You're Having a Hard Time in My Mind

Having nothing to do today, Shen Nian stayed at Xia Yanchun's house until the afternoon. From the moment he got into bed until now, he hadn't gotten out of it.

Xia Yanchun's bed was simply too comfortable.

Lazing in bed together like this on a weekend, looking at their phones and scrolling through videos, was quite enjoyable.

Xia Yanchun leaned against Shen Nian, watching the phone with him. Playing on the phone was a horror movie recap video, the uncensored kind that only had a jump-scare countdown in the corner. Even with mental preparation, Xia Yanchun was still easily frightened by the terrifying scenes.

She gripped two of Shen Nian's fingers, squeezing them tight, and unconsciously rubbing them when the tension eased.

This made Shen Nian feel a bit unnatural, his mind inevitably wandering to some inappropriate thoughts.

Chunbao's unconscious actions were a bit too much of a foul.

The video ended. Shen Nian clicked on the creator's profile, about to find another horror movie recap to watch, when Xia Yanchun quietly spoke up beside him.

"Getting ready for the second mock exam."

"When is it?"

"Friday. Do you not even keep track of the time?"

"I wasn't paying attention. The teacher will talk about it during the class meeting anyway."

"You don't act like a high school senior at all."

For a major exam like a mock test right under the college entrance exam, which high school senior wouldn't be both expectant and nervous? Only Shen Nian didn't take it seriously.

"Are you confident you can beat my score this time?"

Shen Nian looked sideways and chuckled lightly, "Easy peasy."

"So confident. You say that every time there's an exam."

"Let's bet, we have to make a bet!"

"No way."

Xia Yanchun never liked betting on grades with Shen Nian. Regardless of whether the gap was big or small, she didn't like it.

Although she was confident she would win, she was also prepared to be beaten by Shen Nian. After all, Shen Nian had long reached the same level of proficiency as her.

"You don't dare to bet, so why even ask?"

"I just wanted to ask and watch you brag. When the results come out, I'll think about what you said today, and I can laugh at you for two whole days."

"Come on, I'll win this time."

"Then good luck. Don't tell me to 'just wait and see' for the final joint exam when the time comes."

"I'm already working hard. I was reading a book last night," Shen Nian whispered in her ear. "Since I'm working so hard, is there any reward?"

"What the heck? You're not studying for my sake."

"I know, I just simply want a reward."

Looking at Shen Nian's silly expression, Xia Yanchun rolled her pretty eyes.

This guy wasn't even pretending anymore.

They were just watching a horror movie. Right after finishing it, the big idiot Shen Nian became this shameless. If she had known, she wouldn't have reminded him.

"I really can't deal with you."

Xia Yanchun's eyes curved in a smile. Looking helpless and unable to do anything about Shen Nian, she got up, straddled Shen Nian's lap, leaned down, and breathed softly against his chest.

With her two small hands resting on his shoulders like that, the sweet softness made Shen Nian's Adam's apple bob unconsciously.

As their lips parted, Xia Yanchun amusingly tapped the peak of Shen Nian's lips. "Want more?"

Shen Nian pursed his lips. He didn't even speak, but Xia Yanchun already knew the answer in her heart.

After being affectionate together for a good while, Xia Yanchun got off Shen Nian with a flushed face. Her heart felt mushy, and a surging sense of shyness made her movements a bit unnatural.

"..." Shen Nian stared blankly at Xia Yanchun and scratched his cheek. He felt that Xia Yanchun also wanted to kiss a bit more, but he didn't dare to say it, afraid she would scold him.

Chunbao was just like that; she couldn't be teased about it.

"Do you need to go to the bathroom?" Xia Yanchun pointed at the bedroom door.

Shen Nian, who was completely comfortable a second ago, was now feeling uncomfortable again. Good thing he had the blanket.

"No."

Xia Yanchun suddenly thought of something and shrank under the covers. She didn't dare to look at him, her neck turning a bit pink from embarrassment.

"Didn't you say you weren't going to quit? Do you have that stuff on your phone, then you, then you..."

"Yes, yes, yes. You have it so rough in my imagination."

"You, you really are a pervert, Shen Nian! I knew it!"

Under the covers, Xia Yanchun pinched Shen Nian's waist, making him bare his teeth in pain and grab her hand out.

This time, she really used force. It felt like it was going to be covered in bruises.

She asked, and when he told the truth, she hit him. How could anyone play this game without getting nerfed? Might as well just declare her the winner.

Xia Yanchun couldn't stand such an ambiguous atmosphere. She got up, left the room, and ran to the sink to gently pat her face with cold water to cool herself down.

She wanted to give Shen Nian a slap.

Returning to the room, she kept her mouth shut this time.

