At night, they faced a problem—where should Shang Huizhou stay?
The room where Grandpa and Grandma Jiang used to stay at Jiang Li’s place had been turned into a storage room.
In recent years, her grandparents often traveled and rarely came to Yunnan, so the room wasn’t kept for guests. There were too many things stored inside, and cleaning it up would be very troublesome.
Jiang Li was about to suggest he stay in a hotel, but before she could speak, Shang Huizhou leaned lazily against the wall and spread his hands.
“I’m not used to staying in hotels,” he said.
“….”
Not used to it?
He really had the nerve to say that.
He stayed in hotels every time he traveled for work—she had never seen him “not used to it.”
Jiang Li couldn’t understand how the once proud and picky Shang Huizhou had turned into someone so shameless and unreasonable.
Shang Huizhou glanced at the single bed behind her and said slowly, in a low and tempting voice, “Jiang Jiang, this bed can barely fit two people.”
“….” Jiang Li smiled politely. “Don’t even think about it.”
Even though their relationship had changed a little, it was definitely not to the point of sharing a bed.
Shang Huizhou raised his eyes slightly, a faint smile on his lips.
“We’ve already slept in the same bed before.”
“When?” Jiang Li frowned. She had no memory of that at all. He was talking nonsense.
Shang Huizhou reminded her, “When you were in second year of middle school, and we went camping with the high school second-year class. It thundered at night, and you ran into whose tent?”
Into his tent.
Back then, the class had an even number of girls, but a few didn’t want to share tents.
As a class monitor, Jiang Li suggested sleeping alone. But that night, the thunder was terrifying.
She held on until midnight, too scared. Finally, she sent him a message asking if he was asleep.
He didn’t reply for a long time.
Clutching her small pillow, she lay still in fear.
A few minutes later, someone knocked on her tent.
She carefully opened it—and saw Shang Huizhou standing outside.
“Come out,” he said calmly.
“Where?” she asked. It was dark, with thunder and lightning outside.
“I’ll find you somewhere to sleep,” he replied.
She followed him, thinking he would take her to another girls’ tent.
But instead, he brought her into his tent.
They slept in the same tent that night—back to back. She hugged her pillow, he rested an arm behind his head. Nothing happened.
The next morning, she quietly slipped back to her own tent at dawn, and even ran into Xu Sichi on the way. She lied and said she was going for morning exercise.
He still remembered that.
His memory really was unusually good.
Seeing her puffed-up cheeks, Shang Huizhou stopped teasing her. He walked in and placed his things on the sofa.
“This sofa is fine,” he said lightly. “I’ll sleep here.”
“….”
The sofa was only about 1.7 meters long. With his height, his legs would probably hang off the armrest. The hotel next door had good conditions, but he insisted on staying here and suffering.
Jiang Li suddenly felt a little guilty.
Shang Huizhou didn’t care. He looked down, loosened his watch, and casually asked, “You don’t mind if I use the bathroom, right?”
He had already used it once, yet he still asked.
Jiang Li ignored him.
She didn’t understand why he kept smiling. What was so funny?
Earlier that morning, he had been cold and distant, like someone owed him money. But at some point, his expression had turned into a constant faint smile.
If she didn’t know him well, she would think he was easygoing and gentle.
Shang Huizhou placed his watch on the cabinet, then walked toward the shopping bags and took out a pair of men’s underwear.
Jiang Li immediately thought of the “protection items” in the bag. Her breathing tightened and her ears turned red. She didn’t even know why she felt embarrassed—it had nothing to do with her.
Then she suddenly wondered…
Had Shang Huizhou ever been with other women?
After all, adult men usually had needs like that. Especially someone like him.
He had many admirers back in school, let alone now. He probably had experience.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t have accepted those items so naturally, as if he was used to it.
The sound of running water came from the bathroom, interrupting her thoughts.
Her mind suddenly flashed back to the scene earlier—him taking off his clothes in her room during the day, the faint outline of his muscles appearing and disappearing in her mind.
Jiang Li’s heart skipped a beat.
She was startled by her own thoughts.
She was feeling messy and didn’t know what she was thinking when Wen Fan sent her a message:
【Jiang Li, is everything at the shop settled?】
Jiang Li curled up in a single lazy chair and replied:
【Mm, everything is settled.】
Wen Fan replied:
【President Shang is with you, right?】
【Mm.】 Jiang Li was a bit confused about how Wen Fan even knew Shang Huaizhou was here.
Wen Fan sent another message:
【You don’t know how terrifying President Shang looked when he found out you weren’t in Beijing. His face turned so dark, it was like you had disappeared. Something was very wrong.】
Shang Huaizhou went to the dance troupe to find her?
