Chapter 21: An Unexpected Guest and a Shared Bed

Oh, Beifeng? What brings her here?

I had fully expected Mu Rong Xin Xue to make a sudden return, but to my surprise, it was Huang Beifeng who arrived.

‘Wait, why is she here? Surely she isn’t here to question me about what just transpired. ‘Hiss!’ I haven’t even begun to formulate an explanation.’

‘Could I possibly tell her outright that Mu Rong Xin Xue was lusting after my body? If those words truly left my lips, I couldn’t bear to imagine the expression Huang Beifeng would turn upon me.’

“Um, Beifeng, please don’t just stand there at the doorway. Come in.”

Although I had no idea how to explain the situation, it certainly wouldn’t do to leave Huang Beifeng standing idly at the door.

She cautiously stepped into the room, then promptly locked the door behind her.

Watching her movements, I instinctively froze. ‘She’s not planning to trap me in here to interrogate me, is she?’

Hiss!

Instinctively, I hugged my body protectively, my eyes now holding a definite glint of wariness as I regarded Huang Beifeng.

“Uh, there’s no need for such an extreme reaction. But I do want to ask, what exactly was that just now?”

Just as I feared, she was indeed here to demand an explanation.

‘Alas, it seemed I would still have to contrive a plausible excuse to deflect her inquiries.’

“Um, you and Xin Xue-jie, have things always been… like that?”

“N-n-no! Absolutely not!”

If that were truly an everyday occurrence, I would have been utterly devoured long ago.

“But what, then, was that just now?”

‘What was I to do? I was at a complete loss.’

As time slowly ticked by, I found myself trapped in an uncomfortable silence, unable to respond to Huang Beifeng’s probing questions.

“It’s alright. If you’d rather not speak of it, then don’t. After all, such matters can be…”

‘No, no, this simply won’t do. There was clearly a misunderstanding, and I had to address it immediately. If left unresolved, these small misapprehensions would surely fester and grow, eventually becoming insurmountable.’

“Um, Beifeng, just now, I was trying to pull her out, but my bare feet slipped a bit, and I accidentally pulled Mu Rong Xin Xue, causing both of us to tumble down. So, that’s what happened.”

“Is that truly how it happened?”

Casting a suspicious glance my way, Huang Beifeng, surprisingly, chose to believe my words. While my explanation was admittedly far-fetched, it wasn’t entirely implausible given the underlying circumstances.

“I see. Still, I can’t help but feel that Xin Xue-jie has changed somewhat. Perhaps… tonight, I should sleep in your room.”

What?!

What did you just say?!

‘Men and women should not share intimate spaces! To sleep in the same bed… ‘Hiss!’ I couldn’t even begin to envision such a scenario. While it was true we had occasionally shared a bed as children, that was then. We were adults now; such a thing was utterly out of the question.’

“Um, Beifeng, men and women should not engage in such intimacy.”

“It’s fine. I don’t mind at all.”

“You may not mind, but I certainly do!”

Just as I braced myself to deliver another firm refusal, the words that followed from her lips utterly astonished me.

“It’s fine. If you truly mind, you can always sleep on the sofa in the living room.”

What? The sofa?

‘Shouldn’t she be the one relegated to the sofa? Yet, it felt rather improper to make a girl sleep there while I occupied the comfort of my own room.’

‘Considering our living room sofa, it was quite old and worn. While a brief nap might be tolerable, spending an entire night on it would undoubtedly leave me stiff and aching the following morning.’

‘Therefore, the sofa was out of the question.’

For Huang Beifeng, her concern was simply that Mu Rong Xin Xue seemed to have undergone a significant change, and she harbored a vague premonition that if they were to sleep together, something untoward might occur.

She likely still held some reservations about my explanation, yet she probably also suspected, to some degree, that Mu Rong Xin Xue harbored a certain predilection for women.

This, then, was why she had been so persistent in her attempts to act on me ever since I donned female attire. After all, when I presented as a man, Mu Rong Xin Xue’s demeanor towards me had been entirely different.

‘After careful consideration, I concluded that I couldn’t possibly relegate Huang Beifeng to the sofa, nor did I wish to sleep there myself. As for Mu Rong Xin Xue’s room, venturing there would be tantamount to walking into a trap.’

‘And my parents’ room? That was entirely out of the question. Heaven only knew what bizarre contraptions they might have installed in there. I still vividly recalled the last time my curiosity led me inside, only to be confronted by some inexplicable device that nearly frightened me to death.’

‘Ever since that incident, my parents’ room had been a source of genuine psychological trauma.’

Thus, only one option remained: I would have to share a bed with Huang Beifeng.

Hiss!

After a moment of careful thought, I slowly turned to face Huang Beifeng. “Beifeng, um, wait a moment. I’ll fetch another blanket. We’ll each have our own, and we can place something in the middle to create a barrier.”

Huang Beifeng cast a slightly bewildered glance my way. “Is all this really necessary?”

‘Of course it is! Men and women should not engage in such intimacy!’

“Alright then, if you truly mind, we’ll do as you suggest. I’ll go grab my things and take a shower now.”

As I watched Huang Beifeng approach the wardrobe and pull open a drawer, it suddenly dawned on me what she intended to retrieve.

She was actually reaching for… panties.

‘Wait, why would you wear *my* panties? Even if you didn’t bring a change, you could at least borrow Mu Rong Xin Xue’s! Why mine?’

Perhaps sensing my gaze, Huang Beifeng turned to look at me, and a faint blush crept onto her cheeks.

“What are you staring at? And by the way, do you have any that haven’t been worn yet?”

‘Phew. I’d thought for a moment you hadn’t considered that particular detail.’

Having subconsciously let out a sigh of relief, I continued, “Unworn ones… let me think. Yes, there are a few pairs.”

As I spoke, my mind couldn’t help but drift to the several pairs of lace panties Mu Rong Xin Xue had purchased for me.

‘Hiss! Even cross-dressing should have its limits! For a boy like me to wear women’s underwear was already mortifying enough, but to be given *lace* ones? That was truly beyond the pale.’

With a crimson blush staining my cheeks, I rummaged through and produced those unworn lace panties, gently placing them into her outstretched hand.

“Xin Xue-jie truly is well-prepared, isn’t she?”

After an awkward glance, we found ourselves staring at each other’s flushed faces, and for a moment, the embarrassment was palpable.

“I’m going to get the blankets.”

“I’m going to take a shower.”

As childhood friends, our synchronicity was uncanny. The moment the thought of escape crossed our minds, we both spoke simultaneously.

It mattered little who had initiated the movement; for now, retreat was the wisest course of action.

****

By the time I had finished arranging the blankets and preparing the bed, Huang Beifeng had concluded her conversation with Mu Rong Xin Xue.

Before Huang Beifeng had even finished her shower, I had already burrowed myself into the depths of the blankets.

Before long, the room, once brightly illuminated by the electric light, plunged into instant darkness.

Coupling this with the rustling beside me, I knew Huang Beifeng had also settled into bed.

The night deepened, and Huang Beifeng, nestled beside me, had long since drifted into the realm of dreams. Yet, the sheer thought of sharing a bed with a girl kept me wide awake, a captive of insomnia.

As I gazed at the sliver of moonlight piercing through the curtain’s gap, I knew, with a certainty that settled deep within me, that this night was destined to be a sleepless one.