Chapter 34: Going to bed so early? You little rascal, aren't you?

Xu Qianqian left without even saying goodbye.

Jiang Nian didn’t exactly feel disappointed; rather, he just found it a bit unsettling. They had been going to and leaving school together all week, so suddenly she walked off alone, and the atmosphere felt strange.

Typical—too typical. Was she upset?

She clearly had a phone and could have messaged him, or borrowed a classmate’s phone. Yet she left without a word. Hmm... what a tease.

A loving father and a filial daughter, such a colorful scene!

With these thoughts, Jiang Nian stepped out of the classroom building.

It was early October.

The evening remained oppressively hot, clothes sticking uncomfortably to the skin. After the last evening class, students dispersed in front of the building, with boarders heading toward the dormitories.

Jiang Nian followed the flow of commuting students toward the school gate. Passing by the administrative building, Zhou Yuting happened to walk beside him and noticed him as well.

Amid the bustling crowd’s noise, she shot Jiang Nian a cold glance and quickly walked ahead.

“Tch,” Jiang Nian’s expression darkened.

Some people just drain your life force the moment you see them. If not for courtesy, he’d have vanished on the spot. If Zhou Yuting didn’t hear clearly, he might etch it on her epitaph someday.

But thinking there’d be no more interactions, he didn’t bother.

Hide your mother well. Don’t let me catch you.

Back home.

After washing up, Jiang Nian opened WeChat to Xu Qianqian’s chat window opposite his door. Her profile picture was a cat perched on a wall, framed by blue skies and white clouds, with a green branch dangling in the center.

He opened the chat; their last conversation had stalled around the National Day holiday.

He thought for a moment and sent a question mark first. The quirky question mark filled the entire chat bubble, seeming to say nothing and yet everything at once.

Asleep?

Why didn’t you wait for me after the evening class?

Abandoned me after starting it, huh?

Next time there’s a silver party, I won’t invite you.

Woman (her sharply arched eyebrows split in two), your name is Greed, always demanding more. Do you like the CEO? Huh? I just came out of the tailor’s shop.

Love me or not, say something!

Ten minutes passed without a response. He glanced at the time—eleven o’clock.

Sleeping so early, little scoundrel.

He smirked. Woman, are you testing my limits? (His cool eyebrows unconsciously twitched like steel cables), carrying a trace of coldness, disdain, and casual indifference.

Jiang Nian lay on his bed, scrolling through Xu Qianqian’s profile card as if inspecting an imperial memorial. There wasn’t much information—only gender and nickname.

“Digger Garden Girl’s Strong Mom.”

Damn it, when did you switch to such a Tang dynasty-style name?

Her Moments were set to visible for three days only. Jiang Nian recalled Xu Qianqian seldom posting there. Occasionally, she shared some lottery giveaways on QQ Space.

“Spend one, get gold.”

He was too lazy to wait any longer and planned to turn over and sleep. But accidentally, he tapped Xu Qianqian’s avatar—one downside of setting the screen to stay on for ten minutes.

Buzz. [You tapped Xu Qianqian’s cyber wooden fish; merit +1.]

Xu Qianqian: “?”

The owner finally appeared. Two question marks framed a cyber wooden fish tap, a sort of standoff—neither side willing to concede.

Jiang Nian typed a few keys but suddenly lost interest in questioning.

“Never mind, I’m going to sleep.”

Above the chat box, “The other party is typing...” appeared.

He glanced at the screen. Knowing her well, the reply was probably just a simple “hmm.” Better not to look and just sleep.

Buzz. Jiang Nian turned over, ready to drift into his nightly dreams.

Buzz! Jiang Nian opened his eyes, feeling somewhat exasperated.

Does a perfunctory reply have to be sent twice?

Buzz!!

Annoyed, Jiang Nian grabbed the phone lying by his leg. Unlocking it and opening the screen, Xu Qianqian hadn’t sent “hmm” but instead a message: “I think there’s a mouse in my house.”

Two minutes later, a question mark.

Five minutes later, “Are you asleep?”

Jiang Nian scrolled through each message with growing impatience. The stubbornness still burned inside him. Didn’t she owe an explanation for standing him up? Why didn’t she reply earlier?

Yet, out of basic courtesy and considering their relationship, he replied warmly.

“I know there’s a mouse at your place, thanks, I’m not hungry for now.”

Xu Qianqian: “????”

“Your wording is so niche. I mean, do you have any constructive solutions?”

Jiang Nian: “Actually, I do. Listen carefully: kneel down and beg the mouse lord not to scare you, then hang a rope outside the mouse hole during the day.”

Xu Qianqian: (rolls eyes) “What kind of cowardly advice is that? Speak human language.”

He answered simply, “Kill it.”

“I can’t catch it; I don’t even know where it’s hiding,” she typed quickly. “I should’ve gotten a cat—it could help catch the mouse.”

He was about to say something bad about cats but feared being called out.

“Old Xu is so clean and mildly obsessive about cleanliness, can’t stand these things. Besides, if you caught the mouse, it’d probably swallow it whole right in front of you…”

“Stop it, don’t disgust me,” Xu Qianqian sent a shuddering emoji. “Help me think of a way, I’m going crazy; Old Xu isn’t home.”

Jiang Nian stared slowly at those last words and hesitated for a moment.

“Forget it, your dad’s here.”

Xu Qianqian: (middle finger emoji).

Jiang Nian got up, dressed quietly, and tiptoed out of the room. He carefully opened the front door and closed it gently. The old door didn’t creak as long as he moved slowly.

Otherwise, late at night—ahh~ mm~

Someone might think a movie was playing with the speakers on.

After closing his own door, Jiang Nian didn’t knock directly but pulled out his phone and sent Xu Qianqian a message. The hallway’s motion-sensor light didn’t come on; the corridor was pitch black.

“Here.”

Soon, a sliver of light seeped from under the door. The soft sound of slippers scraping the floor came, blocking some of the light, then all was silent.

Buzz! The phone lit up with a nervous message.

“Are you really outside? Why so quiet?”

Jiang Nian sighed, typing a reply.

“Should I rap some blond hair style for you?”

Click—the sound of the door lock turning was crisp in the night. The door creaked open bit by bit, and the living room light spilled out like threads.

Xu Qianqian and Jiang Nian exchanged a glance, visibly relieved. Without a word, she tilted her head, signaling him to hurry inside.

Jiang Nian stepped in and turned to see her carefully close the door. Only after the door was fully shut and silent did he turn back.

She wore a thin white nightgown dotted with pink peach blossoms. Her hair was loosely tied in a messy bun, lips pink and glossy.

“What are you looking at?”

“Nothing. Staying up late to catch a mouse for you, and this is the attitude?” Jiang Nian went to the fridge, grabbed a bottle of cola, and switched to self-service mode.

He was already used to her attitude—it matched his own laid-back style. They were two peas in a pod.