Chapter 76

It was impossible to meet.

Pei Kuang had Luo Yi reject her on his behalf, with the excuse that the doctor was examining him and it was not convenient.

Of course, this excuse was perfunctory, but the other party clearly understood Pei Kuang's meaning and did not pester further. She left the fruit basket she had brought with Luo Yi and then left.

Luo Yi carried the fruit basket back to the hospital room and dumped it on the table next to him.

"Tsk, you're still as cold-hearted as ever. You say the other person came all the way to the hospital entrance, and you were classmates, it wouldn't mean anything for you to meet for a bit, right?"

Pei Kuang glanced at him indifferently, "It's not about being cold-hearted or not, I don't want to make extra effort unnecessarily."

If he didn't know the other's intentions, he might have just met her, but since he did, why add to the trouble? This was better for both parties.

Besides, although they were old classmates, they weren't close back in school either, so there was no need to reminisce now.

Luo Yi naturally understood what he meant. As expected of Pei Kuang, he didn't give others any chance.

However, this was good too. If he had met her out of politeness and given her hope before rejecting her, that would have been even colder.

Luo Yi sat casually on the edge of the bed, plopping down right on top of the clothes Pei Kuang had changed out of earlier that morning. He was a little surprised.

"Why did you change clothes? Don't tell me you showered?"

Pei Kuang glanced at the clothes and replied, "What do you think?"

"You just had surgery, how can you shower? Do you not have basic medical knowledge?"

Luo Yi was just joking around, not bothered by the retort, as he continued trying to tease Pei Kuang.

"Whether I have medical knowledge or not doesn't matter. Little sister-in-law does, so it's fine. I don't need to take care of you anyway."

Pei Kuang was too lazy to respond to him.

Luo Yi moved the clothes to the side, but didn't get a good grip. The neatly folded clothes came apart.

"Hey, what's going on with your shirt? Why are so many buttons missing?"

Three buttons were missing in a row, hard to not draw attention.

A thought seemed to occur to him as he suddenly widened his eyes at Pei Kuang, "Damn! Pei Kuang, you beast, don't tell me you tore these buttons off on purpose. You actually seduced little sister-in-law!"

Pei Kuang's brows furrowed so hard they could pinch a fly. "Don't talk nonsense, I didn't tear them."

"If you didn't, then little sister-in-law must have torn them, right?" Luo Yi had a gossipy look. "You two were that passionate last night!"

Pei Kuang gave him an annoyed glance, "Don't make things up. It just happened by accident. Keep your conjectures to yourself."

He added, "I'm telling you, don't mention this when she comes back later."

The little girl was shy, she would definitely feel awkward.

Luo Yi looked at him somewhat dejectedly. Fine, he wouldn't say anything if told not to. Having a girl you like is impressive, huh, protective.

"I'm just saying, keeping her protected in the dark is useless. When will you actually pursue her? Do you need a wingman?"

Pei Kuang had no intention of discussing it in detail, simply replying, "Don't mess around, I have my own plans."

Luo Yi: "..."

What do you mean mess around?

Wasn't he the one who came asking for advice before!

When Song Anan and Li Xiaoxian returned, the first thing they saw upon entering was the big fruit basket on the table. "Such a big fruit basket, did someone come visit?" Li Xiaoxian asked curiously.

Luo Yi smiled and replied, "No one, just one of Pei Kuang's old classmates."

Old classmate!

Li Xiaoxian's eyes lit up, instantly interested. "Who? That class flower from your grade?"

At her words, Song Anan also looked over curiously.

Pei Kuang couldn't help but rub his forehead, turning to glare at Luo Yi.

This loudmouth, blabbing everything!

Luo Yi scratched his nose awkwardly. "Girl, why are you asking so much? Mind your own business!"

Seeing their reactions, Li Xiaoxian knew she had guessed right. She immediately nudged Song Anan suggestively.

"Little sister-in-law, see, I'm right aren't I, they're trying to rekindle old flames!"

Pei Kuang: "..."

What old flames to rekindle!

Li Xiaoxian was dragged out of the hospital room reluctantly by Luo Yi. "Luo Yi, what are you doing? If you want to leave then leave, I don't have anything to do, I'll stay a bit longer."

"I need your help with something, stop dawdling and hurry up..."

The door was shut with a 'bang', leaving just Song Anan and Pei Kuang in the room.

The two looked at each other for a few seconds.

Pei Kuang spoke first, "Don't listen to Xiaoqian's nonsense, there are no old flames or rekindling going on. She's just an old not-so-close classmate, that's all."

He added earnestly, as if realizing something, "Also, I didn't meet her today, understand?"

Although they had the "I'll take care of you" agreement, personal emotional matters were obviously not included.

Pei Kuang looked at her quietly, unable to help a slightly ambiguous tone, "What if I wanted to explain?"

Song Anan blanked for a second, her heart suddenly missing a few beats.

Why explain?

Seeming to realize something, Song Anan panicked a little, her gaze involuntarily avoiding his.

