After setting her down on the sofa, Shang Qi leaned over and kissed her.
His kisses were always intense and overwhelming, as though he wanted to consume her completely. Yet he always remembered her limits. Whenever he sensed she was struggling, he would slow down, patiently guiding her deeper into the moment.
“Mumu…” he sighed softly. “How is it that you still haven’t learned?”
Barely giving her a chance to catch her breath, he kissed her again.
He could never seem to get enough of her.
His hands, as always, refused to behave.
Only when tears welled up in her eyes did he finally pull away.
Tenderly, he kissed the tears from the corners of her eyes.
“My good Mumu… I got carried away.”
Shen Muyan clutched tightly at his shirt, lowering her head as she struggled to steady her breathing. Her cheeks and lips were flushed a captivating shade of crimson.
Shang Qi gathered her into his arms and slowly straightened her rumpled clothes.
Outside, rain poured relentlessly.
Inside, warmth and quiet affection filled the room.
After breakfast, Shang Qi spent the morning watching television dramas with Shen Muyan.
He had no interest in the shows themselves.
Instead, he sat beside her, carefully trimming her nails with a nail clipper.
The following evening, all six of them finally gathered around the same dining table.
Since none of them were particularly skilled cooks, they unanimously decided on hot pot.
Zhou Mo and Jiang Hao washed the ingredients.
Shang Qi and Xie Rao handled the slicing.
Du Ming carried the dishes to the table.
Shen Muyan’s only responsibility was to sit quietly and wait to eat.
Everything was prepared surprisingly quickly.
Taking advantage of the moment, Shen Muyan ran to the storage room and returned carrying two bottles of cola.
She poured a glass for everyone.
Then dinner officially began.
While everyone else eagerly cooked meat and vegetables, Shen Muyan ate at her usual leisurely pace.
By the time the men were already reaching for their second helping, she was still chewing her very first bite.
Shang Qi quietly picked out all her favorite vegetables and meat.
After cooking them, he rinsed everything in clean water before placing it on her plate to cool.
“Ah Qi!”
She puffed out her cheeks in protest.
“That’s not fair.”
“I was already eating from the clear broth.”
“Now you’ve rinsed all the flavor away. Isn’t that basically boiled vegetables?”
“Exactly!”
Zhou Mo laughed.
“Sister-in-law, who rinses hot pot before eating it?”
Using the communal chopsticks, he placed a slice of beef from the clear broth into her bowl.
“See? This is the good stuff.”
Shen Muyan stared at the meat without moving.
Beneath the table, she secretly poked Shang Qi’s hand again and again.
The tiny gesture was unexpectedly distracting.
Without a word, Shang Qi simply caught her hand.
“Ignore him.”
Zhou Mo happily added another slice of beef to her bowl.
“With Xie Rao around, what are you worried about?”
Xie Rao, whose mouth was stuffed full of food, looked up blankly.
“…”
Apparently, he was everyone’s emergency medical insurance.
Shen Muyan only ate two slices of unrinsed meat before returning to vegetables.
Neither she nor Shang Qi ate much.
For the time being, both of them still needed to avoid greasy food.
By the seventh day of nonstop rain, water had already begun pooling on the roads.
Browsing online, Shen Muyan saw countless complaints.
In lower-lying neighborhoods, floodwater had already reached people’s calves.
Even so, the relatively short period of heavy rain hadn’t truly alarmed the public.
Life continued much as before.
Aside from outdoor work being suspended, office workers and students still carried on with their routines.
She even saw someone proudly posting a picture of their emergency food stockpile with the caption:
“I’ve got enough supplies for a whole month. No need to leave the house.”
The post quickly went viral.
Soon everyone began showing off their own food reserves.
For a while, the internet became flooded with pictures of groceries and homemade meals.
The lodge had a small gym.
Taking advantage of it, Shang Qi designed separate exercise programs for Du Ming and Xie Rao.
One spent his life behind an office desk.
The other alternated between laboratories and operating rooms.
Neither had much physical endurance.
With nothing better to do, Zhou Mo and Jiang Hao supervised their workouts, occasionally correcting their form.
Whenever he had time, Shang Qi began teaching Shen Muyan how to use a gun.
Unfortunately…
She simply couldn’t get the hang of it.
On top of that, the gloomy weather brought on by the constant rain caused her recurring fevers.
Whenever she felt miserable, she inevitably called for him.
