“Oh, really… wait, what did you just say?” Chu Xin had been walking with a smile, but upon realizing the implication, he stopped abruptly, his voice tinged with panic.
Ji Yue Xuan chuckled playfully. “Darling… if you keep talking so loudly, everyone will hear~”
Sure enough, as she spoke, Chu Xin glanced around and noticed several residents heading home, but now lingering and gossiping about the unfolding situation.
However, the moment their eyes met Chu Xin’s, they promptly resumed their own business.
Chu Xin rubbed his forehead, sighing helplessly. Fortunately, no students from his school were nearby.
If they had overheard, who knew what bizarre rumors would start circulating.
It might even escalate to something preposterous, like their relationship being twisted into “Queen and Toyboy”—a concept that clearly couldn’t exist in reality and would spark countless wild fantasies.
Worst of all, it might even reach the ears of his homeroom teacher, Tina, that troublesome woman.
Then he would undoubtedly have to do who knows how many favors to finally shut her up.
If things went awry and she reported it to his parents, the situation would become incredibly problematic.
He lowered his voice, leaning closer to the still-grinning girl’s ear. “Hey… I told you, didn’t we agree not to tell outsiders?”
But the moment the words left his mouth, Ji Yue Xuan’s face suddenly darkened. She lowered her head and subtly moved away from Chu Xin.
‘Oh no, oh no,’ Chu Xin thought, a wave of panic washing over him. He knew his words sounded quite like something a scumbag would say, yet he had acted this way for the sake of their long-term future.
But if she misunderstood and became angry, wouldn’t all his efforts be in vain?
After all, he couldn’t even begin to estimate the potential consequences at school.
He cautiously decided to clarify. “Yue… Yue Xuan? Wh-what’s wrong? What I said… it’s not that I don’t want to make us public or anything… it’s for our long-term future, you see…”
However, Ji Yue Xuan’s slightly shy voice came from his ear. “Don’t talk right in my ear, my ears are a bit sensitive… If Darling wants to do that… we can do it at night, can’t we?”
Chu Xin was utterly flustered, watching Ji Yue Xuan blush and peek at him while delicately touching her ear.
‘This girl…’
Seeing Chu Xin look at her with such an “odd” gaze, Ji Yue Xuan spoke defiantly. “What’s wrong? Is it not okay for my sensitive spot to be my ears? And Darling, you seemed to quite like it too, didn’t you?”
A deep blush spread across Chu Xin’s face, and he instinctively retorted, “I… I did not! No, no, this isn’t important.”
He finally reacted to the latter half of her statement, then quickly inquired, “So… who all knows?”
Having returned to her normal demeanor, Ji Yue Xuan secretly scoffed. She still hadn’t managed to tease Chu Xin enough.
She had originally thought Chu Xin was someone who would relentlessly attack once he knew someone’s “weakness,” but now it seemed he was more like someone with high attack but low defense.
‘Truly her Darling… so adorable~’
As Chu Xin asked the question, two names surfaced in his mind. If it was them, it should be fine, right?
He had also wondered if perhaps the three of them were in the same club.
After all, he hadn’t heard of two clubs with such perfectly aligned activity schedules.
She grinned and said, “You… guess?”
Chu Xin was instantly speechless, but seeing the lively girl before him, his worries dissipated.
Never mind. It didn’t matter who knew. No matter what, he wouldn’t part with her.
Thinking of this, he once again recalled their original identities from the story. He chuckled self-deprecatingly, ‘I really am strange…’
He walked up to her, and as she looked puzzled, he poked her forehead with his finger. “Let’s go.”
Ji Yue Xuan covered her forehead with a small hand, pouting. “Eh~ Darling isn’t curious who knows?”
Chu Xin narrowed his eyes and smiled. “It doesn’t matter. It’s all the same who knows. Isn’t this something that everyone will find out sooner or later?”
Ji Yue Xuan giggled, then pounced to link her arm through his. “Alright then~”
‘Darling has really changed so much~ Now he even tries to act cool…’
‘I really can’t resist wanting to devour him whole~’
‘But… it’s still too early. It’s only the second day since we confirmed our relationship~’
‘There’s still a long way to go in the future.’
