After dark, the two of them ate dinner together, and only then did Su Wanying return home.
After Su Wanying left, Zhou Xiaowen emerged from her bedroom with a yawn. She had been hiding there, too afraid to come out, and now angrily complained to Xu Honglei:
“Boss, you’re seriously not human! Don’t you have any sense of public decency? Are you going to let people sleep or not? I still have to work the Night Shift tonight!
You really know how to wear someone out. Doing it once or twice would have been fine, but you kept at it so long that I was too embarrassed to come out and use the bathroom. You really are a beast!”
Xu Honglei’s face was full of amusement, but he deliberately spoke in a solemn, earnest tone. “Now you know how dangerous that night was, right? Now you understand why I made you fasten the Door Bolt to your Bedroom at night, right?”
At this, Zhou Xiaowen crossed her arms over her chest and stared warily at Xu Honglei, taking an involuntary half-step backward.
Xu Honglei yawned and said lazily, “Relax. Nothing will happen today. I’ve eaten and drunk my fill, and I’m in sage mode now.”
“Really?”
“It couldn’t be more true. Think of me as a sugarcane stalk drained of all its moisture. It still looks the same on the outside, but inside it’s nothing but bagasse!”
Zhou Xiaowen covered her mouth and giggled. Her gaze at Xu Honglei was complicated—partly timid, yet also curious, like a child’s.
A Young girl in Adolescence is naturally curious about matters between men and women. Otherwise, conversations in University student dormitories would not be so explosive.
After a moment’s hesitation, Zhou Xiaowen finally asked again, “Boss, are you sure you didn’t do anything to me that night?”
Xu Honglei smiled helplessly. “Use today’s situation as a reference. If I had done anything to you that night, I would have kept you occupied until dawn. You couldn’t have slept through it.”
With a mischievous grin, he asked, “What, do you want to find out what it feels like when I keep you occupied from night until dawn?”
Zhou Xiaowen fled to her room like a startled rabbit. She cautiously poked her head out and grinned at Xu Honglei. “I think I’ll pass. Wouldn’t you wear me to death?”
Then she put on a disdainful look and said to Xu Honglei with some disgust, “Boss, why do I feel like you’re even worse than the Production Supervisor at my former factory?
Did I escape the tiger’s jaws only to fall into the wolf’s den?”
Xu Honglei laughed heartily. “Of course. What man isn’t a Wolfish Pervert? Besides, I’m a young man Full of Vigor. Maybe one day I’ll lose control and devour you in a single bite.”
Zhou Xiaowen produced a fruit knife from somewhere and waved it at Xu Honglei, baring her teeth. “Then I’ll cripple you first, scream for help outside, and have the police take you away to Go to Prison!”
“Hey, hey, hey! It’s normal for a man to feel desire toward a woman. If you’re unwilling, refuse. There’s no need to be so ruthless!”
Zhou Xiaowen still looked fierce, but a hint of smugness showed in her expression as she said, “When you’re away from home, you have to be ruthless with foul men like you. Otherwise, you men will keep pushing your limits.”
“That’s true!” Xu Honglei nodded in agreement.
Xu Honglei’s words surprised Zhou Xiaowen. After looking him up and down, she asked tentatively, “Hey, Boss, from the conversation between you two, it sounded as if that woman has a boyfriend!”
“Yes. So what?”
“What you’re doing is immoral!”
“But I have needs, and you know they’re strong. I’m afraid of catching a disease at those entertainment venues, so I have to make do for now.”
“You could date a girlfriend properly. Why do you have to steal someone else’s?”
“No woman would have me!” Xu Honglei spread his hands and put on a helpless expression. Then he grinned and asked, “Would you be my girlfriend?”
“I wouldn’t!” Zhou Xiaowen shook her head like a rattle drum.
Xu Honglei put on another helpless expression, shook his head, and sighed. “See? Even a Migrant Worker from out of town like you looks down on me. What hope could I have? I guess I’ll have to Remain a Bachelor for the rest of my life.
Having a girl willing to keep me company and satisfy my needs already leaves me content. How could I hope for anything more?”
Zhou Xiaowen shook her head again and said, her tone tinged with apology, “That’s not it. It’s not like that. Your circumstances are good.
You have your own house and career in Huhai City. As long as you treat a girl sincerely, a girl will want to be with you. I’m telling the truth!”
Xu Honglei could tell that Zhou Xiaowen was an innocent, kind girl. Still, he could not resist teasing her, so he sighed and shook his head again.
“Impossible. Don’t bother comforting me. I know no woman will ever like me. I’ve accepted my fate. I can only steal someone else’s girlfriend from time to time and make do with her.”
Zhou Xiaowen grew anxious and said softly, “Boss, you can’t give up on yourself like this. You’re excellent—I’m telling the truth. If necessary, I can introduce you to a Fellow Villager someday. But you have to treat her well.”
Suppressing his laughter, Xu Honglei shook his head again. “I still don’t think that sounds reliable. Even you don’t like me, so why would your fellow villager?”
“Maybe she would only be playing around with me. Rather than risk getting hurt, I’d be better off stealing other people’s girlfriends. At least then I wouldn’t get hurt.”
“Boss, I... I can’t. I really can’t. I... I have a Romantic Partner back in my Hometown. Once we can Register a marriage in two years, we’re going to get married!” Zhou Xiaowen’s voice grew softer with each word until embarrassment overcame her.
Xu Honglei was not surprised that Zhou Xiaowen had a romantic partner.
Men weren’t blind; they all liked beautiful girls. A beauty like Zhou Xiaowen could qualify as a Campus Beauty anywhere on Facial attractiveness alone, to say nothing of her devilishly alluring figure. Men pursuing her would be everywhere.
However, Xu Honglei did not care whether Zhou Xiaowen had a romantic partner or not. What he cared about was reality and the present.
At present, he simply wanted to tease Zhou Xiaowen on purpose.
So he sighed again and said in a sorrowful tone, “When all is said and done, you still look down on me, don’t you? If you liked me, you would dump your Romantic Partner and become my girlfriend.”
Zhou Xiaowen bit her lip lightly and rolled her eyes at him without saying anything. She closed her Bedroom door, fastened the Door Bolt, and hid inside, refusing to come out.