While cleaning off the soil, Zhou Mi also washed her face. The makeup she had painstakingly applied for half an hour that morning was completely gone, returning her to a plain, bare-faced state.

Zhang Lian was already in the kitchen helping Tang Peili serve dishes.

“Zhou Mi’s father is eating lunch at the company, he can’t come home—” Tang Peili was grinning from ear to ear, repeatedly saying: “Oh, please sit down. I can handle this.”

“It’s no trouble.” Zhang Lian finally placed the rice cooker pot on the table.

Seeing how mature and considerate he was, Tang Peili became increasingly dissatisfied with her daughter, who showed not the slightest awareness, and started calling out again: “Mimi, why are you still in the bathroom? Don’t you know it’s time to eat?”

Zhou Mi, wiping her face with a towel in front of the mirror: “…”

Zhang Lian smiled and took a seat.

Seeing her daughter finally return to the kitchen, Tang Peili hurriedly handed her the orange soda she was holding, with an irritated tone: “Pour this for Zhang Lian!”

Zhou Mi took it with both hands, clutching it to her chest and standing in place for a moment before tilting the bottle to pour into the paper cup in front of Zhang Lian.

Zhang Lian said, “Thank you.”

Zhou Mi replied: “You’re welcome.”

Zhang Lian glanced at her again, unsurprisingly discovering that the makeup on her face had completely vanished. Her bangs were wet and clinging to her forehead, like a pure white camellia freshly touched by dew.

He contentedly lowered his eyes, picked up his cup, and took a sip.

Zhou Mi also poured half a cup for herself, murmuring: “You’re so fake. You don’t do any housework at your own home, but when you come to my place, you act like a domestic expert.”

Zhang Lian looked at her: “Learning to adapt allows one to maintain a consistently good and effective state of living.”

Zhou Mi smiled without speaking.

After Tang Peili sat down, the meal fully transformed into an “other people’s children” teaching edition. Throughout the meal, Zhou Mi listened to her mother’s endless praise and concerned inquiries directed at her ideal “son-in-law Zhang.”

Her brain and eardrums rang in unison. She gulped down her drink, scooped two spoonfuls of rice, finished eating hastily, and escaped back to her room seeking some peace.

Sitting cross-legged at her desk, happily scrolling through popular funny posts on Weibo, Zhou Mi suddenly felt a shadow darken her side.

She turned her face upward to find that Zhang Lian had somehow come to her bedroom and was looking at the spines of books on her high shelf.

He pulled out a gray-covered book and casually flipped through a few pages.

Zhou Mi stretched her neck, intending to glimpse the book title, but instead caught the man’s gaze falling from the edge of the book.

Like beams of light penetrating a dense forest.

When he wasn’t showing any emotion, Zhang Lian’s eyes always gave people a similar feeling—a mountain pond, or clear tea in a cup, capable of creating a serene atmosphere.

The sound of him closing the book with a snap startled Zhou Mi out of her almost dazed attention.

“Finished eating?” Zhou Mi hurriedly pressed her phone back to the home screen, randomly searching for a conversation.

Zhang Lian made an “mm” sound.

She pointed with her thumb toward the bed: “Are you tired? Do you want to take a nap?”

Zhang Lian followed her gesture to look at the matchbox-like thing: “Sleep in your infant bed?”

“…” Zhou Mi forced herself to remain calm, and smiled again: “Yes—”

But Zhang Lian agreed: “Alright.”

Zhou Mi was stunned. She shuffled in her slippers to the bedside, threw all the stuffed toys from the pillow to the foot of the bed, then turned down the corner of the blanket at the head of the bed, patting it twice: “Please.”

When the tall, straight man lay down, Zhou Mi sincerely acknowledged his description. He was like an elegant but cornered male lion, forced to curl up in a cat’s nest.

Even if he was just sitting there with his back against the headboard.

