Chapter 95: Seeing Huang Qingya Again

Speaking of this, Wei Dongming looked around, surveying his surroundings, and laughed: "This house you rented is quite nice! The environment is much better and much larger than the place I rented. Is this entire courtyard rented by you?"

Before Cao Sheng could answer, Wei Dongming added: "Isn't it a bit too wasteful for you to rent such a large place alone? How about I move in and share the rent with you? I can help you cover some of the costs, what do you think?"

Cao Sheng: "..."

After two seconds of silence, Cao Sheng told the truth: "I didn't rent this courtyard."

Wei Dongming was stunned: "Not rented? This—don't tell me you bought this house?"

Cao Sheng smiled and nodded.

Wei Dongming was surprised: "You really bought it? Damn! You didn't buy it back when you said you were renting the house, did you?"

Cao Sheng still smiled and nodded.

Wei Dongming: "???"

After staring blankly at Cao Sheng for a while, Wei Dongming suddenly laughed: "You really have a way! You didn't stay in the dormitory for a single day last semester, and before the semester even started, you had already bought this house. Nobody knows about this even now—you’re good at keeping secrets, Old Third! Isn't this a bit too low-key?"

Cao Sheng: "I've already been in the spotlight enough; I think it's better to stay as low-key as possible where I can."

Wei Dongming turned his face to look around again, his envy impossible to hide: "No wonder you have no interest in dating! Making money is truly great! We are all still agonizing over whether to order an extra meat dish for every meal, and you, damn it, have already bought a house here. The key is that you bought it with money you earned yourself. This sense of achievement... if this got out at school, I bet the number of girls chasing you would multiply several times over. Do you want to make a bet?"

Cao Sheng chuckled and shook his head: "No bet!"

Wei Dongming: "Don't be like that! Such an interesting thing, let's just bet on it!"

Cao Sheng still shook his head.

That night, Wei Dongming got drunk.

After getting drunk, he insisted on sleeping in the same bed as Cao Sheng.

Cao Sheng couldn't stand it and, fearing that Wei Dongming might mistake him for Ai Qian in the middle of the night, pretended to agree. Once Wei Dongming fell asleep, Cao Sheng quickly and quietly got up to leave.

In the days that followed, Cao Sheng lived a reclusive life, occasionally going out to buy groceries, but otherwise staying holed up in the house.

If he wanted to exercise, he would go to the gym downstairs.

Although the gym he renovated downstairs wasn't large, it had everything—dumbbells, barbells, punching bags—enough for him to play with.

The rest of the time, besides cooking for himself, he spent his time typing on the computer upstairs, reading books, or refining the outline for "Divine Grave."

Wei Dongming, who sold alcohol at the supermarket, would come over to mooch a meal every few days.

But he didn't mooch for free; sometimes he would bring two bottles of liquor.

Sometimes he would bring two pounds of pork ribs.

Sometimes he would buy some fruit, saying it was to help Cao Sheng replenish his vitamins.

These two guys, who previously looked down on each other, had recently actually become good friends.

The fifteenth day of the first lunar month.

The Lantern Festival.

That evening, Wei Dongming came over again with liquor to mooch a meal.

On such a cold day, Cao Sheng was too lazy to cook many dishes, so he set up a hot pot again. The two of them ate hot pot in the dining room, drank white liquor, and chatted away—it was actually quite comfortable.

Wei Dongming said: "This New Year, I thought I would be the only one here, and it would be cold, lonely, and miserable. I didn't expect you to come back so early. This New Year, having you here with me is so much better! Cao Sheng! Let's just be like this from now on! I won't date, and you keep not dating either, so we can often drink together and brag together, how about it?"

Cao Sheng: "..."

Just as Cao Sheng was about to speak, he heard movement at the courtyard gate.

He turned his head to look, thinking: A thief on the Lantern Festival? What kind of thief is so pathetic? The Lantern Festival is a minor New Year! On a day like this, why not spend it at home? Why come out to steal things?

Through the dining room window, he could see the courtyard gate.

The gate was pushed open, and Huang Qingya, wearing an apricot-yellow down jacket, a red scarf, and yellow gloves, pushed her bicycle into the courtyard.

Cao Sheng was very surprised.

