Chapter 3164: Chunshu Lane Bitter Summer 04

On the third floor, Jin Chen arrived at Chenshu's door; he knocked once and the door opened.

Chenshu stood behind the door, wearing a loose white cotton-linen short-sleeve, fresh and clean.

Seeing Jin Chen, he curled the corners of his mouth, a gentle, soft smile, 'Welcome, come in first.'

Jin Chen stood at the doorway, cautiously peeking inside, then slowly stepped over the threshold; upon entering, he couldn't help but feel surprised.

Jin Xiumei's living room was piled with things, everywhere cramped; Chenshu's living room was spacious, clean with no extra decorations, making it seem much larger than Jin Xiumei's home, so looking at it didn't feel as irritating.

Jin Chen's gaze was drawn to the art decorations in the living room; Chenshu saw it and inexplicably had a hallucination of a black cat attracted to a new toy.

Chenshu smiled, holding out a cup of water, 'Your complexion doesn't look good; did you get heatstroke downstairs?'

Jin Chen took that cup of water; the icy sensation made his fingers curl, he only gripped the cup wall tightly, his palm went numb from the cold, and he had no intention to drink.

'No.' Jin Chen said.

'Then that's fine.' Chenshu chuckled, seeing he had no intention to drink, assuming he didn't like water like himself, he stood up and walked to the fridge, 'Would you like some milk? Fresh milk just delivered this morning.'

Before Jin Chen could answer, Chenshu had already handed him the iced milk; he had just set down the icy water cup, then inexplicably took the even colder milk cup.

Jin Chen paused a moment, then said softly, '... Thank you, I'm not heatstruck. Where's the Ugly Bear?'

'I'll go get it for you...' Chenshu's words trailed off; suddenly his brows furrowed slightly, he stared in surprise, 'Why are you bleeding?'

Chenshu reached out to push aside the hair beside Jin Chen's ear, then discovered the ear stud was seeping blood; red blood slowly flowed along the curve of the ear bone, dyeing the black butterfly earring, and left a thin blood trace on his pale skin, vivid to the point of eerie.

Chenshu blinked, then met Jin Chen's slightly gloomy gaze; his aesthetic sense was precisely struck again.

He dazed for a few seconds, until Jin Chen tilted his head and withdrew from his fingertips.

Chenshu came back to his senses, his tone gentle, he pressed Jin Chen onto the sofa and ruffled his hair, 'Can you wait a moment? It'll be quick.'

Jin Chen: '......'

He really wanted to say he should go back; he needed to take medicine, his head also hurt, and he didn't want to stay here.

But this person was quite strange; Jin Chen didn't really understand this enthusiasm, nor did he know how to respond. He could only sit there, his fingertips unconsciously fiddling with the edge of the sofa.

Chenshu returned with iodine and cotton swabs, plus the Ugly Bear that had been washed and hung to dry on the balcony; Jin Chen's dark pupils shifted slightly, his gaze fell on the dripping Ugly Bear, and he silently held his breath.

Chenshu sat beside him, turned his body closer to Jin Chen, and said softly, 'It might hurt a bit, bear with it.'

This time Jin Chen's ear from the bone to the lobe turned completely red; he suppressed the urge to turn his head away, froze there, letting Chenshu's fingers touch his ear, breath brushing past, warm and hot, with a hint of mint.

'You look great wearing earrings,' Chenshu's voice was close, the tail of his tone lightly lifted with a smile, 'It looks nice; you just need to take good care of the piercing.'

So close.

Jin Chen found it hard to adapt to such close contact; a strange sensation spread across his back, like something crawling up his spine, tingling and numb, making him feel uneasy all over.

Suddenly, a soft laugh from Chenshu came from beside his ear.

'Why is your face still red?' Chenshu's voice held laughter, gentle as if coaxing a child, 'Don't be nervous, it'll be fine soon.'

Jin Chen was indeed nervous, so he could only keep his mouth shut, lower his eyes not looking at Chenshu, and fixed his gaze on the damp little bear on the sofa.

Chenshu saw his embarrassment, decided to shift the topic to distract him, and casually asked, 'You blush so easily; aren't you still underage?'

He glanced at Jin Chen testingly, thinking if he were really only eighteen, it'd still be better not to corrupt minors.

Jin Chen minded people mistaking his age, he solemnly corrected, 'I'm twenty.'

'Twenty, huh,' Chenshu tossed the used cotton swab into the trash, screwed on the iodine bottle cap, and lightly laughed, 'Quite a coincidence—I'm twenty-five this year, just graduated from university, coming to stay on Chunshu Lane for a while; I'm glad to meet you.'

He extended his hand, his brows and eyes smiling gently and cheerfully, 'By the way, I'm Chenshu.'

Jin Chen: '......' Where's the coincidence?

He dared not think a single sentence could earn so many replies; looking at Chenshu's outstretched hand, he seemed somewhat flustered.

Even in his social state, Jin Chen still reached out his hand; Chenshu was startled by the icy temperature, then reflexively gripped Jin Chen's palm, 'Your hands are so cold.'

'You should be drinking hot water,' Chenshu realized, 'I'm used to drinking ice water, so I just handed you ice water by habit; wait a moment.'

He released Jin Chen's hand, got up, walked into the kitchen, poured some warm water, and handed it to Jin Chen.

On the third time receiving the cup, Jin Chen finally drank water at Chenshu's home.

'How adorable,' Chenshu couldn't help but praise lightly and cheerfully.

'That day I saw you in the stairwell,' Chenshu rested his chin on his hand, looking at him with a smile, 'I really wanted to be friends with you.'

Jin Chen wanted to say something in response, but in the social etiquette he was imitating, there was no template for replying to such remarks, so he simply gave up and looked away.

But his bad impression of Chenshu had improved; even though he was currently at a loss, he could only stare at the fan shaking its head in the living room, unaware that the ear on his uninjured side was starting to redden as well.

Seen by Chenshu's eyes, he really couldn't hold back and laughed again lightly.

Jin Chen's gaze moved from the fan, drifted all the way, and finally landed on the flower window.

Outside the window, strong sunlight streamed in; beyond the screen it was bright and dazzling, making people feel dizzy.

The rain had stopped.