708: Chapter 697: Let’s Sleep Together Tonight 708: Chapter 697: Let’s Sleep Together Tonight It was a warm and cozy dinner, and being with them, Ning Fan felt very at ease.
After chatting with Lan Kexin and her mother for a while in the evening, Ning Fan had to leave because of the time.
“Why don’t you stay over tonight?”
Lan Kexin’s mother suddenly suggested, her eyes shining, as her gaze began to shift ambiguously between Ning Fan and Lan Kexin.
Her look increasingly resembled that of sizing up a son-in-law, and that enthusiasm made Ning Fan feel somewhat overwhelmed, given that his relationship with Lan Kexin had not reached that stage.
“Why not stay for the night?”
Blushing, Lan Kexin echoed her mother’s suggestion, but as soon as the words left her mouth, she regretted them.
If Ning Fan were to stay, would they have to sleep together tonight?
The thought of sharing a bed with Ning Fan made Lan Kexin’s face redden uncontrollably, and then she hastily added, “Mom, we two will sleep in separate rooms tonight, Ning Fan can sleep in mine.”
Before Ning Fan could voice his opinion, Lan Kexin’s mother shook her head and said, “You’re all grown up; why squeeze in with me?
I clean your room every day.
You young couple don’t mind me!”
Lan Kexin’s mother was very keen on bringing her daughter and Ning Fan together, and she also liked Ning Fan very much, which was why she had the idea of having Ning Fan stay over that night.
Ning Fan didn’t speak, but looked at Lan Kexin, wanting to hear what she would say next.
And what could Lan Kexin say?
She wanted to avoid Ning Fan’s gaze, her eyes shyly darting as she said to Ning Fan, “What do you think, Ning Fan?”
Although she really wanted Ning Fan to stay, it also depended on what Ning Fan thought.
Now that the question was thrown to Ning Fan, he thought carefully and eventually nodded.
Seeing Ning Fan nod and agree, Kexin’s heart leaped like a little deer, and her heartbeat sped up with a thud.
Lan Kexin’s mother also smiled happily, then pushed open Lan Kexin’s room and tidied it up a bit.
Even though Lan Kexin had moved out after starting work, her mother always kept Lan Kexin’s room clean and tidy.
It was very simplistic and was the place where Lan Kexin had grown up.
The room wasn’t very big, and with three people standing in it, it already seemed a bit cramped.
It simply contained a wardrobe, a desk, and a bed.
On the desk was a photo from Lan Kexin’s student days that had yellowed slightly, but it was still clear enough to see—apparently it was her graduation photo.
“Mom, you should go to bed now!”
Lan Kexin pushed her mother out without further ado, feeling shy enough with just Ning Fan there, let alone her mother’s suggestive looks.
If there had been a hole, she truly would have wanted to crawl into it.
Her mother covered her mouth with a laugh, amused by her daughter’s shy antics.
Once she left, Lan Kexin closed the door, her face still flushed, and standing facing the door, she did not dare to turn around and look at Ning Fan.
Seeing Lan Kexin with her back to him all this time, Ning Fan laughed, and upon hearing his laughter, Lan Kexin turned around and said to Ning Fan with embarrassment, “Sorry, Ning Fan!”
“Why are you apologizing to me?”
Ning Fan looked at Lan Kexin with a look of amused frustration, as there was clearly no need for Lan Kexin to apologize to him.
The apology was somewhat redundant.
“No, I mean…
You must feel uncomfortable, right…?”
“What are you talking about, uncomfortable?”
Lan Kexin said, fidgeting with her hands, while Ning Fan just smiled and watched her.
“You have to go back tonight, right?
I really don’t know what I was thinking, just going along with what my mom was saying.”
Perhaps she felt she shouldn’t have asked Ning Fan to stay, after all, they were just colleagues, and even though she was attracted to him, sharing a room and a bed later on would probably make him uncomfortable, or so Lan Kexin thought.
Ning Fan seemed to have caught on to Lan Kexin’s thoughts, and with a twinkle in his eye, he casually said while sitting on the bed, “You know, it’s not like I’m the one who would be taking advantage of the situation, right?
You look as if I’m at a loss here.”
Indeed, no matter how one looked at it, it should have been Lan Kexin, as a woman, who was at a disadvantage.
For Ning Fan, it was not a nuisance at all.
Kexin was, perhaps, overthinking it.
Lan Kexin took a deep breath, her cheeks flushed, her lips bright and tender, and she looked somewhat entranced at Ning Fan, who sat on the bed.
“Should I sleep on the floor tonight?”
Seeing Lan Kexin’s embarrassed state, Ning Fan suggested this.
“No, no, no, I should be the one to sleep on the floor.
You are the guest!”
Lan Kexin immediately waved her hand.
“How could I let a girl sleep on the floor?”
After hearing Ning Fan’s words, Lan Kexin really couldn’t find any argument against it.
But Ning Fan had helped her so much today that she felt really bad at the thought of him sleeping on the floor.
The room suddenly fell into silence; Lan Kexin buried her head in thought, trying to come up with a solution that could please both parties.
After pondering for a while and seemingly unable to come up with any other plan, Lan Kexin finally mustered up the courage, despite her embarrassment, to say to Ning Fan, “How about we share the bed tonight?”
In the end, it had to be this way.
Ning Fan didn’t have a reason to refuse, and it seemed he couldn’t refuse either; Kexin’s tone at the end was quite decisive.
Having decided, Ning Fan and Lan Kexin simply took off their coats and footwear and sat on the edge of the bed together.
Even though there was a considerable amount of noise outside, with various sounds continuously penetrating the room, it didn’t disturb the two of them at the moment.
“You sleep on the inside,” Ning Fan offered, breaking the silence as Lan Kexin sat quietly by his side.
Lan Kexin nodded and softly hummed an acknowledgment.
Once the light was out, the room again plunged into darkness, leaving only the sound of their breathing.
The bed was not very large, and to avoid falling off, Ning Fan had to stay close to Lan Kexin, allowing them to feel each other’s bodies.
In the darkness, Lan Kexin lay stiffly on the bed, her eyes wide open, staring at the ceiling without knowing what she was thinking.
However, gradually, she began to feel at ease, a sense of comfort stemming from Ning Fan’s consideration.
She turned her head, looking at Ning Fan, who might have been asleep or awake, and she became lost in thought.
“Ning Fan, thank you…”
Suddenly, Lan Kexin’s voice quietly emerged.
“Go to sleep.”
A warm sensation touched her head; it was Ning Fan’s hand rubbing Lan Kexin’s hair.
The room calmed down, but whether the calmness extended to their hearts was another matter.