They hadn’t run a hundred meters yet when the hair on Lu Huaicheng’s forehead was already damp with sweat, and his pace slowed considerably.

Xia Liyang, still not satisfied, arched her eyes and teased him with a giggle, “Mr. Lu, your stamina isn’t great.”

Lu Huaicheng’s expression stiffened slightly. He lowered his gaze at her blooming smile and panted lightly, “Please consider that I already ran eight hundred meters before coming here.”

“Oh, then you can put me down. Otherwise, if you tire yourself out, I’ll be without a boyfriend,” Xia Liyang blinked.

“That’s not necessary; I can still carry you back,” Lu Huaicheng adjusted her waist slightly, shifting his position.

“No, you need to conserve your strength. Otherwise, you won’t be able to perform later,” Xia Liyang said seriously.

Lu Huaicheng couldn’t help but twitch his lips, thinking that she must be drunk, as not only were her thoughts strange, but her words were also shocking.

“I think someone has forgotten how they cried and begged me to stop last time,” he said, looking at her with deep eyes.

“Ah? Did I?” Xia Liyang fluttered her long eyelashes, appearing confused.

“You don’t even remember our first time together?” Lu Huaicheng’s gaze darkened with dissatisfaction.

Sensing danger, Xia Liyang immediately buried her head in his neck and changed the subject, saying, “Mr. Lu, you smell really good!”

The soft breath against his neck made Lu Huaicheng’s throat tighten, and he said helplessly, “Don’t move around.”

“I’m not moving,” Xia Liyang innocently raised her face, releasing one hand that was wrapped around his neck. Her soft fingers gently touched his prominent Adam’s apple, her eyes glazed and charming, correcting him, “This is moving.”

“……” Lu Huaicheng’s muscles tensed up, but he couldn’t free his hand to stop her mischief and could only cough lightly to cover his discomfort.

Seeing that Lu Huaicheng was ignoring her, Xia Liyang pouted, looking wronged, “Mr. Lu, why aren’t you talking to me?”

Lu Huaicheng felt his nerves tighten and hurriedly comforted her, “I’m not ignoring you; it’s just that what you said is so right that I have no words to respond.”

“Hey, I’m really amazing,” Xia Liyang instantly cheered up and asked, “Mr. Lu, praise me!”

“……” Lu Huaicheng helplessly glanced at her, “Shouldn’t you change how you address me? I’m already your boyfriend, yet you still call me Mr. Lu. Doesn’t that feel distant?”

“I just got used to it,” Xia Liyang pouted, looking up with her clear eyes, asking him, “What do you want me to call you?”

“Call me whatever feels comfortable. Just don’t be so distant,” Lu Huaicheng smiled gently.

“Lu Lu? Huai Huai? Cheng Cheng?” She fluttered her long eyelashes lightly.

“Don’t make it too cheesy…” Lu Huaicheng’s lips twitched slightly.

“What do your family call you? Huaicheng?” She tilted her head.

“Right,” he nodded slightly.

“Then I’ll call you Huaicheng,” Xia Liyang said, her eyes crescent-shaped, her voice clear.

“Okay,” he replied.

“Huaicheng,” she called out to him.

“Mm,” he responded.

It seemed like she was quickly adapting to this new way of addressing him, as she repeated his name several times.

Lu Huaicheng smiled, patiently responding to her each time.

Until she grew a little tired from the playful banter, her face buried into his neck again, murmuring softly, “Huaicheng, I missed you so much.”

Lu Huaicheng was momentarily taken aback, feeling a dreamy overlap with reality.

His brows softened as he replied gently, “Mm, I missed you too.”

As they entered the small elevator of the high-rise, Xia Liyang’s drunken state shifted from excitement to drowsiness.

She leaned against Lu Huaicheng’s broad shoulder, her delicate hand softly wrapping around his neck, becoming much quieter.

“Yang Yang, we’re home,” Lu Huaicheng glanced down at the almost asleep girl in his arms, gently reminding her, “Press the code.”

“Mm…” Xia Liyang sleepily opened her eyes, too lazy to do it herself, and directly told him the password to her apartment.

“Are you this unguarded with me?” Lu Huaicheng teased her as he entered the password.

“Why? You’re the president of Junlan Group; are you going to steal things from my house?” She laughed back at him.

“I won’t steal anything; But I can’t say the same for you,” he smirked as he pushed open the door.

This was his first time entering her apartment, and he felt curious, as if he were finally touching her most genuine side. He couldn’t help but look around.

Her apartment’s decor was much cozier than his penthouse, with warm tones and some greenery, making the entire room bright and lively.

Next to the coffee table was a pile of brand-new books, apparently the latest romance novel she was still signing.

On the display cabinet next to the TV was a photo of her and Xia Yanyu, with the background showing a door decorated with Spring Festival couplets, as if it were a recent family portrait.

But he didn’t see her mother.

Lu Huaicheng’s gaze lingered thoughtfully on that photo for a few seconds before preparing to carry the drowsy Xia Liyang to bed.

However, just as he pushed open the door to her bedroom, she opened her eyes again, murmuring softly that she was hungry and insisted on having barbecue.

Helpless, he could only carry her back to the living room sofa first, then contact Lin Shen to help him order some skewers to be delivered.

“And beer!” Xia Liyang leaned against the sofa, reaching out to tug at the hem of Lu Huaicheng’s suit jacket, which he was wearing while on the phone.

“…Add two bottles of beer,” Lu Huaicheng said with a sigh, glancing at her.

