164: The runaway puppy

Wang Luyu looked at her. "Mengqi, are you feeling unwell?"

"No," Zhou Mengqi said, "it's just... my legs are a bit numb."

After a while, Zhou Mengqi really couldn't sit still anymore.

"Luyu..." Zhou Mengqi turned to look at Wang Luyu. "Are you sleepy?"

"Huh?" Wang Luyu shook her head. "Not at all. Look what time it is."

"There's something wrong with my computer, and I think we've discussed the script enough," Zhou Mengqi said, looking at Yu Heng. "President, could you come upstairs with me and take a look at my computer?"

Yu Heng looked at her for two seconds and then nodded. "Sure, what's wrong with it?"

"The screen keeps going black," Zhou Mengqi said. "I'm not sure where the loose connection is."

"Let's go take a look then," Yu Heng said, pulling his legs out from under the kotatsu.

Zhou Mengqi followed him out. Her legs felt a bit weak, and she had to steady herself against the table before she could stand firmly.

"You're going up to fix the computer?" Wang Luyu asked. "Do I need to come up too?"

"No need," Zhou Mengqi said immediately, her tone a bit rushed. She then slowed down. "Just watch some TV downstairs; we'll be down once it's fixed."

Wang Luyu gave an "oh" and didn't think much of it, picking up the remote to turn on the TV.

Zhou Mengqi turned and walked toward the stairs, with Yu Heng following behind her.

Once they entered the bedroom, Yu Heng closed the door behind him, cutting off the light from the hallway.

Only a bedside lamp was on in the room, casting a dim, yellow glow.

Zhou Mengqi stood with her back to Yu Heng. Saying the computer screen was black was actually a pretty lame excuse.

Wang Luyu might have believed it, but Yu Heng certainly didn't.

A pair of hands wrapped around her from behind, circling her waist.

Yu Heng's body heat radiated through her clothes; he was warmer than she had imagined.

Zhou Mengqi's body stiffened for a moment, then she slowly relaxed and leaned into his embrace.

"Is the computer really broken?" Yu Heng's voice was right against her ear, his breath brushing against her earlobe.

Zhou Mengqi's ears felt a bit hot.

"No..." Zhou Mengqi replied, her voice sounding a bit weak.

She felt Yu Heng's chin rest on her shoulder, and then she heard him give a low chuckle.

The next second, she was spun around, and before she could react, she was swept up in his arms.

"Ah—" Zhou Mengqi let out a soft cry, her hands instinctively wrapping around his neck.

Yu Heng carried her a few steps and tossed her onto the bed.

The mattress was very soft, and she sank into it slightly.

Yu Heng stood by the bed, looking down at her.

Zhou Mengqi lay there, her pajama collar slightly askew, revealing a small portion of her collarbone.

She looked at him, her eyelashes fluttering.

"In such a hurry?" she spoke, trying to keep her voice steady, but the end of her sentence still trembled a bit.

Yu Heng leaned over, his hands propped on either side of her body.

"I'm just..." he said, "helping you check the computer's ports."

Zhou Mengqi was stunned for a moment. "Ports?"

"Yeah." Yu Heng looked into her eyes. "A black screen is usually caused by a loose connection in the port."

He paused, the corners of his mouth curling up.

"Like this, if it's a bit firmer," he said, "it won't go black anymore."

It took Zhou Mengqi two seconds to react, and then her face instantly flushed red.

That was... certainly direct enough.

But she didn't dodge, nor did she argue.

She looked at Yu Heng and bit her lower lip.

"Then... President, do you know how to fix it?" she asked.

"Let's try," Yu Heng said.

He leaned down and kissed her lips.

Zhou Mengqi closed her eyes.

Two weeks.

She had waited for two weeks.

While she was taking her medicine, she was thinking about when Yu Heng would come to find her.

But he never came.

She was a bit panicked, so at today's dinner gathering, she took the initiative to speak up.

Now, he was here.

—

Both of them were covered in sweat.

Only the sound of heavy breathing filled the room.

He lay down beside her.

Zhou Mengqi turned on her side to look at him.

Yu Heng also turned on his side to look at her.

"Is the computer screen still black?" he asked.

Zhou Mengqi was taken aback for a moment, then she laughed.

"Not anymore," she said.

"That's good," Yu Heng said.

The room was very quiet, with only the sound of their breathing.

Yu Heng suddenly spoke: "Moli."

Zhou Mengqi's body stiffened.

She turned her head to look at him and said in a raspy voice, "You know."

"Yeah." Yu Heng's hand was still resting on her waist. "I've known since last time."

"Then why didn't you look for me?" Zhou Mengqi asked.

"If I had taken the initiative to find you," Yu Heng turned his face to look at her, "how could I have waited for you to take the initiative to find me?"

"Are you angry with me?" she asked softly.

"Shouldn't I be?" Yu Heng countered.

Zhou Mengqi pursed her lips; he really was angry.

"You should be," she said. "That's why when I recognized your voice during the interview, I went back and confirmed it repeatedly... and now I've practically thrown myself at you."

When she said this, her tone was a bit pleasing, yet also a little aggrieved.

After that Club interview, she had gone back and dug out her old phone, listening to Yu Heng's voice recordings over and over to confirm it was him.

"Don't think I don't know your little scheme," Yu Heng stared at her. "You didn't tell me who you were because you wanted to see... how long it would take for me to recognize you after we'd been together for so long."

"But you really didn't recognize me," her voice grew even softer. "You couldn't even remember my voice..."

Back then, it was purely online. We never showed our faces in the task photos or videos, and Yu Heng was only a voice.

"I'm supposed to remember a runaway puppy?" Yu Heng said.

Zhou Mengqi bit her lip.

The year before her exams, she changed her phone number and even deleted her QQ and WeChat accounts.

"I was wrong." Zhou Mengqi nudged closer to him. "I'm back now, aren't I... President, don't be angry anymore."

Her voice was soft and raspy.

Yu Heng didn't speak. Zhou Mengqi waited for a while, but there was no response.

She looked up at him.

"Who?" Yu Heng asked suddenly.

Zhou Mengqi was stunned for a moment. Then she realized what he meant.

She curled her tongue, her voice becoming even softer and taking on a coquettish tone: "Master."

The corners of Yu Heng's mouth twitched.

He reached out and pinched her chin.

"So, why did you do that back then?"

Zhou Mengqi pursed her lips, looking at his face, and said with a somewhat melancholy voice, "My parents divorced when I was very young. I lived with my father, and he remarried not long after. I had no presence at home, and I had no presence at school. I was very introverted back then—actually, it wasn't that I was introverted, I wanted to be outgoing, but I didn't have the courage or the confidence, so I was a bit suppressed..."

"So that's why you got into this?" Yu Heng raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, after seeing it in a novel, I was drawn to it, and then I started to learn about it and look into it more deeply," Zhou Mengqi said. "I even started searching for it."

"And then?" Yu Heng asked.

"And then I met you!" Zhou Mengqi said. "I experienced the joy it brought!"

"So," Yu Heng looked at her, "why did you leave again?"

"Because I felt like my life shouldn't just keep going on without any sense of presence. I wanted to change," Zhou Mengqi looked at him. "It was you who gave me courage."

"And then you turned around and left me?" Yu Heng stared at her.