Lu Meng wasn't flustered by his suggestion: "President Lu is busy with a thousand affairs, wouldn't that be inappropriate?"
Lu Bofan leisurely rolled up his shirt cuffs twice, then casually unbuckled his watch and walked over: "I'm not asking you in my capacity as President Lu."
"Besides, isn't a husband meant to be used?"
He said it so openly that Lu Meng couldn't help but curve her lips, retreating backward into the bathroom, her clear, sparkling eyes carrying a hint of a smile: "Who needs you? I'll wash myself."
She refused without mercy, and Lu Bofan, shut out, showed no disappointment, only reminding her considerately: "Be careful, call me anytime if anything happens."
"…"
The person in the bathroom ignored him, and he wasn't annoyed. He had originally been heading to the study to handle work, but thinking of something, he brought his laptop to the bedroom instead.
Lu Meng emerged from the bathroom wrapped in damp mist, immediately spotting the man sitting with his legs crossed, working.
She could manage bathing on her own, but applying medicine to her shoulder blade required help.
She glanced at Lu Bofan. The screen's light, neither too bright nor too dim, refracted across his sharp features. His face carried no emotion while working—his dark pupils calm, even looking somewhat cold.
Sensing her gaze, Lu Bofan lifted his eyelids to look over: "What's wrong?"
"Nothing." She bent her knees and sank into the soft bedding, propping a pillow under herself since lying flat was uncomfortable.
Though she said nothing, Lu Bofan noticed attentively that she'd placed the ointment on the nightstand.
He closed his laptop: "Need to apply medicine?"
Lu Meng didn't turn around, scrolling through her phone as she answered casually: "Help me in a bit."
As her words fell, a man's shadow descended over the bedside.
He picked up the ointment, his gaze dropping to her: "Why didn't you just call me directly?"
Regardless of hot or cold, she liked wearing camisole nightgowns.
Fortunately, the bedroom's air conditioning kept it warm, and the soft blanket was casually draped over her lower back. The woman said lazily: "I'm not in a hurry. It's fine if you finish your work first."
Lu Bofan brushed aside her jet-black hair. Her skin was naturally fair, making the bruise on her butterfly bone look especially jarring.
He furrowed his brows, pressing some ointment onto his fingertip, his application movements exceptionally gentle.
Compared to yesterday when she'd just hit it, the pain today had lessened considerably.
Lu Bofan couldn't help but think of their wedding night. Back then, neither had experience, and their exploration had been too clumsy—she'd been tense throughout.
But now, she was comfortable and completely relaxed, seemingly quite trusting of him.
"Lu Meng."
She gave a lazy "mm," still hugging her pillow without moving, not even glancing at him.
Lu Bofan's gaze traveled downward: "Anywhere else injured?"
"No." Lu Meng had slept quite a while today and was still full of energy.
Sensing he'd finished applying the medicine, she shifted her body: "Don't worry about me, go handle your—"
The man's fingertip, covered in a thin layer of calluses, silently slid to her lower back, stirring a tingling numbness that weakened her limbs.
Her casual tone abruptly halted, and the clear eyes that turned to him could barely hide their accusation.
Lu Bofan seemed to harbor no ill intentions, simply concerned for her: "Let me check."
Lu Meng couldn't stand anyone touching her waist. She tried to dodge his touch, but the hand pressed against her lower back held her firmly in place, neither too hard nor too soft.
"Don't move."
"…"
Lu Meng struggled for a moment before giving up. Fortunately, Lu Bofan didn't do anything else—he really did seem to be just checking.
Soon, the man glanced at the back of her head, which was deliberately turned toward him, wiped the ointment from his hands, and patted her waist. "The back is done."
"…"
Realizing what he meant, she turned her head back and said, highly displeased, "Do you think I'm a grilled rice cake? Do I need to be flipped over for you too?"
"…"
To be honest, Lu Bofan found her utterly adorable. Suddenly, he cupped her head and leaned down to kiss her.
Lu Meng found the position of lying on her stomach while kissing exhausting. Lu Bofan gathered her waist and lifted her up, settling her on his lap.
The woman rested both hands on his shoulders, rarely taking the upper position, and tilted her head slightly down to kiss him.
"You have ulterior motives, and you made up an excuse to check on me."
After kissing for a good while, she remained seated on him but mercilessly exposed the man's sanctimonious facade.
Lu Bofan gave her lips another gentle peck, quite good at finding excuses for himself: "I really did want to see if you were hurt anywhere else."
Lu Meng pulled back a little, not letting him continue kissing, but her fingertip tapped his lips. "You check with here?"
Lu Bofan's dark eyes landed on the woman's fair, slender finger. His Adam's apple bobbed, and for a moment, he didn't answer.
Lu Meng also realized the gesture was a bit suggestive. She unconsciously curled her hand and tried to shift her body off his lap. "Are you done checking? If so, I'll—"
The man's hand around her waist suddenly tightened. Her unfinished words were swallowed entirely in his kiss.
He was especially sanctimonious about it—the visible wounds had all been checked by sight, but the ones that couldn't be seen required the aid of professional instruments.
Because she had injuries on her back and he was worried lying down would hurt, the two of them sat holding each other like this.
She couldn't help burying her face in the hollow of his neck, her voice fragmented as she complained: "Is this how you do a check-up?"
Her mother was a painter, her father a doctor—Lu Meng came from a cultured family.
Having grown up immersed in that environment, she also loved all kinds of art.
Besides painting, she would accompany her mother, Lu Ling, to concerts.
She had heard many pieces and had favorites among them, but none played the way he did—
Muffled and rapid.
