In an overly quiet environment, one's senses are amplified infinitely.
For instance, she unconsciously slowed her breathing, yet clearly caught the scent of fir on the man—crisp and clean.
"Lu Meng."
Lu Bofan's hand had not loosened in the slightest. His voice was extremely steady and calm. "Are you nervous?"
Lu Meng did not look at him, forcing herself to focus on the photos. "You're overthinking it. I just think this one looks good."
Lu Bofan casually withdrew his gaze, his eyes landing on the photo she had opened.
While toasting guests, Lu Meng had been so exhausted she could barely stand. In that instant, an inescapable force wrapped around her waist.
Lu Bofan held a glass of champagne and whispered by her ear, "Lean on me."
Lu Meng did not refuse either, leaning into him with complete ease.
The moment the photographer captured seemed to come with its own filter—the man's arm wrapped around the woman's slender waist with unmistakable possessiveness, his head slightly lowered as he whispered to the wife nestled in his arms.
Lu Meng scrolled back a few more photos and actually developed an illusion, as if she and Lu Bofan truly were a perfect match. No one could tell they had only known each other for a few months.
After looking for a long while, her stiff body had somehow softened, leaning against the man's chest, viewing the photos together with him.
Since she had not replied for a while, the photographer sent another message: [There's hardly anything that needs retouching. You and your husband truly are a handsome couple.]
Lu Bofan saw the message as well. His tone carried a teasing smile. "Quite the smooth talker."
"…."
Lu Meng ignored the person beside her and merely replied politely with a thank you.
Their new home was in Nanshan Courtyard. They had chosen this location because it was close to her school.
After getting out of the car, Lu Bofan carried her back to the bedroom. The tall man stood before her, his well-defined hand pulling off his tie. When he touched her scraped ankle, he spoke calmly and plainly: "Do you need me to help you shower?"
Lu Meng felt somewhat warm too. She took off her jacket and declined politely. "No need, I can manage."
Lu Bofan did not insist. He carried her into the bathroom and, before leaving, reminded her gentlemanly, "Call me if you need anything."
"…Okay."
The bathroom door closed, and Lu Meng let out a long breath of relief.
By the unspoken understanding between adults, he had not said what would happen next, yet she knew very well in her heart—and had never thought of refusing.
By the time she came out of the bathroom, it was already half past one in the morning. Lu Bofan was not in the room, but a bottle of ointment for bruises sat by the bed.
Realizing who had left it, her heart could not help but soften.
After applying the medicine, Lu Bofan still had not returned.
She limped to the bedroom door and saw that the man had clearly also finished showering. His slightly damp, messy hair hung down, diminishing his usual cold, aggressive air.
"What is it?"
Lu Bofan's tall figure blocked the doorway. Lu Meng realized he had misunderstood. "I wanted some water."
The man gave a sound of acknowledgment and told her to go in first. When he returned, he was holding a glass of warm water.
Lu Meng thanked him politely. Perhaps it was too late—he had little energy left as well—and he did not bring up doing anything.
The lights went out abruptly, and the bedroom fell into silent darkness.
Having been busy all day, Lu Meng's body was exhausted. By her usual habits, she really should be sleepy at this hour.
Yet she could not fall asleep for a long, long time.
An unfamiliar environment magnifies a person's senses infinitely. She rarely suffered from insomnia. Wanting to quietly turn over, she accidentally kicked something.
Her body instantly froze, her breath catching. Just when she thought Lu Bofan had already fallen asleep, the man's calm voice broke the silence of this special night.
"Can't sleep?"
Lu Meng's heart slowly settled. She didn't deny it either, softly humming in acknowledgment.
Another moment of silence.
Lu Meng kept her eyes open, her vision pitch black, her thoughts beginning to drift far away.
She thought that perhaps the reason she couldn't sleep wasn't because she wasn't used to the bed, but because of the color of the bedsheets and covers.
She liked buying warm-toned four-piece bedding sets, because she felt that such warm colors would bring a sense of happiness.
But the cold, dark color beneath her would give her a suppressed unease.
This was probably the one habit she couldn't change.
Since she couldn't sleep anyway, Lu Meng was just about to discuss with him about changing this set, when the man's scent suddenly descended overwhelmingly.
The bedroom light wasn't on, yet Lu Bofan seemed to sense her nervousness. Even though their breaths were almost tangled together, he still gave her a choice: "You can refuse me."
Lu Meng hadn't thought about refusing, she just blurted out numbly: "You still have the energy?"
Her vision was pitch black. She couldn't see the man's expression, only vaguely hearing a very soft teasing sound.
"Is the impression I've given you that useless?"
"…."
Lu Meng's cheeks burned. She unconsciously curled her hands tight, explaining in a very soft voice: "I mean, it's too late now."
The man's fingertip pressed against her lips, neither too light nor too heavy: "If you're tired, we can not do it."
Lu Meng thought, if it weren't for her trip to the school, they probably would have already finished by now.
With guilt in her heart, she didn't hesitate long, slowly hooking her arms around the man's neck, tentatively asking: "One round shouldn't take too long, right?"
She thought, one round should be enough to finish.
Lu Bofan's voice fell with extreme indifference, a few words: "Not sure."
In the moment Lu Meng was puzzled, the man's breath surged down.
