The next morning, Xu Zhinan was awakened by the sound of a ringing phone.

The sound was right by her ear, but she couldn’t open her eyes. Her eyelids felt as heavy as if they were being pressed down by iron blocks. She was extremely tired, her legs and arms ached, and her body felt incredibly heavy.

Then, the door was pushed open, and there was the sound of light footsteps.

The ringing stopped.

Lin Qingye’s voice appeared: “Hello?”

The voice on the other end was Li Yan. It was already ten-thirty, and lately Xu Zhinan indeed hadn’t been going to the shop on time every day, but she had never been so late that she hadn’t arrived by ten-thirty in the morning. Li Yan thought to call and ask.

But suddenly hearing an unfamiliar man’s voice, Li Yan was startled: “Is this Xu Zhinan’s phone?”

“Yes, what is it?”

“N-nothing important. I’m her apprentice. I just wanted to ask if she’s coming to the shop today.”

Lin Qingye sat down on the edge of the bed and glanced at Xu Zhinan. Seeing some marks on her collarbone exposed outside the blanket, he pulled the blanket up for her. “She probably won’t come. Is there something urgent at the shop?”

“Oh… nothing urgent.”

“Then she won’t be coming today.”

Until the call ended, Li Yan was so shocked that she didn’t even ask who the person was. Her mind went blank for two minutes before she suddenly shouted, “Ah!”

The other tattoo artists in the shop were startled by her: “What’s wrong?”

Li Yan: “My master has a man at her home!”

Logically speaking, Xu Zhinan was 25 years old now, and having a man at home shouldn’t be something so shocking. But they all knew what kind of person Xu Zhinan usually was.

Initially, all kinds of people had liked her, but they had all been coldly rejected. No one had ever seen Xu Zhinan show favor to anyone. The tattoo shop owner’s reputation for being cold and hard to pursue was well-known, yet suddenly they learned she had a man at home.

This was big news.

“Who is it? Who is it? Who is it?”

Li Yan opened and closed her mouth: “…I didn’t ask. I don’t know.”

Everyone complained: “What use are you!”

“I was too shocked! I couldn’t even react!” Li Yan thought for a moment and added, “But from his voice, he sounded like a young man.”

“Why did that man answer the phone when you called the boss, and not the boss herself?”

“Maybe… she wasn’t awake yet?”

“Eww! It was already ten-thirty!”

Taking advantage of Xu Zhinan’s absence, they gossiped more and more. Li Yan: “I’m so curious about my master’s man! A man who could win over my master, I can’t even imagine what he’s like!”

Lin Qingye had just hung up the phone when Xu Zhinan woke up. The man was sitting on the edge of the bed and reached out to touch her face. “Awake?”

His voice was gentle, completely unlike the same person from last night.

“Mm.” Xu Zhinan responded, her voice muffled in her nose. Her throat was very dry and sore.

Lin Qingye picked up the glass cup from the bedside. The water was still warm, and he helped her drink a sip. “Are you feeling uncomfortable anywhere?”

Xu Zhinan felt uncomfortable all over her body. Her limbs no longer felt like her own, and just thinking about last night’s scenes made her blush and her heart race.

She didn’t speak, and Lin Qingye touched her forehead again. “You seem to have a slight fever. Sleep a bit more later. I’ve already made porridge. If your fever hasn’t gone down by the afternoon, we’ll go to the hospital.”

Xu Zhinan blinked her eyes, confused: “Huh?”

Lin Qingye smoothed her hair, bent down to kiss her lips, and explained softly: “You might have caught a chill last night, with your back against the glass, and then later in the bathroom…”

“Lin Qingye!” She called out hurriedly, stopping his words.

He laughed, his fingertips rubbing back and forth on her lips. “It’s my fault. It had been too long since we’d done it, and I couldn’t control myself.”

Xu Zhinan never imagined she would develop a fever from something like this. No wonder she couldn’t open her eyes when she woke up today. Besides being sore, her body felt very heavy, sinking into the blankets, making her lazy.

She reached out her hand and touched her forehead. It did feel a bit hot.

Last night, Lin Qingye had slept holding her, and this morning, he noticed her body was very hot. That’s why he had gotten up early to make porridge. Now seeing that she was awake, he went to the medicine cabinet and took out a mercury thermometer.

Xu Zhinan took it and placed it under her tongue.

37.8 degrees.

Not too serious, probably just from catching a chill and overexertion.

Outside, the porridge was also ready. Lin Qingye went to serve a bowl.

