When Zhang Danlin heard that, a little hint of disappointment flashed across her face, but it only stayed there for a moment before she quickly tucked it away.

What upset her was that she hadn't expected Hao Jian to actually rush her to leave. It made her feel like she had no charm at all, no attraction to him whatsoever. You had to know, there were so many guys at school who were dying to get close to her. Yet none of that worked on Hao Jian; just now, she hadn't seen the slightest sign of wanting her to stay in his eyes.

But then, she thought about how it really was quite late today, and they'd played pretty crazy during the day, she really was tired. Besides, a man and a woman alone together in a room in the middle of the night like this did seem a bit inappropriate, so she could understand Hao Jian too.

She blinked and said, "It's actually nothing special, it's just that there's no one at home, I was bored being alone, so I wanted to come talk to you."

"Oh!" Hao Jian grunted. Seeing Zhang Danlin like this, he knew what her family situation was like, and for a moment he actually softened, thinking maybe he should just let her stay for a while.

But as soon as that thought popped into his head, he remembered there was still Liang Xiaohan in the other room—and she was the Liang Xiaohan who had rushed back into the bedroom halfway through her shower. Thinking of that scene just now, she was definitely going to come settle accounts with him. If he let Zhang Danlin stay any longer, who knew when that woman Liang Xiaohan would explode; he'd definitely have a ton of trouble to deal with afterward.

After all, it was late at night, and a female classmate had suddenly showed up, a man and a woman alone together in a room "just to chat"—anyone in that situation would start overthinking it, and Liang Xiaohan was already the type of girl who overthought things.

So Hao Jian could only force an awkward look onto his face and say, "Chat, huh? We can do that on the phone too, there's no need for you to make a special trip over here."

Zhang Danlin apparently hadn't expected Hao Jian to say that, so she explained, "It was just on the way. I dropped He Qiqi off at home and I have to pass by here to get back to my place. I saw your lights were still on, so I figured I'd come up and talk to you for a bit."

"Do you really hate me that much? Why are you so unwilling to spend time with me?" Zhang Danlin suddenly widened her eyes at Hao Jian and asked.

Hearing that, Hao Jian hurriedly waved his hands. "No, no, no, that's absolutely not what I'm thinking. It's just that it's so late now, and you, a girl, came over to my place—people will talk, you know? I don't care, but if others found out, it wouldn't be good for you."

For the moment Hao Jian couldn't think of any other excuse, then this suddenly occurred to him, so he went with it.

"Pfft!" When Zhang Danlin heard that, she couldn't help but laugh out loud. "I was wondering what it was, so that's all? What era do you think we're living in, you still care about that? Besides, even if people saw us and knew, you're not scared and I'm not scared either!"

Hao Jian's face was full of embarrassment; he hadn't expected Zhang Danlin to say that. Zhang Danlin, on the other hand, just smiled at him.

She'd originally thought Hao Jian disliked her, that's why he wanted her gone the moment she showed up. But after hearing his explanation, she suddenly understood. No wonder he kept saying he wanted to sleep and telling her to leave—turns out he'd been thinking of her all along. Her heart gave a little leap of joy.

However, just then, a sudden "thump thump thump" came from inside the apartment. The sound was made by Liang Xiaohan, who was still hiding in the bedroom and hadn't come out.

Hiding in the bedroom, with its not‑so‑great soundproofing, she could basically hear the conversation in the living room, so she heard everything Hao Jian was saying to Zhang Danlin. That immediately stoked her anger, and she couldn't help herself from stomping her feet a few times, which caused the noise.

Then she thought back to what Hao Jian had done just now, actually barging in while she was in the shower and flinging the door open. There was no way she believed that of all times for the lock to break, it just happened to be now. She refused to believe any of Hao Jian's bullshit. The moment she thought of that scene, her face flushed all over again.

She was, after all, still a proper virgin girl who'd never been in a situation like that, and then she'd actually been seen completely naked by Hao Jian. She was definitely going to make him pay for that, and pay dearly.

Yes! She was going to tear Hao Jian to pieces.

But that sound carried straight into the living room, and when Hao Jian heard it, a cold sweat instantly broke out across his forehead. He figured Liang Xiaohan must be losing it in there again, probably about to blow her top. He had to get Zhang Danlin out of here quickly, otherwise who knew what kind of fallout there'd be.

When Zhang Danlin heard it, though, her brows knitted slightly as she asked, "Um… is there someone else in this apartment?"

Hao Jian's eyes darted toward Liang Xiaohan's room, then he hastily explained, "No, no, no, it's usually just me here. The other room is rented out, but the person almost never stays over. That sound just now was probably the neighbors upstairs—there've been rats running around up there again."

