The Hot-tempered Young Master and His Village Flower Child Bride - Chapter 39

Chapter 39: Bedtime Video Call

In Chu Zhi Lu’s class, there were far more men than women, with an 8:2 gender ratio. During the first class meeting, every female student who took the stage was met with thunderous applause and cheers. Chu Zhi Lu received the loudest ovation of all.

After class, many classmates asked for her contact information, so she felt obliged to share it. To avoid unnecessary hassle, she quietly made her WeChat Moments visible to everyone.

This proved to be an efficient move, saving her a great deal of trouble and significantly increasing the number of likes on her posts.

Zhao Xunyu quickly noticed the change in her WeChat Moments visibility settings and sent her a screenshot: It’s a national holiday! Chu Zhi Lu’s long-imprisoned boyfriend has finally seen the light of day!

Chu Zhi Lu: ... Do you live on WeChat Moments??

Zhao Xunyu: Your overwhelming affection guides me. [Shy]

Chu Zhi Lu smiled but didn’t reply.

During the first two days of school, Chu Zhi Lu hadn’t video-called or voice-chatted with Zhao Xunyu. They only exchanged text messages. Zhao Xunyu was deeply resentful, asking if he was too shameful to be seen. Of course he wasn’t, but she couldn’t bring herself to talk to him in front of her dorm mates.

She had noticed that her voice softened considerably when she spoke to Zhao Xunyu. The thought of her less familiar dorm mates hearing her like that embarrassed her.

When she told him it wasn’t convenient, he was completely baffled. What could possibly be inconvenient? They had been talking just fine the night before she left for school!

That evening, Zhao Xunyu relentlessly video-called Chu Zhi Lu. She hung up several times and texted him that it wasn’t convenient in the dorm. Undeterred, Zhao Xunyu insisted that she go back to her bed and put on headphones—he wouldn’t peek into her dorm room. He continued calling persistently until Chu Zhi Lu sighed and finally answered.

As soon as the video connected, Zhao Xunyu’s face filled the screen. His brow was furrowed, and his lips were downturned. He looked utterly miserable.

He tilted the camera upward, tilted his head slightly, and glared into the lens without saying a word.

Chu Zhi Lu sat on her bed. Her voice was soft. “If you’re not going to talk, I’m hanging up,” she said.

Below her, Song Shu, who was applying a face mask, glanced up.

Zhao Xunyu slammed his chin onto the bed and propped his phone up to face him. He stared straight into the camera, his nostrils flaring. “Didn’t we agree to a video call every night? Look how many times you rejected me! Doesn’t your conscience hurt?”

Chu Zhi Lu wanted to coax him, but after glancing at Song Shu, she swallowed her words. “Mm-hmm.”

“Huh? You’re just ‘hmm’-ing me? It’s only been two days since school started. Can’t you even pretend to care anymore? You don’t want to see me; you don’t want to hear my voice!”

“That’s not true.”

“Then why are you ‘hmm’-ing me? Explain yourself!”

Chu Zhi Lu sighed and started typing on her keyboard. But Zhao Xunyu heard her sigh first. He shook his head. “Are you already annoyed with me after just two days? Are you too tired to even explain yourself?”

Chu Zhi Lu’s lips twitched. She ended the video call, cutting off his rant.

Deeply hurt, Zhao Xunyu pressed his face against the bed and wailed. He didn’t call back. His hand loosened, and his phone clattered onto the bed. “I can’t believe this! Is this how she treats me? Does she think I won’t be upset? I’m really angry now.”

The other three dorm mates exchanged glances, thinking, ‘Is this the gentle, considerate, stunningly beautiful, genius-level girlfriend who’s madly in love with you?’

Apart from the ‘genius-level’ part, they could only see her beauty from her WeChat posts. But, judging by his current state, even that might be Photoshopped.

Fake.

Zhao Xunyu was too preoccupied with his heartbreak to notice their thoughts. His chest felt like it was about to explode; he was waiting for Chu Zhi Lu to comfort him.

Ding!

A WeChat notification. He snatched up his phone, his lips curling into a pout. Hmph! At least she knows to text me.