“Ah Qi…”
Unable to bear pushing her too hard, Shang Qi abandoned formal practice.
Instead, he simply explained firearms to her during quiet moments and occasionally demonstrated how to handle them.
Half a month into the rainstorm, nearly every trending topic online had become a plea for help.
Low-lying areas had already begun flooding.
Emergency rescue teams were being deployed across the country.
After a full month of nonstop rain, city drainage systems had completely failed.
The internet was flooded with desperate requests for rescue.
Everyone was struggling to survive.
Even online discussions had dwindled by half.
Halfway through reading another post, Shen Muyan suddenly found her phone disappearing from her hands.
Shang Qi had taken it away.
He had strict rules about her screen time.
No phones after nine o’clock at night.
“Ah Qi…”
She pouted.
Having finally recovered over the past few weeks, her complexion was healthy again, and her spirits had improved considerably.
Holding his hand, she gently swayed it.
“I can’t sleep.”
“Let me play a little longer…”
“Please, Ah Qi.”
A faint smile flickered in his eyes.
He pinched her soft cheek.
“Then…”
“We can do something else.”
The dangerous look in his eyes made Shen Muyan swallow nervously.
After three years of marriage…
She knew that expression far too well.
Deliberately leaning close, Shang Qi whispered against her ear.
“It’s been a month.”
His low, magnetic voice carried unmistakable meaning.
Outside…
The wind howled.
Trees swayed violently beneath the storm.
Inside…
The room gradually filled with warmth.
Rain lashed against the windows as shadows blurred together beneath the dim light.
The wind continued blowing.
The trees continued swaying.
Time quietly slipped by.
Much later…
Shang Qi wrapped his arms around Shen Muyan from behind, letting out a husky laugh.
“My little crybaby.”
Her eyes were still red.
Keeping them stubbornly closed, she gave a tiny huff and refused to look at him.
She was the one who always ended up crying.
He didn’t pity her at all.
Realizing he’d pushed her too far again, Shang Qi gently stroked her hair.
“My good Mumu…”
“I’ll bake you a cake tomorrow.”
Shang Qi was usually very strict about sweets.
The promise immediately caught her attention.
She pursed her lips before finally turning over and curling into his embrace.
Her voice was slightly hoarse.
“You have to—”
She froze.
Neither of them had gotten dressed yet.
She suddenly became aware of his body’s lingering reaction.
Trying to retreat, she was immediately stopped as Shang Qi gently held her waist.
With the slightest pull, her slender waist rested against his firm abdomen.
He buried his face against her neck.
“Don’t move.”
“Just… give me a minute.”
His breathing gradually steadied.
Neither of them slept much that night.
The next morning, Shen Muyan was awakened by a loud crashing sound.
Frowning sleepily, she instinctively burrowed deeper into Shang Qi’s embrace.
With her small, delicate face pressed against his chest, she murmured drowsily,
“Ah Qi…”
“It’s alright, Mumu.”
He patiently soothed her until her brows relaxed and she drifted back to sleep.
Smiling softly, he kissed her cheek.
“Be good.”
“I’ll be right back.”
Carefully lifting the blanket, Shang Qi quietly got dressed.
Before leaving, he looked back at the girl sleeping restlessly in bed.
Unable to resist, he leaned down and stole another lingering kiss from her lips.
Downstairs, Zhou Mo had already heard the repeated crashing sounds and walked out of the gym.
The scene outside made him grin with his usual roguish amusement.
Five men stood outside the lodge’s massive front gate.
Without hesitation, they repeatedly rammed it with a heavy utility cart.
The first impact didn’t even make the gate budge.
So they backed up and charged again.
“Come on, brothers!”
“Again!”
Shang Qi had spared no expense reinforcing this mountain lodge.
Unless someone drove a heavy truck straight into it, the gate wasn’t going anywhere.
Unlocking the inner entrance, Zhou Mo walked outside beneath an umbrella.
His voice turned ice-cold.
“If you don’t want to die…”
“Get lost.”
The people outside froze.
For an entire month, they hadn’t seen anyone enter or leave this lodge.
The gates had never once opened.
They had assumed the place was abandoned.
The sudden appearance of someone inside genuinely startled them.
After a brief silence, one of the men finally called over the wall.
“Brother…”
“Sorry about this.”
“We just need a favor.”
“We’ve got nowhere to stay.”
“Could you let us in for a while?”