He Zhinian spent nearly the whole day with her.
It seemed to be the longest they had ever spent together.
Ye Zhenshu found it strange, too.
She had known He Zhinian for several months, and he never seemed to take a day off.
He worked from sunrise to sunset like an emotionless AI robot.
The fact that he could sit here and keep her company all day was already astonishing.
Ye Zhenshu had slept through the entire day, and that night, in this unfamiliar place, she simply couldn’t fall asleep.
He Zhinian was sitting on the sofa too, looking at his computer, though she couldn’t tell what state of mind he was in.
His glasses hid every trace of emotion.
Still, Ye Zhenshu noticed that his gaze rested aimlessly on the computer. The screen went dark, then lit up again; sometimes it went dark and lit up once more.
He probably couldn’t sleep either.
He’d slept with someone he didn’t like, and couldn’t even complain about it. That was pretty miserable.
“He Zhinian,” Ye Zhenshu called softly.
He suddenly looked up, the tips of his ears a little red. “Hmm?”
She gathered her courage. “I’m hungry.”
“What do you want to eat?”
“I want to go home and have noodles.”
Going home and having noodles. Two separate things.
He Zhinian nodded, then began gathering their things.
Ye Zhenshu changed back into her own clothes in the bathroom, put on her coat, and followed him out of the hospital room.
The elevator descended to the gloomy underground parking garage. She pulled her coat closer around herself.
She shivered.
As she looked for He Zhinian’s car, he stopped, took off his coat, and draped it over her.
Then he unwound the scarf from his neck and wrapped it around hers.
His movements weren’t gentle, but they were careful, just like last night—clumsy and rough.
Ye Zhenshu was startled.
He Zhinian was a six-foot-three man, so naturally his coat was much bigger than hers.
With it simply draped over her, she felt like a giant rice dumpling, and could barely walk.
While she was wondering whether she’d have to hurry her steps, He Zhinian scooped her up in his arms.
He had carried her like this earlier that day, too, but she’d been half asleep then and could ignore it.
Today, she’d thrown up several times and was wide awake.
He Zhinian didn’t give her a chance to react.
The car was some distance from the elevator, and he carried her steadily all the way there.
There was no denying He Zhinian had a great physique.
She’d thought he was thin, but when he took off his clothes, she’d discovered his body was all lean muscle, with a waist so trim you could raise fish in the small of his back.
She’d accidentally touched him last night.
Ye Zhenshu’s face flushed with embarrassment, and she turned her cheek away.
But He Zhinian caught that tiny change in her expression.
Under the dim lights, the way she lightly bit her lip was more intoxicating than any alcohol he’d ever tasted.
He Zhinian’s gaze darkened slightly. His brow lifted, then slowly furrowed.
He didn’t understand why he was thinking this way.
Ye Zhenshu got into the passenger seat, but with the coat wrapped around her, she could hardly move.
She couldn’t fasten her seat belt.
In the end, He Zhinian fastened it for her.
The moment He Zhinian leaned over, the faint scent that belonged to him enveloped her.
Ye Zhenshu melted helplessly into the passenger seat.
She couldn’t tell whether the flush in her face came from warming up again or from the cramped space making it hard to breathe.
They didn’t seem to have much in common to talk about, and the drive home passed in silence.
Embarrassed to ask him for help, Ye Zhenshu reached for the seat-belt buckle herself.
Perhaps there was too much clothing in the way; she couldn’t find it.
He Zhinian had already opened the passenger door, and she still hadn’t undone the belt.
“I’ll do it.”
He leaned in and unfastened it.
“I can walk back by myself…” Ye Zhenshu said.
He Zhinian didn’t answer. He scooped her up again, not giving her a chance to get her feet on the ground.
There was something strange about the way she walked. He Zhinian had noticed at the hospital.
Ye Zhenshu was also afraid of running into someone she knew, so she buried her face against his chest.
His scent filled her nostrils—warm and sweet.
He Zhinian lowered his head to glance at her and slowed his pace.
As soon as they went inside, they ran into Auntie Li[1]“Auntie” is a polite, familiar way to address an older woman in Chinese, even when she is not a biological aunt. jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3733026_1_1').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3733026_1_1', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], }); from upstairs.
