Chapter 24: Such a Great Girl
Chapter 24: Such a Great Girl
It was already past twelve when the two of them returned to the rented apartment. As soon as she came in, Xiaoyu blushed, holding her bag and the clothes she bought, and walked into the bathroom.
Soon, the sound of running water came from the bathroom. Chen Mo, sitting in front of the computer, smiled wryly and sent the already organized materials on phone exterior design and interface design to Zhao Min’s email.
After sending the materials to Zhao Min, Chen Mo continued with circuit design. After relaxing today, the memories about these circuits became clearer in his mind.
The design of the phone’s mainboard was obtained from the Science and Technology Library. Now, while organizing the circuits, he was basically just copying it, except for removing some hardware.
A long time later, footsteps in the room pulled him out of the circuit diagrams.
As soon as he turned his head, Chen Mo’s eyes widened, and he froze in place.
Xiaoyu was wearing the spaghetti strap nightgown she had just bought, her long, straight legs exposed to the air. Her skin was like mutton-fat jade, white with a hint of pink. A faint fragrance floated in the air, sparking imagination.
He hadn’t expected Xiaoyu to appear before him wearing the nightgown, with her still-damp hair draped over her shoulders.
What did this mean?
In an instant, various thoughts popped into Chen Mo’s mind.
Realizing his thoughts had wandered too far, Chen Mo came to his senses and fixed his gaze on Xiaoyu.
“Where is the hair dryer?”
Noticing Chen Mo’s intense gaze, Xiaoyu’s cheeks flushed, and she slightly tugged at the hem of her nightgown. It was the first time she had dressed so boldly in front of a boy. Even though he was her boyfriend, she still felt a bit uncomfortable.
“It’s in the wardrobe. Let me help you dry it.”
Chen Mo had lost interest in working on the phone’s circuits. He turned off the computer, took the hair dryer from the wardrobe, sat behind Xiaoyu, and began drying her hair.
Xiaoyu did not refuse. With a flushed face, she sat on the sofa, letting Chen Mo dry her hair.
“You tricked me into coming back again,” Xiaoyu said.
“You’re the one who forgot about the time,” Chen Mo replied easily, laughing.
“You knew the time but deliberately didn’t tell me. I originally wanted to give you a surprise, but now I’ve decided to give it to you a bit later.” Xiaoyu wrinkled her nose slightly and let out a light hum.
“Don’t be like that. I admit I was wrong, okay?”
“Admitting your mistake is useless.”
A slight curve formed at the corner of Xiaoyu’s mouth as she enjoyed Chen Mo drying her hair.
After her hair was dry, Xiaoyu said nothing more, dodged Chen Mo’s wandering hands, and hurried into the room.
Seeing Xiaoyu’s retreating figure, Chen Mo smiled slightly, grabbed a couple of clothes, and went into the bathroom. Not long after, he came out wearing just shorts, dried his hair, and then entered the room.
By then, Xiaoyu’s face was flushed red. After climbing onto the bed, she stared intently at the room’s door, wide awake.
When the room door opened, Xiaoyu stared at the doorway, stunned.
Chen Mo was bare-chested, but his body had nice lines, and there were muscles on his abdomen, making him pleasant to look at.
Realizing her thoughts had strayed, Xiaoyu softly cursed herself. The redness on her face deepened, spreading all the way to her ears. By the time she snapped back to reality, Chen Mo was already lying down beside her.
Seeing her dazed expression, Chen Mo smiled.
The light suddenly went out, plunging the room into darkness. Only the faint glow from outside the window came in, allowing them to see each other’s faces up close.
The moment Chen Mo held Xiaoyu, he could clearly feel the stiffness in her body.
“Chen Mo, I have some unfortunate news for you.”
“What is it?”
“My period came.”
“Then why did you still have so much fun? And you went out in the sea breeze? And washed your hair? Why didn’t you tell me? Are you feeling unwell now?”
Hearing Chen Mo’s string of questions and his slightly anxious voice, Xiaoyu felt a warmth in her heart and snuggled deeper into his embrace. “It’s fine, it’s not as serious as you think. I was sweating and then out in the sea breeze; my hair was all salty, so of course I had to wash it. Once in a while is okay, as long as I don’t use cold water.”
“Then you should sleep soon. You can’t stay up late.” Chen Mo held Xiaoyu, dismissing any other thoughts.
The night passed without further words. Chen Mo didn’t know how he finally fell asleep, but he slept very peacefully.
When he woke up, Xiaoyu was no longer by his side.
