That ambiguous remark was definitely intentional on Xu Huaisong's part.
After analyzing 327 text messages, Ruan Yu concluded that this man was far gentler at heart than he appeared—but also far more mischievous.
Seven parts gentleman, three parts rogue—an arrow straight to a maiden's heart.
What details was she supposed to nitpick at this point? Play along with his whims and research the most anatomically sound way to hug, then practice it a thousand times?
She wrinkled her nose at him deliberately, refusing to take the bait. "There is one detail I can't figure out," she said, turning to pick up the old flip phone on the table. "I'm really curious—how did this phone survive eight years with its battery intact before seeing the light of day again?"
Perhaps because she'd been tricked one too many times, there was a hint of suspicion in Ruan Yu's eyes, as if she doubted Xu Huaisong was still hiding something.
He smiled helplessly. "Because eight years ago, I removed the battery."
No matter how indestructible those old non-smartphones were, none could last eight years with the battery still inside. Before leaving, he had taken out the battery and stored the phone in a dry box.
"Then where did this battery come from?" Ruan Yu asked, puzzled.
"During the relocation period, the landline was disconnected. One day, my grandma was home alone sorting through belongings when she realized her phone was broken and she couldn't contact my mom. She saw this old phone of mine, took the battery from her own phone, and swapped it in to see if it would work."
As it turned out, universal batteries were indeed compatible with old flip phones.
"Don't tell me—after that, your grandma got a new phone, so she never took this battery back. And then Xu Huaishi found this phone while helping to pack up the house?" Ruan Yu said, wide-eyed.
Xu Huaisong nodded.
The reason he had impulsively rushed back to China wasn't just because of the secret behind the letters in Music Room 301—it was also because of this one-in-a-million, fate-like probability.
A miracle like this was simply maddening.
But after her initial astonishment, Ruan Yu relaxed and smiled.
They really had encountered a miracle.
The city official who issued the relocation notice, Grandma Xu with her broken phone, Xu Huaishi who turned text messages into a novel, Cen Sisi who blew up the plagiarism scandal—every single one of them was indispensable to this miracle.
But what was the beginning of this miracle?
The beginning was Xu Huaisong removing the phone's battery and preserving it. It was the sliver of hope he had unconsciously clung to about her when he left.
The beginning was him never letting go of her.
Ruan Yu stood silently for a long moment before finally letting it go. She vaguely pointed at the fourth button of his shirt, near his stomach. "After all this talking, aren't you hungry?" With that, she turned and headed to the kitchen.
Xu Huaisong followed her with a smile. "I ate on the plane."
"Then I won't make a midnight snack?" She held up a plate of chicken drumsticks coated in egg batter and breadcrumbs for him to see.
Xu Huaisong froze for a second before realizing why she was making this. He chuckled. "Go ahead. I'll eat."
Ruan Yu turned to tie her apron, sighing with suppressed laughter. "Out of over three hundred text messages, more than twenty mentioned fried chicken. How did you have such simple tastes back in school?"
Xu Huaisong coughed lightly. "The school cafeteria food was terrible."
"But wouldn't you get sick of eating too much fried chicken?""So we even had takeout hotpot back then."
While washing her hands, Ruan Yu asked in surprise, "Where did you eat it?"
"The art gallery."
Such a sacred place had been tainted by such worldly pleasures—no wonder Xu Huaisong had kept his true self hidden from her.
The piano prince turning into a spicy hotpot brother was more than just a little disillusioning.
She gave him a disdainful look.
He seemed both amused and exasperated. "You said you wanted to get to know me again."
"What if someone came in?"
"I'd cover it up by playing the piano."
"..."
So all those piano pieces she'd secretly listened to back then had actually been hotpot-flavored.
She sighed with a laugh. "I wish I could go back to being sixteen."
"Why?" To warn her sixteen-year-old self to see clearly that Xu Huaisong wasn’t actually all that princely?
But Ruan Yu said, "To hang out with you." She grinned at him. "My high school years were way too boring. With you, there’d be fried chicken and hotpot—sounds way more fun."
Xu Huaisong considered it seriously. "It would be fun, if your dad didn’t kill me first."
They both burst out laughing.
After a while, Ruan Yu started pouring oil into the pan. "If my parents hadn’t been teachers at our school, I might not have been so..."
She trailed off, but Xu Huaisong understood.
She meant she might not have been so well-behaved and obedient—maybe she’d have mustered the courage to confess to him before graduation.
The kitchen fell silent.
Both of them seemed lost in imagining that "what if."
Xu Huaisong wasn’t sure. He’d been able to leave without knowing her feelings, but if she’d confessed, could he have walked away so easily?
Probably not.
The sizzling oil snapped Ruan Yu out of her thoughts. She turned on the exhaust fan and started frying the chicken wings, telling Xu Huaisong to step back.
But he refused to move, and by the time she finished frying a plate of wings, his shirt was soaked in the greasy smell.
