Late at night, lightning flashed and thunder rumbled, the wind howling violently.
Jiang Fuyue woke with a start and got up to close the window.
She had only taken two steps when the door pushed open, and a man appeared in the doorway.
“You…”
“It’s pouring outside. I came to check on you.”
No sooner had he spoken than lightning split the sky, followed by a crash of thunder.
Xie Dingyuan walked over and shut the window for her.
Jiang Fuyue was happy to let him, then went back to bed, stretching lazily in comfort.
Seeing he had no intention of leaving, she blinked. “Something else?”
“…Aren’t you scared?”
Another peal of thunder.
Jiang Fuyue shook her head. “Nope.”
Xie Dingyuan: “…”
“What, are you scared?”
The man said nothing.
She took his silence as confirmation. After a moment’s thought, she shifted over and left a space beside her, testing the waters: “Do you want to get in?”
The man obliged without hesitation, slipping under the covers. A faint citrus scent unique to her enveloped him.
Xie Dingyuan lay flat, silent.
In the darkness, Jiang Fuyue blinked but didn’t speak either.
For a while, only their shallow breaths could be heard, mingling with the storm raging outside.
After who knew how long—
“Xie Dingyuan, are you asleep?”
“…No.”
Jiang Fuyue turned onto her side, but her hand accidentally brushed him. His breathing tightened.
She quickly apologized. “Sorry, I didn’t—”
The next second, both she and the blanket were pulled firmly into his arms.
His strong arms were like iron clamps, locking her in place—no escape.
“You ambushed me!”
“Who told you to move around?” he said calmly.
Jiang Fuyue: “?” Changing my position counts as moving around?!
Boom—
Another bolt of lightning exploded outside.
The man remained completely still, showing not a trace of fear.
Only then did Jiang Fuyue realize—she’d been tricked!
“You’re not afraid of thunder?!”
“…I never said I was.” It was she who assumed he was, and invited him into her bed.
Jiang Fuyue let out an incredulous laugh. “You…. get out.”
She started to pull away from his hold, but the next second he pressed a hand to her back, keeping her in place.
Xie Dingyuan: “No.”
“You did that on purpose, sneaking into my room in the middle of the night to take advantage of me.” Jiang Fuyue kicked and struggled. “Let go!”
The man hissed sharply, jaw tight. “Don’t move!”
Jiang Fuyue froze as she realized… or rather, felt what was happening under the blanket. Something had… awakened.
She went rigid.
“Xie Dingyuan, you…” She swallowed. “Don’t get impulsive.”
“I told you not to move… you keep lighting fires everywhere,” he muttered hoarsely.
Jiang Fuyue’s eyes widened. “You were the one who started it!”
He coughed, awkwardly.
“Why haven’t you calmed down yet?” Jiang Fuyue was sweating all over, hot and uncomfortable.
His hands on her waist burned like twin flames.
She began to impatiently lift the blanket.
That only made it worse.
His gritted voice came by her ear: “Didn’t I tell you not to move?!”
Jiang Fuyue was near tears. “Then let go! I’ll move away then I can move however I want and it won’t bother you!”
Well… she had a point.
The man faltered.
But he still didn’t release her.
Jiang Fuyue tilted her chin, triumphant. “Serves you right!”
Instantly, his hands tightened on her waist.
“You—” She grew angry and reached back to pinch him.
“Hiss!” Xie Dingyuan shuddered.
Soon, the two of them were tussling under the blanket like children.
“Okay, okay, stop! I’m done!” Jiang Fuyue called truce first.
She was overheated, sweating from head to toe.
Xie Dingyuan finally withdrew, and Jiang Fuyue slipped out of bed, running to the window.
A gust of wind blew in—
The antique-style casement window flung open, and rain poured inside.
Cold water splashed across her back; in an instant, her thin sleepwear was soaked through.
She quickly turned to close the window, but the wind was so strong she had to use all her strength to shut it tight.
She latched it firmly and pushed once more to make sure it was secure.
In doing so, however, her drenched back was completely exposed to him.
Her summer nightclothes were thin to begin with; now wet, they clung to her skin, outlining the smooth curves of her back—
Straight shoulders, delicate shoulder blades, not an ounce of excess flesh.
Xie Dingyuan’s mind went blank, an explosion in his skull.
When Jiang Fuyue turned back around, she saw the man sitting on the bed, eyes dark and faintly red at the corners.
She hurried over, forgetting her wet clothes. “What’s wrong with you?”
Xie Dingyuan’s hand shot out and gripped her waist. It was so small in his palm. Then he yanked her into his arms, holding her tightly.
