“Mmm… mmm…”
Jiang Qianhe’s body instantly began to squirm upon hearing Su Jin’s words. Her eyes looked off—something wasn’t right.
hu Xin quickly whispered, “Hey… keep your voice down!”
But Jiang Qianhe ignored him. “Mmm… mmm…”
Her movements only grew more intense.
Now it was Chu Xin’s turn to panic.
He couldn’t even imagine how Su Jin would react if she walked in and saw them like this…
Fortunately, he’d already locked the door from the outside.
Hearing the commotion inside, Su Jin didn’t overthink it—she simply assumed Chu Xin had woken up at her call. She tried the doorknob. Locked, just as expected. She knocked gently.
“Chu Xin… is everything okay in there?”
The noise from his room made her uneasy. Her mind involuntarily drifted back to that eerie supernatural novel she’d seen in his room earlier…
But then—silence. Abrupt and complete.
She glanced around at the pitch-black hallway. A chill ran down her spine.
Brother… I definitely heard something just now. Could he be hiding that woman?
At that thought, Su Jin’s fear vanished in an instant—replaced by cold, steely resolve. The frightened expression on her delicate face hardened into something far more terrifying than any ghost.
She knocked again.
“Asleep already? …Brother?”
The next moment, the door swung open.
Chu Xin stood there, bleary-eyed and disheveled—every inch the picture of someone who’d just woken up. Rubbing his eyes, he asked groggily, “What’s wrong, Xiao Jin? Did you have a nightmare?”
His tone was perfectly convincing—just like someone roused from deep sleep.
Su Jin blinked, momentarily thrown off. She scanned his room with her peripheral vision but saw nothing out of place.
Strange… Nothing at all?
She pushed the suspicion aside, paused briefly, then spoke—but not in the way Chu Xin was used to.
“Yeah… I had a nightmare. Can I… sleep with you tonight?”
It took courage for her to say it—a line fitting for a little sister afraid of the dark.
And with her nightgown freshly changed, her fair skin glowing softly in the dim light, and that signature “emotionless girl” expression…
She looked exactly like an anime heroine timidly seeking refuge with her older brother: utterly blank-faced on the outside, trembling with anxiety within, terrified he might reject her. The sheer innocence was devastating.
Chu Xin flinched. He glanced toward his bed—no movement. With an awkward smile, he replied, “Sorry, Xiao Jin, but you’re not a kid anymore. You’ve got to be brave on your own. I’m right next door—if anything happens, just come get me.”
Su Jin didn’t answer. She just stared straight into his eyes.
He’s avoiding my gaze… Classic sign of lying…
But why would he lie about something like this?
What’s really going on…?
Under her steady gaze, Chu Xin’s eyes flickered. After a moment, he reached out and gently ruffled her hair.
“Alright, Xiao Jin, go back to bed. You’ve got school tomorrow. Don’t be scared—I’m right here if you need me.” He gave a soft, warm smile. “Goodnight.”
Su Jin stared at him a beat longer, then simply nodded. “Mm.”
Only after she disappeared into her room did Chu Xin let out a quiet sigh of relief. He slipped back inside and re-locked the door.
Turning to his bed, he glared at the lump under the covers.
“Alright, you can come out now.”
At his words, a head of tousled orange hair emerged from the blankets—delicate, lively features unmistakably belonging to Jiang Qianhe, who’d just been pressed against him moments ago.
Her cheeks were flushed crimson. Being shoved into the bedding so abruptly had felt oddly like a scene from a romance novel—either a tyrannical landlord snatching a maiden or a domineering CEO tossing the heroine onto the bed.
Strangely enough… she didn’t hate it. In fact, it felt kind of nice—especially since she’d originally intended to take the lead herself.
But the moment their eyes met, she shrank back slightly and whispered, almost shyly:
“Do you… want to get under the covers too? I’ve already warmed it up really well…”
Chu Xin’s eye twitched. What on earth is she talking about?
Keeping his voice low so as not to wake Su Jin, he sighed in exasperation, “Seriously, what are you even doing here on the balcony again?”
He’d grown somewhat used to Jiang Qianhe’s random late-night visits—but he was surprised she wasn’t acting “tsundere” for once.
Earlier, to keep Su Jin from discovering her, he’d unceremoniously stuffed the 158-cm-tall Jiang Qianhe into his bed. He’d been bracing himself for some embarrassing noise during his conversation with Su Jin…
Thankfully, she’d stayed quiet and waited patiently beneath the covers—allowing him to bluff his way through.
Now, however, Jiang Qianhe remained silent, lost in thought. Su Jin’s earlier plea—“Can I sleep with you?”—had cut deep.
