The dark night outside the floor-to-ceiling windows makes the brightly lit living room seem exceptionally quiet; the lights are bright yet serene.
The rose leans against the vase, and its slender branches are sparsely cast on the wall, interspersed with Xu Shiyue's crouching shadow, like a feline hiding in the bushes waiting to hunt.
And Lu Shizhen is the one being hunted.
The soft sofa supported Lu Shizhen's body as she fell backwards, and Xu Shiyue's shadow loomed over her head.
Their eyes met, and the barely visible distance between their noses warmed every breath they exhaled. The atmosphere was even more ambiguous than the last time they watched a movie here.
The air in summer was already too hot, and the narrow space was soon filled with the smell of Xu Shiyue.
The lips that had just raised the question seemed to pass over Lu Shizhen's lips, sometimes far away from her, sometimes close, without hurting her at all, but it made people's breath feel hot as if they had a fever.
Lu Shizhen looked at the person above him with a heavy breath.
Of course she knew what Xu Shiyue meant by "eat", but she became even more nervous because she understood it.
This place is not an independent space. The only door leads directly to the outside. Aunt Sun, who is resting in the nanny's room, may appear at any time or hear the noises they may make next.
Feeling a little embarrassed, Lu Shizhen propped up his arms, pushed Xu Shiyue's shoulders, and said, "Go back to the room."
Xu Shiyue lowered her body upon hearing this, and her lips brushed against her earlobe again unintentionally, and she deliberately asked, "The movie hasn't finished yet, why are you going back to the room?"
Another current passed through.
The warm wind outside the window pushed the treetops to sway. Lu Shizhen bit her inner lip lightly. She felt embarrassed but had to finish her words: "Go back to the room. I'll let you eat if you go back to the room."
Xu Shiyue looked at the person below her sight and smiled slightly.
She didn't know where she got so much desire to kiss Lu Shizhen. She lowered her head and kissed Lu Shizhen's earlobe again, as if negotiating with her: "Let's go to the guest room on the first floor, okay?"
As long as it's not this place, Lu Shizhen can be anywhere.
She agreed quickly, and after nodding, she half-kissed Xu Shiyue and sat up on the sofa. Xu Shiyue was not the only one who wanted to kiss her.
Lu Shizhen had never been to this guest room before. A faint fragrance was wafting through the simply decorated room.
She couldn't tell for a moment whether the smell was coming from Xu Shiyue or was emanating from the room. Her calf was tripped by the side of the bed and she fell backwards onto the bed.
The warm white light fell into Lu Shizhen's eyes, as well as Xu Shiyue's face.
Her hands had been clinging to the man's neck the entire time, and now in this situation, she felt like she was walking into a trap.
Xu Shiyue also thought so: "Walking into a trap?"
"Not really." Lu Shizhen replied with forced calmness.
Xu Shiyue half lowered his eyes as if smiling, then leaned over and kissed Lu Shizhen more deeply.
As if for a better kiss, Xu Shiyue's arm passed through the gap between Lu Shizhen and the bed and rested on her waist.
The soft lips rubbed against Lu Shizhen's lips again and again, and the soft and powerful hands supported her, making her feel indescribably comfortable. She didn't notice that the side of her leg was naturally pressed against the slightly cool hem of her skirt.
At a certain second, Lu Shizhen opened his eyes slightly while taking a breath.
The light became blurred with her misty eyes, casting a soft veil over the person in front of her and casting a lot of focused light on Xu Shiyue's half-drooped eyelashes.
When it comes to kissing, Lu Shizhen is often the one who takes the initiative.
Lu Shizhen has always been afraid of hurting Xu Shiyue so she is always extra gentle. But maybe it's because she doesn't have the initiative, she feels that Xu Shiyue's initiative this time is many times gentler than she was in the past.
It was like falling into the clouds.
The air sprinkled with icing sugar seeped into her boiling blood along with every inch of her wrapped body, turbulent yet gentle, making her completely trapped here.
