SM Chapter 8

Chapter 8: Saying it, Doing it

“We understand, only good Shihao can be close to you…”

However, he still didn’t “eat her” that night.

On one hand, he was genuinely tired. He didn’t know if it was because he was too busy these days or because he was constantly thinking about her, but he hadn’t been sleeping well. He went to find her as soon as he got back, and then ended up spending the afternoon looking after a kid. The energy he’d temporarily regained from that hour or so nap at noon was completely used up.

On the other hand, saying he didn’t want to was impossible, but he was even more unwilling to let Zhu Shihao think that he only cared about what happened in bed, that he only craved the pleasure between a man and a woman.

Just holding her felt exceptionally relaxed and comfortable.

After a peaceful night’s sleep, Zhu Shihao opened her eyes and saw his crooked collar. The reason was obvious: her hand was clutching the fabric of his shirt against his chest.

Releasing the fabric, she realized she didn’t know how long she had been holding onto it, but the thin pajamas were already wrinkled and crumpled.

Zhu Shihao moved back slightly, looking at him.

There was a light stubble on his chin. She was a little curious; could it grow out that much in just one night? She wanted to touch it, but she was afraid of waking him up.

After a while, she removed his arm from around her waist and carefully moved away.

The man stirred. Just when Zhu Shihao thought he was going to wake up, he only furrowed his brow and then relaxed, showing no sign of waking.

She got up and sat on the edge of the bed, tucking the comforter around him and pursing her lips.

That’s right, he was used to sleeping alone. Maybe even hugging her was just like holding a pillow.

Zhu Shihao quietly watched him for a while before turning and leaving.

About half an hour later, Tan Zhi Xu reached out beside him, only to find empty space. He woke up because of it.

The person next to him was gone. He reached out and felt the bed sheets; they were slightly cool, so Zhu Shihao had obviously been up for a while.

He turned over and lay flat, trying to wake himself up while unconsciously thinking, “She didn’t run away again, did she?”

With that thought, he reached for his phone on the nightstand. When he looked at the time, it was 9:13.

She wouldn’t have really run away, would she? After all, this time was really early for Zhu Shihao.

As his mind cleared, he sat up and turned on the light. At that moment, there was a soft sound from the doorway.

When Zhu Shihao saw that he was awake, she stopped worrying about how loud she was being and walked towards him.

Having just woken up, his voice was still a little hoarse, and it was wrapped in lingering sleepiness: “Where did you go?”

She walked past the bed towards him: “Making breakfast. I made porridge and a couple of side dishes.”

She wished she could have let him sleep a little longer to replenish his energy, but she also knew this was her way of being considerate.

Zhu Shihao asked, “Did you sleep well?”

From the moment she entered, Tan Zhi Xu’s eyes hadn’t left her. Now, his eyelids were slightly lowered as he looked at her, his voice sounding lazier than usual.

“Yeah, it was good.”

After carefully studying him and seeing that the dark circles under his eyes had faded significantly and that he no longer looked so tired, Zhu Shihao nodded in relief.

“Okay, then I’ll go get the food. Hurry up and wash up.”

Tan Zhi Xu hummed in agreement. As he went to wash up, he casually ruffled her hair and slowly made his way to the bathroom.

When he came out, she was sitting and eating while looking at her phone.

“What are you looking at?”

Zhu Shihao looked up: “Ran Cai broke up with her boyfriend and wants us to go out for drinks. Didn’t you see the message?”

After their college classmates scattered to different places, the ones who stayed in or returned to Sangzi City after graduation still kept in touch. They had a group chat and would occasionally get together.

Tan Zhi Xu sat down across from her: “No.”

“Wei Wang and Li Chennan have already agreed. They’re waiting for your reply.”

He took a sip of porridge and a bite of a side dish before slowly asking her, “Are you going?”

Zhu Shihao looked at him strangely: “Ran Cai, of course I’m going.”

Guessing as much, Tan Zhi Xu scoffed softly and responded lazily, “Then go.”

