After ninety-nine online romances, I finally met my ex in person when school started.

Zhu Xun Chuan did not answer Su Mu Cheng's question.

It's not that I don't want to answer, it's that I can't answer.

"Wipe your face first." He pulled two tissues from the bedside table and handed them to him.

Su Mucheng took the tissue, but instead of wiping her face, she held it in her hand and rubbed it back and forth, her eyes fixed on him.

"You haven't said it yet."

"What did you say?"

"Do you miss me too?"

"I'm thinking about how to get you out safely."

Su Mucheng's lips pursed slightly, but quickly curved back into a smile. She jumped off the bed, looked around the cramped dormitory, and her gaze suddenly settled on the washbasin next to the sink.

Two pairs of socks were soaking in the basin.

"your?"

"Hmm, I haven't had time to wash it yet."

Su Mucheng had already walked over, rolled up her shirt sleeves, and put her hands into the basin.

Zhu Xunchuan was stunned.

What are you doing?

"I'll wash them for you," Su Mucheng said matter-of-factly, clumsily scrubbing the socks in the basin with both hands. Water splashed all over her face, but she didn't care. She even turned around and smiled at him, "I wash my own socks at home too."

"You're a top influencer with 20 million followers, and you're washing my socks."

"So what?" Su Mucheng held up the sock and looked at it. There was still a large stain on it that she hadn't scrubbed off. She then bent down and started scrubbing it carefully again. "I've read online that guys like girls who can do laundry and cook. I'm not very good at cooking, but I should be able to wash socks, right?"

She spoke with great seriousness, as if she were reporting on a major achievement.

Zhu Xun Chuan watched her back as she stood in front of the washbasin. The oversized white shirt covered her hips, but couldn't hide the section of legs peeking out from under the hem. They were dazzlingly white, with slender and even lines, and she was barefoot in slippers, her toes small, her nails painted with light pink nail polish.

A top idol was washing his socks in front of the sink in his dorm room.

The sense of disjointedness in this scene is too strong.

"Alright, alright," Zhu Xun Chuan walked over, snatched the socks from her hand, and threw them back into the basin. "Don't wash them, I'll do it myself later."

"But I haven't washed it clean yet..."

"Your hands are all red from being soaked in water."

Su Mucheng looked down at her fingers, which were indeed bright red from being soaked in cold water. She shook the water droplets off her hands and looked innocently at Zhu Xunchuan.

"Then I'll bring hot water next time to help you wash."

There will be no next time.

Why?

"Because you shouldn't be in the boys' dormitory." Zhu Xun Chuan picked up a towel, hesitated for a second, and then handed it to her to wipe her hands. "If your manager finds out you came here, I've already thought of the trending headline for tomorrow... 'Top star Su Mucheng appears in boys' dormitory late at night, suspected relationship exposed'."

Su Mucheng wiped her hands and muttered softly, "Then let's expose it."

"What did you say?"

"No!" She folded the towel and put it back, then obediently stood in front of him. "Then will you take me home?"

"We have to deliver it. Let's go now."

Zhu Xun Chuan opened the wardrobe and casually pulled out a white shirt. He walked behind Su Mu Cheng and draped the shirt over her shoulders.

The shirt was too big. It covered Su Mucheng completely, with the hem hanging below her knees and the sleeves being far too long, only revealing her fingertips.

With her tiny face, she looked like a little girl who had secretly put on her boyfriend's clothes.

"Hat." Zhu Xun Chuan took a black baseball cap and put it on her head, pulling the brim down. "Put on a mask."

Su Mucheng obediently did as instructed.

After putting it on, only a pair of eyes were visible, watery and curved into two crescent moons.

"Brother Chuan".

"Um?"

"Your shirt smells so good."

Zhu Xun Chuan didn't reply. He opened the dormitory door and peeked around. There was no one in the corridor.

"Let's go, quickly."

The two walked briskly down the corridor to the stairwell. Zhu Xun Chuan led the way, while Su Mu Cheng jogged behind. Her shirt was too long, so she had to lift the hem as she walked, like a young actress rushing to a performance in costume.

I went down to the first floor, pushed open the side door, and the night breeze rushed in.

In early September, Kyoto was still unbearably hot during the day, but the night air was pleasantly cool. The streetlights below the dormitory building cast a dim yellow light on the osmanthus trees in the flowerbeds, and a faint, sweet fragrance filled the air.

Where did you park your car?

"The nanny van is outside the south gate." Su Mucheng pointed in a direction. "My sister asked the driver to wait for me. I told her I'd be back in ten minutes."

"You've been here for almost forty minutes."

"Ah... then my sister must be very angry..." Su Mucheng shrank her neck.

Zhu Xun Chuan led her around the flower bed, preparing to take the path to the South Gate.

We just turned the corner past the flower bed.

"Brother Chuan".

A gentle female voice came from under the streetlight.

Zhu Xunchuan stopped in his tracks.

Shen Tianxi, wearing a white floral dress, stood by a bench beside a flower bed. Her hair was loose over her shoulders, and the streetlight shone on her, making her look as if she had stepped out of the moonlight.

