Chapter 289 - 195: Lu Fan Sleeps in the Bedroom with Jiang Yixia for the First Time

Chapter 289: Chapter 195: Lu Fan Sleeps in the Bedroom with Jiang Yixia for the First Time

Jiang Yixia’s scream completely stunned Lu Fan.

He looked down at the person huddled in his arms. Her whole body was trembling, her hands gripping his shirt tightly, her face buried in his chest like a frightened little animal.

Lu Fan froze for two seconds, then couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

"Hey, it’s okay. It’s fake." He gently patted Jiang Yixia’s back, a smile in his voice.

Only then did Jiang Yixia realize what she had just done.

Her body stiffened for a moment, and then she tried to struggle out of his arms.

But just then, Lu Fan’s hand happened to slide down, giving her waist a gentle squeeze.

The sensation was so soft it made his heart skip a beat.

Through her thin loungewear, he could clearly feel the softness of her slender waist.

It wasn’t the firm slenderness of a young girl, but a gentle, fleshy softness that bore the traces of time.

Yet it was this very softness that instantly reminded him of many years ago.

Back then, she was the same way. Whenever she was scared, she would burrow into his arms, her waist so soft it felt like she had no bones. He could pull her in with just one arm.

So many years had passed. It felt like she had gotten a little thinner, but that softness was still there.

Jiang Yixia’s body went rigid. She shoved him away, her face as red as a cooked shrimp, and glared at him. "Where do you think you’re touching!"

Lu Fan put on an innocent expression and spread his hands. "Wasn’t I patting your back? My hand slipped."

"Slipped?" Jiang Yixia gritted her teeth in anger. "Your hand slipped all the way down to my waist?"

Lu Fan said earnestly, with a shameless expression, "Maybe it slipped a little far."

Jiang Yixia was so choked by his shameless words that she was speechless. She grabbed a nearby throw pillow and hurled it at him.

Lu Fan caught the pillow and finally burst out laughing. "I was just laughing at your scream just now. It was exactly the same as before."

Jiang Yixia’s face grew even redder.

She remembered how it was when she was with Lu Fan back then. Every time they watched a horror movie, she would get scared and burrow into his arms, only to be laughed at by him.

She bit her lip, glaring at Lu Fan with a crimson face, wishing she could just headbutt him and knock two holes straight through him.

Looking at her like that, however, made Lu Fan’s heart melt completely.

’After all these years, she’s still the same.’

’She gets scared watching TV, glares when she’s angry, and blushes when she’s shy.’

’Nothing’s changed.’

He savored the memory of that touch from a moment ago, a wave of emotion washing over him.

’Still so soft.’

He deliberately leaned in a little closer and asked with a grin, "What? Still scared of ghosts, just like before?"

Jiang Yixia flinched back, retorting stubbornly, "Who’s scared? I was just... just startled by something that jumped out suddenly."

Lu Fan nodded, feigning a look of sudden understanding. "Startled, and then you burrowed into my arms?"

Jiang Yixia was cornered by his words, her face so red it looked like it might start bleeding.

"It was an instinctive reaction. Don’t read too much into it." She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down, and answered with a stern face.

"I’m not reading too much into it. I just think your instinctive reaction is pretty great." Lu Fan laughed.

Jiang Yixia blushed. "What’s so great about it?"

Lu Fan explained with a straight face, "It’s great that your instinct was to dive into my arms, not run for the door. It means that in your heart, you still find me trustworthy."

Jiang Yixia froze for a second, then turned her face away and muttered under her breath, "That’s because you were the closest..."

Lu Fan didn’t argue, just watched her with a smile.

The clown on the TV was still flailing wildly, but neither of them was in the mood to watch anymore.

After a moment, Jiang Yixia stood up and turned off the TV.

Her back was to Lu Fan, her voice returning to its usual coldness. "It’s late. You should go."

Lu Fan leaned back on the sofa, not moving.

Jiang Yixia waited a few seconds. Hearing no movement, she turned to see Lu Fan lounging comfortably on the sofa, showing no intention of leaving.

She frowned. "Are you leaving or not?"

"Don’t want to," Lu Fan replied leisurely.

Jiang Yixia gritted her teeth in frustration. "If you’re not leaving, then what do you want?"

Lu Fan looked at her and said, feigning a pitiful expression, "The sofa’s too hard. It makes my back hurt when I sleep on it."

"Then go sleep in your own apartment next door," Jiang Yixia said, exasperated.

"I’m scared to sleep alone," Lu Fan said, shaking his head with a completely serious expression.

Jiang Yixia was rendered speechless by his comment.

’You’re a forty-year-old man, and you’re telling me you’re scared to sleep alone?’

She took a deep breath. "Then go sleep in Jiang Sifan’s room."

Lu Fan shook his head again. "That’s a kid’s room. It’s not right for me to sleep in there. What if he comes back one day and finds out I slept in his bed? How awkward would that be?"

Jiang Yixia stared at him, speechless. "Then what do you want?"

Lu Fan looked at her, his eyes shining, and said tentatively, "How about... I make a bed on the floor in your room?"

Jiang Yixia froze for a moment, then her face turned red again.

"In your dreams!" she said through gritted teeth.

Lu Fan wasn’t in a hurry. He just sat there, looking at her with puppy-dog eyes, pretending to be pathetic.

When it came to playing pitiful, he was an old pro.

Otherwise, how could he have managed to trick the eighteen-year-old Jiang Yixia into his grasp back then?

"The sofa is really too hard. Last time I slept on it, my back almost broke. Look, I’m not young anymore. If my back gives out, how am I supposed to help you with your chores and till the soil in the future?"

"What chores? Till what soil?" At first, Jiang Yixia didn’t get it and was a bit puzzled.

But the next second, she understood. Her face flushed instantly as she said, "You just can’t go one day without saying something dirty, can you?"

"I didn’t! I was talking about helping you with chores and tilling the soil at the flower shop. What were you thinking?" Lu Fan teased.