Surely It Was Seen

Xia Yanchun didn't know when she woke up; she only knew she was snuggled comfortably in Shen Nian's arms.

Waking up naturally from an afternoon nap left Xia Yanchun feeling exceptionally satisfied.

She had thought Shen Nian wouldn't sleep, but he ended up falling asleep anyway. Sleeping so soundly, how was he supposed to wake her up before four o'clock?

Xia Yanchun felt blissfully comfortable, but she had to check the time. She usually started cooking at half past four so her parents could have a hot dinner right after they got off work.

Although she could just call Xia Herui and ask him to come back and cook, Xia Yanchun still wanted to do it herself.

Struggling to reach her hand out, she lit up the screen. It was only half past three... still a long way from cooking time.

Xia Yanchun felt relieved at this.

She could continue snuggling in Shen Nian's arms.

Blowing the air conditioner and covering herself with a quilt on a hot day, while being held by Shen Nian—this was something she wouldn't have even dared to imagine at this time last year.

Xia Yanchun felt utterly delighted.

But her delight didn't last long.

Perhaps her movement of raising her hand to check her phone was a bit too big, disturbing Shen Nian's sleep. He showed signs of waking up, and Xia Yanchun's heartbeat rapidly sped up.

She shyly shifted backward, her almond eyes blinking, her thoughts in a mess.

To think that even an afternoon nap would lead to this...?

The quick-witted Xia Yanchun decided to pretend she didn't know anything.

"..." Shen Nian felt a tickle. Opening his sleepy eyes, the first thing he saw was Chunbao's fluffy crown of hair.

Her hair had slipped into his collar; no wonder it was ticklish.

Unable to see Chunbao's face, Shen Nian rubbed the back of Xia Yanchun's head. "What time is it?"

"Mmm... a little past three thirty." Xia Yanchun's voice was soft, and her hot breath hit Shen Nian's collarbone directly.

It was originally just the most normal physiological reaction, but right now, it was hard for Shen Nian to say that his heart wasn't mixed with something else.

Kissing Xia Yanchun's forehead, Shen Nian chuckled softly. "By now, those people from Jing University's admissions office should have arrived in Cinan. Given how aggressively they fight for students, even if we said we wouldn't apply to their school, I'm worried they might still charge over here to make us reconsider."

"No way..."

"Hehe, just a guess. It's best if they don't come. Tomorrow afternoon, we need to talk with the folks from Nanjiang University about our enrollment conditions."

Shen Nian quietly held Xia Yanchun's small hand, squeezing her fingers under the covers, sometimes intertwining his fingers with hers, and sometimes grasping her hand in his palm.

Xia Yanchun buried her flushed face in Shen Nian's chest, pretending not to know his thoughts. "...What should we talk about? Do you think we can live off-campus? Nanjiang University isn't that far anyway; it would be great if we could drive to school."

"Definitely." Shen Nian's breathing deepened. "Once I buy a car, we can drive to school together in the mornings and come back together at night. If we have extra time, we can stroll around the campus or go for a drive together..."

"Are you really going to buy a car?"

"Yeah, my dad said that if I become the top scorer, he'll pay for a car for me. Hehe, actually, even if I didn't get it, he would still buy me one. What about you? Did your parents promise you anything?"

"Nope." Xia Yanchun shifted back and looked up at him. "There's nothing I really want. As for buying a car, I think it's too early. Even buying one at twenty is considered early."

"You don't lack anything."

"Mhm, I don't lack anything."

"You little..." Shen Nian guided her, holding the girl's hand without letting go. There were some intimate movements under the blanket, but on the surface, it looked as if nothing was happening. "I've also looked at laptops for you. Eight thousand yuan. I'll send it to you to check out later."

"Oh..."

Xia Yanchun half-squinted her eyes, using her only free hand to gently push Shen Nian so that he lay flat, while she pressed half of her side against his arm.

The aroused girl really liked resting against Shen Nian; she could examine his expression and kiss his collarbone at the same time.

The room only occasionally echoed with their voices, exchanging casual words, while the blanket covered up all those intimate movements.

"Chunbao, hehe..."

Xia Yanchun hummed, "If you 'hehe' again, I'll snip it off."

"...!"

...

Shen Nian was fairly well-behaved, which left Xia Yanchun very satisfied. She scrubbed her hands a couple of extra times while washing them, getting them perfectly clean.

It really wasn't easy for the busy Chef Xia; she had truly worked hard.

Returning to the room to help Shen Nian tidy up a bit, Xia Yanchun tied up the bag from Shen Nian's trash can. "I'm heading to the market, I'll throw this away for you on the way."

"Let's go together, I need to buy some groceries too."

"Hmph, hurry up." Xia Yanchun held her breath, opened the window to let the room air out, and then trotted outside to wait for him.

After freshening up, Shen Nian came out as well, walking behind her, giggling and chuckling to himself about who knows what.

No matter how she looked at him, she found it annoying.

Xia Yanchun got angry. "You only know how to enjoy yourself. You're always troubling people and you don't even know how to say something nice."

"Uh, but in the beginning, you were the one who..."

Before he could finish, Xia Yanchun immediately turned around and gave his calf a kick, stopping him from completing his sentence.

The more the enemy tries to silence me, the more it proves I did the right thing.

Knowing this principle well, Shen Nian said calmly, "In the beginning, you were the one who wanted to help me..."

"!!"

"Hey, damn it, don't bite... Hiss!"

"..."

Shen Nian looked at the bite mark below his thumb, lost in thought.

The marks left by her little canine teeth were the deepest.

It felt so familiar, as if returning to the past when they used to trade blows. He missed those days of physical brawls, even though Shen Nian had never actually managed to beat Xia Yanchun.

Xia Yanchun sulked and ignored him. Too lazy to change out of her slippers, she stood by the door waiting for him to push the bike out.

Shen Nian didn't dare speak, terrified of being hit by her whirlwind attack.

Truth be told, it did hurt a little, but it was bearable.

"Get on, get on." Shen Nian pushed the bike out.

Xia Yanchun gave a cold snort and nimbly climbed onto the backseat, still holding the black plastic bag full of trash.

"So annoying."

"Ahem, what groceries are you going to buy?"

"Just some greens and fish. A relative brought us a jar of pickled mustard greens the day before yesterday, so I'll make pickled fish later."

"Will that be enough for the four of us?"

"It's only enough for three. You're not allowed to come over and freeload." Xia Yanchun poked the back of Shen Nian's head.

"It's fine. If I go to your place to eat, your parents will definitely eat less and share some of the food with me."

"Blegh, I'll share two fish bones with you."

"Damn it, being your boyfriend is pure torture."

"I'm already so gentle, so it must be your problem."

"A gentle girlfriend gently shares two fish bones with me? Wow, you really are gentle beyond limits."

Hiding behind Shen Nian, Xia Yanchun's eyes curved into a smile. She quietly placed her small hands on Shen Nian's lower abdomen. Her favorite thing to do while sitting on the backseat was to measure his lower abdomen with her fingers.

She rested her face against Shen Nian's back, glancing sideways at the neighboring residents. She recognized quite a few of them; although they weren't exactly close, they would usually gather around and chat.

Her and Shen Nian like this, they must have been seen, right...

Just as she was thinking this, an electric scooter zipped past. Xia Yanchun saw Xia Herui sitting on it, and for a split second, she felt like she had locked eyes with her own dad.

...