Shen Li carefully carried Ning Zhiyuan back to her room on the third floor.
The moment he tucked the blanket over her, the person on the bed immediately kicked it away.
Curled up on the mattress, Ning Zhiyuan was so sleepy she could barely open her eyes. She kept scratching at her arms.
“It’s so itchy…”
Several of the bite marks on her smooth, jade-like skin had already been scratched open.
Dark red blood mingled with fresh red scratch marks.
The sight made Shen Li’s heart ache.
Picking her up, he coaxed softly,
“Yuanyuan, don’t sleep yet. Let me apply the medicine first, then you can sleep, alright?”
Ning Zhiyuan was exhausted.
When she saw Shen Li, the lingering anger in her heart resurfaced.
Turning her back toward him, she refused to look at him.
“I don’t want you. Go away. Let me itch to death.”
She had practically bent over backward to please him.
Yet he had shut her out.
Ignored her.
Closed the door in her face.
What a jerk.
“As long as you apply the medicine, I’ll agree to anything you want. Even if you want me to help convince Uncle Ning and arrange for you to marry Pei Jin, I’ll do it.”
The thing Yuanyuan wanted most was to be openly together with Pei Jin.
Shen Li had finally accepted it.
He had simply cared too much about gains and losses.
As long as Yuanyuan was happy, even having his pride crushed beneath her feet would be worth it.
Ning Zhiyuan became even angrier.
Not at Shen Li.
At herself.
At how blind she had been in her previous life, completely obsessed with Pei Jin.
After pursuing him for so long, Shen Li still believed she couldn’t let him go.
Grabbing a pillow, she hurled it straight at Shen Li.
“I don’t like Pei Jin. If you ever tell me to marry him again, I’ll never speak to you.”
The pillow struck him squarely in the face.
Being stuffed with cotton, it didn’t hurt.
But her words hit him with tremendous force.
Seeing the increasingly swollen scratches on her skin, Shen Li had no time to dwell on it.
“What do I need to do for you to let me apply the medicine?”
Ning Zhiyuan looked directly into his eyes.
“Will you agree to any condition I ask for?”
He was already willing to help her marry Pei Jin.
What request could possibly be beyond his ability to grant?
Only in front of Yuanyuan did Shen Li realize he had no principles.
No bottom line.
If she asked for his life at this very moment, he would probably offer it with both hands.
“Go ahead. As long as I can do it, I’ll agree.”
Embarrassed, Ning Zhiyuan looked away.
“I want you to agree to let me stay in the same room as you.”
The man who had just spoken so confidently suddenly fell silent.
Ning Zhiyuan stole a glance at him.
His face had instantly turned bright red.
Holding the ointment tube, he looked completely lost.
“I… I…”
Never in his wildest dreams had Shen Li imagined that this would be her condition.
After stammering for a long time, he finally managed,
“Can you choose something else?”
“No deal.”
Ning Zhiyuan turned the back of her head toward him.
Her tone made it clear there was no room for negotiation.
As unreasonable as ever.
The unfair negotiation ended with Ning Zhiyuan claiming complete victory.
To prevent him from backing out, she insisted on having the medicine applied in Shen Li’s room.
Sitting in the armchair, she fought to stay awake while Shen Li patiently treated her skin.
It was the same task as before.
Yet everything felt different.
The setting was different.
His state of mind was different.
Applying medicine to the person he loved inside his own bedroom, touching her skin, every second was a severe test of his self-control.
Ning Zhiyuan’s skin was fair and flawless.
Smooth as polished jade.
As he spread the ointment across her skin, it felt as though his fingertips were gliding over a priceless piece of porcelain.
A dangerous thought surfaced.
He wanted to keep her.
All to himself.
Afterward, Shen Li went into the bathroom and took a cold shower.
Without even drying the water from his hair, he hurried back to the bedroom.
He didn’t dare make the slightest noise.
Ning Zhiyuan lay on her side beneath the covers.
Her long hair spread across the pillow.
She was sleeping soundly.
The soft light outlined her delicate brows and eyes, her petite nose, and her full lips.
Very gently, Shen Li lifted her slender arm and tucked it beneath the blanket.
Then he carefully tucked in the corners of the quilt.
His gaze returned to her face.
Slowly tracing every feature with his eyes.
