The Complete Guide to the Use and Care (41-end)

52

Chapter Fifty-two

Ji Linxi pretended not to have seen Yan Li’s expression. He tossed the towel to one side, picked up the hairdryer, and started drying his hair. As Ling Miao was standing beside Ji Linxi, the hot air from the hairdryer landed on Ling Miao’s face and Ling Miao said angrily: “Fuck, step aside.”

Ignoring Ling Miao’s complaints, Ji Linxi teased, “When are you coming back? Or are you staying there for good?”

“What do you mean ‘staying there for good?’” Ling Miao picked up his things. “I told you to tell the landlord to reserve my bed for me. If you’re still worried, should I come back every day to see you?”

Watching the scene unfold, Yan Li’s earlier panic was completely wiped away. Her eyes opened wide as she watched the ‘squabbling lovers’ and she momentarily didn’t know what to do.

That… these two aren’t lovers, surely? Does it do them any good to performatively flirt in front of me? Is Ling Miao acting coy? Ji Linxi drying his hair looked like he was performing some kind of very practiced dance! Fuck, I didn’t come here for nothing, right? Yan Li suppressed the welling emotions, but the audible sound of her swallowing revealed that, in her heart, one hundred thousand ‘fuck you’ horses were thundering by.¹

The scene in front of Yan Li was so beautiful, she almost didn’t dare to look. She drew a deep breath, steadied herself, and said slowly: “Ling Miao, it’s getting late. We should be getting back, right?”

She had asked a question, but her tone made it clear that it was an order. Ling Miao glared at Ji Linxi then reminded him: “Remember to tell the landlord!”

“Relax. As long as you pay rent on time he won’t give you a hard time.” Ji Linxi looked anxious to see Ling Miao out the door.

Ling Miao kicked Ji Linxi and said fiercely: “What’s that expression? You look like you can’t wait to kick me out. I should punch you!”

Ji Linxi watched Ling Miao with a faint smile and said: “Scram.” Then he turned his head away and, in that moment, his gaze met Yan Li’s shining eyes. The glimmering crystalline shine over her eyes drew his attention and didn’t let go.

Ling Miao prepared to leave carrying his things, but found that Yan Li stood frozen to one side. He looked again and realized she and Ji Linxi were staring besottedly at each other. He stood to one side and observed them both, and in that moment he really wanted to push Ji Linxi and let him and Yan Li have a long and passionate kiss. But then he considered the consequences of this push and felt that they’d be pretty serious.

Suppressing the impulse, Ling Miao leisurely sat down, pulled out his phone, and started reading a novel.

Although Ling Miao and Su Yuyang had had a falling out, Ling Miao still read Su Yuyang’s novel every day. Now he opened the chapter Su Yuyang had updated that afternoon; if he remembered correctly, he hadn’t looked this one over yet. In other words, if there were typos or things like that, it definitely had nothing to do with him. So, when he saw more than ten typos, he couldn’t help complaining: “Fuck, Su Yuyang, doesn’t the lazy bastard check before he updates a chapter? Or does he think that with all his money he won’t miss the subscription fees for this chapter? Fuck it, such a waste! I don’t understand how these Great Authors think!”

Ling Miao’s shout wasn’t a big deal. At most, the neighbours might scold him harshly. The thing was that his shout brought Ji Linxi and Yan Li back to their senses.

Yan Li and Ji Linxi simultaneously turned to look at Ling Miao, who was still muttering curses at his phone saying he would lodge a complaint with the site against Su Yuyang.