Chuzheng came out from there and was still in the hallway.

The flow of time in that place is different from the normal world; being in there for so long was only a few minutes here.

Chuzheng put away the pendant and returned to the small room.

"Have you taken a shower?" Chuzheng asked Xi Jing.

Xi Jing shook his head.

"Go take a shower."

Xi Jing bit his lips, didn’t ask much, took his clothes, and went to take a shower.

When he came out after the shower, Chuzheng was sitting by the bed, opening the box of the phone he had left next to her, fiddling with that phone.

Chuzheng called out to him, "Come here."

"I... need to do laundry."

"Leave it there, come here first."

Xi Jing: "..."

Xi Jing walked over reluctantly.

"Why didn’t you turn on the phone?"

"..." Xi Jing lowered his head, whispered, "It’s too expensive."

Chuzheng handed the phone to him, "I bought it for you, just use it. My life is very valuable."

The phone was the latest model from a popular brand, and Xi Jing had seen it many times in advertisements.

Kids around his age almost all had a phone, but Xi Jing never thought about these things.

Now, with the phone lying in his palm, Xi Jing didn’t dare to move it, afraid of dropping it because he didn’t hold it steadily.

"Give it a try," Chuzheng suggested to him, "If you don’t use it, how will I contact you later?"

"..."

Xi Jing really wanted to argue that he actually had a phone to contact people.

But... that phone was accidentally broken earlier, he planned to get it repaired, but he rescued Chuzheng suddenly, and he hadn’t had time.

Xi Jing couldn’t possibly refuse Chuzheng.

He tried to turn on the phone, there were a lot of icons on the screen that Xi Jing didn’t recognize.

Xi Jing had never used such a phone before, always busy working, without time to pay attention to these things.

So now he looked like an elderly person who just got a smartphone.

Chuzheng reached out to pull him, the young man instinctively backed away.

Chuzheng’s eyes slightly narrowed, "Are you scared of me?"

Xi Jing hurriedly shook his head, nervously explained, "No... no."

"You’re stuttering, aren’t you scared of me?"

"I..."

"I’m not going to eat you," Chuzheng grabbed his wrist, pulling him closer, "don’t be afraid."

Xi Jing: "..."

He wasn’t scared, he was nervous.

Seeing Xi Jing not struggling, Chuzheng took the opportunity to wrap her arm around his waist, pulling him in.

When Xi Jing came to his senses, he was already embraced by Chuzheng, her breath wafting over him continuously, his whole heart was fluttering with no place to settle, and his palms were full of cold sweat.

Chuzheng supported his hand back, using the other hand to guide his hand to tap on the screen.

"This is the address book, here are the messages..."

The girl’s voice was cool and calm, speaking at a steady pace.

She was close, occasionally, Xi Jing could feel her breath as she spoke, carrying a faint elegant cold fragrance, just like her.

Xi Jing’s back was stiff, completely out of state.

Chuzheng talked for a while with no response from Xi Jing, she tilted her head, "Daydreaming?"

Xi Jing snapped back, face flushed, murmuring apologies, "Sorry..."

Chuzheng rested her chin on his shoulder, "Listen well, I’m only teaching you once."

Xi Jing: "..."

Isn’t she a bit too close!

Xi Jing felt like he was about to explode inside, but he didn’t dare to say anything, could only endure.

Trying to ignore the strangeness brought by Chuzheng, Xi Jing seriously listened to her talk.

Chuzheng taught him the basics once, then explained how to use a few essential apps.

Xi Jing wasn’t dumb, he just hadn’t used it before, with Chuzheng explaining once, he understood most of it, just wasn’t very proficient yet.

After finishing teaching, Chuzheng handed over the phone to him, letting him play with it himself.

Xi Jing lowered his head familiarizing himself with the functions.

Chuzheng watched him handling the phone, occasionally reminding him with a few words.

Not sure what kind of body wash Xi Jing used, but there was a faint milky fragrance from him, very pleasant.

After a while, Xi Jing lifted his head, seemingly with great determination, "I... I’m feeling a bit hot, can you let go of me first?"

"Hmm?" Chuzheng touched his back, feeling he was indeed a bit sweaty, so she let him go.

Xi Jing immediately moved to the other side, as if Chuzheng was some kind of virus.

Chuzheng: "..."

Chuzheng got up to wash up, Xi Jing sighed in relief as if a burden was lifted off his shoulders.

-

After washing up, Chuzheng came out, Xi Jing had already made the bed, without saying a word, she got on the bed directly.

Xi Jing put the phone down, fetched water in a basin, and started doing laundry.

Chuzheng left him be, lying in bed thinking about things.

By the time Xi Jing hung up all the clothes to dry, Chuzheng’s mind was already wandering somewhere else.

"I... I’m going to turn off the light, okay?" Xi Jing asked cautiously.

"Okay."

Xi Jing turned off the light, walked to the makeshift bed on the floor, and lay down.

He slightly turned his head, using the light from the window to see Chuzheng’s hand hanging over the edge of the bed.

So beautiful...

Xi Jing whispered, "Good night."

"Good night."

In the dark, Xi Jing slightly curved his lips, clasping his hands at his chest, discovering the feeling of someone saying goodnight.

Xi Jing slept very soundly that night.

In the morning, Xi Jing found himself sleeping on the bed, with a thin blanket covering him. Realizing this, he directly rolled off the bed.

Thud—

Xi Jing’s head hit something next to him.

It hurt so much...

Xi Jing was dazed for a few seconds from the hit, endured the pain, and held his forehead to look at the bed.

It was empty, no one there.

After a while, Xi Jing held his forehead and stood up, placed the blanket back on the bed, and looked around.

The room had only him, Chuzheng was nowhere to be seen, and the things on the floor were tidied up.

Did she leave?

The thought flashed through Xi Jing’s mind, bringing an inexplicable sense of loss and panic, making him stand there blankly, forgetting even the pain on his forehead.

Creak—

The door, unreliable knowing when it would give out, let out a long creak, light from outside slanted inside, landing on the boy.

Xi Jing looked up, seeing Chuzheng entering with a few bags.

She’s still here...

That thought flashed in Xi Jing’s mind, and the previous panic suddenly settled down.

"What are you standing there for?" Chuzheng put the things down, went over to carry him back to the bed.

Xi Jing felt momentarily weightless, instinctively wrapped his arms around Chuzheng’s neck.

His expression changed slightly, just as he was about to retract his hands, Chuzheng had already put him down.

Xi Jing’s heart was pounding fast, he didn’t dare to look at her.

"It’s so cold in the morning, aren’t you afraid of catching a cold?" Chuzheng took the chance to touch his head, glancing at his forehead, "What happened here?"

He was fine when she went out, but how could he get such a big bump when she came back?

"Accidentally ran into it..." the boy’s voice was weak, the blush on his face spreading to his ears.

"..."

I thought you were beaten up!

To be able to bump into something like this at home, that’s really something.

Chuzheng bent over to look at the bump, quickly concluded, "It’s not serious, it’ll be fine in a couple of days."