Chu Zhi Lu: I wasn’t bothered, and I didn’t feel tired. It’s just inconvenient in the dorm. I’m not close with my dorm mates, and I’m not comfortable talking to my boyfriend in front of them.

Zhao Xunyu: Hmph. ←_← Don’t they chat with others? ! I’m your legitimate boyfriend; what’s there to be embarrassed about?

Chu Zhi Lu: I’m shy.

Zhao Xunyu tried to see things from her perspective, but it was difficult. Would girls really mind if their dorm mate talked to her boyfriend?

He casually asked his dorm mates about it and then consulted his ‘relationship assistant’—the internet.

His dorm mates exchanged knowing glances, thinking it was a clumsy but somewhat plausible excuse from his girlfriend. They agreed that she might genuinely fear her dorm mates’ disapproval but that things would improve with time.

Online research revealed that some girls complained about dorm mates who frequently talked to their boyfriends. They accused the dorm mates of being overly dramatic, attention-seeking, and disruptive to others’ rest.

Fine then.

Zhao Xunyu: Waaah! Then answer my video calls! You can type; no need to speak.

Okay.

Zhao Xunyu genuinely missed her. Texting couldn’t convey the same emotions as seeing her face, especially after all the intimate nights they had shared. Her sudden refusal to answer video calls left him feeling hurt and suspicious.

Zhao Xunyu was a chatterbox. Just looking at her face could keep him talking for hours. Fortunately, his dorm mates weren’t ambitious or fastidious; they were still gaming and chatting past 2 a.m., so Zhao Xunyu felt no pressure to be quiet.

He started by gossiping about classmates, then moved on to complaining about the unappetizing food the leaders ate in a news report. Chu Zhi Lu’s dorm had lights out at 11 p.m., so she drew her curtains, turned on her bedside lamp, and listened to him talk. Occasionally, she’d shake her head, nod, smile, or type a response.

By midnight, Zhao Xunyu wasn’t receiving any voice interaction and lacked motivation. He started reading news articles to her that didn’t require a response.

After reading several lengthy passages, his throat grew dry. He got out of bed and chugged half a bottle of water. Then he asked Chu Zhi Lu, “Baby, cough twice for me. I can’t keep reading without hearing from you.”

Yang Xiuzhu gave him a strange look.

Chu Zhi Lu rubbed her throat and coughed softly twice.

Zhao Xunyu absorbed the energy, scrambled back into bed, and resumed reading the news.

At 1 a.m., Chu Zhi Lu sat with her legs together, her chin resting on her knees. She held her phone up to the camera and looked adorably well-behaved.

Zhao Xunyu asked, “Are you sleepy?”

Chu Zhi Lu typed back, “Just a little.”

“Then lie down. I’ll sing you to sleep.”

Chu Zhi Lu obediently complied. Zhao Xunyu sang whatever song came to mind, never finishing any and jumping randomly between tunes. Regardless of genre, he sang softly and gently.

About ten minutes later, all movement from Chu Zhi Lu’s side ceased..

Zhao Xunyu sang for half an hour, then switched to audio-only mode, muted his microphone, and kept the connection open without hanging up.

Yang Xiuzhu, who was scrolling through NBA highlights, noticed when Zhao Xunyu took off his headphones and fell silent. He sighed, “Dude, you’re living the soft life that most guys can only dream of.”

Duan Lang, basking in the attention of his fangirls, chimed in, “You’d be better off becoming a gaming streamer. With your singing voice, you’d definitely make a killing. Why bother with the hassle of a relationship?”

Oblivious to their remarks, Zhao Xunyu sprang out of bed to use the bathroom, feeling refreshed. “You single dogs wouldn’t understand. You’ll all be singing a different tune eventually.”

“You’ve got it wrong. I’ve been in relationships before, just not like yours.”

“My girlfriend and I are head over heels for each other.”

“…” With his lightning-fast speaking pace and pauses no longer than three seconds, his girlfriend could barely squeeze in two words at a time. Was that what he called being ‘head over heels’?

And he asked his girlfriend to cough twice as a response. Did he think they didn’t hear him?

‘This guy’s practically licking an iceberg. And he’s still putting on this act.’