Father Xiao opened the door and saw Xiao Youran. He was taken aback for a moment, then smiled and asked, "Why are you standing here?"
Xiao Youran replied, "I heard the door open and came to check. I'll go take a shower in a bit."
Father Xiao began changing into his slippers.
He didn't notice the pair of men's shoes on the entryway shoe rack that didn't belong to him.
After changing his slippers, Father Xiao casually placed his briefcase on the cabinet in the entryway and then walked to the living room sofa to sit down.
He noticed the teacup on the coffee table.
He picked up the teacup and looked at the tea leaves inside, suddenly exclaiming, "Youran!"
Xiao Youran was already walking towards her bedroom. Hearing her father's voice, she came back.
Father Xiao stared at his daughter and asked, "Did someone come over?"
Xiao Youran was startled, thinking her father had discovered Xu Xiuwen.
But she quickly noticed the teacup in his hand and breathed a sigh of relief.
She explained, "Xiao Xu came over for a while this evening, so I made him some tea."
Father Xiao sighed, holding his forehead, "I usually can't bear to drink such good tea, and you gave it to that kid. Does he even know how to appreciate tea? What a waste!"
Xiao Youran sat next to her father, gently shaking his arm, "Oh, Dad, Xiao Xu rarely comes over. I just wanted him to try some tea. Don't be so stingy. He takes good care of me at school; think of it as thanking him for taking care of your daughter."
Hearing this, Father Xiao chuckled bitterly.
He shook his head and said, "They say a married daughter is like water poured out, but you're not even married yet and you're already siding with him."
Xiao Youran immediately pouted.
She said, "I'll always be Dad's little girl. You're the most important person to me."
Father Xiao was delighted by her words.
He laughed heartily and let go of the issue with the tea leaves.
He laughed again, then suddenly paused and said in confusion, "What's that smell?"
He sniffed the air, looking puzzled.
At first, Xiao Youran didn't understand, but she quickly realized and her heart began to race.
Fortunately, Father Xiao didn't pursue it further.
Father Xiao said, "Weren't you going to take a shower? Go ahead."
Xiao Youran turned and walked towards her room.
She breathed a silent sigh of relief.
As soon as she entered the room, she closed the door immediately.
Xu Xiuwen was sitting on the bed and quickly asked, "Has Uncle gone to his room?"
Xiao Youran shook her head, "Not yet. Wait a bit longer."
She walked towards the wardrobe.
Standing in front of it, she turned to Xu Xiuwen and said, "Turn around, don't look."
Xu Xiuwen responded with an "okay" and turned his back.
Seeing this, Xiao Youran felt reassured and opened the wardrobe, picking out a few pieces of clothing.
She closed the wardrobe door and said to Xu Xiuwen, "I'll go take a shower first. Wait here. When my dad goes to his room, you can leave."
Xu Xiuwen nodded to show he understood.
Xiao Youran left the room with her clothes in her arms.
Xu Xiuwen continued waiting in the room.
But soon, he heard a noise coming from the living room.
Xu Xiuwen, driven by curiosity, pressed his ear against the door.
He quickly realized the sound was from the television.
Father Xiao had started watching TV in the living room.
Xu Xiuwen smiled helplessly.
Xiao Youran took more than half an hour to shower.
Xu Xiuwen waited in her room for over half an hour.
Xiao Youran, now in clean underwear and pajamas, emerged from the bathroom.
She stood in the living room and saw her father still watching TV. Unable to hold back, she urged, "Dad, it's getting late. You should stop watching and get some rest."
Father Xiao turned to look at her and said, "When your mother was home, she always complained that my TV watching was noisy. Now that she's not home, you start to nag me. Can't I watch a bit of TV?"
Xiao Youran was left speechless by her father's words.
She glanced at the uninteresting content on the TV and turned to go back to her room.
After she finished showering and returned to her room, Xu Xiuwen asked, "Is Uncle still in the living room? Can I leave now?"
Xiao Youran shook her head, "I'm afraid not. My dad is still watching TV."
Xu Xiuwen smiled wryly, "When does Uncle go to bed?"
Xiao Youran shook her head again, "I don't know. Without my mom here, no one is controlling him."
"Doesn't your dad really dote on you? Can't you convince him?"
Xiao Youran hesitated, "My dad said my mom always nagged him and wouldn't let him watch TV, so I felt bad stopping him."
Xu Xiuwen was speechless, "So what do we do now?"
He glanced at the window and said, "We can't exactly jump out of the window, can we?"
Xiao Youran bit her lip.
Then she suddenly said, "I don't know how late my dad will stay up. Maybe you should just sleep here?"
