Chapter 21

Once they were in the elevator, the light grew brighter. Jiang Zao leaned over to look at Lin Yu and sighed. "Just how much did she drink? There were a bottle and a half on the table. Were there another bottle or two on the floor?"

Chen Lüli didn't answer. He merely lowered his eyes to the woman in his arms.

Jiang Zao took another few looks and noticed that Lin Yu's cheeks were flushed, her lips an even deeper red, luscious and inviting.

When they reached the floor, Chen Lüli said, "Her phone is in her bag. Use it to open the door."

Jiang Zao darted forward, shielding the keypad with one hand as she entered the code with the other. "No need. I know the code."

Behind her, Chen Lüli's eyes flickered. "When did she tell you the code to her place?"

Jiang Zao kept her head down as she entered it. She had stayed up all night and then put in an intense livestream today, leaving her mind a little foggy. She got the code wrong the first time.

She entered it again and replied, "She tells me every time she changes it."

Chen Lüli narrowed his eyes slightly. "Do you come here often?"

"Sometimes, I guess. My apartment is a bit of a distance from here. Sometimes when I'm in a bad mood, I come over and sleep with her."

Chen Lüli's lips twitched.

It was the twitch of a sneer.

Beep, beep. The door opened.

Warmth rushed out to meet them. Lin Yu's apartment had the same layout as Chen Lüli's, but she had decorated it in a cream-toned style, making good use of warm-colored accents, like the pale yellow throw on the sofa and the light brown rug patterned with kittens. The atmosphere of the whole apartment

had the kind of warmth that made you want to flop onto the sofa, pet a cat, eat snacks, and watch TV.

It was completely different from Chen Lüli's robotically cold style. Walking into Lin Yu's home was like stepping into a cloud. She had two bedrooms too, but the primary bedroom door opened toward the living room. Jiang Zao knew her way around and pushed the door open. Chen Lüli walked in, and the first things he saw were the three framed photos on the cabinet: one of Lin Yu and Jiang Zao, one of her alone, and another with Ming Yu and him in it. His gaze lingered on the last photo for a few seconds. Clearly, he and Ming Yu had only wandered into her shot by chance.

She faced the camera with her head tilted, her hair in a low ponytail. She wore a Nansha No. 1 High School uniform, her shoulders slender, her smile bright and stars sparkling in her eyes.

Even then, her beauty had already begun to show.

His gaze passed over her in the other two photos, one with her hair loose and the other with it tied in a high ponytail. He walked to the bed and laid her down, pulled the blanket over her, and casually took the coat off her and handed it to Jiang Zao, who had been about to step forward and cover Lin Yu herself.

Chen Lüli had done it so smoothly that she was already covered.

Jiang Zao said, "I wonder if she'll throw up tonight? Normally, that fruit wine shouldn't hit too hard afterward, right?"

Chen Lüli glanced at Lin Yu, who was fast asleep, half her face nestled against her pillow. "Stay tonight and keep her company."

"Sure." Jiang Zao answered from beside him.

When she saw how drunk Lin Yu was, she had more or less guessed it had something to do with Li Yin, but she had no idea what exactly had happened or what the situation was now.

"Pour her a glass of water," Chen Lüli said.

"Oh."

Jiang Zao obediently went out to pour the water.

Chen Lüli quietly watched Lin Yu for a few seconds. He turned and saw a journal and pen on the nightstand. He opened the journal, tore out a page, and took her pen to write four characters on it. Then he put the pen back where it had been and tucked the paper beneath the journal. He looked back at her, brushed aside the strands of hair obstructing her breathing, and pinched her chin between his fingertips, lifting it slightly. After looking at her for a few seconds, he finally got up.

He turned and went out.

Jiang Zao was just coming toward the bedroom with a glass of warm water. Seeing him come out, she asked, "Leaving?"

"Mm. Take care of her."

"Okay."

Jiang Zao watched him go and went to lock the door. Before locking it, she glanced at him. He stood by the elevator, head lowered as he buttoned his cuff. Dim light fell on him, picking out his tall, slender frame, cool pale skin, and clearly defined knuckles. That face could only be called magnificent, but that personality of his was a pity. Jiang Zao shook her head, unable to agree with it: cold and distant, occasionally even cutting.

Fragrant, soft Lin Yu was still better. Jiang Zao bolted the door and carried the glass of water toward the bedroom.

Lin Yu slept soundly on her side, one hand playfully poking out from under the covers. Jiang Zao sat down beside her and gently shook her. "Yuyu, do you want some water?"

Lin Yu waved her hand away and turned over.

Seeing that, Jiang Zao knew she didn't want any. It wasn't hard liquor, after all, and it didn't hit hard afterward, so she wouldn't feel unbearably hot. She put the lid on the glass and set it on the nightstand. As for herself, she took out her phone and looked: her heavy makeup was deathly pale and already coming off a little. She needed to take it off, shower, and go to bed. She had left pajamas at Yuyu's before, so she took them and went to shower.

After her shower, she came back and climbed into bed next to Lin Yu. Her phone vibrated, and she picked it up to look. For once in a blue moon, that black profile picture had actually sent her a message.

Chen Lüli: Where are you sleeping?

Jiang Zao quickly replied: Where else could I sleep? With Yuyu, of course, so I can take care of her up close.

Chen Lüli was silent for a few seconds: Can't you sleep in the second bedroom?

Jiang Zao: How am I supposed to take care of her if I sleep in the second bedroom?!

Chen Lüli: Do you often sleep at her place?

