Shi Sui said whatever came to mind.

Until the words came out, Yan Tingli stared straight at her.

One second, two seconds.

From his expression, Shi Sui read an inch-taking-mile attitude.

—He hadn’t heard enough.

He was waiting for her to say a few more words.

Shi Sui remained expressionless and silent for several seconds.

Finally realizing.

Just now.

It seemed like, apparently, she was confessing.

She was supposed to make Yan Tingli pursue her.

But she had revealed her feelings first.

Only to blame their entire interaction sequence for being completely chaotic!!

Yan Tingli was used to taking from the beginning.

Now, making him pursue step by step and engage in pure romance was like making him fast and become a vegetarian—too difficult to implement.

She couldn’t win against him.

Instead, she had corrected herself first.

The more Shi Sui thought about it, the more her teeth ached. Her fingers pinched his cheek without mercy.

“That’s it! That’s all.” She raised her chin, “Now you express your stance.”

Yan Tingli’s face was pinched into a mark.

But he was currently floating in bubbles, so her playful touching didn’t cause any displeasure.

“Long time,” Yan Tingli finally spoke, like murmuring to himself.

Pressing her hand against his cheek, rubbing along her palm lines, “How long is a long time?”

Shi Sui choked: “…Long time, of course means a very long time.”

His eyes stuck to her face.

Almost pathologically asking: “Does that mean staying with me until death?”

Shi Sui pinched him again, helplessly: “Can’t you use less extreme words?”

“You’re calling me extreme again.”

His voice was muffled, not unhappy, but rather fearless complaint.

Like being lightly swept by a puppy’s tail, Shi Sui’s heart softened: “As long as you can always make me happy, we’ll always be together.”

“This lifetime?”

“Mm.”

Yan Tingli’s eyelashes drooped: “Not enough.”

Shi Sui:?

Yan Tingli looked at her, his obsession visible. He showed her a smile: “In my lifetime, I’ll research digital immortality.”

“In the future, even if our physical bodies perish, our consciousness will live forever. In another world.”

“That’s the long time I want.”

Though she couldn’t fully understand the “digital immortality” in his words, Shi Sui was still shocked beyond words.

She stared at him with wide eyes.

For a moment, her spine physiologically tightened.

Yan Tingli stared at her, already seeing her slightly different expression.

But his tone had no intention of backing down, gripping her hand tightly, not allowing any possibility of escape: “Hug me, now.”

Shi Sui felt she should be afraid.

But now.

The desire to hug him seemed to exceed her fear.

Shi Sui finally wrapped her arms around him, throwing herself into his embrace.

Her waist was held very tightly.

In the quiet, rustling wind came from outside the window, accompanied by falling raindrops.

Another autumn rain.

“Sui Sui, say a little more.” His tone was muffled.

Shi Sui buried her head, her face somewhat hot, not wanting to speak.

Yan Tingli’s dissatisfied tone was like a child who couldn’t get candy.

“You’re always stingy with nice words for me.”

Shi Sui simply closed her eyes, deliberately teasing him: “Brother Tingli, you’re super handsome with super long legs, great in bed, and very big down there…”

Yan Tingli suddenly bit her, his tone slightly annoyed: “Not those things.”

Shi Sui played dumb: “Aren’t these nice words?”

“These are facts.”

“…”

This kind of banter, no longer carrying any oppressive feeling, made Shi Sui feel some unfamiliar fun, willing to play along: “Then what do you want me to say?”

“Say how much you love me.”

Shi Sui’s head was pressed against his chest, wanting to lift her head to look at him.

Yan Tingli pressed down like whack-a-mole: “Just say it like this.”

…Even embarrassed and angry.

Shi Sui wanted to laugh: “Okay, okay, okay, I love you love you love you, I love you most in the whole world.”

Shi Sui’s expressive ability was average, unable to say flowery sweet talk.

But Yan Tingli was willing to listen to such nonsensical things.

Quietly not interrupting, greedily letting her continue.

Shi Sui could only rack her brains.

Her memory suddenly returned to several years ago, that afternoon when sudden heavy rain hit the small town.