“Oh, Xiaohe[2]Xiao means “little” or “young” and is often attached to a surname as a familiar form of address. jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3733026_1_2').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3733026_1_2', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });!” Auntie Li looked at the woman in his arms. Her glossy black hair spilled over his arm, and all she could see was half of a face, pale as jade.
Seeing He Zhinian wearing only a cashmere sweater, Auntie Li smiled. “This is…”
“My Madam[3]Tai tai, often rendered “Madam,” can mean a married woman or wife, including when speaking formally of one’s own spouse. jQuery('#footnote_plugin_tooltip_3733026_1_3').tooltip({ tip: '#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_3733026_1_3', tipClass: 'footnote_tooltip', effect: 'fade', predelay: 0, fadeInSpeed: 200, delay: 400, fadeOutSpeed: 200, position: 'top center', relative: true, offset: [-7, 0], });.” He Zhinian gave a slight nod.
Ye Zhenshu went rigid in his arms, not daring to move.
It was the middle of winter, but she was nearly melting from the heat of being held against him.
“Oh! I thought you were single…”
Auntie Li smiled and pressed the button for the eighteenth floor.
“Thank you,” He Zhinian said.
Feeling the person in his arms grow more and more tense, He Zhinian couldn’t help looking down at her.
Her head was still buried against his chest. She didn’t dare move.
He suddenly found it funny. The corners of his mouth lifted slightly, but his expression soon returned to normal.
When He Zhinian set her down on the bed, Ye Zhenshu’s face was flushed, and a little sweat had already gathered on her forehead.
Frowning, He Zhinian reached out and felt her forehead again.
“I’m fine…” She shrank back a little.
He Zhinian seemed to realize something. He nodded, left the guest room, and closed the door behind him before heading into the kitchen.
Ye Zhenshu breathed a sigh of relief. It took her a while to calm down enough to take off both coats and change into modest loungewear.
When Ye Zhenshu came out, He Zhinian’s coat was draped over her arm. Seeing him still busy in the kitchen, she headed toward his master bedroom on her own.
To avoid an awkward moment, she planned to put He Zhinian’s coat back in his room.
As soon as she entered the master bedroom, she saw the dark blue sheets on He Zhinian’s bed.
Ye Zhenshu hurriedly put the coat down on the bed and went back out.
The moment she emerged, she ran into He Zhinian coming toward her.
“The noodles are ready,” Zhinian said, noticing her hand nervously tugging at the hem of her clothes.
“Okay, thank you.”
Ye Zhenshu walked past him and straight to the dining room.
He Zhinian followed her.
There were two bowls of ordinary egg noodles on the table.
Ye Zhenshu was starving. Maybe because she’d thrown up several times, her stomach was empty, and suddenly even plain egg noodles tasted delicious.
But the egg noodles He Zhinian made seemed better than hers.
Ye Zhenshu wanted to ask how he made them.
But He Zhinian never seemed to like talking much, so she let the thought go.
Before long, the doorbell rang.
Ye Zhenshu paused.
She and He Zhinian had lived here for three months, and this was the first time she’d heard the doorbell.
Even when Zhang Yiyang came to see him, he waited outside the door. He’d never pressed the bell.
He Zhinian was just as surprised.
His chopsticks paused, and he glanced toward the door, surprise in his eyes.
Then he put down his chopsticks, got up, and went to answer it.
On the video screen, the person outside was Qi Wenwan.
He Zhinian’s expression darkened. After hesitating for a few seconds, he opened the door.
“Zhinian.” Qi Wenwan looked surprised and delighted.
Inside, Ye Zhenshu’s heart jolted. The mouthful of noodles she’d just taken went down the wrong way, and she started choking.
Startled, she hurriedly swallowed and grabbed a tissue to wipe her mouth.
Qi Wenwan had come right to his door?
He Zhinian said nothing. He glanced toward the dining room, his expression unreadable, then looked at Qi Wenwan with cool eyes.
“Miss Qi.”
Miss Qi?
Qi Wenwan had already sensed the distance in He Zhinian’s tone since last night.
Just then, she heard a woman coughing inside. Her gaze immediately fell on the few buttons left undone on He Zhinian’s shirt.
His collar was slightly open, and three faint scratch marks showed near his collarbone.
Had he turned her down last night because there was already someone else?
References[+]