Jiang Li remembered what he said earlier in the day—that she “disappeared again.”
Did he think she had left him without a word again like eight years ago?
A faint pain passed through Jiang Li’s eyes.
He didn’t attend the reunion festival. He said it was because of work, but that night when he went upstairs, he looked very lonely.
Those sharp words from Shang Huaizhou’s difficult aunt also came back to her—she had said his mother abandoned him.
So Shang Huaizhou thought she broke her promise and left him too?
That’s why he kept stressing how important promises were to him.
Jiang Li felt a heavy, hard-to-describe feeling in her chest.
Wen Fan then sent:
【Honestly, is there something going on between you two?】
Wen Fan wasn’t very into gossip, but she wouldn’t mind shipping Jiang Li and Shang Huaizhou.
Jiang Li came back to herself and didn’t know how to answer. Their situation was complicated—almost engaged already.
She replied:
【It’s hard to explain in a few words. I’ll tell you when I get back to Beijing.】
【Okay.】
Wen Fan didn’t ask more.
By the time Jiang Li finished chatting, the sound of running water in the bathroom also stopped.
Shang Huaizhou came out this time fully dressed and properly behaved, holding his phone while on a work call. His expression was cold and serious, his tone calm and distant as always. He walked toward the small balcony while talking.
Jiang Li used the chance to go wash up.
He had even turned on the ventilation in the bathroom, so there was no steam at all.
He also prepared her bathwater, even sprinkling her favorite rose petals into the tub.
Jiang Li took a quick bath and came out. Shang Huaizhou was still on the call.
She couldn’t hear what he was saying clearly, only that his voice had no warmth. In her mind, this version of him felt more like the “real” Shang Huaizhou.
Jiang Li was still staring at his tall, straight back when he ended the call and turned back inside.
She quickly turned away and said softly:
“Night in Linnan is quite cold. There’s a blanket in the storage box next to the sofa.”
Shang Huaizhou bent down, opened the box, and took out the blanket. It was clean and carried a faint rose scent.
“Thank you, wife,” he said.
“!!!!” Jiang Li froze. “Don’t call me that randomly!”
Shang Huaizhou didn’t care about her reaction. He lay down on the sofa in a relaxed, graceful way, facing away from her.
Outside, the weather became strange again—wind, rain, and thunder all came back in bursts.
After a while, Shang Huaizhou turned and looked at the soft silhouette on the bed under the warm light. His voice was low:
“Jiang Li, are you scared?”
“No.” She wasn’t a child.
But honestly, the thunder still felt a little unsettling.
Jiang Li closed her eyes, trying to sleep. Then she felt the bed dip slightly.
She turned and saw Shang Huaizhou lying on her bed, even bringing the blanket with him.
Jiang Li immediately sat up, pulling the blanket around herself and glaring at him:
“What are you doing? Get down!”
“I’m scared,” Shang Huaizhou said casually, covering himself with the blanket.
“……”
She didn’t believe a word of it.
“When you were little, you were scared, and I let you sleep in my tent. Now I’m scared, shouldn’t you share your bed with me?” he said seriously.
“……”
What a shameless excuse.
He added slowly:
“Your sofa is too short. My legs are going numb.”
Jiang Li ignored him. He was just looking for trouble.
Shang Huaizhou lay back down again, one arm behind his head, looking at her with a faint, teasing smile.
“I just want to sleep. I’m not going to do anything. Or… do you have other thoughts?”
“!!!” Jiang Li was furious. “You’re the one being inappropriate!”
She kicked his leg in anger.
But his leg felt like hitting iron. She immediately hissed in pain, curling her toes.
Shang Huaizhou sat up instantly, turned on the light, and reached to check her foot. Jiang Li stopped him:
“Don’t touch me.”
He didn’t move, just looked down. Her toes were slightly red, nothing serious.
He relaxed again and lay back down.
“If you’re not sleeping, I’ll sleep first,” he said, closing his eyes.
“……”
Jiang Li leaned against the wall, rubbing her toes.
A moment later, she heard his steady breathing—he had fallen asleep that quickly.
She looked at him quietly. He was wearing the dark shirt and trousers she had bought him today at the mall.
The shirt was buttoned all the way up to the top, neat and strict—so proper it looked almost serious.
If not for what he had just said, she would have thought he was truly a very proper man.
Jiang Li’s gaze moved from Shang Huaizhou’s carefully dressed chest upward, tracing the outline of his Adam’s apple, then his jawline, and finally his facial features. She had to admit his face was very sharp and good-looking.
