NOVPUBThe three took a taxi back to the complex where Shen Mochen had lived before. Leading the way upstairs, he retrieved a key from the grilling outside the bathroom window and unlocked the door on the right.
"Wow, it's quite tidy!" exclaimed Xia Yusi, looking around in surprise. She had imagined Shen Mochen's place would be messier living by himself.
Xia Qingrou also curiously surveyed Shen Mochen's room, sniffing the air and detecting a familiar scent.
"This isn't my place; it's Yuncui's," Shen Mochen said with a smile. "Yuncui isn't home tonight, so you and Qingrou can sleep here for now. I've already texted her, and she agreed."
"So, this is Yuncui's house, no wonder..." Xia Qingrou mumbled under her breath, feeling more at ease. She took off her shoes and flopped down on the sofa.
It made sense now why Shen Mochen invited her over; staying at Yuncui's place posed no problem at all!
"What about you? Where will you sleep?" Xia Yusi asked.
"My house is right across the hallway," Shen Mochen replied with a chuckle. "If you need anything, just come and find me."
"Ah, I see..." Xia Yusi smiled and nodded, a hint of something unspoken flickering in her eyes, "Are you sure you won't come and sleep with us?"
"Haha, I won't disturb you two. It seems like Qingrou hasn't seen you for a while; you must have a lot to talk about."
Smiling, Shen Mochen left the room and gently closed the door behind him.
"Your boyfriend must be double-dealing!" As soon as Shen Mochen left, Xia Yusi scooted next to Xia Qingrou, sowing discord. "Look, we're here for a rare visit, and he's not even inviting us to his place! There must be something fishy!"
"Not at all, I trust him..."
Xia Qingrou understood Xia Yusi's intentions and was determined not to let her have her way.
Xia Yusi persisted, "You can know someone's face but not their heart. Oh, little Qingrou, even if I let it pass, the fact that he doesn't let you into his place means this guy definitely is a scumbag! Listen to your sister's advice, you can't handle a playboy like him. Why not leave him to me? I can handle him!"
Xia Qingrou waved her hand impatiently without speaking, but before she could say anything, the door opened again. Shen Mochen walked back in, this time holding a set of keys.
"Qingrou, this is the key to my place, keep it safe," he said, crouching slightly as he held out the key to Xia Qingrou.
Xia Qingrou was taken aback for a moment, then broke into a radiant smile that could dazzle the cities of Huoyang and charm the town of Xiaocai.
"Alright then, I'll take it."
Her eyes glittered brighter than the stars, and her glance at Xia Yusi was full of triumph, a smile unmasked in her eyes and brows.
"Well, I'm going home then. If you need anything, just come over," Shen Mochen said softly.
"Wait a moment."
Xia Qingrou called to Shen Mochen, standing up and giving him a gentle kiss on the corner of his mouth, her cheeks flushing as she whispered, "Goodnight."
"Mhm, goodnight," replied Shen Mochen, planting a kiss on Xia Qingrou's forehead, seemingly oblivious to any onlookers.
Back at his own place, Shen Mochen let out a small sigh of relief. He looked around with a hint of nostalgia; it had only been about ten days since he left, but it felt like much longer.
He passed through the living room with light footsteps, everything remaining unchanged. There wasn't a speck of dust on the furniture, which was impossible unless someone had been regularly cleaning while he was away.
Shen Mochen opened the refrigerator, inside were ready-made meals covered with cling film, and there was a note by the side.
"Little Mochen, if you come back on the first day, you can heat up these meals to eat. But if it's been over two days, don't eat them ^_^"
At the bottom was a smiley face.
Shen Mochen smiled back at the smiley, sticking the note on the fridge door and warming up the food.
The western restaurant was nice, but its portions didn't fill him up. If he weren't playing the perfect boyfriend for Xia Qingrou, he would have needed seven or eight premium steaks, especially since he wasn't footing the bill.
As he was eating the reheated meals, his cellphone suddenly lit up with a message from Liu Bo: "Are you busy?"
"Not busy now," Shen Mochen replied.
"Did you get a new girlfriend?"
"What's up?"
Liu Bo fell silent for a while, then sent over a photo of Shen Mochen and Xia Qingrou together in the restaurant.
Shen Mochen knew immediately what was going on and helplessly slapped his forehead.
He had anticipated such occurrences, but had been clinging to the hope that it might not happen so soon... He hadn't expected to run into someone familiar this quickly.
Shen Mochen offered a wry smile and replied to Liu Bo, "She's just a teammate of mine, and as you know, Princess and I have broken up."
"I'm aware of that, but others aren't, and Princess hasn't made it public... Haven't you seen the school forum and chat groups? They're blowing up, saying you played Princess and cheated on her!"
"There's nothing I can do about that, I can't exactly stop people from spreading rumors."
"Do you want me to explain for you?"
Shen Mochen thought it over; explaining would be easy, just say she's a comrade-in-arms who was in town to grab a meal. As for why they were so intimate... which law says friends can't link arms!
But... after some thought, Shen Mochen decided better not. Xia Yusi might just head over to the school to conduct her own investigation, and denying it now could only lead to more trouble.
"What does Princess have to say about this?" asked Shen Mochen.
"She hasn't said anything yet. Today's the weekend, but she'll definitely have to address it by Monday when school starts at the latest!"
"Then you don't need to do anything. If anyone asks you, just say you don't know."
"Alright, got it. But, I'm worried Princess might get mad..."
"If she gets mad, it's me she'll be dealing with, not you."
"That makes sense, but I'm afraid she won't let me help collect your body!"
"Touch wood! If she does take me down, I'll make sure to haunt you day and night."
"Hey, hey, the ghost should seek revenge on Princess herself!"
"She believes in God, her house is filled with things blessed by the Pope, I'd stand no chance even in death!"
"Damn, you really know how to bully the weak and fear the strong!"
"It's mainly because the strong are too hard to defeat. Hey, by the way, how's it been chatting with that little idol lately?"
"It's been pretty good..."
"So, you really did impersonate me to chat with her!"
"You're baiting me into breaking the law!"
"If you screw up, I'm not cleaning up after you!"
"Don't worry, it's just chatting, nothing could happen between us in real life. Despite her glitz, she's quite miserable, and her family situation isn't great, so I just encourage her from time to time."
Shen Mochen thought of the ever-smiling Fei Yumo, Han Muxue's most hated person, and raised his eyebrow, curling his lips mockingly, "Her dad's a gambler, her mom's sick, her brother's studying, I take care of the little siblings, preserve my virtue for you alone, the business fails with a debt to repay, the whole family willingly gnaws on hardship, grew up with domestic violence without love... which one is it for her?"
"???"
"Back where I was before, whenever women had to sell themselves, they'd always use these kinds of sob stories, it's all to deceive men, don't get too invested."
Shen Mochen let out an evil chuckle and put away his phone.
After dinner, Shen Mochen tidied up a bit and aimlessly watched TV for a while.
It had been a long time since he'd had such leisure; usually, any free time was spent studying.
After watching TV for quite some time, Shen Mochen yawned and prepared to sleep.
He glanced at his phone; there were no calls, no messages.
Flipping through his contacts, he hesitated over Old Ye's name for a long time but ultimately didn't make the call.
Let's leave it for the next time we meet... Shen Mochen decided, just as Xia Qingrou suddenly sent a text message.
"Come over, Second Sister has had an accident."