Zhou Mi’s heart swelled with laughter, and she rubbed her nose, trying hard to hold it back.

Zhang Lian noticed her merciless reaction: “How wide is your bed?”

Zhou Mi said: “100 centimeters or 120, I’m not too sure.”

“And the length?”

Zhou Mi thought for a moment, still uncertain: “190 centimeters?”

Zhang Lian fell silent on the matter.

Zhou Mi took a deep breath to prevent herself from bursting into uncontrollable laughter and drawing resentment: “Just make do with it for a while. It’s still better than sleeping on the sofa.”

Zhang Lian said nothing, lowering his head to deal with messages on his phone.

Zhou Mi stood quietly for a while, confirming he had no further intention of talking, then left the bedside and walked toward the door: “I’ll go out first. Rest well.”

Zhang Lian looked over: “Stay.”

Zhou Mi froze: “Why?”

Zhang Lian said, “Just stay.”

Zhou Mi was confused: “Are you a child? You need someone beside you for a nap?”

Zhang Lian asked: “Where do you want to go?”

Zhou Mi said, “To the living room. Is there somewhere in the house I can’t be?”

Zhang Lian said decisively: “Just stay here with me.”

Zhou Mi hesitated for two seconds: “The bed is already so small.”

Zhang Lian snorted: “Did I ask you to sleep on the bed?”

Zhou Mi: “?”

Zhang Lian glanced at the door: “Close the door, then go back and sit at your desk.”

Zhou Mi was speechless.

Although she wasn’t entirely willing, with her mind shouting words related to refusal, Zhou Mi still couldn’t control her body, which was already following his instructions one by one. Perhaps it was because her small bed made Zhang Lian look too cute, and the strong contrast awakened an unprecedented maternal instinct in her.

Damn it.

While cursing and guessing this way, Zhou Mi sat back at her desk.

She turned her head to look at Zhang Lian. He was lying on his side, pillowing one arm, with the blanket only covering up to his abdomen.

After a moment, she straightened up and stretched her neck, noticing that Zhang Lian had already closed his eyes. His face had a kind of almost pure, weary stillness, as if he had entered deep sleep.

He must be really tired.

Zhou Mi sat up straight and searched on her phone for the flight duration from Beijing to Yi City, then checked the time of the earliest daily flight. She couldn’t help but cover her mouth and laugh silently for a long time.

In the past, when she used to sleep with Zhang Lian each month, it was usually she who fell asleep first. On one occasion, curious about how her casual partner looked while sleeping, she pretended to be asleep, forcing herself to stay awake in the darkness for quite a while. When the man holding her had regular chest movements, she silently opened her eyes and looked up to observe him.

The final result was that she was captivated by male beauty and couldn’t help but lightly kiss his lips, whispering, “Goodnight.” Just as she was about to turn over and truly cultivate sleepiness, her nape was gripped. Before she could make any sound, the man had already leaned over and sealed her lips forcefully.

That night, they both lacked sleep.

Pulling herself out of the reminiscence, Zhou Mi couldn’t help but pinch her red-hot earlobes. Her thoughts floated aimlessly like ants floating in a sugar water jar, legs flailing in all directions.

She raised her phone high with both hands to shift her attention.

The moment she opened WeChat, Jijie had sent a message, asking if she wanted to play ranked games as he happened to have free time that afternoon.

Zhou Mi eagerly clicked in, responding like answering roll call in a large class: Here!

Then she asked about Jijie’s rank.

Upon learning that he had over seventy stars, she froze in disbelief for a moment, then said: Is this the disparity between people?

She sent back a tearful expression pack: I’m only Bright Star Five. I’m not worthy. I’ve been too busy this season to rank up.

Jijie said: I have a Smurf account. Wait, I’ll send you the link.

Zhou Mi thanked heaven and earth, not hesitating to use exaggerated terms like “male Bodhisattva.”

Jijie just laughed.

