Hearing Chen Zhuo say that, Lin Wu gently blinked once, then lifted the oden container she was holding a little higher and swayed it in front of him.
“Want some oden?”
Chen Zhuo: “…”
He raised an eyebrow, lowered his gaze to look at her.
“Didn’t eat enough at the bar?”
“The food at the bar isn’t good,” Lin Wu said. “Do you actually think bar food tastes good?”
Chen Zhuo gave a low, private laugh. “No.”
The two of them were quiet for a moment.
Then Lin Wu asked, “Do you want to eat downstairs or upstairs?”
Chen Zhuo turned sideways slightly. “Upstairs first.”
If they didn’t go up soon, the oden Lawyer Lin bought was going to get cold.
The elevator didn’t take long to arrive, but because a lot of people got on, it stopped several times. By the time Lin Wu and Chen Zhuo walked out of the elevator, the oden in her hand no longer felt very hot to the touch.
Lin Wu urged Chen Zhuo to open the door. After they changed shoes at the entrance, she hurried over to the dining table, sat down, and took the packed oden out of the bag.
“Want to try?” She picked up one of the wooden skewers, speared a fish ball, and held it toward Chen Zhuo.
Chen Zhuo stood opposite her, separated by the dining table, looking straight into her eyes.
A few seconds passed.
Then he leaned forward slightly—
Lin Wu froze for a second. Her movements became a little stiff and unnatural as she brought the fish ball to Chen Zhuo’s lips.
Chen Zhuo opened his mouth, bit down, chewed, and swallowed.
“How is it? How does it taste?” Lin Wu asked.
Chen Zhuo looked at her. “Not bad.”
Lin Wu raised an eyebrow, lowered her head to taste one herself, and nodded in approval. “It’s a little worse than the one at the entrance of our neighborhood.”
Chen Zhuo gave a soft laugh.
“Want more?” Lin Wu asked him.
Chen Zhuo didn’t actually like this kind of food very much, but looking at Lin Wu whose eyes were sparkling brightly in front of him, he somewhat against his better judgment gave a low “mm.”
Lin Wu lowered her head again, speared a piece of daikon radish, and brought it to his lips.
There were still extra wooden skewers in the bag, but Lin Wu didn’t hand one to Chen Zhuo, and Chen Zhuo didn’t ask for one either.
The two of them completely ignored the spare skewers. They simply shared the single one, taking turns — one bite for you, one bite for me — and finished the quite generous portion of oden together.
After they finished eating, Chen Zhuo stood up and poured Lin Wu a glass of warm water.
After drinking the water, Lin Wu felt her stomach much more comfortable — nice and warm.
The room suddenly became quiet.
After a long while, Chen Zhuo finally spoke. “Was the bar not fun?”
Lin Wu gave a soft “mm” and told the truth. “It wasn’t very fun today.”
Chen Zhuo smiled faintly. “The alcohol wasn’t good either?”
“Didn’t get to drink anything I liked.” Lin Wu answered whatever he asked.
Hearing this, Chen Zhuo nodded thoughtfully. “What do you like to drink?”
He stood up, intending to go to the liquor cabinet to get some.
Lin Wu was still sitting at the dining table. She propped her chin on her hand and looked toward the liquor cabinet, thinking for a moment before saying, “I don’t really feel like drinking tonight.”
To keep Chen Zhuo from getting unhappy again, she quickly explained, “My stomach feels a bit uncomfortable.”
Chen Zhuo frowned. “Stomach pain?”
“No, I don’t know how to describe it. Maybe it was the cold alcohol earlier — it started feeling off, but it’s already much better now.” Seeing the worried look on Chen Zhuo’s face, Lin Wu — unusually — explained a couple of extra sentences.
But even that wasn’t enough to reassure Chen Zhuo. He restrained his expression, looking straight at Lin Wu. “How long has it been since your last physical check-up?”
Lin Wu let out an “ah” and recalled. “I had one done the week before I met you.”
Back then, the two of them had even exchanged their physical examination reports.
Chen Zhuo: “…That was already over half a year ago.”
Lin Wu: “Once a year for check-ups is enough.”
Chen Zhuo fell silent.
Noticing the shift in his mood, Lin Wu added, “It’s just an old issue from before. Nothing serious.”
Chen Zhuo stayed quiet for a moment. “Lawyer Lin.”
Lin Wu looked up. “Mm?”
Chen Zhuo lowered his gaze to her. His features were refined and handsome, his eyes deep and dark. “Remember to eat on time.”
“…”
Lin Wu was stunned for a second, then tilted her head and laughed. “Got it, President Chen.”
Being watched so intently by Chen Zhuo, Lin Wu felt her ears inexplicably start to heat up. She turned her gaze away somewhat unnaturally and said softly, “I know what I’m doing.”
She was actually very careful with her own life.
