一夜情

“A friend gave it to me. He told me to pass it to you,” Xie Heng said calmly, reaching his hand forward a little more.

Zhao Chuchu didn’t suspect anything. She received the box and opened it. It was a gorgeous hairpin made of extremely high-grade jade.

“It’s beautiful,” Zhao Chuchu ran her fingers across the hairpin and said, “Thank you to your friend.”

“As long as you like it,” Xie Heng said, the clenched fist hidden in his sleeves immediately relaxed. “I’ll put down the stuff first.”

Zhao Chuchu nodded.

She took out the hairpin and scrutinized it.

Zhao Chuchu was fond of jade. Before the apocalypse, most of the jewelry pieces she collected were made of jade.

But after the apocalypse, jade was worth less than sausages, which was why she immediately sold her entire jade collection after she reincarnated.

The jade hairpin that Xie Heng brought her today once again kindled her liking for jade.

When Xie Heng put down his stuff and walked out, he saw Zhao Chuchu flipping the jade hairpin around and looking at it from every angle. She seemed to like the gift a lot.

“Do you like it?” Xie Heng asked. “My friend showed me a lot of things. I picked this jade hairpin for you in the end.”

Zhao Chuchu turned around when she heard his voice. A smile appeared on her face as she asked, “Da Lang, did your friend give me this, or did you give me this?”

Xie Heng’s heart skipped a beat, but he didn’t show it on his face at all. He said, “A friend gave it to you, but I picked it.”

“That’s all?”

“Yeah.

“How much did it cost?”

“It didn’t cost anything.”

Zhao Chuchu put the hairpin on her hair and said, “I like it a lot, thank you.”

He should have just said it if he had bought a gift for her. It was not like she would laugh at him for this. There was no need to say it in such a roundabout way to hide it from her.

As Xie Heng watched Zhao Chuchu don the hairpin, he heaved a sigh of relief.

“Did you run into any trouble at home in the past few days?”

“Nope, who would dare to look for trouble with me now? They’re all afraid of getting their legs broken! By the way, did you finish your business?”

“Yes.”

“Are you still going to go out after this?”

“Not anymore. I need to start preparing for the exam.”

Zhao Chuchu counted the days. The previous exam was last year, so the next exam would be in two years.

“Two years to go. You got this. I’m waiting for you to become an official in the royal court so you can be my backing.”

“Okay.”

Xie Heng liked to hear Zhao Chuchu say the word “backing.”

He had never wanted to be anyone’s backing in his life, but now, there was someone he wanted to support.

He wanted to be Zhao Chuchu’s backing.

“What do you want to eat today?” It’s going to be noon soon. Xie Heng pulled up his sleeves and walked toward the kitchen.

“I’m not picky.”

Anything that Xie Heng cooked was delicious. Even the most common dish would become something different in his hands.

After several days of eating just buns, she started getting tired of them.

Xie Heng’s cooking was so much better.

“Can you come to help me start the fire?” Xie Heng turned around and asked Zhao Chuchu.

“Of course,” Zhao Chuchu answered and hurriedly followed him in.

Someone was cooking for her. Of course, she would be willing to start the fire and help out.

That was the dedication of a foodie toward food.

The two were so close that they would inevitably bump into and frequently meet each other’s eyes. There was a flirtatious, rosy atmosphere around them.

But Zhao Chuchu didn’t notice it. She started talking about what had happened in the past few days.

Xie Heng asked questions once in a while. This conversation mode, where she spoke and he listened, made him feel exceptionally relaxed. Although it was petty, it felt comfortable and cozy.

“You mentioned milk powder? What’s that?” This was another thing that Zhao Chuchu brought up that Xie Heng had never heard before. Xie Heng could be considered very well-read and experienced in life. Yet, in front of Zhao Chuchu, it was like he lived under a rock.

