♡ Chapter 21.1 ♡

The hallway went quiet for a moment. The elevator had arrived. The young man, probably trying to ease the awkwardness, smiled at Lu Yanzhou: “Congratulations! My mom was trying to pair me up with Yu Xia, but I guess I missed my chance.”

Lu Yanzhou smiled faintly: “There is indeed no chance.”

The Young man: “…”

“He’s much more handsome than you, how can you have a chance?” Aunt Liu’s daughter came to her senses and said to her brother, “Mom, Dad, you should go back.”

The brother and sister entered the elevator, while the elderly couple glanced at Lu Yanzhou. He nodded at them before entering the apartment and closing the door behind him.

Yu Xia looked at him with a troubled expression. “Do you think they believe it?”

“Probably,” Lu Yanzhou replied, walking over and pinching her cheek. Half-joking and half-serious, he said, “If not, I can make up a story about how I won you over. I’ll make it as miserable as possible, I’m sure they’ll believe that.”

“…That’s not necessary.” Yu Xia was amused and reached out to hug him and act coquettishly, “Because of you, my reputation is almost ruined. The old folks in the neighborhood all like me.”

“Well, I can see that they all want to introduce you to a boyfriend.”

“……”

This sounded a bit sour.

Yu Xia looked up at him and let out a long “Oh.” “So, this is your goal? After this, no one will want to introduce me to a boyfriend anymore.”

Lu Yanzhou raised an eyebrow, not answering her question. Instead, he glanced at her study. “Do you still need to work?”

“Hmm…” Yu Xia sighed. “I need to finish this chapter.”

“How much longer?”

“Maybe about three hours.”

Three hours, that would be close to one o’clock.

Lu Yanzhou frowned and looked down at her. “I’ll stay with you tonight.”

“Ah…” Yu Xia froze for a few seconds. He must mean he was staying over, right? She lowered her head. “Well, you can wait in the room. If you’re tired, go ahead and sleep.”

Lu Yanzhou chuckled, patting the back of her head. “I’ll come over later. You keep working.”

After he left, Yu Xia quickly tidied up the bedroom, making sure everything was neat and clean. She then took a quick shower before returning to her study to continue working.

It was almost eleven when Lu Yanzhou arrived.

Yu Xia glanced towards the living room. The man had clearly just finished showering and changed into his homewear. He sat casually on the sofa, his laptop resting on the coffee table, elbows on his knees as he watched her.

Their eyes met, and he smirked. “What are you looking at? Focus on your work.”

In that instant, Yu Xia’s heart skipped a beat, and she felt that familiar, sudden, and clear flutter in her chest.

She smiled at him, then turned her attention back to the screen. After staring at it for a moment, she opened the work group chat and quickly typed: [I want to change the plot of this section.]

Editor: [How would you change it?]

Living in Spring: [The male and female leads are too restrained here. It’s almost the end, they don’t need to be that rational. Why be so rational in a romance?]

Editor: [That does make sense.]

Editor: [Is this based on your own experience?]

Living in Spring: [Smiling.]

Yu Xia redrew the script and showed it to the editor.

Editor: [This does have more tension. Go ahead and draw it as you see fit.]

Yu Xia glanced at the time—it was already midnight.

She peeked at the living room again. The man was leaning against the sofa, a cushion on his lap, his hands clasped on top of it as he wore headphones, seemingly watching a movie.

Noticing her gaze, he turned his head to look at her.

He raised an eyebrow.

It seemed to say: Not focused again?

Yu Xia didn’t feel guilty at all. She smiled at him, then quickly typed: [I’ll finish the drawing tomorrow. I need to sleep.]

Editor: [It’s only midnight, what do you need to sleep for?]

Living in Spring: [The cat is going to sleep now.]

Editor: [I see, you must not care about work anymore now that you have a man!]

Yu Xia pretended not to see that and didn’t reply. She got up and walked out of the study.

Lu Yanzhou pulled off his headphones and looked up at her. “Are you done drawing?”

“I… just need to use the bathroom.”

After using the bathroom, Yu Xia poured herself a glass of water in the kitchen, slowly sipping it. She set the cup down, took a deep breath, and walked towards the sofa.

During this whole process, Lu Yanzhou’s gaze hardly left her.

So, when she walked up to him with purpose and tossed the cushion off his lap before straddling him, he wasn’t surprised.

It seemed like she had rehearsed the entire move in her mind before acting on it.

Sometimes, she was so cute that it made him feel a little impulsive.

Lu Yanzhou tilted his head slightly, smiling as he looked at her. “Are you done drawing?”

“No, I’ll finish it tomorrow.” Yu Xia leaned on him, wrapping her arms around his neck. “It’s my boyfriend’s first night staying over. I can’t let him wait for me that long.”

