After Confessing To My Childhood Friend - Chapter 10
Chapter 10: Staying Over
◎ Stealing a Kiss While My Little Childhood Friend Sleeps ◎
Xie Zhirou finished her shower and came out to find Chen Mengyin still working through the last math problem. She sat at her desk, leaning forward, hair tied in cute little pigtails exposing her slender neck, wearing the same colorful T-shirt from earlier. Zhirou knew she had at least five similar shirts in her closet.
Wiping the steam from her hair, Zhirou sat beside Mengyin and watched her do homework. Apart from sleeping, Mengyin rarely sat still. She hadn’t heard of a quiet moment since class; classmates said even during lessons she was either answering teachers or whispering with her deskmate and got caught talking—and then had to stand and explain.
Zhirou rested her chin on her hand, watching Mengyin’s focused side profile. That frown of concentration looked unbelievably cute. Zhirou licked her lips—she had the sudden urge to kiss Mengyin. What should she do?
Mengyin, deep in calculation, only looked up with stiff shoulders when she finished the last step and realized Zhirou was sitting there, smiling softly. Zhirou, usually composed and distant, now had messy hair and soft lighting that washed her coldness away, revealing a tender gentleness. Mengyin’s heart skipped.
She always knew Zhirou was pretty and admired by many. But Zhirou was always cold toward others, rarely speaking—so not many confessed. Mengyin felt thankful all along that Zhirou’s gentle side was hers alone. Otherwise, she’d face a line of suitors from school to home!
But tonight, here Zhirou was, in Mengyin’s T-shirt, relaxed on the bed, smiling with faint dimples. Mengyin suddenly realized: she didn’t need to compete. From the start, she already had the real Zhirou. She’d won.
“Homework making you foggy?” Zhirou waved her hand in front of Mengyin’s face, bringing her back to Earth.
Mengyin instinctively held Zhirou’s wrist. Her skin felt so smooth—did she really eat?
Zhirou shifted, pressing her other hand to Mengyin’s forehead: “You look dazed—but no fever.”
The cool touch startled Mengyin awake. She gently released the wrist and stammered, “N-nothing… maybe your hair needs drying? It’s cold with the AC on…”
Zhirou softly replied, “I didn’t want to disturb you doing your problems.”
Oh no—guilt washed over Mengyin fast.
“Um… should I dry it for you?” she offered, regret quick to follow—blowing Zhirou’s hair might shock her heart? She wanted to retract it, but Zhirou simply smiled: “Yes, please.”
Now Mengyin couldn’t back down. She remembered when, as children, she used to help plait Zhirou’s hair. But since her feelings deepened, even slightly brushing Zhirou made her blush.
She forced calm: “I’ll go get the hair dryer.”
The dryer was in the bathroom. Mengyin took it out, kicked off her slippers, and knelt on the bed, blowing Zhirou’s damp hair. Zhirou’s hair was soft like silk—slipping through her fingers, gently waving in the air. She felt tingles where it brushed her arm.
“How long have you grown it?” she asked, holding a lock.
“About five years,” Zhirou answered softly.
Mengyin was surprised: “Really?”
She hadn’t realized Zhirou had let it grow so long. Mengyin asked why.
Zhirou paused, thinking she couldn’t quite explain. Maybe it started childhood, watching a shampoo commercial and casually saying, “Her hair is so beautiful.” From that moment on, Zhirou began yearning for long, pretty hair.
“I can’t remember exactly,” she said, choosing not to reveal the full story then.
“It suits you,” Mengyin said after turning off the dryer, smiling.
Zhirou let her essence smile bloom: her secret satisfaction quietly stroked her heart.
“It’s late,” Zhirou said gently. “Better shower and sleep—remember, tomorrow we’re going to the movies.”
Mengyin rose: “I’ll go clean up… You can play my game console if you get bored.”
Zhirou nodded but reached for her book instead. When Mengyin emerged from the bathroom, Zhirou lay reading rigid coursework she’d never tackle otherwise.
“You shouldn’t study so seriously on a Saturday. Relax!” Mengyin teased, pulling the book away and jamming it with a scribbled test page. “We’re not slaves to overwork culture!”
Zhirou chuckled: “Sorry.”
Mengyin mischievously said, “Saying sorry’s not enough—you need to play games with me.”
She’d been wanting to play two-player games with Zhirou for ages, but Zhirou rarely played, and the second controller gathered dust.
Zhirou sighed: “Okay—but we only have one game controller.”
Mengyin panicked: “What? We need the other one! Let’s go get yours now.”
“I should’ve brought one more…” Zhirou warned.
Mengyin tried to dash out but Zhirou caught her wrist: “It’s after ten. Let’s just stay—I’ll dry your hair and we’ll sleep.”
Mengyin pouted: “Aw.”
Zhirou was firm: “Come.”
Well-trained, Mengyin moved before her mind, sitting again on the bed, waiting as Zhirou dried her hair once more.
Her hair felt coarse like a little sofa. Puffing outward from the last blow, it looked like an angry chick. Zhirou suppressed a laugh, switched off the blower, and stroked Mengyin’s fluffy head: “Get into bed.”
Mengyin crawled under the covers, nervously settling in. She’d been here countless times—but tonight felt different. Still, she obeyed.
When Zhirou tucked in the dryer and turned off the lights, Mengyin peered at her big eyes above the covers.
“Tomorrow, let’s go for morning dim sum, then shopping, and a movie.” She whispered.
Zhirou lay opposite and murmured, “Okay—but no dim sum by the riverside restaurant. It wasn’t good last time.”
Mengyin giggled—they’d vowed never to return there after a disappointing and overpriced brunch.
“We won’t go,” she whispered.
Zhirou smiled softly, meeting her eyes.
“And dinner tomorrow night—barbecue?”
Zhirou laughed: “Only if you want it.”
“You’re really good to me.” Mengyin murmured.
“I’ll always be better,” Zhirou replied, caressing her cheek. Mengyin snuggled closer.
Zhirou stroked her eyelids and murmured, “Sleep now.”
Though not her usual bedtime, Mengyin drifted off under Zhirou’s touch.
Once her breathing was steady, Zhirou gently withdrew her hand, scooped Mengyin into her arms, and placed a soft kiss on her forehead.
Good night, Mengyin.