Can We Get Married First?  30

Chapter 30

Lou Mi, her hair wrapped in a towel, entered the bedroom as Chi Lin emerged from the bathroom.

Right, this bedroom has an ensuite bathroom, Lou Mi remembered.

Chi Lin was wearing a loose-fitting, lotus-embroidered pajama set, clearly one of Grandma’s.

The old-fashioned style, combined with Chi Lin’s youthful appearance, created a strangely endearing contrast.

Her long hair was also wrapped in a towel.

“Doesn’t your scalp hurt when you tie your hair so tightly?” Lou Mi asked, a question she had been wanting to ask.

Chi Lin, accustomed to styling her own hair since childhood, had never experienced scalp pain.

“No,” she replied.

Lou Mi applied an eye mask, looking at her reflection in the mirror. “You might skip the pain and go straight to baldness.”

She had a few sets of pajamas at her grandparents’ house, but they were all summer clothes. The old apartment didn’t have climate control, and it was getting chilly in autumn.

She was glad she hadn’t brought any of her more revealing nightgowns. She would have frozen, and Chi Lin would have probably lectured her again.

“Baldness?” Chi Lin looked in the mirror, checking her hairline.

Her hair was thick and dark, though slightly damaged from years of dyeing and styling. She had been following the system’s recommended hair care regimen, and her hair was gradually recovering. There was no sign of baldness.

“You’re exaggerating again,” she said.

“You might not be bald now, but you will be eventually,” Lou Mi said, adjusting her eye mask. “Baldness is the enemy of modern youth. What would an ancient person like you know about it?”

Chi Lin nodded slowly, conceding the point.

Many things in this era were beyond her comprehension. In Dayuan, people worried about having too much hair, not too little.

Then, she paused, realizing what Lou Mi had just said.

“An ancient person like you?”

Lou Mi, applying lotion to her face, looked at Chi Lin through the mirror, a sly glint in her eyes. She had been observing Chi Lin’s reaction.

“What… what do you mean, ‘ancient person’?” Chi Lin asked, her throat suddenly dry.

Thankfully, the dim lighting concealed her pale face.

“What else would you be?” Lou Mi retorted, turning around. “Don’t think I haven’t noticed your secret training.”

“Secret training?”

“The martial arts, the sword dancing… You never did any of that before. You must have found some secret manual somewhere.”

Lou Mi, being considerate, didn’t mention the most disturbing incident she had witnessed at the library.

Chi Lin’s swift strike at Liu Huixin’s wrist.

It had been too fast for others to see, but not for Lou Mi.

She had clearly seen Liu Huixin’s subsequent spasms and contortions.

That move must have been from the secret manual.

Chi Lin’s mind raced.

So that’s what Lou Mi thought. She wasn’t suspecting time travel…

She had overestimated Lou Mi’s intelligence.

The tension in her temples eased, and she relaxed, sitting down on a chair near Lou Mi.

“Aren’t you afraid of me?” she asked.

“Afraid of you? Why would I be afraid of you?”

Chi Lin leaned closer to the lamp, her face illuminated in a dramatic, almost sinister light.

“Aren’t you afraid I’ll use my secret techniques on you?”

Lou Mi remembered Liu Huixin’s contorted face and shuddered. That would be humiliating.

Chi Lin deliberately deepened her frown, enhancing the effect.

“Would you do that to me?” Lou Mi asked directly.

“Maybe,” Chi Lin replied.

“No, you wouldn’t,” Lou Mi said, shaking her head, continuing her skincare routine. “You wouldn’t hurt me.”

“Why not?”

“Because I’ve been so nice to you. You wouldn’t betray me.”

Lou Mi’s words struck a chord. Chi Lin, realizing her secret was safe, Lou Mi’s suspicions based entirely on her own assumptions, smiled. She decided to stop teasing her.

“Don’t worry, I don’t have a secret manual. I just found some… fitness tips in Dad’s books.”

“Just the two of us here. Tell me the truth,” Lou Mi said. “What made you suddenly decide to… become a normal person?”

