“Why aren’t you playing?”
Su Niansheng looked up in confusion. Shen Junxi immediately averted his gaze, guiltily picking up the harmonica.
Haha~
Why did he act like a thief?
On the lake, the light and cheerful notes plucked from the four-string ukulele blended with the unique, melodious tune flowing from the Suzuki harmonica. The melody was beautiful and harmonious, effortlessly evoking memories of childhood summers.
Su Niansheng stared straight at him, originally intending to supervise the little thief’s laziness, but as she watched, she became somewhat lost in thought.
At the bow of the boat, the boy held the black-and-gold harmonica in one hand, playing with focused and earnest concentration. His short, tousled hair was gently ruffled by the evening breeze, casting a faint shadow over his eyelids.
In the interplay of light and shadow, his brow bone was deep and prominent, his features refined and three-dimensional, making him unbelievably handsome. She could almost believe he was a lake spirit in disguise.
In the blink of an eye, both she and Shen Junxi had grown up.
He seemed different from when he was a child, but she couldn’t quite pinpoint exactly how. He was just different, that’s all.
The small boat drifted unknowingly to the center of the lake. Shen Junxi watched the rippling waves, hoping it would never stop.
Carrying him and Sheng Sheng, drifting from childhood to adulthood, and then together from adulthood into old age.
Just drifting on and on like this forever.
“Why did you stop living on campus?”
“It’s a long story.” Su Niansheng paused her playing with a sigh, as if remembering something, and looked at him. “But what about you? I heard you’ve been insisting on living on campus?”
Shen Junxi’s expression stiffened slightly. “Have I? I didn’t know that.”
“Yes, Aunt Huahua and Uncle Li said so themselves. Don’t even think about denying it!”
“Alright, even if I did, I’ve given up on that idea now.”
“Why?”
Su Niansheng was curious. Seeing her eager expression, Shen Junxi couldn’t help but narrow his deep, long eyes. “What, Su Xiaosheng, are you hoping I’ll live on campus so you can take over my big room?”
“Alright, Shen Xiaoxi, you’re being suspicious of me again!”
“I have to be cautious. You’re so charming, you’ve won my mom over so completely she practically wants to adopt you as her goddaughter. What if you whisper something in her ear and she abandons her own son? What then?”
“Hehe, that’s true. With me around, I guarantee you’ll be kicked out of the family!”
The corners of Shen Junxi’s eyes lifted. “Then I’ll have to cling to you for the rest of my life.”
“You can cling to me, sure!” She suddenly leaned in with a mysterious expression. “But before that, can you help me with something?”
“With what?”
“I want to go home, but you know how strained things were with my family before. If I just go back like this, they definitely won’t forgive me. I need to show some sincerity, so you have to help me. If you don’t, I’ll have no choice but to keep clinging to your family and plotting to take over your inheritance!”
Helping her was something Shen Junxi didn’t even need to think about, but hearing the latter part, he froze.
The temptation of ‘keep clinging to your family’ was too great—so great that it stirred a selfish desire in him to keep her, to keep her for a lifetime. Yet, he also wanted her to achieve her wishes, to have everything she wanted, free from any worries.
“How do you want me to help? Go to the Su family and plead on your behalf?”
“Nonono!” Su Niansheng shook her finger. “My uncle is handling that. I just need you to help me with my credit issue. The semester is almost over, and I’m still far from meeting the requirements. If I fail and it affects my graduation, how could I ever face going back?”
Especially after the “Reading Room Assignment” incident last time, she directly left the group chat, lost the credits for the elective course “Craftsmanship Spirit and Specialized Practice,” and was even more short on credits.
“Aren’t you currently taking ‘Economic Thinking’? I heard this course offers a lot of extra credits, but it’s super competitive. Everyone fights for it but can’t get in—there’s a threshold. You’re Professor Feng Shuping’s most prized student. If you step in, he’d definitely be willing to add an extra spot!”
She rambled on, and Shen Junxi’s brows gradually relaxed with a hint of delight. He had thought her eyes and heart were only on Shi Yubai before, but it turned out she was also paying attention to his movements.
“I could, but what’s in it for me?”
“?”
Su Niansheng caught the blatant blackmail in his words, paused for a moment, then put down her ukulele and sat beside him.
Pitifully, she extended her small hand, gently tugging at the hem of his clothes and swaying it. Her cherry-pink lips were slightly bitten, her seductive eyelashes blinked innocently, and a pair of clear eyes shimmered like autumn water, reflecting his figure entirely.
“Brother Jun~”
As soon as she tugged at his clothes and rubbed against him lightly, an electric current shot through his skin straight to his heart, leaving him tingling all over. Not to mention that coquettish, melodious call of “brother,” which forced Shen Junxi to suck in a sharp breath, “Hiss—”
But before he could react, the girl unleashed another smooth series of coquettish moves.
“Please~? I’m begging you~? Pretty please, you’re the best!”
Her voice was soul-stirring, seductive to the bone.
Shen Junxi gritted his teeth hard, turning his head away. His handsome face twisted slightly with unbearable tension.
Damn, this is really killing me!
“Who taught you this?”
“Never mind that, just say yes or no?”
As she spoke, she leaned even closer.
A wisp of fragrance drifted into his nostrils, like a mind-numbing poison, leaving Shen Junxi utterly devoid of reason.
At this moment, forget about just a course—even if she asked for his life, he’d give it.
But he couldn’t bear to let this sweet torment vanish in an instant, so he resisted with all his willpower. “Don’t pull this trick on me, I’m not buying it.”
He’s not buying it?
His voice was trembling, his smile almost reaching his ears, and he’s telling her he’s not buying it?
Watching her, who had always been domineering since childhood, now forced to humble herself, he must be feeling ecstatic inside, right?
Su Niansheng ignored it and continued her efforts.
Shen Junxi was indeed feeling incredibly, overwhelmingly good—so good he could hardly stand it.
If she kept calling him like this, he was going to get…
What nineteen-year-old young man, full of vigor, could withstand such excessive teasing from the girl he loved? Especially now, under the cover of darkness, with just the two of them alone. If he lost control in a moment of impulse and turned into a beast, recklessly taking her… the consequences would be irreversible.
He couldn’t hold on any longer and was about to relent and agree.
But the girl’s patience had run out. Frowning, she threatened him fiercely, “Shen Xiaoxi, are you going to agree or not? If you don’t, I’ll… I’ll jump off this boat!”
As she spoke, she walked to the narrow bow of the boat.
Shen Junxi watched her slender, graceful figure swaying unsteadily for a while before finally snapping out of it and chuckling softly. “Su Xiaosheng, you went to all this trouble just to get me to give you mouth-to-mouth resuscitation?”
“Ew~” Su Niansheng shuddered at the mention of mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. “You’re disgusting!”
“If you know it’s disgusting, why don’t you come down already?”
Huh?
The girl caught a fleeting glimpse of worry in his eyes and immediately puffed up with triumph, as if she had seized some leverage. She planted her hands on her hips and declared, “No! I’m going to jump anyway. I want you to feel guilty, to regret this, to lose your childhood sweetheart forever!”