I rejected your confession, but you took my best friend home?

Chapter 5: Come back after you've finished shopping, otherwise I won't be able to get into

"The lights are off."

"Um..."

The bedroom lights were off. The two lay on the bed, back to back, separated by a blanket.

Yin Mengran was covered by the blanket, with only her head showing; the rest of her body was completely wrapped up.

She closed her eyes tightly, but opened them after a short while; she couldn't sleep at all.

Their attention was entirely focused on Zhou Heng on the other side of the bed, behind them.

The slightest movement from Zhou Heng, even just turning over, would send a shiver down her spine, causing her to pull the blanket tighter around herself.

She kept replaying the events that had occurred after meeting Zhou Heng in her mind; he didn't seem to have done anything unusual.

He didn't say much to her and kept a certain distance, which is why she felt at ease and had no suspicions.

But now the distance between them is only about twenty centimeters.

Zhou Heng could roll over and land directly on top of her...

In this state, after thirty minutes, Yin Mengran heard even breathing sounds.

She knew Zhou Heng must have fallen asleep, and her anxiety subsided, causing her to relax a little.

She didn't know how long it had been since she'd had a good night's sleep, so after relaxing, drowsiness quickly overcame her, making her eyelids heavy.

She fell asleep soon after, and slept very soundly.

She even had a dream in which her parents were walking away...

"!!"

When she opened her eyes and sat up abruptly, she realized it was already morning, and it was bright outside...

It was around six in the morning. A flood of memories rushed into Yin Mengran's mind, and only then did she come to her senses and realize where she was.

Yin Mengran looked to the side and realized that she was alone in bed; Zhou Heng was no longer in the bedroom.

Then she heard noises outside, probably from the kitchen, as if someone was cooking...

Yin Mengran sat up in bed, still wearing the clothes Zhou Heng had given her yesterday; she hadn't changed.

As she stepped out of the bedroom, a delicious aroma wafted from the kitchen, filling her nostrils and instantly waking her still-sleeping stomach.

She looked into the kitchen and saw Zhou Heng wearing an apron, cooking inside.

She walked over, and when she reached the kitchen door, Zhou Heng turned around and exchanged a glance with Yin Mengran behind him.

"Ah... good... good morning."

Yin Mengran greeted him softly. Zhou Heng glanced at her, then nodded and responded quietly:

"Ah."

Yin Mengran looked at the dining table in front of her, where there was a lunchbox containing the food Zhou Heng had just prepared.

Only then did Yin Mengran realize that Zhou Heng seemed to bring his own lunch to school instead of eating the school food; it seemed he was the only one in the class who did so.

"Preparing lunch... Why did you bring your own lunch? The school food is alright, isn't it?"

Zhou Heng simply replied, "Ethnic minorities have dietary restrictions."

"Really? No wonder... I felt like it just by looking at your face."

Yin Mengran was somewhat surprised, then looked at Zhou Heng's face and realized that his facial features did indeed resemble those of an ethnic minority.

With his high nose bridge and double eyelids, his facial features are like those of a foreigner; I had never noticed before.

"I've made breakfast, you can eat first."

Zhou Heng pointed to the side, where a steaming hot breakfast was placed.

By this time, Yin Mengran's stomach had already been awakened by the aroma, and seeing this breakfast made her hunger pangs even more intense.

"Um..."

Yin Mengran answered softly, nodded, and then sat down at the dining table.

However, she didn't start eating right away. Instead, she waited for Zhou Heng to finish and sit down at the table before she began to eat.

While eating breakfast, Zhou Heng asked, "Are you still going to school?"

"this..."

Yin Mengran remembered her schoolbag; it was still at school. She hadn't taken it with her the day she left school after the accident; it had been in her desk ever since.

She really should go back to school now; she can't just give up on herself after being left unattended...

but...

Yin Mengran looked at her school uniform hanging out to dry; it wasn't completely dry yet, and she wasn't feeling well—her eyes were swollen, not to mention she didn't have any clothes to wear...

"I...I'm going to buy clothes today, so I probably won't be able to go to school until tomorrow..."

"Oh."

Zhou Heng nodded, then took a key from his pocket and tossed it directly in front of Yin Mengran.

"Come back as soon as you buy the house key, otherwise I won't be able to get into the house."

Looking at the keys in front of her, Yin Mengran knew that Zhou Heng had secretly left because he was afraid she would have nowhere to go.

She picked up the keys and answered softly:

"Oh...I see..."

She thought to herself that she couldn't stay at Zhou Heng's house forever, could she? He intended to keep her here, and she couldn't just ignore him and stay there.

But I don't have enough money to rent a place to live...

Going to school is the most important thing now. You can't just drop out of school to work, or your parents in heaven would surely be upset.

So now, besides agreeing to stay here temporarily with Zhou Heng, there really isn't any other way...

I can't possibly trouble my good friend Tong Yining, or her parents...

Zhou Heng lives alone, so it's a bit more suitable for him.

After breakfast, Zhou Heng packed his things and left in a hurry, without saying anything to Yin Mengran before leaving...

Looking at the empty house, Yin Mengran couldn't help but sigh inwardly. Zhou Heng really trusted her so much... letting her be alone in his house...

Yin Mengran planned to help Zhou Heng tidy up the house, since she was temporarily staying there and should do something to help.

After I'm all packed, I'll go out to buy clothes, take a shower, and pamper myself.

She first went to the bedroom to make the bed and opened the window to ventilate the room.

Then I went to the living room to sweep and mop the floor.

When she dragged her things to Zhou Heng's workout area and saw all those dumbbells, she suddenly felt a headache coming on...

She has to move these things away before she can tidy up.

So she rolled up her sleeves, walked over, gripped the dumbbell bar with both hands, and took a deep breath.

"1...2...3!"

"Um--"

Yin Mengran moved the dumbbells aside, her face turning red from straining.

"Wow, it's so heavy... How can Zhou Heng be so strong? I should have let him compete in last year's tug-of-war..."

As the class monitor, she had gotten used to thinking about these things, which was one of the reasons why she had to go to school.

Yin Mengran tidied up for twenty minutes. While wiping the cabinet, her eyes caught sight of a cardboard box in the corner next to it...

The cardboard box contained many pieces of paper resembling letters, as well as some small boxes.

She squatted down, took out a sheet of paper, glanced at its contents, and a look of surprise flashed in her eyes.

"Are these... love letters Zhou Heng wrote to Tongtong and gifts he bought for her?"