I rejected your confession, but you took my best friend home?

Chapter 18 Why... do we have to be different?

Zhou Heng and Yin Mengran went home together. As they entered the house, Yin Mengran surprisingly felt a sense of warmth and belonging.

I've only been here for two days, but it feels like I've been here much longer; I feel like I've already made this place my home...

Perhaps it was Zhou Heng's way of treating her that reminded her of how she felt back at home.

Zhou Heng first went to make dinner. Normally, the school provides dinner in the evening.

But none of them ate, and Zhou Heng always cooked for himself after returning home in the evening.

Yin Mengran felt very lucky to have such delicious food, because she really liked Zhou Heng's cooking, which suited her taste perfectly.

While Zhou Heng was cooking, Yin Mengran was helping with housework. Even though the house was already quite tidy, she would still find things to do for herself.

The two ate together, and there was some silence at the table.

Yin Mengran tried to start a conversation with Zhou Heng, but Zhou Heng was the type who ate very quickly and quietly, never speaking a word.

She stopped bothering Zhou Heng and ate quickly, finishing dinner with him. Afterward, she took the initiative to clear the table and wash the dishes.

Zhou Heng took off his coat and walked to the bathroom door. Suddenly remembering something, he asked Yin Mengran in the kitchen:

"Do you want to take a shower?"

"Take...a bath?"

Yin Mengran peeked out, a faint blush rising on her cheeks. She saw Zhou Heng standing at the bathroom door, wearing only a short-sleeved shirt.

"Ah... I don't need it anymore, I'll wash it outside..."

She wasn't comfortable showering at Zhou Heng's house, so she showered outside yesterday.

She didn't dare to do it when Zhou Heng wasn't home, let alone when he was home...

"Okay, you can use the bathroom one, it's fine, it has a lock."

Zhou Heng gave a reminder and then went into the bathroom.

"Ah good."

Yin Mengran answered softly, her delicate earlobes turning bright red.

After she finished tidying up, she came out, sat down at the table, took out her study materials, and prepared to start studying.

Soon after, she heard the sound of running water coming from the bathroom.

The thought of Zhou Heng taking a shower at this moment involuntarily brought his physique to her mind...

What would it be like to take a shower with that inverted triangle-shaped body...?

For a moment, hazy images flickered in her mind...

"wrong..."

Yin Mengran shook her head, immediately banishing her own imagination, thinking to herself how could she possibly think about such things...

Although she forced herself to concentrate, the sound of water stopped when she came to her senses...

She immediately pretended to be studying diligently, staring intently at the book, pen in hand, reading very seriously.

A moment later, Zhou Heng came out of the bathroom, wearing pajamas, his hair wet, and covered with a towel.

Because he hadn't dried himself completely, his pajamas clung to his stomach, making his well-defined abs particularly noticeable.

Despite Yin Mengran's best efforts to concentrate... her gaze kept drifting towards Zhou Heng...

"Goo-"

"!!"

Yin Mengran's eyes widened suddenly, in disbelief.

What am I doing? Was I just swallowing? Really? No way!

Am I really this kind of person?

From childhood until now, she has never been in a relationship, let alone had feelings for any boy.

She felt she was the kind of bookworm who only knew how to study, completely different from those who dared to pursue love during their adolescence.

But now, why is my mind starting to wander?

Why can't you focus on your studies?

Zhou Heng didn't notice anything unusual about Yin Mengran. He glanced at her and then went to dry his hair.

Yin Mengran slapped her cheeks with both hands to calm herself down.

I forced myself to immerse myself in the ocean of knowledge, becoming completely absorbed.

Cast aside distractions and forget your emotions and desires!

"Buzz-"

Just then, she heard Zhou Heng's phone ring on the table.

She subconsciously glanced in the direction of the sound and saw a new message notification on Zhou Heng's screen...

"Tongtong?!"

Yin Mengran felt an uncontrollable tremor in her heart when she saw the message, which was saved as Tong Yining's name!

"Why did she message Zhou Heng? Wasn't she... annoyed with Zhou Heng?"

A strong sense of curiosity welled up inside Yin Mengran. She had only seen who sent the message, but not its content.

The thought that it was a message from Tong Yining made her especially curious about its contents.

She reached out, wanting to touch Zhou Heng's phone, just to glance at it...

But her hand suddenly froze in mid-air; she realized that this wasn't right...

This seems like invading someone's privacy.

What if the message contains something inappropriate for children?

I only saw screenshots from the old phone, up to before my senior year of high school.

She didn't know if they had chatted on Zhou Heng's new phone, or what they had talked about...

After much hesitation, Yin Mengran withdrew her hand, realizing she couldn't do such a thing.

Although she really wanted to know what Tong Yining had sent to Zhou Heng...

After Zhou Heng returned, he took out his workbook and prepared to start studying.

Yin Mengran spoke somewhat awkwardly, saying softly, "Uh... um... your phone rang just now."

"Hmm? Is that so?"

Zhou Heng picked up his phone, opened it, and glanced at it.

Upon seeing the message notification, his brow furrowed slightly.

I only glanced at it before turning off my phone and didn't reply.

Yin Mengran kept observing Zhou Heng's expression.

This reaction only fueled Yin Mengran's curiosity. What message would Tong Yining send to Zhou Heng?

Could it be that Tong Yining is confessing her feelings to Zhou Heng instead? That seems unlikely...

I've already seen the chat history on my phone, and I know about Tong Yining's attitude at school today. It's obvious she doesn't want to be with Zhou Heng...

At this moment, in Tong Yining's home, she was lying in bed.

Holding her phone, she saw a message she had just sent to Zhou Heng.

"【What are you doing?】"

It was only those three short words, but she had hesitated for a long time before sending them.

In the past, Zhou Heng would have replied quickly, and even if he didn't reply immediately, he would have explained the reason later.

But now, half an hour has passed, and Zhou Heng still hasn't replied.

She really wished there was a read receipt feature so she could know whether Zhou Heng had seen the message.

Is it that you haven't seen it, or that you saw it but didn't reply...?

Tong Yining stretched out her hand and slowly typed out a few words: "Why are you ignoring me?"

I want to click send, but my finger won't move; it's like I'm having an internal struggle.

A moment later, she deleted those words.

Turn off your phone, lie flat on the bed, and cover your eyes with your arm.

"Seriously... it would be so much better if things were the same as before, why... did it have to be different?"