Love in the Fast Lane - Chapter 47 - He's Too Honest

After Tang Ning’s father spoke for several minutes, the door creaked open with a squeak. Tang Ning slipped in from outside, his face full of embarrassment. He touched his nose, suggesting he had been scolded for the second time.

Mo Zihan guessed that he had put on a fairly decent act in the living room, likely really getting interested in some TV segment, enough to forget the awkward situation he had to face tonight while being reprimanded. Otherwise, Mo Zihan could see clearly that his father was definitely a wise man; from his expression, it was easy to tell Tang Ning was putting on a show.

With a click, the door was locked, and the outside light was turned off. It must have been Tang Ning’s mother who had come out after hearing the conversation in the living room to say a few more words to Tang Ning.

Mo Zihan hugged the quilt, watching Tang Ning turn around and close the door. She unexpectedly felt amused, even though she was quite nervous.

“Let’s go to sleep early. Sooner or later, we have to get through this.” As soon as she said this, Mo Zihan felt something was off. It seemed like the words themselves were problematic.

The atmosphere was not romantic; it was quite awkward instead.

However, Tang Ning didn’t pick up on the awkwardness in her words. Who knows how nervous he felt at this moment?

Mo Zihan continued, “Just think of it as reminiscing about old memories. Hmm, just imagine me as your college girlfriend. But next, it’s time to set up the floor bed, you know that, right?”

Tang Ning, who was leaning against the door listening outside, turned around quickly at her words: “Shh, keep your voice down, don’t let my parents hear.”

Mo Zihan rolled her eyes: “The soundproofing in this house isn’t that bad, is it? If they can hear my volume, then there must be ghosts.”

Now that they were on Tang Ning’s turf, Mo Zihan knew she had to be more careful. However, Qi Xiaomeng seemed to have forgotten to remind her that while she didn’t talk in her sleep or strike ungraceful sleeping poses, she had a habit of getting up several times in the night to drink water. Given her groggy nature, she probably wouldn’t look down before turning on the light. Tonight was going to be quite a show.

Tang Ning scratched his head and pulled out a sleeping mat from under the bed. He tried to lay it at the foot of the bed, but there wasn’t enough space. So, he had to set it up beside the bed, a spot where Mo Zihan wouldn’t easily see him upon waking up.

After setting up his bed, Tang Ning lay down on his back and remarked, “It’s quite soft, actually.”

Mo Zihan frowned inwardly. Clearly, he was making a fuss over nothing. Still, looking at his expression, he really seemed unfamiliar and helpless with the idea of cohabiting. Could it be that this guy has truly been single all through university and these few years after graduation? Mo Zihan also lacked experience in this regard, but at least she had a bed to serve as some kind of barrier. Tang Ning seemed more clueless and helpless than she did.

She tossed a quilt down from the bed and muttered, “Alright, get some rest. Remember, when I get up tomorrow morning, you need to get up immediately too.”

Tang Ning was puzzled, “Why? I’m not going to work.”

Mo Zihan rolled her eyes, “Are you really that clueless? When I get up, I’ll need to go out to wash my face and brush my teeth. The moment there’s any noise, your parents will wake up. When they come out to check, should I really have to close the door while I’m washing up? Should we sneak around like thieves? It won’t just look fake, but if you stay in bed and they come in, our cover will be blown.”

Tang Ning suddenly understood and gave her two thumbs up, “You’re very thorough. I hadn’t thought of that.”

No kidding. If you had thought of that, I’d really start to believe you could do anything. Considering you’re an inexperienced man without cohabitation experience, it’s impressive you could think things through so meticulously. I wouldn’t doubt you were faking it.

Tang Ning’s usual routine was writing late into the night. As soon as he lay down on the mat, Mo Zihan handed down his laptop from the bedside table.

Tang Ning scratched his head, “What are you doing?”

Mo Zihan seemed even more puzzled than he was, “Aren’t you going to write? If you don’t work late into the night, have you suddenly turned over a new leaf and adopted a daytime work habit?”

Tang Ning rolled his eyes, “Special circumstances call for special measures. Do you want me to be groggy during the day? Besides, with this schedule, you wouldn’t be able to sleep if I were typing away at night. I’ve got a good backlog of drafts, so taking a few days off is fine. Let’s get some sleep. I’ve adjusted my internal clock.”

Mo Zihan seemed to remember that Tang Ning had gone to sleep relatively normally the previous night and had plenty of energy today.

It seems that being a writer is even more unpredictable than a woman. Their biological clocks are all over the place, hard for anyone to keep up with. Qi Xiaomeng was like this, and now Tang Ning is too.

However, thinking of Qi Xiaomeng reminded Mo Zihan of the half-truths and ambiguous comments she used to make. To this day, Mo Zihan couldn’t quite figure out whether Qi Xiaomeng was expressing her true feelings, subtly hinting at something, or just joking to help her overcome some psychological barriers.

Whatever the case, Qi Xiaomeng’s declarations and those inexplicable remarks had left a knot in Mo Zihan’s heart. It was a knot she couldn’t untie or share with anyone. She herself had no idea when or if it would ever unravel.

“What’s wrong?” Tang Ning asked. He had noticed Mo Zihan’s sudden change in demeanor as he finished setting up the floor mat. His keen observation caught her off guard.

Mo Zihan seemed startled, and her eyes conveyed a helpless confusion. It took her a moment to respond, “Huh? What? What did you just say?”

Tang Ning shrugged, “Nothing, you just seemed a bit distracted. What were you thinking about?”

“Oh, nothing, nothing,” Mo Zihan replied, even though she could hear the lack of conviction in her own voice. After a moment of hesitation, she decided it was time to bring up the topic. “So, um, Qi Xiaomeng’s mom is here for a visit.”

Tang Ning raised an eyebrow. Why would Qi Xiaomeng’s mother coming over matter to him? It’s not like it’s Mo Zihan’s mom who’s visiting… Wait, hold on. Qi Xiaomeng is Mo Zihan’s best friend, so if Qi Xiaomeng’s mom is here, then…

Seeing Tang Ning slowly catching on, Mo Zihan could only spread her hands in resignation. “And Qi Xiaomeng and I, well, we share everything immediately if there’s even the slightest movement. So…”

So, what now?

Tang Ning was still very confused. What exactly was Mo Zihan trying to say? He couldn’t grasp the connection. Qi Xiaomeng’s mom visiting-what did that have to do with her? Even if they were best friends, so close they shared everything, her mom visiting shouldn’t affect her…

“So, Qi Xiaomeng let it slip that I’m, uh, cohabiting with you. And because we were both under pressure from our families, Qi Xiaomeng, trying to ease some of that burden, said that I’m dating you and we’re living together.”

What?! Tang Ning’s eyes widened in shock. He could piece together what was coming next. If he couldn’t, then his intelligence would truly be in question.

“And now your family knows you… ahem, don’t tell me your family is planning to visit too?”

Mo Zihan gave an approving nod, acknowledging Tang Ning’s sharpness, and then she snuggled into her quilt.

She felt that she needed to mention this now to lay the groundwork for the future.

“Doesn’t that mean this situation just got really complicated?” Tang Ning didn’t dare get into bed. He knew very well that if Mo Zihan’s parents got the wrong idea and also decided to visit, it would create chaos that he wouldn’t be able to manage.

Mo Zihan covered her head with the quilt, “I found some excuses to temporarily hold them off. Let’s just sleep for now. When the time comes, we’ll deal with it. If we’re really cornered, I’ll just tell them I dumped you, and that will solve everything.”

Tang Ning was both amused and exasperated. What did she mean by “dumped him”?