Eventually, his attention settled on her soft pink lips.
Too many things had happened today.
Assistant Qi had said Yuanyuan was the one who found him first.
Did that mean the kiss he remembered…
Had actually happened?
Yuanyuan had stayed beside him in the hospital all night.
She had said she didn’t like Pei Jin.
She wanted to stay in the same room as him.
Did that mean…
He still had hope?
Piece by piece, fragmented clues came together.
The heart that had long fallen silent seemed to come alive again.
Just then, her lips moved slightly.
Shen Li immediately leaned closer.
A soft murmur escaped her sleeping lips.
“Pei Jin…”
The faint hope inside him shattered instantly.
A self-mocking smile tugged at his lips.
Without another word, he left the bedroom and stepped onto the balcony.
He wanted the summer wind to clear his muddled thoughts.
What he didn’t know was that after he left, Ning Zhiyuan continued mumbling in her sleep.
“I won’t let any of you get away with it…”
“Shen Li…”
“Stop avoiding me…”
The night quietly passed.
When Ning Zhiyuan woke up and didn’t see Shen Li, she quickly washed up and hurried downstairs.
The moment she spotted him standing in the courtyard making a phone call, her heart finally settled.
“Good morning, Miss Ning. What would you like for breakfast?”
Aunt Wang walked into the kitchen and tied on her apron.
Ning Zhiyuan rubbed her chin thoughtfully.
Then her eyes lit up.
“Aunt Wang, take the morning off. I’ll make breakfast today.”
When Shen Li returned, several misshapen fried eggs sat on the table.
Most were burnt.
Beside them sat a basket of steamed buns so distorted that their original shape was impossible to identify.
Resting her chin on both hands, Ning Zhiyuan looked at him expectantly.
“Hurry and taste them. Are they good?”
They looked awful.
Fortunately, she wasn’t the one eating them.
Still, they represented her sincerity.
At least a little.
The meal clearly wasn’t prepared for two people.
Shen Li picked up his fork, then put it down again.
“What are you going to eat?”
Ning Zhiyuan shook her head.
Leaning back in her chair, she replied,
“I’m not eating.”
She had greatly overestimated her cooking skills.
And with Aunt Wang absent, there was no way she was touching that food.
Shen Li laughed softly.
Without saying anything, he headed into the kitchen.
A short while later, he emerged carrying two perfectly fried eggs and a bowl of wontons.
Compared to Ning Zhiyuan’s culinary disaster, his food looked exactly like the pictures in a cookbook.
Without hesitation, Ning Zhiyuan pulled both dishes in front of herself.
“I’ll eat these two. You eat what’s in front of you.”
Then she added,
“And don’t waste food.”
Shen Li hadn’t intended to cook another meal for himself anyway.
He picked up one of the charred eggs and took a bite.
His expression didn’t change as he swallowed.
Then a smile slowly appeared.
“Not bad. Want to try some?”
Every part of Ning Zhiyuan screamed refusal.
“No thanks. Since they’re good, you should eat more.”
After finishing over half a bowl of wontons, her phone suddenly rang.
The screen displayed three words:
Boyfriend
The smile instantly vanished from Shen Li’s face.
The warm atmosphere evaporated.
One phone call was enough to drag him back to reality.
The peaceful moments between him and Yuanyuan had only been temporary.
Hadn’t an entire night of cold wind been enough to wake him up?
Noticing the change in his expression, Ning Zhiyuan watched him become distant once again.
Cold.
Unreachable.
Shen Li set down his fork.
His smile was strained.
“You should answer it. I’ll give you some privacy.”
Ning Zhiyuan hurriedly grabbed his arm.
Right in front of him, she blocked Pei Jin’s number.
“Don’t be jealous. I don’t like him.”
She said she didn’t like him.
Yet she had called his name in her sleep.
Shen Li sat back down.
His expression remained uneasy.
Absentmindedly, he continued eating breakfast.
Then his own phone rang.
The caller ID displayed a familiar name.
Pei Jin
Shen Li reached for the phone.
At the same moment, Ning Zhiyuan lunged to grab it.
In the struggle, the call was accidentally answered.
Pei Jin’s voice immediately came through the speaker.
“Shen Li, put Yuanyuan on the phone. I need to talk to her.”