After Confessing To My Childhood Friend - Chapter 23
Chapter 23: Invitation
◎ My mom’s not home tonight—wanna come over? ◎
Xie Zhirou, wearing her long white dress, sat on the grass with Chen Mengyin, chatting quietly.
From the hall behind them came occasional bursts of loud singing and scattered applause. The moon hung round and bright above, easily visible when they looked up from where they sat.
In the moonlight, Chen Mengyin finally noticed that the dress Xie Zhirou wore was the one they had bought together while shopping last time. But tonight, all her attention had been on Xie Zhirou’s face and hands, so she hadn’t realized it immediately.
“Does this mean we’re dating now?” Chen Mengyin asked, dazed, still caught in the joy of her confession being accepted.
Xie Zhirou raised an eyebrow, tugging gently at her cheek. “What’s this? Chen Mengyin, are you planning to pretend that kiss didn’t happen?”
“You were the one who kissed me first!” Chen Mengyin grumbled, “And you kissed way better than me…”
Xie Zhirou let go and laughed. “Then let’s go home and practice. After a few more kisses, you’ll be a pro.”
“How many kisses do I need to learn?” Chen Mengyin blushed. What she really wanted to ask was—if she never learns, does that mean they’ll have to keep kissing?
Xie Zhirou saw right through her thoughts and chuckled, calling her a little flirt.
The little flirt got upset and decided to retaliate—biting Xie Zhirou’s lip to punish her and shut her up.
They flirted for a while longer before Chen Mengyin’s phone buzzed in her pocket. It was a message from Ye Siying.
Ye Siying: Come back quick. The teacher’s doing rounds. I told her you were in the bathroom, but I can’t stall forever.
Ye Siying: What are you even doing? Not replying? Are you sneaking off for a secret date? Careful—I might report you to Zhirou!
Chen Mengyin burst into laughter and handed the phone to Xie Zhirou to show her the messages.
“Do you think what we’re doing counts as a secret affair?” she asked with a grin.
Xie Zhirou gave her a helpless look. She knew Chen Mengyin was probably thinking up nonsense again.
“I think Siying’s wrong.”
“We’re not sneaking around. We’re having a rendezvous,” Chen Mengyin said confidently, proud of her vocabulary.
Xie Zhirou facepalmed. She made a mental note to improve Chen Mengyin’s language skills—“affair” and “rendezvous” were not interchangeable.
“When we get back, you’re doing a language practice test,” she declared mercilessly.
“What? Why!?” Chen Mengyin cried in horror.
Xie Zhirou stood and brushed grass off her skirt. “To fix your terrible word choice. Let’s go back.”
Hand in hand, they walked back to the hall together.
“No one gives their girlfriend a language test as a reward after a successful confession…” Chen Mengyin muttered. “You should be grateful your girlfriend is a sweet, understanding cutie. Otherwise, I’d be mad at you.”
“Mm, thank you, my little sweetheart,” Xie Zhirou said with a smile, lifting her hand and placing a kiss on it.
Chen Mengyin immediately covered her face. “That’s not fair!”
Xie Zhirou laughed and kissed her hand again.
Chen Mengyin: (/w＼) “You’re so bad!”
“Alright, let’s go inside.” Satisfied with her playful teasing, Xie Zhirou pulled Chen Mengyin’s hand away from her face, intertwining their fingers, and quietly slipped back into the hall through a side door.
Most of the program was already over. A skit had just begun on stage. Taking advantage of everyone’s focus on the performance, the two made their way upstairs.
Their classmates had thoughtfully left two outer seats open. Xie Zhirou sat down with the sunflower bouquet in her arms, happily greeting her classmates.
Chen Mengyin leaned in and whispered, “When did you get the flowers back? I didn’t even notice.”
Xie Zhirou smiled lightly. “When you were covering your face.”
Chen Mengyin had no comeback. Honestly, if Xie Zhirou had taken her phone during that moment, she probably wouldn’t have even noticed—she might’ve thought Zhirou was just teasing her again.
“Wanna come over to my place tonight? My mom’s probably already flying to the capital by now,” she asked quietly while watching the skit.
Tomorrow was National Day. Originally, Li Ran wanted to take both girls to the capital to watch the flag-raising, but neither liked crowded holiday spots. So, in the end, Li Ran went alone to visit Comrade Chen Lin.
With no adults home, this was the perfect opportunity. How could Chen Mengyin not invite her freshly official girlfriend to spend the night?
Xie Zhirou didn’t hesitate and accepted the invitation.
After that, neither paid much attention to the remaining performances. Their fluffy heads leaned together, whispering and laughing softly, occasionally catching each other’s gaze and smiling.