Xu Zhinan looked at her phone. Li Yan hadn’t sent her any more messages.

She didn’t respond either, not knowing how to explain Lin Qingye answering her phone earlier, nor how to explain why she couldn’t go to the shop.

She slid back under the blanket, finding it hard to accept. How could she get a fever from something like this?

It was too much indulgence.

And too embarrassing to mention.

Xu Zhinan pulled the blanket over her head and covered her face with both hands, unable to accept this reality.

Lin Qingye returned to the bedroom with the bowl of porridge. As soon as he entered, he saw her in that state and pulled down the blanket, smiling: “Learning your lesson the hard way?”

“…”

He still had the nerve to smile.

Xu Zhinan put on a nightgown under the blanket before propping herself up to sit on the bed. She took the bowl from Lin Qingye’s hand: “I’ll drink it myself.”

Lin Qingye looked at her for a while: “Still in a lot of pain?”

Her hand holding the spoon paused, and her voice was barely audible. “Mm.”

“Where?”

“…Everywhere.” Her black eyelashes fluttered quickly. “My legs hurt more.”

His hand slipped under the blanket, and Xu Zhinan, still traumatized, moved to the side: “What are you doing?”

“Just giving you a massage.”

“…”

Xu Zhinan was still holding the bowl and couldn’t move much, so she quickly had to endure his pressing. The base of her thighs ached tremendously when pressed.

“Even during your first time before, you weren’t this uncomfortable. Your stamina’s not as good as it used to be.”

Xu Zhinan was furious with him. It was his problem—who could endure that kind of intensity three times? And he dared to blame her.

Xu Zhinan puffed her cheeks and continued to drink her porridge, not wanting to pay any attention to him.

After she finished the porridge, Lin Qingye took the bowl to the kitchen to wash it. He ate something simple himself and then returned to the bedroom. Xu Zhinan had already lain back down, feeling completely lazy.

The blanket covered half her face, her hand gripping the corner as she looked at him and asked: “Don’t you need to go out today?”

“No.” He took off his clothes and got back into bed. “Today I’ll keep you company.”

Xu Zhinan was pulled back into his embrace, her back against his chest, his arm around her waist, their fingers intertwined.

“Feeling better?”

“Mm, I probably don’t have a fever anymore.”

Lin Qingye: “Sleep first, then check your temperature when you wake up.”

She was indeed very tired and soon fell asleep again. When she woke up, it was already dark outside. Xu Zhinan looked at the time—it was only three in the afternoon.

The sky was gray before a heavy rain.

Lin Qingye was still sleeping.

He had indeed been very busy during this period, almost working non-stop. Xu Zhinan had noticed he hardly ever stopped.

As soon as he came out, he prepared for the album, spent all day revising lyrics and melodies, scrapping and modifying. He often stayed up until the early hours, only returning to the bedroom quietly after she had fallen asleep. After the album was released, he became busy with various promotional activities, participating in music shows, and a five-stop promotional music festival tour.

In a few days, they would be heading to the second stop.

Every day, he went to sleep later than Xu Zhinan and woke up earlier than her.

Xu Zhinan turned to look at his sleeping face and suddenly realized it had been a long time since she had seen him like this.

The sky was dark before the heavy rain, with strong winds hitting the window glass, but inside it was quiet and cozy, with clean, soft blankets. In this rare moment of leisure, they had just woken up from an afternoon nap.

Xu Zhinan thought, there couldn’t be a better life than this.

Her fingers gently brushed his brow, wanting to smooth it out.

Lin Qingye tightened his arm and at the same time buried his face in her embrace. Still with his eyes closed, his voice was drowsy and hoarse: “What time is it?”

“Three o’clock. Go back to sleep for a while.”

He made an “mm” sound. He wasn’t fully awake yet, and his eyes were still closed, but his hand fumbled to touch her forehead again: “You don’t seem hot anymore.”

“Mm, it was only 37.8 degrees to begin with. It’s probably gone down.”

He rubbed her back and fell deeply asleep once more.

By the time they got up, it was already five in the afternoon. They’d only eaten some plain porridge at noon, so now they were both hungry. They went to the kitchen together, with Lin Qingye taking charge of cooking and Xu Zhinan assisting.

It had been a while since they had gone grocery shopping, so there weren’t many ingredients in the refrigerator.

Xu Zhinan opened the refrigerator and glanced at Lin Qingye beside her.

He still looked lazy and relaxed. That long afternoon nap seemed to have pressed a button inside him, finally slowing him down. He was leaning languidly against the kitchen counter, yawning, and pouring oil into the frying pan.