The weather was gradually starting to warm up. With the current temperature, there was no need to stay covered in blankets all the time. Even just wearing pajamas, it wasn't cold in the room at all.

Xia Yanchun sat cross-legged, yielding all her blankets to Shen Nian without fighting him for them.

"I get hit for lying, and I get hit for telling the truth. In the future, just keep these questions to yourself. Ask less and leave some boundaries between us, otherwise I'll call you Sister Cow Dung."

"Hmph." Xia Yanchun pursed her lips and swatted him with a pillow. "I'm ignoring you!"

She sulked and left Shen Nian to guess why.

...

After lazing around at Xia Yanchun's house for the entire day, Shen Nian felt like he smelled fragrant, carrying the scent of Chunbao.

He had no choice but to come back to buy groceries and cook dinner.

Buying some frying batter, Shen Nian made a batch of fried chicken wings that could allegedly clear heat, detoxify, and reduce internal fire.

Next time he could try making weight-loss fried chicken, the kind that makes you thinner the more you eat.

It was just that it was his first time frying them, and the appearance was a bit ugly. Shen Nian didn't know why they turned out different from the video; the outer layer of batter was almost falling off.

Shen Nian looked at the chicken wings and stroked his chin.

Heh, taking off your armor voluntarily, huh? Interesting.

The more he looked at the chicken wings, the more seductive they seemed. These damn chicken wings were actually taking off their armor to tempt His Majesty.

Shen Nian's appetite flared up, and he ate several chicken wings clean before it was even mealtime.

He left a few for Shen Yue, and took the rest next door to give to Xia Yanchun for her to eat as a snack.

"Can you make Orleans flavor next time? As my boyfriend, you don't even know my favorite flavor." Xia Yanchun found some disposable gloves in the house, picked up a fried chicken wing, and complained while nibbling on it.

"You're lucky I'm even giving you any, what are you grumbling about? Let me see your legs."

"Here, look." Xia Yanchun rested her legs on the coffee table.

A set of pajamas covered Xia Yanchun tightly, only revealing her ankles. What the heck was there to see?

Shen Nian cleared his throat, leaned close to Xia Yanchun, and grinned, "Let me see your base layer."

"Sure."

"?"

Shen Nian was a bit stunned, thinking he had misheard.

Until he saw Xia Yanchun pull her collar to the side, revealing the spaghetti strap on her shoulder.

After merely two seconds, Xia Yanchun pulled her clothes back together, not letting Shen Nian see anymore.

Calves are legs too, and a camisole strap is a base layer, right?

"...You're messing with me." Shen Nian gave her a raised eyebrow look.

"How did you know?"

"..."

Brilliant, he got played by Chunbao.

The smart Shen Nian chose to change the subject. "Then I'll make Orleans flavor for you next time, so you don't keep muttering about attending my funeral."

Xia Yanchun looked up at him, spat out the bone in her mouth, and tapped her finger.

"Those were all jokes. Even though I curse you every day, deep down I truly hope you're doing well."

"I'm not an idiot."

"Damn, why didn't you say so earlier?!"

"..."

Waiting for me right there, huh.

...

The spring days were getting warmer, and the weather no longer required wearing three or four layers of clothes.

Shen Nian managed fine with just a short-sleeved shirt and a jacket. In this seventeen or eighteen-degree weather, some boys even sweated during PE class.

With the second mock exam tomorrow, the study atmosphere in the classroom had improved significantly.

During the long break, Shen Nian returned from the restroom with dripping wet hands, but there was no sign of Chen Dong or Ma Mingfan in the hallway.

He looked around, feeling completely abandoned.

Shen Nian had no choice but to shake his hands and wipe them on his clothes.

Before he even entered the classroom, he sensed a thick aura of sorrow.

Such... such a familiar sense of craziness!

Shen Nian took a look. Good heavens, Chen Qiuyu was leaning over the railing. No wonder.

Her sorrow was practically overflowing like a river.

"What's wrong...?" Shen Nian stood next to her and asked curiously.

Who dared to bully the Crazy Girl of our class? Were they asking for a death wish?

Chen Qiuyu pulled a bitter face and pursed her lips.

Shen Nian was the first person today to notice how unhappy she was, and she was almost moved to tears.

"My whole life has been like walking on thin ice. Tell me, why can't this world just allow a little girl to live happily?"

"Speak plainly."

"...Last night, while I was using my phone on the toilet, my earbud fell into the bowl."

"..." Shen Nian narrowed his eyes. Although it sounded quite tragic, he remembered that Chen Qiuyu had already dropped one before.

Now she had dropped two.

"Isn't that perfect? Since you dropped both, you can just buy a new pair."

"Those earbuds were new. They just arrived yesterday, and I already dropped one today..."

"..."

How was she managing to hold back her tears?