Suddenly, Lu Shizhen felt that the person he was looking at raised his eyes.
Before she could dodge, Xu Shiyue looked over at her: "Teacher Sixteen has been peeking at me for a while."
"Yes." Lu Shizhen hugged Xu Shiyue's neck, her moist lips flushed red, "I wonder who Shiyue learned this from, how to be so affectionate."
Xu Shiyue's hand followed the texture of Lu Shizhen's hair, rubbed her earlobe, and asked softly, "Do you like it?"
Lu Shizhen was not shy about expressing her feelings and replied, "I like it very much."
Xu Shiyue seemed very satisfied with Lu Shizhen's answer, and the usually plain smile on her face became much more intense: "Then I will kiss you for a while longer."
"Okay..."
Lu Shizhen was about to nod in response, but his voice was drowned out by a sound that suddenly came from his throat.
Xu Shiyue did not play by the rules and suddenly launched a lurking attack, causing Lu Shizhen to tense up. It was as if something was reviving in her body, causing her heart to beat faster suddenly.
Xu Shiyue was also restrained by this. She lowered her head and kissed Lu Shizhen's eyebrows: "Teacher Sixteen, eating alone is not a good habit."
This statement is obscure, yet straightforward.
Lu Shizhen suddenly felt as if a ball of fire rushed to her head, instantly turning her face red.
The wind pushed the osmanthus tree outside the window to sway disorderly in the night sky, and the moon appeared in the swaying shadows of the trees.
More and more smells gradually filled the clean guest bedroom, the faint fragrance intertwined with the scent of roses, covering the thorns of the roses.
The night is dark and the full moon is resting on the branches of the osmanthus tree.
Lu Shizhen's sleep was inexplicably unstable. When he woke up in a daze, he found that Xu Shiyue was not sleeping next to him.
The warm quilt still retained her body temperature, and thin clothes were scattered on the ground.
Lu Shizhen frowned slightly, turned around and saw a figure on the small balcony.
The moonlight was bright, as if afraid that she would catch a cold, and it covered her thin back with a layer of gentle gauze.
She was only wearing a simple halter dress, the dim light outlined her figure, and the misty green smoke suddenly disappeared beside her.
Lu Shizhen's heart suddenly sank.
The green smoke was nothing else but the cigarette that wafted out from between Xu Shiyue's fingers.
"Smoking again." Lu Shizhen asked softly, without any blame.
Xu Shiyue was a little surprised that Lu Shizhen would wake up and find out, so she put out her cigarette and asked, "Did it choke you?"
Lu Shizhen shook his head and asked, "Why are you smoking again?"
In the early hours of the morning, the whole world was dark.
The summer breeze was slightly cool, brushing past Xu Shiyue's hair. She took a step towards Lu Shizhen, then rested her head on her shoulder: "I dreamed that you disappeared along with the gods."
"I can't find you anywhere. I can't find you anywhere."
There was a sense of fragility in Xu Shiyue's voice, and there seemed to be a slight tremor in his extremely simple retelling.
The uneasiness that she had suppressed in her heart these days was finally released uncontrollably after she reunited with Lu Shizhen, and her dreams enveloped her in terror as she relaxed.
No matter how resolute and vigorous she is in her daily life, she will still become vulnerable and worried about gains and losses because of her weaknesses.
Lu Shizhen felt a dull pain in his heart.
She has made Xu Shiyue lose her twice.
The warm palm pressed against the cold fabric, and Lu Shizhen put his arms around Xu Shiyue's waist.
She stroked her back gently, her tone softer than the wind: "No. I will never leave you again."
"If you're scared next time, just hide in my arms. It's okay to wake me up."
Lu Shizhen's voice came into Xu Shiyue's ears word by word, and this real feeling dispelled all her previous uneasiness.
Much more effective than smoking.
