The landlord has multiple personalities and wants everyone to pay him.

The moment Ye Shu's mind started working again, he instantly felt the gazes around him.

"Wait, wait a minute..."

He grabbed Xiao Nuan's wrist and pulled her towards the warehouse. Xiao Nuan let him hold her and followed him into the warehouse.

As the curtain fell, everyone else in the shop said they hadn't seen enough.

In the warehouse, Ye Shu leaned against the wall, his face burning. Looking at Xiao Nuan, who was standing in front of the shelves, still looking at him with those clear eyes like a college student, he didn't know what to say for a moment.

"Xiao Nuan, you..."

He was so shocked that his voice cracked when he said "you." He cleared his throat and asked:

"How could you... just... do that... in public?"

He asked vaguely, even though he knew Xiao Nuan's thought process was very straightforward, the impact of kissing in public was still too great.

Xiao Nuan looked at his flushed face and seemed to understand what he meant. She took off her backpack and took out the notebook they used for internal communication. She turned to the last page and handed the notebook to Ye Shu.

Ye Shu looked down at the paper. It was written in Xia Qing's flamboyant, slightly arrogant handwriting. At the end of a long list of events from that day, there was a single sentence:

Ye Shu bought us bracelets, one for each of us. And we went to the amusement park and even kissed!

The way the words flew was enough to prove the smug feeling someone had when they wrote those words.

Ye Shu stared at the words, then looked up at Xiao Nuan's face. He seemed to understand.

"So you...?"

He pointed to the notebook, then to his mouth, his feelings a mix of emotions.

"Yes."

Xiao Nuan nodded, pointed to the line of text, and began a detailed report on why she had come to kiss Ye Shu:

"Based on our current shared identity, we are both your girlfriends. And according to the recorded information, you and Xiaoxue kissed in specific situations, you and Xiaqing kissed at the amusement park, you and Zhiqiu hugged on the sofa and told her you loved her, and she kissed you on the cheek."

She raised her eyes, looking at Ye Shu with an upright and frank gaze:

"The aforementioned actions all fall within the scope of reasonable and positive intimate relationship interactions. As one of your girlfriends, I have not yet engaged in such activities with you. Therefore, I felt it was necessary for me to complete this task, and that's why I did it."

"Forehead......"

Such a simple and unpretentious reason left Ye Shu speechless.

Looking at Xiao Nuan's face, which looked like she was giving a report, he swallowed all his thoughts about the occasion, the timing, and whether it was romantic or not. He knew she probably wouldn't understand anyway.

Looking at the complex expression on Ye Shu's face, Xiao Nuan asked:

"Ye Shu, don't you like it when I kiss you?"

"Huh? No, why are you suddenly asking that?"

Ye Shu instinctively denied it. Did he not like it? ...No, he did! It was just that what happened just now was too sudden, and he wasn't prepared.

"Because I'm observing your behavior and reactions."

Xiao Nuan took a small step forward, moving closer. Her eyes carefully observed Ye Shu's face, analyzing his current expression: "Your pupils dilated briefly after I kissed you, a sign of surprise. Your expression and eyes indicate you felt nervous and embarrassed. Your body stiffened briefly, followed by an avoidance movement, pulling me here. Overall, your immediate reaction lacked significant positive emotional signals, so I think you probably didn't like this behavior."

She paused for a moment, then continued:

"If you don't like me kissing you, I will respect your personal wishes, and I won't do it again in the future."

She's so calm, so focused on the matter at hand. She's as calm as if she were discussing whether or not to put chili peppers in the dishes for dinner.

"No, I'm not upset!"

Ye Shu quickly interrupted her conclusion. Although she had known for a long time that Xiao Nuan's thought process was so direct, hearing her give an option to remove it felt like being hit in the face by a basketball covered in the sea. The impact was great, and she felt a bit powerless.

He knew Xiaonuan was serious. If she said she wouldn't do it anymore, she really could.

"Do you need me to keep kissing you?"

Xiao Nuan followed up with a question, her eyes still fixed on Ye Shu, not missing a single change in his expression.

