Chapter 5: Premonition of the Truth 3
The movie lasted ten minutes, twenty minutes, and half an hour. Tang Ai stood at the door, hugging her arms tightly, her face turned pale from the cold.
She took out her phone, but there was still no response. Only Lin Xiaoya in the WeChat group was asking about her "battle". Tang Ai simply replied with three words, "He didn't come", put the phone in her pocket, and walked into the cinema.
She wanted to calm her uneasy heart, so she went in and bought a cup of hot milk tea, sat in a warm place, and waited for Xichen to come over.
However, the movie ended that day and Xi Chen did not show up.
The phone is empty, no calls or text messages.
Tang Ai sighed, finally stood up from her seat and walked towards the door.
As she just walked out of the door, she saw Xi Chen walking towards her alone, with slow steps and his head down, so her expression could not be seen clearly.
"Xi Chen!" Seeing him, Tang Ai ran up to him. She grabbed Xi Chen's arm and asked with concern, "Why did you come just now? Did something happen?"
Xi Chen heard her voice and slowly raised his head. He shook his head in a trance, and finally said absentmindedly: "I'm sorry, Xiao Ai, I'm late..."
Tang Ai looked at the sky which had already darkened, and slid her hand from Xi Chen's arm to his palm. His palm was cold, without any warmth. Tang Ai grabbed his hand and said, "Come here."
She took him into the cinema and bought him a cup of hot milk tea: "Hold it in your palm." She pushed the milk tea into Xichen's palm and grabbed his hand to wrap it with the milk tea.
Xi Chen slowly raised his head and asked in confusion: "Is the movie over?"
Tang Ai nodded indifferently.
Xi Chen lowered his head again, his eyes falling on Tang Ai's hand holding his. After a while, he asked, "Aren't you going to ask me why I came so late?"
Tang Ai hesitated for a moment and said, "If that's the reason you want to tell, you should have told me the moment you saw me. You've been hiding it for so long, you must not want me to know, but if you want to tell me, I'm always available..." She suddenly stopped talking, and a hot tear fell on her hand, burning her bones.
Tang Ai was stunned. Is Xi Chen crying?
Just as she was about to ask, Xi Chen pulled his hand out, grabbed Tang Ai's hand with his own, then slowly bent down and buried his head in his arms.
He didn't want her to see him crying, and Tang Ai knew it, so at that time, she didn't say a word and didn't move. She just sat there quietly and let Xi Chen hold her hand, holding it all the time.
Tang Ai always felt that Xi Chen had many secrets and was different from the Xi Chen she first met.
She didn't know what he had encountered during this period, and she didn't plan to ask. As long as Xichen needed her, no matter where she was, she would rush to his side.
That day, Xi Chen didn't know how long he had been lying there. When he slowly raised his head, Tang Ai's hands were numb and the milk tea was cold.
"Are you feeling better?" Tang Ai just smiled faintly and looked at him, asking with concern.
Xi Chen looked at her, his eyes slowly shifting to the side, with an embarrassed look on his face.
After feeling sad and thinking about it carefully, I felt that it was quite embarrassing in front of girls. I was late, but I needed her to comfort me.
"Xiao Ai, have you eaten?" Xi Chen asked an irrelevant question.
Tang Ai shook her head and said, "I'm a little hungry."
"Then let's go eat." Xi Chen stood up, took Tang Ai's hand and walked away. He held her hand, as if it was a natural habit.
Tang Ai didn't object. She was happy to have him hold her hand.
Xi Chen took Tang Ai to a food stall. It was Tang Ai's action of tying her hair while eating barbecue at the food stall that made Xi Chen pay serious attention to Tang Ai today. She dressed up so carefully, she must be very concerned about this meeting, right?
But he actually brought her to a food stall. The way Tang Ai looked today, she really should go to a high-end restaurant.
Xi Chen was a little annoyed, but Tang Ai suddenly said, "It's delicious." Then she licked the spicy taste on her lips and laughed, "This is a hundred times better than the barbecue my parents made."
"Then you should eat more." Xi Chen also smiled, as if everything that happened at home before was just a passing cloud.
"If I eat more, I won't be able to go back to school." Tang Ai raised her head, her cheeks puffed up as she spoke, looking so cute.
Xi Chen rested his elbows on the table, leaned forward, and smiled: "Then let's not go back. Let's go out and get a room."