Wei Dongming was even more surprised.

Watching Huang Qingya push her bike into the courtyard, Wei Dongming was dumbfounded, his bewildered gaze shifting to Cao Sheng: "Who is this woman? You—don't tell me she's your partner."

Cao Sheng chuckled.

At this moment, Huang Qingya, having entered the courtyard, noticed the light in the dining room and glanced over with a puzzled expression. After parking her bike, she walked quickly to the dining room door, pushed it open, and saw Cao Sheng. While unwinding the scarf that covered half her face, she asked: "Oh? You came back so early? Why aren't you spending the Lantern Festival at home?"

As she spoke, she walked into the dining room carrying a chill, with snowflakes on her hair and clothes.

Closing the dining room door behind her, she walked toward Cao Sheng.

Cao Sheng stood up and went over, brushing the snowflakes off her hair and clothes while asking: "Is it snowing outside? Why did you still come over if it's snowing?"

Huang Qingya: "I thought you were coming back soon, and since this house hasn't been lived in for a long time, there must be a layer of dust inside, so I wanted to come over and help you clean it. I didn't expect you to be back so early."

Having said this, her beautiful eyes turned toward Wei Dongming: "Is this your friend?"

Wei Dongming subconsciously put down his chopsticks and stood up.

He was still confused, not knowing what the relationship was between this woman and Cao Sheng.

She looked quite mature; in terms of age, she didn't look like Cao Sheng's girlfriend.

But she was incredibly beautiful, her face like a silver platter possessing a classical beauty. Because of the cold, her cheeks were flushed, making her look even more charming.

Looking at her voluptuous figure, she was a top-tier mature woman.

Such a beautiful mature woman might be exactly the type Cao Sheng liked.

Therefore, he wasn't sure what the relationship between this woman and Cao Sheng really was.

Cao Sheng said "Mm," and added: "Let me introduce you. This is my former roommate, Wei Dongming. This is Huang Qingya."

Wei Dongming looked at Cao Sheng in surprise, thinking: You said her name, but why didn't you say what your relationship is? How am I supposed to address her now?

Huang Qingya, however, was very generous; she nodded and raised a hand to greet him: "Hello! Xiao Ming!"

Wei Dongming hurriedly responded: "Hello, Sister Huang! By the way, you can just call me Xiao Wei! I'm not used to people calling me Xiao Ming."

Huang Qingya smiled.

Because the name "Xiao Ming" sounded too much like the Xiao Ming and Xiao Hong from elementary school textbooks.

"Alright!"

She nodded with a smile.

Then, the two people's hot pot became a meal for three.

During the meal, while Huang Qingya went to the restroom, Wei Dongming leaned over to Cao Sheng and asked in a low voice: "What's your relationship with this Sister Huang? She's so beautiful. Is she your girlfriend?"

Cao Sheng raised a hand to push his face away: "Don't be so curious about other people's business."

Wei Dongming was speechless.

He then gave a bitter smile: "I'm such a fool, really! You have such great conditions, with so many girls at school chasing you, yet you remain unmoved. I actually thought you were solely focused on making money and, like me, didn't want to date! Turns out I'm the only one who doesn't want to date!"

Cao Sheng smiled.

He didn't say that he and Huang Qingya were not in a romantic relationship.

This was his respect for Huang Qingya.

He couldn't let her lose face in front of his friend.

Moreover, although he and Huang Qingya hadn't been seeing each other for long, they had always gotten along quite well. As an old soul with a mental age of 41, he didn't mind that Huang Qingya was seven or eight years older than him.

He just didn't want to waste time on romance for the time being.

He occasionally thought that if he and Huang Qingya could keep getting along, staying together like this in the future wouldn't be a bad thing.

That night, Wei Dongming didn't stay at Cao Sheng's place for too long, nor did he drink too much, and he said his goodbyes early.

With Huang Qingya here, he couldn't stay.

And once he left, the way Cao Sheng and Huang Qingya looked at each other changed.

"Happy New Year!"

Huang Qingya said softly.

Cao Sheng smiled: "You're not very sincere with that New Year's greeting!"

Huang Qingya tilted her head slightly: "Then how should I say it?"

Cao Sheng patted his thigh: "Sit here and say it!"