After Being Bent by Reader

Xu Chuanchuan and Ange woke up the next day after a satisfying rest and squeezed into the same bathroom. While washing her face, Ange said, "It's been a long time since I've gone shopping with another person. You came just in time."

"I'll shop with you until you're satisfied," Xu Chuanchuan said, smiling.

After breakfast, Ange drove Xu Chuanchuan to The Bund and said, "This place is suitable for shopping during the day, though the pubs here get quite lively at night."

"Pubs?" Xu Chuanchuan's eyes lit up. "Have you been to any of them before?"

Shrugging, Ange said, "No, I've only passed by them before. I can't drink since I have to drive."

Murong Shi rarely ever drank alcohol as well since she was usually the one driving. Though, it wasn't beneath her to use alcohol as an excuse to satisfy her desires. When Xu Chuanchuan thought about the times when that happened, she couldn't help herself from chuckling.

There was a large poster of a concert hung by the shopping center's entrance. When Xu Chuanchuan saw the poster, she exclaimed, "There's a concert!"

"Do you want to see it?"

"I've never listened to any of her songs before," Xu Chuanchuan said, shaking her head.

"Me neither," Ange nonchalantly said. Then, she pulled Xu Chuanchuan into the shopping center while saying, "It's too hot. Let's head inside for the a/c."

Xu Chuanchuan didn't have much of a desire for shopping, so she settled for watching Ange try on clothes from the side. Whenever Ange tried on a new set of clothing, she would ask, "How does this look?"

While holding onto a cup of milk tea, Xu Chuanchuan smiled and said, "It looks good."

"What about this one?"

"It's nice."

Ange rolled her eyes after constantly receiving varying but similar answers. In the end, she chose a few sets that were to her satisfaction, paid for them, and left the shop.

"Shopping with you is boring," Ange commented, shaking her head while sighing.

"You'd look good in anything with that body of yours," Xu Chuanchuan defended herself.

"Is your mouth also always full of praise when you go shopping with her?"

"She hates troublesome matters, so she usually buys clothes without trying them on."

Ange chuckled and stopped asking.

As they passed by a jewelry shop, Xu Chuanchuan suddenly recalled that Murong Shi's birthday was coming soon. So, she said, "Take a look at this shop with me."

Ange nodded.

Murong Shi had a lot of jewelry, and she especially liked collecting various kinds of earrings. However, Xu Chuanchuan quickly found herself dazzled by all the jewelry in the shop. Eventually, she settled with a platinum necklace.

The necklace was by no means cheap. However, Xu Chuanchuan didn't even blink when she swiped her card at the cashier. Seeing this, Ange joked, "How generous of you."

Previously, Xu Chuanchuan had agreed with Murong Shi that neither of them was allowed to give each other expensive gifts. However, Xu Chuanchuan decided to make an exception after considering that this would be the first time she celebrated Murong Shi's birthday. There should be no harm in buying an expensive gift on such a special occasion.

After exiting the jewelry shop, Ange saw Xu Chuanchuan carefully stuffing the paper bag holding the necklace and its box into her shoulder bag. Then, she suddenly asked, "Is it true that...you're always thinking about your partner when you're in love?"

"No?"

"Why are you constantly sneaking glances at your phone, then?"

"..." Xu Chuanchuan blushed a little after having her lie seen through. Then, she hurriedly stuffed her phone into her bag and asked Ange, "Are you thinking of finding someone to date?"

Ange laughed. Then, she said, "No, I was just casually asking."

Neither of the two friends was willing to continue window-shopping after Xu Chuanchuan had bought Murong Shi's present. So, Ange suggested, "Let's conserve some stamina and head back for now. I'll take you out to the night market to eat something nice tonight."

Food was much more tempting than window-shopping for Xu Chuanchuan, so she quickly agreed to Ange's proposal. So, the two of them returned and rested for two hours. Only after the sun had started to set did they leave home again.

However, they dared not spend too much time outside at night. After wandering the night market for around an hour, they quickly called it a day and returned home.

Xu Chuanchuan had eaten to her satisfaction. She even kept on burping in the car. When she pulled out her phone to check for any unread messages, she surprisingly found that she had missed a video call request from Murong Shi around half an hour ago.

After returning to Ange's home, Xu Chuanchuan immediately rushed to her room and called Murong Shi.

The other party quickly answered the call.

When the video call connected, Xu Chuanchuan noticed that the background behind Murong Shi was different from before. So, she hurriedly asked, "Did you change rooms?"

"You saw through even that?" Murong Shi said, feeling a little surprised. "The hotel we stayed in before was a little far from the job site, so we switched to a closer one."

Xu Chuanchuan did not doubt Murong Shi's words as she said, "I'm sorry. I was outside just now and didn't notice your call."

Probably because she had removed her makeup, but Murong Shi appeared exhausted. Even so, she spoke in a light tone, "Where did you go at such a late hour?"

"Ange brought me to a night market. We ate plenty of delicacies."

An imperceptible change took place in Murog Shi's expression. Then, she asked, "What did you eat?"

Then, Xu Chuanchuan began listing out what she ate while counting her fingers.

Murong Shi couldn't help but laugh when she saw Xu Chuanchuan's contented face. "You've made me hungry."

