Xia Yuning had just stepped out of the bathroom, carrying a trace of lingering moisture and a warm, cozy glow all over. He walked over to the bed and picked up his phone from the nightstand to take a look.
There was a single message notification. When he tapped on it, he saw it was a friend request from Qiu Se.
Clicking accept, the other person immediately sent a message within a second. It was a WeChat transfer, followed closely by a short line of text: “For the meal and the medical expenses.”
Xia Yuning accepted the funds and typed down a reply: “Alright, received.”
Qiu Se?
Xia Yuning silently muttered the name to himself. With nothing much to do for the evening, he could finally begin reviewing the plot details from the original novel.
Qiu Se was a supporting character Shou in this novel, harboring a secret crush on Gu Situ. Later on, the main Shou discovered this one-sided affection.
Through his investigations, the main Shou found out that Qiu Se was a race car driver. He then tracked down a teammate of Qiu Se who was on bad terms with him, instigating that teammate to drug Qiu Se right before a race. As a result, Qiu Se lost his life midway through the competition.
The ending was not a happy one, but since Xia Yuning had transmigrated into this world, he was not going to let such a tragedy happen.
It wasn’t because he was a bleeding heart, but rather because he couldn’t possibly stand by and watch an innocent life perish while knowing how everything would play out.
He stood up, walked over to the wardrobe, and took out his pajamas to change.
Midway through changing clothes, a knock sounded at the door. He hurriedly buttoned up his pajamas, walked over, and opened the door to find Lu Jinglin standing outside.
“Mr. Lu, is something the matter?”
“Yuanbao wants to talk to you.” Lu Jinglin handed his phone to Xia Yuning.
Taking the phone, Xia Yuning saw little Yuanbao and Rong Feng on the screen and greeted them, “Mom, little Yuanbao, good evening.”
“Good evening,” Rong Feng said. “Yuning, am I interrupting your rest?”
“Not at all,” Xia Yuning shook his head. “I haven’t gone to sleep yet.”
Now that he was actually seeing Xia Yuning face-to-face on the screen, little Yuanbao suddenly grew shy. “Auntie spouse, good evening.”
“Little Yuanbao, what made you think of…”
This was the first time Lu Jinglin had stepped into Xia Yuning’s bedroom since they started sleeping in separate rooms.
Although the room’s layout was identical to Lu Jinglin’s own, it felt completely different. Xia Yuning had decorated his room entirely to his own tastes, featuring a warm-toned aesthetic that looked cozy and was filled with a faint, refreshing scent of lemon.
Shifting his gaze, Lu Jinglin noticed a jar of candies sitting on the nightstand. The jar was transparent and already two-thirds empty, with the bold characters “Milk Candies” labeled on the box.
Milk candies?
Did he like eating candy?
“Uncle, Uncle!”
Little Yuanbao’s call pulled Lu Jinglin back from his thoughts.
Lu Jinglin strode over to the bedside and sat down right beside Xia Yuning. The scent unique to Lu Jinglin washed over him in a wave, prompting Xia Yuning to quietly shuffle a bit to the side without letting the man notice.
Once seated, that refreshing lemon fragrance grew even stronger. Lu Jinglin tilted his head toward Xia Yuning, his nostrils flaring slightly as he took a gentle sniff.
Was that the scent of body wash?
He leaned into the camera frame. “What is it?”
Thrilled to see Xia Yuning, little Yuanbao was in high spirits. “My mom and dad are coming back next weekend. Uncle, you are not allowed to be too busy on the day they return! Grandma said our whole family is going out to eat together that day, so you aren’t allowed to busy yourself with work.”
“Mn.” Lu Jinglin chuckled softly and asked Rong Feng, “Brother-in-law and the others are coming back next week?”
“Yes,” Rong Feng replied. “Your sister has been wanting to see Yuning for a long time. They weren’t around on your wedding day, so of course they have to come back now to bless you both and celebrate properly.”
“Got it. I’ll arrange it when the time comes.” Glancing at Xia Yuning’s outer eye corners, which were slightly reddened from drowsiness, Lu Jinglin said, “Mom, it’s getting late. Hang up now so we can rest.”
“Alright, it is indeed quite late. You two get some early rest then.”
After ending the call, Xia Yuning couldn’t help letting out a small yawn, squeezing out two tears that lingered at the corners of his eyes, trembling on the verge of falling.
Staring at his flushed outer eye corners, Lu Jinglin asked, “Are you free next weekend?”
Xia Yuning thought for a moment and nodded. “I’m free. What is it?”
“Good,” Lu Jinglin stood up. “Then get some rest. I’m heading out.”
Xia Yuning stood up as well, walking him to the bedroom door with a smile playing at the corners of his mouth. “Mr. Lu, good night.”
Xia Yuning’s eye corners were slightly damp from those two lingering tears, adding a moist sheen to them. The warm yellow light inside the room cast a soft, cozy halo behind him, making him look exceptionally gentle.
Lu Jinglin stared at him for a long moment before letting out a soft laugh, carrying a trace of gentleness and indulgence that even he hadn’t noticed. “Good night.”