Getting out of bed, Chen Mo tapped his head and dragged himself out of the room like a corpse.
“You’re finally awake. Hurry up and wash your face, then have breakfast before it gets cold.” As soon as he stepped out of the room, Xiaoyu, who was sitting on the sofa watching a movie on his computer, looked up at him.
“Why didn’t you sleep a bit more? Are you feeling okay?”
“I’m fine.” Hearing Chen Mo’s concerned tone, Xiaoyu gave a light laugh.
After washing up, Chen Mo sat on the sofa and enjoyed his breakfast. Xiaoyu had already washed his clothes and tidied up the room a bit.
This simple life felt very relaxing. At that moment, Chen Mo was thinking about how to convince Xiaoyu to move in so he wouldn’t have to worry about food and clothing in the future.
“Chen Mo, I heard you rented a shop on Food Street?” Xiaoyu’s voice interrupted his wandering thoughts.
“How did you know?”
“Tongtong told me. That foodie often goes there to buy snacks. She said she saw you there but wasn’t sure. I was preparing for the Accountant exam the past couple of days, so I didn’t ask you. Can you take me to see your shop today?”
“Sure.”
After finishing breakfast, Chen Mo took Xiaoyu and left the rented apartment.
As soon as Chen Mo, holding Xiaoyu’s hand, reached the shop front, the aunt from the neighboring grocery store looked Xiaoyu up and down.
“Young man, is this your girlfriend? She’s very pretty, a great girl. You should play fewer games from now on, work more, and earn more money. Such a great girl shouldn’t have to suffer with you.”
“Huh?” Chen Mo looked at Xiaoyu, who was covering a smile, feeling a bit awkward. “I will.”
“Come by and chat when you have time.” Seeing a customer arrive, the grocery store aunt left the two of them and hurried back into her shop.
“Such a great girl shouldn’t have to suffer with you,” Xiaoyu teased.
Chen Mo looked at Xiaoyu, speechless.
“Do you play games here?”
In an instant, Xiaoyu was staring at Chen Mo with a less-than-friendly look.
“No, I sit in front of the computer typing code every day, so she probably thinks I’m playing games.” Chen Mo shrugged, took out the key, and opened the shop door. “This is the shop I rented, great girl.”
Looking at the equipment and computers inside the shop, Xiaoyu blinked. “You took over this repair shop? You’re really doing phone repairs?”
“Phone repair? That’s great! Boss, can you take a look at my phone? It suddenly went black and won’t turn on. I really need it now. Can you fix it for me right away?”
Hearing Xiaoyu’s words, a girl stopped and shoved her phone into Chen Mo’s hands.
Looking at the phone forced into his hand, Chen Mo’s mouth twitched as he looked at Xiaoyu.
Xiaoyu blinked, looking back at him.
“Don’t just stand there. Hurry up and help her fix it. Don’t you know how to do business when it comes?” Xiaoyu immediately pushed Chen Mo to sit down at the workbench.
“Okay, I’ll fix it.”
Chen Mo smiled and began disassembling the phone.
“How much will it cost to fix?” The girl suddenly remembered to ask, sounding worried.
The previous owner of this shop charged too much, so many people were afraid to come. Now that it seemed there was a new boss, she was also worried it might be expensive.
“For your phone, the hardware seems fine. It’s probably a system issue. I just need to reinstall the system. It won’t be expensive, five dollars.” Chen Mo thought for a moment before answering.
“Okay, thank you.” Hearing the price, the girl immediately agreed.
After getting the girl’s confirmation, Chen Mo turned on the computer and began reinstalling the system.
Fifteen minutes later, after pressing the power button and seeing the phone screen light up, Chen Mo handed the phone back to the anxious girl waiting beside him.
“Thank you.” The girl looked pleased as she took the phone, placed five dollars on the table, and hurried away.
As soon as the girl left, Chen Mo turned to look for Xiaoyu.
At that moment, Xiaoyu was wiping dust off the machines. Seeing the sweat on her forehead made Chen Mo’s heart ache.
He wanted to tell Xiaoyu that this wasn’t a phone repair shop. But if he told her now, it would definitely be awkward. After thinking about it, Chen Mo decided not to say anything.
“Leave it, I’ll clean up later.”
“It’s already done.” Xiaoyu tossed the cloth she was holding. “You work here for now. I need to go back to the dormitory.”
After helping Chen Mo tidy up the shop a bit, Xiaoyu said goodbye and left. After she was gone, Chen Mo focused his mind on the computer in front of him and began organizing the design for the phone’s mainboard.