This was the question that had been plaguing her.

Chi Lin didn’t answer directly. “Do you… like the new me?”

Lou Mi hesitated, then said, “Yes. Much better than the old you. Please don’t revert.”

“That’s good,” Chi Lin said, then asked, “What if I did?”

“What’s with the hypothetical questions? You’re not a transformer,” Lou Mi retorted, clearly not wanting to answer.

As Chi Lin stood up, Lou Mi added softly, “I’d be… sad. And disappointed. We’re getting along now.”

Chi Lin wasn’t sure why she had asked.

She had already known the answer, and Lou Mi’s response confirmed her expectations, even exceeding them.

She had asked for reassurance, but the answer only made her feel more uneasy.

Perhaps inhabiting another’s body had affected her judgment.

Or maybe there was another reason.

The bed was smaller than the one at Lou Mi’s house.

At home, Chi Lin had a king-size bed. Here, she and Lou Mi had to share a smaller one.

Lou Mi tossed Chi Lin a blanket. “It rained last night. It’s going to be cold. Stay warm.”

“Thank you,” Chi Lin said.

“I’m a restless sleeper. Just a warning. Kick me if I steal your space. I won’t fight back.”

They got into bed. As they were about to turn off the lights, Lou Mi’s phone started ringing.

She groaned, getting out of bed to retrieve it.

It was cold. She shivered.

“A video conference?”

She felt even colder.

A video conference at this hour?

She knew ENIAC’s video conferences were always long and serious. She wouldn’t be able to escape for at least an hour.

By the time it ended, Chi Lin would be fast asleep…

Chi Lin, hearing the persistent ringing, peeked out from under the covers.

“Aren’t you going to answer?”

Lou Mi: “…”

She put on a jacket and resignedly answered the call, sitting at the vanity table and turning on the small lamp.

Nine people were in the conference, including Zhuo Jinglan, Xie Buyu, and two executives who were still connecting.

Lou Mi adjusted her hair and the camera angle, making sure it was pointed away from the bed and Chi Lin.

Everyone knew she was single. Having a girl in her room at this hour would be difficult to explain.

Especially with Xie Buyu’s sharp eyes and gossipy nature.

“They’re not here yet,” Xie Buyu said, yawning. Pagoda was looking down at her phone, and Hu Hu was sipping cola.

“Youth,” Xie Buyu commented. “Drinking soda at midnight. No fear of weight gain.”

“I wish I could gain weight,” Hu Hu muttered.

Pagoda, seemingly playing a mobile game, joined the pre-meeting banter without looking up.

“Hu Hu, you’re too skinny. But soda won’t help. You should go to the gym.”

“Pagoda, you’re so serious,” Xie Buyu said. “He was just kidding.”

Zhuo Jinglan yawned, and Xie Buyu mirrored her.

“Hey, when did Mi-jie join? So stealthy. Not like you.”

“Should I have made a grand entrance?” Lou Mi retorted.

“You usually have a witty comeback for everything I say. So quiet tonight. Hiding something from us?”

Lou Mi hated Xie Buyu’s sharp wit.

How did she always guess correctly?

…Well, not entirely correctly. She wasn’t exactly “hiding” anything. Just half-hiding.

“Focus on the meeting,” she said sternly.

“The meeting hasn’t even started yet,” Xie Buyu said. Her at-home appearance was even more disheveled than usual, her hair a mess, her thick glasses magnifying her tired eyes. Lou Mi had suggested laser eye surgery, but she was too lazy.

The executives were still connecting. “They’re probably intimidated by your… appearance,” Lou Mi teased.

That’s the Mi-jie we know.

Xie Buyu, not to be outdone, retorted, “Were you having a tender moment with your little sister? Annoyed that we interrupted?”

Lou Mi had forgotten to put on her headphones, assuming the meeting would be serious and quiet, not wanting to disturb Chi Lin.

She hadn’t anticipated Xie Buyu’s antics.

Even at low volume, in the quiet bedroom, Chi Lin would hear everything if she was awake.

