Chapter 12: Like This, Do You Feel It?

The sofa at Shi Zhen’s home wasn’t very long, and its width could barely accommodate an adult.

Xie Qian was over 1.8 meters tall, and lying on it, he couldn’t even straighten his legs. He had to slightly bend his knees just to barely manage to sleep on it.

In order to make Xie Qian as comfortable as possible, Shi Zhen had carefully laid two blankets on the sofa, placed an electric blanket between them, and topped it off with a little bunny-patterned quilt.

There were only two pillows in the house—the ones on her bed. So Shi Zhen simply brought out the one she usually hugged while sleeping.

Xie Qian’s face had been flushed red the entire time, and his hands were even more alarming, with small red blotches appearing on the knuckles where the joints protruded.

He was dressed far too lightly. Northeastern nights could easily drop to below minus ten degrees Celsius.

Wearing only a wool coat, which provided barely any warmth, it was no wonder he was close to frostbite.

Shi Zhen was someone who paid great attention to detail. She could easily spot the smallest changes in a person. Xie Qian’s skin was very fair, so even the slightest redness stood out. Not to mention, this wasn’t just a little redness—it was shockingly red.

Worried that the frostbite might worsen overnight, Shi Zhen brought out her Vaseline and face cream and placed them on the coffee table.

Then she found an old down jacket that Shi Daguo had discarded. At home, Shi Zhen liked to wear loose clothing, so she had brought it along.

Though the jacket was kind of ugly, as long as it worked, that was all that mattered.

Shi Zhen handed the jacket to Xie Qian, then opened the Vaseline lid and scooped a little out with a spoon.

“Brother Xie, you’re wearing way too little. There’s no doubt you’re frostbitten. This jacket might be old, but it’s super warm. Go ahead and change into it. Also, this Vaseline—apply it on the frostbitten areas. Tomorrow I’ll go to the pharmacy and get you some medicine.”

Xie Qian took the jacket without speaking, staring at the black down coat in his hands for a long time.

It was a very ordinary men’s down jacket. Judging by its size, it belonged to a tall, thin man around 1.8 to 1.85 meters in height.

The cuffs showed signs of slight wear and tear, indicating it had been worn for quite some time. If it weren’t from someone close, why would an old piece of clothing like this be kept at a girl’s home?

Xie Qian’s heart suddenly sank—did Shi Zhen have a boyfriend?

And her boyfriend actually let her live in a place like this?

His girlfriend couldn’t even afford food, and he was just standing by doing nothing?!

The more Xie Qian thought about it, the angrier he got. Even the stingiest of the rich kids he knew had at least given their girlfriend an apartment before breaking up.

How could Shi Zhen choose such a boyfriend—one who neither spent money nor offered help?

Was her taste really this bad?

Watching Xie Qian’s rapidly changing expression and how the fire in his eyes was practically burning through the coat, Shi Zhen was confused.

Was he… angry because the jacket was too ugly?

“Brother Xie, I’ve already washed this coat. And I’ve only worn it a few times—it’s clean, just a bit ugly. Just make do with it for the night…”

“You’ve worn it before?” Xie Qian’s brows furrowed as he looked at Shi Zhen with an unhappy expression.

“Yes, yes I have.” Shi Zhen nodded, baffled.

Before the heating was turned on, it got really cold inside. When she was writing scripts, she wore this jacket from Shi Daguo—it was super warm.

Shi Zhen was extremely glad she had brought it with her. Otherwise, she probably would’ve caught a cold.

Xie Qian grew even more upset. What a devoted girlfriend—her boyfriend was such a scumbag, yet she still wore the only piece of clothing he’d left behind out of longing, just to feel like he was still around.

Hmph, just like all men—they don’t cherish what they have once they get it.

So foolish!

“He lets you live here?” Xie Qian asked. “He’s okay with that?”

Shi Zhen didn’t immediately understand who “he” referred to—was he talking about Shi Daguo?

After a pause, she hesitated and replied, “He doesn’t know I’m living here. I lied and told him I went to another city.”

