"So you... sent that message, but regretted it," Jiang Nian said, "and have been trying to retract it?" "Isn’t there a retract button?" he asked. Jiang Nian: "...What did you try to do?" Li Qingrong: "Baidu." Jiang Nian fell silent, retracing the mental journey of the class monitor’s response. Sent it, regretted it, timed out, Baidu. Found it useless, then just waited dumbly. Now the situation’s awkward, the class monitor is too candid and honest. Pretend not to have heard it, then continue with the bet? Anyway, once the message times out, it’s non-retractable. And, the class monitor seems easy to fool. One could say without exaggeration, just perform normally, coaxing her to have two kids won’t be a problem. However, Rongbao is already pitiful enough. Let the child have a good night’s sleep. So, Jiang Nian generously said. "No problem, as long as I delete it here, and you delete it on your end, it’s like the message has been successfully retracted." Half a minute later, Li Qingrong said. "Uh, I didn’t actually pay attention to what you sent," Jiang Nian said, "you don’t have to feel burdened, it’s fine." Li Qingrong: "The reward is to kiss you." Jiang Nian was stunned, pondered for a while. He felt the class monitor should not be joking and didn’t actually want to retract it. So what was the emotion that kept her waiting until three thirty? "Okay, it’s settled then," he replied. "Hmm, 650 points," Li Qingrong typed bit by bit, sending it in two messages, "kiss you." This made him blush a little, it was a bit too bold. But since the class monitor stated it so directly, perhaps blushing wasn’t even part of the process for her, it might just be a small matter. Instead, he felt no psychological burden, since the class monitor repeated it, clearly, she said so willingly. Putting down the phone, Jiang Nian hadn’t had time to feel emotional. He quickly realized a blind spot, typing to inquire. "You don’t sleep at night, won’t your sister say anything?" Li Qingrong: "Nobody’s home." He, in front of the screen, was once again stunned, biting his finger. Does that mean he could stay at the class monitor’s house? Jiang Nian shook his head, thinking that’s not the point. The class monitor’s state doesn’t seem like a family on short-term travel. "Is it convenient for a video call?" On the other side, it took about a minute before there was a reply. But then again, there’s nothing inconvenient if nobody’s home. Unless there are no clothes on, but it’s winter now. He made the video call. A few seconds later, the phone delivered a video image. A low-angle, upward death shot, the class monitor in the image still looked good. A youthful girl is such a magical creature, always flawless at eighteen. Rattling sounds, the screen shook a bit. Li Qingrong was still in the clothes she wore during the day, seemingly sitting on the living room sofa, appearing not to have bathed since getting home. You could vaguely see the fringe of a pair of small white socks, the sound of sipping. Hey, where did my tea leaves go? The class monitor appeared a bit shy, but Jiang Nian didn’t mind her dirty feet. He wasn’t really desperate for tea, it was just that there really was no tea around. "Ahem, Qingqing, why haven’t you washed up yet?" Jiang Nian asked in the gentlest tone possible, not mentioning her parents. As an outsider, he wasn’t in a position to comment. Jiang Nian was a typical pragmatist, didn’t do anything meaningless, just wanting the class monitor to have a good night’s sleep. Some people, when tired, just want to end their suffering. This made him have some bad associations, after all, in the system’s item bar, there was that letter of farewell, belonging to Li Qingrong. Fortunately, he got to know Li Qingrong after joining this class. On the other side of the video, Li Qingrong wobbled a bit, leaning slightly to glance at Jiang Nian. Her eyes showed confusion, hesitated before speaking. "Then I’ll go wash now." With that, she stood up, seemingly not thinking of closing the balcony. The night wind whistled through, and a vague rumble could be heard. Jiang Nian thought inwardly, it really seems like whatever he says becomes true, no soccer tomorrow then. Li Hua is such a loser! He was secretly delighted and