Chapter 475 330: Go Sleep on the Sofa (Part 2)

Gu Muxue paused. "Be careful on your way."

「...」

「Back at Lin Ruoxi's home.」

Xue Rui lay on the bottom bunk, spacing out. 'What could Lin Ruoxi and Gu Muxue possibly be talking about?'

'It's been three hours!'

'Could those two really have that much to talk about?'

'With Lin Ruoxi's simple mind, if Gu Qingshan got suspicious, wouldn't he get the whole story out of her in just a few sentences?'

The more he thought about it, the more his head ached. 'What a mess.'

Just then, Da Huang, who had been mooching off the air conditioning in the room, suddenly stood up. Xue Rui realized Lin Ruoxi was back. 'A dog's hearing really is sharp.'

Actually, it was because he'd heard the sound of a car engine shutting off downstairs. He suddenly understood his sister, Xue Yao, a little better—how she could tell who was home just by the sound.

It turned out that when a person was on edge, their senses became incredibly sharp.

Lin Ruoxi sat in her car, looking through the window at her lit-up room. 'Xue Rui is in my room.'

She had called Xue Rui on the way, and he'd told her he had already eaten.

Lin Ruoxi sat in the car, taking deep breaths. During the two hours she had been alone with Gu Muxue, she had been trying her best to sense Gu Muxue's feelings, wanting to empathize with her.

But now she was going home. She had to compose herself beforehand, to present a happy Lin Ruoxi to Xue Rui so he wouldn't worry.

Lin Ruoxi patted her cheeks and forced a smile at her reflection in the mirror.

After confirming she had composed herself, she got out and headed upstairs.

Lin Ruoxi opened the door to her room and chirped, "Boss, I'm back!"

Today, she had been role-playing as Xue Rui's employee. She was dressed in professional attire, which Xue Rui had said made her look like a female secret agent.

"Why didn't you come upstairs right when you got back?" Xue Rui asked curiously.

At least ten minutes had passed between her parking the car, turning off the engine, and finally coming upstairs.

'Lingering outside the front door for a while... isn't that something only middle-aged men do?'

This left Xue Rui a bit baffled. 'Is something bothering Lin Ruoxi?'

"Umm..." Lin Ruoxi didn't want to lie to Xue Rui, but she especially didn't want him to know the truth.

'Gu Muxue is in a really bad state right now.'

"What did you and Muxue talk about?" Xue Rui couldn't help but press her.

Lin Ruoxi shook her head. "We didn't talk about much. We barely said a word."

Xue Rui was at a loss for words. In the few hours Lin Ruoxi had been gone, he had imagined all sorts of scenarios, but he had never once considered that the two of them just sat there face-to-face in silence for two hours.

"Oh, this is tea from Uncle Gu," Lin Ruoxi said, hastily changing the subject. 'I'm afraid if Xue Rui keeps asking, I won't be able to hold out. I'll spill everything in no time.'

"Okay. You keep one portion, and send the other to my family tomorrow," Xue Rui said.

Lin Ruoxi blinked. "I don't drink tea. Do you want it?"

Xue Rui shook his head. "Aren't you trying to change your major? You can't ask for a favor empty-handed. Take some liquor and this tea with you."

'Since I'm already taking a cut, might as well go all the way,' he thought.

Lin Ruoxi found it a little strange. Xue Rui always seemed to enjoy intercepting things meant for Uncle Xue.

"Let's not talk about that. When you went over there today..."

Lin Ruoxi bit her lip tightly. 'He's still asking?'

'I can't hide things from him. How can I distract him?'

She hung her suit jacket on a hanger, walked slowly to the side of Xue Rui's bed, and knelt on a pair of slippers. "I lost the bet, but I still want to sleep here."

Xue Rui's train of thought was broken. He remembered the bet he'd made with Lin Ruoxi about whether the old lady's expression would change when she saw the snack gift box.

He had won, of course, but he'd almost forgotten all about it...

'Hmm, Lin Ruoxi has a good memory.'

"Kneeling won't help. You're sleeping on the sofa tonight," Xue Rui said smugly.

"Boss, I don't want to sleep on the sofa..." Lin Ruoxi said as she began to unbutton her white blouse.

Hearing the word "Boss," Xue Rui's heart skipped a beat. 'The little minx is up to her tricks again. What is this, an office lady fantasy?'

'Why does this scenario feel a tad familiar...'

"My grandma's still home."

Xue Rui shifted away from her. 'This girl is obviously trying to change the subject, using her charms to cover up what happened tonight.'

'Lin Ruoxi has gotten better at this, but I can still see right through her little schemes.'

"Mmm, Grandma knows about us. I'll be quiet, okay?" Lin Ruoxi said, pulling a condom out from under Xue Rui's mattress and holding it between her teeth, her eyes narrowing slightly.

