Finally, he fell into a deep sleep.

Xi Tang got up and walked out of his room, pulled back the curtains, and looked outside. It was already dark, and the dazzling lights of the CBD district began to shine.

Xi Tang stood in the kitchen and made a phone call in a low voice. She needed to ask the film crew for time off tomorrow morning.

She definitely wouldn’t be able to make it back in time for the 7 a.m. shoot tomorrow.

She walked around the kitchen, finished the porridge Zhao Ping Jin had left, then made a new small pot of even softer, thicker millet porridge for him. She found fever medication in the living room, carried water back to the bedroom, but Zhao Ping Jin was already awake, lying under the covers staring pathetically at the doorway. Perhaps delirious from the fever, he murmured hazily, “Don’t leave.”

Xi Tang obediently answered, “Okay.”

Xi Tang finally managed to get him to drink a little porridge, take the medicine, check his temperature again, wipe the sweat from his body, and let him rest in bed.

Zhao Ping Jin pulled her to his side, nestled in her arms affectionately, and closed his eyes without saying a word.

He fell asleep, his face no longer showing pain.

In the middle of the night, Xi Tang woke up with Zhao Ping Jin at her side, still sleeping deeply.

Xi Tang got up to check on him. His fever had gone down. Finally relieved, she lay back down on the bed, watching his sleeping face.

Quietly, she reached out and touched his handsome face.

Like a dream.

Xi Tang watched him, not knowing when she fell asleep.

Zhao Ping Jin woke up at dawn. He had always been a light sleeper who didn’t need much rest, typically waking up according to his biological clock. After almost a month of barely sleeping, he had finally slept until daybreak.

He found himself lying in the bedroom with the curtains drawn tightly, the room still in darkness. He felt warm, and comfortable all over.

When he moved his arm, he discovered a small person nestled against him—a small face with white skin, thick eyelashes, and gray circles under the eyelids.

He reached out and nudged her. “Hey.”

The small person didn’t move.

She continued sleeping.

Zhao Ping Jin called out, “Hey, Huang Xi Tang.”

Xi Tang buried her head in the blanket and continued sleeping.

Zhao Ping Jin lowered his head and teasingly kissed her face. Huang Xi Tang instinctively moved away. Zhao Ping Jin smiled, finding it amusing, and cupped her face to kiss her moist lips. The next moment, Huang Xi Tang suddenly stuck out her tongue in her dream, licked the corner of his lips with her eyes closed, and revealed a sweet smile. Zhao Ping Jin was aroused by that smile, propped himself up on the bed, and leaned over to deepen the kiss.

Everything suddenly spiraled out of control.

Zhao Ping Jin knew that over the years, he had passed the age of youthful, intense desire. He also didn’t lack women but hadn’t wanted to touch her—firstly because he knew he couldn’t offer her marriage, and secondly, because he knew he dared not touch her. Huang Xi Tang’s body was a massive imprint, completely preserving those memories of their love, their nights of passion, their tender intimacy, and their intoxicating desire.

In matters of romance, although Zhao Ping Jin was reluctant to admit it, he was indeed a late bloomer. Before meeting Huang Xi Tang, he always had girlfriends, but they weren’t particularly interesting or intimate. They all feared him, obeyed him, and submitted to him in bed. From their teenage years to their twenties, Zhao Ping Jin never understood Gao Ji Yi’s enthusiasm when talking about women. He found women bland until he met Huang Xi Tang. She was fresh and spirited. Her young body was like a fresh, plump apricot with a hint of tartness, yet often unconsciously revealing captivating charm. He had been completely captivated by her.

Perhaps they were destined lovers.

In his life, regarding matters of intimacy, she was the best woman he had ever had.

He wasn’t sure if he dared to touch these memories again.

But at this moment, with her sweet apricot scent filling his mouth, feeling so comfortable while tormented by a burning heat, his palm rested on her shoulder, caressing her collarbone, her body pressing tightly against his chest.

Xi Tang finally awakened, looking at him in confusion. “What are you doing?”

Zhao Ping Jin didn’t let her speak, covering her mouth with one hand while his lips traveled down her neck with kisses. Xi Tang pressed her hands against his shoulders and twisted her waist in struggle, but this instantly ignited his deeper desire.

Zhao Ping Jin suddenly picked her up. Huang Xi Tang screamed as she wrapped her arms around his neck, but then laughed the next moment. Zhao Ping Jin intimately kissed her cheek, and they shifted into a more comfortable position.

Heat like volcanic magma flowed through their intertwined bodies. Xi Tang’s body in his arms twisted like a bright, soft stream.

After satisfaction, Zhao Ping Jin lingered in her body for a long time.

He touched the right side of her shoulder blade, where two thick medicinal patches covered the entire bone.

Zhao Ping Jin embraced her, his hand across her back, and asked softly, “Does your hand hurt?”

Xi Tang’s face showed the satisfaction of extreme exhaustion, with a slight, dazed smile at the corners of her mouth. “Mm, it’s nothing. I’ve been filming Peking Opera these past few days.”

Zhao Ping Jin was much more clearheaded than she was. “You shouldn’t have provoked me like that back then, saying those things. No man could have tolerated it.”

Looking back, Xi Tang always felt she had acted inappropriately in her youth. She responded with slight guilt, “Mm.”