"Crack!" The spicy barbecued meat made Tang Ai's face turn red.
Xi Chen handed her a glass of water with a smile. He knew why she choked, but he still said deliberately: "Eat slowly, there's no rush. It's not a holiday, so the hotel won't be full."
Tang Ai lowered her head, her face burning. Could it be that what those girls in the dormitory said was true? Checking in... That was the first time in 19 years that Tang Ai lived in the same room with a boy. Who knows, maybe even in the same bed.
Terrible.
Although it was scary, Tang Ai still stood at the hotel front desk in the end. Xi Chen skillfully checked in and paid, then pulled Tang Ai's arm and walked towards the elevator.
"What kind of room did you book?" Tang Ai asked curiously.
Xi Chen said calmly: "A romantic big round bed."
"..." Tang Ai froze in place for a moment. Feng... a big round bed?
"What's wrong?" Seeing her stunned, Xi Chen lowered his head and asked her.
"Feng...Fengqing big round bed? You, you are not kidding, right?" Tang Ai asked stutteringly.
Xi Chen's expression was tense, and after seeing the fear in Tang Ai's eyes, he finally couldn't help laughing. He pushed Tang Ai into the elevator and said, "Are you stupid? What's the big round bed? I'm a gentleman, and I booked a double room."
"Then you lied to me." Tang Ai complained angrily.
"It's so cute to see you surprised and scared." Xichen ruffled her hair and said lovingly.
Tang Ai hid from his "dirty hands" and glared at him angrily in the corner of the elevator. Xi Chen smiled but said nothing. When the elevator reached the floor, he grabbed her, held her in his arms, and walked to the room.
With every step, Tang Ai's heart beat like a drumstick.
Tang Ai didn't breathe a sigh of relief until the door of the hotel room was opened and two snow-white beds came into view. Xi Chen turned on the warm light in the bathroom and said, "Take a shower first. I'll go downstairs and buy you something."
"Will it take you a long time to come back?" Tang Ai asked worriedly. She was afraid of staying alone in a place that was too unfamiliar.
Xi Chen turned around and smiled at her: "Promise to be back before you finish your shower."
Tang Ai nodded with confidence and let Xi Chen go out.
After Xi Chen left, Tang Ai went to the bathroom to take a shower. When the warm water hit Tang Ai's body, she probably didn't know that tonight would be a sleepless night with everyone's own worries.
In order to open the door for Xi Chen, Tang Ai came out of the bathroom early, wrapped in a towel, put on a coat on the outside, and zipped it up tightly.
She turned on the TV, sat at the end of the bed, and waited for Xichen for a long, long time.
About half an hour later, Xi Chen knocked on the door. Tang Ai ran over to open the door and saw Xi Chen holding a bag. He looked at her silently and said slowly, "You opened the door without asking first. What if it's a bad guy?"
"I didn't think that much." Tang Ai turned sideways to let Xi Chen enter the house.
Xi Chen closed the door and handed the bag to Tang Ai: "Pyjamas. Change into them. It's not comfortable to be wrapped in a bath towel."
"Well, thank you." Tang Ai took the bag obediently and went into the bathroom.
After a while, she half leaned out of the bathroom wearing cute little deer pajamas. Just when she was about to ask Xichen if he looked good, she saw Xichen standing alone in front of the huge window, looking at the darkness and city lights outside.
Xi Chen's handsome face was reflected on the window glass, with some unknown sadness.
Tang Ai's heart skipped a beat. Was his worry still affecting him? He had been down there for so long, so he must have encountered something unhappy again.
"Xi Chen." Tang Ai called him softly and slowly walked towards him.
Xi Chen turned around and managed his expression very well. Seeing Tang Ai wearing that pajamas, which had a natural "cute" attribute, he couldn't help but laugh: "Why are you so cute?"
Tang Ai's face was flushed, and she looked very petite standing next to Xi Chen.
"What are you thinking about?" Tang Ai asked knowingly, trying to distract Xi Chen's attention.
"I want to be worried." Xi Chen let out a breath and had no intention of hiding it from Tang Ai.
Tang Ai looked up at him, and he lowered his eyes and said, "Xiao Ai, I broke the appointment today, and I owe you an explanation. I didn't go to the cinema because of my family, and I came here to get a room today for selfish reasons, because... I don't want to go home." At the end, Xi Chen frowned a few times, as if he was enduring something.
