This kiss felt somewhat different from the ones they had shared before.
Lin Wu couldn’t quite pinpoint exactly how it was different. She only vaguely sensed that Chen Zhuo was kissing her more gently tonight—yet that gentleness carried an unyielding insistence she couldn’t refuse.
He used the tip of his tongue to pry open her teeth. She parted her lips willingly, letting him in.
Their tongues tangled together—sucking, deepening, licking—as if each wanted to claim the other completely. The kiss was deep and inseparable.
The night was quiet.
The neighborhood Lin Wu lived in was excellent in every way, and the neighbors were all very well-mannered. After eleven o’clock every evening, almost no noisy sounds could be heard outside. Each household would very consciously quiet down.
With the outside world and the indoors both silent, the sounds of their kissing and breathing became especially clear.
This position was a little tiring for Lin Wu. She was tall and slender, but compared to Chen Zhuo there was still a noticeable height difference between them.
She raised her arms and wrapped them around his neck, feeling a slight strain.
Sensing her difficulty, Chen Zhuo bit down hard on her lower lip. Then he lifted her up with both hands and hooked her legs around his waist.
He was breathing heavily, his low, hoarse voice falling against her ear: “Where’s the bedroom?”
Lin Wu was kissed until her mind felt foggy. Her eyes shimmered with a watery sheen. She could feel Chen Zhuo’s warm breath brushing against the side of her face, her heartbeat racing so fast it seemed about to burst out of her chest.
She dazed for a second. When she met his pitch-black, profoundly deep gaze—filled with obvious desire—she raised her hand and pointed in one direction. “Over there.”
Chen Zhuo paused briefly, then carried her steadily toward that direction.
The door opened. Just as Chen Zhuo was about to reach up to turn on the light, Lin Wu pressed herself against him and whispered softly, “Don’t turn it on.”
“…”
The two of them tumbled onto the bed, for the moment seemingly unconcerned with anything else.
Lin Wu was pinned beneath Chen Zhuo. He nuzzled her nose tip affectionately, then lowered his head again to kiss her lips. He wickedly kissed her until she was breathless and panting, then moved downward. Dense kisses landed on her chin, her collarbone, her chest…
Her clothes were pulled open; the coat had long been tossed to the foot of the bed.
The room was pitch black, lit only by a warm yellow nightlight.
Chen Zhuo’s scorching breath fell against her fair skin. Lin Wu’s breathing hitched slightly…
She wasn’t sure whether she was trembling with anticipation and excitement, or with panic, making her heart pound so fiercely. In her daze, she almost couldn’t recognize herself.
Before she could think too much, Chen Zhuo lowered his head to kiss her again. His lips were very soft. When they touched the softest parts of her skin, Lin Wu’s lashes trembled lightly. Unconsciously, she drew closer to him, pressing herself against him.
“…”
Lin Wu had known very early on that Chen Zhuo was excellent at kissing—and excellent at making her feel good.
His ability to learn was very strong.
During their first kiss, he would occasionally bump into her teeth or bite her lips. By the second time, he already avoided those mistakes. And when it came to pleasuring her, Chen Zhuo had done it many times before.
But it was only tonight that Lin Wu realized… there were so many ways to please someone.
They didn’t even go all the way.
Yet Lin Wu was still completely defeated by Chen Zhuo—bed sheets soaked through.
The next morning, Lin Wu woke up under the influence of her biological clock.
When she opened her eyes, what greeted her was not the familiar ceiling of her own room, but a large expanse of cold, white-toned bare skin. It took her quite a while to remember what had happened last night—and why Chen Zhuo was sleeping beside her, in her home.
This seemed to be the first time Lin Wu woke up and Chen Zhuo was still asleep.
She lifted her eyes slightly and fixed her gaze on the man’s face.
Chen Zhuo in sleep had lost some of his usual cold sharpness, giving off instead a gentle, refined warmth. His facial proportions were perfectly balanced—three courts and five eyes in ideal harmony. His features were clean and sharp: full forehead, large eyes, sword-like brows and starry pupils, long narrow eye tails that made his gaze seem deeper than most people’s, often creating the illusion of gentleness when he looked at someone.
His nose bridge was tall and defined, lips slightly thin but not the cold, thin-lipped kind.
Suddenly, the image of how he had looked at her last night flashed through Lin Wu’s mind.
Too gentle. Too easy to drown in.
Lost in thought for a moment, Lin Wu pressed her lips together and carefully moved the arm Chen Zhuo had draped over her waist. She got out of bed.
Chen Zhuo must have been extremely sleep-deprived—he didn’t wake up despite her movements.
Standing beside the bed, Lin Wu lowered her eyes and stared at the sleeping man, lingering on the noticeable dark circles beneath his curled lashes.
After a long while, she turned and left the room.
“…”
In the living room, Lin Wu didn’t rush to wash up.
She sat cross-legged on the sofa, picked up the phone she had left there last night, and opened it. Because it was the weekend, there weren’t many unread messages—just a few questions from clients.
After replying to them, Lin Wu hesitated and opened her chat with He Jiayun: “What are you doing?”
The message sent, she noticed the time. Past seven—He Jiayun was probably still asleep.
With that thought, Lin Wu withdrew the message.
Setting the phone down, Lin Wu lifted her eyes to look out the window.
