When Qian Wei woke up, Lu Xun was already gone. Outside, a light rain was still falling, though nothing like the storm from before — no more thunder, no more lightning. She threw back the covers and discovered she was completely bare, her fair skin covered in a dense scattering of dark bruises. Her skin had always been sensitive, prone to bruising from even the slightest bump — and the moment she registered exactly how these marks had gotten there, the blood rushed straight to her face. When she tried to sit up, a mortifying soreness low in her body made unmistakably clear exactly what had happened the night before.

“Qian Wei? You’re awake?”

Lu Xun had apparently been waiting quietly just outside the door for her to wake, because the instant she stirred, he knocked and let himself in.

Compared to her disheveled state, Lu Xun looked positively radiant. His face, if anything, looked even more handsome than usual — despite having barely slept the whole night through, his skin practically glowed. Qian Wei found herself instinctively wondering whether he’d secretly been practicing some kind of dark cultivation technique that let him drain her vitality to replenish his own — because how else could the same night leave him looking this luminous while she felt thoroughly wrung out?

Lu Xun glanced at the pale sliver of her shoulder peeking out from under the blanket, then looked away, a little embarrassed. “Let me go get you some clothes.” With that, he quickly left the room.

Qian Wei’s mouth twisted. Men — such hypocrites. Now he wanted to play the gentleman and avert his eyes. He certainly hadn’t been so principled last night.

As she thought this, she accidentally shifted and felt a sharp twinge below, wincing through gritted teeth, her embarrassment curdling fast into irritation.

Soon, Lu Xun returned with — another white dress shirt.

Seeing yet another white shirt only fanned her irritation further. She turned her head away. “I don’t want to wear that one.”

Lu Xun looked sheepish. “It’s the only one left.” He lowered his head. “Last night was my fault.”

Qian Wei, blushing, turned away, wishing she could clap her hands over her ears — she didn’t even have the courage to relive last night in her own head.

But of course Lu Xun had to bring it up anyway. “Put it on, it’s still pretty cold out — don’t catch a chill.” He paused. “Don’t worry, seeing you in a white shirt today, I won’t lose control like I did last night. I’ll keep myself in check.”

That was somehow worse — hearing it only made Qian Wei think back to exactly how badly he’d lost control, and her face flushed all over again.

“Does it still hurt?”

Qian Wei thought, how dare you even ask that — do you not have any sense of your own proportions?

Lu Xun mistook her stunned silence for shyness. He kissed her forehead and murmured gently in her ear, “It’s always more painful the first time. It’ll be better after this.”

Excuse me? “After this,” as in there’d be more? To hell with you, Lu Xun!

“Get changed, I’ll wait outside.” With that, he stood, kissed her once more, and left.

Cursing him silently the whole while, Qian Wei gritted her teeth and, fighting through the discomfort, got dressed.

She stepped out and glanced at the clock on the wall — it was nearly ten already.

“I made breakfast, come eat something.” Lu Xun turned and headed back into the kitchen as he spoke, returning a moment later with several dishes.

A bowl of golden millet porridge cooked to perfection, a plate of steamed taro and pumpkin, a fried egg, a stir-fry of carrots and mixed vegetables, and a cup of warm milk.

Qian Wei really was hungry. Clutching her stomach, she tried to make her way to the table, but every step felt like walking on knife blades, like some fairy-tale mermaid who’d traded her fins for legs.

Lu Xun quickly picked up on her state. Without a word, he came over, swept her up by the waist, and carried her to the table, setting her down seated on his lap.

“Eat up.”

Qian Wei hesitated, remembering yesterday’s disaster of dishes, each somehow both too sweet and too salty…

“Today’s fine, I already tested it.” As he said it, he scooped up a spoonful of porridge and held it to her lips.

She opened her mouth instinctively.

To her surprise, this time he genuinely hadn’t lied — the porridge melted in her mouth, studded with fish slices, delicately seasoned but rich in flavor, salted just right. She took the spoon from him and had a few more bites, finding it better with each one. She tried the other dishes too — every one of them practically flawless, indistinguishable from something a professional food blogger would post.

She eyed him suspiciously. “Did you buy these somewhere?”

Lu Xun blinked. “I made them myself. Want to see the kitchen? Though it’s not cleaned up yet.”

