Ambiguity Paused for a Day

Xia Yanchun wiped her mouth and, feeling a bit sullen, gave Shen Nian a kick.

It was too much, especially in broad daylight.

Shen Nian pulled his small quilt over himself, sleeping quite peacefully.

Then he received another kick from Xia Yanchun.

"Are you done yet?" Shen Nian frowned. "Kick me again and I'll kick you back."

"I'll hit you, I'll beat you to death!" Xia Yanchun grabbed a small pillow and smashed it onto Shen Nian's face.

"Hiss, damn it, the metal zipper hit me!" Shen Nian suddenly covered his nose, in extreme pain. It didn't look like he was acting.

Because he had genuinely been hit by the metal ring on the pillow's zipper. With the added debuff of taking damage in the winter, it really hurt.

"Serves you right."

"I can tell you really hate me."

"I can't be bothered with you." Xia Yanchun pouted and lay down on Shen Nian's bed as well.

There was no one else at home; his parents weren't around either. She didn't really want to study, and she had finished all the chores yesterday. There really wasn't much to do at home.

Xia Yanchun looked up at the ceiling, thinking about the past.

Before she and Shen Nian became as close as they were now, how did she use to spend her holidays?

It seemed she would just lie at home all day, reading a book for a while, doing some practice questions, and then playing on her phone alone. When 4:00 PM rolled around, she would buy groceries and cook dinner for her parents, and then read some more at night...

Now, it had turned into staying by Shen Nian's side all day long.

Sleeping next to Shen Nian, basking in the sun with him in the morning, strolling through the supermarket with him at noon, and now lying together with him in a daze... Tonight, she would probably be dragged by Shen Nian to sleep with him again.

From last summer vacation to now, her life had completely flipped upside down.

Xia Yanchun hummed softly, feeling that she couldn't continue to slack off like this. Since Shen Nian had just said he was going to study hard tomorrow, she should also study seriously.

"We must study seriously tomorrow, and we have to stick to our word."

"Of course," Shen Nian replied.

"Then don't come looking for me tomorrow, and I won't come looking for you either. We can't interfere with each other, got it?"

"Studying is one thing, but how did it escalate to mutual non-interference..."

"You're always so energetic and keep bothering me. I can't even focus on studying when I'm next to you!"

Shen Nian sweatdropped. Putting aside the facts, are you saying you're completely faultless?

Before he could speak, Xia Yanchun earnestly poked Shen Nian's cheek. "Tomorrow, the flirting stops. We are going to live a day in the life of normal high school seniors, just like before, understand?"

"I'll think about it."

"No thinking allowed."

"..." Shen Nian kept a straight face, then let out a sigh-like chuckle. "Whatever you say. Just make sure you don't come bothering me tomorrow."

"You've got it backwards. You're obviously the one who's always bothering me."

"Ahem." Shen Nian sneakily placed his hand on Xia Yanchun's flat stomach. "We'll talk about tomorrow's matters tomorrow. Today isn't over yet."

"You're not allowed to..."

Xia Yanchun removed Shen Nian's hand, which was trying to creep upwards.

When she said no more from now on, she meant no more from now on. Who told Shen Nian to make that kind of gesture? He didn't respect Sister Chun at all, so let him wallow in regret.

Shen Nian wasn't annoyed; he honestly settled for just holding her small hand.

After lying together for a while, Xia Yanchun pulled the quilt off Shen Nian, propped up a pillow, and tucked herself in as if she were in her own home.

She was going to rest on Shen Nian's bed now, and she hoped Shen Nian would know what was good for him.

If Shen Nian didn't leave, she didn't care. She just lay on her side looking at her phone, letting Shen Nian rub and squeeze her hand as he pleased.

...

How could he play with just one hand for half an hour...?

After scrolling through her phone in Shen Nian's room for almost an hour, Xia Yanchun finally got up. "I'm heading back. Remember to hide the snacks well."

