Chapter 558 - 361: A Real Man Can Bend and Stretch (Part 2)

Xue Rui said to Xiaobu in his arms, "Miss Xiaobu, we’re roommates from now on. I’m crashing with you, so you’ve got to have my back..."

When the lights were on, he had to listen to Gu Muxue, but when they were off, it was his home turf.

’It’s just a temporary setback,’ he thought. ’A real man knows how to be flexible. What’s so bad about sleeping in a cat bed?’

"And another thing, you’re not to touch my personal belongings. Don’t go through my bags or my closet," Gu Muxue said, trying to keep a straight face. ’Xue Rui is actually treating the cat like his sworn brother.’

"Okay." The corners of Xue Rui’s mouth turned up slightly. ’The little minx is finally accepting the fact that I’m staying here.’

"Knock before entering any room."

"No problem," Xue Rui nodded.

’Is this her laying down the law?’

In reality, when a man and a woman are living alone together, any rules they make are lucky to last more than three days.

There are exceptions, of course, like if one of them is exceptionally ugly...

’Of course, that doesn’t apply to my situation at all.’

"Let me think... Huh? Ruoxi, what are you doing?" Gu Muxue asked in surprise.

Just then, Lin Ruoxi brought out a quilt and blankets and meticulously spread them out beside Xiaobu’s cat bed.

"I’ll sleep by the cat bed, too," Lin Ruoxi replied plainly.

Xue Rui froze. Lin Ruoxi’s voice was a bit cold, as if she were sulking.

It was just that Lin Ruoxi’s way of being angry was no different from a child’s—pouting and insisting on sleeping by the cat bed with him.

Gu Muxue and Xue Rui exchanged a look, seeing the exasperation in each other’s eyes.

She got up, pulled Lin Ruoxi aside, and whispered, "Ruoxi, I was just messing with him. Why would I actually make him sleep there?"

"I know, I just don’t want to see him being treated unfairly..." Lin Ruoxi said with a pout.

Gu Muxue felt a wave of exasperation. ’This is just how I interact with Xue Rui. Does Lin Ruoxi want me to become a complete pushover?’

She decided the entire problem was Xue Rui’s fault and secretly shot him a glare.

Xue Rui cleared his throat. "Xixi, Muxue was just kidding. In fact, she just told me I should sleep with her tonight."

Lin Ruoxi blinked and asked in her bright, clear voice, "Really?"

"Yes," Gu Muxue replied, gritting her teeth.

’Xue Rui actually took it upon himself to up the ante.’

"Let’s go take a shower." Gu Muxue dragged Lin Ruoxi into the bathroom. She had to explain things clearly, or there would be endless friction later on.

Xue Rui’s eyes lit up. He pointed to himself. "What about me and Xiaobu?"

Gu Muxue frowned. The only other bathroom was the en suite in her bedroom, which she had just forbidden Xue Rui from entering.

"Wait. It’ll be your turn when we’re done," Gu Muxue said coldly.

Lin Ruoxi whispered, "I... I want to shower with him."

Gu Muxue stopped in her tracks. An image immediately formed in her mind...

The boy she liked, showering with another girl... A strange feeling stirred within her.

"I need to talk to you." Gu Muxue pushed Lin Ruoxi into the bathroom and locked the door in a huff.

"I can’t take a bath for the next few days..."

"Is it that time of the month?"

...

Xue Rui stood outside, trying to eavesdrop, but unfortunately, all he could hear was the sound of the shower running.

BUZZ BUZZ BUZZ~

Xue Rui’s phone buzzed again. It was a video call from Gu Qingshan.

’Fuck!’ Xue Rui cursed internally. ’Old Gu is already doing a spot check on the first night?’

Fortunately, he was prepared. He knocked on the bathroom door. "Muxue, something’s come up and I have to step out for a bit! Xixi, let me in when I get back."

With a sigh, Xue Rui pulled a key and a room card from his pocket. While waiting for the girls to return earlier, he had booked a hotel room nearby and even ordered a small cake to be delivered to the front desk. Now was the perfect time to go pick it up.

The hotel room was a prop to fool Gu Qingshan’s spot checks, and the cake was to make up for Gu Muxue’s disappointment about not having birthday candles.

Even though he had managed to smooth things over at the time, Xue Rui wasn’t the type to cut corners.

...

「Inside a chain hotel room.」

Xue Rui took a quick shower, then lay shirtless on the white bedsheets, his hair still dripping wet, and video called Gu Qingshan back.

"Uncle Gu, I was just in the shower, so I didn’t catch your call," Xue Rui said to the camera.

’Who would’ve thought,’ he mused, ’that I’d be using the ’I was in the shower’ excuse one day?’

After speaking, Xue Rui panned the camera around to show Gu Qingshan his surroundings. "It was too late, and security wouldn’t let me back on campus, so I just found a hotel nearby."

Gu Qingshan glanced at Xue Rui’s surroundings. It was a standard double room.

After confirming Xue Rui was alone in the room, he nodded and mumbled, "Mm, very good. I’m hanging up."

