying on the sofa, Wen Chu’s thoughts drifted.
She secretly glanced at Xi Liye, who was sitting in the single sofa beside her, lowering his head to read a medical journal.
The warm yellow light outlined the sharp contours of his profile.
His long lashes were lowered.
His expression was focused and calm.
Without experiencing it personally, who would have thought that this cold, distant, outstanding medical genius would become such an iron-fisted tyrant when tutoring someone in English?
As if sensing her gaze, Xi Liye lifted his eyes.
His gaze caught hers precisely.
“Rested enough?”
He closed the journal, his voice calm and even.
“There’s still one listening simulation paper. Finish it today.”
Wen Chu: “…”
She let out a cry of despair and buried her face into the throw pillow.
Xi Liye watched her ostrich-like behavior.
The corners of his lips curved slightly.
“Only two days left.”
He stood and walked in front of her, looking down from above.
“Hold on a little longer.”
Wen Chu lifted half her face from the pillow, feeling uncertain.
“Teacher Xi, what if I still don’t pass?”
She even made an ill-timed joke, trying to hide her nervousness.
“Would that count as damaging Teacher Xi’s reputation? Someone you tutored couldn’t even pass CET-4. If word got out, it would sound terrible.”
Xi Liye looked down at her hopeless expression.
He bent slightly and reached out, using the knuckle of his index finger to lightly tap her exposed forehead.
Wen Chu let out an “ow” and covered her forehead, looking up at him in surprise.
Xi Liye withdrew his hand and straightened.
“Do your best on the exam. After it’s over, there will be a reward.”
Wen Chu was surprised.
“There’s a reward just for finishing the exam? Not only if I pass?”
Xi Liye smiled faintly.
His voice carried a trace of indulgence.
“I didn’t say it wrong. As long as you hold on until the exam is over, there will be a reward.”
Wen Chu immediately pushed her luck.
Lying on the sofa, she looked at him with bright eyes.
“Then if I pass, will there be another reward too?”
“Mm.”
Xi Liye responded.
His gaze swept across her suddenly lively face.
“The condition is that you take the exam seriously.”
“I’ll definitely take it seriously!”
Wen Chu immediately declared.
Her voice sounded a little more confident than before.
Although she didn’t know what the reward was…
Having one was better than having none.
And since it was a reward from Xi Liye, it must be something good.
“Then…”
Curious, she asked cautiously,
“What is the reward?”
Xi Liye looked at her.
She looked exactly like a small animal waiting to be fed.
A hint of amusement flashed through his eyes.
He did not answer directly.
Instead, he tilted his head slightly and asked,
“Guess?”
His tone was calm, almost like an ordinary question.
But those two words, paired with his deep gaze and slightly rising intonation, somehow carried a teasing quality.
Wen Chu: “…?”
“I… I can’t guess.”
She admitted honestly.
But she couldn’t resist testing him.
“Is it… something delicious? Or something fun?”
She counted on her fingers.
“Or maybe an accessory?”
Wen Chu remembered the bracelet from last time.
“Look, I’m still wearing the bracelet you gave me!”
She shook the little cat bracelet on her wrist.
The unspoken meaning was clear:
She would treasure his gifts properly.
So hurry up and tell her what the reward was!
Xi Liye’s gaze followed her movement and landed on her gently swaying wrist.
That bracelet truly suited her.
It made her wrist look even more slender and fair.
The little cat outline flickered in and out of sight as it moved.
Just like the occasional expression she showed—
A little sly.
A little timid.
Seeing her eager reaction, Xi Liye stopped teasing her too much, but still did not give her a clear answer.
“After the exam, you’ll know.”
Until the end, Wen Chu still failed to pry the reward out of Xi Liye’s mouth.
Instead, because Xi Liye saw that her condition had recovered well, he added another test paper for her.