Serenade Novel Chapter 52: What do You Arch

Chapter 52

Jin Xi sat on Bo Yan's thin mattress with her bare little white feet, occasionally anxiously poking her head out towards the balcony.

The wind gently stirred the curtains, and the night outside was heavy.

On the balcony, Bo Yan paced back and forth, talking on the phone with Shen Ping Chuan.

Jin Xi looked at the ti on her phone. The two had been talking for over forty minutes already. Even she herself hadn't talked to Bo Yan on the phone for that long before.

She was really curious, so she put on her slippers and tiptoed to the door. Poking her head out towards the balcony, she saw that not only were they still talking on the phone, they had even started video chatting!

What was going on here?

When Bo Yan caught sight of the little girl peeking at them from the crack in the door, he ca over directly, pushed her head back inside, and closed the balcony door, not letting her eavesdrop.

Jin Xi was full of question marks. She suddenly felt a sense of impending doom, like she was about to be split in half.

After about another twenty minutes, the two brothers finally finished their conversation. Bo Yan ca back into the room and put his phone down on the bedside table to charge. Jin Xi glanced at the screen and saw there was only 10% battery left.

So it wasn't that they had finished talking, it was that the phone had run out of battery.

She tugged on Bo Yan's sleeve and asked with concern, "Did Shen Ping Chuan give you a hard ti?"

"No."

"What did you guys talk about for so long?"

"Just random stuff."

Jin Xi blinked. Seeing that he didn't seem inclined to elaborate, it seed like there were still so secrets.

She flopped down on the soft bed and slapped the pillow in frustration. Whining, she said, "You're keeping secrets from . I can't go on like this."

Bo Yan started laughing. Gently he said, "Actually this was supposed to be a private conversation between n, but there's no harm telling you. Shen Ping Chuan said he's feeling a little down."

Jin Xi sat up. Looking down, she pursed her lips and said, "I knew it."

He reached out and ruffled her smooth hair, tidying it for her. "You don't know."

She looked at him puzzled.

Bo Yan said gently, "You thought he was sad about losing you, but that's not it. He's sad that you didn't keep it a secret from anyone except for him, your closest brother. He was the last to find out."

"I..."

Jin Xi opened her mouth but couldn't get any words out. Her eyes suddenly turned a little red.

Bo Yan sat down next to her and lightly rubbed her eyelids with his slender fingertips.

"Just now he kept reflecting to

that maybe he was too harsh on you in the past, so even for sothing as important as dating, you didn't dare tell him. He said he wasn't a good brother."

Jin Xi shook her head repeatedly. "No, not at all. He's the best brother in the world."

The bad one was her.

Bo Yan held her flushed little face in his hands. Her eyes were misty with tears ready to spill over. He gently wiped her eyes with his palm.

Jin Xi grabbed his hand and croaked, "What else did you guys talk about?"

"Shen Ping Chuan also said he wants to beco best bros with ."

Jin Xi was astonished. "He...accepted you just like that? And wants to beco bros with you?"

"Mm-hmm."

"It can't have been that easy."

"I made him a promise that I intend to keep."

Jin Xi asked curiously, "What promise?"

Bo Yan reached out and gently stroked her moist lips. "You just turned eighteen this year."

Jin Xi made a sound of affirmation. "Yeah, I turned eighteen in June. So what?"

Bo Yan let out an almost imperceptible sigh. "So young."

"So what did you promise him?"

"I promised I won't touch you, at least...not while you're still this young."

Jin Xi was stunned into silence. Yet a thread of warmth rose in her heart.

Bo Yan threw the box of condoms in the trash. Feeling exhausted all over, he heavily flopped down on the bed and dragged out his words, "I didn't realize you were so young."

She smiled and slipped under the covers, kicking Bo Yan's leg. "Then you go sleep on the couch."

"I'm dizzy." Bo Yan flopped down straight beside her and put a pillow over his face. "I can't take it anymore. Turn off the lights quick."

"How can you...how can you be like this? You think you can get away with this?"

With his eyes closed, Bo Yan grabbed the blanket and covered himself, burrowing into her waist. "I only promised not to touch you. Didn't say I can't cuddle you to sleep."

Jin Xi started laughing softly. "You really are a dog."

Bo Yan rested his hand on her concave waist, holding her in his embrace. "This is the first ti I've cuddled a woman to sleep."

"Who...who isn't doing this for the first ti."

His hand wandered restlessly upwards, and Jin Xi quickly grabbed it. Wary, she said, "Behave yourself."

He let out a muffled, impatient groan, and held her even tighter. "I'm so uncomfortable."

"Where are you uncomfortable?"

"Down there."

"..."

She closed her eyes and rcilessly said, "Well, I'm going to sleep now."

"Mm-hmm."

Jin Xi fell asleep reassured. It wasn't a peaceful night of sleep. She woke up several tis in a daze, and tossed and turned a few tis, sotis hugging his arm, sotis cheek to cheek with him, sotis burrowing into his chest.

Although she didn't sleep very well, she felt very safe.

**

That night, Bo Yan took the initiative to call Shen Ping Chuan, explaining to him the history of how he and Jin Xi got together, from when it started to how far it had developed. He candidly told him everything clearly.

Bo Yan rarely had this kind of patience. He generally disliked others interfering in his affairs, so when he opened his heart to communicate with Shen Ping Chuan, Shen Ping Chuan felt an inexplicable sense of being favored.

To be fair, Bo Yan had always treated him exceptionally well, to a degree beyond what he could have imagined. At least now, among his circle of friends while playing basketball at the military academy, whenever he showed up the boys would take the initiative to greet him and ask him to join their ga.

Shen Ping Chuan knew he wasn't likable. In the last two years he had offended quite a few people. Those willing to interact with him only did so out of deference to Bo Yan.

Since Bo Yan called him "Brother Shen