His arms were strong, his breath restrained. One hand slid up her soaked back.
Jiang Fuyue gasped, her spine going rigid.
Where his palm touched, tingling heat spread outward, wetness and warmth colliding like ice and fire.
Her breath hitched; her whole body tensed.
Sensing her tension, he leaned close to her ear, voice low and soothing. “Don’t be afraid. Just let me hold you… for a while.”
Just a while, and it’ll be fine.
At first, Jiang Fuyue was confused. She didn’t understand why he was so tense, why he was restraining himself. But listening to his ragged breath, feeling that hand restlessly tracing her back, she suddenly understood—
“Xie Dingyuan, you’re… thinking…”
“I won’t!” he cut her off, voice rough.
Jiang Fuyue arched a brow. “You know, wanting to and doing it are two different things. Just because you won’t doesn’t mean you don’t want to, right?”
His eyes darkened.
Jiang Fuyue boldly leaned in and kissed his lips. “I’m okay with it.”
Xie Dingyuan froze, eyes widening. “What did you say?!”
“I said—” she met his gaze, enunciating each word, “—if you want, I’m okay with it.”
A vein throbbed at his temple, his grip tightening. “Do you even know what you’re saying?”
Jiang Fuyue wrapped her arms around his neck, her watery eyes curving as she smiled. “Of course. I’m an adult, I can make my own choices.”
He swallowed hard. “Aren’t you afraid I’ll… not take responsibility afterward?”
Jiang Fuyue blinked. “Take responsibility for what?”
“For you.”
Her expression turned incredulous. “Professor Xie, you don’t actually think that in this day and age, men and women still have to promise marriage or a future just because they slept together, do you?”
“Isn’t that how it should be?” he asked, puzzled. “If there’s no intent to marry, no promise of the future, why have sex at all?”
“Because men and women enjoy each other, it’s mutual pleasure. It doesn’t always need marriage, or even… cough, love.”
His gaze cooled, the earlier heat fading into something distant.
“You really think that? That love isn’t needed for sex?”
“I didn’t mean—”
“So your ‘I’m okay with it’ has nothing to do with feelings? Then what’s it for? Release? Desire? Curiosity? A whim?”
Jiang Fuyue frowned and stepped back. “Do you have to twist my words like that?”
“You said it yourself, ‘no love needed.’ How else should I understand it?”
“I was giving an example, not speaking for myself. Just because a range is from a to b doesn’t mean the value must be at a or b.”
His eyes softened slightly. “Then what are you? No ranges, give me the exact value.”
Jiang Fuyue’s lips curved, her eyes bright with pride. “Why would I sleep with someone I don’t like? You think just anyone could make me say ‘I’m okay with it’?”
She said, “Xie Dingyuan, can you have a little more confidence in yourself?”
Heaven and h*ll were only a breath apart.
In an instant, Xie Dingyuan’s gloom turned to elation— So it wasn’t just anyone. It was him.
Warmth spread through him, up to his eyes and brow. The earlier darkness cleared, replaced by light.
But—
“If we love each other, then why not have commitment? Why not marriage?”
Jiang Fuyue thought a moment. “Commitments can change. Marriages can end. Using such unstable things to weigh down something as pure as ‘liking’—it’s unnecessary.”
“I won’t!” he blurted.
His promise wouldn’t change. His marriage, if it happened, would never break.
Jiang Fuyue didn’t answer.
He saw her hesitation and said fiercely, “One day, you’ll believe me!”
“Alright, I’ll be waiting.”
Xie Dingyuan pulled her back into his arms. “Yueyue, don’t ever say ‘mutual pleasure’ or ‘consenting adults’ again. To me, any relationship not built on marriage is just playing games.”
“Then… you don’t want it?” Her peach blossom eyes were clear and alluring, but her words were boldly provocative.
The man’s breathing tightened. “I want to. But I can hold it in.”
“Not uncomfortable?”
“……” — Nonsense.
A sly glint flashed through Jiang Fuyue’s eyes. Suddenly she pulled her shoulders back; her collar slipped down, revealing a stretch of snowy white shoulder and delicate collarbone.
In an instant, the man’s eyes went green.
But she smiled, all innocence and guileless charm. “Like this? Still holding back?”
His breathing shifted several times, emotions in his eyes rising and falling like a stormy sea. In the end, he forced himself to withdraw his hand and release her. “I can.”
Jiang Fuyue: “……”
This conservative, uptight man!
He was the one who lit the fire first, the one who couldn’t keep it in and yet, in the end, he was still the one holding back.
