That night, the capital city was hit by a heavy rainstorm.
The ambiguous air that had swirled amidst drunkenness and intoxication was washed clean again. Raindrops speckled the glass windowpanes, and as dawn broke, countless rays of clear light once again spilled through.
Fortunately, it was Saturday today.
Even with a hangover, one could sleep in beautifully.
So Chi Yang indulged herself, curling up in the warm, soft bedding and sleeping soundly without a care in the world.
Unexpectedly, at eight in the morning.
A phone ringtone suddenly blared like a bomber, forcibly rousing Chi Yang from her sweet dreams.
“Mmm…”
Chi Yang frowned and pulled the blanket over her ears.
But the phone kept ringing, so she impatiently lifted her eyelids, reached out to grab the phone, turned on speakerphone, tossed it aside, closed her eyes, and tried to go back to sleep.
“Hello… who is it?”
Chi Yang thought that usually no one really looked for her, so it was probably just some friends. Her voice was lazy and perfunctory, even carrying a hint of irritable morning grogginess.
But she hadn’t expected it.
Su Jinyue’s gentle voice came from the other end, “Er Er, are you and A Ci awake yet?”
The air fell silent for two seconds.
Recognizing the voice on the other end of the line, Chi Yang instantly opened her eyes as if startled, grabbed the phone beside her, and sat up abruptly, “Su A… Mom, Mom!”
It was clear she had just been startled awake.
Su Jinyue chuckled helplessly and dotingly, “It seems I’ve disturbed our Er Er’s sleep-in.”
“No, no…”
Chi Yang rubbed her messy, tousled hair in frustration, “Is there something you need, Mom, calling so early?”
Mother-in-law!
How could it be her mother-in-law’s call!
Chi Yang screamed inwardly. Remembering her earlier morning grumpiness, she wished she could dig a hole and bury herself back in it.
“It’s nothing much.”
Su Jinyue’s voice was filled with laughter, seemingly unbothered by the earlier interruption, “I was just thinking that since it’s the weekend and there’s no work, I could come to Xizi Bay to see you both. You and A Ci should both be home right now, right?”
Xizi Bay!!!
Chi Yang felt her brain jolt suddenly.
She definitely couldn’t be at Xizi Bay!
Chi Yang’s heart instantly leaped into her throat. Her first instinct was to throw off the blanket and run, to rush back to the marital home before her mother-in-law arrived, to avoid exposing any flaws.
But as soon as her bare feet touched the soft woolen carpet, she suddenly realized the decor in front of her was off…
Huh?
Chi Yang blinked in confusion, rubbing her eyes twice in disbelief. When she opened them again, the scene remained the same. Only then did she gradually realize this wasn’t an illusion.
So strange.
Why was she sleeping at Xizi Bay again!
Chi Yang held the phone, bewildered, and stumbled back to the bedside, “Yes, of course we’re at Xizi Bay.”
Su Jinyue glanced at Xie Xiangming beside her.
She seemed somewhat surprised but didn’t show it, though she wasn’t entirely convinced of the truth in Chi Yang’s words.
“That’s good then.”
Su Jinyue blinked, pretending not to know about the couple’s separate living arrangements, “Your dad and I are almost there. Could you open the door for us in about five minutes?”
Five minutes!!!
Chi Yang jumped out of bed again.
She had intended to immediately go to the next room to find Xie Youci, but then she caught a glimpse of the mess in the master bedroom out of the corner of her eye. In a panic, she set the phone aside and frantically began straightening the bed.
Su Jinyue hung up the phone.
Chi Yang’s mind was tangled like a ball of yarn. In an instant, she thought of so many things…
Oh no, oh no!They absolutely must not let their in-laws discover that they sleep in separate beds!
Ahhh!
Where’s the wedding ring! The wedding ring is at Hua Ban Li!
Help, waaa…
Chi Yang was unusually diligent, like a busy little hamster, making the bed at triple speed and rummaging through her personal belongings.
But at this critical moment.
She suddenly thought of a perfect solution!
The moment the light bulb lit up in her brain, Chi Yang didn’t hesitate at all.
She bundled up her few personal items and rushed into Xie Youci’s room, like a bandit, quickly arranging all the daily necessities in pairs.
Then she charged toward Xie Youci’s bed—
Pulled back his blanket and jumped right in!
Meanwhile, Xie Youci was still asleep.
He had kept Chi Yang busy until late last night before finally resting, completely unaware that his parents were about to launch a surprise attack early in the morning.
But in his sleep, something felt strange.
He seemed to hear a lot of weird noises.
As if a little mouse had sneaked in while he was sound asleep, fiddling with the bottles and jars in the room, making constant clattering sounds.
Xie Youci furrowed his brows slightly.
Lazily, he lifted his arm and rested it on his forehead, slowly opening his eyes to see what was going on.
But before he could fully open them, he felt the mattress beside him suddenly bounce, followed by a sweet, refreshing fragrance that stole his breath away.
Xie Youci snapped awake almost instantly.
He opened his eyes abruptly and looked down to meet a pair of clear, innocent eyes. Chi Yang had burrowed into Xie Youci’s blanket, only her head peeking out as she blinked at him.
“Hi!” She waved at him enthusiastically. “Good morning, Mr. Xie! Surprise!”
Xie Youci: “…”
He had clearly just woken from a deep sleep. His sharp, long eyes drooped slightly at the corners, and his deep pupils still held a trace of lingering drowsiness.
“Chi Erer.”
Xie Youci reached out and rubbed the bridge of his nose. “It’s eight o’clock in the morning. What are you up to now?”
“Shh, shh, shh—”
Chi Yang pressed her finger to Xie Youci’s lips, lifting herself up and craning her neck to look toward the window. “Keep your voice down! Don’t let your parents hear you later!”
“Parents?” Xie Youci’s brows knitted together.
“Yeah.” Chi Yang rolled over in the blanket like a rabbit, lying on her stomach before turning her head to look at him. “Didn’t you get the call?”
Xie Youci only felt a sudden chill.
Fortunately, he wasn’t in the habit of sleeping naked, so his clothes were still mostly intact. But when Chi Yang rolled over and opened the blanket, a gust of cold air rushed in, causing his abdomen to tighten reflexively.
Xie Youci’s expression shifted slightly.
A strange sensation surged from his abdomen downward, then abruptly shot up to his brain.
…Damn.
Even though he wasn’t fully awake this early in the morning, something else had beaten him to it.
Xie Youci glanced at Chi Yang with a subtle expression, pulling the blanket back toward himself. “What call?”
“The call from your mom.”
Chi Yang lay in the blanket beside Xie Youci, diligently crumpling the bedsheet with her hands and tousling her hair, reluctantly plucking out a few strands as evidence of having slept there.
“She just called me and said she’s coming over, and she’ll be at Xizi Bay in five minutes!”
Chi Yang rolled back under the blanket.
As she rubbed her head against the pillow, she looked up at him. “I’m fabricating evidence that we slept together in this bedroom last night!”
Xie Youci: “…”He felt his throat tighten slightly. Breathing in the sweet fragrance that Chi Yang stirred up as she tossed and turned, watching her lie on his bed and blink at him, he could only think—
The morning urge was harder to suppress than usual.
Xie Youci hugged the blanket, subtly shifting backward, only for Chi Yang to reach out and press her hand against his lower abdomen.
In that instant.
Xie Youci felt as if lightning had struck his mind, and even his latissimus dorsi muscles tensed up.
Yet Chi Yang remained blissfully unaware of the trouble she had caused. She looked at him curiously and asked, “Why are you moving away?”