The man pulled off his tie with one hand and set it aside.
His hands were pale and slender, with thin skin and prominent bones, now leisurely resting on his suit buttons as he undid them one by one.
The veins on his arms faintly bulged with each movement.
Though it was a perfectly normal action, Shen Nanyin inexplicably sensed an undercurrent of danger.
She nervously lowered her lashes and swallowed.
Suddenly, her mind flashed back to a “male bodhisattva” from the cocktail section she’d once scrolled past on a short-video app.
He, too, had a pair of long, beautiful hands.
Those hands held a soft, ripe peach, knuckles flexing as they slowly peeled away the thin skin.
The milky-white, blush-pink flesh was fully ripe, juicy and plump, dripping down his fingers onto the counter with a single poke, leaving faint pink trails on his skin.
Nimble fingertips twisted and curled suggestively, digging out the pit inside.
A soft plink.
The watch the man had removed and placed on the table jolted Shen Nanyin back to reality.
…Good grief, what was she thinking?
Just then, Lu Jingyan walked up to her, leaning down slightly.
His low, magnetic, and lazy voice sounded in the quiet room.
“Reporting to Mrs. Lu, I’m going to take a shower now. You lie down and rest first, then supervise my nap later. Is that alright?”
Still reeling from her earlier runaway thoughts, Shen Nanyin’s ears flushed crimson, almost as if dripping blood, and she stammered instinctively, “Y-yes, that’s fine.”
His gaze thoughtfully lingering on her flushed cheeks, Lu Jingyan asked softly.
“Are you hot?”
The girl looked up in a fluster, her usually cool eyes now tinged with a seductive hue from the unusual color, her trembling pupils glistening with moisture as if about to spill over.
Avoiding his eyes, she mumbled incoherently, “A little.”
Lu Jingyan’s lips curved slightly. “The weather in Jingbei has been fluctuating lately. Even if you’re hot, don’t get greedy for coolness and skip wearing a jacket.”
Shen Nanyin averted her gaze, her long lashes trembling faintly from guilt.
“I know.”
The surrounding temperature was scorching, the oxygen being drawn away strand by strand.
Lying on the bed, the girl’s red lips parted slightly, her brows tightly furrowed with a hint of restlessness.
“Hot…”
She murmured, shifting in search of a cooler spot, only to be pulled back by a large hand gripping her waist, her back pressed tightly against a warm, firm chest.
The crisp scent of fir enveloped her, seeping thread by thread into her clothes.
Behind her, breaths grew heavy, moist air brushing against the nape of her neck, cool lips ghosting over her skin as if touching yet not.
She pushed back with her hand, trying to distance herself from the heat source, but the arm wrapped around her waist forcefully slid between her fingers and tightened, trapping her until she could barely breathe.
The vibration of a phone finally pulled Shen Nanyin from her chaotic dream.
Her eyes snapped open, her vision slowly focusing through the haze.
What met her eyes was the man’s detached, sharp, and strikingly handsome profile, along with a metal ear stud.
His tall, straight nose bridge, thin red lips, down to his sharp Adam’s apple.
A few buttons of his shirt were undone, revealing firm, full pectoral muscles, with a black thorn tattoo sprawling across his left chest.
And at this moment, she was lying on her side.
Her leg was draped over the man, her arms wrapped around his lean waist, her head pillowed on his arm.
She was clinging to him like an octopus, intimate and ambiguous in her entanglement.
The mature male body radiated a vigorous heat, relentlessly burning against her.
Because she was using his arm as a pillow, his broad palm unconsciously cradled her back, holding her close.
Shen Nanyin’s pupils trembled.
Her body gradually stiffened, her thoughts were in disarray, her consciousness felt empty, and her brain seemed like a burnt-out computer, completely unable to function normally.
All she wanted was to escape before Lu Jingyan woke up.
However, as soon as she shifted slightly, the eyes that were so close to hers slowly opened.
Her pale, frightened face flushed visibly at an alarming speed.
“I… you… I…”
She couldn’t even form a complete sentence.
Lu Jingyan kindly explained.
“When I came out, you were already asleep.”
“But I promised you I’d take a nap, so I lay down next to you for a while.”
He lowered his gaze to look at her, his eyes shimmering with amusement.
“I just didn’t expect Mrs. Lu’s sleeping posture to be so… unique.”
Shen Nanyin’s face flushed crimson as she slowly withdrew her wayward hands and legs, struggling to sit up.
She had been far too intrusive today. Normally, her sleeping habits were quite proper.
But misfortune never comes alone.
Having lain on her side for too long, as the blood began to circulate, half of her body went numb.
She toppled sideways.
A low, muffled groan followed.
She fell onto Lu Jingyan.
And in an attempt to steady herself, her hand landed without any barrier on the man’s left chest.
Beneath her palm was a scorching heat—the vigorous, beating heart.
Her waterfall-like black hair cascaded beside Lu Jingyan’s face, bringing a faint tickling sensation and creating a space that separated their gazes.
Lu Jingyan’s eyes darkened, concealing something indescribable.
It felt as though black thorns were spreading from his chest to her wrist, climbing upward and locking her in place.
Shen Nanyin’s heart inexplicably fluttered with panic, and she hastily spoke.
“Lu… Lu Jingyan.”
As if calling his name could grant her a sense of security.
The man lowered his gaze, the darkness that had surged in his eyes vanishing in an instant. He raised his hand to support her waist, helping her sit up.
The curtains were drawn open, and sunlight streamed in through the spotless glass window.
The girl sat at the edge of the bed with her eyes downcast, apologizing sheepishly, “I’m sorry.”
Beneath the hem of her skirt, her calves were straight and slender. She bent down to put on her shoes, her spine tracing a graceful curve.
Her slender ankles looked as though they could be held with one hand.
Lu Jingyan felt his throat burning. He picked up a glass of water and drank it all in one go, which brought some relief.
His voice still carried a slight hoarseness as he chuckled and asked her, “Why apologize all of a sudden?”
Shen Nanyin’s temperature, which had just begun to cool, started to rise again.
“I don’t know why I slept like that,” she said, finding it difficult to speak yet speaking urgently, “I didn’t mean to.”
“I know,” Lu Jingyan’s lazy voice concealed a hint of laughter, “Even if you did mean to, it wouldn’t matter.”
“After all…” He lightly tapped the ring on Shen Nanyin’s ring finger, implying something deeper.
“It’s perfectly normal for a married couple to be intimate.”