The school opens soon.
An’an packed her things a day early and went to Xu Weiran’s house.
She wanted to surprise him, but she fell asleep while waiting, and Xu Weiran still hadn’t returned.
Xu Weiran came back in the evening, opened the door, and found that the lights in the house were actually on.
He paused, realized something, and instinctively moved quietly, closing the door. As soon as he entered the living room, he saw An’an sleeping on the sofa.
"An’an?" Xu Weiran stepped forward and gently called out.
"Hmm, you’re back?" An’an, groggy, rubbed her eyes and sat up from the sofa.
"Why aren’t you sleeping in the bedroom?" Xu Weiran asked.
Half-awake, An’an replied with her eyes half-open, "I was planning to wait for you, but I accidentally fell asleep. Why are you back so late?"
"It’s nothing, I just stayed a bit longer in the laboratory since there was nothing else to do. Why didn’t you tell me you were coming? I was planning to pick you up tomorrow."
Xu Weiran had been working overtime these past few days to free up time for tomorrow to pick her up, not expecting she would come early.
An’an said, "I thought you were busy, so I moved here early to tidy up the room." She had wanted to surprise him, not expecting he’d come back so late.
Knowing she liked cleanliness, he had already tidied her room long before.
Seeing her too sleepy to keep her eyes open, Xu Weiran said with concern, "If you’re sleepy, go to bed. No need to wait for me specially."
"I’m sleepy and don’t want to move. How about I just sleep on the sofa tonight!" An’an said, closing her eyes as she leaned back towards the sofa.
When they were choosing a sofa back then, they spent a long time picking one, eventually getting a high-comfort leather sofa, comfortable enough to sleep on as a bed.
Xu Weiran was amused and bemused at the sight.
He bent down and softly coaxed her in her ear, "Be good, go sleep in the bedroom. The temperature difference at night is big, and it’s easy to catch a cold sleeping in the living room."
"Don’t mind me, you’ve been working late too, go to rest early!" An’an, eyes closed and refusing to move, decided she’d spend the night on the sofa.
Helpless yet amused, Xu Weiran asked, "How about I carry you to the room?"
"Hmm?" Before An’an could react, she felt herself being lifted off the sofa.
Opening her eyes, An’an found herself held in Xu Weiran’s arms.
Before she could speak, Xu Weiran said, "Alright, just keep sleeping!" Then he carried her towards the bedroom.
The new place was a three-bedroom, two-living room arrangement. Xu Weiran occupied the master bedroom while An’an stayed in the guest room, and she had already changed all the bedding to new ones.
Xu Weiran laid her on the bed. Being genuinely sleepy, An’an snuggled against the pillow upon touching the bed, finding a comfortable position without even bothering to open her eyes.
Xu Weiran fetched a blanket from the closet to cover her, and An’an quickly fell asleep, curled up under the blanket.
He looked at her for a moment before getting up to turn off the lights, ensuring to close the door properly before leaving.
He then returned to the room next door, took out some clothes, and headed to the bathroom.
Thinking of the girl just sleeping next door, he felt a strange sense of peacefulness.
It was as if a wandering boat had found a harbor.
Unconsciously, Xu Weiran’s lips curved into a smile. Despite only having one more person at home, it felt entirely different.
After showering, Xu Weiran adjusted the bedside lamp to soft light mode, picked up a book from the bedside table, and began to read slowly. The source of this content ɪs Novᴇl_Fire(.)net
The sound of flipping pages highlighted the quietness of the room.