Xu Chuanchuan let out a long sigh. Then, she ruefully said, "It would be great if you were here. We could've eaten those things together."

Murong Shi smiled but did not speak.

Xu Chuanchuan was lying on the bed while holding her phone. After her hand started feeling sore, she switched to another posture and asked, "How is work coming along? Is it still not over?"

Murong Shi pondered for a moment before curtly saying, "Soon."

At this time, Xu Chuanchuan noticed that Murong Shi was already in her pajamas. So, she asked, "Have you showered already?"

"Mhm."

"I haven't showered yet."

"Go shower first, then."

However, Xu Chuanchuan kicked her feet and lazily said, "I don't want to. I still want to talk to you."

In response, Murong Shi's eyes narrowed into a cunning smile as she said, "You can take your phone into the shower, and we'll chat while you're showering."

"I refuse," Xu Chuanchuan said, blushing. Then, she softly muttered, "Pervert."

Then, Murong Shi retracted her smile and dejectedly sighed, saying, "It's been a few days since I've touched you. I miss you."

Xu Chuanchuan felt her heart shuddering. When she came across Murong Shi's dark eyes, she started feeling an itch in her heart.

Sensing her body starting to heat up, Xu Chuanchuan quickly turned away. However, she quickly turned back and sent a flirting kiss to the phone, saying, "In that case, quickly come back."

"What's the point? You won't be by my side even if I return."

Xu Chuanchuan was a little dumbfounded by Murong Shi's words. Then, she puffed up her cheeks and complained, "How can you be jealous all the time!"

Murong Shi surprisingly did not refute Xu Chuanchuan's words. Instead, she frankly said, "I am indeed jealous. I'm so jealous that I can't help but wish I could fly to your side right this instant."

Xu Chuanchuan wanted to smile but dared not to. Instead, she carefully consoled, "I'll fly back as soon as you're back."

"What if I return tomorrow?"

"I'll go back to accompany you, then."

There was almost no pause between the question and answer. Murong Shi subconsciously smiled in satisfaction at Xu Chuanchuan's response. Then, she said, "Nevermind. This is a rare trip for you, so enjoy it to the fullest. You can come back after you're satisfied."

Surprised, Xu Chuanchuan asked, "When did you become so understanding?"

"Have I been unreasonable in the past?"

Xu Chuanchuan did not follow up with the question. Instead, she chuckled and diverted the topic, "I bought a present for you."

"What present?"

"I'm not telling you yet."

Murong Shi did not force the issue. Instead, she held up a glass and took a sip of water before saying, "I bought a present for you, too."

"What is it?" Xu Chuanchuan eagerly asked.

After seductively wetting her lips, Murong Shi ambiguously said, "A set of sexy underwear."

Xu Chuanchuan's face instantly turned into a "囧" shape. Then, she said, "My body isn't suited for the sexy route."

Murong Shi broke into laughter when she heard Xu Chuanchuan's response.

Then, Xu Chuanchuan shifted her attention toward the cup in Murong Shi's hand and asked, "What are you drinking this late at night?"

"It's just plain water."

Leaning closer to the screen, Xu Chuanchuan narrowed her eyes and asked, "Why is there Chinese written on the cup?"

Hearing this, Murong Shi quickly turned the glass around, her expression stiffening when she saw the words embossed on the glass.

"Tianshun Hotel? Strange. Aren't you in Malaysia?"

"There are many Chinese in Malaysia. I don't know why they provided me with such a glass, but maybe it's something made in China."

"Is that so?" Xu Chuanchuan felt a little skeptical, but Murong Shi quickly diverted her attention to some other topic.

After the two of them conversed for some time, Murong Shi urged Xu Chuanchuan to go shower.

Eventually, Xu Chuanchuan reluctantly acceded and said, "Let's continue after I'm done showering."

"Okay," Murong Shi said with a helpless smile.

There was no bathroom in the guest room. When Xu Chuanchuan left the room with a change of clothes, she saw Ange petting her cats on the living room sofa.

Out of curiosity, Xu Chuanchuan asked, "Do hotels in Malaysia use Chinese?"

"I don't know. Maybe? What's up?" Ange currently had a facial mask applied. The mask wrinkled as soon as she spoke, so she used her hands to hold it down.

"It's nothing. When I was video chatting with Murong just now, I saw the hotel's name engraved on the cup she used. The name was written in Chinese, so I found it a little strange."

While pressing down on the corners of her mouth with her hands, Ange slowly said, "The hotel's name was written in Chinese? Could she be staying in a hotel operated by Chinese?"

This was something Murong Shi did not mention. Xu Chuanchuan didn't ask about it, either. So, she shook her head in response to Ange's question.

After coming out of the shower, Xu Chuanchuan sent another video call request to Murong Shi. However, she guessed that Murong Shi must be in a call with someone else as the call did not connect even after a long time.

While waiting for Murong Shi to call her back, Xu Chuanchuan recalled her previous suspicion. After hesitating for a moment, she clicked on Linda's WeChat avatar and messaged the other party.

Xu Chuanchuan: "Is Murong together with you?"

Linda: "No? She flew to Shanghai this morning."