Chapter 640
Christmas Eve
All night long, Ouyang Lianyu couldn't figure out what she wanted to do.
She slept very restlessly that night. In her sleep, she seemed to call Han Zhou's name four times, either because she felt nauseous and wanted to vomit, or because she was thirsty and wanted to drink hot water. Another time, she was looking for the glasses that she had left by her pillow.
She couldn't even remember why she shouted the last time.
But whenever she made a sound, Han Zhou would always appear in the bedroom immediately and quietly stay by her bedside.
It was a very cliché plot, just like in countless romance dramas—"a domineering and considerate male lead and me who can't take care of myself." She had never liked this kind of plot and hated being treated as someone who needed to be taken care of. But she was probably really drunk and confused. At that moment, an inappropriate longing welled up in her heart.
She vaguely seemed to know what she wanted to do, but by the time she realized it, she had already fallen asleep peacefully.
When Ouyang Lianyu woke up, the morning light was slanting in through the gap in the curtains and falling on the empty glass on the bedside table—there was still a faint water stain at the bottom of the glass, the warm honey water that she had been clamoring for in the middle of the night.
The downside of having a good memory was once again apparent. She recalled her outburst the night before and the coaxing tone Han Zhou used when feeding her water. Her face flushed red.
After finally calming her breathing, she propped herself up and sat up. The lingering warmth of the dream still pressed heavily on her brow. The little one beside the bed was gone. The room was quiet, with only the occasional sound of traffic outside the window.
As she put on her glasses and pulled back the covers, a sudden chill swept over her. It seemed even colder today than yesterday. She shivered and instinctively glanced around the living room, trying to find the coat that reeked of alcohol.
But when he turned his head, his gaze was fixed on the doorway—there hung a large cotton coat that clearly belonged to a man, obviously found by Han Zhou after rummaging through his drawers.
She got out of bed, put on her coat, and looked down at the oversized shirt she was wearing. Living in a student's house, wearing his clothes, sleeping in his bed, and talking nonsense in front of him all night... Thinking of this, a certain indescribable emotion quietly spread through her heart.
She silently told herself that she could never drink again. She went into the living room and looked around, but she couldn't find Han Zhou and Xiao Xiao.
Just then, she heard the sound of a key being inserted into the lock. Turning around, she saw Han Zhou carrying a plastic bag and pushing the door open. Behind him was Xiao Xiaoxiao, who was constantly rubbing her hands. She had a crooked white scarf around her neck, wrapped in a rather peculiar way, three times to the left and three times to the right. It was obviously Han Zhou's handiwork. She wondered how Xiaoxiao managed to put up with it.
"Teacher Ouyang, you're awake?"
Seeing Ouyang Lianyu in the living room, Xiao Xiaoxiao was a little surprised. "You didn't go to sleep until almost four o'clock last night. I thought you would sleep a little longer."
Ouyang Lianyu felt a little embarrassed. She hadn't expected to be so restless last night. She didn't fall asleep until almost four o'clock, which meant that Han Zhou also didn't fall asleep until almost four o'clock.
"I want to take a shower first," she said.
Han Zhou looked her over for a moment, and seeing that she was almost sober, he nodded: "Okay, turn the switch to the right for hot water, come out and have breakfast after you're done washing up."
Ouyang Lianyu hadn't brought any change of clothes. Han Zhou had already thrown yesterday's clothes into the washing machine, and they were hanging on the balcony to dry. But in this weather, they couldn't possibly dry so quickly, so she could only walk into the bathroom and gently close the door.
The steam rose, and the rising heat instantly enveloped her slightly cool skin, blurring her disheveled reflection in the mirror.
The sound of flowing water could not drown out the faint noises coming from outside the door.
In the kitchen, pots and pans clinked softly, and fried eggs sizzled, mingling with Han Zhou and Xiao Xiaoxiao's whispers as they discussed when to help her move her luggage.
Ouyang Lianyu's heartbeat became inexplicably disordered. She suddenly realized that this was probably the first time in her life that she had stayed in a man's house and waited for him to prepare breakfast for her.
She washed away the smell of alcohol and the confusion of last night. When she came out drying her hair, the living room was filled with the aroma of food.
After the three finished breakfast, Han Zhou didn't give the two a chance to interfere. He went to the kitchen to wash the dishes and then led Xiao Xiaoxiao to search through the empty room.
"What are you looking for?" Ouyang Lianyu couldn't help but ask.
