Chapter 197 - 165: Guests at Home

Chapter 197: Chapter 165: Guests at Home

Jiang Xueli heard him and got out of bed, walking barefoot to the bathroom.

She had slept wrapped in Lin Zhengran’s jacket all night. As a result, the jacket was completely flattened and probably unwearable today.

Inside the bathroom, Lin Zhengran pointed to the adjacent door.

The Little Fox was smart. She knew what he meant and hid behind the door.

A moment later, the bathroom door opened halfway, and Lin Zhengran stood there, shirtless.

Seeing him like that, Jiang Xueli remembered last night’s events and her cheeks flushed slightly. She stood at the entrance, and Lin Zhengran stood there too.

They just stared at each other.

After thirty seconds, they spoke in unison.

Lin Zhengran: "Come in."

Jiang Xueli: "You get out."

Jiang Xueli froze. "Wait, how am I supposed to use the bathroom if you don’t get out?"

If Lin Zhengran left, it would be all over. Han Wenwen, hiding behind the door, would be exposed. ’This fox is lucky she doesn’t have a real tail,’ he thought. ’Otherwise, with that figure, there’d be no hiding it.’

"Just come in. You come in first, then I’ll go out."

Jiang Xueli blinked. "How weird..." Despite her words, she stepped inside.

Lin Zhengran manually turned her by the shoulders, but then he realized the mirror might give him away, so he had no choice but to hug Jiang Xueli.

Suddenly being pulled into an embrace so early in the morning, Jiang Xueli was flustered.

Her face buried in his chest, she stammered, "Zhen... Zhengran! What are you doing, you big idiot?!"

Lin Zhengran held the back of her head, not letting her look up. "Nothing. I just wanted to hold you for a bit."

Behind the door, Han Wenwen watched the two of them, astonished.

She was dumbfounded.

But then Lin Zhengran shot Han Wenwen a look, signaling her to hurry up and leave. ’What are you waiting for?’

Out of jealousy, Han Wenwen could only bite Lin Zhengran’s arm.

Then she quickly and silently left the bathroom, quietly opening the door and exiting the room.

Lin Zhengran breathed a sigh of relief.

Jiang Xueli blushed from the hug, her hands slowly coming to rest on Lin Zhengran’s back.

"Weren’t we wrapped up together all night? You still haven’t had your fill of hugs? Honestly... I really don’t get you."

Just as she was about to embrace him back, Lin Zhengran let go.

"Okay, hug’s over. You can use the bathroom now. I’m leaving."

Leaving Jiang Xueli standing there, utterly bewildered. "..."

After a moment of stupor, she flew into a rage out of embarrassment, her face beet red as she cursed, "Are you even awake?! You pig-head! Idiot!"

SLAM! The bathroom door shut.

Lin Zhengran just shrugged and went back to sit on the bed.

Thirty seconds later, Jiang Xueli came out of the bathroom and heard a knock on the door.

She was curious. "Who is it?"

Sitting on the bed, Lin Zhengran told her, "It should be Han Wenwen. I messaged her this morning and asked her to bring you some clothes."

Han Wenwen’s voice came from outside the door. "Lili, Lin Zhengran, it’s me!"

"Ah?"

Jiang Xueli looked down at her current attire. She was still wearing Lin Zhengran’s shirt, and below, she only had a jacket wrapped around her like a skirt.

’I’m basically naked underneath...’

"You get the door, Zhengran! I’ll go hide in the bathroom for a bit! Otherwise, I’ll die of embarrassment opening the door like this."

Lin Zhengran waved his hand dismissively, so she had no choice but to hide in the bathroom again.

’These two girls are both so silly,’ he thought.

So Lin Zhengran got up to open the door again. Han Wenwen, acting all prim and proper as if she had just arrived, waved with a smile. "Lin Zhengran, I’m here to drop off clothes for you and Lili. Where’s Lili?"

Lin Zhengran had to play along. He pointed at the bathroom, deliberately speaking loud enough for Jiang Xueli to hear, "She’s in the bathroom."

Han Wenwen blinked. "Oh, I see."

Knowing Jiang Xueli couldn’t see them, her eyes filled with jealousy again. She grabbed Lin Zhengran’s hand and started to gnaw on it, though of course, she couldn’t bear to bite down hard.

Looking up at him, she questioned in a voice only the two of them could hear, "So, you hug her right in front of me, huh, Zhengran?!"

