Chapter 179 177. Living Outside
Golden sunlight streamed through the window, spilling across the ceramic tile floor and reflecting a dazzling glare.
The old ceiling fan was caked with dust, wobbling as it slowly swayed left and right, yet the breeze it produced couldn’t reach the people on the beds.
Long Xing’s and Wang Sheng’s snores rose and fell in the cramped space. Wang Sheng’s snoring was steady and rhythmic, while Long Xing’s would suddenly grow louder before gradually softening again.
Shoes were strewn messily across the floor. Tissues and sunflower seed shells littered the ground. The trash can was already full, yet no one bothered to empty it. The patterned tiles were covered in footprints…
Aside from the weekly mandatory dorm inspection, Wang Sheng’s bed and desk were always the cleanest.
An Han sat cross-legged at the head of her bed, silently looking at this dirty yet familiar and warm dorm room.
“Every time you drink, you snore. It’s so noisy…”
She sighed softly, draped a jacket over herself, and tiptoed down from the bed.
Wang Sheng had chatted with the girl until late last night after coming back, probably only falling asleep not long ago. The other two were dead drunk, and the dorm wouldn’t come back to life until noon at the earliest.
An Han pulled out a dusty suitcase from the corner, casually wiped it down with a cloth, and began packing her belongings.
The place was already rented. After coming back early last night, she had washed her underwear and then gone back out, finding a rental overnight. If she had left this morning instead, she suspected Su Peng would have blocked the doorway, smiling gently and indulgently as he offered to help.
Hit by Su Peng’s gentleness, she might have ended up looking for a place together with him. Then he’d know her address, and after that, the harassment probably wouldn’t stop.
“An Han? What are you packing for?”
Wang Sheng was woken by the noise, yawning as he rolled onto his side to look at her.
“I’m getting ready to live outside.”
“So soon? Want help carrying your stuff?”
“No need. I don’t have much.”
The only troublesome part was the miscellaneous odds and ends. An Han planned to ask the convenience store downstairs if they had cardboard boxes.
After stuffing her clothes into the suitcase, she took down the thin quilt from the bed and tried to cram that in as well.
Although it was already autumn, her quilt was still a summer air-conditioning blanket. Her thick winter quilt was stored in the wardrobe and could be taken directly later.
With clothes and the thin quilt packed in, the suitcase was already at its limit. An Han tried to close it, but it kept springing open with a gap.
“Wang Sheng, come help me press it down.”
She tried for several minutes, even throwing her whole weight onto the suitcase, but still couldn’t close it. Left with no choice, she asked the now-awake Wang Sheng for help.
“Alright. Where did you rent?”
“Near the back gate, in the urban village. There are several apartments there—I asked them one by one.”
Wang Sheng plopped down onto the suitcase. An Han crouched beside him, pulling the zipper closed, and asked casually, “How’s it going with that girl? Brother Long took you to buy clothes last night, right?”
“Yeah.” At the mention of it, Wang Sheng’s face flushed shyly. “Got a haircut too.”
An Han looked up at him in surprise. “If you hadn’t said it, I wouldn’t have noticed.”
A noise came from the door. The two of them turned their heads at the same time. Wang Sheng was just about to get up to open it when An Han grabbed him. “Shh~”
Only after the footsteps outside faded away did An Han remind him, “Don’t tell Su Peng where I live.”
Wang Sheng muttered, “It really feels like there’s something off between you two…”
“He’s all gay-ish! Clings to me every day—it’s annoying as hell!”
“Who’s gay-ish?”
A voice suddenly came from the balcony. An Han was startled and shuddered, losing her balance in her squat and falling onto the floor.
Looking up, she saw Su Peng coming in through the back door, eyes filled with amusement.
“You’re always climbing over railings! One day you’ll fall to your death!” An Han glared at him.
“If I knock on the front door, you won’t open it anyway.” Su Peng glanced at Long Xing, who was still sleeping, and lowered his voice. “Weren’t you supposed to go rent a place today? Why are you packing already?”
“It’s rented.”
“Need help?”
Sensing the awkward atmosphere, Wang Sheng had already slipped back to his bed, peeking out from under the covers to watch them.
“There’s only some small stuff left.” An Han got up from the floor, stood the suitcase upright, and pulled out the winter bedding from deep inside the wardrobe.
Holding one item in each hand, she lowered her head and hurried out of the dorm.
After only a couple of steps, she turned around and glared at Su Peng, who was following closely behind. “Why are you following me?”
“Curious what your rental looks like.”
Yeah right—like I’d believe that!
You just want to know my address so you can launch surprise attacks!
An Han put down what she was holding, planted her hands on her hips, and raised her voice. “Get lost!”
Su Peng acted as if he hadn’t heard a thing. Smiling, he picked up the suitcase and bedding, opened the door, and headed into the hallway first. “Let’s go.”
“……”
Watching secretly, Wang Sheng suddenly felt that the way these two interacted was just like a young couple.
Even when they argued, An Han seemed more like a tsundere, while Su Peng was like a gentle golden retriever, accepting everything about her.
Somehow, they felt kind of sweet… way too gay—minors shouldn’t watch this.
When he noticed An Han’s gaze turning toward him, he immediately rolled over, not daring to look, afraid he’d get beaten.
“Tch!”
An Han finally left the hallway, closed the door, and followed behind Su Peng with a pout.
Once this guy got forceful, she had no way to deal with him.
Who knew if Su Peng would just pick up her stuff and walk off…
“Give me my suitcase back,” she protested weakly.
“It’s fine. I’ll carry it for you.”
Su Peng turned back, his smile especially handsome and gentle in the morning sunlight. “How much was the rent? How much do you have left?”
Her heart started racing uncontrollably. An Han turned her head away from his gaze and muttered, “None of your damn business.”
“If you don’t tell me, I’ll just go ask the nearby landlords myself.” Su Peng kept walking.
An Han jolted and hurried after him, asking curiously, “You even know the landlords?”
“If I don’t, I’ll find someone who does.”
“I should’ve let you help me find a place earlier. Could’ve saved some money…” she sighed regretfully.
Since Su Peng had channels to contact landlords, no matter how much she tried to hide it, her address would eventually be exposed.
Nearby apartments and shared rentals were basically all run by sub-landlords—information was hard to keep secret. Unless An Han had enough money to rent an entire unit from a private landlord, she couldn’t avoid Su Peng’s “pursuit.”
“That’s why I said I’d go look at places with you, but you wouldn’t.”
An Han’s phone suddenly rang. She lowered her head and took it out, looking at the unfamiliar number before hesitantly answering.
“Is this Mr. An Han?”
“Congratulations, you’ve won—”
She hung up without hesitation.
“Who was it?”
“A scammer. Said I won something. Psycho.”
“Don’t answer unknown calls. With your IQ, you’ll get scammed until you lose everything.”
An Han rolled her eyes at him. “As if a scam that lame could fool me.”
Here is your unexpected win... Aaaaannn it's gone!