"I don't know." Han Zhou shook his head. "Since I'm free anyway, I might as well look around."
"Why don't I look for it too?"
"No need, you should rest. The room is not that big. I already looked it over last time. This is just to double-check."
Ten minutes later, Xiao Xiaoxiao collapsed weakly onto the sofa and complained, "You lied to me again. There's clearly nothing in your house, let alone any evidence to prove our relationship."
Han Zhou pondered for a moment: "It was probably thrown away as junk when we moved."
"Lost it?!" Xiao Xiaoxiao's eyes widened.
Why are you reacting so strongly?
Han Zhou gave her a strange look, then asked, "You've been staying at my house for a whole night, and you just looked around. Does this place look familiar?"
"No." Xiao Xiaoxiao shook her head vigorously.
"you sure?"
"If I had to say... it looks a little familiar."
Xiao Xiaoxiao rolled her eyes at him, annoyed. "You've practically emptied your house. There's nothing there except a few walls. You could rent it out. It would be strange if I thought it looked familiar."
"That's true..."
"Are you planning to move your things back?" Xiao Xiaoxiao asked curiously.
"I don't have that much free time."
Han Zhou shook his head and said seriously, "I am thinking that we could consider renting out the house."
Xiao Xiaoxiao scoffed and rolled her eyes so hard they almost reached the sky.
"Then why don't you rent it to me?"
Ouyang Lianyu was combing her hair when she heard this and said with a smile, "I happen to have nowhere to stay here."
"Teacher Ouyang, I was just teasing Xiaoxiao."
Han Zhou smiled helplessly, "Have you forgotten why I moved in the first place?"
This house could be harassed at any time by the group of thugs who come to collect debts from Han Long. Even if he had no conscience, he would never rent out such a house, let alone rent it to Teacher Ouyang.
"I'll teach you to tease me! I'll teach you to tease me!"
Xiao Xiaoxiao was kicking his calf when the phone on the coffee table rang. Han Zhou picked it up and answered, and surprisingly, Mo Yixia's voice came through the receiver.
Guess where I am right now?
Ouyang Lianyu and Xiao Xiaoxiao both heard the voice and stopped what they were doing. They secretly observed Han Zhou's expression and listened carefully.
Han Zhou was taken aback and asked strangely, "Could it be in front of my house?"
“You guessed right, open the door,” Mo Yixia said.
"But I'm not home right now."
Not home?
Mo Yixia smiled enigmatically, "Then what's with the women's clothes hanging on your balcony? Oh right, there's also a set of children's clothes."
Children's clothing...
Upon hearing those two words, Han Zhou's expression stiffened. He quickly turned to look at Xiao Xiaoxiao, only to find her expression unchanged, as if she hadn't heard or didn't care. He walked to the entrance, opened the door, and sure enough, saw Mo Yixia standing outside, still dressed in her classic three-piece outfit of mask, school uniform, and baseball cap, with a large backpack on her back.
"Why are you here?" he asked, his face showing surprise.
Mo Yixia didn't answer. Her gaze went past his shoulder and landed on Ouyang Lianyu and Xiao Xiaoxiao in the living room. She asked with interest, "Are there any other people?"
She didn't deliberately lower her voice, so both people in the room heard her clearly. Xiao Xiaoxiao didn't react, but for some reason, Ouyang Lianyu felt a panic as if she had been caught in bed with someone else.
She had spent some time with Mo Yixia and had heard Han Zhou say more than once that this girl had an almost mind-reading ability. She could face her calmly before, but now she inexplicably dared not look her in the eye.
Han Zhou knew perfectly well who Mo Yixia was referring to as "other people," and said somewhat awkwardly, "She's not here."
Mo Yixia clicked her tongue: "You actually dared to leave her in that flat-chested girl's house?"
"How did you know?" Han Zhou was taken aback.
"I just went to your other house, otherwise why do you think I would come here to find you?"
Cold sweat beaded on Han Zhou's forehead. He suddenly realized that if he hadn't stayed obediently in any of the houses this morning, Mo Yixia would never have been so easy to talk to.
He wisely refrained from mentioning the scheme he'd been set up yesterday, and watched as Mo Yixia took something out of her bag. A moment later, a beautifully packaged, rather large gift box was handed to him, tied with a red ribbon.
"What's this?" He took the gift box; it was a bit heavy.
"Peace Apple".
"Isn't it a bit too early to send this now..."
"I have classes on Christmas, so my Christmas present will have to be postponed, but I can give you the apple in advance."