Her phone buzzed, interrupting what she was about to say. She looked down at the message in the group chat, then looked back up at him.

“Oh, Zhang Zi Ang said he’s going too. Then… are you still going?”

If she hadn’t paused in the middle of her sentence, those words would have sounded more normal.

His hand paused, and the spoon fell back into the bowl, disappearing into the steaming porridge.

Tan Zhi Xu looked up at her with a half-smile, his tone calm: “Zhu Shihao, are you looking for trouble early in the morning?”

She wrinkled her nose, unwilling to admit that she was stirring things up.

“Isn’t this me showing you care?”

Laughing unkindly, a bit mockingly, Tan Zhi Xu glanced at her dismissively: “Spare me.”

Zhu Shihao held her bowl with one hand and stirred the porridge with the spoon in the other: “Reply to the message yourself, then.”

She didn’t want to be asked how the two of them were together so early in the morning.

Understanding what she meant, Tan Zhi Xu glanced at her noncommittally. He didn’t say anything, just picked up his phone, which was lying to the side, and replied in the group chat.

Tan Zhi Xu cleared the table, although, in reality, the dishwasher did the actual work.

He saw her sitting comfortably cross-legged on the sofa, leaning back, and sat down beside her, casually wrapping an arm around her waist.

He casually said, “So comfortable?”

Zhu Shihao was putting away the dishes. She didn’t even lift her head, just straightened her waist a little, allowing him to reach over and hold her waist.

“Yeah, it’s the most comfortable sofa I’ve ever sat on.”

It cost several hundred thousand, after all. It wouldn’t make sense if it wasn’t comfortable.

Tan Zhi Xu glanced at her and said quietly, “I said I’d order one for you back then, but you insisted you didn’t want it. Should I order another one for you?”

Zhu Shihao shook her head with wide eyes: “I don’t want it. Don’t order one. You know me; when I say I don’t want it, I mean it.”

He chuckled softly. How could he not know her? It was because he knew her that he understood that she was someone who absolutely couldn’t be forced.

After being busy for a few days, he finally had some free time this weekend.

“Want to go out and have some fun?”

She thought about it, but didn’t seem to have anywhere she wanted to go: “Forget it. We’re going out for drinks tonight, right? Let’s just stay home during the day. There’s nothing I really want to do.”

Besides, it would be good for him to rest at home too.

And so, the two of them spent the morning watching movies, ordered food to be delivered, and made lunch together, played some games, and even took a nap.

Zhu Shihao lay on the sofa, hugging a pillow and watching him unpack the takeout, her gaze accusing: “I said there’s nothing I wanted to do, but that doesn’t mean you get to do me.”

Tan Zhi Xu placed the dishes one by one, not even glancing at her, and said with a clear conscience: “Yeah, you don’t have anything you want to do, but I do. I watched a movie and played games with you, so shouldn’t you do what I want to do too?”

Zhu Shihao choked.

Okay, she admitted that she suggested watching the movie, but didn’t he suggest the games first?

“You’re being unreasonable.”

“This is called give and take.” He turned to look at her, beckoning her with his finger and lifting his chin slightly. “Come and eat.”

“Okay.” She flipped over, got up, and walked towards the dining table in her slippers.

After dinner, the two of them leisurely headed out.

She was still wearing the same clothes as yesterday, even though she had washed and dried them. Fortunately, the people she was seeing tonight wouldn’t know what she had worn yesterday, so no one would find it strange that she hadn’t changed.

Tan Zhi Xu was driving today, and Zhu Shihao rested her head against the window frame, feeling the December wind.

When she glanced at the rearview mirror, he glanced at her.

Tan Zhi Xu’s voice was slightly cold: “Put your hand back inside, Zhu Shihao. Are you a kid? Aren’t you cold?”

Zhu Shihao retracted her finger, which she had quietly stuck out of the window, but didn’t close the window: “It feels so good. Zhi Xu, the wind is icy and cool, and it feels like the air is so fresh on my face.”