Lu Yanzhou placed his hand on the back of her head, his fingertips lazily kneading the back of her neck. A tingling sensation spread from her neck throughout her body, making Yu Xia feel soft and relaxed in his embrace. His chin rested on her head, his voice low. “Am I disturbing your work?”

“A little…”

“Just a little? You’ve been sneaking glances at me several times.”

“……”

Yu Xia realized that Lu Yanzhou could be quite mischievous sometimes. He liked exposing her, enjoying watching her reactions when she was caught. Right now, he was probably wondering whether she would shyly avoid looking at him or kiss him back.

Yu Xia chose the latter.

She lifted her head, kissed him on the chin, and looked into his eyes. “With how strong your presence is here, if I could stay focused, that would mean I don’t like you as much.”

“I look at you because I like you.”

Lu Yanzhou swallowed, and with a shift in his posture, he pulled her closer, pressing his chin to her lips and kissing her deeply. Their lips and tongues tangled, unwilling to part. In the midst of the kiss, Yu Xia suddenly remembered something and gasped out, “The curtains…”

In the next second, she was lifted up by the man.

He stood up, casually pressing the still-playing movie on the laptop. Yu Xia clung to him like a koala, wrapping her arms around his neck, and gazing at him with a smile.

He held her by the back of her head, kissing her again as he carried her toward the bedroom. With a soft thud, the door slammed shut, and Yu Xia’s heart raced.

Together, they collapsed onto the soft bed. Lu Yanzhou looked down at her and asked softly, “I wasn’t watching the movie. I was watching you.”

He had never seen her draw before. When she couldn’t see him, his eyes were always on her.

Yu Xia smiled, her lips curling. “So, you’ve been sneaking peeks at me too?”

“I wasn’t sneaking a peek.” The man lowered his head and kissed her again, his kiss gentle yet his words firm, “I’m watching openly. You’re mine, so if I want to watch, I will.”

Yu Xia wasn’t sure if it was because of her confession or because of the experience from the previous night, but she could clearly feel that Lu Yanzhou was more urgent, more intense, and more dominant this time than last night.

When she saw what he pulled out of his pocket, she blushed and silently thought: Oh, he really came prepared. Men really are bad.

…..

Afterward, the man put on his pants and went out, bringing in a glass of water.

He walked to the bedside and pulled the woman, whose head was buried in the blanket, out. Yu Xia was still quite embarrassed, wrapping herself up in the blanket. She lowered her head and sipped the warm water. After soothing her throat, her voice was still a bit hoarse. “Do you have time this weekend?”

“What do you want to do?” Lu Yanzhou placed the cup on the nightstand.

Yu Xia leaned against him and told him about her plans with Tang Yue. “Tang Yue is my best friend. The last time she came to see me, I wanted to have you both over for a meal, but you thought I was introducing a girlfriend to you…”

“I misunderstood,” Lu Yanzhou replied.

Both of them chuckled a bit when recalling this misunderstanding.

Yu Xia then mentioned their new house. “I really like the design, but there are some areas I’d like to change. I can draw it out myself, which will make it easier to communicate with Gao Xiyuan.”

“Alright.” Lu Yanzhou leaned against the headboard, knowing she had more to say. He lowered his head and asked, “What else?”

“Maybe it’s because of my parents, but I’ve been quite independent since I was young. I started taking commissions for drawing and making money in university. I was lucky too, my first serialized comic did really well, with good sales for the publication and the merchandise. The mortgage isn’t too heavy, and I don’t spend much, so I have quite a bit of savings.” Yu Xia’s cheek was pressed against his chest, listening to the strong, reassuring beat of his heart. She tilted her head back and looked at him. “Can you tell me approximately how much the renovation will cost? I want to see if I can afford it.”

Lu Yanzhou paused for a moment. “Is this the only way you’ll feel comfortable?”

“Not necessarily, but it would make me feel better this way.” Yu Xia hugged his lean, firm waist. “Just tell me.”

Helpless, Lu Yanzhou told her the amount.

“So expensive…” Yu Xia knew that such renovations would cost a lot. Although she was prepared, she was still surprised. “My savings are only enough for just over half of it.”

“You’re still a little rich girl,” Lu Yanzhou chuckled softly. “If it’s not enough, I’ll make up the difference. Is that okay?”

“No!” Yu Xia was firm. She thought for a moment before adding, “There are some parts of the design I want to change. If I make those changes, maybe we can save some money. I’ll show you the design first.” She raised her eyebrows confidently. “I think you’ll like it. My taste isn’t bad.”

With these changes, the cost shouldn’t differ too much. She still had half a year to earn money, which should be enough to fill the gap.

She had already made up her mind, and what could Lu Yanzhou say? He could only laugh helplessly. “Alright.”

Yu Xia smiled happily at him, and the man raised an eyebrow. “You still seem quite energetic. Let’s go again.” He flipped over and pinned her down.

“…”

Yu Xia’s protest was useless.