The study in Chu Zhi’s house wasn’t large, and rarely did anyone enter it. Both Father Chu and Ms. Deng were the type to leave work at work, and since Chu Zhi had a desk in her own room, the study was basically half decorative. However, because it had a large balcony with good lighting, Ms. Deng would sometimes curl up on the study sofa with her tablet or phone for an afternoon.
Chu Zhi didn’t have a habit of locking doors. The last time she had locked a door was when Lu Jiaheng had stayed at her house with a fever.
Mom, I didn’t mean to lock the door. I just had a man hidden inside.
Chu Zhi’s little face went pale again.
Her heart, which had just settled down after his Spider-Man acrobatics, was racing again.
Today both Father Chu and Ms. Deng were home, and he had just climbed down like that. Neither of them had thought about how he would get out later.
She looked around – wooden bookshelves filled with books, a soft sofa, a long desk with a globe and some small decorations on it.
There was nowhere to hide, even under the desk was hollow.
The study wouldn’t work. Looking at him again, he was wearing pajamas, seemingly fresh from a shower, his hair tips still slightly damp, carrying the clean scent of shower gel.
Chu Zhi suddenly felt an inexplicable sense of embarrassed guilt.
She ran to the door, holding onto the doorframe, stammering: “Mom-mom I’m coming right away.”
Ms. Deng didn’t rush her to open the door, just tapped twice on the door panel, said “hurry up” and left.
Chu Zhi let out a sigh of relief, then immediately became panicked again.
She ran back to Lu Jiaheng, her small face deathly pale, lips tightly pressed together, voice lowered as she tentatively asked him: “Can you climb back up?”
Lu Jiaheng: “…”
He raised an eyebrow and matched her lowered voice, making his tone sound a bit deep: “Sure, I’ll just do a backflip up there.”
Chu Zhi was overjoyed, but immediately swallowed and still looked very nervous: “Really?”
“What do you think?”
“I think you’re lying.” Chu Zhi lowered her eyes and pouted.
He laughed softly: “My baby is getting smarter and smarter.”
Before Chu Zhi could speak, he immediately added: “There’s no Xiao Hong, no Xiao Li, my little Zhizi is one of a kind.”
Chu Zhi’s small face uncontrollably blushed slightly, but she didn’t have the mental capacity to consider this right now.
Just last night she had told them she didn’t have a boyfriend, and after one night’s sleep, there was suddenly a man in her room – one who was never seen entering, only leaving, and wearing pajamas no less.
How could she explain this?
Dad, Mom, to be honest, I recently started playing this boyfriend-raising dating game, and somehow, he just transported out of my phone.
Chu Zhi raised her arms, both hands pressed against his abdomen as she pushed him forward. Lu Jiaheng obediently followed her movement, stepping backward until there was a soft thud as his back hit the wall behind the door.
He let her small hands push him against the wall, looking down with an ambiguous smile: “Ready to pin me against the wall and beat me up?”
Chu Zhi looked up: “In a bit, you hide behind the door first, wait for me to go out, then run.”
Lu Jiaheng adjusted his expression, nodded, and asked seriously: “Run where?”
“Run to my room.”
Lu Jiaheng: “…”
Lu Jiaheng: “?”
Chu Zhi raised her hand, naturally pulling out one side of his pajama top from his pants, patting it smooth while saying: “I’ll go eat, and you take the chance to run over there. After they finish eating and go to their rooms, you can sneak out.”
Lu Jiaheng didn’t move, watching her fingertips on his pajama hem.
After a long while, he softly responded “Mm”: “Whatever you say.”
Chu Zhi spent five minutes mentally preparing herself. Once everything was ready, she took a deep breath, unlocked the door, and pressed down on the handle to open it.
First, she poked her head out to scout the situation. Father Chu was sitting at the dining table reading the newspaper, his back to them, but Ms. Deng’s eyes met hers: “What are you looking at? Come out and eat.”
Chu Zhi responded with a crisp “Ah,” opened the door with slightly shaky hands, the movement a bit forceful and uncontrolled as the door swung open, then as if trying to prove something, swung it all the way back until it reached about 150 degrees where it seemed to meet some resistance and stopped with a muffled sound.
It sounded like it had hit flesh or bone.
Chu Zhi’s hand trembled, and she quickly pulled it back, instinctively wanting to rush back to check if Lu Jiaheng behind the door was okay.
However, Ms. Deng was watching her, so Chu Zhi could only act as if nothing had happened as she bounced out of the study, hugging Ms. Deng’s arm and pulling her to turn around, dragging her into the kitchen: “I’m so hungry, I’m so hungry, what are we eating today!”
Lu Jiaheng took the chance to slip out, quietly opened the door to Chu Zhi’s room at the end, and gently closed it behind him.
As soon as he entered, he smelled a very faint fragrance.
Similar to her scent, light and slightly sweet, somewhat like a vanilla milkshake.
Lu Jiaheng turned around, seeing Chu Zhi’s room for the first time.
The overall look was very soft – white furniture, lotus pink curtains, a large bay window with small shelves holding rows of succulent plants.
