“Oh really?” Mu Heng raised a brow and smiled at the phone screen.

“Would I lie to you? Alright, it’s getting late — interrupting someone else’s private time together isn’t very considerate.” Xie Yan’s lips curved faintly. He gave Yan Yunning a playful wink, and under her awkward expression, ended the video call.

“…” With the call disconnected, Yan Yunning turned over onto her side, tucked the throw pillow behind her head, and scrolled through videos for another half hour or so. Her eyelids began to droop, little by little, and within seconds her breathing grew long and steady.

By the time Xuan Yanyu wrapped up the video conference, it was already half past midnight. He stretched lazily and walked over to crouch beside the sofa.

The girl was lying on her side, deeply asleep. Long strands of hair had fallen across half her face. Her breathing was even and light, and with her knees drawn up, her sleep dress had ridden up slightly.

The patch of pale skin it revealed was startlingly distracting. Xuan Yanyu pressed down the flutter in his chest, reached over, and pinched the shirt she was wearing — his shirt — gently tugging the hem down.

“Yan Yunning.” The man’s throat shifted subtly. He spoke quietly. “You really trust me.”

“I don’t even trust myself around you this much.” Xuan Yanyu’s eyes darkened, and something nameless stirred in his chest. He bent down and scooped the sleeping girl into his arms.

Catching a familiar scent, Yan Yunning wrapped her arms around Xuan Yanyu’s waist and instinctively pressed herself closer into him.

The man’s breath hitched briefly. Was she genuinely this at ease with him specifically, or was she simply this reckless with everyone?

The thought made Xuan Yanyu’s expression turn heavy as he looked down at her. A moment later, resigned, he carried her to the door, pushed it open, and crossed the hall to the room opposite.

Not wanting the light to disturb Yan Yunning, he didn’t turn on the lamp, navigating by the moonlight filtering into the room.

He lowered Yan Yunning gently onto the bed, drew the thin blanket over her, then reached up and tapped the touch panel on the wall beside the headboard. The curtains, sensing the command, slowly drew closed.

When he was satisfied nothing was amiss, the man bent down. His slender, defined fingers lightly flicked the tip of the sleeping girl’s nose. His voice came out slightly hoarse.

“Yan Yunning, it’s a good thing it’s me. If it were anyone else, you’d be in real trouble, you little fool — you have absolutely no guard up.”

“Doesn’t Yan Jingjing practically dote on you? Did he never teach you that you can’t go wandering into a man’s room in the middle of the night?” Xuan Yanyu grew more irritated the more he spoke. “And what couldn’t wait until morning to ask?”

“And then you just… fell asleep.” Xuan Yanyu’s fingertips grazed Yan Yunning’s petal-soft cheek, and he clenched his jaw lightly. “I really ought to teach you a lesson.”

——

The following morning, Yan Yunning was pulled from sleep by a piercing ringtone.

She groped around under the blanket for a long moment before finding the phone. She opened her eyes to the thinnest of slits, answered the call, held it to her ear, and let her eyes fall shut again.

“Young Master Xuan, Mr. Qi and Miss Xingyou have returned to the country. They’d like to invite you to dinner this evening.” Ye Jian’s low, steady voice came through the receiver.

Yan Yunning gave a groggy “Mm.”

The sound was barely audible, but Ye Jian on the other end caught Yan Yunning’s voice unmistakably. Disbelieving, he pulled the phone away from his ear and double-checked the number. He hadn’t dialed wrong.

Once the shock wore off, Ye Jian asked carefully, “Miss… Miss Yan — is Young Master Xuan with you?”

“…” Silence from the other end.

He asked again, and still received no response. He could only hang up.

“That was Miss Yan who answered?” Ye Chen crowded over, full of curiosity.

Ye Jian gave him a sideways glance. “Yes.”

Ye Chen slapped his thigh. “Then — then — then doesn’t that mean Young Master Xuan and Miss Yan spent the night in the same room?”

“Tsk.” Ye’an wrinkled his brow. “Can you — can you — can you try speaking like a normal person?”