The two quickly formed a duo party. Jijie asked in the team channel text message: Can you use voice chat?

Zhou Mi glanced at the motionless large figure on the bed: Just a moment, let me get my headphones.

She carefully opened her backpack zipper, felt for her Bluetooth earphone case, then held her breath as she tiptoed out of the room, closing the door behind her.

Once her bottom touched the living room sofa, she could finally devote herself entirely to interacting with the client’s daddy.

Zhou Mi opened the team voice chat: “Hello? Can you hear me?”

“I can hear you,” Jijie called her by her game ID: “Mimi Zi is lying down again. What position do you usually play?”

His voice in the voice chat sounded even clearer and younger than in real life. Combined with his frequently used hero roster, it was easy to imagine the type of university student wildcard player who would captivate many.

Zhou Mi faithfully followed Ye Yan’s teachings: “I’ll just play support for you, is that okay?”

Jijie laughed: “Sure, I’ll try to carry you.”

For the next hour, Zhou Mi experienced for the first time how smooth the game’s pace could be, how wonderful the experience could be. In every match, our team crushed the enemy crystal like an unstoppable truck.

And Jijie was invariably the MVP, with a KD ratio never below fourteen.

After six consecutive victories, Zhou Mi was so excited she almost raised her arms and shouted: “Is this the game I know? It’s too exhilarating! I want to hang onto you forever!”

Jijie laughed once, sounding a bit surprised but not averse.

Tang Peili, who had just finished her short rest and came out to wash up, heard her daughter’s shocking words and couldn’t help but ask loudly: “Who do you want to hang onto forever?”

Then she suddenly noticed Zhou Mi’s tightly closed door and immediately lowered her volume to the minimum: “…Is Zhang Lian sleeping?”

Zhou Mi was startled and hurriedly closed the in-game voice chat, whispering as well: “Yes.”

Tang Peili said, “Then what are you doing here?”

Zhou Mi continued operating her phone: “Playing on my phone.”

Tang Peili raised her gaze to see her daughter’s two thumbs sliding and pressing, with flashing blades on the screen, and retorted: “How old are you? Still playing games.”

Zhou Mi countered without lifting her head: “I’m doing serious business, okay? I’m accompanying my client… Go away, I can’t communicate with him about the situation in time.”

Tang Peili snorted and shook her head as she went to the bathroom.

—

Zhang Lian didn’t come out of the bedroom until nearly four o’clock.

At that time, Zhou Mi had just disbanded with the Jijie. She hadn’t lost a single game, her rank had skyrocketed, and her whole body was surging with adrenaline. She went to the refrigerator and took out a box of yogurt to happily cool herself down.

She sat back on the sofa and had just taken her second spoonful when the man passed in front of her, his hair tips and shirt slightly disheveled.

Zhou Mi called out to ask: “How did you sleep?”

Zhang Lian glanced at her, replying neutrally: “Fine.”

Only then did Zhou Mi continue eating her yogurt with peace of mind.

When he came out after washing his face, Zhou Mi was biting her spoon on her way to throw away the empty box. As she passed him, she asked if he was hungry and whether he wanted to eat a box of yogurt to tide him over.

Zhang Lian declined methodically while adjusting his cuffs: No need.

Close to six o’clock, Zhou Xing returned home, and Tang Peili called the two young people to the table.

The evening dishes were even more abundant than at lunch, with a whole table of visually appealing and delicious main courses, as grand as if it were New Year’s Eve in advance.

Zhou Xing specially took out the purple Maotai that Zhang Lian had given last time, which he had been carefully storing to bring out on important days as a kind of celebration ceremony.

His daughter’s visit home was, in this father’s eyes, a significant and joyous occasion not to be taken lightly.

Seeing him enthusiastically invite Zhang Lian to have a drink together, Zhou Mi quickly made excuses for this “pea prince” who had no plans to stay overnight: “Dad, Zhang Lian still has work to handle tonight. He has to drive back later.”