"Yeah."

"..."

Xia Yanchun blinked, leaned down, and gave Shen Nian a quick peck on the cheek. She immediately slipped on her slippers and pitter-pattered to the balcony.

However, there were quite a few cars passing by in the afternoon. Afraid of making a bad impression, she turned around, ran out of the room, and went home through the front door.

With nothing else to do, Shen Nian spent the afternoon alone at home doing practice questions.

Even during the holidays, a high school senior about to take the college entrance exam still needed to study if they wanted to improve.

He'd just do a little light studying.

He studied until 5:00 PM, then went downstairs to wash the rice and cook dinner. After eating by himself, he went back up to the second floor for some more light studying.

He lightly studied until 10:00 PM, and Shen Nian was still in good condition.

He accidentally finished the last bit of his chemistry 5-3 workbook.

Out of the 5-3 workbooks for all six subjects, he had finished math as well as the three science subjects. Thinking about it, it gave him quite a sense of accomplishment.

It wasn't just the 5-3 workbooks; Shen Nian had also finished quite a few other practice books. He could finish a thirty-page past paper workbook he bought in just a single day.

Many of the questions were already like simple after-class exercises to him, and he would casually solve a few just for fun whenever he was free.

...

The next day.

Shen Nian woke up at 6:00 AM. After cooking some lean meat porridge, he headed out for a run at 6:30 AM, touring the entire central area of the town.

Jogging for three hours, even he broke a bit of a sweat.

Walking around, he realized the town had changed quite a bit. The old street he used to pass by on his way to elementary school now had a newly paved road. Many old houses had been torn down, and various small shops had sprung up like a commercial street, selling things at the most affordable prices to passing elementary students. Even though school was out for the holidays, they were still open.

Deep-fried ham sausages for one yuan each, hot dogs for one yuan and fifty cents, and even the starch sausages that usually cost three or four yuan in the city were only two yuan and fifty cents here. There were also sticky rice puddings for one yuan and fried sweet potatoes for one yuan—prices that hadn't changed in ten years.

Even though there were plenty of snacks at home, Shen Nian couldn't resist buying a few.

Anyone who could resist buying them would be a saint.

Today wasn't market day, so the market wasn't as bustling. At this time of the morning, it could even be said to be a bit quiet.

The spots where chickens and ducks were sold on market days still had some dried poultry droppings with a few feathers stuck to them. In less than a day, they would be trampled clean by pedestrians and vehicles.

You couldn't expect the town to be spotlessly clean. Rather, this was the authentic slice of life the town was supposed to have. The market held every three days had remained unchanged for ten years, day in and day out.

Carrying the groceries he was going to cook for dinner tonight, Shen Nian returned home and was a little surprised to see Xia Yanchun lying on a wooden armchair, basking in the sun.

Then again, it was already almost 10:00 AM.

"You're up early today," Shen Nian called out a greeting from below.

Hearing his voice, Xia Yanchun curiously stood up from the armchair and squatted by the railing to look at him. "Where did you go?"

"Went for a run and bought some groceries on the way."

"You're only just getting back?"

"I haven't exercised for days because of the rain, so I made up for it today."

After saying that, Shen Nian went back into the house. At this hour, Chen Minyue and Shen Shi had long since gone to the farm. The house was quite quiet. Since he had quit gaming, Shen Nian actually didn't like this kind of quietness very much anymore.

On the third-floor balcony, Shen Nian also sat down on a chair, with the cheap little snacks he had just bought resting on another chair.

Now it was time to read a book while basking in the sun.

Looking over at Xia Yanchun, he noticed that she was also reading, hugging a small throw pillow in her arms. The wooden armchair was far more comfortable than a regular square chair. With a push of her fair, clean feet, she rocked back and forth, making Shen Nian feel a bit envious.

Envious of the wooden armchair, of course—it looked so incredibly comfortable.