After Sleeping with My Childhood Friend/Arch-Nemesis - Chapter 5

With her vision clear again, Zhou Xiaqing saw Chen Jinshan sitting naked, propped up against the headboard, his large hand gripping his still-erect penis.

There was already a used condom in the trash can; clearly, he had reached climax with her just moments ago.

Chen Jinshan looked at her deeply, then signaled with his eyes for her to look down, his tone business-like: “Zhou Xiaqing, how do you suggest we solve this?”

Zhou Xiaqing’s expression changed instantly after her release. She couldn’t wait to kick him out: “What can I do about it? Aren’t you going back yet?”

Seeing her “keep others at arm’s length” attitude, Chen Jinshan suddenly let out a laugh. “You were just crying for mercy under me a moment ago, is being this heartless now really okay?”

“Shut up!” It was too shameful; she didn’t want to hear it.

“Zhouzhou, let’s try a different position.” Chen Jinshan leaned in closer.

“Don’t call me by my childhood nickname.”

“Zhouzhou, Zhouzhou, Zhouzhou.”

“Stop talking!”

“Zhouzhou.”

“Get out… mm…”

Her lips were sealed by his. As they kissed, it was as if her soul had been hooked away; half-resisting, half-yielding, she ended up doing it with him again.

Her mind was blank and relaxed, without a single stray thought. Every cell in her body was wantonly enjoying the moment.

It was a lifeline. It truly was stress-relieving.

All the thoughts she should and shouldn’t have had vanished like smoke. It was as if a heavy burden had been lifted; her heart felt suddenly much lighter, and an intense wave of sleepiness followed.

She didn’t remember much of what happened after it ended. She vaguely recalled him holding her to bathe and wash her body, and then later, returning to bed to sleep in each other’s arms. She had finally slept soundly that night—a deep, restorative sleep she hadn’t experienced in ages.

So much so that she didn’t even know when Chen Jinshan left in the morning.

Outside, Xu Ling was shouting and banging on the door. Zhou Xiaqing replied hazily a couple of times, first sitting up to force her system to boot up, then hurriedly putting on her pajamas to open the door.

“Sister, you really scared me! I messaged you and you didn’t reply, I knocked and no one opened—I thought you’d burned yourself out.” Xu Ling made a gesture, terrified. “Just a little bit more and I was going to find someone to open the door and call the police.”

“Slept a bit too soundly, sorry.” Zhou Xiaqing thought of the itinerary planned for today and rushed into the bathroom. “I’ll wash up and head out with you right now.”

Xu Ling stood outside the bathroom, looking her up and down, her tone suspicious: “You… what’s wrong?”

“Hm?”

“Is smoking that useful? Last time, you exercised for several hours until your body was pushed to the limit, and I still didn’t see you fall asleep. This smoking thing can solve your insomnia that quickly?”

“It’s pretty useful…” Zhou Xiaqing mumbled vaguely while biting on her toothbrush, lowering her eyes to hide the guilt in them.

Something isn’t right.

Xu Ling’s intuition had always been sharp. She didn’t ask further. She turned around and scanned the whole room several times, her gaze finally landing on the trash can by the bed.

Among the crumpled tissues on the torn packaging were… a few used rubber products.

In the bathroom, Zhou Xiaqing came out glowing with vitality after a quick wash, humming a song. Although her body was aching terribly and she hadn’t slept for many hours, she hadn’t felt this light and carefree in a long time.

She was vibrant, full of energy, and her joy was overflowing. Her mood was so good she could love the whole world.

“So happy?” Xu Ling asked.

“Of course I’m happy when I’m traveling.” Her tone of voice had even become lively.

“You were like a dead fish yesterday,” Xu Ling hit the nail on the head. “Your eyes are shining today, like they have two lightbulbs installed.”

“Is that so?”

Compared to her yesterday, which felt like a pool of stagnant water, Zhou Xiaqing was vivid today. Her eyes were curved into happy crescents, and her smile was full of energy.

She was the brightest, happiest person in the world right now.

“Y-e-s,” Xu Ling drawled in coordination. “Go put on some makeup first. Can we leave in forty minutes?”

“Of course.”

Zhou Xiaqing’s makeup technique wasn’t particularly refined, but her bone structure was superior, her features were very three-dimensional, and her small face was outstanding. Just a few smudges were enough to make her look beautiful.

She was going to play some amusement rides today, so she picked a cropped printed white T-shirt paired with loose jeans comfortable and casual. Her hairstyle wasn’t that important to her; she just used a hair tie to bind it into a casual side ponytail.

However, her most commonly used large white scrunchie had vanished. She searched the bathroom, the bed, the table, and the suitcase, but it was nowhere to be found. It had clearly been there when she went out last night.

But this gave her the chance to improvise. She braided two pigtails using small hair ties from the hotel, put on a baseball cap, and threw on a black-and-gold Salzburg mini backpack—and just like that, a very youthful and energetic college girl was born.

They hadn’t eaten breakfast yet, and there was a medium-sized coffee shop next to the hotel, so Zhou Xiaqing and Xu Ling decided to solve it nearby.

Laughing and chatting as they pushed open the door, Zhou Xiaqing’s expression became momentarily unnatural when her gaze met Chen Jinshan’s, who was sitting inside. She swept her gaze past his face and back to the menu at the front desk.

She didn’t understand the menu well, so she looked at the pictures and ordered a random set meal.

At this hour, the shop was full of tourists eating breakfast; more than half of them were male college students wearing the same training uniforms as Chen Jinshan. The tables were small and low; a group of people with long arms and legs couldn’t stretch out at all. From Zhou Xiaqing’s angle, Chen Jinshan looked like someone who had been punched in the stomach and was curled up on the sofa it was inexplicably comical.

Xu Ling communicated with the shop assistant in English for a while, and after ordering, pulled her toward the last remaining seat.

It was right next to Chen Jinshan.

It was a small square table with chairs on one side and a sofa on the other. Xu Ling chose the chair. Zhou Xiaqing did a quick mental preparation, took off her small backpack and placed it aside, and sat down without changing her expression.

In her peripheral vision, Chen Jinshan raised his hand to add a small cup of milk into his coffee, followed by picking up a sugar packet. With his left hand, he pinched the corner of the packet, and with his right thumb and index finger, he ripped the packaging open with force.

Her throat itched. Zhou Xiaqing covered her mouth and coughed uncomfortably.

It was the same last night.

Last night, she had been lost in passion under him, while he was frantically rummaging for a condom and tearing the packaging open with slight clumsiness.

Chen Jinshan stirred his coffee. When he picked it up, his elbow bumped her arm.

It was unclear whether it was unintentional or deliberate.

He didn’t show a trace of performance; playing a stranger was practically second nature. “Sorry.”

Zhou Xiaqing played her part skillfully, her eyes curving into a polite, fake smile: “No worries.”

The boy sitting opposite him heard their conversation, put down his fork, and spoke up excitedly: “Big sister, you guys are also Chinese?”

Xu Ling nodded, eyed their white training uniforms with blue stripes, and clearly saw the four characters “Fanghua University” and the school badge embroidered on the left chest.

“We are from Fanghua too.”

“Wow, what a fate! What’s your major?”

“Translation.”

“Amazing! Translation is our school’s ace major.”