Chapter 31: Chapter 31: Holding Hands

It’s eight o’clock in the evening.

Chen Shouyi quickly replied to a text from Zhang Xiaoyue, and then the phone crashed again.

He looked frustrated, unable to stand this broken phone. Earlier, it crashed several times when he was ordering online, which he could understand, but this time sending a text, it crashed again.

He was no longer forgiving, nor nostalgic.

He took out the SIM card, and with a swift motion crushed the phone and threw it in the trash. He glanced at the Shell Lady, who was absorbed in watching cartoons, hesitated for a moment, then abandoned the thought of bringing her along.

After all, there was a phone store not far from the hotel, so it wouldn’t take much time to go back and forth.

He walked out of the room, closed the door, and headed downstairs.

He quickly bought a mid-range priced phone.

However, upon returning, he saw a few police officers already standing at the hotel entrance.

Chen Shouyi’s heart skipped a beat.

Has the Shell Lady been discovered?

His heart pounded wildly, but he maintained a calm face, looking indifferent as he approached the hotel.

In the past month, what he experienced was all sorts of strange, mysterious, and dangerous events that an average person might not face even in a lifetime. Not long ago, he had just killed two barbarians. In terms of mental resilience, he was way beyond what an ordinary teenager could measure.

“Wait, what are you doing here?” A policeman suddenly stopped him.

Chen Shouyi tried hard to act innocent: “I’m a student from the Fifth School. My family was worried I wouldn’t sleep well because of the Martial Artist Apprentice exam preparation, so I’m staying here.”

The policeman glanced at him, no wonder the boy gave him a subtle sense of pressure. His attitude improved significantly afterward:

“May I see your ID?”

Chen Shouyi immediately reached into his pocket, promptly taking out his ID from the wallet.

“Alright, go inside then!”

Just as he entered the hotel, six or seven scantily clad men and women were being driven out by the police, quickly squatting obediently in the hotel lobby. Many were pale and frantically making calls, trying their best to pull strings.

“Hey, Dad! I’ve been caught by the police.”

“No, am I that kind of person? It’s about that situation… please don’t tell Mom.”

…

“Honey, I’m about to go on a business trip.

“Yes, it’s quite urgent, I have to leave right away… The boss can’t do without me, you see… Maybe two or three days, or possibly five or six days.”

“What noise? I’m just outside in the street!”

…

Oh, a police raid on illegal activities, how coincidental.

Watching these embarrassed figures, Chen Shouyi felt no glee at their misfortune.

Since they were inspecting the rooms, his wouldn’t be overlooked.

Though he was anxious inside, his steps remained steady.

Upon reaching the second floor, he saw three people already at his room door.

One was a hotel staff member.

The other two were police officers.

At this moment, the staff member was holding a spare room card, preparing to open the door.

Chen Shouyi’s heartbeat accelerated, and he hurried forward.

Once there, he didn’t speak, standing calmly beside the others.

He knew the more he spoke now, the more it showed his inner tension, and the more it would raise suspicion.

The door opened, and one of the older policemen peered inside, taking a quick glance, seemingly finding nothing, then turned to Chen Shouyi: “Is this your room?”

“Yes, I live here!” Chen Shouyi hastily showed the room card.

The policeman checked it, confirmed the room number, and looked at him intently, saying: “Nice Barbie Doll.”

Chen Shouyi forced out a slight dry chuckle in coordination.

The two officers suspected nothing and quickly moved on to the next room.

Once they left, he rushed inside, immediately seeing the Shell Lady in a princess dress, sitting motionlessly on the pillow, fully absorbed in watching cartoons, utterly unfazed by the recent commotion.

At a brief glance, she truly looked like a Barbie Doll.

Chen Shouyi exhaled deeply, unsure whether to compliment the Shell Lady for her “excellent acting” or to note her complete lack of vigilance.

He suddenly felt a dampness on his back, realizing he had broken into a cold sweat.

…

Thankfully, it was just a false alarm, though this hotel indeed seemed rather unsafe.

He could only remind himself to be even more cautious in the future and always bring the Shell Lady with him whenever he goes out.

He then remembered Zhang Xiaoyue’s text, quickly took out the new phone, and found two new messages already.

“What are you doing?”

“Why aren’t you replying?”

Chen Shouyi felt embarrassed and quickly composed a message to send her.

“Sorry, my phone just broke, went to buy a new one!”

After a full ten minutes, there was still no reply to the text message.

Chen Shouyi felt a little disappointed. He scrolled through his contacts, his finger kept sliding, and when he saw a familiar name, he hesitated for a moment, then pressed the call icon. After five or six rings, the phone was connected.

“Hello!”

The other person didn’t speak, he could only hear a faint breathing sound and the noise around it.

The atmosphere seemed a bit awkward, this was the first time they had called each other since they met. For a moment, neither of them spoke.

