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

"It's alright, Xia Qing, everything's really fine..."

Ye Shu sat on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed), watching Xia Qing huddled in the corner, wrapped in a quilt like a cicada pupa, and coaxed her gently from behind.

The cicada pupa remained motionless, as if it were about to metamorphose.

What kind of mess is this?!

Xia Qing huddled her face in the corner, feeling that her face was almost hotter than the kang (heated brick bed).

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, in front of so many people, how could I... how could I have had such a brain fart and start kissing Ye Shu's face so passionately?!

Although I was half asleep at the time and thought it was a dream... that's not an excuse, the fact is I did it! And everyone saw it!

Just thinking about the various expressions on the faces of the people around her at that time made Xia Qing feel dizzy and wish she could turn back time or dig a hole and bury herself right there.

No, it's about burying that version of yourself from back then.

How am I supposed to face anyone after this...?

"Sister Xia Qing, everyone understands, you weren't fully awake back then..."

Ye Shu was still trying to comfort her from behind, but Xia Qing heard her words and they took on a different meaning.

Understanding? Understanding what? Understanding just how hungry you are right now?!

She was already embarrassed and angry, and now that she heard Ye Shu saying that everything was fine, she became even angrier.

She rolled over and lifted her head from under the covers, glaring angrily at Ye Shu, who was sitting on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) with a look of "I'm so innocent."

"It's all your fault! And you still dare to say that!"

Ye Shu was taken aback by the sudden accusation and pointed at himself:

"Why...why? Sister Xia Qing, why are you blaming me? I'm the victim here, okay? You woke up and grabbed my head and started kissing me, and I haven't even said you molested me yet."

"Then why didn't you stop me!"

Xia Qing, with her neck stiffened, started to act unreasonably:

"So you just do whatever I tell you to do? I tell you to... I tell you to do that, and you do it? How come you're so obedient?!"

She knew she was just being unreasonable, but she had no choice; the intense shame left her with no other options.

Now, besides forcibly pinning the blame on Ye Shu and being heartless, unreasonable, and ruthless towards him, she really couldn't think of any other way out.

What else can I do? Go out and face everyone's knowing looks? I might as well kill myself.

Ye Shu almost burst out laughing when he saw her unreasonable yet self-righteous attitude.

He knew that Xia Qing was just angry and embarrassed and wanted to find someone to vent her anger on.

Fine, what can I do? He's my boyfriend.

He sighed, stopped arguing, and instead adopted a sincere and apologetic attitude.

"Yes, yes, it was my fault. I'll be more careful next time. If you do that again... if you're so desperate, I'll definitely push you away immediately, resolutely resist temptation, and protect my innocence."

He admitted his mistake so readily and with such a good attitude that, although some of his words sounded harsh, Xia Qing still couldn't let it go.

So you just give up? Not even a little resistance?

The lack of any resistance only made Xia Qing feel even more guilty. How could she bully Ye Shu like this?

She grew angrier the more she thought about it, but she couldn't bear not venting her anger. However, she couldn't take it out on herself, so she could only continue to suffer in silence.

"Is it your fault?! Can't you stand up for yourself?! Am I always right?! Can't you have some backbone?!"

Ye Shu was truly at his wit's end this time.

I've said all the nice things, admitted my mistakes, but it seems like I'm wrong no matter what I do.

This is like a horse with two heads, or a radish with both ends cut off. Where am I supposed to catch her?

I never expected that Sister Xia Qing would grow from being so single-minded back then to being able to handle both sides so well.

He was so angry he laughed, and simply leaned back, adopting a posture of complete subservience.

"No, Sister Xia Qing, then what should I do? Just give me a straight answer, and I'll do as you say, okay?"

"How am I supposed to know what you should do?! Why are you asking me what you should do?! You have no opinions of your own!"

Xia Qing was still speaking, but her voice was a little shaky from excitement, and her eyes seemed a bit red.

Seeing that she was indeed on the verge of collapse, Ye Shu quickly reached out and hugged the cicada pupa into his arms.

"Alright, alright, it's all my fault. I shouldn't have been so handsome that you dreamed of kissing me, and I shouldn't have been so defenseless when you kissed me. I was wrong, I'm guilty, I repent, I was wrong. Are you still angry, huh?"

Xia Qing initially made a symbolic tremor, but she gradually relaxed because she had wrapped herself up too tightly in the blanket and Ye Shu's arms were indeed very comfortable.

But feelings of grievance, shame, and regret for being unreasonable also surfaced.

Suddenly, her nose stung, and tears streamed down her face.

Ye Shu was startled and quickly looked down at her face.

Xia Qing's eyes were red and swollen, and tears were streaming down her face like beans, but she was biting her lip and trying hard not to cry out.

He looked so pitiful.

It seemed like Ye Shu was seeing Xia Qing cry for the first time, and he panicked a little, quickly wiping away her tears:

"No, Xia Qing, don't cry... We're boyfriend and girlfriend now, and I've even started discussing our wedding with your parents. What's wrong with a kiss? It's just one kiss, then another, then another, then another, then another... It's normal, it shows we have a good relationship, right? It's not that big of a deal, it's really not worth crying about."

He even tried to cheer Xia Qing up, hoping to change the subject.

Xia Qing raised her hand, wiped away her tears, and said in a slightly broken voice:

"I... I didn't mean it because of that..."

"Why is that?"

"I did it because of you!"

Xia Qing raised her tear-filled eyes and glared at him, but her gaze held no real power now.

"I...I was so unreasonable just now, I bullied you like that...didn't you even know how to fight back? Weren't you angry? You just let me talk to you like that? Ye Shu, are you stupid?!"

After saying that, she reached out and hugged Ye Shu's neck tightly, buried her face in his shoulder, and began to sob.

"Ye Shu... I'm sorry..."

Ye Shu was also stunned; he never expected that Xia Qing cried because of this.

Xia Qing's sudden display of tenderness made him lose control, and his eyes welled up with tears, but he held back.

"Oh, it's nothing... It's no big deal. When you kicked me before, the damage was much greater than this. It's nothing."

As he spoke, he gently patted her back.

Xia Qing's crying stopped abruptly. She suddenly sat up in Ye Shu's arms, tears still on her face, but her eyes were wide open:

"When did I kick you?!"

Seeing her like this, Ye Shu knew he had been appeased, so he seized the opportunity and gave her a sarcastic look with a humble expression:

"No, no, you didn't kick me. It was my butt that made it difficult for your foot to land."

Xia Qing clearly knew the joke too, and she suddenly couldn't help but laugh. She raised her hand and playfully punched Ye Shu's shoulder, though the force was more like a playful tantrum. Nevertheless, she still took the joke.

"Didn't the kick hurt?"

"My pants are too big."

Xia Qing laughed and cried at the same time, and then snuggled back into Ye Shu's arms.

They hugged quietly for a while, and Xia Qing seemed to have calmed down. She leaned against Ye Shu, clutching his clothes in her hand. Suddenly, as if remembering something, she looked up at Ye Shu and asked:

"Hey, what did you say Ye Shu discussed with my parents?"

Ye Shu was still basking in the satisfaction of appeasing his girlfriend, and without thinking much, he casually replied:

"Let's discuss our wedding."

"marry?!"

Xia Qing's eyes widened again, and her face, which had just calmed down, flushed red once more.

Immediately afterwards, with a somersault, the cicada pupa rolled back to the corner and remained secluded.

Well, all that work for nothing.

It seems the revolution is not yet complete; comrades, we must continue our efforts.

Ye Shu sighed, shifted her position, and began to gently coax her again:

"It's alright, Xia Qing, everything's really fine..."