I was approached by a cat-eared girl.

How much are your squid?

Chapter 108 Is This Vulgar?

The night was deep, and the sky was dotted with stars.

Bai Xiaoqi was holding a handful of squid, and Chen Shuo was carrying two bricks. Along the way, many people avoided them, probably because they felt that the two posed a potential threat.

Chen Shuo wanted to throw away the two bricks, but she wouldn't allow it. In her heart, the two bricks held extraordinary significance. As for their specific significance, well, she just wasn't one to suffer a loss.

Even if I don't get my money back, I'll still take two bricks with me.

That's how short-tempered she is.

There were no buses running at this time, and taxis were also unavailable. Many taxi drivers didn't dare to stop when they saw the brick Chen Shuo was carrying.

It was already 11 p.m. when Chen Shuo walked home. He put down the two bricks he had been carrying all the way and asked as he took off his coat, "What are you going to do with these two bricks?"

"We'll keep them at our house for now. Once we find that old man and get the money back, we'll return the bricks to him."

“I think this is a difficult task, because that old man is clearly the type who hits and runs away.”

Chen Shuo now also feels that the old man was swindling money. No, it's not so much swindling as it is that his fees were far above the market standard. He was afraid of being asked for payment later, so he would change locations after each transaction.

Even the owner of the grilled squid stall said that he sets up his stall every day, but this was the first time he had ever seen him. This shows that it will be very difficult for Xiao A Miao to get his money back.

"And even if we do find that old man one day, there's no need to return these two bricks to him. We can keep them at home as decorations to remind ourselves to learn from our mistakes."

Why isn't it necessary?

"Because these two bricks don't belong to that old man; he must have picked them up by the roadside, so they are public property."

Upon hearing this, Bai Xiaoqi, who was changing into slippers, suddenly looked up. "So, we just carried these two bricks all the way here for nothing?"

"It wasn't us, it was me. You've been eating squid the whole time," Chen Shuo corrected. Although the two bricks weren't heavy, carrying them for a long time inevitably made his arms ache.

"I didn't eat it all. I fed you a lot of it," Bai Xiaoqi retorted, then looked down at the two bricks. The red bricks still had mottled marks on them, as if they were mocking the two of them for being fools.

"It seems like we did something pointless," she whispered.

"It may not seem meaningful, but not everything we do in life has to be meaningful."

After a moment's thought, Chen Shuo gave an example: "For instance, if we're dating, and we really want it to be meaningful, then we should be doing academic research to realize our life's value. At the very least, we should be working hard to make money."

But we didn't. Instead, we spent every day doing very boring things together. But were these things boring? I don't think so.

Love or romance isn't about two people making a lot of money together; it's about finding meaning and happiness in being together, even when doing the most mundane things every day. Do you understand?

Bai Xiaoqi frowned and pondered for a while, then her beautiful eyebrows gradually relaxed. She asked, "Are you trying to comfort me?"

"No, I just want to tell you not to always think about making a lot of money to support me."

"?"

"Okay, go take a shower now, I'm waiting to take one."

Chen Shuo pulled up the collar of his sweater and smelled it; it smelled like hot pot. Although eating hot pot is enjoyable, this was unavoidable.

"Remember to put the clothes you took off in the washing machine; you'll need to wash them tomorrow."

"Ow."

Seeing her take her pajamas into the bathroom, Chen Shuo sat on the sofa and checked his online store, only to find that he had sold two more items.

Thinking that he should tell her the good news later, Chen Shuo picked up the arm strength trainer and twisted it a few times, then ran to the newly assembled sit-up board to start exercising.

After doing a few, he took off all his shirt and looked at his stomach. Back in his student days, when he was full of youthful energy and sweat, he was definitely a great man with eight-pack abs.

But in the last two years, I've been sitting in front of the computer every day and haven't exercised much. I still have abs, but they're just a rough outline now.

He took out his phone from his pocket and took a picture of his stomach, planning to start recording it every day and check the results daily, which would also serve as a way to motivate himself.

Sit-ups can help strengthen abdominal muscles, but the effectiveness varies from person to person.

For someone like me with a well-proportioned figure and relatively little abdominal fat, if I persist in doing this for half an hour every day, it will take about two weeks—no, less than a week, since I already have a good foundation.

As Chen Shuo did the sit-up, his mind wandered. He felt exhausted after only ten minutes, since the sit-up board was curved, with his head lower than his feet, making it much more difficult than doing it on a flat surface.

As for how many I did, I was just thinking about random things and didn't count at all.

Start counting now, and do another fifty and then you're done.

"Why aren't you wearing any clothes?!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Shuo paused, turned his head, and saw Bai Xiaoqi had just come out of the shower, her face flushed and her gaze turned away, as if she felt she couldn't bear to look at her.

"I'm not without pants, why are you making such a fuss?"

Chen Shuo thought she was making a fuss over nothing. Oh, not that she was unfamiliar with him, but that she had never seen him shirtless before.

"But what you're doing is vulgar."

"You don't know anything, this isn't vulgar at all."

Chen Shuo pursed his lips, too lazy to pay attention to her anymore, and continued doing his sit-ups. How many more did he have left?

It seems there are forty-nine.