“Then why is your technique suddenly this much better today, when yesterday’s was completely inedible…”

Lu Xun looked mortified. “Because yesterday, with you dressed like that, I was a little distracted the whole time…”

“…”

“So last night was still my fault?” Qian Wei said, feeling wronged. Shifting her weight made her backside ache again, and the more she thought about it, the more annoyed she got. She squirmed, trying to get off his lap. “I don’t want to sit on you.”

But she hadn’t wriggled for long before Lu Xun’s breathing turned uneven and heavy again. He pinned her firmly back in place. “Don’t move.”

Qian Wei ignored him — until something hard pressed against her from behind.

Lu Xun held her still. “Don’t move. I’m already barely holding on.”

That was enough to make her freeze completely. After last night’s experience, she was thoroughly spooked — was Lu Xun even human? Even the strongest character in a game had a cooldown between special moves. Was he cheating somehow?

Grumbling internally, she nonetheless settled down, and the two of them finished breakfast without further incident. Lu Xun finally seemed to calm down too, releasing her, his expression a mix of embarrassment and unease.

“I should probably keep some distance from you for now.”

Qian Wei was more than happy to oblige. She backed away, practically into the corner of the room, and accidentally kicked the trash can leaning against the wall. Glancing down at it out of reflex, her face immediately flushed crimson all over again.

Inside the trash can lay several used condoms.

The chaos of the night before was such a blur that Qian Wei couldn’t even remember how many times Lu Xun had… she only vaguely recalled him removing one and putting on another…

Seeing the evidence laid bare in the trash can now, she finally grasped just how intense last night had actually been — and that was when something else occurred to her.

“Lu Xun, you brought me to your place, and you just happened to be carrying condoms on you?” She bit her lip. “And you tried to tell me it was only because of what I was wearing that you lost control? ” She pointed at the trash can. “This looks like premeditation to me.”

Lu Xun’s face colored slightly, though he still denied it. “I wasn’t planning anything.” He looked away. “When I went to buy salt, I needed change, but the register happened to be out of small bills, so I just grabbed a box off the shelf without thinking — the price happened to round things out evenly, so there was no need for change.”

“…” Qian Wei thought, sure, I totally believe that…

But just as the two of them stood there in awkward, blushing silence, the front door suddenly rattled with the sound of a key turning in the lock.

Qian Wei froze, both suspicious and alarmed. “Who is it?”

Lu Xun looked equally tense and flustered. “Might be my mom. She’s the only one with a spare key here.”

That was more than enough to send Qian Wei into a full panic, the color draining from her face. “What do we do, what do we do?” Dressed like this, with faint marks still visible on her neck and collarbone, and the whole charged atmosphere between them — there was no way she could meet his mother right now!

“I— I need to hide.” In her panic, Qian Wei barely had time to think it through. Before the front door could open, she spun around and dove into Lu Xun’s bedroom.

The very next second, the door clicked open.

“Xun-xun?” Lu Xun’s mother sounded surprised. “Why are you staying here today?”

This was the first time Lu Xun had ever faced a situation like this, and though he tried hard to maintain his usual composure, he was, after all, still a nineteen-year-old — a faint, poorly concealed tension crept into his voice. “I remembered I’d left some things here I needed, and by the time I got them, the storm had already hit, so I just decided to stay the night.”

Fortunately, his mother didn’t seem suspicious. “Ah, I see. I actually came by because I was worried the window I’d opened to air the place out last time might still be open, and I didn’t want the rain flooding in.”

“It’s fine, I’m here — you didn’t need to make a special trip. Why didn’t you check with me first?”

At that, a note of complaint crept into his mother’s voice. “I called you a dozen times last night and this morning, and you didn’t pick up once. If I’d known you were here, I wouldn’t have bothered coming all this way.” As she spoke, her hands were already busy tidying up the room. “What happened to you last night? You never go this long without calling back — are you feeling unwell?”

Lu Xun looked away and improvised smoothly. “I had no idea you’d called. My phone’s been on silent since yesterday, I never heard it ring. Good thing you reminded me, I’ll turn the sound back on right now.”

But fate seemed to be toying with him — no sooner had the words left his mouth than his supposedly silent-since-last-night phone began ringing loudly.

“…”

His mother eyed him appraisingly, arms crossed, studying him.

“Mom…”

“All right, all right.” She waved a hand. “You’re grown now, I’ll give you your space. But next time, call me back — otherwise we worry.”

Lu Xun let out a breath of relief. “Okay.”

But that relief was short-lived, because his mother, while clearing away the leftover food on the table, started heading toward the trash can — and if she got close enough, she’d inevitably spot the condoms sitting right there in it…