"Huh?" Xu Xiuwen thought he had misheard.
Xiao Youran repeated, "Maybe you should just sleep here."
Xu Xiuwen was startled and quickly said, "Both of us on the same bed? Didn't you say you weren't ready?"
Xiao Youran nodded, "Yes."
"Then why do you want me to sleep here?"
Xiao Youran pouted, "Only sleep, nothing else!"
Xu Xiuwen looked at Xiao Youran, unsure if he should agree.
After thinking for a long time, he still didn't agree. Instead, he said, "Let's wait a bit longer. Maybe your dad will go to bed soon."
Xiao Youran chuckled, "You wait then, I'll go to bed first."
She walked to the other side of the bed and smoothed out the covers.
Then she lifted the blanket and climbed into bed.
Lying under the covers, she looked at Xu Xiuwen and asked again, "Xiao Xu, do you want to come up?"
Xu Xiuwen shook his head, "Let's wait a bit more."
Xiao Youran let out an "Oh."
She couldn't help but pout.
She felt a bit aggrieved.
She had bravely invited him twice, but he kept refusing.
After that, neither of them spoke.
The room fell into silence, so quiet that even a pin drop could be heard.
Xu Xiuwen kept listening for sounds from the living room. The TV's volume fluctuated.
Clearly, Father Xiao was still in the living room and hadn't gone to bed.
Before they knew it, it was almost midnight.
Xiao Youran had already yawned several times.
She rubbed her eyes and couldn't help but ask, "Xiao Xu, aren't you sleepy?"
Xu Xiuwen was indeed very sleepy.
He had rushed back from Jinling in the morning, worked all day, and drank a lot in the evening. How could he not be tired?
Xiao Youran continued, "Come to bed and sleep. Go home in the morning."
As she spoke, she lifted the blanket on the other side and shyly said, "I've warmed up the bed for you."
Xu Xiuwen turned to look and saw Xiao Youran's blushing face and her shy, dodging gaze. She was too cute.
He was tempted.
After hesitating for a while, he said, "Alright. I'll just sleep here for the night. Don't worry, I'll just sleep and won't do anything to you."
It wasn't known if Xiao Youran believed him or not, but she didn't say anything.
Xu Xiuwen got up and walked towards the bed.
Xiao Youran reminded him, "Xiao Xu, the light, and lock the door."
Upon hearing this, Xu Xiuwen went back to the door, locked it from the inside, and then turned off the room's light.
Xu Xiuwen returned to the bedside.
He stood there, hesitant.
Unlike Xiao Youran, who had pajamas to change into, Xu Xiuwen did not.
Should he sleep in his clothes or take them off?
Xiao Youran bit her lip and said, "Your clothes are dirty. You should take them off."
Seeing her say this, Xu Xiuwen had no choice but to take off his clothes.
But before undressing, he didn't forget to tell Xiao Youran, "I'm taking off my clothes now."
He also emphasized uneasily, "No peeking."
Xiao Youran's face was flushed. She said angrily, "Who's going to peek at you, narcissist."
Xiao Youran turned around, facing away from Xu Xiuwen.
She couldn't see him now, but she could still hear the sound of Xu Xiuwen taking off his clothes.
Normally, the sound of him undressing would be unremarkable, but in this moment, the zipping of his zipper became distinctly clear.
The rustling sound of his wool sweater being taken off was also unusually distinct.
Xiao Youran's face grew even redder.
Xu Xiuwen quickly finished taking off his outer clothes and crawled under the covers, leaving only his autumn clothes and pants on.
The warmth inside the covers enveloped Xiao Youran, making her feel cozy.
Initially lying flat on his back, Xu Xiuwen soon turned over and lay on his side, facing Xiao Youran's fragrant back.
Xiao Youran always felt a fiery gaze behind her.
She pretended not to notice, but her heart was beating fast.
Finally, she couldn't resist anymore.
Xiao Youran suddenly turned around to face Xu Xiuwen.
She looked into Xu Xiuwen's eyes and asked, "Why have you been staring at me?"
Xu Xiuwen didn't speak, just gazed at her.
Xiao Youran blushed and muttered, "Just go to sleep already."
After saying that, she quickly adjusted to lying flat so she wouldn't see Xu Xiuwen anymore.
But Xu Xiuwen continued to look at her.
Xiao Youran tried several different positions but found none comfortable.
She turned to face Xu Xiuwen again, pouting, "Are you going to sleep or not?"
"I am."
"You staring at me like that, how am I supposed to sleep?"
Upon hearing this, Xu Xiuwen nodded and said, "Alright, I won't look at you."
He said that and turned to the other side, leaving Xiao Youran out of his sight.