“It’s a supplement used to supply nutrients people need. It’s from the place where I came from. Many mothers would use to feed their babies with milk made from powder if they weren’t willing to breastfeed their children or didn’t have enough breast milk.”

“Are they… the same?”

Although it was a little embarrassing, Xie Heng still wanted to know.

“Pretty much, I think it’s put to personal choice. Da Lang, Junjun looks much younger than the other kids his age. I’m going to tell him to start drinking milk.”

“Okay.”

Was he not going to get some as well?

Didn’t she say that he was still growing?

This made Xie Heng feel a little upset.

Even Old Lady Chen’s grandson got some. Xie Heng’s relationship with Zhao Chuchu was much more than friends, yet he was excluded from this…

...

Zhao Chuchu continued looking down and putting the firewood into the stove cavity. She didn’t notice that Xie Heng’s mood had changed.

She continued. “You’re going to get tired from studying, so you should drink some in the morning and at night as well.”

“I have it too?”

Xie Heng couldn’t help but feel happy.

“Of course, you’re growing too.” Zhao Chuchu looked up. Her expression showed that she was clearly a little confused at Xie Heng’s reaction.

Since she was already feeding people, she could afford one more person.

“I’ll pass you some later on.”

“Chuchu, where did you get all this stuff?”

Xie Heng couldn’t help but ask.

He could better help her cover up if he knew about it.

“It might scare you. Are you sure you want to know?”

...

“Yes, I can be mentally prepared if anything happens in the future.”

“You’ve read books about myths and legends before, right? Do you know about the ‘Universe in a Sleeve’?”

Zhao Chuchu started to make up stories that were somewhat true.

“You’re a divine being?”

“I’m not, but this is a real thing in the world where I came from. It’s an ability that every person is born with. No one can take it away from us. I accumulated all of these things in my previous life. I was planning to travel around the world with it, but an accident happened, and I ended up here!”

Zhao Chuchu sighed. She reached out her hand. A lollipop appeared in her palm out of nowhere.

Xie Heng had never lost his cool before, yet now, he could no longer keep calm.

“Are you afraid?” Zhao Chuchu said jokingly, “Here, have some candy.”

Zhao Chuchu peeled off the packaging paper and stuffed the lollipop into Xie HEng’s mouth.

The sweet taste spread on Xie Heng’s tongue. It was a taste that he had never tried before.

“Strawberry flavored, do you like it?” Zhao Chuchu blinked as she asked.

She was prepared to kill Xie Heng immediately if he appeared to be even slightly greedy for her carry-on space.

Xie Heng took out the lollipop from his mouth and looked at Zhao Chuchu deeply. He said, “Don’t let other people know about this. You may not know this, but they would see you as a freak if you show this to them. They might want to take your ‘Universe in a Sleeve’ from you.”

“No one can take it from me. If I die, this ability will no longer exist. My life and my ‘Universe in a Sleeve’ are bound to each other,” Zhao Chuchu made things up as she spoke, “You’re the only one who knows right now. I’ll know you’ve let me down if anyone else becomes aware of this.”

“This ability is too absurd to the people of this world. Actually, Chuchu, the phrase ‘Universe in a Sleeve” doesn’t exist in this society. But I heard that in a faraway, foreign place, a clan of witches had abilities close to gods. Rumors have it that the witches could connect with spirits and exchange items with gods. Everyone in the Wei Dynasty, from the royal court to the common folk, firmly believe in the existence of witches.”

“You want me to claim that I’m a witch if anyone starts to get suspicious?”

“Yes, this is the best cover-up. You have so many talents and skills. No one would doubt you.”

Zhao Chuchu was starting to get confused.

She thought that Xie Heng was a person who would be willing to do anything to reach the top.

Why was he so kind toward her?

Was he really not interested in the carry-on space at all?

Zhao Chuchu asked, “Da Lang, do you want the ‘Universe in a Sleeve’?”

Xie Heng shook his head and said, “I won’t take things away from you. But for fairness, I’ll tell you a secret too.”