The old residential complex had no central heating, but there was an air conditioner installed in the main bedroom where Qiao Sheng slept. However, due to its age, it could only cool and not provide warmth.
Even without that limitation, Qiao Sheng would have been reluctant to use it—it consumed too much electricity.
After enduring the cold all day, she returned to her apartment. While the four walls blocked the biting wind, they couldn’t stop the sub-zero air from seeping into every corner like water.
The room felt like an ice cellar. Her hands were stiff as she ate, but a bowl of steaming noodles finally brought a bit of warmth from the inside out.
Still, the quickest way to warm up was undoubtedly a hot shower, right?
Qiao Sheng felt her nose tingling and immediately grew alert—what if she caught a cold? Would the little money she earned even cover the medicine costs?
Without hesitation, she grabbed a change of clothes and hurried into the bathroom.
Amid the faint sound of running water, Gu Huo sat in his room, studying.
Some time later, a phone rang outside.
It was Qiao Sheng’s phone.
Amid the sound of the shower, she probably didn’t hear it.
Even if she had, she couldn’t answer it now.
Gu Huo initially intended to ignore it, but the caller persisted relentlessly. After the first call went unanswered, a second one followed urgently.
When the second call also went unanswered, a third began immediately, as if trying to summon a soul.
Gu Huo: “…”
He rubbed his temples, stood up, and walked out.
The bathroom door was tightly shut, the frosted glass on the upper half covered in a white haze.
On the old-fashioned glass coffee table, the phone buzzed and vibrated, half of it hanging precariously over the edge, looking as if it might fall at any moment.
Hearing his footsteps, Qiao Sheng wiped the water from her face and called out, “Could you check who’s calling for me?”
Gu Huo glanced at the screen and read the caller ID: “Bai Yinyin.”
Bai Yinyin—the original owner’s classmate and so-called best friend.
In Qiao Sheng’s opinion, the word “plastic” should precede “best friend” to make it more fitting.
“Could you answer it for me, please? Thank you.”
For someone not worth getting close to, it was best to gradually distance herself later.
Qiao Sheng was curious about why Bai Yinyin was so persistently trying to reach the original owner.
Gu Huo’s slender index finger lightly swiped across the screen. The moment the call connected, he heard an excited female voice whispering, “She answered, she answered!”
Before Gu Huo could react, the voice on the other end eagerly asked, “Sheng Sheng, why haven’t you arrived yet?”
Gu Huo spoke up: “Hello, I’m sorry, but Qiao Sheng is busy at the moment. If you have something to say, you can tell me, and I’ll pass it along.”
He had put the call on speaker, and in the small space, Qiao Sheng could hear it from the bathroom.
Qiao Sheng heard a brief silence on the other end before the girl’s voice suddenly became hesitant: “Ah? Oh! Well, I… I just wanted to ask, Young Master Zhou’s birthday party has already started. Why hasn’t she… hasn’t she arrived yet?”
Gu Huo replied, “She’s busy and won’t be going.”
“Ah?? Oh, okay, got it. Thank you… Wait, what is she busy with? Too busy to celebrate Young Master Zhou’s birthday?”
Gu Huo frowned slightly.
Saying she was busy and couldn’t attend was just an excuse. Normally, anyone hearing that would end the call and move on.
Why was Qiao Sheng’s classmate so tactless, digging deeper into the matter?
Gu Huo really disliked the shock in her tone, as if Qiao Sheng not going to celebrate that so-called Young Master Zhou’s birthday was some kind of unforgivable sin.
Who did that guy think he was?
Just because he had a few stinking coins, he thought all the girls in the world had to revolve around him?
The sound of a door opening came from the direction of the bathroom.
Qiao Sheng emerged from the steamy bathroom, dressed in thick winter pajamas, her hair loose and damp.
After a hot shower, her hands, feet, and whole body were warm—so comfortable!
Taking a shower was probably the fastest, cheapest, and most effective way for a broke person to relieve fatigue!
Too bad there was no bathtub.
Even just a quick rinse under hot water was so satisfying.
Qiao Sheng couldn’t even imagine how comfortable it would be if there were a big bathtub at home, filled with water, where she could stretch out and lie down.
Gu Huo instinctively turned his head, his gaze sweeping briefly over her flushed little face, reddened by the steam.
His eyes lingered slightly on the water droplets gathered at the tips of her hair. He walked over, handed her the phone, then turned and left.
On the phone, Bai Yinyin was still pressing for a reason.
Qiao Sheng took over the conversation, a bit annoyed: “I’m not going, and that’s that. Why so many questions? Do you have anything else? If not, I’m hanging up!”
Just then, a dry towel suddenly descended from above, landing lightly on Qiao Sheng’s head.
Qiao Sheng looked up gratefully: “Thank you.”
She thought he had gone straight into his room earlier, but he had actually gone to find a dry towel for her.
Gu Huo glanced down at her: “Hurry up and dry off. Do it properly, don’t catch a cold.”
Qiao Sheng obediently replied, “Okay,” feeling secretly delighted.
The male lead was concerned about her.
Their relationship had clearly improved a lot after she gave him the gift. That was great.
With one hand occupied, Qiao Sheng set the phone down, only to realize the call was still connected.
Probably the other person forgot to hang up.
Qiao Sheng casually tapped to end the call.
At the birthday party venue, the dial tone coming through the phone’s speaker snapped Bai Yinyin back to reality.
Her face flushed red, a tingling sensation from a certain voice traveled from her eardrum, swiftly sweeping through her entire body.
Ahhh, the super academic genius’s voice was so nice!
Another day of really disliking Qiao Sheng!
If the whole school held a “Most Hated Girl” ranking, Qiao Sheng would undoubtedly take first place with an overwhelming number of votes.
But aside from being somewhat good-looking, she had a poor family background and poor grades—such a girl, one who seemed to have nothing going for her, hardly qualified as a public enemy among the girls.
The reason she was disliked by everyone was actually very simple.
It was because she could both make the tragic, strong, yet distant super academic genius obey her every whim, and also manage to stay on the radar of the rich, handsome Young Master Zhou every day. Even though everyone laughed at her for being a “simp,” there were so many simps—why was it that Young Master Zhou still showed her “special care”?
Bai Yinyin looked down on her but hypocritically befriended her, all because of her connection to the super academic genius, right?
Lost in her envy and resentment, Bai Yinyin suddenly noticed that the venue had fallen into an eerie silence.
The sole focus of the event, tonight’s birthday boy, currently had a face as dark as the bottom of a pot.
He had been standing nearby and heard everything clearly.
—”Hurry up and dry off, don’t catch a cold.”
—”Okay.”
From this exchange, it wasn’t hard to guess what was happening on the other end.
Qiao Sheng had just come out of the shower, her hair still wet, and Gu Huo had handed her a towel to dry off.
That soft “oh” meant she obediently accepted Gu Huo’s concern—Zhou Zixiao’s hand hanging by her side suddenly clenched tight.
Veins bulged on the back of her hand.
She actually accepted it.
In private, she actually got along with Gu Huo so harmoniously?!