The finger with a splinter, tomatoes spilled all over the floor, and the person she thought she’d never see again.

She said, “That summer, I wasn’t crying because I fell.”

A very abrupt sentence.

But Yan Tingli’s breathing slowed, and he understood.

Shi Sui’s memory fragments were scattered, but she tried hard to find details of love: “Purple Beach was beautiful, I wished you were there too.”

“The California sunshine was nice, I always thought you would like it.”

As she spoke, rain pattered outside.

Autumn rain was about to bring new rounds of cold to this city.

Cold plus dampness was Yan Tingli’s least favorite weather.

Shi Sui said, “You don’t like rain. I know.”

She didn’t know if these shallow, fragmented words counted as “nice words” in Yan Tingli’s eyes.

But Shi Sui had done her best.

If Yan Tingli still wanted to push for more, she couldn’t be blamed for immediately “turning hostile.”

Several seconds.

Yan Tingli suddenly said, “I don’t hate it now.”

Shi Sui didn’t understand: “…Eh?”

Yan Tingli: “Don’t hate rainy days.”

“Why?”

“You always say you love me on rainy days.”

This time was a rainy day.

The small town always had rainy days, too.

Yan Tingli’s speech always carried a kind of innocent yet rational animal thinking.

Sometimes, even directly stiff.

But at this moment, it was more heart-moving than any flowery sweet talk.

So much so that Shi Sui’s heartbeat was fast enough to burst through her eardrums, similar to the piano piece he played for her that year.

That night, they just kissed and talked on the sofa.

Both seemed to treasure this hard-won harmonious time, unwilling to call a stop to other things.

So much so that when Shi Yue and Li Yin returned, they were still on the sofa.

Shi Sui frantically separated from him.

Shi Yue carried takeout bags through the door, asking strangely: “Who ordered this? It’s been almost two hours. Why haven’t you eaten?”

It was what Shi Sui ordered on her way home from work, asking them not to call, just leave it at the door.

She averted her gaze, embarrassed beyond measure.

Li Yin saw her appearance and basically knew what had happened, changing the topic: “I’ll go heat it up for you and cook some noodles.”

Yan Tingli showed no unnaturalness: “Auntie, let me help.”

Shi Sui silently buried her face in the sofa.

—

During this time, her parents were so busy they were nowhere to be seen, not home even on weekends, going to the company early.

The next day, after eight, Shi Sui was still sleeping in when awakened by the doorbell.

The visitor seemed very polite, unhurried, pressing once in a while.

But the sound was continuous, completely refusing rejection.

Shi Sui squinted through the monitor to see who it was, covering her head with a pillow, impatiently saying: “Little Snail, open the door for him.”

3.0: [Okay, Sui Sui, the door has been opened for Mr. Yan.]

That person entered the living room and headed straight for her bedroom, knocking.

Shi Sui was bothered by the noise: “Stop pretending, just come in. Don’t knock in the future either.”

In her blurry vision, Yan Tingli stood by the bed wearing a pajama-style hoodie and long pants.

Like a dog waiting to be fed, looking at her quietly.

From last night’s separation until now, less than ten hours.

Coming this early in the morning, where did the lazy Yan Tingli go before?

Her mind was chaotic, rubbing her eyes, just about to prop herself up on the bed, when she was pounced on by Yan Tingli.

He buried his face in her collarbone, greedily inhaling like getting a life extension.

Shi Sui hallucinated a wagging big tail behind him.

“Don’t you sleep?” She was listless.

“I want to sleep with you.”

Shi Sui misunderstood the meaning, annoyed: “I said I don’t want to do it.”

Yan Tingli turned a deaf ear, bending his knees onto the bed, lying down beside her.

Except for kicking her oversized stuffed animal to the floor and taking its place, holding her in his arms.

Yan Tingli made no other moves.

Shi Sui waited a while and heard his steady breathing.

Yan Tingli’s presence was too strong.

This commotion made her completely awake.

Slowly turning around, Shi Sui leaned forward to carefully examine Yan Tingli’s face.

Thinking it was the shadow of his eyelashes, she reached out to gently explore.