The room quieted down.
Xiao Youran lay on her side.
With her eyes closed, her mind wandered aimlessly, making it hard for her to fall asleep.
Feeling the quietness in the room, she couldn't help but wonder, "Has Xiao Xu fallen asleep?"
She couldn't figure out why Xu Xiuwen would be asleep.
She couldn't sleep at all because she was sharing a bed with someone she liked.
Xu Xiuwen, on the other hand, slept soundly.
In an instant, she felt a sense of defeat.
Was her charm really so low that it couldn't attract Xiao Xu at all?
But from his behavior, it didn't seem so.
She silently opened her eyes and looked at Xu Xiuwen's back, hesitating for a moment before softly asking, "Xiao Xu, are you asleep?"
The first time, Xu Xiuwen didn't respond.
She asked a second time, still no response.
Xiao Youran asked a third time.
Disappointed, she withdrew her gaze and turned to face the inside.
At that moment, she felt Xu Xiuwen turn over and move closer.
Immediately, an arm draped over her.
Xu Xiuwen leaned close to the girl's ear and asked softly, "If you can't sleep, why call me?"
Xiao Youran was startled at first, then sighed in relief, but soon became shy again.
Nervously, she said, "It's nothing."
Xu Xiuwen chuckled, "You can't sleep because you're too excited to sleep with me, right?"
Xiao Youran was caught off guard and blushed in embarrassment.
She raised her arm as if to push Xu Xiuwen away.
Seeing this, Xu Xiuwen directly used both hands to embrace Xiao Youran completely.
He muttered, "Stop fooling around."
Instead of pushing him away, Xiao Youran sank deeper into his embrace.
But after hearing Xu Xiuwen's words, she quieted down.
After waiting for a while without any further words, she started struggling again.
Xu Xiuwen was displeased this time and slapped her buttocks lightly, threatening, "Go to sleep quickly. If you don't behave, I'll spank you."
Xiao Youran's buttocks were lightly tapped, causing her whole body to tense up, her breath held subconsciously.
Then she heard him say this and felt quite wronged.
She thought to herself, clearly, she had been spanked.
But after this slap, she did become more obedient and stopped moving around.
She lay quietly in Xu Xiuwen's arms.
Honestly, she quite liked this posture.
Leaning against Xiao Xu's embrace, enveloped completely by him, feeling his warmth.
Xiao Youran felt a deep sense of peace.
Originally unable to sleep, but after being embraced by Xu Xiuwen, Xiao Youran gradually grew drowsy.
Soon, she fell asleep.
The next day arrived in a blink.
Still not fully awake, Xu Xiuwen heard the pitter-patter of rain.
Opening his eyes, the first thing he saw was Xiao Youran's lovely face.
He lay flat while she lay on her side, her body curled slightly in his embrace.
One of her hands rested on his chest, holding him tightly.
The girl slept peacefully, a slight smile playing on her lips.
Xu Xiuwen didn't know what she was dreaming about, but it must have been a beautiful dream without a doubt.
He quietly gazed at Xiao Youran's face.
At this moment, her face was bare, not even with moisturizer or face wash, in its most original and true state.
Even in this state, Xiao Youran was stunningly beautiful.
Xu Xiuwen watched for a few seconds but then looked away because he was about to burst.
Gently, Xu Xiuwen moved Xiao Youran's hand away and carefully got out of bed.
Xiao Youran wasn't disturbed by this.
Xu Xiuwen checked the time: 8:45.
Father Xiao started work at 9:00, so by this time, he would either be there or on his way, definitely not at home.
Xu Xiuwen felt completely at ease.
He put on his slippers, opened the door, and walked into the living room.
Unable to hold it in any longer, Xu Xiuwen came out of the room and headed straight for the bathroom.
The layout of Xiao Youran's bathroom was the same as theirs.
It was a rectangular space of about ten square meters, with the outermost third occupied by a washing machine and a wash basin, and above the basin hung a rectangular mirror on the wall.
The remaining two-thirds of the bathroom contained the shower and toilet in one unit.
In between the two areas, there was an opaque sliding door for separation.
Xu Xiuwen arrived at the bathroom.
The sliding door was closed.
He was about to open it when it suddenly opened by itself.
The next second, Xu Xiuwen was stunned!
As the door slid open, a woman stood before him.
There were only two women in the house: Xiao Youran and Zhang Ruoshu.
Since Xiao Youran was still sleeping in her room, the woman before him must be Zhang Ruoshu.
Zhang Ruoshu held a pale pink towel in her hand.
She was drying her hair as she walked out of the bathroom.
She had probably just finished bathing, completely naked.