Once Zhang Danlin heard that, a trace of fear immediately appeared on her face.

Hao Jian knew girls were generally pretty scared of animals like rats, so he quickly added, "Don't worry, the rats are only upstairs. They've been really crazy lately, so there are always sounds like that up there. They're probably trying to catch them. My place doesn't have any."

After hearing that, the fear on Zhang Danlin's face eased quite a bit.

At this point, Hao Jian hurriedly stood up and said, "It's actually getting pretty late. I should walk you downstairs so you can grab a taxi home. If you wait any longer, it'll be hard to catch a cab, and it's not safe being out too late anyway. So you should head back early—whatever it is, we can talk about it tomorrow."

Zhang Danlin had originally wanted to say more. She had a belly full of words she wanted to tell Hao Jian, and on the way over she'd replayed them in her head hundreds and thousands of times. But after hearing what Hao Jian just said, she lifted her head slightly and glanced at the clock hanging on the wall. It really was a bit late, so it wouldn't be good to keep staying here.

"Mm." She nodded, stood up, then said, "Can I borrow your bathroom?"

Hao Jian pointed in the direction of the bathroom and said, "Go ahead."

Zhang Danlin nodded, then walked toward the bathroom and closed the door. Hao Jian had been sitting quietly on the sofa, thinking that he could finally see her off and breathe a sigh of relief.

However, the moment he heard the door close, his brows instantly tightened.

"Shit!" He practically jumped up in shock.

Just now Liang Xiaohan had been in there taking a shower, and she was still showering when Zhang Danlin arrived. He'd hurriedly called Liang Xiaohan out, and he'd even accidentally seen that scene. Liang Xiaohan had rushed out in a panic; when she heard Zhang Danlin was coming, she just wrapped a bath towel around herself and ran out. She'd been so nervous that the towel had even fallen off once halfway.

So when she came out she was wrapped in a bath towel, which meant her clothes, underwear and everything must still be left in the bathroom. And she had only just come out a moment ago, so there definitely would still be a certain smell in there.

As strange as it sounds, the smell left in the bathroom after a guy showers and after a girl showers is definitely different. That was something Hao Jian had learned from long-term experience sharing a bathroom with Liang Xiaohan. Every time she finished showering and he went in afterward, he could smell a faint fragrance.

So after Zhang Danlin goes in, with a woman's intuition, will she guess that a girl was just in there taking a shower? Did Liang Xiaohan throw her clothes into the washing machine, or just leave them outside? If they were left outside, wouldn't Zhang Danlin see them at a glance?

And then think about what he had just told Zhang Danlin: that he lived here alone, and that he'd previously said the person living with him was a guy.

So if Zhang Danlin goes in and sees all that, wouldn't that mean he's been lying, and she'll find out everything? And what's worse is that Liang Xiaohan and Zhang Danlin had actually met today, and had a pretty deep impression of each other.

The clothes Liang Xiaohan was wearing, Zhang Danlin would definitely recognize. One look and she'd know they were Liang Xiaohan's. Wouldn't that make her guess that he and Liang Xiaohan are living together? Then… if that happens, wouldn't everything be exposed? Then…

He suddenly felt like his head was about to explode. He thought, why the hell was I so careless? Why did I just let her go to the bathroom when she asked? If I'd stopped her, none of this would be happening. This is totally a momentary slip leading to a lifetime of regret—lifting a rock only to smash my own foot.

He immediately furrowed his brows and covered his face with his hands, hoping things would somehow go the other way, that Zhang Danlin wouldn't see any of that stuff. Otherwise, he'd be dead meat.

While he was thinking all this, the door suddenly opened.

Zhang Danlin walked out. He stared at her, puzzled, watching to see if there was anything unusual on her face, then carefully observing her.

At this moment Zhang Danlin looked completely calm, as if nothing had happened.

Hao Jian's heart clenched, but at the same time he felt a little relieved.

No trace of surprise or change on her face—did that mean she hadn't seen anything and hadn't figured it out yet? That's what Hao Jian was thinking.

Zhang Danlin smiled at him, then pointed at the door and said, "Well… I'll be heading home then."

Hao Jian nodded. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

"You're not going to walk me downstairs?" Zhang Danlin asked with a smile.

Hao Jian froze, then hurriedly said, "Of course, of course!"

Zhang Danlin smiled—a very strange kind of smile, yet it looked completely natural.

The moment Hao Jian saw it, his heart tightened again. At some point his forehead had broken out in nervous sweat, and he quickly wiped it with his hand.

By this time Zhang Danlin was already walking toward the door, so he immediately rushed ahead, opened the door for her, and then walked her downstairs.