Whether it was work or anything else, Lu Bofan's principle was always to go straight for the goal, never lingering or dragging things out.
But at this moment, he stayed quietly without leaving, kissing her with such tenderness.
"Baby."
Lu Meng's head was spinning from his sweet talk, a strange tingling numbness spreading through her entire body.
When had he ever called her that?
His voice wasn't as cold and calm as usual either—low, magnetic, laced with a satisfied, sexy rasp.
Lu Bofan remained gentle in his demeanor: "When you're expressing dissatisfaction, can you not—tempt me like that?"
"…"
Lu Meng was too full. She took a long while to recover before leaning against the hollow of his neck and saying, "When did you change…"
He pretended not to understand: "Changed where?"
Lu Meng didn't say anything.
When the two of them had just gotten married, they were both silent and quiet, not saying a word, and the same went for the next few times.
Now that they had done it many times, he had actually started saying things like this…
Sure enough, no matter how proper or how cold a man might seem normally,
once in bed, he would still be different.
After Lu Bofan heard this, he did not try to defend himself.
Lu Meng was shifted into another position, just like when he had applied the medicine earlier, her back facing him, with a throw pillow tucked against her front. During all this, he still had not left.
"It's like a brief parting makes for a newlywed reunion. I got a little carried away. Sorry."
Lu Meng took a long time to recover before she noticed the flaw in his answer.
"How long have we been married? How is this a newlywed reunion?"
Lu Bofan carefully avoided her injured area and asked her, "How do you define newlywed?"
Lu Meng was a bit dazed and thinking very slowly. After a while, she said in a broken, disjointed way, "Only just married counts as newlywed…"
Lu Bofan said, "It's only been four months for us."
Her mind was not very clear. "Four months is still pretty long…"
Lu Bofan pinched her chin and turned her face toward him for a kiss.
"If a husband and wife have a good relationship, however long it's been, it can still be called a newlywed reunion."
Lu Meng thought to herself that he had so many twisted arguments, and she could not outtalk him.
She did not speak, so Lu Bofan asked again, "So do you like the old me, or the way I am now?"
Silent and direct, or sweet talk to coax her.
Lu Meng actually did think about it, and then discovered that she could not choose.
Lu Bofan might have done it on purpose, pausing right there just to hear her answer.
Lu Meng got a little annoyed. Instinctively, she wanted to move forward, but the person behind her pulled her back.
After being together for so long, he had also figured out her temperament. She responded to softness, not hardness.
Lu Bofan's tone lowered, as if coaxing her. "I really did have dishonorable intentions."
Earlier, she had said that his checking her was with ill intent.
He gently kissed her ear. "When you're not here, I miss you a little."
Lu Meng buried her face in the pillow, and the rim of her ear grew hot. After a long time, she finally let out a muffled sound. "Only a little?"
Lu Bofan's heart melted completely. He scooped her up. "More than that."
"I think about you every day."
She had slept quite a lot today, including on the way back. So after the examination was over, Lu Meng still had some energy.
After coming out of the bathroom and walking downstairs, she vaguely smelled something sweet and fragrant.
Only when she got closer did she realize that Lu Bofan was actually grilling rice cakes.
"Why did you suddenly make this?"
He had also finished showering, his black hair slightly damp. Knowing she would be thirsty, he had already thoughtfully poured her some water. "I saw you saved this video earlier."
When he had her turn over, he noticed the content on her phone, which was why she had blurted out that it was grilled rice cakes.
Lu Meng had not expected him to be so attentive. She sat down, propped her face on both hands, and looked at him. "There are rice cakes at home?"
Unlike the smiling, teasing look he had on the bed, he had changed back to his calm, steady self.
"There are. Auntie Ye is very careful. There's a lot of food stocked at home."
Lu Meng nodded and did not say anything else.
Lu Bofan did not grill many, just two small pieces.
The white rice cakes were grilled until plump, with crisp, browned outsides. There was no soybean powder at home, but there was condensed milk.
He was not very interested, so he left both pieces for her.
The crispy-outside, chewy-inside grilled rice cakes paired with sweet condensed milk really did taste quite good.
After the late-night snack, she washed up again and returned to the room. Lu Meng actually still wasn't sleepy.
Lu Bofan asked if she wanted to watch a movie. She hesitated. "Don't you have to go to the office tomorrow?"
"I do, but I can get up."
Lu Meng was still a little worried. "How about you go rest, and I'll go upstairs and watch by myself."
Lu Bofan took her hand and led her upstairs. "You're not here, so I sleep alone. Now that you're back, you want me to keep an empty bed?"
Lu Meng stopped trying to persuade him, but she gave herself a disclaimer. "Then if you're late tomorrow, you can't blame me."
Lu Bofan gently reminded her, "I'm the boss. Even if I go in the afternoon, it's fine."
"….."
All that worry for a capitalist for nothing.
In Lu Bofan's villa, there was a dedicated movie room, like a private home theater.
While Lu Meng was picking a film, she asked him, "Do you like watching movies?"
"It's all right."
But he didn't like going to public cinemas, so he'd made one for himself. Still, he was too busy with work, and the number of times he'd actually come here to watch movies wasn't many.
"No worries. President Lu, you work hard, and I'll enjoy your cinema for you."
Lu Bofan lifted his eyes to look at her. "It's not mine."
Lu Meng raised her eyes in confusion. "What?"
The movie screen's light refracted neither too bright nor too dim across the man's profile as he drew her into his arms. "This house is in your name."
"Everything here is yours. It's all written in the prenuptial agreement documents. Didn't you see?"