Living like a widow? My rough neighbor is coaxing me to have a baby every night.

Chapter 153 A lone man and woman in one room

The woman didn't even look up, her knitting needles flying across the room. "There's only one left at the end of the corridor on the third floor, and it's a standard room."

After saying that, she glanced at the man and woman in front of her, her knitting needles still in her hand, and said slowly, "A man and a woman, perfect. If they weren't a couple, there really wouldn't be anywhere for them to stay."

Just as Xu Yuecheng was about to speak, Xiao Lan grabbed his arm.

She was practically pressed against his side, her voice soft and sweet enough to melt your heart: "Honey! Look how lucky we are, this is the last one left, let's book it quickly. I've been running around all day, my legs are so tired!"

Xu Yuecheng's breath hitched.

The word "husband" pierced his eardrums, making his heart tremble.

A lone man and a lone woman in a room—these were the only words that echoed in his mind.

Xu Yuecheng slammed his work ID on the counter: "Auntie, listen to my wife, open that one."

The woman adjusted her reading glasses and glanced back and forth between the two of them.

The man was tall and burly, with a fierce look, not someone to be trifled with; the woman was excessively beautiful, but at this moment she was holding the man's arm, her body pressed tightly together, and her intimacy didn't seem fake.

"Where's the letter of introduction?"

The older woman still asked, as per protocol, "No marriage certificate? You must have a letter of introduction from your workplace, right? These days, they crack down on hooliganism, and this is a legitimate guesthouse; we can't do whatever we want here."

Xu Yuecheng's hand froze. He had rushed out, but he had brought the waybill with him.

But where can this letter of introduction proving the marital relationship be changed?

Xiao Lan, however, remained completely calm, leaning against Xu Yuecheng with a body so soft it felt like she had no bones.

A hint of grievance immediately appeared on her pretty face: "Auntie, look at us, how could we possibly have eloped? The factory urgently needs the goods, and we didn't even have time to go back to get our documents. We left them in that blue cotton jacket. Please, have mercy, it's so late at night, you can't expect us to sleep on the curb, can you?"

As she spoke, she discreetly pulled two ten-yuan bills from Xu Yuecheng's pocket, along with his work ID, and pushed them to the old woman's side.

"This certificate belongs to the county transportation team; it's a secure job, you can't get away with it."

The woman glanced at the two bills, then at Xu Yuecheng's uniform vest, and her expression softened.

People with jobs generally don't get much wrinkles.

"Alright, I see you guys have it tough too."

The woman took the money, slowly took out a key with a rectangular wooden tag, and tore off a receipt. "Let me make this clear from the start, you two shouldn't make too much noise at night. There's a crackdown going on lately, and the neighborhood watch team sometimes checks rooms. It's the innermost room on the third floor, the water room is in the middle of the corridor."

"Oh, thank you, Auntie!" Xiao Lan replied sweetly, grabbed the keys, and pulled Xu Yuecheng toward the stairwell.

The stairs were old-fashioned cement steps, and the light bulbs in the corridor were low-wattage, casting a dim, somewhat ambiguous yellow light.

The walls on both sides were painted green, and the air was filled with the smell of soda water mixed with old bedding.

It wasn't until they reached the entrance of 306 that Xu Yuecheng seemed to come back to his senses.

"You've got some nerve."

He watched Xiao Lan poke the key in the lock, his voice so low it was impossible to tell if he was praising her or being sarcastic, "You keep talking about your wife and your husband all the time, aren't you afraid of biting your tongue?"

With a "click," the door lock opened.

Xiao Lan pushed open the door and went in, turning on the light switch as she went.

The room was small, with two single beds painted yellow placed in the middle, not too close together, separated by a small bedside table with drawers.

The floor was terrazzo and fairly clean. Under the window was a thermos and an enamel basin with the double happiness symbol printed on it.

"What? Captain Xu is suddenly acting all serious?"

Xiao Lan put the bamboo basket she was holding on the table, turned around, leaned against the edge of the table, and looked at him with a half-smile. "Just now in front of that auntie, I saw you agree quite readily."

Xu Yuecheng closed the door behind him and locked it.

The sound of the door locking was particularly clear in the small space.

He took a few steps closer to Xiao Lan, his tall shadow instantly looming over her.

"What can I do if I don't agree? Let you sleep on the streets?"

Xu Yuecheng braced himself on the table behind Xiao Lan with one hand, trapping her between himself and the table.

The distance is too close.

I could smell the strong smell of tobacco on him, and the sweat from a long day of running around.

But the smell isn't unpleasant; on the contrary, it exudes a uniquely masculine hormonal scent that is extremely aggressive.

Xiao Lan didn't dodge; instead, she slightly raised her chin, her peach blossom eyes shimmering with tears: "If you had said no just now, would we still be standing here staring at each other like this?"

"Xiao Lan".

Xu Yuecheng stared at her rosy lips, his Adam's apple bobbing violently. "Are you really that clueless, or are you just playing dumb with me? A man and a woman alone in one room, two beds. You're a widow, and I'm a bachelor. Don't you understand what that means?"

"I understand," Xiao Lan blinked, poking his hard chest with her finger. "It means... we're only spending the night together because of the revolutionary work and to revitalize the economy. Captain Xu is so ideologically conscious, he definitely wouldn't take advantage of us, right?"

That's such a compliment, it's enough to make someone choke.

Xu Yuecheng laughed in exasperation, grabbing her restless finger and rubbing it roughly with his rough fingertip: "Don't try to intimidate me with your high-sounding principles. In this house, there's no captain, only men and women."

He leaned down even further, his nose almost brushing against Xiao Lan's: "You called me 'husband' quite smoothly just now? Since you've already called me that, shouldn't we do something that a couple can do?"

Xiao Lan's heart skipped a beat.

That man's eyes were so intense.

Go and fetch a kettle of hot water.

Xiao Lan kicked off her leather shoes, bent down to rub her aching ankles, and said in a tone as natural as if she were ordering her husband around, "I've been running around all day, and I'm all sticky. I can't sleep without wiping myself off."

Xu Yuecheng stared at the empty thermos with the Double Happiness logo on the table, then looked at the woman sitting on the edge of the bed with an air of entitlement.

He cursed under his breath.

In the motorcade, he was the captain; everyone who saw him had to offer him cigarettes and drinks. But in this woman's hands, he's become nothing more than a waiter running errands?

"What are you standing there for?" Xiao Lan looked up, her peach blossom eyes giving him a half-smile. "You called me 'wife' so smoothly just now? Can't you get it now?"

Xu Yuecheng puffed out his cheeks, grabbed the thermos, and turned to leave.

"A troublemaker."

The corridor was dimly lit, and the hot water room, not far away, was steaming.

Xu Yuecheng filled a kettle with water and, using the rusty faucet in the water room, splashed two handfuls of cold water on his face.

The icy well water flowed down my neck, but it couldn't quell the burning desire surging within me.

He hastily wiped his face, picked up the thermos, and walked back.

Push open the door and enter the room.