Her soft, gentle lips brushed against his forehead.
In that instant, Shen Li felt as though his heart might burst out of his chest.
Even now, thinking back on it made his heartbeat thunder.
He stood before the floor-to-ceiling window with his back to the room, fingers tapping absently against his leg.
Yuanyuan had lost interest in Pei Jin, yet she had turned around and helped a boy who bore some resemblance to him.
Did she really like that type of face that much?
If he got plastic surgery and looked like that, would Yuanyuan pay more attention to him?
But what if her tastes changed again? Would she end up completely disgusted by him?
The cost of getting it wrong was too high.
He couldn’t afford that gamble.
Taking a deep breath, Shen Li returned to his desk and picked up the file he had thrown aside earlier.
Cheng Ye, nineteen years old. Took a year off school and has just completed the college entrance examination.
Abandoned at the age of five and later adopted by an elderly scavenger. The old woman’s son is a gambler who has accumulated enormous debts. The old woman is now seriously ill, and her only wish is for her son’s debts to be repaid…
Nothing about him seemed particularly threatening.
Compared to Pei Jin, Cheng Ye was far less dangerous.
He should feel relieved. If Yuanyuan and Cheng Ye ever developed something between them, at least Cheng Ye wouldn’t covet her family’s influence the way Pei Jin had.
Shen Li didn’t even know how he managed to make his way back to the bedroom.
Standing outside the door, he raised his hand several times, only to lower it again.
The next time he lifted it, the door opened from the inside.
He nearly collided with Ning Zhiyuan, who was holding a tube of ointment.
She switched the ointment to her other hand and lowered her head slightly.
“It’s a little itchy. I haven’t applied the medicine today.”
Truthfully, the marks on her skin had already faded considerably.
You could barely see them without looking closely.
After returning home, Shen Li had been unusually quiet. He had stayed in his study for hours without coming out.
She wanted to know what he was doing.
Applying medicine seemed like the perfect excuse.
“Okay.”
The man didn’t seem to notice her little scheme. After agreeing, he went straight to the bathroom to wash his hands.
Today’s application of the ointment was completely different.
He worked with singular focus, finishing in only a few minutes.
Instead, it was Ning Zhiyuan who couldn’t quite bring herself to look at him.
Had Shen Li become unhappy because she had secretly kissed him?
Did he feel disrespected?
Was that why he had suddenly become so distant?
Sitting on the bed, she thought about it until her head started hurting.
Only then did the man emerge from the bathroom.
Shen Li had deliberately lingered inside for over an hour, thinking Yuanyuan would surely be asleep by then.
Yet the moment he stepped out, he found himself staring directly into her eyes.
Ning Zhiyuan hugged a pillow and looked at him leisurely.
“Are you unhappy today?”
Shen Li dried his damp hair with a towel, eyes lowered.
“No.”
She stared directly at his face.
Unable to withstand her gaze, Shen Li looked away and walked onto the balcony.
That reaction confirmed her suspicions.
What a stubborn man.
Fine.
She just wouldn’t kiss him again in the future.
Ning Zhiyuan punched the pillow indignantly.
She was the one who had been taken advantage of. Why was he acting as though he had suffered some huge loss?
Still, the thought that they would be sleeping together tonight made her strangely excited.
As time dragged on, that excitement gradually turned into drowsiness.
Just as her eyelids finally drooped shut, she suddenly opened them again.
The digital clock on the nightstand read 1:00 a.m.
Shen Li still showed no intention of coming back inside.
Was he really planning to spend the entire night out on the balcony?
Could his body even handle that?
Fighting against her sleepiness, Ning Zhiyuan got up and walked outside.
The night was dark.
A small lamp cast a dim glow over the table.
The man sat in a wicker chair with his arms folded, head tilted back.
He seemed to have fallen asleep.
The thin blanket covering his legs had slipped to the floor at some point, yet he hadn’t noticed.