"Why won't you tell me? Give me a reason. Otherwise, you're sleeping on the sofa," Xue Rui said, pinching Lin Ruoxi's cheek.

"Mmm, I want to sleep with you..." Lin Ruoxi said as she pounced on Xue Rui, nuzzling her face against his neck.

Xue Rui gritted his teeth. 'This girl is too good at this. It's the same old trick, but it works every time.'

'A Lin Ruoxi who can't lie is a terrifying thing!'

Her breath was now tickling his ear, making him go weak all over.

"That's not a good enough reason," Xue Rui said, still trying to resist.

"Mmm, the condom is about to expire. We can't let it go to waste."

Xue Rui was stunned. 'So you'd rather waste *me*?'

But it was too late to say anything now. The girl had already turned off the lights...

「...」

「The next morning.」

A ray of sunlight fell on Xue Rui's face. He squinted and pushed himself up. Last night, every time he'd tried to ask something, Lin Ruoxi had found a way to shut his mouth.

"Time to get up and eat," Lin Ruoxi said, setting up a small table by the bed.

Xue Rui looked at her with a helpless expression. "Xixi, you're a rascal."

"Mhm, I'm a rascal," Lin Ruoxi agreed, leaning in to give Xue Rui a light kiss on the forehead.

'I've found his weakness,' she thought. 'Xue Rui can't stand it when I'm constantly all over him. Sometimes, I can use this trick to avoid answering questions.'

"Rui, can you please not ask about Gu Muxue anymore? I'll handle it," Lin Ruoxi said worriedly.

She was actually being selfish. 'If Xue Rui and Gu Muxue interact, Gu Muxue will be thrown into turmoil...'

'If Gu Muxue isn't sad anymore, then... I'll have to leave Xue Rui...'

It was a choice between two options, and she was, in fact, terrified.

Xue Rui sighed. Lin Ruoxi rarely asked him for anything. Besides, he trusted her; the girl wouldn't do anything to hurt him.

He picked up the conspicuous pile of loose change—a few dozen yuan—from beside the pillow and changed the subject. "What's this? Is this all I'm worth for one night?"

"Let's see... sixty-five bucks?"

Lin Ruoxi looked confused. The old folks selling vegetables didn't use mobile payments; this was the change she had left over from grocery shopping this morning.

"Is this your secret stash of cash?" Xue Rui demanded again.

"Mmm, I was wrong..." Lin Ruoxi said, nibbling on her chopsticks as she picked up a piece of food for Xue Rui.

"First you act like my older sister, now you're hiding things from me. You've changed." As he spoke, a classic line came to mind, and he blurted it out, "Mhm, you've changed... you don't love me anymore."

Xue Rui felt that the girl had changed a lot. Although she still put him first in everything she did, the weight of his opinion was clearly diminishing.

The first reason was that she was gradually developing her own mind;

And the second, well, was that Gu Muxue's opinion was also very important.

Lin Ruoxi immediately grew flustered. She knew Xue Rui was just trying to get her to coax him.

"I-I will always love you. That will never change," Lin Ruoxi said, gazing into Xue Rui's eyes.

Xue Rui smiled faintly. Of course, he knew that. His gaze swept across the table and he was stunned to see his own family photo here in Lin Ruoxi's house.

"This... Where did you get this? It's even framed!" Xue Rui was utterly shocked.

Lin Ruoxi glanced at it and said slowly, "Aunt Ren gave it to me. I don't know the 'you' from the past. I'm so jealous that Gu Muxue got to grow up with you. I want to know everything about you, to collect things from your childhood..."

Hearing this, Xue Rui's heart softened. 'This girl is still so hopeless.' Other girls would never say such sweet things, but from her mouth, they seemed to flow endlessly.

Still, he never got tired of hearing them. Every word Lin Ruoxi said came from the heart, completely different from the empty platitudes of a player.

"Unfortunately, I... I didn't have many pictures taken when I was young..." Lin Ruoxi said, a little dejected.

Xue Rui was a bit puzzled. 'Is not having photos a childhood regret of hers?'

"We'll just have to take a lot more from now on," Xue Rui comforted her.

"The ones from childhood are the best," Lin Ruoxi said, shaking her head.

"Well then, I guess I'll have to go look for some little girl's clothes that fit a 175cm-tall woman," Xue Rui joked.

"Mmm, I want to know what our child would look like," Lin Ruoxi said in a small voice.

"COUGH! COUGH!" Xue Rui, who had just taken a sip of congee, choked. Lin Ruoxi always had a way of saying the most shocking things in the most casual tone.

"Xixi, we're still young..."

Lin Ruoxi gently patted his back. "No, that's not what I meant. I want to create an algorithm that can merge our facial features..."