Seeing his nonchalant attitude, Bai Xiaoqi glared at him angrily, then walked to the sofa in her slippers and sat down. She picked up the hairdryer and had just dried her body when she couldn't help but look at his bare upper body.

Her gaze shifted subtly, looking at his collarbone glistening with sweat, then at his lower abdomen, its contours appearing and disappearing with each rise and fall.

With a slight blush, she looked away. This guy is really lewd.

He hesitated for a moment, then couldn't help but glance at it again. Vulgar. He glanced at it again. Still vulgar.

After finishing a set of sit-ups, Chen Shuo stood up, drenched in sweat. Looking down, he wondered if it was just his imagination, but his abs seemed more defined than before.

Noticing something, he looked up and met Bai Xiaoqi's gaze. The moment their eyes met, she quickly looked away, blushing and spitting out, "Shameless."

"..."

Chen Shuo was too lazy to argue with her. He went back to his room, picked up his pajamas, and went into the bathroom to take a shower. On the way, he put the clothes that smelled of hot pot into the washing machine, planning to wash them tomorrow.

Taking a shower after sweating profusely always feels especially refreshing, as if all the fatigue is washed away by the warm water.

The sound of running water echoed from the bathroom. Bai Xiaoqi stared at the bathroom door for a while, then hesitated before opening Baidu and typing a search.

I can't help but look at my boyfriend when he's shirtless. Is that vulgar?

Chapter 109 I Don't Have

When Chen Shuo came out after taking a shower and drying his hair, there was no one in the living room except for two bricks on the TV cabinet.

After turning off the living room light and returning to the bedroom, Bai Xiaoqi found herself in a dimly lit room with only a table lamp on, casting a warm glow. A cushion was placed in the middle of the room, and Bai Xiaoqi, wrapped in a blanket, leaned against the headboard playing on her phone.

Seeing Chen Shuo come in, she glanced at his pajamas, gave a barely perceptible purse of her lips, and turned over.

Chen Shuo pushed the cushion aside, climbed onto the bed, leaned over to look at her, and then reached out to turn her body around.

"Why are you turning your back to me? I'm not naked right now."

Bai Xiaoqi's eyes flickered twice, and she urged, "It's so late, you should go to sleep."

"I didn't say I wasn't going to sleep."

Chen Shuo stretched out his arm and turned off the bedside lamp, plunging the bedroom into complete darkness. He groped for the blanket, pulled it over himself, and moved closer to her, closing his eyes and saying, "Goodnight."

"Good night."

"..."

After a moment of silence, Bai Xiaoqi asked, "Are you asleep?"

"not yet."

"Then you should go to sleep. Your health isn't good, you can't stay up late."

"I'm in pretty good shape." Chen Shuo suddenly opened his eyes, almost wanting to go to the living room and do two hundred sit-ups.

Even if it's not bad, you should go to sleep quickly.

Chen Shuo sighed, too lazy to argue with her about the issue, and instead said, "Give me your hand, I'll sleep while holding your hand."

"Here you go, go to sleep."

Bai Xiaoqi reached her hand into his blanket, closed her eyes and continued to urge him on. Her mind flashed back to his chest, which looked very muscular, and his abdomen, which was angular and well-defined... It did seem quite impressive.

.......

In the stillness of the night, the moonlight was as clear as water.

She realized that Chen Shuo was no longer squeezing and kneading her hands, but holding them with little force, and the breathing around her ears gradually calmed down.

Bai Xiaoqi opened her eyes in the darkness, turned her head to look, but did not dare to make any rash moves. She patiently stared at him for a while.

Only after confirming that the guy was really fast asleep did she dare to pull her hand out of his palm, grope around in the blankets, place it on Chen Shuo's stomach and gently stroke it a few times, bite her lip and hesitate for a moment, then slip her hand under the hem of his pajamas.

It's been said online that it's normal not only to be unable to resist looking, but even to be unable to resist reaching out and touching; this is liking, not being vulgar.

.......

Nothing happened that night. When she woke up the next day, Chen Shuo was no longer in bed. She sat up, rubbed her eyes, and groggily put on her slippers to go out and wash up.

In the bathroom, Chen Shuo was filling the washing machine with water. Seeing her come out, he asked, "Awake?"

"Um...."

Bai Xiaoqi still looked a little dazed. She reached up to rub her eyes, and as she was about to put her hand down, she stuck out her little tongue and licked the back of her hand.

Seeing her movements, Chen Shuo knew that she was still asleep. After more than half a year, this little cat had become more and more like a human. No, it should be said that she was no different from a human in daily life and would not behave like a cat.

But when she first wakes up in the morning, she's often still a bit groggy, and then she'll instinctively do things that cats do, like meowing a couple of times or licking the back of her hand.

I've reminded her countless times, but seeing that she just can't change, I've just let her be. Anyway, she only does this when she first wakes up in the morning, and it's actually quite cute.

"What does it feel like to lick your paws?" Chen Shuo asked with a smile.

Upon hearing this, Bai Xiaoqi suddenly became more alert. Looking at her clenched fist near her mouth, she quickly put her hand behind her back and said, "I didn't lick it."

"I didn't say you couldn't lick it, why don't you just admit it openly?"

Anyway, I didn't lick it.

She continued to deny it, walked in, picked up her toothbrush, squeezed toothpaste onto her toothbrush, and began brushing her teeth.