Eh? Dark circles?

Shi Sui thought she was hallucinating from just waking up.

She rubbed her eyes again.

Looking carefully again, she hadn’t been wrong.

How come his face was previously perfect without any flaws?

Could it be from staying up too late recently?

Thinking of 3.0’s nighttime monitoring function, Shi Sui carefully reached for her phone, sending a message on the internal testing app: [Has Yan Tingli been sleeping poorly these days?]

3.0: [Since I was created, due to long-term high pressure, Mr. Yan’s sleep has always been far below healthy indicators. After you returned, there was a slight improvement.]

Shi Sui didn’t ask further.

Just then, Yan Tingli turned over, continuing to domineeringly hold her in his arms.

Shi Sui blinked, quietly lifting her phone to take a photo of his sleeping face.

She had an absurd guess.

She’d ask when he woke up.

Yan Tingli slept until the sun was high, until Shi Sui’s bones ached from lying down, before she finally couldn’t help slapping him awake.

Being suddenly woken up, he had a bad mood upon waking.

But not serious.

Just burying his face in the pillow, his throat making dissatisfied, drowsy sounds.

Shi Sui pushed his arm: “Get up quickly, I’m uncomfortable lying down.”

Yan Tingli ignored her, still being lazy.

Shi Sui grabbed his collar, threatening: “If you don’t get up, I’ll deduct points.”

As the words fell, Yan Tingli’s thin eyelids opened, staring at her: “We were already together last night.”

He propped his head up, lazily saying: “I’m already at full marks.”

Shi Sui was shocked again by his shamelessness: “Which part of you deserves full marks?”

If she hadn’t actively reflected and softened her heart, he would never get full marks in this lifetime.

“Super handsome with super long legs, great in bed, and very big down there.”

Returned to her word for word.

“…”

Shi Sui’s chest heaved heavily once.

Suddenly holding up her phone to his face, asking with a curious tone: “Why are your eyes black underneath?”

Yan Tingli squinted for a second.

Suddenly threw off the covers and got up from bed, coldly trying to grab the phone.

Shi Sui immediately hid under the covers.

Pressing down herself, hiding while saying: “Why wasn’t it there before?”

“Why?” She was sarcastic, “Is it because you used cosmetics? What brand is so seamless, recommend it.”

“Shi Sui!” Her chin was turned by Yan Tingli.

His cheeks were a red she’d never seen, mixed with his fair complexion.

Even when angry, beautiful men looked good.

Yan Tingli spoke coldly: “Are you looking for trouble?”

Shi Sui wasn’t afraid at all, staring back: “I’m about to get my period.”

“Then use your mouth above.” Yan Tingli’s fingertip pressed her lips, “Too much talking, I want to block it.”

Seemed like she’d provoked him too much again, trending toward madness.

Shi Sui immediately quit while ahead, innocently blinking and saying: “Brother Tingli, whether you cover your dark circles or not, you’re very handsome. I like you either way.”

After several seconds of silence.

Yan Tingli got up with a cold face, drinking water from her cup.

“Delete the photo.”

“Now.”

Shi Sui: “Delete delete delete.”

In front of him, Shi Sui deleted the photo.

Then stuck out her tongue at his back.

She wouldn’t delete it.

Anyway, it could be recovered.

He seemed not to notice her little action.

The current Yan Tingli was quite easy to fool.

Time had reached noon.

Yan Tingli went to the kitchen to find ingredients to cook without any courtesy.

Some people were bad at cooking but loved to do it. Shi Sui was helpless: “I want to order takeout.”

Takeout was forbidden territory for Yan Tingli, no different from garbage.

Seeing his expression was flat, Shi Sui changed her words: “Or go out to eat.”

Yan Tingli: “You think my cooking is bad, don’t you?”

So you do know! Shi Sui puffed her cheeks, unable to lie and say it was delicious.

She felt that Yan Tingli’s insistence on cooking was also to pour all of himself onto her to accept.

Shi Sui thought for a moment, not directly saying it was bad.

Their previous communication was always too harsh, mutually hitting sore spots.