Xue Rui’s mouth twitched. ’If he calls every single day, who could possibly stand it?’

Just as Xue Rui was about to get dressed and leave, his old man, Xie Jianfeng, also sent him a video call.

Xue Rui picked up his phone and answered without much thought. "Dad, what is it now?"

On the screen, Xie Jianfeng’s eyes lit up. He had just picked Gu Qingshan up from the high-speed rail station and, through some subtle probing, had found out that his son and Gu Muxue were on very good terms.

He figured Xue Rui had made his choice and given up on Lin Ruoxi.

But no sooner had Gu Qingshan left than his son was lying shirtless in a hotel room?

"Xiaorui, who are you at the hotel with?" Xie Jianfeng was itching with curiosity. ’If it’s Gu Muxue, that would be fantastic!’

If it was anyone else, he’d probably have to find the time to go to Chang’an and beat the crap out of the kid.

Xue Rui’s mouth twitched. He answered truthfully, "Dad, I’m by myself."

"I don’t believe you. Show me around the room," Xie Jianfeng demanded sternly.

Resigned, Xue Rui could only repeat the tour he had just given Gu Qingshan. Only this time, Xie Jianfeng’s requirements were even stricter, demanding he pull open the curtains, open the closet...

After all that, Xie Jianfeng said with a face full of disappointment, "How did you end up so pathetic?"

All the evidence indicated that there were no signs of a woman ever having been in the room.

"Dad, why do you sound more disappointed than I am?" Xue Rui asked with a laugh.

"I’m hanging up, you useless brat." With that, Xie Jianfeng decisively ended the call.

"Huh?" A flicker of indignation sparked in Xue Rui’s chest. ’What was that all about? Getting chewed out for no reason.’

The same situation—him staying in a hotel room alone—yet the reactions from his potential father-in-law and his actual father were polar opposites. Xie Jianfeng was deeply disappointed that his son hadn’t managed to "poach the cabbage" from the Gu family’s garden.

After dealing with both fathers, Xue Rui got dressed and checked out. He asked the front desk for a large paper bag, then hid the small cake inside, covering it with some clothes. He had to give the birthday girl her surprise in secret.

"I have a little donkey, that I never ride..."

Xue Rui was in high spirits, humming a tune as he walked back with the cake, thinking to himself that if Gu Qingshan called again, he wouldn’t pick up no matter what.

KNOCK KNOCK!

Because he had arranged it with her beforehand, Lin Ruoxi opened the door the instant Xue Rui knocked.

Xue Rui was wearing shorts and carrying the dirty clothes he’d changed out of earlier.

Lin Ruoxi leaned in for a sniff. "Where did you go to shower? I don’t recognize this shampoo scent."

Xue Rui’s eyebrow twitched. He gently poked the tip of her nose. "Are you a police dog or something?"

’Lin Ruoxi really is like a police dog, always needing a sniff whenever she sees me. In the future, if I ever pick up another scent, she’d probably notice it instantly.’

Gu Muxue’s hair was down, looking like she had just finished blow-drying it. She tucked a strand behind her ear. "Xiaorui, you’re really in for it now."

Just half an hour ago, Gu Qingshan had video called her. Finding it strange, she had messaged Xue Rui on WeChat and learned that her father was planning on doing daily spot checks.

Xue Rui shook his head with a resigned sigh. ’Going out to get a hotel room in the middle of the night, taking a quick shower, and then immediately leaving... The girl at the front desk was looking at me with such pity, as if I’d just been stood up.’

But Xue Rui couldn’t be bothered to explain. After all, he had two "cabbages" of his own.

Tonight, he was going to get a taste of the other one.

’As for being ’in for it’? Sooner or later, he’d be saying those exact words back to Gu Muxue.’

Lin Ruoxi instinctively reached for the dirty laundry in Xue Rui’s hands, but he dodged aside, hiding the paper bag behind his back. "Xixi, I’ll wash my own clothes today."

Gu Muxue nodded in satisfaction. "Good. From now on, you wash your own clothes. Don’t always trouble other people."

Lin Ruoxi tilted her head, thinking Xue Rui was acting a little strange today.

"The bed’s already made for you. You can sleep in there tonight," Gu Muxue said, pointing to a spare room. It was the room her parents used when they visited. With a fresh set of sheets, it was ready for Xue Rui.

She had made the bed all by herself, though. Lin Ruoxi hadn’t seemed to care about that room at all.

"Rui... y-you should sleep with Muxue. It’s... not a good time for me," Lin Ruoxi whispered, secretly pressing a key into his hand.

Xue Rui had said he wanted to sleep with Gu Muxue, and Lin Ruoxi was determined to make his wish come true.

Besides, in her view, if two people liked each other, why shouldn’t they sleep together?

Gu Muxue never said what she really meant, and Lin Ruoxi thought that was a bad habit.

"Xixi, what’s this key for?" Xue Rui asked, lowering his voice.

’It doesn’t look like it’s for the front door...’

"Um, it’s for Muxue’s room," Lin Ruoxi whispered.