Chen Zhuo didn’t reply.
With the way Lin Wu sometimes got so busy she only ate one meal a day, it was hard for him to feel completely at ease.
But right now clearly wasn’t the best time to continue this topic.
After thinking silently for a few seconds, Chen Zhuo asked, “Do you still have work to do tonight?”
“…I need to revise a legal document.” Lin Wu remembered and stood up to take out the laptop she had brought upstairs. “President Chen, can I borrow the study?”
Chen Zhuo raised his eyes slightly. “Lawyer Lin, feel free.”
Lin Wu didn’t stand on ceremony with Chen Zhuo, nor did she hesitate. She went straight into the study. However, she didn’t close the door, and Chen Zhuo — very tactfully — did not go in to disturb her.
He simply tidied up the living room a little, then went to take a shower.
Lin Wu was busy in the study.
After revising the legal document and emailing it to Zhao Yuxin, she closed the laptop and prepared to leave the study.
Suddenly, she caught sight of a piece of paper clipped in a notebook on the side, with some black handwriting peeking out.
After hesitating for a few seconds, Lin Wu couldn’t resist reaching out and pulling the paper out—
It was Chen Zhuo’s handwriting, forceful and penetrating the paper, but missing the usual smooth, flowing style he normally had.
Lin Wu stared blankly at the character “雾” (Wu) written on the paper, feeling a little curious about what mood Chen Zhuo had been in when he wrote it. Good mood? Or bad?
She thought for a while but couldn’t reach any conclusion.
Of course, she also had no intention — for now — of asking Chen Zhuo what he was thinking. It wouldn’t be appropriate.
With that thought, Lin Wu carefully slid the paper back into the notebook exactly as it had been.
When she walked out of the study, Chen Zhuo had already finished his shower and was half-reclining on the bed reading a book.
Lin Wu set her laptop down. Her steps paused for a brief moment before she went into the bathroom.
While washing up in the bathroom, Lin Wu couldn’t help but wonder: were they going to do it tonight?
They had already done it so many times last night. If they continued tonight, wouldn’t that be a bit excessive? Although there was nothing wrong with her body, indulging two days in a row felt a little over the top.
But if they didn’t do it, then it seemed like there was no real reason for her to stay at the apartment.
She thought about it for a long time in the bathroom but still couldn’t come to any conclusion.
By the time she slowly finished washing, blow-dried her hair, and came out, only a dim yellow reading lamp was left on in the room. Chen Zhuo was still reading, looking very proper and serious.
The beam of light fell on him, outlining his sharp, deep, and handsome features.
Lin Wu couldn’t help but look at him a little longer before walking around to the other side of the bed, lifting the blanket, and getting in to sleep.
The moment she lay flat, Chen Zhuo suddenly turned his head toward her. “Tired?”
“…Mm,” Lin Wu blinked. “A little.”
Chen Zhuo understood. He closed the book he was reading, placed it on the nightstand, casually turned off the light, and said, “Sleep then. Good night.”
Lin Wu: “…Good night.”
The bedroom fell into darkness and silence.
Lin Wu closed her eyes. She could faintly hear the breathing of the person beside her. She slowly blinked, staring up at the pitch-black ceiling, feeling a little unsure what exactly this situation was.
For some reason, Lin Wu suddenly remembered something He Jiayun had said earlier — “You two can just sleep purely.”
Was this what they were doing right now?
Yeah, probably.
Lin Wu let her mind wander, unconsciously turning over once, then turning over again.
On what felt like her umpteenth flip, a low, quiet male voice came from beside her. “Weren’t you sleepy?”
Lin Wu’s body stiffened. She hesitated for two seconds before answering, “Seems like I’m not that sleepy anymore.”
“…” Chen Zhuo gave a soft hum, then asked slowly, “Did I hurt you last night?”
Lin Wu opened her mouth. “No.”
The moment the word left her lips, the person lying beside her sat up and moved closer.
Lin Wu’s wrist was caught in his warm palm, unable to move. What followed was his warm breath and a scorching kiss.
Since neither of them could sleep, it was probably more appropriate to have a thorough, satisfying round of intense exercise.
“…”
After the fierce activity, Lin Wu was genuinely exhausted.
After washing up again and lying back down, her brain could barely function anymore. She curled up in the blanket and fell asleep before Chen Zhuo even finished tidying the bathroom and came back out.
When she opened her eyes again, it was already late morning the next day.
The other side of the bed was empty. Lin Wu stared blankly at the ceiling for a few seconds before reaching for her phone on the nightstand to check the time—
9:20 a.m.
Not particularly early, but not late either.
After getting out of bed, washing up in the bathroom, and coming out, Chen Zhuo had already returned.
Lin Wu looked up and, as expected, saw him holding a container of her favorite scallion oil noodles. The rich aroma hit her nose instantly, and she felt hungry right away.