"Can't Christmas presents be given in advance?" Han Zhou wondered. "Was this guy originally planning to pack himself up and tie a bow on Christmas Eve as a present for him?"
"You guessed right."
Mo Yixia raised her hand to tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear, then held out her hand and said in a matter-of-fact tone, "Where's my Christmas present? Is it ready?"
Han Zhou looked embarrassed. There was still more than a week until Christmas, so how could he have time to prepare a Christmas gift? Besides, Mo Yixia hadn't mentioned it the night before last. So he first looked back, then lowered his voice and shamelessly said, "Can I also pack myself up, tie a bow, and give myself to you?"
"No."
Mo Yixia shook her head, "You were originally mine, so it's not very sincere to give you as a Christmas present."
"Then aren't you the same..."
"What else? Go on."
Mo Yixia looked at him with a half-smile.
Han Zhou coughed lightly and changed the subject, saying, "Let me take you to buy thermal underwear."
"Since you still remember what I said, I'll let you go this time."
Mo Yixia glanced down at her phone. "I don't have time today, I have to go."
"Where?"
Tutoring classes.
"Do you really need tutoring with your current grades?" Han Zhou frowned.
"I suggested it myself."
Mo Yixia put away her phone and said calmly, "Winter break is coming soon, which means I can find a new tutor, but before that, I need to do some groundwork."
Han Zhou understood what she meant. Mo Yixia's mother was a results-oriented person. As long as her grades didn't improve but declined in the tutoring class, she would naturally agree to let her daughter switch tutoring classes. At that time, Mo Yixia would be able to hire a private tutor without any problem, just like last summer.
But he remembered clearly that Mo Yixia had said that as long as her grades kept improving, she would have enough say at home; conversely, if her grades dropped, she would face severe confinement.
Even if her mother blames the tutoring center for its incompetence, Mo Yixia herself will never escape unscathed.
So he said seriously, "There's no need to do that. I'll have a serious talk with your mother during the winter break."
"Han Zhou, don't push yourself too hard."
Mo Yixia sighed softly, "You have more important things to do, don't you?"
She had already heard from Han Zhou about his journey back in time and understood that he was still unwilling to give up and was trying to rewrite the tragedy of the past. There was nothing she could do to help him with this; the only thing she could do was offer her support.
Han Zhou was taken aback, but then shook his head again: "Your matter is also very important. I can handle both things at the same time. If you don't listen to me, I will get angry."
"I'd actually like to see you get angry."
Mo Yixia raised her hand to tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "There are a lot of peace apples in the gift box. If you can't finish them, please give them to the people at the villa last time. I have a feeling that our gathering last time was not a coincidence."
After saying that, she nodded slightly to the two people in the living room, then turned and went downstairs.
"Is this the aura of the empress..." Xiao Xiaoxiao muttered.
Ouyang Lianyu had been trying to figure out how to describe the invisible pressure she had just felt. Although she found the words strange, she had to admit that they were quite apt.
Although it's impossible to determine whether Gu Zheng or Mo Yixia is Han Zhou's true love, at least with Gu Zheng, she has never felt such pressure.
But something's not right...
Why do I feel pressured when facing Han Zhou's "official wife"?
Ouyang Lianyu suddenly froze.
……
Time is like sand slipping through your fingers, unnoticed.
The week passed peacefully yet busily. After returning to school, Ouyang Lianyu's days were filled with lesson preparation and teaching, as if the drunkenness and loss of control that night were just an absurd dream.
It wasn't until the sycamore trees on the street corner were adorned with colorful lights, the shop windows were plastered with noisy "Christmas Specials" posters, and the air was filled with the sweet aroma of mulled wine and roasted chestnuts, that she realized it was Christmas Eve.
As dusk settled, the teaching building was bathed in a thin, warm yellow light. Intermittent piano etudes drifted from the windows; it was a familiar tune, and even though it was slightly off-key, it was easy to recognize as the melody of "Silent Night."
Even though it wasn't night yet, the students were already bursting with excitement. Figures carrying apple gift boxes and presents were seen moving through the corridors, and their laughter sounded particularly crisp in the cold winter air.
Ouyang Lianyu stood in the corridor of the office building, looking down at the bustling crowd and the heavy snow that seemed to have covered the entire campus overnight, and was momentarily lost in thought.
After a long while, she walked into her office, opened a drawer, and looked at the exquisite gift box inside, her expression hesitant. (End of Chapter)