Jiang Fuyue thought: I’m just an ordinary, unremarkable flirting prop.
That night, Xie Dingyuan stayed in Jiang Fuyue’s room. They slept in the same bed, under the same blanket. The man held her in his arms, his whole body hot, breath heavy yet he never once crossed the line.
In the end, even Jiang Fuyue couldn’t bear it anymore. “You should go back to your own room.”
What answered her was his calm, even breathing.
Pretending to sleep and pretending really well.
…
The next morning, Jiang Fuyue slept until she woke naturally. When she opened her eyes, the space beside her was already empty.
She got up, washed, dressed, and went out, only to see Xie Dingyuan sitting before the computer, working.
She didn’t disturb him. She poured herself a glass of water, then brought him one, quietly setting it beside his hand.
Just as she turned to leave, her wrist was caught—and the next second, she was pulled into his arms.
“Awake?”
“Mm.” She nodded.
“How did you sleep?”
“Not bad.” Jiang Fuyue countered, “What about you?”
“Also fine.”
If she hadn’t seen him go take two cold showers that morning, Jiang Fuyue might almost have believed him.
After breakfast, they changed into swimsuits, planning to soak in the hot springs.
On the way, Xie Dingyuan got a phone call—
“When did you find out?” His expression turned sharp. “Alright. I’ll come right away.”
When the call ended, Jiang Fuyue asked, “Something happened?”
He looked at her, silent.
She immediately understood, another classified mission. Just like last time, when he went to Continent F.
“You go handle it. I’ll stay till the afternoon, then head back.”
According to plan, they were supposed to return tomorrow anyway. Ending the trip one day early wasn’t too bad.
She was already in a swimsuit, and the Yuegui Manor’s hot springs were famous, it would be a waste not to go.
Xie Dingyuan left quickly. Jiang Fuyue helped pack his things, handed them to the front desk to be sent to the Xie household. Clearly, whatever it was, it was urgent.
She then had herself a blissful soak in the hot spring, took a comfortable nap, and packed up in the afternoon to check out.
“Little Yueyue—!”
Jiang Fuyue instinctively turned and saw Shen Qiannan, who absolutely shouldn’t be there, standing behind her, sunglasses perched on his nose, forehead beaded with sweat. Clearly, he had just arrived.
He let out a long breath. “Phew! Made it, almost died getting here.”
“What are you doing here?”
“Old Xie told me to pick you up.”
Xie Dingyuan had left in a hurry, but couldn’t rest easy leaving Jiang Fuyue alone at the resort. So, after some thought, he called up Shen Qiannan to come act as backup.
“Pick who up?” Shen Qiannan had been completely baffled at the time. “Say that again?”
“Jiang Fuyue.”
“She’s at Yuegui Manor? You two went together? Wait, how are you two even together?!”
All he got in reply was a dial tone.
Shen Qiannan: “…D*mn it.”
Now, Jiang Fuyue finished checking out smoothly.
Shen Qiannan noticed she returned two keycards for one room.
Meaning two people had been staying there.
Given Old Xie’s usual “none of my business” personality, and the fact that he’d actually sent him to fetch Jiang Fuyue personally, something was definitely off.
Very off.
Years of playboy instinct told Shen Qiannan—there was definitely something going on here.
But he couldn’t just ask her outright; girls had thin skin, after all.
So he made an excuse to use the restroom and planned to call Xie Dingyuan to interrogate him properly.
Only—
“Sorry, the number you’ve dialed is powered off…”
Shen Qiannan cursed under his breath.
…
In the hotel lobby, Jiang Fuyue was pulling her suitcase, ready to wait for Shen Qiannan outside—
When a sudden series of footsteps came from behind.
Her expression sharpened instantly.
The next second, several black-suited bodyguards surrounded her, blocking her path.
She stopped where she was, calm, her cool gaze sweeping over them.
Then a man stepped forward from behind. Their eyes met, Jiang Fuyue’s narrowed slightly.
The bodyguards all spoke in unison: “President Lou.”
Lou Mingshen strolled forward, hands in pockets, and smiled. “We meet again.”
Jiang Fuyue said nothing.
He continued on his own, “Last time, on the flight to Linhuai, remember?”
“Do you need something?” Her tone was frosty, her voice cold as ice.
Lou Mingshen’s face showed mild puzzlement. “You seem… hostile toward me?”
“Tell your people to move.”
“And if I don’t?” He smiled faintly.
Jiang Fuyue held back the urge to slap him. “Then I’ll have to call the police.”
“Go ahead and while they’re here, maybe they can help me recover two missing exhibits.”