looked down at the phone screen. "Hey, hey, hey, don’t take off!" Jiang Nian was almost scared to death, "Don’t point the camera at yourself, I... I can see." Li Qingrong, curious, leaned over to take a look at the camera. Her hair was all tied up, putting on a shower cap. It seemed she took care of herself well, even living alone. Wait... why is it still streaming? Jiang Nian instinctively wanted to click to hang up, but his finger stayed on the screen. For some reason, he hesitated to press it. There was nothing inappropriate for kids, the camera stayed above the class monitor’s neck. Besides, someone seemed to have thrown a smoke bomb in the bathroom, making visibility a bit low, nothing clear at all. So, staying connected was just for companionship. Don’t doubt someone’s loyalty. Showering or sleeping alone at home, having someone connected to chat isn’t that nice? At least it won’t feel lonely. He didn’t know if "loneliness" was a term in the class monitor’s dictionary. But it didn’t matter, he was just doing what felt right. Hmm? The camera seemed to move. Oh, an illusion, actually he wasn’t staring at the camera the whole time. When the bathroom’s enclosure phase was over, there was some more tantalizing rustling sound, and Jiang Nian clenched his fist. Counting in order, one could roughly know at what stage the class monitor was in dressing. Truly an ultimate buzzkill! You are here for warm companionship! Snap out of it, you pervert! Jiang Nian took a deep breath, patted his cheeks. Trying to rid himself of lust, it was truly not good. A high school boy all day, is there nothing besides allure? There’s allure being suffered. As it turned out, the sound of Jiang Nian patting his cheeks was a bit loud, sparking the class monitor’s curious glance, she swept her gaze over. She leaned her head closer, giving him a quizzical look. "Are you very sleepy?" "Not sleepy, I..." Jiang Nian couldn’t exactly say he had absorbed two bowls of rice listening to her bathing sounds, "just too dry in the face." Li Qingrong had put on all her clothes, then rubbed her intimate apparel, and returned to the room, sitting on the bed. Then, the two stared at each other. Jiang Nian couldn’t help but wipe his drool, staying up really did cause drool secretion. The class monitor looked so well-behaved, with such good skin. Was it time to talk about the serious stuff? He thought things were just fine as they were, and wasn’t too keen on hearing about family feuds. Unless the class monitor brought it up, he wouldn’t ask willingly. Li Qingrong didn’t say anything, just looked at Jiang Nian, and after a while, said. "Is it?" Jiang Nian got up, drew the curtains to have a look, "Indeed it is, do you need to take in the clothes?" Li Qingrong shook her head, "Can’t get wet by the rain." "Have you always been living alone?" Jiang Nian couldn’t hold back, asking, "Even capable of showering in the middle of the night." "Hmm." Li Qingrong nodded. Her words were few, rarely following up. Like adding after "hmm", always alone. Had Jiang Nian heard it, he probably couldn’t have coped either. But it didn’t happen, she seemed indifferent to being alone. It was a good thing, at least it meant it didn’t affect her much. After a little while, Li Qingrong clearly looked a bit sleepy. Jiang Nian saw her forcing herself to stay awake, couldn’t help but say. "You should go to sleep." "Will you hang up?" Li Qingrong asked, looking down for a moment, "I would like to hear some... sounds at night." There was a part he couldn’t hear clearly. Jiang Nian quickly answered, shaking his head. "No, if it hangs up, it’s a problem with the video call’s technical method. You can dial back straight away, or we can switch to a call." Actually, only two hours left before dawn. Li Qingrong nodded, "Hmm." The phone was leaned against the pillow, fixed in place simply with a box. Jiang Nian’s eyelids grew heavier, finally passing out into sleep. Li Qingrong also closed her eyes, as if she were back at that rainy bus stop. Rain was once again drenching her. In the distance, a few blurred figures, faces unseeable. Either standing or sitting beneath the storefront awning, staring directly at her. And there she was, standing in the rain, unable to leave.