The bed was large and looked soft and comfortable. On it stood a cat with a seal-colored patch of fur on its nose, currently baring its teeth at him.
“…”
What an unfortunate encounter.
How could he have forgotten about this little pervert cat?
Special circumstances called for special treatment. Lu Jiaheng decided on an appeasement policy, attempting to get along peacefully.
He raised his index finger to his lips, whispering to it: “Shh—”
You Guess: “Meow meow meow meow!!!!!!!!!”
Lu Jiaheng: “…”
By the time Chu Zhi had wolfed down her breakfast and rushed back to her room, Lu Jiaheng and You Guess had already fought three hundred rounds.
The man was holding the cat at arm’s length, You Guess struggling desperately in his hands while meowing, and several red scratches had appeared on Lu Jiaheng’s hands.
Chu Zhi hurried in, calling out to him softly.
Lu Jiaheng turned his head, his hands loosening as You Guess landed gracefully and darted into Chu Zhi’s arms, its little paws clutching at her chest, head nuzzling against her while making soft, milky cries as if terribly wronged, its previous fierce demeanor completely gone.
Lu Jiaheng gritted his teeth as he stared at those two cat paws: “Heh.”
Chu Zhi held the cat, coaxing it gently while speaking to it in a low voice. After a while, You Guess reluctantly jumped out of her arms and slowly returned to its little bed, curling up inside.
Chu Zhi stood up and walked to sit on the bed.
She hesitated, then patted the space beside her. You Guess, quick as lightning, darted over again, its fat bottom settling next to Chu Zhi, the whole cat flopping down and curling into a ball, motionless.
Lu Jiaheng let out a cold laugh, walked over to pick it up and toss it aside, then sat down and turned his head: “Are uncle and auntie still in the living room?”
Chu Zhi shook her head: “They’re arguing in the dining room.”
He propped himself up with one hand on the bed, body slightly tilted as he leaned against her bed post: “Then what if uncle and auntie don’t go to their room?”
Chu Zhi opened her mouth, frowning as she rubbed her chin, unable to come up with a solution even after a long while.
Lu Jiaheng watched her with great interest, waiting patiently.
The displaced You Guess was jumping up and down on the bed dissatisfied, catching the bed curtain hooked on the bedpost and pulling it down. The light lotus pink gauze fell with the curtain, enveloping the two of them inside.
It was around nine in the morning, and Chu Zhi hadn’t had a chance to rest since waking up, let alone change her clothes.
The window light was mostly blocked, the two of them sitting at the foot of the bed in dim light.
She was sitting facing him on the edge of the bed, very close, able to see everything that should and shouldn’t be seen. The girl wasn’t even wearing underwear underneath, two round gentle swells visible on her chest.
Chu Zhi hadn’t noticed at all, blinking as she rubbed You Guess’s head and stood up to rehook the curtain on the bedpost.
The moment of darkness was broken as light flooded back into their retinas.
The raised fabric had small protrusions, showing faintly through the white cotton nightgown, a slight hint of color visible.
Lu Jiaheng closed his eyes.
Father Chu and Ms. Deng had an emotional clash in the living room for half an hour, finally ending with a phone call from Ms. Deng’s girlfriends inviting her to the gym.
Before leaving, Father Chu still smilingly made his wife a cup of fruit tea, putting it in a glass thermos, carefully reminding her not to drink cold drinks after exercise, even if she didn’t want hot drinks it wasn’t allowed, with a small box containing rock sugar to add two pieces according to taste.
After Father Chu went to his room, Lu Jiaheng and Chu Zhi finally sneaked out like thieves.
Chu Zhi quietly opened the door for him, and they stood in the hallway, Chu Zhi wearing the long coat he had forcefully made her put on earlier, buttons done up tightly all the way to her neck.
She pushed him to hurry out, then quickly shrank back behind the security door, hanging onto the doorframe as she watched him: “You should go quickly.”
Lu Jiaheng didn’t move, standing at the door: “Will you be home all afternoon?”
Chu Zhi blinked: “I’m going out for dinner with the seniors from the drama club tonight.”
Lu Jiaheng’s eyelids shot up: “Male seniors?”
“Both male and female seniors.”
He kept his expression neutral: “What are you eating?”
“Hot pot,” Chu Zhi paused, remembering his shiny head of cilantro, and embarrassedly scratched her chin, hinting vaguely, “that place next to school…”
Lu Jiaheng curved his lips, letting out a long “Oh,” leaning in slightly: “The place where we first met?”
Chu Zhi didn’t notice anything wrong and nodded.
He laughed, about to speak when Father Chu’s voice called from inside: “Daughter— come eat some fruit—”
Chu Zhi was so startled she didn’t even have time to hear what he was going to say or say goodbye, hurriedly closing the door.
With a “bang,” the security door slammed shut in Lu Jiaheng’s face.
Father Chu heard the sound and walked over with a fruit knife: “Who is it, did your mom come back?”
Chu Zhi put her hands behind her back, keeping a straight face: “No, just an insurance salesperson.”
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