After this ordeal, Lin Xi had, once again, run out of clothes to wear.
In the end, Xue Yang still couldn't keep his own clothes safe.
That is to say, taking in a strange girl is far too much trouble.
If this keeps up, he's going to run out of clothes himself.
"Xue Yang, seeing how pitiful I am, won't you let me sleep in your bed, pretty please?"
Lin Xi's pitiful-face expression had a devastatingly powerful effect.
However, she was dealing with Xue Yang.
"No!"
"You're so ungentlemanly. No wonder you don't have a girlfriend."
Xue Yang's body paused slightly. "Yeah, I don't have a girlfriend, so with an unarmed and gorgeous young girl sharing a room with a single man like me, don't you think something might happen?"
"You wouldn't," Lin Xi said with certainty.
Xue Yang paused again. "What makes you think I wouldn't?"
"Because I read your diary. Someone who can write such poetic novel outlines must be a good person."
"You read my diary?"
Lin Xi almost bit her tongue off. In her moment of haste, she had let it slip.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. I just wanted to know what kind of person you are, whether you'd do anything to me. As it turns out, someone who can write such poetic stories must be a good person."
"Have you ever thought that maybe I won't do anything to you right now, but what about after a long time? Don't forget, I'm a normal adult male."
With a loud bang, the bedroom door was slammed shut.
Lin Xi rubbed the bridge of her nose. Good thing it didn't hit her.
Such a fiery temper.
"..."
The next day, when Lin Xi woke up, it was already ten o'clock. To her horror, she discovered Xue Yang sitting not far away. Realizing she had slept so heavily, a wave of annoyance washed over her.
"Why didn't you go to school today?"
Hearing her voice, Xue Yang didn't stop what he was doing, though he wasn't as timid and awkward as before.
"Today is Saturday. I don't have classes."
"I forgot."
"Since you're awake, go brush your teeth and eat breakfast."
When Lin Xi came out after brushing her teeth, Xue Yang was still busy. She followed behind him, her eyes filled with a clear, innocent confusion.
"What are you doing?"
"I'm cleaning the kitchen. Eating out all the time is beyond my current means. Cooking for ourselves is clean, hygienic, and tidy, and most importantly, it saves money."
"But I don't know how to cook."
"Then what *do* you know how to do?"
"I know how to eat."
"You're amazing!"
"Naturally." Lin Xi felt quite proud.
Ever since she was little, if she ate an extra mouthful of food cooked by the housekeeper, she would be praised from head to toe, and the housekeeper would get an extra bonus as a result.
...
At 1:14 PM, the two of them finally sat down for their first meal in the rental apartment.
A plate of stir-fried pork with chili peppers, a bowl of tomato and egg drop soup, and rice. Although simple, it was home-style cooking, and it looked quite appetizing.
Lin Xi had never eaten food like this before. "I didn't expect you to be such a good cook."
Xue Yang placed a bowl in front of Lin Xi. "Little girl who only knows how to eat, hurry up and sit down to eat."
Lin Xi burst out laughing. "You're actually pretty funny when you talk."
After lunch, Lin Xi volunteered to wash the dishes while Xue Yang went back to his room to write and scribble.
*Clatter—*
It was the sound of a dish falling to the floor and shattering.
Xue Yang put down his pen and walked out. Lin Xi still had plenty of dish soap bubbles on her hands, and she looked at Xue Yang with a wronged expression. "I didn't mean to."
There were only three plates to begin with, and now that one had shattered, only two were left.
"You really *do* only know how to eat. Stay out of the way, I'll wash them."
"I can learn."
Xue Yang let her be while he efficiently cleaned up the shattered pieces and set about washing the dishes.
"You don't need to use too much dish soap. Just this much is enough. Use a damp rag to scrub, and then rinse the soap off with water."
"Xue Yang, you're amazing. You can cook and wash dishes."
Lin Xi looked at Xue Yang's focused profile, and on an impulse, she felt her heartbeat skip a beat. *He's pretty handsome, too,* she added mentally in her heart.
"When I was little, I used this trick to do odd jobs for my mom. How much for washing a dish? Then I'd use the money I earned to buy spicy strips."
"My pocket money was always given to me voluntarily by my dad. I didn't need to earn it myself."
"That cuts the fun in half. Money you earn yourself is much more satisfying to spend."
"You're right. What are spicy strips?"
"You've never eaten spicy strips?"
"No, I've never even heard of them."
"Then your childhood was truly pitiful. You haven't even eaten spicy strips. Spicy strips are a rare delicacy. Everyone who has eaten them says they're delicious."
"Really? I'll have to try some when I get the chance."
Xue Yang smiled and didn't say anything.
After washing the dishes, Lin Xi went to the bathroom to wash the clothes she had bought the night before, while Xue Yang went back to his room to work on his outline.
This was one of his favorite ways to pass the time—he loved writing various short stories in his notebook.
"Xue Yang, I have nowhere to hang my clothes."
"You can bring them in and hang them on my bedroom balcony. There's just the right amount of sun here."
Lin Xi laboriously dragged in a bucket.
"You washed them well, except it would be even better if you could wring them out a bit more."
"I don't have the strength. You come help me wring them."
Xue Yang put down his notebook, fished a piece of clothing out of the bucket, and effortlessly wrung it dry.
Lin Xi took it naturally and put it on a hanger, and Xue Yang casually hung it on the balcony. Without needing to say another word, the two of them shared a magical tacit understanding.
After that, he fished out another piece, wrung it dry, and repeated the motion.
After a few times, just as Xue Yang picked up another piece of clothing, Lin Xi suddenly let out a shriek.
"Wait, no—!"
Following that, both of them froze.
It was a pair of translucent pink lace panties. Oh, and the pattern on them was Hello Kitty—very cute, a bit like Lin Xi at that moment with her flailing claws, though by comparison, Lin Xi was even cuter.
Lin Xi snatched the panties right out of Xue Yang's hand.
"Wuwuwu~ They're tainted now."
"..."
After finally getting all the clothes hung up, Lin Xi returned to the living room, which had now become her exclusive territory.
However, locked in his room, Xue Yang could no longer settle his mind to write stories.
Because the balcony was covered in Lin Xi's clothes, bright and colorful, so striking that it was hard to ignore them.
Especially those translucent pink panties; Xue Yang felt as though the sensation of touching them still lingered on his hands.
Silky and smooth, with a fantastic texture.
Xue Yang took a deep breath and raised his head to loosen his shoulders. Suddenly, a strong gust of wind blew from outside the window, making the clothes on the balcony rattle loudly. Right after that, that pair of translucent pink panties slipped off the hanger and landed squarely on Xue Yang's face. By sheer coincidence, at that very moment, Lin Xi walked in.
"Xue Yang, you pervert."
"......If I told you they flew off by themselves, would you believe me?"