Winter mornings are often foggy, with thick patches drifting through the air, blocking her view. But foggy mornings also mean the day’s weather will likely be nice.
Lin Wu didn’t know how long she had been sitting dazed on the sofa. It wasn’t until a faint sound came from the bedroom that she pulled her wandering thoughts back. She turned her head toward the open door.
Their eyes met.
After a moment, Chen Zhuo lowered his lashes and asked, “What time did you get up?”
“Half an hour ago,” Lin Wu answered. She paused, then asked, “Why are you awake so early?”
Chen Zhuo looked at her quietly, observing the emotions on her face. He spoke softly, “It’s past eight. My biological clock wakes me at seven.”
Lin Wu nodded hesitantly and didn’t say anything more.
After a while, Chen Zhuo asked, “Do you mind if I ask my assistant to come over?”
Lin Wu: “Hm?”
Chen Zhuo glanced down at the bathrobe he was wearing and explained slowly, “My clothes from last night are in the bathroom—”
Before he could finish, memories of their wild antics in the bathroom last night flooded back.
Lin Wu quickly interrupted, “I don’t mind. Just… as long as you don’t say…”
She paused, met his eyes, and finished calmly, “…that this is my place.”
Chen Zhuo caught the implication behind her words. The heart that had been hanging in midair sank a little further.
He gave a small nod, voice very low. “Don’t worry.”
They were both mature adults—some things didn’t need to be spelled out too clearly. A hint was enough.
Chen Zhuo picked up his phone and, with his back to Lin Wu, called his assistant to bring over a set of clean casual clothes.
Lin Wu glanced over, then silently got up and went to the bathroom to wash up.
When she came out after washing, Chen Zhuo was no longer in the living room.
Lin Wu looked around and found him on the balcony. He was leaning against the wall, one arm slightly raised, back facing her.
He seemed to be smoking.
Lin Wu looked toward the coffee table. Sure enough, her occasional pack of ladies’ cigarettes, which she rarely touched, had been placed there.
After a quiet moment, Lin Wu didn’t go disturb him. She turned and walked into the kitchen.
The fridge still had some ingredients delivered by takeout a couple of days ago—eggs and toast. Not much, but enough for a simple breakfast.
She took out the eggs and toast, cracked the eggs into a bowl, soaked the bread in the mixture until it was fully coated, and pan-fried it over low heat.
The fruit—bought at some unknown time—was taken out by her and simply rinsed.
Lin Wu had the stove and range hood on, so she didn’t hear the knock at the door. It wasn’t until she finished preparing breakfast and was about to carry it out that she first noticed the person standing at the doorway, now dressed in clean casual clothes.
“You… when did your assistant get here?” Lin Wu couldn’t help asking.
Chen Zhuo lowered his eyes, looking at the two portions of breakfast in front of her. After a pause, he said, “A few minutes ago.”
Lin Wu gave a soft “oh,” pressed her lips together a little awkwardly, and asked, “Are you leaving now?”
“Who are you asking?” Chen Zhuo said.
Lin Wu: “What?”
Chen Zhuo looked at her. “If you’re asking my assistant, he’s already gone. If you’re asking me…”
He deliberately paused, then lifted his chin slightly toward the two separate plates of breakfast in front of her. “You didn’t make a portion for me?”
Lin Wu: “…”
She was speechless, understanding what he meant. “I did.”
Almost reflexively, Lin Wu handed him the plate with the larger portion. “There aren’t many ingredients at home—President Chen, you’ll have to make do?”
Chen Zhuo took it. “This isn’t making do.”
He never made do.
Lin Wu froze, staring dazedly at his retreating back as he turned to leave the kitchen. She didn’t respond.
The two sat facing each other at the dining table.
Lin Wu lowered her head to eat breakfast. Chen Zhuo took a bite. “Tastes good.”
Lin Wu looked up in surprise. “You really don’t mind?”
She had assumed Chen Zhuo would dislike such a simple breakfast. Their daily work was so busy that—if she wasn’t mistaken—Chen Zhuo, like her, must have gone through a period where breakfast, lunch, and dinner were all solved with convenience-store sandwiches.
Of course, it was also possible that she alone had developed an aversion to sandwiches—seeing them made her stomach turn.
In the past year or two, she had only gradually started to get better.
Chen Zhuo smiled faintly. “When I’m busy, I often eat convenience-store sandwiches too. Why would I mind this?”
This was made by Lin Wu herself. Even if the taste weren’t actually good, Chen Zhuo had no reason to complain.
“…” Lin Wu was silent for a moment. “I guess you’re right.”
Chen Zhuo glanced at her.
After breakfast, Chen Zhuo took the initiative to clear the dishes and even washed them by hand.
When he came out of the kitchen, he glanced at the clock on the wall, then turned to look at the person sitting on the sofa scrolling through her phone.
After a brief pause, Chen Zhuo called, “Lin Wu.”
Lin Wu looked up. “Mm?”
Chen Zhuo spoke softly: “It’s getting late. I’ll head out first.”
Lin Wu stood up from the sofa. Her long lashes fluttered rapidly. “Do you want me to drive you?”
“No need,” Chen Zhuo looked at her, tone calm. “Rest well at home.”
Lin Wu responded slowly, “Goodbye.”
“…Goodbye.”