Ye Shu felt his face getting even hotter. How come Xiao Nuan's attack power is so strong?! Even though they've been together for so long, he still couldn't bring himself to say something like "I want you to keep kissing me."

But...should I refuse?

He took a deep breath, and with the resolve of someone about to jump off a cliff, forced out a single word:

"think!"

"it is good."

Xiao Nuan received a clear answer and nodded. She put the notebook back into her backpack, zipped it up, slung it over her shoulder, and turned to walk towards the door.

Ye Shu was still immersed in the incredibly embarrassing topic from earlier. Seeing that she had left, she opened her mouth and asked:

Where are you going?

Xiao Nuan stopped at the door and turned to look at him:

"go home."

"Huh? You're leaving already?"

Ye Shu was a little confused. This... after kissing, she asked if she wanted to leave?

Xiao Nuan looked at him and nodded:

"I've finished what I needed to do, now I can go home."

"Oh... okay, be careful on the road."

Ye Shu's inexplicable feelings became even more complicated. Xiao Nuan, oh Xiao Nuan, why... why did you flirt and then run away!

He raised his hand to rub his face, took a few deep breaths, and then composed himself before walking back to the front hall.

The moment Ye Shu stepped out, he felt countless gazes fixed on him, showering him with attention.

The customers in the store all looked at him with gossipy smiles, as did Xiao Nuan, who stood in front of him with a calm expression.

Behind the counter, Chen Xing propped his face up with one hand and gave Ye Shu a thumbs-up with the other, his lips practically curling into a smile.

......

Xiao Nuan returned home, but instead of going straight to her bedroom, she sat on the sofa with her backpack beside her.

She didn't turn on the TV or use her phone; she just sat quietly, watching her reflection on the TV screen.

It's very quiet.

The only sounds were the faint noises of cars on the distant city streets and the chirping of birds in the neighborhood.

But Xiao Nuan gradually became less and less quiet in this peaceful place.

Her breathing quickened slightly, and she raised her hand to gently touch her face. Without any observation, she could tell that her face had turned red.

Just like in the warehouse, Ye Shu's face was as red.

She turned to look at her backpack and blinked.

Today, she lied to Ye Shu again.

She told Ye Shu that she had come back from the train station and went to see him after seeing Tang Xiaotao off.

At noon, Xiao Nuan did offer to take her to the train station, but Tang Xiaotao refused with a smile and took a taxi by herself.

Xiao Nuan ate lunch at home, read for a while, and took care of some things. When it was almost time, she changed her clothes and went out.

She knew Ye Shu worked there, and she also knew that he wasn't usually that busy at this time of day. She mentally rehearsed what it would be like to see him.

To this end, she lied, saying that she had come back from the train station and wanted to tell Ye Shu that she had only come to see him on the way, although Ye Shu did not understand the implication of "on the way".

The root of everything lies in that backpack.

Xiao Nuan opened her backpack again, took out the notebook, and flipped to the page she had shown Ye Shu. Xia Qing's illegible message was still there, but she didn't stop and turned to another page.

This page has only one line of text, still in Xia Qing's handwriting, but it's a bit more serious compared to the previous flamboyant style.

That sentence was written all alone in the middle:

Who do you think Ye Shu likes more?

This might have just been a casual joke from Xia Qing, but after seeing the comments from the previous few people, Xiao Nuan had a strange feeling in her heart.

Who does Ye Shu like more...?

How do you judge this? Is it the number of kisses? The duration of hugs? The length of eye contact? Or the frequency of specific words in the language?

Can these be converted into numerical values ​​that you prefer? Can they be compared?

A little more...

What is the purpose of comparison? What does the winner gain? What does the loser lose?

There were too many questions she didn't understand.

But among these questions, there is one answer that Xiao Nuan is certain of, and that is...

She doesn't want to be the one who "isn't there yet."

She wanted... and wanted to be treated that way.

So she tried her best to act according to her own judgment of how much she liked him: kissing him, hugging him, and constantly looking at him...

Ultimately, it all boils down to one sentence.

She didn't want to be left behind.