This was the first time Lin Xichi had successfully picked a lock.
During her graduate studies, there were only two people living in her dorm room. Sometimes, it was inconvenient when she forgot her keys and her roommate was not in the dorm. In such cases, she had to go and ask her roommate for the key.
Her roommate had taught her this trick, and although she had tried it several times, she had never succeeded. Eventually, she had gotten an extra key and kept it in her bag as a backup.
Now that she had successfully picked the lock, Lin Xichi’s initial reaction wasn’t, “Wow, I can finally find out what’s been locked inside this box for five years, I can finally see what’s in there,” but rather, “Wow, I managed to open the lock without a key; I’m really amazing.”
Lin Xichi looked at Xufang, her eyes bright as if she was waiting for his praise.
Xufang’s throat moved, and he reluctantly took the box from her hand, holding it tightly. His expression seemed somewhat unnatural, and after a moment’s pause, he said, “Why don’t you try picking another lock?”
“But there’s no other lock for me to pick,” Lin Xichi replied, feeling a bit disappointed that she didn’t hear his praise. She suddenly noticed that he had taken the box from her. “Why did you take my box?”
Xufang’s expression stiffened, and he awkwardly explained, “I wanted to see how you did it.”
Upon hearing this, Lin Xichi lowered her head and picked up the lock that she had left on the floor. “If you wanted to see, you should have looked at the lock, not taken the box.”
Xufang didn’t take the lock from her; he continued to press down on the box, not letting her get near it.
The two of them locked eyes for three seconds.
Suddenly, Lin Xichi realized something. She leaned to the side, trying to grab the box from him.
Xufang’s movements were quick. As she reached for the box, he instinctively leaned back, raising his arm as high as possible to keep the box away from her.
This action made Lin Xichi certain that Xufang didn’t want to give her the box. She widened her eyes and said in a puzzled tone, “What are you doing? Wasn’t this thing a gift from you?”
“I told you back then.” Xufang decided to reason with her, maintaining a serious expression. “You can’t open it casually. I need to give you the key for you to open it.”
This was the reason why Lin Xichi had threatened him for so long but had never actually gone to find a locksmith to open it.
Lin Xichi wasn’t convinced at all. “But you didn’t stop me when I opened it just now.”
Xufang replied, “…”
Who knew you could actually open it?
Lin Xichi felt that Xufang was clearly in the wrong about this matter. His silence was equivalent to admitting defeat. After waiting for a while, she tried to take the box from him again.
At the same time, Xufang stood up straight, his jaw clenched, and he refused to give in.
Lin Xichi also stood up.
With their significant height difference, Xufang was holding the box high, like a mischievous boy playing with a girl.
Lin Xichi grabbed his elbow and attempted to snatch the box.
After a minute of this standoff, Lin Xichi realized that she wouldn’t be able to snatch it away without using a little trick.
She stopped and looked to the side at the bed behind Xufang. Then she glanced up at his hand, which was held high, firmly holding the box. Suddenly, she pushed his abdominal muscles with force.
Xufang was completely focused on the box and was caught off guard. Following her force, he fell backward and ended up sitting on the bed.
Lin Xichi immediately crawled on top of him, determined to get the box.
At this moment, their positions were particularly ambiguous.
Xufang was half-lying on the bed, and Lin Xichi was kneeling on top of him. Because one was struggling, and the other was trying to avoid, there was some movement and commotion, and from another angle, it looked like… a scene of domination.
Suddenly, the sound of the doorknob turning and the door opening came from the entrance.
Following that, Lin Xichi heard Lin Xigeng utter a profanity in shock, accompanied by the sound of the door being closed. Her actions came to a halt, and she stared blankly in the direction of the door.
“…”
Lin Xichi had never imagined that she would argue with Xufang over something like this.
Due to Lin Xigeng’s commotion, Lin Xichi lost her focus on snatching the box. Her first instinct was to explain and salvage her image after what had happened.
After hearing Lin Xichi’s explanation, Lin Xigeng showed a look of understanding but surprisingly, when she looked at Xufang, there was a hint of sympathy in her eyes.
Sympathy.
Lin Xichi felt that she had dug herself into a hole she couldn’t climb out of.
The two of them left Grandfather’s house after dinner.
Outside Grandfather’s house, Lin Xichi immediately started arguing with Xufang. In a rare display of anger, she even used his full name. “Xufang, do you have any idea how out of line you were today?”
Xufang glanced at her. “I don’t know.”
“Do you know how Lin Xigeng sees me now?” Lin Xichi was both angry and frustrated, and she began to blame him. “If it weren’t for you snatching my things, I wouldn’t have acted that way.”
“So what?” Xufang found the misunderstanding quite amusing and replied casually, “Am I supposed to be your secret lover who can’t stand being seen?”
“But I’ve been telling her,” Lin Xichi’s voice weakened as she mentioned this, “that you’re so infatuated with me that you can’t live without me, and now she’s seen this kind of scene. Where can I put my face?”
Xufang couldn’t help but look at her.
