Lu Ran was at a loss over Jiang Nannan's reaction.
He held her and gently stroked her back.
"What's wrong?"
Jiang Nannan didn't smell anything strange. Only then did her heart settle, and she let out a long breath, warming Lu Ran's chest.
She buried her face in his warm chest.
Her voice came out muffled, tinged with a barely perceptible grievance and lingering fear.
"Wang Dong... what did she come here for just now...?"
Lu Ran said:
"She couldn't calm down enough to cultivate on her own, so she came over to sit with me."
"Couldn't calm down?"
Jiang Nannan raised her head and looked at Lu Ran with her glistening eyes.
"Then why didn't she go to Bei Bei? He's a guy too, and he'd be even better company than you."
"I'm her roommate."
Roommate...
Her heart gave a little lurch. Roommate...
Lu Ran suddenly felt Jiang Nannan tighten her arms around him.
She raised her head and looked at him.
Her eyes, usually full of smiles, were now shimmering with tears, reflecting his face.
"Have I done something wrong...?"
Jiang Nannan's voice was soft, trembling with faint self-reproach.
"I... I just..."
"Just..."
Too embarrassed to say it, she buried her pretty face in Lu Ran's chest again and clung tightly to him,
afraid of losing him.
For some reason, when she saw Wang Dong's manner, her evasive gaze, those eyes prettier than a girl's, and her fair skin...
she'd had a terrible premonition.
It all felt... strangely familiar.
Lu Ran comforted her.
"Don't overthink it."
"Want some tea? I just made some."
"Mm..."
Jiang Nannan answered softly.
She rubbed her pretty face against Lu Ran's chest, committing his scent to memory.
Lu Ran raised his arm and lifted her with ease. Jiang Nannan obediently wrapped her legs