At first, it wasn’t noticeable, but after their late-night snack, the fried chicken was gone while its scent lingered. And Xu Pipi, who should’ve been asleep by then, started getting restless, rubbing against Xu Huaisong to sniff the aroma. Ruan Yu immediately knew the problem.
Sitting across from him, she watched the orange cat "devouring" him from afar and remarked, "Now this is real human world vibes."
Xu Huaisong laughed, holding the cat. "Then how about you treat me to a shower?"
Ruan Yu choked, suddenly realizing, "You did that on pur—" She cut herself off.
Given Xu Huaisong’s scheming nature, the fried chicken smell was definitely intentional. But saying it out loud would only make her more flustered.
Because, logically, showering implied staying the night, right?
Her heart pounded as she stammered, "Y-you didn’t bring a change of clothes..."
"I did."
Ruan Yu looked around. That couldn’t be—she distinctly remembered him holding her empty-handed earlier.
"They’re in the car downstairs," Xu Huaisong explained.
Ah, so he’d prepared two scenarios. If she accepted him, he could bring his clothes up anytime; if not, he wouldn’t seem too eager.
Ruan Yu’s gaze grew shifty.
Seeing she didn’t outright refuse, Xu Huaisong set the cat down and stood up. "I’ll go get them."
"Wait—" As he passed by, Ruan Yu grabbed his sleeve and looked up, her voice muffled. "Does this mean... you’re staying over?"Xu Huaisong raised his other free hand, bringing his index and middle fingers together to lightly flick her forehead. "What are you thinking about?"
"N-nothing," she said stiffly, sitting ramrod straight. "If you're staying over, I should go tidy up the guest room."
Xu Huaisong chuckled. "I'm staying, but not sleeping. My sleep schedule's been all over the place lately." He added, "Aren't you having trouble sleeping too? That's why I flew back. Should I really go back to the hotel just to call you?"
Ruan Yu gave a quiet "Oh" before saying, "Then go ahead." As soon as he left, she quickly pulled out her phone to urgently seek advice from Shen Mingying.
Shen Mingying: No need to prepare the guest room. Fifty percent of couples in the early stages of a relationship choose to be reserved about accommodation—like insisting on booking twin beds at a hotel.
But facts prove that when night falls and all is quiet, those two beds will inevitably become one. The result? Both squeezed onto a tiny single bed, wondering why they didn't just book a king-size from the start.
So if you tidy up the guest room now, you'll definitely regret wasting the effort later.
After reading this worldly wisdom, Ruan Yu fell into deep contemplation—so deep that she still hadn't reached any conclusions by the time Xu Huaisong returned.
Seeing her sitting motionless in the exact same spot, his eyes noticeably darkened as he approached.
Meeting that gaze, Ruan Yu belatedly realized she might have been set up by Shen Mingying.
Regardless of how things ultimately played out, preparing the guest room should have been about attitude. If she didn't even bother, wasn't that practically inviting him to sleep in her room?
Oh no, this was bad.
She abruptly stood up, turning to rush toward the guest room.
Xu Huaisong lightly grabbed the back collar of her shirt like picking up a chick. "You weren't busy earlier—why the sudden urgency? It's late, go shower."
Hunching her shoulders, she turned back with a nervous laugh. "Maybe you should go first?"
Xu Huaisong considered this and agreed. He could wash his dirty clothes while she showered, saving her the trouble.
He nodded. "I'll be quick." With that, he took his toiletries and entered the bathroom. Just before closing the door, he added, "I slept eight hours on the plane—I really won't be sleeping tonight. Don't bother cleaning up."
Ruan Yu gave another "Oh" and began pacing restlessly outside.
When Xu Huaisong emerged, he found her frowning intensely, pacing back and forth while punching one fist into her palm—the very picture of someone pondering matters of national importance.
Hearing the bathroom door click open, Ruan Yu turned to see him still neatly dressed in his shirt and suit pants, though his cuffs were rolled up once to reveal bare ankles above his slippers.
Very attractively pale ankles.
She quickly averted her gaze, grabbed a laundry basket, and wordlessly slipped into the bathroom, showering with hyper-awareness of every sound outside.
But when she came out, she found Xu Huaisong on the balcony looking for a clothes rack to hang laundry.
So while she'd been nervously straining to hear movements outside, he'd been calmly doing laundry the entire time without a trace of her anxiety?
While this behavior was reassuring, was this really how a man should normally act around a woman he liked?
This was completely different from how novels portrayed such situations.
Hearing her approach, Xu Huaisong glanced back. "Why are you still up? Go to bed. I'll be working in the living room."Is that... it?
Ruan Yu let out a dazed "Oh" and turned back to her room. After lying on the bed for ten minutes and hearing absolutely no movement outside, she took out her phone and messaged Shen Mingying again.
Shen Mingying: ...
Shen Mingying: Nothing happened even like this?
Shen Mingying: Has he been really tired lately?
Ruan Yu: Seems so. He said his sleep schedule's been messed up recently. But what does being tired mean?
Shen Mingying: Can't get it up.
"..."
Author's note: Songsong: ...
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