Shang Lin said it so casually, but Nan Chu felt a rush of heat surge from the soles of her feet straight to her forehead.
No, don’t want it?
Even if Nan Chu had never eaten pork, she’d seen a pig run.
In her spare time, she wasn’t above reading romance novels—those three words were an old classic.
“I think I’m still a bit sleepy…”
Nan Chu weakly buried her head into the blanket, hypnotizing herself into believing she was tired.
Anything to avoid the sheer awkwardness.
Shang Lin glanced at Nan Chu shrinking into the blanket, a faint curve tugging at the corner of his lips.
Before she could roll herself into a sticky rice dumpling, he grabbed hold of the blanket.
Feeling the resistance, Nan Chu clutched the edge of the sheet with both hands, revealing a pair of dark, watery eyes.
From her angle, she could just see his Adam’s apple subtly bobbing.
The place where water droplets had traced last night…
Nan Chu felt her face grow even hotter. Her hands nervously twisted the edge of the sheet, both embarrassed and flustered.
“I really am sleepy.”
Shang Lin lowered his gaze, catching the faint blush spreading across her fair cheeks, and nodded.
“After a night of tossing and turning without a blanket, it’s only natural to feel sleepier.”
Nan Chu was momentarily stunned.
Just… not covering with a blanket?
She blinked, the tight knot in her chest loosening as she apologized to Shang Lin.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Shang, for troubling you last night.”
The first time, she’d gotten drunk and taken liberties with him; this time, she’d kept him from sleeping well.
Filled with guilt, she earnestly promised him.
“I won’t drink recklessly again from now on.”
“Mm.”
Shang Lin nodded, getting up to change his clothes without dwelling on the topic.
Nan Chu was also very self-aware, decisively averting her gaze the moment he took off his pajamas.
She couldn’t afford to make another mistake.
Breakfast passed quietly. Near the end, Nan Chu’s phone screen flickered.
She glanced at it—a WeChat message from Xu Xiaoxiao.
The moment she opened it, a cat meme with sparkling starry eyes popped up, accompanied by a line.
“How did it go?”
Nan Chu didn’t react at first and replied.
“What?”
“The follow-up! How’s your friend from last night’s wedding night doing?”
“Did she get drunk?”
“Did she go ‘no, no’ and then, hehehe.”
Nan Chu’s face flushed crimson in an instant, and she quickly typed back two words.
“No.”
“No to getting drunk, or no to ‘no, no’?”
Nan Chu was caught between laughter and tears, giving a brief rundown of what had happened. Xu Xiaoxiao only replied with four words.
Hahahaha.
“Mrs. Shang, I’m off to work.”
The man’s cool, clear voice drifted over, pulling Nan Chu’s attention away from her phone.
“Take care, Mr. Shang.”
Shang Lin’s brow arched slightly. “Don’t need me to drive you to work?”
“No need—I’ve taken five days off from the company.”
“Mm.”
Shang Lin’s gaze swept over her phone with a hint of casualness before he turned and left.
Though she was on leave at home, Nan Chu wasn’t idle.
The villa had a dedicated space for creative work. After breakfast and a stroll, she headed into the music room to compose a new piece.
The pear tree outside the window was in full bloom. When the wind blew, pear petals scattered in drifts.
Suddenly, a memory surfaced in her mind—Shang Lin standing by the pond at the Nan estate, surrounded by a rain of blossoms.
Her fingers unconsciously pressed down on the piano’s black and white keys, and a stream of notes poured out.
Nan Chu hadn’t felt this kind of fluidity in composing in a long time. Countless notes in her mind seemed to spontaneously form into melodies, flowing with perfect ease.
Time passed quickly.
At five in the afternoon, Shang Lin had just arrived home when he heard the sound of piano drifting down from the music room upstairs.
The old butler wanted to go upstairs to call Nan Chu, but Shang Lin shook his head and spoke calmly.
“Don’t disturb her.”
Only when the piano music came to a stop did Nan Chu check the time. She came downstairs, saw that Shang Lin had returned, and smiled at him.
“Mr. Shang, you’re back.”
“Mm.”