“Two bottles aren’t enough; I want two cases!” Xia Liyang shook his jacket.

“…” Lu Huaicheng twitched his mouth, pretending he didn’t hear her and hung up the phone.

“Huaicheng! You’re pretending to be deaf and mute again.” Xia Liyang puffed out her cheeks in anger, her eyes wide, looking just like a hamster.

Lu Huaicheng stared at her quietly for a moment, then opened the video mode on his phone, aiming it at her.

“What are you doing?” she pouted in dissatisfaction.

“I’m just recording some of your cute moments, so you can relive them later,” Lu Huaicheng smiled.

“…” Feeling a bit uncomfortable being filmed by him, Xia Liyang pouted her face and stood up from the sofa. “I’m going to take a shower.”

“You can’t even walk steadily; what do you need to shower for?” Lu Huaicheng quickly put down his phone and supported her.

“I can take a bath, right?” Xia Liyang blinked slowly.

“No way, there’s a risk of slipping in the bathtub too,” Lu Huaicheng said seriously.

“Then you can watch me wash, that’s fine,” she said as if it was obvious.

Lu Huaicheng’s expression stiffened slightly, and he looked at her with a strange gaze. “Are you sure you know what you’re saying?”

“Of course!” Xia Liyang nodded and smiled. “If you want, you can wash with me; we’ve done it before.”

“…” Lu Huaicheng froze in place, seemingly deep in thought.

“What’s wrong? Are you a big man feeling shy now?” Xia Liyang laughed and playfully slapped his arm.

Lu Huaicheng inexplicably felt like she was teasing him and cleared his throat awkwardly. “I’ll go run the bath water for you. Just sit on the sofa for a while.”

After saying that, he took off his suit jacket, rolled up his shirt sleeves, and quickly walked to the bathroom.

Although he really wanted to press her down and do things to her until she couldn’t even talk, he felt that doing such things while she was drunk felt a bit like taking advantage of her.

So he still wanted to avoid seeing her or bathing with her—things that would test his willpower and patience too much.

If he had known, he would have rather run with her for eight hundred meters. It might have been embarrassing, but at least it could have used up most of his energy.

Lu Huaicheng couldn’t help but sigh, leaning against the sink, staring at the water filling the bathtub, lost in thought.

It wasn’t until the water was ready that he bent down to turn off the tap, tested the water temperature, and returned to the living room to look at Xia Liyang, who was clutching a cushion and about to fall asleep again. “The water’s ready. Are you going to wash up or go straight to bed?”

“Ah… I’m going to take a bath!” Xia Liyang suddenly woke up, threw the cushion aside, and began to unbutton her shirt dress.

“Wait…” Lu Huaicheng tensed up and quickly pressed her hand. “You should undress in the bathroom; the air conditioning is cold here, and you might catch a chill.”

“Oh, okay.” Xia Liyang’s brain was slow to process, then she opened her arms towards him. “Then you carry me!”

Lu Huaicheng glanced at her already unbuttoned collar, the snow-white skin and the rising curves, which inevitably led his thoughts astray.

His throat moved slightly, and he reined in his gaze, picking her up from the sofa again.

After bringing her into the bathroom, Lu Huaicheng turned his back, sat on the bath stool at the door, and said with a voice slightly strained, “You can undress. I’ll watch you from here.”

Xia Liyang glanced at his already sweaty white shirt and said, “You should wash with me; you’ve sweated a lot, won’t you feel uncomfortable if you don’t change?”

“I don’t have any clothes to change into at your place,” he said in a muffled voice.

“You can go upstairs and grab some; it won’t take long,” she said, blinking at him.

“…” Lu Huaicheng paused for a few seconds, then turned to look at Xia Liyang, who had already unbuttoned most of her dress. He slowly said, “If you keep trying to persuade me, I might think you want to do something with me.”

“I do want to do something with you! Don’t you?” Xia Liyang looked at him with clear, innocent eyes.

Lu Huaicheng’s temple throbbed suddenly. His voice was low and suppressed as he tried to reason with her. “You’re drunk right now; your mind isn’t clear. I don’t have a hobby of taking advantage of others.”

“Cut it out! Previously, under the misconception that I had a boyfriend, you still tried to kiss me. Why are you pretending to be a gentleman now?” Xia Liyang raised her eyebrows slightly, finding it amusing.

“…” Lu Huaicheng’s body stiffened, and his expression changed complexly for a moment.

Suddenly, he stood up, directly pushing her lower back against the sink behind her. His tall body pressed down heavily, his deep gaze fixed on her. “Thank you for reminding me; in front of you, I really don’t need to pretend anymore.”

He ripped off her dress and, with a long finger, unfastened the button on her back.

The sliding clothing fully revealed her graceful figure to his eyes.

His dark eyes scanned her, a dark current stirring beneath them, his movements calm as he kissed her forehead and lifted her into the bathtub.

Xia Liyang soaked in the warm water, her gaze somewhat dazed as she looked at the man in front of the bathroom mirror, casually removing his shirt and unbuckling his belt.

The rising steam blurred his deep features and muscular lines.

Xia Liyang felt her face growing hotter, her mind drifting further away, as if she were floating on a cloud, everything she saw appearing to be illusory.

Until he stepped into her bathtub, the gentle waves of water finally brought her some sense of grounding.

She snapped back to reality and was about to ask him to grab the shower gel from the side when Lu Huaicheng wrapped his large hand around her slim waist, leaning casually against the edge of the bathtub. With his other hand, he ran his fingers through her damp hair, pressing her soft body toward him and kissing her lips directly.