Chapter 28: Midnight Feeling 4

"We're alumni from the same school," I explained, afraid he'd misunderstand. Moreover, coming to find me at midnight—it would be strange if he didn't get the wrong idea.

Liu Xi merely gave me a wicked grin and said, "Shangguan Yun, what do you want with my sister at this hour?"

"Nothing, I just missed her, so I came—I couldn't help it." Shangguan Yun took a drag on his cigarette, chuckled, and said to the younger brother.

I, however, froze there, not knowing what to do.

Fortunately it's the middle of the night, so hardly anyone passes by here; otherwise, if an acquaintance saw me, I'd never be able to clear my name—even jumping into the Yellow River wouldn't wash it clean. What plague god have I offended? I've run into that headache-inducing Shangguan Yun.

Seeing how late it was, and that this kid Liu Xi didn't seem to dislike Shangguan Yun either, I boldly said, "Shangguan Yun, it's so late—why don't you stay at our place for the night? You can share a room with my brother Liu Xi."

I never expected Shangguan Yun to hear my words; the corners of his mouth broke into a smile as he said, "Then it's settled, A Xi—you shouldn't mind, right." Sweat, he's being so familiar already; we've barely known each other, and whenever I call him I always use his full name.

"Of course I don't mind," he said. "Meeting someone like you makes me happy beyond words. Let's go." With that he pulled Shangguan Yun along and left, leaving me behind; I could only patter after them.

When we arrived home, I gestured for them to keep quiet, lest we wake the elders of the house—otherwise it'd be a big deal. They obliged, tiptoeing into my younger brother's room. I poured a cup of water and handed it to Shangguan Yun, saying, "You can stay here for the night. If Mom finds out tomorrow, just say you're Liu Xi's friend; she won't make a fuss."

Shangguan Yun took the water from my hand, glanced at me without speaking, but his eyes were full of an unfathomable sorrow and complexity. I hurriedly averted my gaze and continued, "If that's all, I'll head back to my room to sleep. You two should get some rest too. If you need to wash up, let Liu Xi help you, and have him fetch your pajamas." After saying that, I left Liu Xi's room, walked to my own, closed the door, lay on the bed—though it was late, I felt no sleepiness at all.