Nan Chu’s clear, pure eyes held a gentle smile—one that only appeared when she saw him.
Shang Lin’s gaze deepened slightly. “Happy?”
Nan Chu nodded and pulled out a chair at the dining table for him. “Please have your meal, Mr. Shang.”
“Thank you.”
Shang Lin raised his hand to pull out the chair beside him, only to see Nan Chu already seated across from him.
His hand paused mid-motion, and he raised an eyebrow slightly.
“Mrs. Shang doesn’t want to sit with me?”
Only then did Nan Chu notice his gesture of pulling out the chair and realized he had misunderstood.
“I do want to sit with you.”
The moment the words left her mouth, she saw the old butler, who had just brought over the dishes, looking at her with a knowing grin on his face.
That expression seemed to say, “Looks like it won’t be long before I get to take care of a little young master.”
Only then did Nan Chu belatedly realize how ambiguous her words had sounded.
But Shang Lin appeared so cold and aloof that she felt she must be overthinking things again.
It must be a side effect from last night—forgive me, forgive me.
With a repentant heart, Nan Chu finished her meal quickly. When she was done, she told Shang Lin to enjoy his meal at a leisurely pace and hurried back to the music room.
In the music room, she listened to the sounds outside. When she heard that Shang Lin seemed to have gone to the study, she finally let out a sigh of relief.
Nan Chu pushed all those messy thoughts out of her mind and returned to refining and polishing the sheet music from earlier in the day.
By the time she had drafted an initial version, a knock came at the door.
“Come in.”
Nan Chu responded softly without looking up.
The door was pushed open, and a faint, cool fragrance drifted in.
Nan Chu raised her eyes and happened to meet Shang Lin’s gaze—those eyes like a cold spring beneath snowy mountains.
Her heart skipped a beat. “Mr. Shang, is something the matter?”
Seeing that she was still preparing to continue composing, Shang Lin spoke softly.
“It’s ten o’clock.”
“It’s already that late?”
Nan Chu set down the sheet music and glanced at the clock on the wall.
“Time passed too quickly and I didn’t notice. Thank you for reminding me.”
“Mm.”
After saying that single word, Shang Lin made no further move—he simply stood there quietly watching her, as if waiting for her to go to the master bedroom.
Only then did Nan Chu notice the black silk pajamas he was wearing, perfectly fitted to his broad shoulders and narrow waist, worthy of a model.
The front of his shirt was slightly open, revealing his prominent Adam’s apple.
Nan Chu averted her gaze and spoke in a soft, gentle voice. “I’ll sleep in the guest room tonight.”
Shang Lin lowered his gaze to her, his pupils deep and dark.
“Reason.”
Nan Chu pressed her lips together, feeling a little embarrassed.
She couldn’t very well say it was out of consideration for his virtue.
Besides, she had made a point to observe this morning—Shang Lin had dark circles under his eyes, clearly a sign he hadn’t slept well.
Thinking about how he had left for work before eight that morning and had been in video meetings until ten at night…
Nan Chu felt even more guilty.
“I don’t sleep still. I’ll disturb you.”
Shang Lin leaned against the doorway, his dark pupils carrying a hint of nonchalance.
“You won’t.”
Nan Chu added another line. “Sometimes I even sleepwalk.”
“It doesn’t matter.”
She closed her eyes, about to make up some nonsense about how she might even throw a few punches of military boxing while sleepwalking.
Just as she was about to speak, Shang Lin had already walked up to her, the corners of his eyes slightly raised.
“Do you loathe me?”
Nan Chu shook her head. “How could I?”
“Afraid of me?”
“Of course not.”
Shang Lin’s gaze as he looked at her was intensely focused, yet carried a hint of innocence.
Nan Chu felt a twinge of guilt.
Sleeping in separate rooms on the second day of marriage—it really didn’t seem like the best idea.
But if she had to share a bed with Shang Lin again, she couldn’t guarantee she’d be able to hold onto her moral bottom line.
“I’ll go shower first.”
Left with no other choice, Nan Chu made a tactical retreat to the bathroom, jogging inside.
Shang Lin watched her flustered, retreating figure, his eyes narrowing slightly.
He’d still scared her last night.