Possibly because they had chatted too late into the night, He Fang didn’t squirm onto Qin Guanglin’s body until after nine o’clock, and then she opened her eyes, turned to look at him, and was momentarily confused before she remembered that they had slept together last night.
She leaned over and kissed him, but during the motion, He Fang felt something was off. She frowned, pulled his hand out, and stared at him again to see if he was pretending to sleep.
"Wake up," He Fang pushed him.
"Hmm..." Qin Guanglin rubbed his eyes and woke up. "What time is it?"
She looked at Qin Guanglin skeptically, "It’s after nine, time to get up."
"Oh, it’s just after nine, huh." Qin Guanglin pulled her into a tight hug, "Let’s lie down a bit longer."
"No lying around anymore, we need to get ready to go back," He Fang struggled out of his arms, sat up, and straightened her clothes before going to the bathroom to wash up.
Qin Guanglin lay alone on the bed with his eyes closed for a moment before suddenly getting up. While He Fang was washing up, he changed his clothes and crammed all the stuff he had brought into his backpack, sitting to one side waiting for her to finish.
From childhood to adulthood, he had never been this intimate with another girl. Not only were they sharing the same room now, but they had also been sleeping on the same bed for a few days. And even last night she had...
Thinking of this, Qin Guanglin’s gaze involuntarily drifted to the trash can next to him, where the tissues proved that last night was not a dream.
He felt a strange emotion in his heart, stretched out a foot to kick the trash can to the corner, laid back down on the bed, and stared blankly at the ceiling.
They were so close... Was this love?
There was no love at first sight, no affection that grew over time, just two people who had gotten to know each other for a while and then suddenly things heated up quickly, leading to their current situation — this was a bit different from what he had imagined.
"You’re done packing so soon?" He Fang came out of the bathroom, interrupting his thoughts, "Go and wash up, we’ll eat and then catch the ride back."
"Okay."
Qin Guanglin agreed with a sound and sat up on the bed, watching her.
Indeed, it seemed like he liked her even more.
He liked her a little more today than he did yesterday, and tomorrow he would like her a little more than today.
"What are you spacing out for, move it," He Fang urged, swaying her slender legs as she walked over to her suitcase to pack her things.
Qin Guanglin moved closer, hugged her from behind, and kissed her cheek, "I love you."
"You haven’t brushed your teeth; it stinks." He Fang wiped her cheek to show disgust, "Hurry up and wash up, stop dawdling."
"I’m on it." Qin Guanglin kissed her other cheek, then let her go and turned to head into the bathroom.
Three years, huh... Hopefully, it won’t really take that long. Just earn enough money to set up to propose, and he didn’t believe she would have the heart to refuse him then.
After washing up and waiting for He Fang to finish packing, Qin Guanglin, carrying his own backpack and pulling her small suitcase, left the hotel and went downstairs to check out.
Blue sky, white clouds, a boundless clear day.
The weather was as pleasant as it had been when they arrived, and their mood was just as joyful. Holding hands, they found a place to eat breakfast and then took a bus from the bus station to Luo City Station on their way back.
"Hey, we seemed to have forgotten about looking for Hermit," Qin Guanglin suddenly remembered.
He was quite curious to see what kind of person could live deep in the mountains, clad in coarse linen clothes, living a life of farming and fetching water every day.
"It was just a thought that it would be nice to encounter him, and it’s fine if we didn’t," He Fang said nonchalantly. "To barge in and disturb him wouldn’t be right, so let’s just forget it."
"True, he retreats into the mountains because he does not want to be disturbed."
Qin Guanglin nodded at her words, moving past the subject with a bit of regret, "Time flew by so fast, I feel like we haven’t had enough fun yet."
"We’ll go somewhere else to play when we have time next time," He Fang fumbled around and handed him one of the earphones, "For you."
"Sure, we’ll go out together next time."
The long-distance bus slowly started and headed towards Luo City. Qin Guanglin glanced outside through the window, his expression carrying a hint of reluctance.
After returning, the two of them wouldn’t be able to stick together every day anymore, only after work or on weekends could they spend time together.
The bus, unworried about harmony, quickly made its way; the four-plus hours flew by in a blink and smoothly arrived at Luo City Station.
The two got off and left the station, hailing a taxi on the roadside, and rode the small car towards the university again.
"We’re finally back," He Fang sighed as she looked at the familiar streetscape outside the window.
"What do you mean finally? We’ve only been out for five days," Qin Guanglin expressed dissatisfaction with her ’finally,’ "and two of those days were spent traveling."
"Isn’t that enough?" she turned her head and smiled at him.
"Mmm... it’s enough."
Qin Guanglin awkwardly avoided her gaze, always feeling that her smile carried some other meaning.
He escorted He Fang to her dormitory building and reluctantly hugged and pecked her twice. At this moment, his mindset was much more natural, unlike during the day when affection still caused him some restraint.
"Okay, I’m going up," He Fang stepped back and waved goodbye to him.
"Wait a second," he said.
Suddenly remembering something important, Qin Guanglin took out a bag from his backpack and passed it to her, "This is for you."
"What’s this?" He Fang took it curiously, reaching to open it right away.
"Go up first, open it after you get back to the dorm," Qin Guanglin stopped her and urged her to go up quickly.
He Fang looked at the bag, then at Qin Guanglin, already guessing in her heart, she tiptoed and kissed him again, "Then I’m going up."
"Go on then."
"Bye."
He Fang, pulling her suitcase and carrying the bag, walked into the dormitory building, turning back at the stairway to wave to him, before she finally started climbing the stairs.
She made her way back to the dorm room; none of her roommates were around. She stood by the window, watching Qin Guanglin turn and walk away, getting further and further, until he rounded a corner and disappeared at the end of the road. Then she turned back and sat down on the bed.
Inside the bag he had just given her was a tote with ’R&Y’ on it, and inside the tote was the floral dress they had looked at together yesterday.
Indeed...
He Fang had a slight hunch downstairs, and there wasn’t much surprise now, just lifting her head to think about when exactly he had bought it.
The two were always together; there was no time... Right, it was when he went to pack the cold noodles; no wonder he insisted on going down to pack them and took so long.
She looked at the dress in her hands and couldn’t help but smile, then thought for a moment before taking off her clothes and putting it on. She took out her phone, snapped a selfie, and sent it to Qin Guanglin.
’I really like it.’
’Thank you.’
Qin Guanglin, walking on the road, heard his phone ring. He took it out, tapped a few times, saw the message, and smiled happily.
’As long as you like it.’