She was his neighbor, yet she could never enjoy the same “proximity advantage” as Su Jin.
And that was before considering Mrs. Su and that noisy little brat—they hadn’t returned yet, but if they came back suddenly, her situation would become even more precarious.
Seeing her lost in silence, Chu Xin sighed again, completely baffled by her thoughts. He sat down on the edge of the bed and repeated gently, “So… seriously, why are you here?”
Before he could finish, Jiang Qianhe yanked him down into the bed.
His eyes widened in shock—but before he could react, she’d already straddled him, dragging the blanket over them both until they were completely entangled.
In the suffocating darkness beneath the covers, all he could hear was her quickened breathing… and the growing nearness of her presence.
Her warm breath brushed against his face, sending his imagination spiraling. He dared not move—he was terrified of accidentally touching something he shouldn’t.
“Wha—?! What are you doing?!” he hissed in the dark.
But Jiang Qianhe immediately clamped a small hand over his mouth.
“Shh… don’t let Xiao Jin hear~” Her eyes gleamed with something mischievous—and dangerous.
Her petite body shifted restlessly atop his, deliberately brushing against sensitive spots, as if trying to awaken the beast within him.
She pressed her forehead to his and whispered, barely audible:
“Want to… do it?”
At that moment, she no longer cared about consequences. She couldn’t bear hiding her feelings any longer.
Chu Xin’s mind went blank. In the cramped, heated space beneath the covers, his rationality began slipping away…
No—wait!
I have a girlfriend.
The realization snapped him back to his senses. Feeling Jiang Qianhe still moving provocatively against him, he surged upward with sudden force, shattering the tension she’d so carefully built.
He scrambled out of the blanket cocoon and backed against the wall.
“What the hell was that?! If you pull something like that again, I’ll throw you out!”
Tch… Failed again.
Realizing her attempt had backfired, Jiang Qianhe quickly composed herself.
Sitting cross-legged on the bed, she bit her lip and murmured with feigned nonchalance, “It was just a childhood-friends joke, okay? Don’t tell me you actually believed it… Hmph. Not that I’d be happy if you did…”
But before she could finish, Chu Xin yanked open the window and unceremoniously tossed her onto the balcony.
“W-wait! I’m sorry! I really do have something important to tell you! Don’t leave me out here! 😭😭”
…
After reluctantly letting her back in—only because her frantic pounding threatened to wake Su Jin—Chu Xin sighed wearily.
This girl is impossible. Who knows what she’ll do next?
For now, though, she’d finally calmed down, sitting obediently on the edge of the bed.
“So,” he said, arms crossed, “you still haven’t told me why you came over.”
At his words, Jiang Qianhe’s expression shifted—softening into something almost… reluctant.
“I came… to apologize for what happened this afternoon.”
Chu Xin frowned. “You came all the way here just to apologize?”
He’d already forgotten about the incident.
But Jiang Qianhe, unusually serious, nodded firmly. “Yes. And… the kendo club is going to be disbanded soon anyway.”
“Why?”
She let out a long sigh, dropping the usual “tsundere” act.
“You know Maria Academy requires every club to have a faculty advisor. Our coach—the club’s advisor—resigned due to illness, and no other teacher wants to take over. So no matter what, the club will be dissolved. Even as student council president, I can only delay it until the current president graduates…”
She paused, then looked directly at Chu Xin.
“That’s why I got so angry when I heard you wanted to quit. I’m sorry… It was my fault.”
She was truly heartbroken—not just because of Chu Xin, but because she genuinely loved the kendo club.
Huh… She’s actually pretty serious when it counts.
Chu Xin had never heard this news before. He sighed softly.
“I understand. But even if the club disbands, you can still practice kendo, right? It’s something you love—so please, keep going. Whether it’s about holding on or protecting what matters to you… being earnest about the things you care about is never wrong.”
Hearing those words, Jiang Qianhe felt a weight lift from her chest. At the same time, she silently resolved to keep “bothering” Chu Xin—even more than before.
This was his instinctive reaction. His most genuine self.
To her, Chu Xin was like a beam of pure “truth,” piercing through the darkness of her world filled with pretense.
“Ugh… I only came to apologize, and here you go, Mr. Hopeless Idiot, spouting all these overly serious life lessons like some sage.”
Without waiting for his reply, she sprang up, slid open the window, and hopped onto the balcony. Turning back, she called out with playful defiance:
“But… I don’t dislike it, okay? Hmph. You’re just my childhood friend, after all.”
Chu Xin couldn’t see her expression in the dark—but before he could respond,
she vanished into the night with one last classic tsundere line, disappearing across the balcony into her own room.