“How did she even misinterpret it like that?” Lin Xichi sat in the passenger seat, turned towards him, and continued, “Isn’t that kind of thing supposed to involve undressing? Didn’t He Ruguo teach her anything?”
Xufang was almost choked by her words. “I taught you?”
Upon hearing this, Lin Xichi hesitated for a moment, then confidently said, “How could I have waited for you to teach me? You asked me to take notes for you in junior high, you asked me to help you with the science subjects in high school, and in college, you even needed me to supervise your studies. I had to rely on myself for this.”
“…”
“Don’t worry; once I learn the process, I’ll teach you.”
Coincidentally, they were at a red light, and Xufang stepped on the brake. He turned to look at her, like a parent who had caught a misbehaving child, his expression becoming serious, and his tone much firmer.
“What the hell did you read?”
“Oh,” Lin Xichi replied slowly, shrinking back into her seat, her voice quieter, “just a few pieces of erotica.”
“…”
As his tone grew more serious, Lin Xichi immediately shrank back and remained silent for a while. After a long pause, she suddenly remembered that she was the one who was angry, and the current situation was an argument.
With this in mind, she regained her composure and continued to argue with him. “And what’s with you? You gave me something and then took it back. If you didn’t want to give it to me, you should have just said so. What’s wrong with letting me take a look?”
Xufang let out a low hum and didn’t respond.
Lin Xichi, with a stern face, continued to lecture him. “Xufang, there shouldn’t be any secrets between couples.”
He turned the steering wheel expressionlessly and entered the residential area. “Is that so?”
Lin Xichi nodded vigorously, like a chick pecking for grains.
Xufang’s lips curled up slightly. “Did you tell me about your private reading of erotica?”
“…”.
What is there to say about this?
The argument between the two of them continued from the car to when they got out of the car, from downstairs to upstairs, and it even persisted when they returned home. Although most of the time it was Lin Xichi scolding him, Xufang responded to almost every accusation.
“You said you’d give it to me.”
“No, I won’t.”
“Xufang, I’ve never met a more petty man than you.”
“I’ve never met one either, but I do have a fool in front of me who’s much better than me in this regard.”
“…”
And so the argument escalated.
In the end, Lin Xichi was so angry that she jumped up from the couch and started putting on her coat.
Xufang looked at her with a stern face. “Where are you going?”
“I don’t want to talk to you right now.” Lin Xichi made exaggerated movements as a way to vent her frustration. “Don’t talk to me.”
“It’s late; where are you going?” He also stood up, wearing the same hoodie he hadn’t taken off since they entered the house, and spoke coldly, “Just get lost.”
Lin Xichi glared at him and repeated, “I don’t want to talk to you.”
Xufang couldn’t help but chuckle at her attitude. “Fine, I don’t want to talk either.”
“…” Lin Xichi stood next to him, watching him put on his shoes, and then couldn’t resist provoking him again. “You said if you talk to me, it’s like you’re treating me as your dad.”
Xufang’s face remained devoid of amusement as he responded slowly, “We’ll see if I want to talk to you.”
After saying this, Xufang walked out without looking back, forcefully closing the door behind him. He stood by the door, touched something in his pocket, and then went downstairs.
But he didn’t get far before he turned back, stood at the door, and shouted, “Make sure to lock the door.”
After Xufang left, the interior of the apartment immediately became quiet.
The argument that had just occurred seemed like a figment of her imagination.
Lin Xichi lay down on the sofa, getting angrier the more she thought about it. She jumped up and, with heavy steps, went to the entrance. She peered out through the peephole to make sure Xufang had left, then locked the door and messaged Lin Xigeng on WeChat.
Lin Xichi: [Xufang and I had a fight.]
Lin Xigeng: [Ah?]
Lin Xichi: [And he slammed the door on me! He slammed it really hard! Slammed it!!!]
Lin Xigeng: [Shocked.jpg]
Lin Xigeng: [Maybe he’ll be back in a while.]
Lin Xichi: [No, he told me to lock the door.]
Lin Xigeng: [….]
After half a minute, Lin Xigeng sent another message: [When you guys fight, he slams the door and then comes back to remind you to lock it?]
Lin Xichi didn’t find this strange and replied in a sulky tone: [Yes, if he’s coming back, he wouldn’t say it, but if he’s not, he tells me to lock the door.]
Lin Xigeng was genuinely shocked: [….]
Lin Xigeng: [Are you both crazy?]
After a while, Lin Xichi couldn’t resist adding: [Even though we argued, I didn’t lie to you about what I told you before. Xufang has secretly liked me for many years.]
Lin Xichi swallowed hard, feeling a bit guilty: [He’s infatuated with me, the kind of infatuation where he can’t help himself.]
Lin Xichi: [And today wasn’t at all what you saw.]
Lin Xigeng: [Did you just message me from Xufang’s phone?]
Upon seeing this message, Lin Xichi blinked: [Huh?]
Soon, Lin Xigeng sent a screenshot.
It was her conversation with Xufang, and on the clean screen, there was only one message from Xufang.
The time stamp was tonight at 8 o’clock, right when they had just gotten out of the car.
…
…
Xufang: [Indeed, I can’t help myself.]
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