Her rental room was so small that she had barely taken two steps when, in the next instant, her arm was pulled and tugged. By the time she realized what was happening, her back was against the wall, with half of her body already enveloped in his embrace.
The man’s fingertips were rough as they grasped her wrist, gently caressing it, eliciting a sensation both ticklish and numbing.
"That... that wasn’t mine!" Shen Shuci was on the verge of tears—what kind of situation was this?
"You watched it," he said with certainty. Since that video link appeared in her media player, she must have watched it.
She didn’t know what it was and had just clicked on it, never anticipating... Ruan Mengxi, you’re truly going to be the death of me.
"In your eyes, am I that disgraceful? So much that you don’t want Xiaowu and the others to see me?"
Shen Shuci’s face turned crimson as she slightly averted her gaze, "The situation is complicated; I didn’t mean to have you deliberately hide... nor do I think you’re disgraceful."
Thinking about how unhappy he was about the situation today, Shen Shuci wanted to explain, but the entire story seemed to need to start with her nearly falling from a horse and injuring her hand, leaving her momentarily at a loss for words.
"Because when you were looking for me before, I lied to Wanwan, and they have no idea about you and me... I also don’t know how to tell them, so..."
Huo Qinqi listened for a while but only uttered four words:
"I..." Shen Shuci’s pupils dilated slightly as she met his gaze, her heart racing once again.
Her willingness to explain definitely meant she cared.
As their eyes met again, she was visibly flustered, and just as he leaned down towards her, the doorbell rang...
Like a startled crow flapping its wings from the branches for no reason, the sound abruptly shattered the intimate atmosphere. Shen Shuci hastily pushed him away and opened the door—turns out it was the delivery.
"Miss, good evening, your delivery has arrived," the delivery guy said with a smile.
The guy smiled at her, about to remind her to give a five-star review, but suddenly confronted another pair of eyes inside the room and shrank back, meekly saying, "Enjoy your meal!"
He fled the building like escaping from something, mounted his electric scooter, and quickly left the residence, still frightened by the intensity of the man’s gaze.
Nevertheless, Huo Qinqi seemed to have a particularly enjoyable dinner, knowing at least that Shen Shuci cared about him and didn’t reject his closeness, even after an awkward little incident. Relationships between people always seemed to work that way—a secret known only between the two could mystically change the dynamic...
In any case, the atmosphere between them had become increasingly different.
The Huo Family had thought that after today’s "ambush," their Patriarch might be unhappy and that they should brace for a potential storm.
Unexpectedly, the person returning from Shen Shuci’s place was in an unexpectedly good mood.
Seeing his good spirits, the Huo Family members comfortably went to sleep, only to be awakened in the middle of the night by the sound of fighting in the courtyard. Being very alert, most awoke instantly.
"Damn it, who’s not sleeping in the middle of the night!" If it had been an outsider, the family dogs would surely bark, but since the dogs were silent, it had to be someone from within the household.
"What’s going on in the yard at this ungodly hour?"
"I’m going to see which scoundrel it is..."
Some got up angrily, only to discover Huo Qinqi hammering away at several wooden stakes in the yard. Tʜe source of this ᴄontent ɪs NovelHub(.)net
Seeing them come out, he even glanced over, "Why aren’t you all asleep? What are you doing out here?"
"Patriarch, why aren’t you sleeping this late? What are you doing?"
The Huo Family approached with simmering anger, only to deflate immediately upon seeing who was in the yard.
"Heh, then you continue..."
Exhaling puffs of air, they exchanged glances, "What exactly did Miss Shen do to him? To be so agitated in the middle of the night?"
"How would I know? Anyway, his mood was good today."
"His mood is good, yet he doesn’t sleep at night! I’m dying of sleepiness here, and he’s bursting with energy."
After practicing in the yard for a while, the man took a cold shower before finally going to bed.
As for Shen Shuci’s side
Thinking about the incident, she also didn’t have a peaceful sleep that night and specifically sought out Ruan Mengxi to settle the score...
Ruan Mengxi simply laughed it off, "I gave you the video; you didn’t have to watch it. Is there a need for such a reaction? You didn’t sneak a peek at work and get caught by your boss, did you?"
"Can you be serious!" Shen Shuci was nearing her wits’ end.
"Really got caught? How could you be so careless?" Ruan Mengxi was merely teasing, completely unaware that the situation had actually happened.
After all, the circumstance was simple: just don’t watch it. To go out of her way to call and accuse her—wasn’t that a bit rash?
"No." Shen Shuci also felt that calling to "complain" about Ruan Mengxi’s behavior was truly impulsive.
"Auntie Wanwie, you’re acting very unlike yourself lately. Tsk, tsk. You’ve changed; there’s definitely something going on with you. When I urged you to move last time, you were so hesitant."
"You weren’t before, and having grown up abroad, you should be more liberal than me. What are you afraid of?"
"Moreover, it’s not like you haven’t watched such things before. What’s wrong with you? Tell me the truth, are you hiding a man in your house?"
Ruan Mengxi spoke much more bluntly than Tang Wan, teasing and joking without sparing any speed.
It took Shen Shuci quite some time to get rid of her. Hiding a man?
She glanced at the lurking Huo Chichi. At most...
At most, she was hiding a cat!