Under the combined light of the lamp and the cold moonlight, his handsome features appeared especially clear.
His fair skin looked even paler due to his fragile health, giving him an almost sickly beauty.
Ning Zhiyuan tapped on the table.
The sharp sound startled the man awake.
“You’re planning to sleep on the balcony?”
There was a hint of anger in her voice.
Shen Li stared blankly for a few seconds before his eyes regained focus.
Almost instinctively, he followed her back into the room.
The two sat on the edge of the bed.
Ning Zhiyuan waited for an explanation.
Meanwhile, Shen Li felt uncomfortable from head to toe.
He stood up and walked toward the sofa.
Yuanyuan didn’t like him sleeping on the balcony.
Then sleeping on the sofa should be acceptable, right?
“Are you going to sleep on the sofa?”
There was unmistakable pressure in her voice.
Shen Li immediately abandoned the sofa.
If he couldn’t sleep there, then he could sleep on the floor.
He pulled out a set of bedding from the cabinet and spread it on the ground.
Just as he was about to lie down, Ning Zhiyuan walked over, rolled up the bedding he had carefully arranged, tossed it onto the balcony, and shut the balcony door behind her.
Shen Li looked around.
There were only a few places to sleep in the room.
The balcony, the sofa, and the floor were now all off-limits.
As for the bed…
He didn’t even dare consider it.
Yuanyuan had found a new target today.
She probably didn’t want to stay in the same room as him anymore and was using this as an excuse to drive him out.
Understanding dawned on him instantly.
It was already late.
He shouldn’t keep her from resting.
His expression remained gentle and calm as he spoke softly.
“Then get some sleep, Yuanyuan. I’ll use another room.”
Ning Zhiyuan stepped in front of the door and blocked his way.
Looking thoroughly exasperated, she muttered,
“I really hate that you’re such a blockhead.”
Shen Li hadn’t heard her clearly and had no idea why she was standing there.
“Hm?”
“Sleep on the bed.”
When Ning Zhiyuan said those words, none of the embarrassment or excitement she had felt before remained.
At this point, she only knew one thing:
If she didn’t spell it out plainly, this blockhead would probably find some other ridiculous place to sleep.
Just as Shen Li was about to refuse, she pressed a hand against the door.
“If you refuse, then neither of us is sleeping tonight.”
Looking into her determined eyes, Shen Li hesitated briefly.
In the end, he couldn’t bear the thought of her staying up all night.
His own feelings didn’t matter.
Ning Zhiyuan could practically sense how unwilling he was as he climbed back onto the bed.
But what did that matter?
In the end, she had won.
Lying on her side, she watched the man beside her lie flat on his back, stiff as a board, not daring to move.
Completely satisfied, she closed her eyes.
The girl’s breathing soon became steady and soft.
Shen Li found it strangely surreal.
This was the bed he had slept in for years.
Yet tonight, it felt entirely unfamiliar.
Turning his head, he gazed at her peaceful sleeping face.
Unable to resist, he leaned closer and inhaled her faint fragrance before retreating again.
That simple action seemed to flip some hidden switch inside him.
A certain part of him, long suppressed, stirred restlessly.
Shen Li knew he probably wouldn’t be sleeping tonight.
It wasn’t difficult to understand Yuanyuan’s intentions.
She was likely giving him a little reward so he would help conceal things involving Cheng Ye.
But this reward was too sweet.
He couldn’t bear to consume it.
Tonight might be the only night like this he would ever have.
How could he possibly bring himself to sleep through it?
Halfway through the night, Ning Zhiyuan suddenly woke up.
The moment she opened her eyes, she found herself staring into a pair of glowing eyes in the darkness.
Startled, she shot upright and switched on the bedside lamp.
The man was lying on his side, his eyes bloodshot.
Patting her chest in alarm, she exclaimed,
“Why aren’t you sleeping in the middle of the night?”