He clearly had an abstinent, cold, and distant face—but somehow he acted so shameless.
Jiang Li felt Shang Huaizhou had changed. The Shang Huaizhou she knew before felt a little different now… more shameless.
After a long day, she was extremely sleepy. Even the thunder outside couldn’t stop her heavy eyelids. She carefully turned off the bedroom light and lay down with her back facing him.
After she fell asleep, Shang Huaizhou opened his eyes. His gaze was deep, and the corner of his lips lifted slightly without hiding it.
About half an hour later, when Jiang Li was half-asleep, a broad and firm chest pressed against her back. Heavy breathing brushed against the back of her neck.
The moment his chest touched her, she woke up instantly.
His voice was low, his breathing heavy, as if half asleep.
Her silk sleepwear was soft, while his body was hard and very warm. Even through the fabric, she could clearly feel the shape of his chest.
The air conditioner was on, but his body was like a furnace.
Jiang Li’s breathing turned uneven and her heart beat wildly. Just as she was about to kick him away, Shang Huaizhou’s voice sounded beside her ear:
“Jiang Li, my medal isn’t lost. It’s in the study at the old house. I’ll bring it to you when we go back.”
After he finished speaking, he shifted slightly, leaving a small space between them.
The “fire furnace” behind her moved away, and Jiang Li finally could breathe normally again. She quickly pulled the blanket around herself tightly.
A moment later, his sleepy voice came again from behind:
“Jiang Li, yours has to be given to me too.”
Only then did she finally understand what he meant. His medal hadn’t been lost after all.
A small smile appeared on her lips. “Got it.”
What a petty and stingy man.
That night, Jiang Li, who usually slept poorly, actually slept very well.
When she slowly opened her eyes in the morning, she realized she was in Shang Huaizhou’s arms, her head resting on his arm.
Her sleepwear collar was messy, and part of her chest was exposed. It was a low-cut design, which made things very awkward.
She clearly remembered she had even picked a conservative sleepwear set from the bottom of her wardrobe—but somehow it still ended up like this.
Not only that, Shang Huaizhou’s previously neat shirt was now unbuttoned by four buttons. Her hand was even inside his shirt, pressed against his hard chest.
Her fingers trembled slightly as she quietly pulled her hand away.
But then she noticed his large hand was resting under her waist.
Too shameless.
She shivered and immediately tried to move away, but his hand tightened slightly. She inhaled sharply.
Shang Huaizhou slowly opened his eyes. His gaze was deep and dark like an endless well.
“Morning,” he said, his voice hoarse and sexy.
“Let go,” Jiang Li glared at him.
He actually complied and released her.
She immediately distanced herself from this dangerous man.
With her gone, his arms felt empty.
He rested both hands behind his head, smiling faintly.
“Last night when you were touching me, you didn’t seem so shy.”
“….” Jiang Li had no way to refute it. Her fingers still remembered the heat and firmness from his chest.
Shang Huaizhou leaned closer again, trapping her against the bed. His warm breath brushed her ear.
“We’re engaged. Everything we do is normal.”
His voice was calm but intoxicating.
Jiang Li turned her face away. “Someone said before that nothing like that would happen.”
He looked at her for a moment and chuckled.
“Did I?”
“Shang Huaizhou, don’t deny it.”
He smiled lightly. “Even if I did say that… Jiang Li, if you want, it can happen anytime.”
“….”
His voice was too close, too low, too tempting.
“Jiang Li, I’m a normal man. After marriage, those things are unavoidable.”
“….”
“Don’t you want it?”
Jiang Li’s heart almost jumped out of her chest.
Then suddenly, he withdrew, got off the bed, and walked into the bathroom.
The pressure on her disappeared instantly.
Jiang Li bit her lip.
This shameless man had done it again.
At that moment, it wasn’t him who said he didn’t want anything like that?
Now he was acting like it had to happen.
And he even said she could want it anytime—but she didn’t want it at all!
She almost got dragged into his trap.
While Jiang Li was still frustrated, the sound of running water came from the bathroom. Her mind, without permission, suddenly thought of Shang Huaizhou’s muscle lines… and how they actually felt quite good.
A married life with Shang Huaizhou… having that kind of thing… maybe it wasn’t completely impossible?
Jiang Li jolted and quickly pushed those messy thoughts away.
She got up, went to the dressing room, changed her clothes, and came out just as her phone rang on the bedside table.
It was her grandfather on a video call.
Jiang Li glanced toward the bathroom, then hurried to the balcony. She closed the sliding door and sat on a small chair to answer.
Grandfather Jiang smiled brightly. “Girl, did Grandpa interrupt your rest?”