Zhou Xing’s pouring motion paused.

Zhang Lian curled his lips, moved his wine glass closer, changing his previous words: “Go ahead and pour, Uncle. I don’t have anything to do.”

Zhou Mi turned her head in surprise.

Zhou Xing smiled in relief, letting the precious liquor flow out in a small stream: “Exactly, it’s no fun drinking alone.”

“A little bit won’t hurt,” Tang Peili came out with the soup, smiling at the corners of her eyes: “Since you’ve come all this way, why not stay overnight?”

Zhou Mi’s gaze jumped from person to person: “But he didn’t bring any change of clothes or anything.”

Tang Peili sat down: “Your dad has clothes, don’t they? It’s just one night, make do.”

Zhou Mi looked at Zhang Lian, noting his expression: “He might not want to wear them.”

Zhang Lian remained composed, even casually picking up a piece of braised pork for her bowl, teasing: “Already thinking so much for me before we’re even married, Zhou Mi.”

Both parents laughed along, except for Zhou Mi with her incredulous face.

—

Zhang Lian was the first person in the house to finish showering. As soon as he came out of the bathroom, the three members of the Zhou family sitting in a row on the sofa watching TV all turned to look at him.

The most ordinary pure-colored middle-aged men’s loungewear achieved a miraculous effect on him. Especially when he walked over, casually rubbing his freshly dried, fluffy hair, he was like a decadent male model torn from a magazine.

Zhou’s father was amazed that his long pants had become ankle-length on him: “Zhang Lian, how tall are you exactly?”

Zhang Lian’s voice was indifferent: “191.”

The living room fell silent again.

After a simple exchange, Zhang Lian returned to Zhou Mi’s bedroom.

Zhou Mi quickly found an excuse to follow him.

As soon as she entered, she saw the man already sitting cross-legged on her bed, leaning against the wall, calmly flipping through her book. He had even placed one of her Melody stuffed toys behind his back as a cushion, making full use of her possessions.

Zhou Mi couldn’t bear to see her private princess fortress become his territory. She climbed onto the bed at top speed to rescue her belongings.

She crawled forward on her knees and tugged at the toy’s ear, but it didn’t move a half-inch.

Zhang Lian remained immovable, switching to holding the book with his left hand, his eyes calm, seemingly challenging her.

“Give it to me,” Zhou Mi grimaced, pushing his arm in frustration. “If you keep leaning on it, it will get deformed. It’s not a pillow.”

Zhang Lian’s lips curled into a smile. He stopped teasing her and took the toy from behind his back with one hand, returning it to her.

Zhou Mi accepted it with a furrowed brow, sat patting it a few times to restore its shape, then placed it back at the head of the bed properly.

Just as she was about to crawl off the bed, her ankle was suddenly gripped.

The temperature of the man’s palm was always hot enough to make one’s heart race. Zhou Mi widened her eyes, her hair swiftly sliding over her shoulders. Before she could turn back to question him, he suddenly exerted force and pulled.

She was like a wild rabbit caught by its hind legs, unexpectedly falling flat on her stomach.

A series of rapid rustling sounds came from the bed, like a forest chase. Before Zhou Mi could straighten her arms, her arms were pinned behind her back, and she was held in place.

It was an almost punitive position, with every point and part of her front pressed into the bedding due to the constraint.

The door was open, and Zhou Mi didn’t dare make a sound of protest. She jerked twice in indignation, and Zhang Lian’s hand immediately moved like a snake with a clear target, instantly sliding into an area they both could sense but not see.

Zhou Mi’s breathing became extremely disordered, her lower lip turning pale from being bitten.

“Why aren’t you shouting?” She could feel the man’s hard knee slowly moving away from the back of her knee, then bending down to approach her. His nose tip was like a blade, his breath like fire, dangerously pressing against the back of her ear: “So you know your house has poor soundproofing.”