Zhao Ping Jin was taken aback and mumbled, “That’s not what I meant to say. I—”

Halfway through his sentence, he suddenly stopped.

His palm rested on the scar on her shoulder, gently caressing it, again and again.

After a long silence.

Zhao Ping Jin said in a low voice, “I shouldn’t have let you suffer like this.”

Xi Tang comfortingly kissed his ear. “It’s fine now. I’m doing well.”

His voice was a bit choked. “I can’t bear it.”

Zhao Ping Jin buried his head against her chest, reluctant to move.

Xi Tang held him, feeling as if she were holding a child.

In the afternoon, the driver picked up Xi Tang to return to the film crew.

Zhao Ping Jin left with Xi Tang. She was a bit worried about his health. “Won’t you rest for another day?”

Zhao Ping Jin had already regained his energy. He had shaved that morning, his clean chin showing a hint of bluish tint. Wearing a black suit with a white shirt and a dark red striped tie, his handsome features had a stern coldness. When not smiling, his lips formed a severe line, like sharp rocks beneath a frozen river. The snow outside made his face look a bit pale, but this did nothing to diminish his handsomeness.

Hearing her words, Zhao Ping Jin replied nonchalantly, “It’s fine.”

After sending her to the film crew, Zhao Ping Jin said calmly, “I’ll call you.”

Xi Tang grabbed her bag to get out of the car, her hand on the door. She turned back and said, “Go home and rest for a few days. Your body doesn’t recover easily. Don’t be careless, and be careful about your ulcer recurring.”

Zhao Ping Jin nodded and responded with a rare tenderness, “I understand.”

Xi Tang said, “I’m going now.”

“Wait,” Zhao Ping Jin called out to her. “Give me a kiss.”

Xi Tang turned back and lightly kissed him on the cheek.

The next afternoon, Zhao Ping Jin’s driver came by.

Xi Tang happened to be on set. She took the call and walked out, startling Zhao Ping Jin’s driver. He hurriedly got out of the car: “Miss… Miss Huang…”

Xi Tang was filming a scene where Song Jia Si was pregnant with a second child. She looked at her slightly bulging stomach and quickly patted her belly. “It’s fake. For the film.”

Driver Liu was an honest man who couldn’t help laughing when he realized it.

That morning when she was leaving, Zhao Ping Jin said he would instruct his secretary to have the cleaning staff search the house for her earrings. Xi Tang smiled and asked, “Did they find them?”

Driver Liu scratched his head and said, “No.”

Xi Tang was still a bit surprised. Though she wasn’t extremely meticulous, she usually kept her things organized. They weren’t at the hotel, and she had thought they must have been left at Zhao Ping Jin’s place. Perhaps they were lost on set.

The driver turned and retrieved several luxury brand bags from the car. “Miss Huang, these are for you.”

Xi Tang opened them to find jewelry boxes containing pearl earrings—small, lustrous pearls with a subtle glow.

Each pair was similar in style with slight variations in size.

Xi Tang looked at them. If she wore them on camera, even she probably couldn’t tell the difference from her original pair.

She was touched that Zhao Ping Jin, who had probably only seen her wear those earrings once or twice, had managed to buy various similar styles from memory.

She was moved internally but remained composed externally, looking up at the driver with a gentle smile.

When Driver Liu spoke, his breath formed a white cloud: “The secretary went out to buy them this morning.”

Xi Tang remembered to ask, “Has Mr. Zhao been staying at home these past few days?”

Driver Liu answered honestly, “He went back for one day. General Zhao is at the military district, and Teacher Zhou went to Shanghai.”

Xi Tang waved at him and said, “Wait a moment.”

She ran to the rest area on set and soon returned with a thermos. “Please give this to Mr. Zhao.”

Liu took it, smiling very happily. “Yes, Miss Huang. It’s cold outside, you should go inside quickly.”

These past few days, Xi Tang returned directly to the film crew’s hotel after finishing shoots.

Yin Nan walked down the corridor with the director. Director Feng sniffed and said, “Mm, preserved egg and lean pork. Smells good.”

Yin Nan knocked on the door. “Xi Tang, what are you doing? The aroma has spread to the corridor.”

Xi Tang peeked her head out, smiling. “Director Feng, Brother Nan, I’m making porridge.”

Director Feng shook his head and said, “These female celebrities put effort into their health regimens.”

At around six in the afternoon, Driver Liu arrived punctually. Xi Tang was filming, so her assistant Little Ning delivered it to him.

Zhao Ping Jin finished his meeting and was drinking porridge in his office that evening.

Li Ming had finished work and was wandering around his office. Shen Min was also there drinking tea.

Li Ming sat on the sofa with his legs crossed, watching Zhao Ping Jin drink porridge at the tea table, and sighed, “Ah, I’m envious, so envious.”

Zhao Ping Jin ignored him.

Li Ming went over and dramatically sniffed the air. “Hey, Zhou Zhou, could you ask little Tang Tang to make some more tomorrow, so Min Min and I can enjoy some too?”

Li Ming nudged Shen Min’s elbow. “Right, Little Min?”

Shen Min didn’t dare respond.

Zhao Ping Jin answered without looking up, “Tell your secretary to buy some for you.”