“No, I was already up,” Jiang Li lied. She usually woke up early, but today she slept until almost eight. It was all Shang Huaizhou’s fault—he was dangerous.
“Did you handle things at the shop?” her grandfather asked.
“Yes, just small issues. Everything is settled. Grandpa, how is your leg?”
“It’s fine already! I can even run and jump now. Watch me!” he said, and even put his crutches aside to walk.
He only took two steps before Grandma Jiang’s voice came through the video:
“An old man pretending in front of our girl—pick up your crutch! You’ll twist your foot and make her worry again!”
Grandpa Jiang immediately protested. “I won’t twist it that easily!”
Jiang Li smiled every time she heard them argue. It felt warm.
But he still obediently sat back down and continued chatting.
Then Grandpa Jiang suddenly asked, “Girl, did you meet Xiao Wei?”
Jiang Li rubbed her forehead. “Grandpa, did you tell him I came back?”
Grandpa Jiang chuckled awkwardly. “Well… he kept asking about you, seemed sincere, so I thought you two could meet.”
“….”
He added quietly, “Don’t worry, I won’t interfere anymore. Your grandma already scolded me.”
Jiang Li couldn’t help laughing.
Then Grandpa Jiang glanced behind her and suddenly brightened. “Huaizhou?”
Shang Huaizhou came out of the bedroom and greeted politely, “Grandpa.”
Grandpa?
Jiang grandfather looked slightly surprised. Shang Huaizhou usually called him “Grandpa Jiang” or “Old Jiang,” so this sounded different.
Grandma Jiang also leaned into the camera.
At that moment, Shang Huaizhou was shirtless on top, wearing only a towel on the bottom.
Jiang Li froze—she didn’t expect him to appear like this in front of her grandparents. She glanced at him nervously.
Shang Huaizhou understood and calmly said, “Grandpa, Grandma, you talk with Jiang Jiang. I’ll go wash up.”
After he left, Grandma Jiang immediately asked, “Girl, what’s going on? Why is Huaizhou there?”
Jiang Li tried to explain, “We—”
Before she could finish, Shang Huaizhou quickly returned after changing clothes. He was now neatly dressed in a shirt and trousers, calm and composed again, completely different from before.
He sat beside Jiang Li and took her phone so they could face the video together.
Then, very seriously, he said:
“Grandpa, Grandma, Jiang Jiang and I have decided to get married.”
Both elders froze in shock.
Grandma Jiang laughed. “So suddenly?”
Shang Huaizhou held Jiang Li’s hand firmly. “It’s not sudden. We’ve already decided, we just haven’t told the elders yet.”
Grandpa Jiang suddenly smiled knowingly. “I knew it! When I saw you two in Xichuan, the way you looked at each other was clearly love.”
Jiang Li immediately felt embarrassed.
She and Shang Huaizhou had never even been in a relationship like that!
Grandma Jiang asked, “So what are your plans for the wedding?”
Before Jiang Li could speak, Shang Huaizhou answered first:
“As soon as possible. I’ll inform my family and ask them to come to Hangzhou. Then we can discuss the wedding arrangements together.”
At night, they faced a problem: where would Shang Huizhou stay?
The room that Jiang Li’s grandparents used before was now being used by Jiang Li as a storage room.
Her grandparents had been traveling a lot in recent years and rarely came to Diannan, so they did not keep a special room here. There were too many things inside, and it would be hard to clean up.
Jiang Li was about to suggest that Shang Huizhou stay in a hotel, but he leaned lazily against the wall and said, “I don’t have the habit of staying in hotels. I’m not used to it.”
“….”
Not used to it?
How could he even say that?
He always stayed in hotels when traveling for work. He never had any problem before.
Jiang Li could not understand how Shang Huizhou had gone from a proud, distant man to a shameless troublemaker.
Shang Huizhou looked at the single bed behind her and said in a low, tempting voice, “Jiang Jiang, this bed can barely fit two people.”
“….” Jiang Li smiled politely. “Don’t even think about it.”
Even though their relationship had changed a little, they were not at the point of sleeping on the same bed.
Shang Huizhou raised his eyes slightly and smiled. “We already slept on the same bed before.”
“When did that happen?” Jiang Li had no memory of it.
Shang Huizhou reminded her, “In middle school, during the camping trip. One night there was thunder. Who ran into whose tent?”
Jiang Li remembered it.
It was him.
That night, she was scared of the thunder and ran into his tent. He let her stay there, and they slept back-to-back without touching.
The next morning, she quietly went back to her own tent.
Thinking about it now, she realized he remembered everything clearly.