Xu Shiyue leaned his head towards Lu Shizhen again, greedily asking her for peace of mind.
Lu Shizhen turned his face slightly and gently stroked her face, like two little animals keeping each other warm.
After a pause, Lu Shizhen whispered in Xu Shiyue's ear: "Also, smoking makes your mouth bitter."
Hearing this, Xu Shiyue immediately raised her eyes and looked at Lu Shizhen. "Then you won't kiss me anymore in the future."
The moonlight shines through those dark pupils, and their coldness is filled with childish uneasiness.
Xu Shiyue's face was clean and attractive without any makeup, and she looked unimpressive.
Lu Shizhen smiled when he heard this.
The wind just blew over, and she lowered her head and kissed Xu Shiyue in the moonlight.
Prove with actions that she will love Xu Shiyue no matter what happens.
.
The next morning, Qiuqiu was still sleeping in Yuanzi's arms, and Xu Shiyue drove and took Lu Shizhen out.
The third day since Lu Shizhen returned to this world was also the third day since she lost contact with the comic publisher.
Fortunately, Xu Shiyue had made some arrangements and contacted Xiaoning, asking her to help Lu Shizhen take care of things first. This way, nothing went wrong and the disappearance of this rising star in the comics world did not escalate.
In order to express his apology and to thank Xiaoning for keeping an eye on the comic publishing for him these days, Lu Shizhen decided to treat Xiaoning to a meal with Xu Shiyue when she came to discuss work with him.
After enjoying the private jet service for the first time in her life, Xiaoning also visited the world's top high-end restaurant for the first time.
What caught her eye was a low-key yet glamorous environment. Xiaoning followed the foreman towards the box, and every step was filled with restraint.
She thought that after living for more than 20 years, she could finally understand how Granny Liu felt when she entered the Grand View Garden.
"Xiaoning."
Just as he was thinking this, Xiaoning heard a familiar voice in this unfamiliar environment.
This is like a downpour after a long drought or meeting an old friend in a foreign land.
Xiao Ning looked at Lu Shizhen who was waving at her, and immediately walked over quickly, very excited: "Teacher Shiliu, you are finally back from abroad. Did your further studies go smoothly this time?"
Xu Shiyue did not tell Xiaoning the truth about Lu Shizhen's disappearance, but used an excuse that was suitable for Lu Shizhen at this time.
Xu Shiyue had also prepared the "gift" that Lu Shizhen bought when she went abroad for further studies, so that Lu Shizhen could make use of this excuse.
"It went pretty smoothly. This is a gift for you and everyone in the studio. Please help me distribute it to everyone when you get back."
When they landed, Zhen handed the prepared things to Xiaoning. There were two full bags. They were not heavy, but they were certainly not light.
Xiaoning was shocked by the size of the two packages.
She looked at the brand that she had liked for a long time but couldn't bear to buy, with a smile on her face: "Teacher Shiliu really took the trouble to bring us gifts."
"This is what we should do." Seeing Xiaoning's unconcealed love, Lu Shizhen felt particularly happy.
"Here is the menu. Just press the bell when you need to order." The foreman said, handing three copies of the menu to the three people.
Xu Shiyue nodded slightly and took the menu.
Xiaoning had never been to such a place before and didn't know what to do. She held the menu upright and glanced at Xu Shiyue sitting opposite her.
Then, Xiaoning noticed with particular sensitivity that Xu Shiyue's hand holding the menu seemed a little inconvenient, and he had to turn it gently after holding it for a while.
Thinking of returning the favor, since someone gave me a gift like this, I should also show some concern for the other person and their partner.
"Ms. Xu, what's wrong with your wrist? Did you sprain it? I saw you were twisting it just now." Xiaoning asked with concern in front of Lu Shizhen.
Xu Shiyue paused for a moment when he heard this.
She glanced at Lu Shizhen beside her, her smile growing: "Nothing, just... I'm tired from doing too many repetitive actions."
(End of this chapter)