I retreated from the door and returned to my desk. Ten minutes of awkward silence stretched between us. But no matter how I thought about it, I had to break this tension first, right?

"Uh... how do you plan to spend tonight?"

My question clearly caught the girl off guard. She froze for a moment before answering—

"Well, it depends on what you want... If you want the bed, I'll sleep on the floor. If you want the floor, I won't allow it. But if you want to share the bed... hehehe..."

She winked her left eye at me. Even so, I absolutely wouldn't agree to such a ridiculous demand. No way!

"Then here's my idea—we'll do a human ladder."

I stood up from my chair and slowly walked toward the window. Between the bed near the window and the wall was a narrow gap I'd left intentionally for storage. If I stood there and let the girl sit on my shoulders, it could work. This wasn't just a wild guess—I'd calculated it carefully.

The opposite apartment building had been renovated, so its layout differed from ours. The distance I'd estimated might be slightly off, but it couldn't exceed three meters. Plus, there was an air conditioner ledge beside my room. It should be enough.

Factoring in our heights minus her leg length, Zixuan's arms could probably reach her window. Once she stood on my shoulders, she could climb back. Honestly, I was a genius!

"Let's do this—you ride on my shoulders, and I'll lift you out!"

I confidently proposed this to the girl sitting on my bed. But her face twisted with worry—

"Not sure if I should say this..."

She deliberately watched my expression as she spoke. To reassure her, I nodded. Only then did she continue—

"Have you even considered how to make it work? There's nowhere to stand by this window! Building a human ladder outside is impossible—the AC ledge won't hold both our weights."

She reminded me seriously. But I didn't see it as a problem. If we built the ladder inside first, then moved her out, it'd be fine.

"Are you sure about this? I don't think it'll succeed..."

After I explained my plan, her brows furrowed again. Her resistance weakened though, and Zixuan slowly walked over, seemingly giving in to my stubbornness.

Following my instructions, she stepped onto the desk. I knelt on one knee below her, forming the base. She slowly straddled my shoulders and settled on top. Just as I tried to stand up, she suddenly grabbed my hair—Ouch!!!

"What are you doing? Stop pulling my hair! It hurts—"

"No, no, no—take it slow! Can't you go slower? Aaah..."

Her voice turned strangely high-pitched. Then came a soft pressure against my cheek and an all-too-tempting sensation at the back of my head.

"I get it, I get it! Stop squeezing my head!"

Though her soft thighs scrambled my thoughts, if she didn't let go, my face might warp—

"But... but it's just so ticklish! It's... it's a sensitive spot..."

She whispered in an extra-cute voice. Sensitive spot? Did she mean—

"Fine, I'll go slower, okay? Just stop moving and let go of my hair—it really hurts!"

My cheeks burned. Why did she keep saying embarrassing things?!

"Take it slow..."

She murmured, then gradually loosened her legs. But her hands gripping my hair didn't budge. Enduring the scalp pain and her weight, I slowly rose from my crouch to stand. My balance wobbled badly.

"Yikes~ Don't move so suddenly!"

She yelped again, startled by the violent sway. She grabbed the wall in front of the desk to steady herself.

"Stop phrasing things so weirdly! Ready? I'm moving now..."

I took slow, careful steps toward the window. But when I reached it, something felt off—

"Uh... how do we actually get out?"

I'd just realized the fatal flaw: the human ladder didn't fit the window size. My plan to lift her out was impossible. This operation was scrapped.

"It's a tight squeeze... I wonder if we can fit through... hehehe..."

The girl on my head giggled. She seemed lost in some happy thought. Noticing my confusion, she explained the next second—

"If we close our eyes and replay what we just said... doesn't it sound really dirty?"

"Huh?"

Her reminder hit me like a shock. My legs wobbled violently. If she hadn't grabbed the wall quickly, we'd have fallen—

But thanks to that, I felt an unprecedented softness. Though she wore pajamas, the thin fabric did little to hide what pressed against the back of my head—

This was seriously bad!

And things got worse. To confirm my suspicion, I asked her, flustered—

"Zixuan... you're not wearing anything underneath, are you..."

"D-d-don't say it out loud! If you know, just keep it to yourself! I'm shy too, okay? I came straight over after my shower... I'd even planned... planned to serve you tonight like this... that's why it turned out this way!"

She replied shyly, covering her mouth to muffle her voice. She actually admitted it? Wait, let me process this—she admitted it? Was she joking? So what my head was touching was—

"Let's cancel this plan. If we keep going, we'll both get weird thoughts..."

To stop my dirty mind from spiraling—and honestly, my body's overreaction—I had to suggest this.

"Mm..."

Her reply sounded extra shy. I slowly walked back to the desk and lowered her onto it. We returned to our original spots: her on my bed, me on the chair. Silence.

After the "no underwear" incident, awkwardness filled every corner of the room again. I glanced at the wall clock—9 PM. Since there was no school tomorrow, wasting time was fine.

"First off, I'm not pitying you or anything. You can stay here tonight. But tomorrow morning, the moment everyone in my family leaves, you leave too! Understood?"

"Mm!"

The girl nodded eagerly, smiling brightly. Because of that, tonight definitely wouldn't be peaceful—