She was carrying two cups of milk tea.

Water droplets still clung to the inside of the cup; it was warm.

"I guessed you hadn't had dinner yet," Shen Tianxi smiled and handed over a cup of milk tea. "I bought you some milk tea."

Her gaze passed over Zhu Xun Chuan's shoulder and landed on the man behind him wearing a baseball cap, a mask, and a men's shirt.

The smile remained unchanged.

But his eyes changed.

"And this is...?"

"She's my roommate's cousin." Zhu Xun Chuan took the milk tea, his tone calm. "She came to get a charger; I'm taking her to the school gate to hail a taxi."

"Oh." Shen Tianxi tilted her head, her gaze traveling down from Su Mucheng's hat, across the section of her calf that the oversized shirt couldn't cover, and finally landing on her feet.

White sneakers.

There's a very small logo on it; that's Su Mucheng's studio logo!

Shen Tianxi's gaze lingered for only 0.3 seconds.

"My roommate's cousin," she took a step closer, her voice gentle, "Her legs are so white, it's a shame she's not a celebrity."

Su Mucheng tightened her lips behind her mask.

Zhu Xun Chuan stepped half a step to the side, subtly shielding Su Mu Cheng behind him.

"Sweetie, what are you doing here so late? The girls' dormitory isn't around here, is it?"

"I came for a walk." Shen Tianxi waved the other cup of milk tea in her hand. "I originally bought two cups, one for you and one for myself. Now that I have a little sister, I'll give this one to her."

She walked past Zhu Xunchuan and handed the milk tea to Su Mucheng.

Su Mucheng did not reach out to take it.

Instead, she leaned closer to Zhu Xun Chuan's back, and gently tugged at the back of his shirt with her free hand.

Then she spoke.

Her voice was muffled by the mask, soft and sweet, and only loud enough for three people to hear.

"Thank you, sister. But Brother Chuan said I can't drink milk tea tonight, he's worried I won't be able to sleep."

Shen Tianxi's smile faltered for a moment.

Brother Chuan.

She also calls him Brother Chuan.

"Brother Chuan is quite nosy," Shen Tianxi said, taking back her milk tea with an undiminished smile. "He even cares whether my roommate's cousin drinks milk tea or not."

"She has a sensitive stomach," Zhu Xun Chuan said without changing his expression.

Su Mucheng snuggled closer to him, her shoulder brushing against his arm, her voice even softer: "Brother Chuan likes my legs the most too. If you want to debut, I can help you get introduced to someone."

The air was quiet for a second.

Shen Tianxi's eyelashes trembled.

Zhu Xunchuan's back tensed instantly.

"Haha, little sister, you're so funny." Shen Tianxi laughed out loud, but the smile faded a beat faster than usual. "Alright, you guys should hurry up and go, it's not safe to be late."

She took a step back and raised the milk tea towards Zhu Xun Chuan.

"Brother Chuan, drink your milk tea while it's hot!"

Zhu Xunchuan nodded, then pulled Su Mucheng and turned to leave.

After walking about ten meters, he looked back.

Shen Tianxi was still standing under the streetlight, looking down at her phone.

No.

She is taking pictures.

The camera was focused on the white sneakers on Su Mucheng's feet.

Zhu Xun Chuan withdrew his gaze and quickened his pace.

When they arrived at the South Gate, the van was indeed still parked there. A short-haired woman stood beside the van, her expression somewhere between anxiety and tension.

"Mu Cheng! You spent forty-five minutes buying snacks! If the boss finds out, I'm done for!"

"Sister Song, I was wrong, I was wrong..." Su Mucheng quickly loosened her grip on Zhu Xunchuan's clothes and ran over.

She opened the car door, already stepped on it, then turned back.

She pulled her mask down to her chin, revealing her entire face. The streetlight illuminated her profile, casting the shadow of her eyelashes on her cheekbones.

"Brother Chuan".

"Um."

"I'll take your shirt for now." She pulled the shirt tighter around herself and said softly, "I'll wash it and return it to you."

He paused for a moment.

"But I don't want to pay it back."

The car door closed. The van started and drove into the night. The assistant inside was already sweating profusely, wondering what was going on. Had their little darling fallen in love?

This is the peak of her career! Su Mucheng can't be in a relationship right now!

She thought to herself, "This is really too tricky!"

Zhu Xun Chuan stood at the south gate, watching the taillights disappear around the street corner.

He lowered his head and took a sip of the milk tea that Shen Tianxi had given him.

Warm, with 30% sugar.

His favorite flavor used to be...

Shen Tianxi remembered it clearly.

Before he could finish his reflection, his phone suddenly vibrated in his pocket.

A WeChat message popped up.

Sender: Gu Qinghan.

"Come to my private office at noon tomorrow."

"If you're one minute late, you'll have to repeat this course."

Zhu Xun Chuan stared at the five large characters "Private Office" on the screen.

The milk tea with 30% sugar in my mouth suddenly wasn't sweet anymore, and even tasted a little bitter.