He only said this one sentence and then returned the phone to her hands. Seeing Shu Nian’s stunned expression, Xie Ruhe restrained the smile at the corners of his mouth and calmly went back to preparing the seasonings.

Shu Nian stared woodenly at the phone screen with her head lowered.

After a long silence.

Ke Yiqing sent a string of ellipses: […]

At this moment, Shu Nian suddenly realized what Xie Ruhe had just said. Her cheeks grew hot, and she helplessly covered the phone, not daring to look at Ke Yiqing’s subsequent messages.

At this time, Xie Ruhe was wearing disposable gloves, mixing the seasonings with the fish fillets.

Shu Nian clutched her phone, unconsciously dangling her legs in the air, and asked in extreme embarrassment: “Why did you say that…”

Xie Ruhe kept his eyes lowered and said lightly: “I borrowed your phone.”

“Hm?”

He didn’t look over, so Shu Nian could only see his profile and his slightly upturned lips. The warm yellow light shining through the window beside him made Xie Ruhe’s appearance somewhat unreal, making it impossible to discern his current emotions.

The next second, Xie Ruhe stopped his movements.

Shu Nian heard him say: “Just replying by the way.”

“…” Shu Nian was intimidated by his serious tone.

Oh.

So he meant that when he wanted to use her phone, he suddenly saw the WeChat messages Ke Yiqing had sent her.

So he replied for her by the way.

Shu Nian nodded in a daze. She illuminated her phone screen again and suddenly remembered that after he sent the voice message, he didn’t do anything else but immediately returned the phone to her.

Thinking of this, Shu Nian secretly glanced at Xie Ruhe, then lowered her head and curved her lips.

Xie Ruhe took off his gloves, put the marinating fish fillets aside, and washed the vegetables.

Having nothing to do, Shu Nian simply started chatting with him: “I heard Ke Yiqing say before that a variety show she participated in also invited you. Did you go?”

Xie Ruhe said: “No.”

Shu Nian asked curiously: “Does this happen often?”

Xie Ruhe answered honestly: “It used to happen often, but I declined them all. Now it’s less frequent.”

“Oh.” Shu Nian said softly, “If you went on shows, surely more people would like you.”

Hearing this, Xie Ruhe looked at her, his expression seeming thoughtful: “Why?”

Shu Nian looked at his face and said earnestly: “You’re good-looking.”

Not expecting such an answer, Xie Ruhe was visibly stunned for a moment and walked to her front. He wiped the water on his hands onto his apron and asked: “You think so too?”

Shu Nian sat on the countertop, much shorter than him.

Before she could speak, Xie Ruhe suddenly made another move, placing his arms on either side of her body. They were quite close, so close that if Shu Nian raised her head, she could kiss his chin.

She felt a bit nervous and nodded slightly.

Xie Ruhe bent over a little, looking at her at eye level.

Shu Nian’s head instinctively drew back, but he held the back of her head, keeping her in place.

The hair on his forehead had grown a bit longer, covering his thick eyebrows. His double eyelid creases were deep, covered by long, slender eyelashes, and his eyes were so dark they seemed to shine.

Like a gentle invader.

Then, Xie Ruhe said in a husky voice: “What part looks good?”

Shu Nian licked her lips, enchanted by his almond-shaped eyes, and raised her hand to touch the corner of his eye.

Xie Ruhe asked: “My eyes?”

Shu Nian made a low sound of affirmation.

The corner of his eye curved, as if he smiled a little, with twinkling light in his eyes. Xie Ruhe grabbed her hand, his voice dropping even lower, asking enticingly: “Then do you want to kiss them?”

After dinner, they cleaned up the table and kitchen.

Having occupied almost all of Xie Ruhe’s day, Shu Nian didn’t want to disturb him further and returned to the room to continue organizing her things. She took out her clothes one by one, folding them carefully.

Soon after, Xie Ruhe came in to get a set of clothes. He didn’t say anything, just glanced at her as if wanting to see what she was doing, and quickly left.

Shu Nian inexplicably recalled what had happened in the kitchen earlier. She covered her burning face, picked up her clothes, and opened the wardrobe to take a look. She discovered that a certain section of the wardrobe, which had been full yesterday morning, was now empty.

He had left more than half the space for her.

She paused, slowly stuffing her clothes inside.

The originally dark-colored wardrobe suddenly had other bright colors. It was as if one person had invaded another’s life, bringing different things. Although extremely mismatched, it somehow looked harmonious.

Shu Nian stared at it for a while and began to smile to herself.

Closing the wardrobe door, Shu Nian returned to the suitcase and took out the remaining items. Several medicine bottles were particularly noticeable on the side. She hesitated for a few seconds and hid the medicine bottles in her makeup bag.

After organizing everything, all that remained was the photo of Shu Gaoli she had brought.

Shu Nian took it out and wiped it with her sleeve.

Looking at her father’s serious face in the photo, she felt somewhat guilty and stammered: “Dad, I need to tell you something…, that I’m living with my boyfriend before marriage.”

She lowered her head and reflected glumly: “I didn’t listen to you. I know what I’m doing is wrong.”

After a while.

Shu Nian scratched her face, explaining to herself: “But my boyfriend is good, so I think it’s fine. I’ll consider things myself. I’ve known him for a long time… You know him too. I originally wanted to tell you when things were more stable.”

As if afraid of being heard, Shu Nian’s voice lowered further, though her mood seemed good.