“What do you mean?”
He took a step closer; the distance between them shrank, their breaths nearly mingling.
“You know exactly what I mean, hand it over.”
Jiang Fuyue gave him a look. “I don’t understand what you’re talking about.”
With that, she moved to walk past him and the guards.
“You took it.”
She stopped, turning back with a cold smile. “Got proof?”
Lou Mingshen stepped up again, the guards closing in. “If I had proof, you wouldn’t be standing here right now, perfectly fine and chatting with me.”
Jiang Fuyue didn’t flinch, her tone calm. “Since you have no proof, what gives you the right to stop me?”
“Because this is my turf. You leave when I say you can leave. If I say you stay, you stay.”
“So you’re admitting to unlawful detention?”
“And what if I am?” His tone was arrogant.
Jiang Fuyue smiled, raising her phone. The screen showed she was already on a call—110 emergency, duration 00:05:32—and still connected.
“Officer, you heard all that, right? What should I do next?”
Lou Mingshen’s face darkened.
She put it on speaker. A firm voice came through: “Please release this young lady immediately. We will arrive within fifteen minutes. If verified, the police will not rule out the use of force to stop ongoing illegal actions.”
The call ended, the police were on their way.
Clap clap clap—
Lou Mingshen applauded.
“You’re clever…”
“Thanks for the compliment.”
“No wonder you managed to take something from behind bulletproof glass and a coded lock without breaking either.”
Jiang Fuyue’s eyes flickered with confusion. “Sir, you keep insisting I stole something from you without any evidence. Doesn’t that count as… defamation?”
“You know very well whether you took it or not!”
Jiang Fuyue’s smile stayed faint, her gaze utterly still.
“Now, can you tell your people to move?”
Lou Mingshen didn’t reply. Without his order, the guards stood frozen in place.
Just then, Shen Qiannan came back from the restroom. Seeing the scene, he rushed over, shielding Jiang Fuyue. “Who the h*ll are you people?! What do you think you’re doing?!”
Jiang Fuyue said, “This man won’t let me leave, said I stole something.”
“What? Stole something?” Shen Qiannan looked at Lou Mingshen like he was crazy. “Buddy, you got a screw loose? Even if you’ve got muscle, you can’t just bully people!”
Lou Mingshen sneered. “I said hand over what she took, and I’ll let her go.”
“I mean, what could you possibly own that’s worth stealing? It’s not like she can’t afford it! Don’t you find yourself ridiculous?”
Lou ignored him, eyes locked coldly on Jiang Fuyue, as though trying to see straight through her.
“Fine! No talking, then I’ll just call the cops.” Shen Qiannan pulled out his phone.
But a hand pressed down on his screen.
Jiang Fuyue: “No need. I already did.”
Shen Qiannan: “……” D*mn, she’s good.
In the end, before the police arrived, Lou Mingshen waved his guards back.
“Let’s go!” Shen Qiannan dragged his suitcase, swaggering out like a proud fighting cock.
Jiang Fuyue followed behind, calm and unhurried.
Suddenly—
“I can let go of the item. But you must tell me, how did you crack the code?”
She didn’t stop walking.
“You know the encryption system, don’t you?”
She kept moving.
“Who are you, really?! Why did you take it?!”
The girl never turned back.
She got in the car and left.
Lou Mingshen stood there, watching the direction she’d gone, his face dark as storm clouds.
Hou Hao, nearby, felt his scalp tighten, too afraid to speak.
But some things you can’t avoid.
“You have one day. I want everything on her.”
“But…” Hou Hao hesitated.
“Speak.”
“She seems close to Xie Dingyuan. If we dig into her, we might alert him or even the whole Xie family.”
“Check anyway.”
“…Yes.”
Hou Hao’s eyes darted. “President Lou, one more thing.”
“Say it.”
“How are you so sure she’s the one who stole the inscription and the photo?”
After all, they had no evidence—none. Even the police had nothing.
Lou Mingshen said, “Intuition.”
Maybe it was that cool, distant air that faintly overlapped with someone from his memories or the way she looked at him, wary and rejecting, that made him sure. From the first time he saw her on that flight, she’d left a deep impression.
Now, meeting again here at Yuegui Manor—just when the exhibits went missing?
“When coincidences pile up, perhaps they’re not coincidences anymore.”
Hou Hao only half understood, finding it both mysterious and absurd. “But what would she even want with those? They’re not worth anything.”
Lou Mingshen smiled faintly. “She’s not after the items. She’s after someone.”
Hou Hao: “?” What the h*ll does that even mean?
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