Lin Zhengran whispered back, "If I hadn’t hugged her, would you be able to stand here chewing on my hand right now?"

"This isn’t a hand, it’s a paw!"

The Little Fox huffed, then went back to acting, saying loudly, "Well, I’ll leave the clothes here then. I’ll be going, I won’t disturb you two!"

After saying that, she shot Lin Zhengran a glare and whispered, "Am I really leaving?"

She slowly opened her arms. "Zhengran, give me another hug."

Lin Zhengran hugged Han Wenwen again at the door, and only then did the Little Fox wave goodbye and head back to school.

She marveled at how this short half-hour this morning...

...was filled with both jealousy and joy, more eventful than the entire previous day.

After Han Wenwen left, Lin Zhengran took the clothes and knocked on the bathroom door. "Han Wenwen is gone. You can change now."

Jiang Xueli opened the bathroom door, her face red, and took the clothes inside.

’Now Wenwen will definitely think Zhengran and I got a room last night... If she tells He Qing about this... there’s no telling what might happen...’

「Over an hour later.」

Lin Zhengran, wearing only a shirt, went with the glamorous-looking Jiang Xueli to check out.

After checking out, he had to go back to his dorm to get another jacket.

Jiang Xueli also had to drop off her soaked clothes from last night at her dorm.

But on the way back, seeing Lin Zhengran in just a shirt, Jiang Xueli said with concern, "Aren’t you cold, Zhengran? Even though I wore that jacket as a skirt all night, it’s still wearable, right? I’m worried you’ll be cold dressed like this in the morning. Why don’t you put it on?"

Lin Zhengran genuinely wasn’t afraid of the cold; the jacket was just an accessory. "I’m not cold."

’This guy must be one of those proud types, huh?’ Jiang Xueli thought.

"To make it up to you, when the prize money from the Rising Star competition comes in, I’ll buy you a new one!"

Lin Zhengran grunted in agreement and didn’t refuse. "Okay."

But as they walked, Jiang Xueli suddenly realized something. "Wait, you’re the boss now. Doesn’t that mean the money is technically coming from you? Does it still count as me buying it for you?"

Lin Zhengran tapped Jiang Xueli on the head. "Why do you always overthink things? Even you belong to me, so it’s all the same."

Jiang Xueli blushed and retorted:

"Well, I’m not denying it, but you don’t have to say it so matter-of-factly."

They both went to their dorms to quickly get changed.

Then, Lin Zhengran brought Jiang Xueli back to Zhengshi Music.

He reflected on how strangely long and chaotic last night had been.

Surprisingly, nothing special happened that Sunday. Jiang Xueli was recording her music video, and Jiang Jingshi didn’t show up again because of matters with the Jiang Group.

So Lin Zhengran was alone, watching Jiang Xueli shoot on location outdoors.

「In the blink of an eye, it was afternoon.」

Lin Zhengran said his goodbyes to Wang and Jiang Xueli and headed home.

Jiang Xueli stood at the intersection, waving. "Zhengran! Be safe on the way! See you at school tonight!"

Lin Zhengran also raised a hand and got into the car.

"Got it."

Jiang Xueli stood at the intersection, watching the car carrying Lin Zhengran drive away.

A faint blush was on her face, her twin pigtails swaying in the gentle breeze. The events of last night were a wonderful experience for her.

Holding hands and hugging were now complete.

All that was left... were the exceptionally intimate things...

Not long after, Lin Zhengran’s car arrived back in the small town. On the way, Lin Xiaoli had called to ask when he would be home.

She said he had been too busy lately, and she never got to see him.

Lin Zhengran told the truth. "I have been a bit busy lately. I’ll be home in five minutes. By the way, who’s the guest at home today? You insisted I had to meet them."

Lin Xiaoli chuckled. "You’ll know when you get here. Anyway, they’ve already been sitting here chatting with us for a while."

Lin Zhengran didn’t understand what kind of game his mom was playing.

He arrived at his apartment complex, went home, and opened the door.

In the living room, he saw his mom and dad, an unfamiliar aunt and uncle, and Fang Meng, all sitting and drinking tea.

Fang Meng, her hair in a side ponytail, didn’t seem surprised to see Lin Zhengran. She even raised a hand to greet him. "Lin Zhengran, you’re here?"

But Lin Zhengran just stood there, confused. "Fang Meng?"