Chi Lin shifted under the covers, as if turning over.

Lou Mi’s head throbbed.

“Don’t be ridiculous!” she warned Xie Buyu.

Xie Buyu, enjoying her rare victory over Lou Mi, pressed further.

“Isn’t your sister a good masseuse? Did she give you a massage tonight?”

The other team members, all single women, dragged into a late-night meeting, joined the teasing.

Pagoda chuckled. “Buyu, you’re teasing Mi-jie again.”

Lou Mi, relieved by Pagoda’s intervention, felt a flicker of gratitude.

Then Pagoda said, “Mi-jie has a secret crush. Don’t embarrass her.”

Lou Mi almost choked. Secret crush? Who are you, Cupid?

Xie Buyu, surprised by Pagoda’s unexpected assist, played along.

“You’re right. It’s rare for Mi-jie to be interested in a girl. We should be supportive, not teasing. Let’s nurture her first love.”

Hu Hu: “So… Mi-jie is really experiencing her first love?”

Xie Buyu: “Of course.”

Hu Hu: “I thought you were joking.”

Pagoda: “You underestimate Mi-jie’s purity.”

Xie Buyu: “She even organized a library team-building activity for her crush. Who else would do something so innocent?”

Hu Hu: “Good point.”

From the darkened side of the room, a faint cough could be heard.

Lou Mi wanted to strangle them all.

“Are you done?!” she growled. “I’m trying to sleep!”

As she spoke, the executives finally connected, hearing her outburst.

“Ahem, sorry for the late meeting,” one of them said. “It’ll be quick. Ten minutes, tops.”

Everyone at ENIAC feared Lou Mi. She was their queen.

They had to appease her.

Lou Mi felt a wave of exhaustion.

Why bother recruiting new members and building team spirit? I want to disband this team five hundred times a day.

…

The meeting ended after an hour and fifteen minutes. Lou Mi collapsed into bed, regardless of whether Chi Lin was asleep or not.

Her body ached. She made a mental note to clean the exercise equipment in the home gym and resume her workouts.

She had been neglecting her physical fitness lately.

Did Chi Lin even exercise? Tenth grade didn’t have PE, did it…?

Thinking of Chi Lin, she glanced at her, seeing the back of her head.

She hadn’t even taken down her bun? And she was sleeping on her side.

Even without seeing her full body, Lou Mi could sense her rigid posture. How could she sleep comfortably like that?

Had she heard Xie Buyu’s teasing…

Regardless, she would explain everything in the morning.

She couldn’t let Chi Lin misunderstand.

This night had been a disaster.

First the indirect kiss, now the rumors.

She wasn’t a frivolous person!

She was a virtuous individual!

She had no memory of how she fell asleep, only a vague sensation of coldness. The blanket was too thin.

The next morning, before even opening her eyes, she felt something warm and comforting in her arms.

The warm object, however, seemed to be trying to escape.

“Don’t move,” she mumbled.

It stopped moving.

She snuggled closer, enjoying the warmth. It was Sunday. She had no obligations today. She could sleep in.

As she drifted back to consciousness, she realized the blanket wasn’t hers.

It was the pale yellow blanket she had given to Chi Lin. Why was it on her?

No, wait. She wasn’t under the blanket, she was in the blanket.

She knew she was a restless sleeper, but she hadn’t realized she could switch beds in her sleep.

“Lou Mi-jie,” a soft voice said from her arms.

Lou Mi’s heart skipped a beat. She looked down and saw Chi Lin’s face inches from hers.

“Awake?” Chi Lin asked.

Her expression was unreadable. Was she angry? Or something else?

Lou Mi’s shock was evident on her face.

She nodded dumbly.

“Then you can let go of me now.”

Chi Lin’s voice was cold. She was definitely angry.

So Lou Mi had gotten cold during the night, crawled into Chi Lin’s bed, and… cuddled her?

Lou Mi closed her eyes. This has to be a dream.

She opened her eyes. It wasn’t a dream.

Reality was often worse than a nightmare.

How could she possibly explain this?