She pointed at the fruit basket, "The fruit looks pretty fresh, do you want some?"

Pei Kuang: "......No."

That night, Song Anan did not stay to accompany him.

At dinnertime, Liu Hao, who had been missing all day, finally appeared in the hospital room. He brought a room card for Song Anan.

It was a room Pei Kuang had asked Liu Hao to book for Song Anan at the hotel next door. Song Anan took the card and fled the hospital room without a word.

Liu Hao scratched his head puzzledly. "Bro Pei, it seems to me little sister-in-law was rather impatient?"

Pei Kuang watched Song Anan leave, a glint of inscrutable emotion in his eyes.

Of course she was impatient.

After finding out the little girl didn't have someone she liked, he had been looking for a chance to confess his feelings to her. This afternoon he had said it outright.

Looks like he had startled her.

The suite Pei Kuang had Liu Hao book had two bedrooms total.

Letting a young girl like Song Anan stay at a hotel alone, he was still a little worried, so he had booked a suite in the end and asked Li Xiaoxian to go over and stay with her.

After her shower, Song Anan came out of the bathroom without even blow drying her hair. She lay on the bed staring blankly at the ceiling.

Pei Kuang's words from earlier seemed to echo in her ears. What if I wanted to explain?

Even someone as dense as Song Anan knew what that meant.

If it were someone else, she might have written it off as just a joke, but Pei Kuang was someone extremely tactful and aware of boundaries. He would never jokingly flirt with her.

Speaking of tact and boundaries, some scenes flashed through Song Anan's mind. ——That day in the kitchen, when he bent down to wipe her mouth, his fingertip lightly brushed her lips.

——That day riding the bike, when he told her, just hug me.

——That night when drunk, when he said with a smile that wasn't really a smile, don't worry, I didn't take advantage of you.

——And last night, when he chuckled lowly and asked, had enough feeling around?

......

This seemed to indicate something, but also not enough to prove anything.

Song Anan suddenly fell into indecisive emotions, one moment feeling like it was so obvious there was nothing left to be uncertain about, the next feeling like maybe she was just imagining things.

Just as she was drowning in these thoughts, the room door was suddenly knocked on.

"Little sister-in-law, come out for a midnight snack!"

It was Li Xiaoxian's voice.

Song Anan blanked for a few seconds, "...Oh, wait a moment."

She got out of bed and opened the door to see Li Xiaoxian standing there with a takeout bag.

"Why order a midnight snack, not full from dinner?" Song Anan asked.

Li Xiaoxian smiled and replied, "No, my boyfriend ordered this for me because he was worried I'd be hungry."

Song Anan said in surprise, "You have a boyfriend now?"

Li Xiaoxian didn't hide it either. "Yup, a high school classmate, but we only got together after taking the college entrance exam. My parents don't know yet."

Before Song Anan could react, she was pulled by Li Xiaoxian to the living room.

Li Xiaoxian's boyfriend had ordered barbecue, there were also two milk teas on the table, likely ordered by him too.

Song Anan and Li Xiaoxian sat on the sofa, eating and chatting.

Li Xiaoxian urged Song Anan to eat. She picked up a chicken wing and casually asked, "Why didn't you tell your parents? Were you afraid they wouldn't approve?"

Li Xiaoxian waved her hand. "No, not that. It's just that when you're dating, it's annoying if your parents find out and start asking questions all over the place."

Song Anan nodded lightly. She understood this. Her roommate was also dating someone and hadn't told her family, saying she didn't want to be interrogated by them.

Li Xiaoxian took a bite of lamb skewer and said, "Anyway, as far as I having a boyfriend goes, only you and Pei Kuang know about it. So you have to keep it a secret for me, okay?"

Song Anan was taken aback for a moment. She turned to look at Li Xiaoxian in surprise. "Pei Kuang knows too?"

Li Xiaoxian nodded. "Yeah. Funny story, that summer after the college entrance exams, my boyfriend confessed to me downstairs from my building, and Pei Kuang just happened to catch us. So he found out about it." Song Anan's eyes widened. "He caught you during the confession?"

This scenario seemed all too familiar.

Li Xiaoxian made a pained expression. "I know, I thought I was going to die from shock at the time."

Song Anan pressed her lips together and asked, "So did he say anything to you?"

Li Xiaoxian seemed confused. "Say anything to me?"

Song Anan hesitated. "Like, that he would keep an eye on you or something."

Li Xiaoxian shook her head. "No, Pei Kuang rarely interferes with my business."

Song Anan furrowed her brows, looking perplexed. She could tell Pei Kuang treated Li Xiaoxian like a little sister, so this was odd.

Seeing her confusion, Li Xiaoxian explained, "Sis, even though Pei Kuang is close with my family and is very good to me, we're not actual siblings after all. It's different from your relationship with Song Linchuan. Of course, I'm not saying Pei Kuang is bad. It's just his personality. As my parents say, he always acts with a sense of propriety and never does anything that could be misconstrued..."

Song Anan lowered her head thoughtfully.

Does he really never do anything that could be misconstrued?!