In long-term interaction between two people, the art of language was also important.

So she carefully said: “Maybe it’s just a bit bland, add more seasoning and it’ll be fine.”

“Or,” Shi Sui thought, “I’ll cook with you, let Little Snail teach us.”

Yan Tingli’s eyebrows moved.

The tiny, sharp thorns just revealed seemed to slowly retract.

They used the remaining ingredients in the fridge to make two dishes.

That noon, Shi Sui ate the most delicious meal Yan Tingli had ever made.

Though during the process, Yan Tingli kept looking at the seasoning formulas and origins with an unclear expression.

Shi Sui snatched them away and poured them in liberally: “Put them in quickly, I’ve been eating this brand for twenty years, it won’t kill me.”

Her bold words earned Yan Tingli’s cold stare.

Shi Sui blinked once, immediately standing on tiptoes to kiss his face.

“Brother Tingli, you’re so good at cooking.”

“Smells so good.”

Yan Tingli stopped talking.

After the meal, Yan Tingli still showed signs of not wanting to leave.

He even had his secretary bring over a computer to handle accumulated work, unwilling to leave.

He stayed until evening when her parents returned, and only when it was late and he had to leave did he finally bear to go.

Sunday repeated the cycle.

Early morning, when Shi Sui was sleeping soundly, Yan Tingli entered directly, even bringing pajamas, changing and lying straight down beside her.

Yan Tingli’s “trespassing” behavior continued until mid-November after the shopping festival passed, and her parents would have free weekends again.

The last Saturday before the shopping festival, Yan Tingli lay beside her.

“I want to get married.”

“Sui Sui.”

“I want to get married, I want to openly sleep with you.”

“And do it every day.”

Seeing that he couldn’t fall asleep anymore, Yan Tingli was particularly dissatisfied.

Pressing her down, talking non-stop in her ear.

Using “want.”

Not quite forcing, but the desire in his eyes could almost burn her.

He wanted to press her head down and make her agree with her.

Shi Sui turned her eyes away, steadying herself: “No, it’s still too fast, I’m not ready.”

Yan Tingli’s lips pressed into a line, low pressure emanating from his body.

His dark pupils stared at her, again carrying obsessive intimidation.

Seemed like he couldn’t hold the rope again.

Shi Sui unceremoniously flicked his forehead: “Be normal.”

Yan Tingli slightly restrained himself.

Lowering his eyelids, using silent pressure on her.

Shi Sui turned to nuzzle his cheek, saying calmly: “I haven’t graduated yet, my work isn’t stable. Marriage is too early.”

Yan Tingli’s lips curved mockingly.

His gaze carefully observed her micro-expressions, seeming to think she was just making excuses: “Marrying me, why do you need to graduate, need stable work?”

Shi Sui choked.

This kind of worldly gap and perspective was like non-existent in his eyes.

She could only speak honestly: “Marriage is a big thing. We still need more adjustments.”

Their relationship had only improved for such a short time.

After hearing this, Yan Tingli coldly turned away.

He was unhappy, forcibly suppressing his emotions.

Not going crazy at her, Shi Sui was willing to coax him a bit.

Leaning her face over, she softly said, “Add points.”

This little trick was no longer useful, Yan Tingli was too lazy to pay attention.

Shi Sui: “This time it’s marriage points.”

Yan Tingli’s eyelashes moved slightly, but still no bigger reaction, even carelessly: “How long are you going to dangle the carrot in front of me?”

Probably having tasted too many sweet benefits recently, he was becoming harder and harder to coax.

Need to use heavier methods.

Shi Sui’s eyes moved.

Turning around, straddling him.

Just pressing down.

He immediately gave a corresponding lewd reaction.

His eyelids also lifted, with a gaze that wanted to penetrate her through the air.

Shi Sui leaned close and said, “My period is over.”

“Other places can also adjust.”

………………………..

Yan Tingli was momentarily stunned: “You—”

Shi Sui blushed and blocked his mouth, righteous: “One who stays near vermilion gets stained red.”

He said so many lewd things, and staying together long enough, she learned too.

