After all, a scumbag must be slick.

In the blink of an eye, over an hour had passed.

Lu Xuexue pressed her lips tightly together, hastily threw on her nightgown after tossing aside the covers, and dashed out of the room barefoot, her little feet pattering against the cold floor.

Gu Luo, meanwhile, lay there with a zen-like expression, gazing at the ceiling as he leisurely exhaled a long breath.

Gu Ximan, resting her head on his arm, made a tiny gap between her fingers and grinned smugly. "Xuexue’s luck was just a smidge worse than mine."

Shift work, anyone?

Ten minutes per person—two more minutes, and it would’ve been her turn.

"Ah, this feels amazing," Gu Luo suddenly mused, sighing contentedly.

Hearing this, Gu Ximan immediately sat up, puffing her cheeks as she glared at him. "You’re way too smooth at this. Tell me, Gu Luo, have you done this loads of times already?"

"Ahem..."

Gu Luo’s zen demeanor shattered instantly. He quickly deflected, "Ximan, sweetheart, maybe you should go check on Xuexue? And maybe rinse your mouth while you’re at it..."

Even though Gu Ximan already knew about his romantic history—and had even accepted it—one universal truth remained: never bring up another girl in front of one.

Especially when it came to this kind of topic.

"Don’t. Change. The. Subject!" Gu Ximan enunciated each word, grabbing Gu Luo by the neck. "Confess now, or face the consequences! How many times have you done this? With who? Shu Ning? Shu He? Or are there others?"

"I’m dying, I’m dying!" Seeing his diversion tactic fail, Gu Luo immediately played dead, sticking out his tongue and rolling his eyes back dramatically.

Gu Ximan was equal parts furious and amused, her chest rising and falling as she pinched his ear. "You’re either dodging the question or faking your death—I didn’t even squeeze that hard! Ugh, Gu Luo, you’re the worst!"

Gu Luo stayed silent, committed to his act.

Of course, being decisive didn’t mean laying everything bare—that was just asking for trouble.

If he was going to embrace the role of a playboy, he’d do it right: genuine affection for all, fairness across the board, and harmony among his girlfriends. A pure-hearted playboy, if you will.

Who said playboys couldn’t be romantic?

He just wanted to give these girls a home—what was so wrong about that?

The problem wasn’t him. It was the worl—wait, wrong script.

Mentally chuckling at his own thoughts, Gu Luo pulled Gu Ximan into his arms and cooed, "Wow, Ximan, how are you this gorgeous? Even prettier than Shu Ning, Shu He, and Xuexue combined."

"Pfft."

Gu Ximan rolled her eyes at the blatant flattery, turning her face away with a huff.

But the corners of her lips betrayed her, twitching upward ever so slightly before she forced them back down.

Classic internal conflict.

One side of her brain grumbled—This is so lazy, Gu Luo! You think I’m an idiot?

The other side, however, was busy squealing—He said I’m the prettiest! Prettier than Ning-jie, He-jie, AND Xuexue! Hehehe.

"There, there." Gu Luo gave her a few comforting head pats, thinking he’d successfully dodged the bullet—until Gu Ximan hit him with another bombshell:

"Gu Luo... is your, you know... first time still... intact?"

"......"

Gu Luo’s eye twitched, but he nodded honestly. "Yep."

"Oh."

Gu Ximan exhaled in relief, then fidgeted with her cold tea-brown hair, avoiding eye contact as she pressed further:

"So... what do you think about... you know..."

"About what? I don’t follow."

Gu Luo played dumb.

Gu Ximan puffed her cheeks again. "Ugh, you’re so annoying! You know what I’m asking!"

"What what? I have no idea."

Gu Luo fake-yawned. "Ahhh—so tired. No energy left. Goodnight, sleep tight~"

With that, he flopped down and instantly began snoring, mastering the art of speedrunning sleep.

This conversation could not continue.

After all, he’d made a promise to Shu He just hours ago.

Later, he’d have to ask her to keep it a secret—that way, he could keep "resetting" his first time.

Then the second girl would guard the secret.

Then the third.

That way, everyone could be his "first."

Sure, it was scummy—but it was a white lie, really.

Balancing multiple girls was hard.

Sweet talk? Essential.

Lies? A must.

If caught? Apologize shamelessly.

Then lie again.

A playboy had to be slick.

"......"

Gu Ximan's chest heaved violently with anger. She wanted to teach this infuriating man a lesson with her "Mannan Fist," but as her hand reached halfway, she caught sight of Gu Luo's genuinely exhausted face and couldn't bring herself to do it.

Yet the moment she remembered the reason behind his exhaustion, her fury only grew.

Honestly, how could he be so skilled—so playful?

Who knows how many times they'd indulged in these past two months.

Just thinking about it soured her mood.

Gu Ximan then grew angry at herself.

Two months—a full two months.

Right under her nose, they'd been flirting and carrying on, and she hadn't noticed a thing.

"Blind to what's right before your eyes"—how fitting.

"Stinky, stinky, stinky, stinky, stinky Gu Luo!"

She pinched his waist, then huffily jumped off the bed, also barefoot, and stormed out of the room.

Having adjusted to the darkness, her eyes quickly guided her to the bathroom.

There, she found Lu Xuexue splashing her face with cold water, trying to cool down.

But the icy water only made her already flushed cheeks burn even hotter.

Gu Ximan gently patted Lu Xuexue's delicate shoulder but said nothing.

Some things just took time to get used to.

After a pause, she shifted the topic with a teasing smile. "Xuexue, tomorrow’s the big day—your date with your dear Gu Gege~~~"

At that, Lu Xuexue couldn’t help but smile too.

Her heart swelled with anticipation.

............

............

.