Lin Le was already deeply asleep and did not hear what the System said at all. He vaguely heard some kind of sound, but paid it no attention.
Perhaps he had drunk too much water during the day, because even in his sleep Lin Le was restless. His bladder kept warning him that he needed to use the bathroom.
But the worst thing in winter was waking in the middle of the night under warm blankets and realizing you needed the toilet. Lin Le frowned and tossed back and forth, refusing to get up. He kept brainwashing himself.
Don’t go to the bathroom. Don’t pee. Hold it until morning. No rush, no rush. I don’t need to pee. I’m not going to the bathroom.
After repeating this several times while tossing around, the urge actually seemed to recede a little. Satisfied, Lin Le rolled over to continue sleeping, only for his hand to accidentally press against his lower abdomen.
Lin Le’s eyes flew open. This time he absolutely could not hold it anymore. With no other choice, he felt his way out of bed, slowly found the ladder railing, and climbed down without daring to make a sound.
Lin Le wanted the System to come out and tell him the approximate direction, but after calling several times, the System never appeared. Lin Le could only grope his way along by himself.
The moment he pushed open the balcony door, wind rushed inside. Lin Le shivered several times and clutched his clothes tighter around himself.
After quickly taking care of things, he sleepily climbed back into bed, completely failing to notice that anything was wrong.
Zhou Zhongshe was sleeping soundly when rustling suddenly sounded beside him, followed by the movement of someone tugging at the blanket.
He opened his eyes and, in the dim night, saw Lin Le pat the pillow and lie down. Within seconds, he was sound asleep.
Zhou Zhongshe froze. Wondering whether he was dreaming, he pinched his own arm. It hurt.
The scene in front of him and the pain in his arm both told Zhou Zhongshe that this was not a dream.
Lin Le was exhausted, and Zhou Zhongshe’s bed was also very warm. The comfort immediately fogged his mind, and he did not realize he had climbed into the wrong bed at all.
He had felt the bed seemed a little cramped when he climbed in, but he thought he had simply slept too close to the wall and even shifted outward a little.
Zhou Zhongshe did not wake Lin Le. He simply watched him in silence.
Lin Le slept very obediently, without any large movements. He maintained one sleeping position, one arm tucked beneath him, curled into a small ball as he slept.
His face was buried in the blanket, leaving a faint flush from the trapped warmth. He looked incredibly tempting, like a fully ripened peach on the verge of bursting with juice.
Perhaps it was because the night was so deep, or because the bed was too warm. As Zhou Zhongshe kept looking, he actually became thirsty. His Adam’s apple moved up and down several times.
Zhou Zhongshe watched for several minutes and still could not fall asleep. His eyes seemed almost capable of glowing in the darkness.
Lin Le rolled over and ended up facing Zhou Zhongshe. Now Zhou Zhongshe could see his sleeping face even more clearly.
Slightly puffed lips, flushed cheeks, and soft, shallow breaths.
Zhou Zhongshe’s breathing grew much heavier. It took several minutes before he finally managed to calm it.
That night was special for Zhou Zhongshe, a strange and novel experience. He had never shared a bed with anyone before.
Unexpectedly, however, it did not feel bad. Lin Le carried a natural body scent, and in an almost enclosed space like this, it became even more obvious.
Warm air carried the fragrance. Every time Zhou Zhongshe tugged the blanket, the faint scent seemed to spring up like bamboo shoots after rain and rush directly toward his face.
Fragrant. Indescribably fragrant. Like sweet, sticky candy, clinging to his fingers and wrapping around his entire body until even he seemed to be dyed with sweetness.
The cloying sweetness did not feel excessive or sickening. Instead, it made Zhou Zhongshe want to smell more the more he breathed it in. He kept feeling as though his mouth lacked something, but could not describe what that sensation was.
He could only bite the inside of his lip until he tasted blood before the agitation in his chest finally subsided.
In the darkness, the System, silent for a long time, suddenly began working. 【Mission Five complete. Congratulations, Host. Sight-restoration progress increased by one.】
Lin Le slept extremely well that night. His entire body felt warm and cozy, without the slightest trace of cold. It was the best sleep he had ever had during a winter spent alone.
In the morning, the school broadcast began playing, using a gentle song to wake the sleeping students.
Lin Le sat up and stretched first, then lifted the blanket and climbed out.
The moment he came down, he caught the attention of everyone else in the dorm. Han Jinyan happened to glance over and froze on the spot.
Fu Ji looked toward Lin Le’s bunk, never expecting Lin Le to climb down from Zhou Zhongshe’s instead.
Xiang Chi rubbed his eyes, completely unable to believe what he was seeing.
All three frowned. Han Jinyan was closest. His just-awakened voice was hoarse and low, making him sound very hard to provoke. “Lin Le, why did you come down from Zhou Zhongshe’s bed?”
Lin Le’s mind was still foggy. He did not process Han Jinyan’s words and blankly said, “Huh? What?”
Xiang Chi gulped down a large mouthful of water. “Why did you come down from Zhou Zhongshe’s bed? Did you two sleep together last night?”
Fu Ji frowned as well, displeasure in his tone. “When did the two of you become this close?”
After hearing the same thing from all three of them, Lin Le froze too. His hand gripping the ladder railing began trembling. “Th-This is Zhou Zhongshe’s bed?”
