Twenty minutes later.
Fu Shi appeared at Nan Yin’s apartment wearing a black T-shirt and gray casual pants.
Of course, it was also his own house.
The door was open. When Fu Shi entered, he indeed felt a wave of stifling heat. She stood by the door in a white dress, waiting for him, holding a white lightbulb in her porcelain-white hand.
“I found a spare lightbulb in the cabinet,” Nan Yin handed him the bulb. “You know how to do this, right?”
Fu Shi looked at her, his voice low. “Do you think I look like a repairman?”
Nan Yin laughed. “No!”
“Because you’re a top student. Top students should know how to do everything.”
Fu Shi scoffed and didn’t waste more words on her. Taking the lightbulb, he asked, “How could the central air conditioning break?”
Nan Yin didn’t know. “It was on all night last night, but when I woke up this morning, it wasn’t heating anymore. So strange.”
“This apartment is the most expensive one in all of Su City. How could the air conditioning quality be so poor? Were you cheated during the renovation?”
Fu Shi: …
“It won’t break.”
“Maybe the circuit tripped.”
“I’ll check in a moment.”
The man first helped her replace a white decorative light in the hallway. He truly knew how to do everything—a result of his training in the military. From aircraft parts to car parts to lightbulbs like this, he could handle it all.
However, the weather was too hot. After just a short while of twisting the bulb, sticky sweat instantly soaked through his black T-shirt, which was stretched taut over his muscles. Sweat dripped from his forehead and chin.
It trailed down his throat and seeped into the edge of his T-shirt.
Fu Shi felt too sticky, too stifled.
The sweat-drenched T-shirt clung to him, hindering his work. Unconcerned by the little fox beside him, who was eyeing him eagerly, he quickly took off the damp T-shirt and continued helping her replace the light.
Soon, sweat from his heated body trickled down his well-defined muscles, flowing from top to bottom to his narrow yet powerful waist. In the backlit shadows, every inch of his skin glistened, radiating desire and explosive hormones.
Nan Yin leaned against the wall, watching motionlessly. Her nose, driven by greed, betrayed her as a trickle of blood dripped out.
A drop of blood fell. Fu Shi glanced over. “Too hot and getting heaty? Lift your head first and press on it.”
Without air conditioning in this weather, one could die from the heat.
It could also dry you out and make you heaty.
He knew that.
So, he didn’t think much of it, assuming her nosebleed was caused by the heat.
But Nan Yin wasn’t bleeding because of the heat—she was bleeding out of desire.
Her beautiful eyes sparkled. She licked the blood with the tip of her tongue, her gaze igniting with fire. Unable to resist the hormones radiating from the man, she slowly walked over to him, stood on her tiptoes, and whispered softly into his ear, her voice filled with temptation, “Mm, seeing you makes me heaty.”
Fu Shi’s ear burned from her breath.
His fingers instinctively tightened around the lightbulb, his voice low and husky. “Keep this up, and I’ll kick you out. Believe me?”
Nan Yin didn’t believe he would truly be so cold-hearted as to drive her away. He was a man with a tough exterior but a soft heart. So, the little fox acted without restraint, smiling brightly at him. “What did I do? I’m just telling the truth.”
“And thank you for helping me change the light today.”
“I have watermelon in the fridge. I’ll go get it.”
Nan Yin didn’t tease him further, knowing when to stop. She first wiped her nosebleed with a tissue, then turned to fetch the watermelon.
The sweet fragrance beside him disappeared.
Fu Shi let out a heavy sigh, quickly finished screwing in the lightbulb, picked up his damp T-shirt, and went to check the air conditioning for her. After inspecting it, he confirmed it was indeed a tripped circuit.
He adjusted the air conditioning switch for her and tested it. The air conditioning started working normally again.
Finally, cool air began to seep down from the ceiling.
It felt refreshing.
Fu Shi put on his sweat-drenched T-shirt, ready to head back to his own apartment for a shower before going to work.
Nan Yin walked out holding a slice of watermelon. Seeing that he had taken care of everything, her eyes were filled with admiration and awe. She quickly set the watermelon down and hurried over, grabbing his hand. “Are you leaving?”
“Thank you for today. Would you like a slice of watermelon before you go?”
Fu Shi glanced at her pale hand and pushed it away. “No need.”
