152: Just playing around?

He hadn't rested well last night, woke up early this morning, and the rocking motion of the car quickly brought on drowsiness.

His head rested against the seat back, his breathing gradually evening out. He was truly asleep.

He didn't know how long passed, but when the car took a turn, his body leaned to the right due to inertia, and his arm slipped down.

In his grogginess, he felt his arm brush against something soft.

He wanted to adjust his posture, but the drowsiness was too heavy, and he didn't open his eyes.

After a little while longer, his consciousness cleared slightly, and he realized his forearm was pressed against Ning Yutong's lower back.

Ning Yutong was sitting a bit rigidly, back straight, looking out the window, her neck slightly tense.

Her down jacket was short, the hem just past her waist. Yu Heng's arm was resting right there.

The heater was on in the car, and the temperature was quite warm.

Yu Heng closed his eyes again, maintained steady breathing, and started pretending to sleep.

The fingers of the arm resting on her lower back moved slightly.

Through the light gray sweater she was wearing underneath, he could feel the curve of her waist.

His fingers moved again, this time with a slightly larger motion, like an unconscious movement in sleep.

Then his fingers crept in from the open hem of her down jacket, pressing directly against her sweater.

Ning Yutong's body visibly trembled, but she didn't make any major movements.

He pressed his palm down, conforming more closely to her waistline, pretending to adjust his position in a dream.

Ning Yutong finally reacted. She turned her head and glanced at Yu Heng, who appeared to be sound asleep.

His eyes were closed, his breathing steady, as if he truly was just moving in his sleep.

But on the skin of her lower back, through the thin sweater, she could clearly feel the shape and warmth of his palm—its presence was undeniable.

Her heart was pounding fast.

What did he mean by this?

Was he asleep?

Or... was he faking it?

She wanted to move his hand away, but too large a movement would certainly wake him up.

What would she say then? That his hand was in the wrong place?

Besides... she didn't seem particularly eager to move it.

She kept her body stiff and looked back out the window. Yu Heng's palm slowly began to heat up.

His fingers curled slightly, and through the sweater, he lightly grazed her side.

Ning Yutong drew a small, quiet breath, but in the silent car, Yu Heng heard it.

She didn't speak or move, so Yu Heng grew a little bolder.

This time, he slipped directly underneath the hem of her sweater, pressing without obstruction against the skin of her waist.

Ning Yutong's body trembled again. She bit her lower lip, swallowing the sound.

He was definitely awake!

But she didn't move. She even... secretly pushed her waist forward a little. Yu Heng knew what was happening.

She stared at the streetscape rapidly receding outside the window. The car was quiet. Lin Junjie's song was playing in her headphones: "Please don't go knocking everywhere..."

The middle-aged man next to them was still scrolling on his phone, the sound of the short video playing very quietly.

No one noticed them.

Ning Yutong hunched her back. Her mind was completely scrambled—all thoughts of rejection and maintaining distance were gone.

All forgotten.

——

Yu Heng retracted his hand at the right moment, then slowly opened his eyes and rubbed his neck as if he had just woken up.

"Where are we?" he asked, his voice husky with sleep.

"Almost... almost there," she replied, her voice slightly shaky.

Yu Heng turned to look at her. "Why is your face so red?"

"It's hot," Ning Yutong turned her face away. "The heater in the car is too strong."

"Is that so?" Yu Heng smiled. "I feel a bit hot too."

He reached out and pulled down the zipper of his down jacket.

Ning Yutong glanced at him, then quickly looked away.

Her legs were still trembling. Those few minutes felt like a dream.

This made her feel both ashamed and... excited.

"Were you asleep just now?" Ning Yutong asked tentatively.

"Mhm," Yu Heng nodded. "I was so tired, I slept the whole way."

His expression was natural, showing no flaws.

Ning Yutong bit her lip.

He was faking it, as expected, but she didn't expose him.

She even... felt a little unsatisfied.

But he had already rejected her, so why was he still teasing her?

Did he want her to become one of his women too?

She didn't want that; she wanted exclusivity.

"Are you going home next week?" Yu Heng suddenly asked.

"Maybe," Ning Yutong said. "It depends."

"If you go back, want to share a ride again?" Yu Heng looked at her.

She hesitated, then whispered, "Okay..."

The car slowly decelerated and stopped at the entrance of Tangcheng University of Technology.

"We're here," the driver said.

Yu Heng pushed the car door open and got out, with Ning Yutong following him.

Her legs were still a little weak, and she almost lost her footing when she got out.

Yu Heng reached out and steadied her. "Careful."

His hand rested exactly on her waist.

The spot he had just touched.

Ning Yutong sprang away as if she had been shocked.

"Thank you..." she murmured, looking down.

Yu Heng smiled and didn't say anything.

The two walked into the school one after the other. Ning Yutong avoided looking at Yu Heng; she had no idea how to face him now.

The awkwardness of being rejected earlier seemed less important, replaced by a much more complicated feeling.

"Where are you going?" Yu Heng asked.

"Back to the dorm," Ning Yutong said.

"Oh," Yu Heng nodded. "Then I'll head off first."

He turned and walked in a different direction.

Ning Yutong watched his retreating figure, standing rooted to the spot for a while.

Only after his figure disappeared at the intersection did she slowly start walking towards the dorm building.

Ning Yutong slowly dragged her suitcase toward the dorm building.

Her mind was still a mess. What exactly did Yu Heng mean?

He rejected her confession, but now he was doing things like this.

Did he just want to mess around?

She took a deep breath, picked up her suitcase, and continued walking.

Pushing open the dorm room door, the heater was cranked up high, and a blast of warm air rushed out.

Liu Siqi was sitting at her desk eating. Hearing the noise, she turned her head. "You're back?"

"Mhm," Ning Yutong replied, closing the door behind her.

"Have you eaten?" Zhou Sisi asked.

"Not yet," Ning Yutong leaned the suitcase against the wall and took off her down jacket, hanging it on the back of the chair.

"Well, I still have half a serving of fried rice here. Want some?" Zhou Sisi pointed to the takeout box on the table.

"No need, I'm not hungry," Ning Yutong said.

She needed to take a shower.

She opened her closet, rummaged through the folded clothes, took out a pair of underwear, and turned toward the bathroom.

"You're taking a shower?" her roommate asked.

"Yeah, just a quick rinse," Ning Yutong closed the door and locked it.

She leaned against the door and let out a long breath.

Then she pulled down her leggings and the underwear underneath.

She stared at it for a few seconds, her face burning, then rolled it up and tossed it into the dirty laundry basket in the corner.

She turned on the faucet and washed her face with cold water.

Her reflection in the mirror showed an abnormally red face.

Why didn't she... push him away back then?

She even secretly pushed her waist forward.

Thinking about it now, it was truly...