Before the three could answer, Zhou Zhongshe poked his head out from the bed, his voice hoarse. “If it isn’t my bed, whose bed did you think it was?”
The moment Lin Le heard Zhou Zhongshe’s voice, his entire body stopped moving. His heart began pounding wildly and his palms turned sweaty.
His brain became a complete mess. Trembling, he pinched his own cheek. It hurt, which meant this was not a dream.
Lin Le’s movement made Zhou Zhongshe laugh softly. “Does it hurt?”
Lin Le’s face went blank. “It hurts…”
Zhou Zhongshe said, “Then are you dreaming?”
Lin Le shook his head. “No…”
Now Lin Le was completely stunned, to the point of becoming incoherent. “I—you—how did I get into your bed? Last night, last night we…”
After climbing down, Lin Le remained standing there in a daze, still unable to process anything, continuing to question whether the situation was accurate or even real.
Zhou Zhongshe walked over and smoothly pinched Lin Le’s cheek. “It wasn’t a dream. You climbed into my bed last night and slept with me all night. Was it comfortable?”
Lin Le turned blankly, not knowing which direction to face.
Xiang Chi and the others did not look pleased, but seeing Lin Le standing there with a red face, completely at a loss, they could not bring themselves to get angry either.
Fu Ji rubbed between his brows, walked over, and led Lin Le back to his own seat. He softened his voice. “Do you remember how you ended up in Zhou Zhongshe’s bed last night?”
Lin Le had no idea either. He had only gotten up to use the bathroom and then gone back to sleep. After that, he woke up and discovered himself in Zhou Zhongshe’s bed.
Suddenly, inspiration flashed through his mind!
Lin Le said, “When I got up to use the bathroom last night, I must have accidentally climbed into the wrong bed…”
Hearing this answer, Xiang Chi let out an exaggerated sigh of relief. “I knew it. Why would you deliberately go looking for Zhou Zhongshe? I knew you climbed into the wrong bed.”
The tension in Fu Ji’s muscles also eased. He said, “If you need the bathroom at night in the future, you can wake one of us to go with you.”
Han Jinyan nodded. “Right. That’ll keep you from ending up in someone else’s bed next time.”
Lin Le had not expected to cause such a huge misunderstanding. His face was unbearably red. Listening to Fu Ji and the others, he merely lowered his head and nodded meekly.
Zhou Zhongshe came out of the bathroom and sneered. “Don’t let your calculations get too obvious.”
Xiang Chi was the first to jump. “What calculations? What calculations could we possibly have? Unlike you. Lin Le climbed into your bed last night. He didn’t know it was yours, but don’t tell me you didn’t know either?”
Zhou Zhongshe shrugged innocently. “I didn’t know. I was already fast asleep. How would I know?”
Lin Le no longer wanted to remember anything about last night. It was simply too embarrassing and humiliating. He grabbed Xiang Chi’s hand, his voice trembling. “Stop—stop talking about it.”
Seeing Lin Le so ashamed that he could no longer raise his head, Xiang Chi finally stopped talking.
Fortunately, no one kept bringing it up. When Lin Le went to wash up, his arms and legs were still weak. If Fu Ji had not steadied him, he probably would have fallen to the floor.
Cold water splashed over his face, but Lin Le was still dazed. So this was what living in a dorm felt like?
When he lived alone, he never had to worry about sleeping in the wrong bed. He had not known sleeping in the wrong bed could be this embarrassing. Maybe he really was still not very good at adapting to group life…
Lin Le felt a little afraid. He wanted to retreat back into his tiny room again.
Lin Le was like a snail entering this kind of world for the first time, cautiously stretching out tiny feelers to explore. The slightest sign that something was wrong would make him immediately shrink back, hiding inside his little shell.
He had not even been in this world for two full days yet, and already so many embarrassing things had happened. Any one of them was enough to make Lin Le feel ashamed for the rest of his life.
Everything that had happened went far beyond his imagination. They were things he would never have dared imagine in his entire life.
He did not know how many times he washed his face. The icy water numbed both his hands and his face. Only when his mind finally cleared a little did Lin Le stop.
Lin Le had not wanted the others to notice his mood, but his expressions were far too easy to read. His brows were drawn together and the corners of his lips turned downward. Anyone could tell at a glance that he was unhappy.
Even while eating breakfast, Lin Le would sigh from time to time.
Xiang Chi and the others did not dare ask too much. They all thought Lin Le was unhappy because he had slept with Zhou Zhongshe, so they silently condemned Zhou Zhongshe with their eyes, urging him to hurry up and comfort Lin Le.
Zhou Zhongshe looked at Lin Le several times, then took a sip of water to moisten his throat before asking, “Lin Le, are you unhappy?”
Lin Le bit into his bun, slowly turned his head, and even spoke slowly. “Huh?”
He was practically Flash the sloth from Zootopia.
Zhou Zhongshe’s voice was gentle. “Are you unhappy because you slept in my bed last night? Was it uncomfortable?”
Lin Le blinked, his tone turning muffled. “No. I just think I’m so embarrassing. I even climbed into the wrong bed.”
Zhou Zhongshe’s voice remained gentle, very pleasant to listen to. “What’s embarrassing about that? People in our dorm climb into the wrong beds all the time.”
Xiang Chi, Fu Ji, and Han Jinyan all widened their eyes, their hands freezing as they stared at Zhou Zhongshe. “!!??…