By the time the event ended, they were still reluctant to stop their sweet conversation.
Since the next day was a holiday, teachers didn’t require students to return to class for evening study. They were allowed to go home early—an unusual kindness.
Chen Mengyin was thrilled, and she and Xie Zhirou exited at the back of the group.
“Wanna grab something to eat? I’m kinda starving.” Her emotions had been a rollercoaster all night—now she was completely drained and in dire need of food.
“Sure. Do you have anything in mind?” Xie Zhirou hadn’t eaten much either and was hungry now.
After thinking a bit, Chen Mengyin beamed. “Let’s go! Girlfriend’s treating you to sushi!”
She ditched her usual electric scooter and hailed a Didi ride instead.
Zhirou was dressed so beautifully tonight—how could she let her ride pillion on a scooter? Only a car would do!
By the time they arrived at the restaurant, it was nearly 10 PM. After confirming their reservation, they were led to a private room.
The lighting there was much brighter, and Chen Mengyin finally noticed—Xie Zhirou had put on light makeup tonight.
Her features were already striking, even bare-faced, but with slightly enhanced brows and contour, she looked even more refined. Only the lipstick was mostly gone… eaten away by someone earlier. Just a faint blush remained.
The culprit, instead of feeling guilty, was already plotting how to get Zhirou to wear more lipstick in the future—different colors, different flavors…
Zhirou caught her staring and asked, “Like what you see?”
Chen Mengyin nodded happily. “You look beautiful!”
“I’ll wear more for you tonight,” Xie Zhirou said with a chuckle.
“Yes, please!” Chen Mengyin grinned.
The food arrived—sashimi and grilled eel. Chen Mengyin, starving, dug in without holding back.
“I’ve never thought raw fish could taste so good,” she sighed after scarfing down some salmon.
In contrast, Xie Zhirou ate much more elegantly. Even when hungry, she took her time and savored every bite.
“How about we go out during the holiday? Nothing too far—just nearby.” They only had a three-day break, and Mengyin didn’t want to spend all of it doing homework. Now that she had a girlfriend, staying cooped up seemed unacceptable.
Xie Zhirou nodded. “Sure. Let’s plan tonight, finish homework tomorrow, and head out the next day.”
Chen Mengyin groaned dramatically. “Ugh, senior year… All those worksheets are terrifying. What kind of teacher assigns ten packets over a three-day break?! Are they even human?”
Each subject teacher had given them three worksheets, plus extra exercises—basically demanding nonstop study.
“Don’t worry. I’ll help you get through it,” Zhirou said reassuringly.
Tears welled up in Chen Mengyin’s eyes. “Zhirou, how would I survive without you—”
Bonk! Xie Zhirou lightly smacked her head. “Stop being dramatic. Let’s eat and head home.”
In the past, Mengyin would’ve obediently resumed eating, but now? Now she was the girlfriend—and girlfriends demanded kisses.
“Feed me a kiss and I’ll eat,” she said with a mischievous smile.
Zhirou called her a “kiss maniac,” but still leaned forward and kissed her gently.
“Happy now?”
“Totally. That was perfect.”
They finished their late-night meal and returned home. Zhirou placed the bouquet in a vase and helped Mengyin arrange it on the dining table. The bright sunflowers looked beautiful against the cream-colored table.
“Let’s head upstairs,” Mengyin said, switching off the living room lights and turning on the staircase lamp.
Zhirou stared at her thoughtfully. “Okay.”
Upstairs, just as Mengyin pushed open the bedroom door and reached for the lights, Zhirou pulled her inside and shut the door behind them.
Before she could react, she was pinned to the door, soft kisses landing on her face like falling rain.
It started gently—cool, feather-light touches from her forehead to her lips.
Mengyin wrapped her arms around Zhirou’s shoulders and parted her lips, ready for more.
Pleased, Zhirou cupped her head and deepened the kiss. Their tongues tangled, and Mengyin grew dizzy, breathless, hands weakly clinging to Zhirou’s shoulders.
When the kiss ended, Zhirou rested her forehead against hers and teased, “And you said you’re not a little flirt? Who was it that invited me over so urgently just because her mom wasn’t home?”
“I didn’t ask you to kiss me…” Mengyin mumbled.
Zhirou pinched her waist gently. “Liar. You deserve punishment.”
Mengyin huffed, pinching Zhirou’s cheek. “Who are you and what have you done with my Zhirou? Bullying me like this! I want a refund!”
She hadn’t expected her usually calm Zhirou to be this clingy and flirty in love. Zhirou had called her a kiss maniac, but who had already snuck in multiple kisses in just a short time?
Zhirou kissed her again. “Too late. No refunds after purchase.”