Chapter 139: Temptation and Jest

"Damn it, this crappy hotel, even the water supply is a total disaster!"

I had just turned on the shower and hadn't even been under it for five minutes when the water cut off. Furious, I tossed the showerhead into the bathtub.

I dried myself off, got dressed, and stepped out of the bathroom, heading back to my assigned sofa. I laid there until I heard a strange sound.

"Mm, mm, it hurts so much...!"

The moan was seductive and soft, but when I listened closely, I realized it was coming from Lu Yao, who was lying with her back to me. I was completely bewildered. Could she be talking in her sleep? But would someone really sound like that while dreaming?

"Lu Yao, are you okay?" I walked to the head of her bed and tapped her shoulder to ask what was wrong.

She wasn't asleep. She was clutching her lower abdomen, her brows knitted in pain, and her legs were pressed tightly together. When she felt my touch, her face turned bright red in an instant.

"Senior Xiaodong, I think my period is starting. Could you please go buy me some pads?"

As she spoke, she kept holding her stomach, and I could vaguely see that her legs were already slightly stained.

When I heard this, my old face turned a deep shade of purple. It wasn't just because of the news of her period; it was the fact that she, a young woman, was asking a guy like me—a total virgin—to buy sanitary napkins. How was I supposed to handle this?

"Senior, please, hurry! I'm begging you!"

Seeing her in such pain, combined with her desperate pleading and those charming, watery eyes, I gritted my teeth, threw my pride out the window, and rushed out of the hotel toward the convenience store across the street.

To be honest, it is truly embarrassing for a man to go buy sanitary pads in the middle of the night.

I paced around the store, waiting until it was empty, then grabbed a pack and slammed it onto the counter in front of the clerk.

Luckily, the clerk was a woman in her early twenties. She scanned the pack, handed it back to me, and said with a smile, "Buying them for your girlfriend? That's really sweet of you. That'll be 78 yuan."

It was mortifying. My face was redder than an apple. I just let out a muffled "Mm," threw a hundred-yuan bill on the counter, and said, "Keep the change," before disappearing out the door without looking back.

Back at the hotel, I handed the pads and some tissues to Lu Yao and retreated to the bathroom, waiting until she called me to come out.

"Senior, I'm feeling dizzy and can't sleep. Could you carry me to the sofa? I want to watch some TV," she said, reaching out her arms. She wanted me to carry her over to where I was sleeping.

It was surprising that this dump of a hotel even had a decent TV, complete with a satellite dish, playing popular dramas from all over.

I wrapped my left arm around her slender waist and my right arm under her legs, lifting her up in one swift motion. She instinctively wrapped her arms around my neck.

We were in such close proximity that I could smell her body's natural fragrance. My breathing quickened, and my heart hammered against my ribs. I was terrified that I wouldn't be able to resist the temptation and would just suffocate right there on the spot.

I set her down on the sofa, but to my surprise, she didn't let go of my neck.

She pulled me close until our bodies were pressed together, separated only by our clothes. Her lips were barely ten centimeters from mine.

Damn it, what was I supposed to do? My mind was blurring. Who could withstand this kind of temptation? Only a eunuch!

But I was a decent guy, and we were both each other's firsts. I was older than her; I couldn't let such a beautiful flower be ruined by me.

I tried to push her away, but I regretted it the moment I did. I felt my hands go weak, and I realized I had likely misunderstood the situation, as I saw Lu Yao taking the initiative.

To be honest, the feeling of kissing was incredible—it ignited a deep longing and stirred a fire between us. Soon, our clothes were in disarray.

Faced with such temptation, I was losing my restraint, but then a thought struck me: how could I betray A-Shuang by doing this?

I pushed Lu Yao away and said sternly, "Lu Yao, we're being too impulsive. I don't want to hurt you. Plus, you're on your period right now; this is dangerous."

After I pushed her away, I noticed her trying to stifle a laugh. It turned out to be a test—she hadn't really wanted to go through with it; she just wanted to see if I had enough self-control to resist temptation. I had almost fallen right into her trap.

Lu Yao straightened her clothes and buried her face in my chest. "Senior, I want to sleep with you tonight. I feel so safe when I'm with you."

And so, we spent the night in a haze. The next day, we packed up and left, traveling all the way to S Province, where I saw her home.

We didn't exchange contact information. We both treated each other as passersby, viewing what happened that night as a mere joke. We believed that if it was meant to be, we would meet again.

It reminded me of the classic line from *The Legend of the White Snake*: "If fate decrees, we shall meet even a thousand miles apart; if not, we may stand face-to-face and remain strangers."

After a few more hours on a bus, I finally reached my small hometown. I happened to run into my neighbor, Shengzi's father, who was driving a tractor into town to buy furniture for his son. He told me that Shengzi was getting married soon.

Shengzi and I had been childhood friends, and he was a year younger than me. It was hard to believe he was already getting married, while I had just graduated and was still aimlessly wandering through life.

I picked up my luggage from the train station and caught a ride home on the tractor with his father, chatting along the way.

As for that tractor, it had been the greatest nightmare of my childhood. By the time we reached home, I felt like I had been rattled to pieces.