However, the person acting cool was internally cringing, feeling rather greasy himself.
‘Surely, humans in love become stupid, don’t they?’
He also wasn’t worried that Ji Yue Xuan would announce their relationship at something like a school assembly. After all, though she seemed a bit silly and would get explosively angry when stuck in a game, she was actually very clever.
The two continued to playfully bicker as they hurried towards the subway station.
There was only a single slope, and they arrived shortly.
Since the peak time for nearby schools to let out had mostly passed, the subway station was only left with business travelers rushing for trains or office workers leaving early.
Most of them carried briefcases, their long-sleeved shirts rolled up, their attention fixed on their wristwatches.
They swiped their cards and entered the station.
They waited at the carriage entrance for the subway to arrive.
When his foster sister hadn’t left yet, Chu Xin also used to go home with this girl.
However, he would typically go to school with his foster sister and Jiang Qianhe.
The reason was simple: firstly, this girl was brought by their family’s head maid, and secondly, at that time, he was deliberately distancing himself from the original heroine.
How did that saying go? No feelings, no… cuckolding.
But now, things were different.
Coming back to his senses, the subway was already roaring into the station.
Ji Yue Xuan looked at their fleeting reflections on the subway’s dark glass, then gleefully pulled out her phone and snapped a photo of their reflections.
She deliberately showed it to Chu Xin. “Darling, look~ This is our first photo together~”
Her bold address drew envious glances from the surrounding office workers.
Chu Xin, ignoring his surroundings, looked at the blurry reflections of the two of them in the photo. Just as he was about to say something,
he suddenly noticed several women’s reflections appearing around his own reflection in the photo.
Just as he tried to zoom in, he found that everything had vanished.
Chu Xin frowned slightly.
‘Strange… a supernatural event? Or was I influenced by this morning’s dream?’
Ji Yue Xuan, who was waiting for Chu Xin to praise her photo, saw him frowning. She pouted: “Darling doesn’t like our photo together? Should I take another one?”
Chu Xin finally snapped back to reality, poking Ji Yue Xuan’s puffed-out cheek. “N-no, it’s fine. I really like this photo.”
‘It must have been my imagination, right?’
Ji Yue Xuan secretly noted Chu Xin’s reaction, then changed her contact app’s profile picture to the photo. “Then I’ll use it as my avatar, Darling… if you want one too, you can take it yourself~”
Sometimes, instead of demanding or forcing something, it’s better to pique the other person’s interest and let them do it themselves.
Chu Xin nodded, pushing the oddity of that photo from his mind.
The subway came to a complete stop at that moment.
The two found a relatively empty spot and sat down.
Ji Yue Xuan lay down on Chu Xin’s lap, wearing an expression of pure “enjoyment.”
Chu Xin instantly panicked. He glanced around, then lowered his head and whispered: “Wh-what are you doing now?”
Ji Yue Xuan closed her eyes, her expression shifting to one of “triumph.” “Replenishing my ‘Chu Xin levels,’ can’t I? Besides… this feels really good~”
Chu Xin sighed in resignation, letting her lie there.
Fortunately, it was only one stop, so Chu Xin could still endure it; otherwise, his leg would have gone numb long ago.
****
After arriving at the station.
Ji Yue Xuan linked her arm through his and exited the station. “Shall we go eat at Sister Bai’s place?”
Chu Xin had no objections. It just meant he probably wouldn’t have time for the gym again, but… his annual pass wouldn’t suffer for one or two days.
Besides, the two often ate at Sister Bai’s, which had become a habit.
The two weaved through the crowds near the mall, arriving at the entrance of “Miao Cat Restaurant.”
Just as Chu Xin was about to lead Ji Yue Xuan through the door, he was suddenly embraced from behind. A scent of perfume mixed with a mature woman’s natural fragrance enveloped him.
A voluptuous figure pressed tightly against Chu Xin.
“Who?!” Chu Xin instantly became alert.
‘Wh-when? There wasn’t even a sound, and! The other person is so strong…’
Even Ji Yue Xuan’s eyes widened, completely unable to discern the other person’s movements.
While the two were still stunned, the person behind Chu Xin spoke: “Eh~ Little Chu Xin, don’t you recognize Auntie anymore? Auntie is so sad~”