Xu Zhinan took out the remaining okra and chives and threw them directly into the trash can.

Lin Qingye turned his head to look, glanced at the trash can, and smiled: “Why throw them away?”

“…They’re spoiled,” Xu Zhinan said.

“They still look pretty good.”

Xu Zhinan hit him, flushed with embarrassment and anger: “Stop talking.”

Lin Qingye laughed again, finally saying no more.

After dinner, Xu Zhinan still went to the shop.

When she stood in front of the mirror to change clothes, she realized her body was covered with various marks from last night, including visible ones on her exposed collarbones and neck.

In the end, she had to put on another jacket, zipping it up to completely cover her neck.

As soon as she walked into the shop, everyone hooted with an “Oh!”

Li Yan led the charge: “Master! Confess honestly! Are you hiding a secret lover?”

“…” Xu Zhinan felt embarrassed under their stares, so she put on her master’s demeanor. “Instead of drawing properly every day, all you know is gossiping about these things.”

“When have I not drawn properly?” Li Yan argued reasonably. “I’ve been drawing all afternoon today! And you didn’t even come to the shop all day!”

Xu Zhinan lost her confidence and didn’t say anything.

Everyone became even more boisterous, thinking it must be true that she was hiding a lover.

“Master, you have a boyfriend?” Li Yan’s eyes were bright with curiosity.

Xu Zhinan nodded: “Mm.”

“So you two stayed together last night, and he answered when I called you this morning.”

Xu Zhinan thought to herself that they had been living together for almost three months.

“Mm.”

Li Yan clicked her tongue several times.

Xu Zhinan looked up at her.

She gave her a thumbs up: “Master! You’re amazing! As a beauty, how could you waste your looks? This is exactly what you should do!”

“…”

At that moment, a customer entered the shop, and everyone who had been listening to the gossip finally lowered their heads. Li Yan moved to the table and sat next to Xu Zhinan.

Among the tattoo artists in the shop, Li Yan had the best relationship with Xu Zhinan. Although she was young and hadn’t received professional training, her designs had spirit, and she had a good personality. She was considered Xu Zhinan’s most valued apprentice.

Li Yan propped her chin on her hand, sitting next to her, and blinked: “Master, tell me, is he handsome?”

Xu Zhinan lowered her head to open her sketchbook, pretending not to hear.

Her phone lit up with a spam message.

Li Yan caught a glimpse of her screen lock and asked: “Is he as handsome as Lin Qingye?”

“…”

“Probably not, right? If someone more handsome than Lin Qingye had appeared on this street, I definitely would have noticed.”

Xu Zhinan couldn’t take it anymore: “Why are you so nosy?”

Li Yan stretched her neck to peek at the speckled red marks visible inside her upturned jacket collar and exclaimed in a hushed voice: “Damn, my master’s man is impressive!”

Xu Zhinan immediately blushed and tightened her collar again: “How old are you? Why are you so improper!”

Li Yan giggled and teased shamelessly: “I’m 17, Master. You’re the one letting a 17-year-old girl see those marks. So who’s being improper—the one who did it or the one who’s talking about it?”

Xu Zhinan shooed her away: “Go draw. If you keep slacking off, I’ll dock your pay.”

Li Yan made a dismissive sound before finally walking away. Halfway there, she turned back with a cheeky grin and gave Xu Zhinan a thumbs up, shouting: “Master, you’re awesome!”

“…”

She stayed at the tattoo shop until closing time before going home.

Because she was still very tired from last night’s events and didn’t have time to pack, they didn’t rush to move house and continued to live in the old rental apartment for a while longer.

Meanwhile, Lin Qingye added some more things to the new home, making it less cold and sterile than before.

Not many people knew about his purchase of the apartment. He had only mentioned it once when meeting with Guan Chi and the others. So a week later, the two of them finally moved into the 22nd floor of Lijia Building.

Guan Chi and the other two brought gifts, beautifully calling it “celebrating the housewarming.”

Ji Yan gave Xu Zhinan a drawing board set.

Guan Chi gave them a new guitar.

Shi Si looked at the two of them pulling out their gifts and was confused: “Wait, you guys brought such formal gifts?”

Ji Yan gave him a look, eyeing the box in his arms: “What’s in there?”

“Our captain just straight up bought an apartment in Lijia Building, and you guys are still giving such formal housewarming gifts?” Shi Si continued in shock. “What can’t he afford?”

Lin Qingye defended himself: “I spent all my money on the place, so there’s a lot I can’t afford.”