Jiang Zao: Sometimes I stay over when it's late. Why? Is there a problem?

The man didn't reply again, and the black profile picture stayed still. Jiang Zao didn't think much of it, but she glanced at their chat and saw that their last conversation had been six months ago.

Back then, she and Yuyu had taken Xiao Diu to the rice paddies to take photos. Yuyu's phone had run out of battery and shut off, and Chen Lüli had ordered them drinks. Unable to reach Yuyu, he had messaged Jiang Zao and told her to pick up the delivery at the village entrance. Jiang Zao yawned, put her phone back on the nightstand, and turned over to sleep beside Lin Yu, who smelled faintly of fruit and lavender.

Lin Yu had many dreams that night. First she dreamed of her strict father. Both her parents were highly educated, especially her father, a professor at a prestigious university. He had raised Lin Yu with very rigid rules: one was one, and two was two; nothing could be out of place. So she had been very well-behaved and fairly quiet since childhood.

Then she dreamed of Li Yin in the hotel lobby, the scene hazy yet incomparably clear, especially the hand that had slid along his neck. Lin Yu abruptly turned, and the scene changed. She was on a bus traveling through a rainy night, where a handsome boy in a blue-and-white school uniform held a hanging strap with one hand and idly tapped at his phone.

She stood beside him and fell into his arms. This time, he dropped his phone and looked up at her. As she frantically apologized, he caught her by the waist.

Her slender body pressed against his chest. When she hazily tried to pull back, he lowered his head and kissed her firmly, the softness of those thin lips

startling Lin Yu awake.

Honestly.

He was even jealous of Jiang Zao.

Another 100 red packets this chapter. See you tomorrow.

Chapter 21

A dim yellow lamp was on in the room, its light spreading across the ceiling. Lin Yu's heart pounded as she stared blankly up at it.

She raised a hand and touched her lips.

Scenes from their final argument last night flashed through her mind like a revolving lantern.

It felt like a dream.

Buzz, buzz-her phone vibrated, bringing Lin Yu back to her senses. Beside her, Jiang Zao was jolted awake. She sat bolt upright and grabbed her phone. "Shit, there's an early meeting this morning too. Fuck, they don't treat us like people! We livestreamed so late last night, and this morning we still have to get up for a meeting like beasts of burden. Why doesn't the boss just drop dead on the spot?"

Lin Yu sat up and rubbed her eyes. "Hurry up, brush your teeth, wash up, and go, or you'll get stuck in traffic."

Jiang Zao turned and saw Lin Yu with her hair loose and a softness around her eyes and brows. She was clearly still half asleep. Jiang Zao ruffled her hair. "How are you feeling now? Any better? Why didn't you wait for me last night?"

Lin Yu lifted her head and smiled. "That fruit wine was pretty good."

"All you know how to do is drink too much." Jiang Zao got out of bed and fished out her clothes from last night. "Are you really okay?"

Lin Yu shook her head. "I'm fine. My head doesn't hurt, I don't feel like throwing up, and I slept okay."

"That's good, then. I'll get going, Yuyu. Message me if anything comes up, and about you and Li Yin..."

Jiang Zao pulled on her sweater. Feeling cold, she helped herself to Lin Yu's scarf and wrapped it around her neck.

Lin Yu's mind was still a little foggy. She watched Jiang Zao get dressed in a matter of seconds and said, "Li Yin and I broke up."

Jiang Zao flipped the end of the scarf over her shoulder. Hearing that, she looked back at Lin Yu.

Lin Yu's hair was slightly curled, in that Korean style. Sitting on the bed in the dim light, with her hair and clothes a little rumpled, she looked somewhat pitiful. Jiang Zao's heart ached at once, and she stepped forward to hug her. "Say bye-bye to this one, and the next one will be even better. Tell me exactly what happened after my meeting. I won't let him off."

Lin Yu smiled and hugged Jiang Zao back. Hearing her phone vibrate a second time, she said, "Hurry up and go. Drive slowly."

"Pfft, I don't have my car. I'm taking a taxi today." Jiang Zao let go of Lin Yu and picked up her phone. Lin Yu blinked. "Where's your car?"

"At Threshold."

Jiang Zao looked back and said, "We came back in Chen Lüli's car last night. You were drunk, and he'd been drinking too. He brought you back."

At the mention of Chen Lüli's name, Lin Yu's voice instantly died in her throat.

Jiang Zao ruffled her hair again. "I'm off."

"Mm." Lin Yu nodded.

Jiang Zao rushed out and hurried through her wash in the bathroom, clattering all the while. Lin Yu heard the front door slam shut, and the whole apartment fell quiet.

The curtains in the room were still closed, leaving it dim, with only the diffuse orange lamplight.

Lin Yu hugged her knees, thinking of how she had actively returned his kiss in the dream. The sensation of their lips and tongues entwining seemed so clear, and the dream overlapped with reality-with last night. She had been so drunk she was seeing double, yet when he came in, her gaze had drifted involuntarily to his Adam's apple and his open collar.

During the days when she liked him, whenever she read certain passages or saw more intimate scenes in TV dramas, she would sometimes unconsciously picture him in them.

She pictured his hands and his lips, but those were private thoughts. They rarely surfaced, and she didn't allow herself to dwell on them.

Last night, under the influence of alcohol, when she saw him come in, she had also fleetingly wondered what it would be like to kiss him. But the thought had quickly vanished in their struggle and beneath his cutting words. She just hadn't expected that, in the end...