Chapter 210: An Embarrassing Gift

Gu Zhiyu’s collar was slightly open as he lounged lazily on the sofa, watching her. “Can’t do what?”

An Nan frowned and reached out to button up his pajama top.

“First, pay attention to your image! Dress properly!”

Gu Zhiyu raised an eyebrow. “Weren’t you the one who just pulled it open?”

An Nan covered his mouth. “Second, no talking nonsense.”

Gu Zhiyu’s phoenix eyes narrowed slightly, his lips moving as if to speak.

An Nan snatched her hand back as if shocked. “Third, stop always getting handsy!”

She thought for a moment, then added, “And no getting mouthy either!”

Gu Zhiyu laughed and pulled her into his arms, planting a kiss on her. “Got it.”

An Nan: …

She pushed him away. “I’m being serious! We’ve been way too indulgent lately. How long has it been since I properly practiced?”

Gu Zhiyu thought about it seriously. “True, it’s been a while since we exercised.”

These past few days, they’d either been experimenting with recipes in the kitchen or curled up on the sofa playing video games. Back home, he used to spend time in the gym every day. Now he’d gotten much lazier.

He lowered his head and said to An Nan in his arms, “Should we get moving?”

An Nan looked into his dark eyes, alarm bells ringing. “What kind of ‘moving’ do you mean?”

Gu Zhiyu’s lips curled up. “What’s with that look? Weren’t you the one who wanted to practice?”

An Nan breathed a sigh of relief. “Practice.”

Then she added, “But stop making those flirtatious faces—it’s easy for people to get the wrong idea.”

Gu Zhiyu almost laughed. “Flirtatious?”

She actually used that word to describe him, a grown man?

An Nan shot him a glance. “What? I think it fits.”

She stood up to warm up. “Come on, let’s spar!”

She thought for a second, then warned, “Be serious. Don’t use this as an excuse to get fresh!”

Gu Zhiyu stood up with a smile. “Alright.”

A few hours later, the two finished up and sat on the sofa to rest.

Gu Zhiyu slung an arm around her and turned to ask, “What do you want for dinner?”

After exercising, An Nan was in a great mood. She teased him, giving him a peck on the cheek. “I want to eat you.”

Gu Zhiyu was silent for a moment, then simply scooped her up in his arms. “Are you sure?”

An Nan was startled and immediately surrendered. “I was wrong!”

She swore never to joke like that again.

Gu Zhiyu chuckled and set her down.

Such a little rascal on the outside, but a timid bunny at heart.

An Nan’s feet touched the floor and she let out a breath of relief.

Just as she was about to go change out of her sweat-soaked clothes, someone knocked at the door.

She opened it to find Chu Peipei.

Chu Peipei saw An Nan’s sweaty face and immediately shrank back.

“I’m not interrupting you two again, am I?”

God knows, ever since these two started dating, she’d barely come by. After the last dinner together, her daughter Xiaoguai had asked several times to visit Aunt Nan Nan, but she’d always stopped her, afraid of disturbing the lovebirds’ alone time.

Yet she still managed to catch them in the middle of…

An Nan was momentarily stunned, then realized what she meant. “What are you thinking!”

She wiped the sweat from her forehead. “We were just working out.”

Chu Peipei gave her a knowing look and advised, “Working out is good! Just be careful, don’t end up with a baby.”

An Nan: …

She raised her voice, “We were really working out! Not what you’re thinking.”

Chu Peipei waved her hand. “Whatever you two are up to, I’m just here to drop this off.”

She handed over a black plastic bag.

An Nan took it and peeked inside, curious.

Inside were two boxes of condoms, different brands.

An Nan: …

Chu Peipei explained, “I found these while sorting supplies today. I can’t use them, so you two take them.”

An Nan awkwardly tried to hand them back. “I don’t need them right now…”

Besides, she had plenty of these in her own stash—no need to take someone else’s. If Peipei traded these for food, she could get a lot!

Chu Peipei thought she was just embarrassed. “What’s there to be shy about with me? Listen, you really need to use these. In times like this, an unplanned pregnancy would be very dangerous.”

She thought for a moment, then added, “Unless you’re fully prepared and want a child of your own.”

An Nan was mortified. “I can barely take care of myself, let alone a kid!”

Besides, she was just dating, not married.

She and Gu Zhiyu weren’t even that settled—how could she be thinking about kids?

Chu Peipei nodded, but then looked worried. “These two boxes probably won’t last you very long.”

She thought for a bit. “If you run out, just wash and reuse them.”

An Nan stared, dumbfounded. “Reuse them??”

Is that even possible?!

Chu Peipei nodded. “Desperate times call for desperate measures. It’s better than nothing.”

She added, “Once the rain stops and I go out for supplies, I’ll keep an eye out for more. I just didn’t expect you’d suddenly need these…”

An Nan was still trying to explain, “I really haven’t…”

But Chu Peipei didn’t care what she said, pushing the bag into her hands again. “Just take them!”

Though embarrassed, An Nan knew that Chu Peipei genuinely cared about her.

It would be rude to refuse, so she accepted them for now—she’d just pay her back double when Peipei got a boyfriend.

Seeing her accept, Chu Peipei was relieved. “That’s better! You have to protect yourself.”

Then she said enthusiastically, “I’ll go home and look for more. You two are in the honeymoon phase—two boxes definitely won’t last!”

An Nan: …

She quickly stopped Chu Peipei. “It’s enough, really. I grabbed a few boxes when I was scavenging at the supermarket before.”

Chu Peipei’s eyes lit up. “Knew you’d be prepared! Good thinking!”

An Nan’s ears turned red.

She’d only taken them to use as currency!

She was an inexperienced girl—why was she having a detailed condom discussion with this older sister in the elevator lobby??

Seeing how embarrassed An Nan was, Chu Peipei stopped teasing her.

“Alright, you should get back. I don’t have anything else.”

An Nan stopped her. “Peipei-jie, are you doing okay lately?”

Chu Peipei nodded. “I’m fine.”

An Nan looked her over carefully—she really did seem well. She asked, “And… how’s Xiaoguai?”

Chu Peipei said, “She’s good too. We’re not going out, so nothing much can happen.”

An Nan thought for a moment. “Why don’t you bring Xiaoguai over to play later? It’s not good for kids to be cooped up all the time.”

Chu Peipei considered it—her daughter had been begging to go out for a while now. She nodded. “Alright.”

Back home, Gu Zhiyu had already changed clothes. An Nan also changed out of her damp clothes, then said,

“I just asked Peipei-jie to bring her kid over to play later.”

Gu Zhiyu: “You don’t trust her?”

An Nan: “Mm, just want to test her.”

Hopefully, they were just overthinking things."