Ji Yan was annoyed: “Just say what you prepared.”

“I won’t say.”

Xu Zhinan thought he hadn’t carefully prepared a gift and was embarrassed to open it now, so she was quite considerate and said: “It’s okay, any gift is fine. The thought is what counts.”

Shi Si looked at her.

His sister-in-law had an innocent and pure face, still trying to help him save face.

“…”

It made him feel a bit like a heartless villain.

Lin Qingye casually lifted his chin: “Since when did you become shy? Open it.”

Shi Si placed the box on the table, resigned.

Xu Zhinan went to the kitchen to get scissors, came back, and cut open the tape. When she opened it, her fingertips froze, not taking anything out.

Ji Yan: “What is it?”

“…”

Xu Zhinan didn’t answer. Ji Yan stretched her neck to look closer, then burst out laughing.

A box full of condoms.

“This is good, not worse than ours,” Ji Yan laughed.

Lin Qingye also laughed, commenting: “More practical than theirs.”

Xu Zhinan: “…”

These four people were…

When they arrived, they had also bought many ingredients, once again filling their new refrigerator, which was twice as large as before.

Guan Chi, accustomed to being the family cook, took on the role of head chef. Lin Qingye also went into the kitchen. Xu Zhinan initially wanted to help but was chased out, so she had to stay outside with Ji Yan and Shi Si.

In the kitchen.

Guan Chi first studied the equipment for a while: “This is too damn fancy. I don’t even know how to use it.”

Lin Qingye was very comfortable letting Guan Chi take charge and didn’t help, just standing aside watching him work.

Guan Chi looked back at him and couldn’t help saying: “Captain, you’re heartless. Who invites people to a housewarming dinner and then makes the guests cook?”

Lin Qingye laughed: “You’re the only one who can cook well. We need it to be edible, right?”

Guan Chi: “So do you and Pingchuan Beacon usually cook?”

“We’re both busy, so we usually don’t cook. When we do, sometimes she cooks, sometimes I do.”

Guan Chi raised an eyebrow: “So you can cook.”

“What I make is just okay. Even I don’t like eating it.”

“That’s because you’re picky.”

Lin Qingye laughed: “That’s why I need someone who isn’t picky.”

“…”

This guy now really did seize every opportunity to show off his love.

Guan Chi had a hard time accepting it for a moment, but Lin Qingye was indeed more personable than before, and his temperament wasn’t as cold and hard as it used to be.

“What are your plans for the future?” Guan Chi asked.

“What plans?”

“You’ve already bought this apartment. What’s next?”

“We’ll see how it goes. There’s no rush.” Lin Qingye watched him start heating the pan, then took a cabbage from the refrigerator and rinsed it under the tap. “Being with her makes it easy to get lazy. I don’t know if time passes slowly or quickly. Just continuing like this is fine.”

Guan Chi imagined Xu Zhinan’s mild temperament and probably understood what he meant.

“When I first found out about you two, I thought your personalities were too different, that you weren’t compatible. Now it seems all those differences have become complementary.”

Lin Qingye shook off the water, smiling casually: “She simply compliments me.”

Guan Chi was indeed good at cooking, and fast too. He quickly prepared a table full of dishes.

After lunch, tomorrow would be the second album promotional music festival. This stop didn’t require a flight; it was right in Yan City.

They were already more than familiar with the six new songs from the “Whispers” album and the one song, “Locust Tree.” They had already performed together once in B City.

However, after eating and with nothing else to do, they practiced once more.

The apartment was very spacious, with a dedicated area specifically for instruments and playing music.

The apartment at Mingqi’s place before also had a separate room, but it wasn’t as large as this one.

They played through about three or four times before finishing.

By evening, the three of them clamored about wanting to explore the entertainment venues on the top floor of Lijia Building. Lin Qingye gave them spare access cards.

Lijia Building had good security. The top floor was the only place where they might run into other people. Lin Qingye couldn’t go, so he stayed at home with Xu Zhinan.

After dinner, with nothing to do, they watched a movie together.

Halfway through, Xu Zhinan received a text message from a former regular customer.

[Miss Shen: Nan, do you have an appointment tomorrow afternoon?]

[Xu Zhinan: I don’t have an appointment, but I have something in the evening.]

[Miss Shen: Ahhhhhh, because my flight is the day after tomorrow, I wanted to get the tattoo done before going on vacation, so it could look nice. I asked the owner of “Assassin” before, but he’s already booked. In Yan City, besides him, you’re the only one I would trust to do my tattoo. What time do you have plans tomorrow evening?]