Different from the light touch at the wedding, his lips carried a bit of aggression as he kissed her. Their nasal breaths restrainedly entangled together. In the silent dark night, heartbeats that had lost their frequency seemed especially clear.
She opened her lips almost by instinct, responding to him clumsily and awkwardly.
Sensing her nervousness, the man's kiss became much gentler. His fingertip rubbed the skin by her ear, neither too light nor too heavy, carrying a hint of the illusion of soothing one's heart.
What followed developed more smoothly than expected. The two of them barely spoke.
The ambiguous heat kept climbing. In the air, only breaths chaotically tangled together remained, like crashing into water—damp, sticky hot, suddenly stirring up waves.
Her vision was very dark. Nothing could be seen clearly, yet his presence was very strong.
Lu Meng finally realized why, when she had asked him earlier how long it would take, Lu Bofan's answer had been the three words "not sure."
She gripped the man's muscle-tensed arm, fragmentedly carrying a bit of nasal tone: "Do you not have much experience?"
His movements paused. Different from his earlier coldness, when he spoke his voice was terribly hoarse: "Does it hurt?"
Lu Meng shook her head. She couldn't sort out her feelings at this moment either. Saying it was uncomfortable wasn't accurate, nor was it repulsive—it was just a bit unbearable.
Her voice was low, as if she were sobbing: "Let me take a moment, okay?"
Lu Bofan answered with his actions. This time, he was much more considerate, occasionally pausing to ask for her opinion.
After it was over, Lu Meng declined his offer to help her shower.
Stepping into the bathroom, she leaned her back against the door. In the mirror, she saw stray strands of hair stuck to her forehead, not only her cheeks flushed red, but the area below—her collarbone—was also tinged pink.
In the last lingering warmth, Lu Bofan had pressed against her and asked: "Satisfied?"
At the wedding, he had asked the same question.
Lu Meng had just checked the time—it was already three o'clock.
Though utterly exhausted, she had to admit that whether it was the wedding or other aspects, Lu Bofan, as a husband, had done everything perfectly.
She pressed a hand to her chest and arrived at a genuine answer—
She was very satisfied.
When she came out of the bathroom again, she saw that Lu Bofan had also showered.
The man leaned lazily and casually against the kitchen island, his arms propped loosely behind him. As he drank water, his Adam's apple bobbed up and down. Noticing her gaze, he looked over at her without blinking, his voice indifferent: "Thirsty?"
This was clearly asking while already knowing the answer.
Lu Meng had changed into a camisole nightgown. Though they had just done the most intimate thing moments ago, now they stood apart on opposite sides, drinking water, quiet and saying nothing.
She was truly tired. This time, the moment she touched the bed, drowsiness pressed down heavily on her, and she couldn't even be bothered by the presence of a man beside her, nor by the cold-toned four-piece bedding set that could cast a shadow over anyone.
Lu Bofan turned off the light. But very soon, the person who had just been properly curled up on the other side suddenly turned over and squeezed into his arms.
He didn't like physical contact with people—not to mention such intimate embracing, he didn't even like ordinary gentlemanly hugs.
On top of that, as the eldest son of the Lu family, he had the arrogance and aloofness to back it up.
In their circle, some young masters played dirty—five or six women accompanying them in a single night.
When he occasionally ran into them, the man would casually brush off his collar. Not to mention stopping to exchange pleasantries, he wouldn't even spare them a glance.
It was blatantly clear—he found them dirty.
So the friends around him were all quite decent.
But Lu Meng was different.
Lu Meng was his wife.
Lu Bofan didn't push her away. His arm rested on the woman's waist, and his breathing gradually evened out.
Lu Meng had morning classes and woke at eight, which meant she had only slept five hours.
But when she got up, Lu Bofan had already gone to the company.
Auntie Li at home told her that Lu Bofan got up at six every day to work out and left for the company promptly at seven-thirty.
Whether it was from the busy wedding or the physical exertion in the middle of the night, Lu Meng still felt somewhat tired.
Hearing what Auntie Li said, she felt as if all the bones in her body had been struck. She had to admit that Lu Bofan really had incredible stamina.
University classes weren't many—she only had two in the morning.
After finishing, she went to find out about what had happened in the girls' dormitory last night. It had blown up quite seriously, even trending on social media.
The school leadership took it very seriously. By the time the meeting ended, it was already one in the afternoon.
Lu Meng was truly too exhausted. She went back to Nanshan Courtyard to take a nap.
Whether it was psychological or not, she always felt uncomfortable sleeping in those cold bed covers.
She thought about it and decided to ask Lu Bofan, the original owner, for his opinion: [Can I change the bedding set?]
She had just looked around—the whole home was on the cooler side of the color spectrum.
The four-piece bedding set, the furniture, and even all his suits were in black, white, and gray—it truly gave one no sense of happiness.
She liked living in a home with warm tones; this was her one small indulgence.
Of course, she was also well aware that she and Lu Bofan didn't have deep feelings for each other, so if she wanted to make changes, she still had to ask for his opinion.
If he moved into her place and replaced all her warm, lovely things with black, white, and gray without asking, she would definitely be upset.
Lu Meng thought about picking out a few similar styles to send him for reference. She had just clicked on a few products when a reply from the man popped up—
1: 【No need to ask me about matters at home. You can decide on your own.】