"Xi Chen, I have been hesitating, not knowing whether I should ask you about your worries. I know I shouldn't guess what you are thinking without permission, but seeing you like this, I feel very uncomfortable. Maybe I want to share something with you, but I don't know how to share it..." Tang Ai's hand slowly rested on the windowsill. Next to her hand was Xi Chen's hand. As long as she moved slightly, she could hold his hand.
"Xiao Ai, can I hug you..." Xi Chen tilted his head slightly, his eyes looking elsewhere, but his words were addressed to Tang Ai.
Tang Ai did not answer, but gently raised her little finger and hooked it with Xi Chen's finger. Xi Chen lowered his head and met Tang Ai's pure and warm gaze.
Just such a small movement caused ripples in Xi Chen's heart. He turned around, stretched out his hands to hold Tang Ai in his arms, resting his chin on the top of her head, his closed eyes, and his eyelashes trembling slightly.
"Xiao Ai, I'm sorry to have made you worried."
Tang Ai shook her head and put her arms around Xi Chen's body.
They hugged each other like that, trying hard but also being careful.
I don’t know how long it took, but when the sorrow in my heart dissipated like clouds, Xi Chen wanted to let go, but he seemed hesitant.
Not only Xi Chen, but also Tang Ai.
They... seemed to have been hugging each other for too long, but they didn't say a word to each other. How could they let go?
Tang Ai's body was very stiff, she didn't dare to move at all, but her warm breath passed through the only layer of clothes and hit Xi Chen's chest.
Suddenly, Tang Ai felt something pressing against her lower abdomen, and the strange feeling instantly made her blush. Xi Chen swallowed, held Tang Ai's shoulder, slightly bent his fingers, and glanced around randomly, not knowing what to do.
Tang Ai moved slightly, and her soft body made Xichen's heart flutter.
There was only a dim yellow light on in the hotel room, which made the atmosphere even more indescribable.
"Xiao Ai..." Xi Chen murmured to Tang Ai, his hand slowly stroking the back of her head.
The upper bodies of the two people slowly separated, Tang Ai raised her eyes and looked at Xi Chen with a shy expression. Xi Chen's Adam's apple moved a few times, and he slowly lowered his head...
In the dim light, Tang Ai's face looked a little hazy, and her gaze away made her even more charming. Xi Chen held her face and looked at her affectionately. At this moment, Tang Ai's mind was blank, and only the beating heart in her chest was tirelessly hitting her mind.
She has lost all her sanity...
She closed her eyes. It didn't matter whether what was waiting ahead was a gentle drizzle or a rainstorm. Come on!
However, the scene she imagined did not come. When Xi Chen's breath approached her face, he suddenly said, "Go to bed early. I'll go take a shower."
After saying that, he put down the hands that were holding her face. Xi Chen walked past Tang Ai and went to the bathroom.
Tang Ai breathed a sigh of relief, but felt a little lost in her heart.
She turned her head to look in the direction of the bathroom. In order to avoid embarrassment, she got on the bed, wrapped herself up, and turned her back to Xichen's bed.
After a long time, the bathroom door opened. Tang Ai pretended to be asleep, listening to the rustling noise behind her.
Xi Chen walked to the middle of the two beds, looking at Tang Ai with her back to him, hesitant to speak. After a while, he sighed slightly, climbed onto his bed, and turned off the light. Only then did the room fall into true darkness.
The darkness lasted until dawn the next day.
When they woke up in the morning, neither of them said a word about what happened last night, as if nothing had happened. They got dressed, rinsed their mouths, and went back to school together.
However, when I returned to school, I was seen by the three girls in the dormitory.
They looked at Tang Ai with a weird expression of "I understand" on their faces, and ran away laughing.
After returning to school, Xi Chen and Tang Ai separated. They each had their own courses and generally did not spend much time together at school.
When Tang Ai returned to class, she was surrounded by gossipers from her roommates, who demanded that she tell the truth about what happened the night before. Tang Ai refused to tell the truth and was bullied by the girls. The laughter did not end until the teacher walked into the classroom.
If she could live like this, with a group of good friends, someone she likes, and do what she likes, Tang Ai would be satisfied.
As for those annoying things, solve them slowly as long as they don’t affect your life.