“It’ll feel even better if you get a runny nose from a cold.”

Considering that they were almost there, he didn’t force her to close the window, but he did give her a coolly sarcastic remark.

Other people might say that just as a hypothetical, but Tan Zhi Xu had actually seen her looking silly with bubbles coming out of her nose, even if it was when they were very, very young.

That’s why, sometimes, growing up together as childhood sweethearts isn’t always a good thing. He’s seen you at your worst and sloppiest.

Zhu Shihao sniffed self-consciously, her tone gentle: “You’re so annoying, Tan Zhi Xu.”

He heard this every other day.

Tan Zhi Xu twitched his lips, not even bothering to retort.

There was a bit of traffic, and even the short distance took nearly fifteen minutes.

After getting out of the car, Tan Zhi Xu raised the back of his hand and touched her face. It was icy cold.

Frowning, he pulled her scarf up a little higher and coldly warned her: “If you dare to let the cold wind blow on you like this again, and you catch a cold, I’ll make you get acupuncture.”

His movements weren’t exactly gentle, and his tone was even less so.

Zhu Shihao stared at him for two seconds, burying her chin even deeper in her scarf. She spoke very slowly, word by word, and turned towards the bar.

“Ah, they’re urging us.”

If she hadn’t been looking at her phone from start to finish, if he hadn’t known her so well, he might have believed her.

There was no point in saying more and standing here in the wind. Tan Zhi Xu didn’t expose her little trick, and followed her towards the shop.

This bar was called “South Wind,” taken from the last character of the owner, Li Chennan’s name. In his words, South Wind was his style, but people often joked that it sounded like a shady male brothel.

However, he heard that he was preparing to open a branch recently, which would be called Feminine, but he didn’t know if it was true or not.

Li Chennan was also there today, and several people were already sitting in their usual spot in the corner.

Amid the music and voices, Tan Zhi Xu stood protectively beside her, occasionally raising his arm to block the people passing by.

This scene was very familiar. It seemed like when they left here last time, it was like this, but the difference was that now, this person would hold her waist, leading her through the crowd.

It just occurred to her that it had only been last Friday. All in all, it had only been ten days. Clearly, the sudden change in their relationship should have been complex and delicate, but it seemed that they didn’t need to adjust at all. It was even smoother than she had imagined.

The dim lighting blurred people’s vision. She didn’t need to worry about whether this kind of intimacy had crossed the boundary between friends and childhood sweethearts. In the dimness, no one would discover their secret.

About two or three meters away, the effusive Ran Cai happened to see them when the light flickered.

She stood up and waved: “Shihao, over here.”

Zhu Shihao quickened her pace, and her slender waist was released from his large palm.

Tan Zhi Xu lowered his eyes and glanced. He couldn’t see clearly, but he knew very well that something was missing. His pace was slow, one step behind her, following behind.

Ran Cai patted the empty seat next to her, motioning for her to sit there.

This was natural. She didn’t think too much about it and sat down next to her. Tan Zhi Xu, who was a step behind, also didn’t think too much about it and followed her over, raising his chin towards Wei Wang and speaking quietly.

“Move over a little.”

Wei Wang moved over a bit: “Isn’t there still space?”

He took off his coat and put it together with Zhu Shihao’s coat and scarf: “Crowded.”

Wei Wang rolled his eyes: “Brother Xu, you just want me to move away, right? We understand. Only good Shihao can be close to you.”

Hearing these words, Zhu Shihao was briefly stunned. For a second, she suspected they had been discovered.

However, the man next to her naturally picked up the conversation: “Self-awareness is a great thing.”

The heartbeat that had quickened and intensified gradually returned to normal.

Because of her guilty conscience, she had forgotten that this man had given her many exceptions since they were young. The closeness between them was nothing out of the ordinary to these friends.

For the first time in her life, she secretly cursed herself. Sure enough, when you have something to hide, everything sounds off.