After a while, Chen Shouyi finally spoke:

“I’ve been busy preparing for the Martial Arts Apprentice exam these past few days! I only have some free time in the evenings.”

“I’m not anyone to you, you don’t need to explain to me. Reply if you want, don’t if you don’t want to,” Zhang Xiaoyue said softly.

Although there was a bit of a temper in her tone, it was also gentle and soft-spoken.

At this moment, Zhang Xiaoyue was shopping with her girlfriends, covering the microphone, her face flushed.

Chen Shouyi pretended to suddenly understand and said, “I get it!”

“What do you get?”

“I’ve suddenly realized you’re a very realistic person?” Chen Shouyi said.

Zhang Xiaoyue dodged her friends’ teasing, feeling a bit angry. This word was not a good one for a girl:

“Chen Shouyi, tell me, how am I realistic?”

“Aren’t you just my class monitor? I just prepared to suspend my studies, and you’ve decisively drawn a line with me, isn’t that being realistic?” Chen Shouyi circled around a big twist.

“Alright, even so, we’re only class monitor and classmate, after all,” Zhang Xiaoyue said with a pursed smile.

“Isn’t the class monitor supposed to care for classmates like the warm spring breeze?”

“So how would you like me to be kind?”

“For example…”

“For example what?” Zhang Xiaoyue’s heart couldn’t help but pound, she said softly.

“Where are you now?” Hearing the slightly hurried breathing of the other person, Chen Shouyi felt an unprecedented strong impulse.

“Shopping!” Zhang Xiaoyue said, then added a sentence: “With my former middle school classmates.”

“Give me the address, I’ll come over right away.”

…

Chen Shouyi hung up the phone, feeling excited, he waved his fist.

Looking at the Shell Lady still engrossed in watching cartoons, in pursuit of his own happiness, he had no choice but to let her down.

He took the remote control and turned off the TV. Before she could protest, Chen Shouyi blocked all her dissatisfaction with a small glass bead.

Then he happily grabbed the Shell Lady, tied her up with a rope again, and sealed her mouth.

…

After Zhang Xiaoyue hung up the phone, Cheng Juan was surprised: “Xiaoyue, be honest, when did you and Chen Shouyi start hooking up?”

She was a girl that could only score a seven, but her good figure made up for it. A loose short-sleeved T-shirt was almost turned into a tight fit by her, practically bursting out.

“What hook-up, that’s so unpleasant, we’re just ordinary friends!” Zhang Xiaoyue covered her slightly hot face and said coquettishly.

“Why are you blushing so much for an ordinary friend, should I mimic your tone just now? I want to see what kind of person has hooked up our former class flower.”

“Don’t say anything nonsensical then!” Zhang Xiaoyue said shyly and anxiously, she had never been so attracted to a boy, she always felt a bit anxious and uncertain.

“So you were the proactive one!” Cheng Juan opened her mouth in surprise, becoming even more curious. She wanted to see what kind of guy had the charm to captivate Zhang Xiaoyue.

Very soon, the two of them saw Chen Shouyi coming over.

Cheng Juan’s first impression of Chen Shouyi was that his skin was really good, and then that he was calm, a kind of calmness not common among peers, a feeling she had only seen among her elders.

In fact, the truly surprised one was Zhang Xiaoyue; only she knew how much Chen Shouyi had changed, but being used to keeping her thoughts to herself, she didn’t ask further.

Cheng Juan didn’t have the awareness of a third wheel, persistently asking questions: “Are you in the same class as Xiaoyue?”

“Are you applying to the Martial Arts Academy?”

“Why are you carrying a briefcase?”

Chen Shouyi nodded sometimes and answered other times, like explaining about the briefcase.

Fortunately, it wasn’t long before Cheng Juan was called away by a phone call, and the atmosphere suddenly quieted down.

“That’s just how she is, straightforward and rough,” after a while, Zhang Xiaoyue explained softly.

Today, she was wearing a white blouse and a black pleated skirt, revealing two sections of lotus-like calves. Her slightly immature face still bore a lingering blush, looking charmingly cute.

“It’s nice, but I prefer a quieter type. My sister is already noisy enough.”

“You have a sister? How come I’ve never heard you mention it?”

“You never asked!”

As they walked aimlessly, chatting in low voices, it was as if both had a volcano ready to erupt inside them; their words were deliberately restrained.

Unconsciously, they walked closer and closer. Chen Shouyi smelled the faint fragrance from the girl, and that small hand within reach; he seemed to hear his own heart pounding intensely in his chest, and his palms were slightly sweaty.

His hand reached out, then quickly retracted, repeatedly.

Finally, he gently took Zhang Xiaoyue’s hand.

Zhang Xiaoyue’s whole body instantly tensed, she made a weak attempt to pull away, lowering her head, her cheeks blushing.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep