Lin Xuechun regretted it the moment she stepped into the subway car.
A sea of people.
All of them were parents and students coming to the nearby tutoring centers for the weekend.
Because there were several affiliated middle schools of major universities in the area, it gathered nearly the best teaching resources in all of Jingbei.
So every weekend, this subway line rivaled the morning and evening rush hours on weekdays.
She should have called a cab.
She’d dragged Xi Chenzhou into this suffering with her, and on top of that, he was carrying her bag for her.
Actually, she’d wanted to take the bag back when they passed through security—having him carry it the whole way was already embarrassing enough.
But who knew that after passing through the security check, Xi Chenzhou would naturally take the bag back again.
The crowd kept surging forward from behind, and she couldn’t very well stop and wrestle over a bag with him, so she could only keep moving forward.
Until now, boarding the subway.
Lin Xuechun glanced sideways, tilting her head up slightly. Her line of sight landed on Xi Chenzhou’s prominent Adam’s apple and smooth jawline.
He was tall, one hand gripping the overhead handle, the other holding her bag.
“Classmate Xi, thanks for carrying my bag for so long. Give it to me—I’ll hold it myself.”
“It’s not heavy.”
Xi Chenzhou’s hand holding the bag didn’t move. At that moment, the subway stopped, and the doors slid open on both sides.
A flood of waiting passengers surged in.
“Hey, don’t push! Don’t push!”
“Move to the middle, don’t block the door!”
“God, I’m being squeezed so tight I can barely breathe.”
The car immediately filled with complaints as everyone desperately shoved their way in.
Xi Chenzhou reminded Lin Xuechun, “It’s crowded. Hold on tight.”
“Then… thanks for your trouble.” Lin Xuechun also saw the terrifying flow of people and quickly grabbed the overhead handle.
The next second, her body was suddenly slammed hard to the right by a massive force. Her hand, which had been gripping the handle, slipped off instantly, and she lost her balance entirely, toppling toward Xi Chenzhou.
Xi Chenzhou was also pushed sideways by the crowd, and Lin Xuechun fell right into his chest.
Her cheek pressed against his left chest.
Her arms instinctively lifted, trying to grab something to maintain balance, but her just-opened hands got squeezed by the people beside her, turning into her wrapping both arms around his waist.
People were packed on all sides, front and back. Lin Xuechun couldn’t move at all, forced to press tightly against Xi Chenzhou.
His body heat radiated through the fabric of his hoodie, baking her cheek. She was completely flushed, a wave of heat burning from her cheeks to her ears to her neck.
Her body was stiff, yet every nerve had become incredibly acute.
She could feel the body beneath the fabric—hot, solid, powerful.
The lingering scent of laundry detergent was crisp and pleasant.
It must be an ocean fragrance.
His waist was quite slim too. He really had that broad-shouldered, narrow-waisted build. He probably had abs as well—she wondered what they’d feel like.
Lin Xuechun’s thoughts gradually drifted, and the more she thought, the hotter her cheeks grew.
With a single downward glance, Xi Chenzhou could see the top of her fluffy head. From her ears to her neck, along with the half-exposed shoulder, everything was tinged with a light pink, like petals just blooming on a spring branch.
Two soft mounds pressed against his chest.
Every part of her was soft.
His fingers gripping the handle tightened slightly, and his Adam’s apple rolled subtly.
The subway started moving again.
The car hummed dully, like some enormous vibrating beehive.
Lin Xuechun didn’t dare lift her head or move, just lying against Xi Chenzhou’s chest like a quail.
Until the next stop arrived.
The crowd receded like a tide.
Face red, she let out a soft breath and eagerly stepped back—but the moment she moved, something tugged at her scalp, a fine, sharp pain.
“Hiss—”
She turned her head and found that a few strands of her braid had gotten caught on the zipper of his backpack.
She tilted her head slightly and raised her hand to untangle it.
The more anxious she got, the harder it was to undo. She could only keep her head nestled against his shoulder.
Her cheeks grew even hotter.
She could imagine her entire head looking like a red apple right now.
So embarrassing.
Untangling her hair was awkward—the angle was too uncomfortable. Helplessly, she bit her lip, pinched a bit of Xi Chenzhou’s hoodie fabric between her fingertips, and gave it two little tugs.
“Help me out here.”
Xi Chenzhou looked down at her.
Her little face was flushed red, her lashes fluttering. The fingers pinching his fabric were fair and delicate, even her nail beds tinged pink.
He handed her the bag in his hand: “Hold this for a second.”
Then he lowered his head, reached out, and his fingers caught the few strands of tangled hair, carefully working them free one by one.
His breath fell on her forehead, warm.
“Done.”
His voice dropped from above her head. Lin Xuechun immediately stepped back half a step and reached up to smooth her mussed braid.
“Give it to me.” He extended his hand toward her.
Huh?
Lin Xuechun’s brain was still recovering from the embarrassment, and she looked at him in confusion.
“The bag.” Xi Chenzhou tilted his chin slightly toward her hand.
“Oh. No, I’m fine, I can manage.” Lin Xuechun snapped back to reality, slipped her arm through the strap, and hung the bag over her shoulder.
The moment it was on, she felt an immediate downward pull on her shoulder.
A tote bag with a laptop inside was absolutely dead weight, and those two thin straps were pure torture on the shoulders.
Seeing her insist on carrying it herself, Xi Chenzhou raised an eyebrow. “Hold the handle.”
“Mm-hmm.” Lin Xuechun knew this without him having to say it. She quickly grabbed the overhead handrail with both hands, looking cautious and wary, afraid of being squeezed into his arms again.
Xi Chenzhou watched her, like a startled rabbit, and the corner of his mouth curved slightly.