Chapter 132: Where Are the Underwear?

The person was found, but the one following her was not Hu Gaoyang.

Lu Qingyue only remembered that when she ran halfway and looked back, she saw a short, chubby man with a lecherous face chasing her with ill intentions.

She had intended to run toward a crowded place, but the man caught up with her in just a few strides, grabbed her hand, and tried to drag her into the thicket.

Lu Qingyue struggled desperately. After the rain, the mud was slippery, and the man accidentally slipped, allowing her to escape.

The exit of the bushes was blocked by his bulky body, so she had no choice but to run deeper into the forest.

Her petite figure allowed her to nimbly pass through the intertwined branches, eventually hiding behind the bushes under the cover of night. Summoning her courage, she tried to call Cheng Xingye, but to her dismay, her phone was dead at such a critical moment.

The man got up, seemingly unwilling to give up, and searched inward. But his heavy frame and the dense, untrimmed branches obstructed his path, and he gave up in frustration.

Lu Qingyue held her breath, hiding for an unknown length of time until she heard Cheng Xingye’s hoarse voice quietly calling her nickname. Startled yet hopeful, she lifted her head and looked toward the darkness.

...

The apartment was lit only by a wall lamp, the floor-to-ceiling window reflecting the bright night scene outside.

When the door opened, Hoshino came forward, curious about the unexpected visitor suddenly entering the home.

Cheng Xingye ignored his foolish dog, carrying the little girl who had dozed off in the car into the room and gently placed her on the sofa.

The slight sensation of weightlessness on being set down startled Lu Qingyue awake. She immediately opened her eyes, alert and trembling, instinctively reaching out to grasp his waist to keep him from leaving.

This reaction was born of deep insecurity. Cheng Xingye instantly stopped moving, bending down obediently to press his lips softly against her forehead.

“We’re home now.”

His warm lips dispelled the chill around them.

Lu Qingyue blinked in confusion, realizing she was still in his arms. Her racing heart gradually calmed.

Cheng Xingye stroked her head and asked softly,

“Want to take a shower?”

Her clothes were soaked through; even if she didn’t want to shower, she’d have to change or risk catching a cold.

Following his suggestion, she slowly sat up.

Wrapped in Cheng Xingye’s suit jacket, the thin fabric underneath clung uncomfortably to her skin, damp and sticky.

She nodded, her round eyes shimmering with a thin layer of moisture, looking gentle and innocent.

“Where should I shower?”

Cheng Xingye stared into her bright eyes for a few seconds, then reached out to support her arm and whispered,

“Come to my room.”

His bathroom had a bathtub; he guessed she might want to soak.

Lu Qingyue made a soft sound of acknowledgment and was about to get up when a question suddenly occurred to her.

“What about... underwear?”

Underwear...

He hadn’t expected that question.

Such intimate clothing naturally carried a sense of closeness and ambiguity.

Cheng Xingye cleared his throat twice, masking a faint discomfort, and gently pushed her toward the bathroom,

“You wash first, I’ll go buy some.”

There was a convenience store downstairs that sold disposable underwear.

Once Lu Qingyue entered the bathroom, he grabbed his phone and hurried downstairs.

The convenience store was open 24 hours. The cashier, seeing a tall, handsome young man enter, immediately brushed off her sleepiness and greeted him with a bright smile.

He walked straight up to her without noticing her expression, his gaze a little uneasy and evasive.

“Do you have disposable underwear?”

Cashier: “Yes, for men or women? What size?”

Cheng Xingye paused. Did disposable underwear even have size categories?

Naturally, he had no idea what size Lu Qingyue wore.

Asking that question could easily get him punched by the girl.

But having held her just moments ago, he hesitated, uncertain.

“Women’s... probably small size.”

That little brat was small all over. Though soft and plump in his arms, her frame was tiny, so a small size should suffice.

The cashier seemed to imagine some gossip about a girlfriend staying over without bringing underwear, and her gaze toward him changed subtly.

She bent down, pulled a pack from the lower shelf, handed it to him discreetly, and routinely asked,

“Anything else?”

Her professional smile masked a suggestive glance pointing at the front shelf where condoms were displayed.

At first, Cheng Xingye hadn’t thought that far and instinctively was about to say no.

But once he realized the hint, the words “no thanks” caught in his throat.

He glanced at the colorful condom packages, cleared his throat awkwardly, and avoided eye contact.

In the end, he casually grabbed two boxes and placed them on the counter.

The cashier, used to men buying condoms but pretending not to care, scanned the items efficiently and handed him the bag.

Cheng Xingye had already gathered his embarrassment when he took the bag—only to find it transparent, the contents plainly visible.

He was speechless.

The ordinary little bag suddenly felt like it was burning hot.

He swore he hadn’t thought about this side of things when he went downstairs. But standing at the counter, facing the cashier’s polite reminder, his hands seemed to act on their own, picking up the items.

Carrying the bag, he was caught in a loop of self-reproach and self-justification.

The girl was only eighteen. Was it too beastly of him to think of buying these things already?

Then again, buying them was just being prepared, not necessarily a sign anything would happen. It was always wise to be cautious.

After what Lu Qingyue had gone through today, he couldn’t feel at ease letting her return to her dorm alone. She’d inevitably stay at his place for a few days.

That little rascal was both mischievous and flirtatious, always eyeing his legs.

If she ever got a sudden idea, he couldn’t exactly be unprepared.

Thinking this way, his guilt eased considerably.

By the time he composed himself, he was already standing at his door, bag in hand.