“What time did you get up?” Lin Wu had always been curious about Chen Zhuo’s schedule. This man seemed to need even less sleep than she did—he often went to bed later than her and woke up earlier.
Chen Zhuo pushed the scallion oil noodles and a cup of hot milk toward her. “Seven.”
Lin Wu: “Oh.”
Chen Zhuo really didn’t seem to need many hours of sleep, she thought to herself.
She lifted the lid off the scallion oil noodles and first picked up the coffee on the side for a sip.
After drinking it, she raised her eyes to look at Chen Zhuo. “…This isn’t coffee?”
Chen Zhuo glanced over. “Hot milk.”
Lin Wu pressed her lips together, puzzled. “The coffee shop wasn’t open yet?”
“Bad stomach means less coffee,” Chen Zhuo said, looking at her. “You probably don’t need to work overtime today.”
Naturally, no need for coffee to stay alert either.
Lin Wu was speechless. Her lips moved, wanting to say she was already used to a cup of black coffee every morning.
But when the words reached her mouth and she met Chen Zhuo’s slightly stern expression, she just gave a vague “mm” and said, “Thanks.”
Chen Zhuo smiled faintly and didn’t reply.
After breakfast, Lin Wu prepared to head home.
As she gathered her things and was about to leave, she noticed Chen Zhuo also stand up and take the long coat hanging on the rack by the door.
“You’re going out too?” Lin Wu asked.
Chen Zhuo gave a low “mm.”
Lin Wu nodded, and the two of them left the apartment together.
They took the elevator down to the basement level.
When they stepped out, Lin Wu started walking toward her car, and Chen Zhuo followed right beside her.
She felt a flicker of doubt and glanced toward her parking spot—no sign of Chen Zhuo’s car.
It wasn’t until they reached her car that Lin Wu turned to look at the man following behind her. “Where’s your car?”
“Lawyer Lin’s memory getting worse?” Chen Zhuo said.
Lin Wu paused, then suddenly remembered: last night when they left the office together, Chen Zhuo had said his car was in for maintenance, so he rode with her.
Recalling that, Lin Wu looked at him. “Then you—”
Before she could finish, Chen Zhuo spoke. “Lawyer Lin, mind giving me a ride?”
Once they were in the car, Lin Wu asked the man in the passenger seat, “President Chen, where are you going?”
Chen Zhuo slightly lifted his chin. “Home.”
He turned his head and gave her the exact address. “The compound right across from yours.”
Lin Wu: “…”
She went momentarily speechless. She really hadn’t expected them to live so close to each other.
She drove out of the apartment complex and headed familiarly toward home.
On the way, Chen Zhuo occasionally spoke a few words to her.
Their conversation wasn’t particularly deep—just casual, everyday things.
Chen Zhuo asked what she usually did on weekends.
Lin Wu: “Work.”
Chen Zhuo: “…”
Noticing his silence, Lin Wu asked in return, “What about you, President Chen?”
Chen Zhuo: “…Work.”
Neither of them could judge the other.
The drive was smooth all the way to the entrance of the compound across from hers. Lin Wu stepped on the brake.
Chen Zhuo tilted his head slightly, his tone carrying a faint trace of regret. “How come there’s no traffic at all today.”
Lin Wu: “…”
She was speechless for a few seconds before murmuring, “You like traffic jams?”
Chen Zhuo smiled faintly and slowly unbuckled his seatbelt. “Depends on the situation.”
Lin Wu looked at him.
Chen Zhuo met her gaze, his voice softening slightly. “The weather’s nice today. If there’s traffic, the mood stays nice too.”
Lin Wu was stunned for a second, not quite sure how to respond to that.
Fortunately, Chen Zhuo didn’t say anything more. He unbuckled his seatbelt, opened the door, and stepped out. “Thanks for the ride today, Lawyer Lin.”
Lin Wu gave a vague acknowledgment. “You’re too polite, President Chen.”
After saying goodbye to Chen Zhuo, Lin Wu turned at the intersection ahead and drove back into her own compound.
She had just parked in the underground garage when her phone started ringing.
Seeing the caller ID, Lin Wu instinctively glanced around the passenger seat before answering. “President Chen.”
She pressed her lips together, pushed open the car door, and got out. “Is there something else?”
Chen Zhuo: “I forgot to ask earlier—when Lawyer Lin works overtime at home on weekends, what do you usually eat?”
“…Takeout,” Lin Wu said after hesitating for a few seconds.
Chen Zhuo gave a low hum, his tone softening. “What do you feel like eating for lunch today?”
Lin Wu paused, then reacted. “Anything except scallion oil noodles.”
She’d already had them for breakfast—she didn’t want them again for lunch.
Chen Zhuo gave a low, soft laugh. “Okay.”