Still rejecting her like this?
Nan Yin coughed twice but didn’t let go. “Why not take a shower here?”
“Your T-shirt is soaked.”
Nan Yin tightened her grip on his wrist, refusing to let him leave. The warmth of her small hand felt like soft, molten lava against Fu Shi’s skin, rubbing against his palm as if setting it ablaze.
A faint electric current spread through him.
The man’s eyes darkened slightly. He truly seemed like the kind of man who was stubborn—unwilling to admit it verbally but unable to resist her teasing.
Perhaps out of excessive caution, he hesitated for a moment before firmly refusing. “No need.”
“Isn’t your apartment just across the hall?”
Fu Shi pulled his hand away and prepared to leave. Nan Yin couldn’t stop him, knowing that pushing further would only annoy him. She understood the importance of “knowing when to stop.” After all, what she needed to do now was dispel his preconceived notions about her.
She knew he was afraid she was just playing around.
That she wasn’t serious.
“Alright, I won’t force you,” Nan Yin said obediently, following him to see him off. “Fu Shi, but I have something to say… I’m not just playing around.”
“I’ve thought about it for a long time since returning to Su City,” Nan Yin’s voice carried a hint of sweetness.
Her gentle, soft-spoken explanation was soothing to listen to.
Fu Shi unconsciously slowed his steps but didn’t linger.
“It’s okay if you have reservations about me. I understand,” she said softly. “Will you come to the class reunion on Friday?”
“I’ll be waiting for you.”
Fu Shi felt a slight stir in his heart and wanted to say something, but he held back in the end. Pressing his thin lips together, he left without another word.
As the door closed, Nan Yin’s nosebleed betrayed her again, dripping another drop.
She quickly tilted her head back to let the blood flow back.
Truly, this man’s hormones were too intense.
She hadn’t even done anything with him yet, and she was already getting nosebleeds.
How pathetic.
Nan Yin walked over to the table, intending to take a bite of watermelon. Before she could, her mother, Lín Wēiwǎn, called, crying as soon as she spoke. “Yinyin, come back home. Your aunt is causing trouble again.”
“She insists on selling our house.”
“This house was left to us by your stepfather. What right does she have?”
Nan Yin frowned as she listened. “Mom, don’t cry. I’ll come back right away.”
“Don’t give in to her. There’s no need for that.”
Lín Wēiwǎn had indeed married into the Nan family while pregnant with Nan Yin, and Nan Yuming hadn’t minded that she was carrying another man’s child.
He lived with her earnestly.
She had even wanted to give him a child of their own, but just as they were preparing to try, he died in a car accident.
Since then, she and her daughter had been living alone in Nan Yuming’s house.
The house wasn’t even a particularly valuable apartment.
Yet, her aunt, Nan Meiling, had been eyeing it all along.
She wanted to force them to sell it so she could split the money, claiming that as her brother’s sister, she had inheritance rights too.
But if they sold the house, where would they live?
They couldn’t possibly rent a place with her daughter, could they?
Moreover, she felt guilty towards Nan Yuming and didn’t want to sell the house, hoping to keep it for him as a lasting memory.
It was also a way to hold onto the past.
But Nan Meiling was no easy opponent, causing trouble every few days.
She was nearly driven mad.
“Yinyin, I’m sorry, Mom is useless.” Lín Wēiwǎn cried as she apologized. Her nature was weak, and back then, it was this very weakness that left her confused and unable to resist, deceived by the sweet talk of a young master from the wealthy Li family in the capital, who took advantage of her.
After becoming pregnant with Nan Yin, Lín Wēiwǎn feared being shamed and fled to Suzhou with her unborn child to settle down.
“Mom, don’t say that. I’ll handle this,” Nan Yin said firmly, taking a deep breath. “Wait for me, I’ll be right back.”
Nan Yin hung up the phone, went back to her room, took off her dress, and changed into pants suitable for a fight.
She tied up her hair, grabbed her car keys, and hurried out the door.
As she stepped out, Fu Shi had just finished showering and was also heading out to go to the company. This time, Nan Yin had no time to flirt with him. She glanced back at him briefly before rushing off.
Seeing her run so frantically, nearly tripping, Fu Shi frowned slightly. Then, as if something had hooked his mind, he found himself dazedly following her.