Chapter 136: The Power Outage (Part One)

"How could there be none?" Wen Yixin asked defensively. However, just as he was about to continue, he heard a soft murmur from the girl on Wen Yichen’s back.

Not only did Wen Yixin hear it, but Wen Yichen did as well. The soft, sweet sound was like a feather, lightly brushing against the tip of his heart. As the sound faded, both boys fell silent in unspoken agreement.

With Jiang Muwen on his back, Wen Yichen felt a faint movement. Her slight shift made him freeze instinctively. He couldn't help but slow his pace, tilting his head slightly to call her name with caution: "Jiang Muwen?"

"Hmm?" Jiang Muwen responded in a sleepy, baby-like voice upon hearing the soft call.

"Are you awake?" Wen Yichen asked next.

Once he finished, the air fell into silence once more.

"..." Wen Yichen looked back, staring at Jiang Muwen for a few seconds before turning his head away quietly. Perhaps he had just disturbed her sleep.

Jiang Muwen slept until the next day. She didn't wake up naturally; she was woken up by the heat.

The glaring sunlight made Jiang Muwen frown instinctively. She looked around; the air conditioner had been turned off at some point, the fan wasn't running, and she had no idea how she had ended up back in her own bed. The lingering traces of sleep vanished as soon as she realized the situation. She stared blankly, blinking repeatedly. *How did I get back to my bed last night? Did Wen Yichen carry me up?*

*And last night, did Wen Yichen and Wen Yixin talk about something serious?*

Jiang Muwen vaguely remembered the two boys discussing something about "liking," but the specifics escaped her. In that half-dreaming, half-waking state, their conversation felt unreal. Had they really talked about anything at all?

With these thoughts, Jiang Muwen climbed out of bed in a daze and wandered out of the bedroom.

The house was empty; her parents had gone to work, leaving only breakfast on the table, which had long since lost its warmth.

After eating, Jiang Muwen returned to her bedroom. She walked to the head of the bed, intending to turn on the air conditioner, but when she pressed the button on the remote, the unit didn't respond at all.

*Is the air conditioner broken?*

She then reached out to turn on the fan, but after giving the switch a twist, the ceiling fan remained motionless.

*The power is out.*

In such sweltering heat, the power was actually out. Just as Jiang Muwen was feeling desperate, she caught sight of something she had never seen before on the table: a set of Matryoshka dolls.

Jiang Muwen stood stunned for a moment before rushing to the table. She picked up the dolls with delight, turning them over and over. *Wen Yichen really brought her a gift.*

A smile she couldn't suppress spread across her face. It felt like waking up to find that Santa Claus had quietly tucked a gift into her stocking.

After staring at the dolls for a while, she carefully opened the first layer, then the second. Just as she was about to open the third, her phone on the bed vibrated. She set the dolls aside and walked over to the bed.

Wen Yichen: "Did you get the dolls?"

Jiang Muwen: "I saw them!"

Wen Yichen: "We missed some tutoring while I was in Russia. Do you want to find time to make it up, or..."

Reading this, Jiang Muwen suddenly remembered. She stared at the screen for a while. Since the power was out at home anyway, she might as well go to Wen Yichen's place to do her homework and enjoy some air conditioning. With that in mind, she tapped out a reply: "How about I come over today and catch up on what we missed?"

Wen Yichen: "Are you sure?"

Jiang Muwen: "Mm-hmm!"

Wen Yichen: "Alright, come over."

Jiang Muwen didn't overthink his words. With the simple goal of finding air conditioning and finishing her summer homework, she grabbed her schoolwork and trotted over to Wen Yichen's door, knocking without a second of hesitation.

Soon, the door opened. Jiang Muwen took off her shoes and changed into slippers in one fluid motion, then walked toward Wen Yichen's bedroom full of anticipation. Seeing his bedroom door tightly shut, she couldn't help but feel a surge of secret joy.

Expecting to be greeted by a blast of refreshing cold air, she was stunned the moment she opened the door: "Wen Yichen, is your power out too?"

There was no difference between the temperature inside and outside. Wen Yichen had drawn the curtains to block out the scorching sun, but even so, Jiang Muwen could feel an oppressive, stifling heat.

"The power went out in our area at four o'clock. They say it will be off for the whole day," Wen Yichen said while closing the door, as if that could trap the last remaining traces of coolness in the room.

"The whole day?" Jiang Muwen looked at him in disbelief. In a season where cutting off someone's air conditioning was practically attempted murder, they were losing power for a full day?

Wen Yichen gave a nonchalant "hmm" in response, then strolled over to his desk to tidy it up, looking completely unfazed by the situation.

"Then shall we go to the library in the complex?" Jiang Muwen suggested.

"..." Wen Yichen paused. He looked at her and replied helplessly, "By 'our area,' I meant our entire residential complex."

"..." Jiang Muwen stared at him blankly. *Does that mean the library is out of power, too?*

"Then let's take a car and go study somewhere else!"

"Do you really love studying that much?" Wen Yichen asked softly.

The question caught her off guard. She opened her mouth, but before she could speak, Wen Yichen added, "Let's just stay here. It's just a power maintenance issue; it can't possibly last the whole day."

Jiang Muwen obediently said "oh," placed all her work on the desk, and sat down in her usual spot.

*Swish.* The sound of curtains being pulled open reached her ears. A second later, the room became much brighter.

The harsh, scorching sunlight poured through the glass window, flooding the bedroom.

"Wen Yichen, wouldn't it be hotter this way?" Jiang Muwen frowned.

Wen Yichen adjusted the curtains thoughtfully to ensure the room had plenty of sunlight. "You were already studying blindly; now you want to study in the dark?"