Shang Huizhou saw her puffed-up cheeks and stopped teasing her. He walked in, put his things on the sofa, and said, “The sofa is fine. I’ll sleep here.”
Jiang Li looked at the sofa. It was too short for his height. His long legs would not even fit properly. But the hotel next door was clearly better.
She felt a little soft-hearted.
Shang Huizhou did not care. He took off his watch and casually asked, “Can I use your bathroom?”
Jiang Li ignored him.
She really did not understand why he kept smiling. He had been cold and serious in the morning, but now he kept smiling all the time.
Shang Huizhou walked to the shopping bags and took out the men’s underwear.
Jiang Li suddenly thought of the “protection” box inside the bag and felt her face heat up.
The bathroom water started running. Jiang Li’s thoughts drifted, and she imagined his body unconsciously. She quickly stopped herself, shocked by her own imagination.
At that moment, a message came from Wen Fan.
“Jiang Li, everything at the shop is settled, right?”
Jiang Li replied, “Yes, it’s all done.”
Wen Fan asked, “Is President Shang with you?”
Jiang Li answered, “Yes.”
Wen Fan said, “When President Shang found out you were not in Beijing, his face looked very dark. It felt like you disappeared.”
Jiang Li paused.
So he had thought she disappeared again, like eight years ago.
Her heart felt a little heavy.
Wen Fan then teased, “So what’s going on between you two?”
Jiang Li replied, “It’s complicated. I’ll explain when I get to Beijing.”
After that, the bathroom door opened.
Shang Huizhou came out, fully dressed, answering a phone call. He looked cold and serious again, like his usual self.
He went to the small balcony to talk.
Jiang Li went into the bathroom to wash up.
He even prepared a warm bath for her and scattered rose petals in it.
When she came out, Shang Huizhou was still on the phone.
After he finished, he walked back in and asked if he could use her blanket.
Jiang Li told him where it was.
He lay on the sofa and said softly, “Thank you, wife.”
Jiang Li froze.
“Don’t call me that randomly!”
Outside, thunder and rain got heavier.
After a while, Shang Huizhou asked, “Jiang Li, are you scared?”
“I’m not.”
But the thunder was still a little frightening.
Then, suddenly, the bed sank.
Shang Huizhou got onto her bed.
“Get down!” Jiang Li immediately said.
“I’m scared,” he replied calmly.
“….”
He was clearly lying.
He said the sofa was too short and his legs were numb, so he needed the bed.
Jiang Li was annoyed but helpless.
He lay down beside her and said, “We already slept together before. What are you afraid of?”
Jiang Li was speechless.
Then he added, “Unless you have other thoughts?”
“What thoughts?!”
He leaned closer and said softly, “Jiang Jiang, we are engaged. Everything is normal.”
His voice was calm but very attractive.
Jiang Li felt her heart race.
Then suddenly, he kissed her lightly and said, “I’m a normal man. After marriage, these things are necessary.”
Jiang Li was completely stunned.
He asked again, “Don’t you want it?”
Jiang Li’s mind went blank.
Then he got up and went to the bathroom, as if nothing had happened.
Jiang Li sat there, still confused and flustered.
The next morning, Jiang Li woke up and found herself in his arms.
Her clothes were messy. His shirt was half undone. Her hand was even inside his shirt.
She froze.
Shang Huizhou woke up and said softly, “Good morning.”
Jiang Li immediately pulled away. “Let go.”
He smiled lazily. “Last night you weren’t this distant.”
Jiang Li was speechless.
He leaned closer and said, “We are engaged. What we do is normal.”
Jiang Li argued, “You said you wouldn’t do these things!”
He smiled. “Did I say that?”
Then he added, “If you want, you can anytime.”
Jiang Li was furious.
He kissed her again and said, “Jiang Jiang, I’m a normal man. This will happen after marriage.”
Jiang Li covered her face, completely embarrassed.
Soon after, Jiang Li received a video call from her grandfather and grandmother.
They were chatting happily when Shang Huizhou suddenly appeared behind her.
He was only wearing a towel at first.
The grandparents were shocked.
Then he quickly changed into proper clothes and calmly said, “Grandpa, Grandma, I want to marry Jiang Jiang.”
Both elders were stunned.
After the call ended, Jiang Li finally said, “You did that on purpose.”
He just smiled. “Now they know. We can’t delay it anymore.”
Jiang Li could only stare at him.
He then squatted down and checked her foot after she kicked him the night before.
After that, he casually said he would cook breakfast.
Jiang Li said, “I want soy milk and rice cake.”
Shang Huizhou replied, “Anything else?”
Jiang Li shook her head. “That’s enough.”