In Shen Yi’s eyes as he gazed at her, there was an emotion he couldn’t quite put into words.

There was too much hidden in his eyes, too much he’d been suppressing. In the depths of Rong Qian’s gaze, he saw his own restless stirring.

Shen Yi took a deep breath, swallowing back the words that had nearly escaped his lips.

“What kind of threat could Thomas pose to me?”

Rong Qian let out a breath of relief. “This much I can tell you.”

But the moment the words left her mouth, Rong Qian suddenly froze. Her expression grew more and more confused, and finally her brows knotted together as she muttered to herself, “That’s strange… why can’t I remember? Did I really hurt my brain that badly?”

“What’s wrong?” Shen Yi asked, concerned.

Rong Qian rubbed the back of her head, her small face crumpling. “I forgot what time it was.”

“Time?”

“Yes—the time when something happened to you. I remember it was this year, but which month, which day—I’ve forgotten. I don’t even have any impression of where it happened.” Rong Qian wondered if she’d read through the newspaper too quickly and not paid attention to the date.

But with her memory, it wasn’t possible to forget every single detail. This was far too strange.

Rong Qian forced herself to try to remember, and the harder she tried, the more her head hurt.

“Stop trying!” Shen Yi quickly stopped her.

Rong Qian gave up, saying with frustration, “It must be because of the alcohol. This troublemaking stuff—I really shouldn’t drink it!”

Shen Yi was amused by her, finding that she could always stir his emotions.

“Thank you,” Shen Yi suddenly said to her.

Rong Qian didn’t understand. “Thank me for what?”

“Nothing, I just wanted to say thank you.” Shen Yi smiled as he said this, ruffling her hair. “It’s getting late. Let’s go back and sleep.”

Rong Qian seemed to understand what he was thanking her for, so she smiled brightly and said, “No need to thank me—it’s only what I should do.”

Shen Yi gazed at her intently, his eyes seeming as though they might drown in her smile. The distance between them was so close—only a bottle of whiskey separated them—that if he lowered his head, he could touch her softest lips.

Shen Yi wanted to. But he couldn’t.

He was the first to stand, refusing to let himself keep staring into her eyes, afraid he’d lose himself in them, unable to control himself.

Rong Qian didn’t notice anything off about him. Standing up after him, the two of them now stood side by side, and only then did Rong Qian realize—he’d already grown a full head taller than her.

“How did you get so tall?”

Rong Qian rose onto her tiptoes, placing a hand atop her head and comparing it to him, and found that the top of her head only reached his neck—if she stood flat, it would only come up to his shoulder.

Not long ago, they’d been the same height. In the blink of an eye, she now had to tilt her head back to look up at him.

Shen Yi thought it over and explained, “Human height is primarily determined by genetics, with environment, nutrition, and exercise as secondary factors. Height is regulated by growth hormone in the body, which follows certain patterns. During puberty—”

“Stop, stop right there!” Rong Qian cut him off in time. “I know all the theory already. I was just teasing you a little—at a time like this you’re supposed to act proud, or, tease me back.”

“Such as?”

“Such as—forget it, forget it, no one teaches people how to be teased back. Go on, go to sleep.” Rong Qian gave up decisively, tidied up the things on the ground, and headed back to sleep.

Shen Yi followed her the whole way, and even when Rong Qian was about to enter the room, he was still there. So she simply waved at him and said, “Good night, you should head back to your room and sleep too.”

“This is my room.”

Rong Qian: “…” She really had had too much to drink!

The next morning at six, Rong Qian woke up. She heard movement downstairs, and stepping out of her room, looked down to see several cleaning aunties tidying up.

Still half-asleep, Rong Qian stretched lazily. After washing up in the bathroom and coming out, she passed by the kitchen and happened to notice one of the cleaning aunties inside, glancing around furtively.

Rong Qian quickly hid herself. After a moment, the cleaning auntie came out of the kitchen and left.

Rong Qian crossed her arms, looking thoughtful, and went into the kitchen herself. She came back out not long after.

At seven, Xu Mo arrived with breakfast.

The breakfast had been ordered by Shen Yi—from Lan Fong Yuen Tea Restaurant, where Xu Mo had had to wait in a long line to get it.

He carried in several bags full to the brim, and as he unpacked the takeout containers one by one, he didn’t notice Rong Qian standing right behind him. The moment she spoke, Xu Mo nearly jumped out of his skin!

“How do you walk without making any sound at all?” Xu Mo turned and accused her at once.

Rong Qian smiled apologetically. “I wasn’t trying to scare you—you were probably just too focused.”

“It’s clearly that you don’t make any sound when you walk.” Xu Mo refused to back down, putting on a sour face and giving her no warmth at all.

Rong Qian, however, didn’t mind in the slightest—or rather, she simply didn’t care.

Glancing out of the corner of her eye at the cleaning auntie not far behind them, Rong Qian bumped Xu Mo’s arm and asked in a lowered voice, “Who hired these cleaning aunties?”

“The housekeeping company arranged them—they come once a week to clean. Since Shen Yi usually doesn’t have time to come stay here, this house basically sits empty most of the time.”

Rong Qian said without thinking, “Didn’t he come back here last night, though?”

“And whose fault is that?” Xu Mo said irritably, giving her a look that was full of resentment.

Hearing this, Rong Qian sensed something was a bit off. Why did this guy have so much hostility toward her?

Wait—did he like Shen Yi?!

At the moment Rong Qian said this, Xu Mo happened to be drinking tea, and—predictably—he spat it out!

“Cough, cough—what are you even talking about!” Xu Mo choked, staring at her in disbelief.

Rong Qian shrugged. “Then why do you have so much hostility toward me? It’s like I stole your man or something.”

“I’m just worried you’ll hurt my boss!” Xu Mo snapped, embarrassed and angry.

Rong Qian paused, about to say something, when Shen Yi walked over just then, towel in hand, drying his damp hair, the heat of a fresh shower still clinging to him. He came to stand beside Rong Qian, and the man’s clean, cool scent enveloped her.

“Who’s going to hurt me?”

His voice carried a low, slightly rough huskiness. Rong Qian looked up, and from this close, she could see the movement of his Adam’s apple as he spoke.

Xu Mo froze, momentarily at a loss. Just as he braced himself for Rong Qian to tattle on him to Shen Yi, Rong Qian instead said, “It’s not quite harm, but it will be bad for you.”

As she said this, she gave them a meaningful glance. Xu Mo instinctively followed her gaze—one of the cleaning aunties was wiping down a vase.

Xu Mo asked, puzzled, “What about her?”

“I just saw her acting suspicious in the kitchen earlier, and then I found this in the trash can.” Rong Qian pulled something out of her pocket—a small black plastic part.

Xu Mo picked it up and studied it for a long while, still unable to tell what it was. “What is this little cap-looking thing? Where’d you find it?”

“A miniature surveillance device,” Shen Yi said at this point.

Rong Qian’s mouth curled up. “Exactly. It’s a leftover part from installing a hidden camera.”

Xu Mo’s eyes went wide instantly. A camera? What was this cleaning auntie doing installing surveillance equipment here?

“Have them all stop what they’re doing. Tell them I have something I’d like to discuss with them.” A flicker of displeasure crossed Shen Yi’s face. He tossed the towel over the back of a chair and sat down in another seat.

He didn’t lose his temper, and never once raised his voice in anger throughout—but the atmosphere visibly froze solid.

Xu Mo didn’t dare even breathe too loudly. He hurried to have all the working cleaning aunties drop what they were doing and gather together.