Yan Tingli paused momentarily, suddenly chuckling.

His knuckles tightened, pinching her waist.

………………………………………….

“Then now, grind for me to see.”

“Use some force.”

In this aspect, he was indeed more lewd.

Shi Sui quickly blushed, burying her head.

Yan Tingli forcefully straightened her up.

Pinching her chin to kiss: “Didn’t you want to ‘adjust’?”

Not having done it since returning to the country, he had indeed reached his limit.

Shi Sui’s throat almost let out screams.

She couldn’t remember how long, almost the entire day, countless times.

Swaying and shaking.

Like making up for the previous three times a week.

At dusk, Shi Sui lazily propped herself up in bed.

Reaching for her phone, the work group had ninety-nine plus messages.

During rest time, she didn’t want to look, sliding past directly.

Until she saw a private message from Li Tingyan.

All long voice messages.

Shi Sui looked with a headache, directly converting to text.

Roughly, Zhao Sheng had an online meeting at noon. The meeting content was that project progress had changed, the film needed early review, and the entire team’s production had to speed up.

She and Li Tingyan were also assigned corresponding work, needing to work overtime on the weekend to polish it, ready for Monday morning meeting.

On the last text conversion, Shi Sui’s finger trembled.

Li Tingyan’s voice also rang in the empty bedroom: “Sui Sui, let’s meet at a cafe tomorrow, together—”

The rest was instinctively cut off by Shi Sui.

Unfortunately, it was a bit late.

Disturbing the light sleeper beside her.

Yan Tingli lifted his eyelids.

The two stared at each other momentarily.

His lips curved coldly, lazily propping himself up, tilting his head to ask: “Why did you cut it off? Is there something I can’t hear?”

Realizing she’d overreacted, Shi Sui also regretted it: “I was afraid of disturbing you.”

“The one who wakes me up every time is you,” Yan Tingli said coldly, “Would you be afraid of this?”

Shi Sui helplessly explained: “This person is my colleague, the company has temporary overtime, he needs to communicate with me.”

Yan Tingli made a sound from his throat: “Overtime requires private cafe meetings?”

“He’s also an intern, probably still has a student mentality.” After all, during their student days, when doing group projects, they would meet together.

Yan Tingli suddenly smiled: “Intern? Just a colleague, why are you speaking up for him?”

Shi Sui: “I’m just stating facts.”

“What’s his name?”

Shi Sui didn’t know what Yan Tingli wanted to do, whether he’d involve innocent people again like with Fang Huaijing.

She cautiously avoided: “Just an ordinary colleague.”

Her answer didn’t satisfy him.

Yan Tingli emanated more dangerous aura, his tone also cold: “I haven’t been watching you for just a few days, and there’s already someone new?”

His unreasonable troublemaking momentum was trending back.

Every time any male appeared around her, he would get sick to different degrees.

Shi Sui’s chest felt somewhat blocked.

She told herself to stay calm, be patient.

But this kind of returning oppression made her relive the previous suffocating feeling, and the collapse of thinking she’d succeeded but failed at the crucial moment.

Shi Sui said flatly: “Yan Tingli, you can’t interfere with my normal work life.”

“Normal life is going to cafes with males?” Yan Tingli pinched her chin. “Do you think I’m dead?”

Shi Sui couldn’t bear it: “When did I say I was going to a cafe with him?”

“And even if I did, it’s normal between colleagues. Why do you always view my relationships with males through colored glasses?”

Yan Tingli said icily: “Ordering male models with Zhou Xuyan, letting Fang Huaijing feed you, going on dates with Theodore.”

“Which one did I wrongly accuse you of?”

His eyes were like a cold pond: “Shi Sui, you’re only suitable for being locked up at home by me, only allowed to look at me alone.”

“You have no sense of boundaries at all.”

Yan Tingli rarely said such a long paragraph, but it made Shi Sui almost unable to catch her breath.

Words came out without going through her brain: “That’s because you’re sick, go see a psychologist.”

As soon as she said it, she regretted it.

Because Yan Tingli’s eyelashes moved, his expression became frightening, again trending toward an approaching storm.