Chen Yuan Felt Like a Bit of a Creep

Chen Yuan stuffed the bag onto the overhead luggage rack. He had barely sat down when Zhang Xiu'e squeezed past him and took the window seat beside him.

The train slowly started moving, clattering away from the platform.

The scenery outside kept sliding backward. Chen Yuan gazed out the window, a little lost in thought.

Zhang Xiu'e suddenly reached over and patted his leg.

"Yuan, we've still got ten hours before we reach Deep City. Aren't you tired of sitting there all tense?"

Chen Yuan opened his mouth, unsure what to say.

Zhang Xiu'e smiled, leaned against him, and closed her eyes.

"I'm going to sleep for a bit. Keep an eye on the luggage."

"Okay, Sis Xiu'e."

Zhang Xiu'e rested against Chen Yuan's shoulder, her hair brushing his neck. A faint fragrance lingered beneath his nose, making him feel much more awake.

Before long, Zhang Xiu'e was fast asleep.

Her warm breath brushed the side of his neck, and her soft, full curves settled against his arm. Chen Yuan instinctively breathed more quietly, feeling waves of heat rise in his chest.

He stole a quick glance, then hurriedly turned back to the window, not daring to look again.

But barely a minute passed before Chen Yuan couldn't resist turning his eyes back.

Sis Xiu'e's T-shirt neckline had fallen loose, revealing a patch of smooth skin that gleamed faintly under the lights.

The fabric stretched lightly across her chest, rising and falling with her breathing and tracing enticing curves.

Chen Yuan's Adam's apple bobbed involuntarily, and he hurriedly looked away again.

I'm such a creep!

She had kindly offered to take him to Deep City and was only leaning against him for a nap, yet here he was, staring at her chest.

But those curves were right in front of him, no more than twenty centimeters away. All he had to do was lower his head a little, and his gaze would drift toward them against his will.

Chen Yuan took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

Out of sight, out of mind!

But the moment he closed his eyes, what he had just seen became even clearer.

The smooth skin, the faint sheen of sweat, the gentle curves... none of it would leave his mind. It was even more vivid than seeing it with his own eyes.

Chen Yuan sighed.

He remembered something his grandfather had told him a while back.

That evening, the two of them had been sitting in the courtyard, enjoying the cool air. His grandfather had been waving a palm-leaf fan when he suddenly asked:

"Yuan, do you know about what goes on between men and women?"

He had paused, then said, "A little."

His grandfather smiled. "A little isn't enough. You need to understand it properly!"

Chen Yuan said nothing.

"When it comes to men and women, you have to go with what feels natural. Don't repress yourself. Let things happen as they should. The more you bottle it up, the more likely things are to go wrong."

"Wouldn't that make me a creep?"

"A creep? You don't know a damn thing! Going with what feels natural doesn't mean fooling around. It means following your heart. You know what you want. As long as you aren't hurting anyone or forcing anyone, what's creepy about that?"

"All that stuff your teachers tell you is meant to keep you in line at school. Once you're out of school, it doesn't work. You only live once. Experience what you're meant to experience, feel what you're meant to feel. Don't wait until you're seventy or eighty to look back and realize you've never tried anything."

At the time, he had felt something was off about those words, but he couldn't say exactly what.

They certainly weren't what his teachers usually told him.

His teachers said he should practice restraint and self-discipline, and be a person of noble character.

Chen Yuan opened his eyes and glanced at Zhang Xiu'e.

She was still asleep, breathing slowly and evenly. Her chest rose and fell gently, those soft curves right beside his arm, making his heart tighten.

Zhang Xiu'e suddenly shifted, nestling closer into Chen Yuan's embrace until almost her whole body rested against him.

Her arm lay lightly across his leg, soft and warm.

Chen Yuan glanced down.

Sis Xiu'e's movements had opened her T-shirt neckline a little, offering a fleeting glimpse of black lace trim, half hidden and especially alluring.

His throat felt even drier.

Chen Yuan looked away, turning his attention to the seats opposite.

A married couple sat across from them with a child. The child held a cup of instant noodles and ate with relish, slurping away. The woman was looking down at her phone, while the man stared blankly out the window.

No one's paying attention to me!

The train had been traveling for another hour or so when Zhang Xiu'e woke up.

She yawned and sat up straight.

"What time is it?"

Chen Yuan glanced outside. "A little after ten in the morning, I think."

Zhang Xiu'e rubbed her eyes, took two bread rolls from the plastic bag, and handed him one.

"Have something to eat."

Chen Yuan took it, tore open the wrapper, and took a bite.

Zhang Xiu'e slowly ate her bread too, looking out the window, her thoughts unreadable.

When she finished, she gently leaned against him again.

"I'll sleep a little longer."

Chen Yuan murmured his agreement.

Zhang Xiu'e fell asleep again.

This time, she leaned even closer, settling entirely into his embrace.

Chen Yuan sat stiffly, not daring to move. He stayed quiet and still, trying to make Sis Xiu'e as comfortable as possible.

Zhang Xiu'e drifted in and out of sleep.

Whenever she woke, she would sit up, rub her eyes, and look out the window. Sometimes she exchanged a few words with Chen Yuan, asking whether he was hungry or thirsty. Then she would lean against him and go back to sleep.

Sometimes, wanting to get more comfortable, Zhang Xiu'e burrowed right into his embrace. The instant she settled across his lap, the feel of her full curves made every nerve in Chen Yuan's body go taut.

He clenched his teeth, not daring to move a muscle.

Only once she was sound asleep did Chen Yuan dare to glance down.

Zhang Xiu'e's chest pressed lightly against his legs, her soft curves changing shape slightly as her neckline fell loose.

He could just make out more of the black lace trim, with glimpses of smooth skin beneath. She felt soft against him.

Chen Yuan swallowed and hurriedly looked away.

But before long, his eyes strayed back for another stolen glance. As though drawn by a magnet, his gaze clung to Zhang Xiu'e.

His heart hadn't settled down once during the journey.

At one point, Zhang Xiu'e woke again. When she sat up to drink some water, Chen Yuan took the opportunity to ask, "Sis Xiu'e, didn't you sleep well last night?"

Zhang Xiu'e nodded and yawned. "I had a reunion with my middle school classmates last night. We stayed out until almost dawn, and I only got a little sleep."

"Oh, that explains it!"

Zhang Xiu'e glanced at him and smiled.

"What's wrong? Am I wearing you out, leaning on you to sleep?"

Chen Yuan hurriedly shook his head. "No, not at all."

Smiling, Zhang Xiu'e leaned against him again.

"All right, then. I'll sleep a little longer."

Chen Yuan looked down at her, his thoughts a tangled mess.

Was I tired?

No.

Just uncomfortable!

It was a discomfort he couldn't put into words, in both his body and his heart.

Yet mixed into that discomfort was a little thrill he couldn't quite explain.

The train kept clattering along. He had no idea how much time had passed.

"We'll be arriving in Deep City soon. Get your luggage ready."

The attendant's voice came from the far end of the aisle.

Zhang Xiu'e woke up too.

She sat up and stretched.

The movement pulled her T-shirt tight, outlining her full, gentle curves and even smoothing out some of the wrinkles in the fabric.

"Get the luggage. It's time to get off."