Ye Chen rolled his eyes, fished a steamed pork bun out of his pocket, and took a bite. “But seriously, is Miss Yan the real lady of the house now?”

Ye’an smiled in a way that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Want to know?”

“Obviously.” Ye Chen stuffed the rest of the pork bun into his mouth and mumbled, “If I didn’t want to know, would I be asking?”

Ye’an lazily propped himself against the corridor pillar, brow arching. “Why don’t you go ask Young Master Xuan yourself?”

“Why don’t you go?” Ye Chen reached into his other pocket for a carton of milk, jammed in a straw, and had just begun to lift it toward his mouth when Ye’an — who had clearly been biding his time — snatched it clean away.

“Thanks.” Ye’an drained the entire carton in two or three gulps and lobbed the empty box into the rubbish bin.

“Have you no decency?” Ye Chen ground his back teeth and swung a fist at him.

Ye’an naturally had no intention of taking a hit for free. The two of them headed outside the estate grounds and began sparring.

Ye Jian watched them, pressed his fingers to his temple in resignation, and headed off to the dining hall for breakfast.

——

Half past ten in the morning.

After washing up, Yan Yunning picked up her phone and checked the time, then bit her lip in vague discomfort. First day staying here, and she’d already slept past ten…

She lingered in her room for a while before finally opening her door — and ran into Xuan Zhaowen, who was stifling a yawn. Having company immediately dissolved Yan Yunning’s awkwardness.

It was rather like being late for work and feeling frantic, then spotting a colleague who was equally late — and instantly feeling fine.

“Ningning.” Xuan Zhaowen quickened her steps and hooked her arm through Yan Yunning’s, her voice heavy with drowsiness. “My head is killing me.”

“Why didn’t you sleep a bit longer?” Yan Yunning steadied the swaying Xuan Zhaowen.

“Mm… Qingchen-ge’s call woke me up.” Xuan Zhaowen said, voice soft and fuzzy.

Yan Yunning’s eyes paused for a moment, her curiosity about the whole situation — Shiyao, Qi Qingchen, Xuan Zhaowen, A’Ci — deepening further.

Worried Yan Yunning might not know who Qi Qingchen was, Xuan Zhaowen offered an explanation. “Ningning, Qingchen-ge is my brother’s friend. He fell ill and has been getting treatment abroad. He must have recovered — he’s back now, and he brought his daughter Xingyou with him.”

“Ningning, little Xingyou is absolutely adorable. She wins everyone over instantly. You’ll love her when you meet her.”

Yan Yunning smiled faintly. “Is that so.”

After a pause, she asked, “Ranran, what illness did Qingchen-ge have?”

Xuan Zhaowen blinked sleepily and sighed. “According to what my brother told me, there’s something in his head — it’s been pressing against an important part of the brain. He would fall unconscious frequently, and surgery wasn’t an option. They could only wait for it to calcify on its own, or shift to a position where surgery became possible.”

“Since Qingchen-ge is back now, I suppose it means he’s alright.”

Yan Yunning said nothing, her brow furrowed. Coming back to the country didn’t necessarily mean he was alright — it might mean there was no longer any hope.

She suddenly understood now — the trip abroad that Xuan Yanyu had taken with Shiyao, the one he’d also wanted her to accompany him on. It had almost certainly been to visit Qi Qingchen.

Qi Qingchen…

Shiyao…

Did the Shiyao of today truly love Qi Qingchen — or did she only love his money?

Since Qi Qingchen fell ill, the current president of the Qi Corporation was Qi Qingxian. Putting that together with what she had overheard in the hospital ward — Shiyao refusing to go back to living without money — it started to make sense why Shiyao would set her sights on Xuan Xixi.

Yet if Qi Qingchen were to pass away, Xuan Xixi, as Qingchen’s closest friend, would inevitably look after his child regardless. So why would Shiyao need to come after her specifically?

Unless… the person Shiyao wanted to marry was Xuan Xixi himself!

That was why she had been targeting her at every turn!

——