She sent such a long message that Xu Zhinan found it hard to refuse. She held her phone, hesitating for a moment.

Lin Qingye turned his head to ask: “What’s wrong?”

“There’s a customer who wants to get a tattoo tomorrow afternoon, but the design is quite large. I’m worried I won’t finish it in one afternoon, and then I won’t be able to go to the music festival in the evening.”

Lin Qingye stroked her hair: “If you’re busy, it’s okay if you don’t come to this music festival.”

“But I want to be with you.”

He chuckled softly: “Aren’t you with me right now? If you can’t reschedule, then don’t. Even if you can’t make it, there are still three more shows. I’m right here with you. If you want to hear me sing, you can any time.”

Xu Zhinan hesitated, staring at her phone for a while.

This customer frequently came to her shop and had also referred many friends. Xu Zhinan indeed found it difficult to refuse when someone was in a hurry, especially when the concern was just about missing the music festival.

[Xu Zhinan: Then please come tomorrow afternoon.]

[Miss Shen: Great! Love you!]

They finished watching the movie at ten in the evening.

“Are Ji Yan and the others still playing up there?”

“Probably. There’s a bar and restaurants. They probably won’t come back until after midnight.” Lin Qingye shifted his position, pressing Xu Zhinan down on the sofa. He leaned down to bite her collarbone. “Don’t worry about them. Let’s do something meaningful.”

“…”

The memory of their last encounter in this living room was too embarrassing, causing Xu Zhinan to instinctively resist this location.

That time had indeed been too intense, causing her to develop a fever. The skin between her thighs had been rubbed raw. Afterward, Lin Qingye had shown more restraint, making sure Xu Zhinan was comfortable, though this level of intensity left him somewhat unsatisfied.

“Wait, Brother Qingye, Ji Yan and the others… might come back soon.” Her voice grew quieter and quieter. “Don’t they still have the access card?”

Lin Qingye kissed her ear and whispered: “They won’t. They’re not that tactless. They can get the card anytime.”

That night, the housewarming gift from Shi Si’s prank came in handy.

Early the next morning, Lin Qingye had to go to the music festival venue in advance. When he got up, Xu Zhinan was still asleep, once again exhausted.

Her eyelids were heavy as she squinted, watching him dress beside her.

She fell into deep thought, wondering why Lin Qingye never seemed to feel tired. Even though he should theoretically be more exhausted after their activities, he would wake up fresh and energetic the next morning.

Lin Qingye buttoned up his shirt, turned to the side, and saw Xu Zhinan: “You’re awake.”

She made a muffled “mm” sound.

“Sleep a bit more. Go to the shop in the afternoon.”

Xu Zhinan stretched her hand out from under the blanket: “Why are you leaving so early?”

Lin Qingye came over to sit on the edge of the bed, his fingers hooking with hers. “I need to check the stage equipment. Are you tired?”

“…Not too bad.”

“You’re improving.” Lin Qingye very objectively evaluated, not forgetting to encourage her. “Keep up the good work in the future.”

“…”

Any reluctance to part so early in the morning instantly vanished with his two sentences. Xu Zhinan withdrew her hand, pulled up the blanket, and said unsympathetically: “Just go. I want to sleep.”

Lin Qingye laughed softly. He didn’t pull down the blanket covering her face, but just bent down to kiss her exposed forehead.

He straightened up: “I’ll make breakfast. You can eat when you get up later.”

The bedroom returned to silence.

Xu Zhinan lay there for a while longer before pulling down the blanket and looking around the bedroom of their new home.

Outside, the sun was shining brightly in a blue sky with white clouds. The glass softened the harsh light, gently pouring into the room, warmly falling on the bed.

Xu Zhinan comfortably basked in the sun for a while, not sleeping any longer.

She wasn’t sure if Lin Qingye had finished making breakfast. She didn’t hear any noise outside the bedroom.

After washing up, she pushed open the bedroom door and went out. At the same time, she heard a “ding” sound—the elevator opening.

Because of the elevator access setup, people from other floors couldn’t possibly get here. Thinking it might be Lin Qingye returning, she saw a figure in the kitchen from the corner of her eye.

Lin Qingye hadn’t left yet.

He also heard the sound and turned his head.

Then, a man in a suit stepped out of the elevator. Xu Zhinan froze in place.

And the man likewise stared at her.

Both were equally embarrassed, until finally Lin Qingye came out from the kitchen: “Dad.”