“…It’s Xie Ruhe.”

On the other side.

Xie Ruhe finished his shower and came out of the bathroom just after eight o’clock. He dried his hair with a towel, glanced at the innermost room, and hesitantly knocked on the door.

Shu Nian’s voice came from inside: “Come in.”

Xie Ruhe only opened a small crack.

At this moment, Shu Nian was lying on the bed playing with her phone. Seeing him open the door, she looked over at him, appearing obedient and calm, with nothing seeming amiss.

He inwardly sighed in relief and said softly: “I’ll be in the studio in a bit.”

Hearing this, Shu Nian was a bit confused.

Xie Ruhe added: “I won’t close the door. If you need me, you can just call out. I’ll be able to hear you.”

“…” Shu Nian blinked and nodded, “Okay.”

After thinking for a moment, Xie Ruhe added: “You can come over if you want.”

Shu Nian hesitantly asked: “Won’t I disturb you?”

Xie Ruhe answered honestly: “You will.”

Shu Nian made a sound of understanding: “Then forget—”

Before she could finish, he interrupted expressionlessly: “But I’d quite like to be disturbed.”

“…” Shu Nian understood his meaning and immediately sat up. It was as if she had been very obviously enticed but still fell for it. Her breathing slowed slightly as she pretended to be calm and replied, “Then I’ll come over after I shower.”

The corners of Xie Ruhe’s mouth curved imperceptibly as he made an affirmative sound and then left the room.

He entered the recording studio and sat down on the chair.

Just as he was about to turn on all the equipment, Xie Ruhe’s phone suddenly rang.

It was a call from Fang Wencheng.

“Young Master.” Fang Wencheng said, “The property management just called me, saying there’s a group of people outside the community claiming to be your relatives, wanting to come up to find you. They seem to be relatives from your father’s side.”

Xie Ruhe didn’t stop what he was doing and didn’t respond to these words.

Fang Wencheng continued: “They’ve been pestering for quite a while and refuse to leave.”

Xie Ruhe picked up a nearby guitar, his expression showing no patience. He gave a light laugh and then asked coolly: “Do I need to teach you everything now?”

“…”

“Or are you specifically calling to let me call the police myself?”

Just mentioning this made Xie Ruhe bristle all over.

Fang Wencheng found it headache-inducing and tactfully said: “There are also elderly people, your grandfather and grandmother. The property management finds it difficult to handle. Calling the police seems a bit…”

Xie Ruhe didn’t listen to the end and directly hung up.

His previously good mood vanished instantly. He felt that those people were like maggots, impossible to shake off no matter how hard he tried. The blood flowing in his body also made him feel disgusted and unbearable.

He was obsessing over it.

People who were good to him, he could remember for a lifetime.

And for people who had shown him even the slightest malice, no matter how many years passed, no matter how much compensation that person made.

When Xie Ruhe heard that name again, he would instantly be filled with hostility, his hatred not diminished in the slightest. Even people associated with him would make Xie Ruhe feel as disgusted as if dealing with garbage.

That kind of hatred and despair had penetrated to the marrow.

It was something he could never reconcile within this lifetime.

Xie Ruhe didn’t know if Fang Wencheng had continued to handle the matter afterward.

He didn’t call again.

After quite a while, Xie Ruhe received a WeChat message from Shu Nian.

[I’m a bit sleepy, so I won’t come over after all.]

[Sleep early.]

Xie Ruhe paused, looking at the time in the center of the phone’s status bar.

Just past nine o’clock.

He frowned, feeling something wasn’t right, and got up to knock on Shu Nian’s door. Soon, Shu Nian’s muffled voice came from inside: “What is it?”

Xie Ruhe pressed his lips together and made up an excuse: “I want to get something.”

After half a minute, Shu Nian’s footsteps sounded from inside. She didn’t speak proactively, just turned the doorknob, making the lock emit an unlocking sound. Then she opened the door.

Probably just after taking a shower, Shu Nian was dripping wet all over.

Exactly like in the morning.

Still not having dried herself before coming out, as if hastily escaping.

Xie Ruhe walked in.

Shu Nian stood aside without moving, like a child who had done something wrong.

Xie Ruhe took a towel from the wardrobe and dried her hair, asking: “Why didn’t you call me?”

Shu Nian couldn’t lie and said with her head lowered: “I just wanted to sleep.”

Xie Ruhe asked seriously: “Are you afraid of the sound of dripping water?”

Shu Nian was silent for a few seconds, then nodded.

Xie Ruhe said: “If you’re afraid, why didn’t you call me?”

She played with her fingers, her emotions appearing somewhat agitated, and didn’t speak.

The room suddenly became quiet.

Shu Nian moved her lips but didn’t say anything. After a while, she shook her head and said: “Just for a moment.”

Xie Ruhe wanted to say something more, but the next moment, Shu Nian climbed back onto the bed, buried herself in the quilt, and said in a muffled voice: “Get what you need. I’m going to sleep.”

Her state was very abnormal.

Xie Ruhe stood in place for a while, completely unable to leave her alone with peace of mind. He stared at the small lump under the quilt, suddenly walked over, and directly picked her up through the quilt.

Separated by a thick layer of fabric, they couldn’t see each other’s appearances or expressions.

Shu Nian was frightened by his sudden action, her voice rising: “What are you doing…”

The next moment.

Xie Ruhe calmly uttered three words.

“Getting something.”