Xie Qian felt like he was going to cough up blood. This girl gave everything when she fell in love, always thinking of the other person, but never her own situation!

Shi Zhen had no idea what was going through his head. Right now, she was only worried about one thing: if Brother Xie didn’t apply Vaseline soon, what if his frostbite got worse and disfigured his face?

She had to admit—Xie Qian was the most handsome man she had ever seen.

Especially his phoenix-shaped eyes—even an accidental blink could stir one’s soul.

His long, fan-like lashes fluttered playfully like tiny fairies, completely neutralizing the cold aura around him.

Shi Zhen was truly panicking!

This face—better looking than any movie star—if it got ruined, that would be an absolute waste of nature’s gift!

“Brother Xie, have you ever heard of someone having their ears freeze off in winter? Just like you, he got frostbitten outside. Then he came inside and didn’t feel cold, actually felt warm. Then, after a while, he rubbed his ear and guess what?”

Shi Zhen lowered her voice, making it sound eerie, “He felt something in his hand, looked down—and it was his own ear!”

Xie Qian: …

He really wanted to say, Girl, I’m 29, not 9.

Trying to make him obedient by telling stories? That method stopped working on him decades ago.

Still, it had an unexpected effect—his nameless anger had largely subsided, and he suddenly found it quite amusing.

Was Shi Zhen trying to trick him like a child?

Even Lady Lan never told him stories like this.

It was kind of funny. And… kind of endearing?

“Thanks. I promise I won’t let my ears freeze off.”

Clearing his thoughts, Xie Qian took off his coat and put on the “scumbag’s” down jacket.

Then he obediently accepted the Vaseline from Shi Zhen. He hadn’t felt anything before, but after hearing her story, he actually did feel his skin faintly burning.

After hurriedly applying it to both hands, he scooped out a large dollop to apply to his face.

Shi Zhen immediately snatched the Vaseline away and stopped him. “No! Don’t use that on your face!”

Then she shoved the face cream into his hand. “Try not to use Vaseline on your face—use this instead.”

Xie Qian nodded and obediently applied the face cream.

Whether it was a placebo effect or not, Shi Zhen felt like his face looked noticeably more radiant.

That rosy, apple-like glow—appearing so out of place on a grown man’s face—somehow had a charm of its own.

Shi Zhen couldn’t help herself. She slowly reached out and gently touched Xie Qian’s face.
“Like this, do you feel it?”

Xie Qian felt a ticklish sensation where Shi Zhen had touched him.

Her fingertips felt even cooler than the night air. Though she had only tapped his face, the chill seemed to shoot straight into his heart.

Xie Qian uncomfortably turned his head away, stammering, “I… I didn’t feel anything.”

Shi Zhen quickly withdrew her hand, suddenly sensing that something felt off in the atmosphere.

She gave an awkward laugh and stood up. “Then I won’t disturb you anymore. I’ll head back to my room. Good night.”

With that, she hurriedly walked back to the bedroom and closed the door.

Naturally, she couldn’t see that the face of a certain someone sitting on the sofa had turned even redder than before.

“…Good night.”

Xie Qian let out a deep breath and lifted the blanket off the sofa before sitting back down.

When he touched the fleece blanket beneath the comforter, his hand paused slightly. It was very warm—so warm, in fact, that he could feel heat radiating onto his hand.

Suddenly, he remembered the days at Pingshan, when he and Lan Zezhong had shared a warm kang bed.

Long-buried memories that he had avoided touching surged up, struggling madly to break free from the cage he had painstakingly built to contain them.

Xie Qian clutched the soft blanket tightly, the veins on the back of his hand bulging before slowly relaxing.

After calming himself, he turned off the living room lights and lay down on the sofa.

Shi Zhen had arranged this space quite comfortably. He could even smell a faint fragrance in the air.

It was a sweet scent—maybe from the comforter, or perhaps the pillow.

Xie Qian felt completely surrounded by the scent. He turned his head, grabbed the little bunny’s ear, and brought it close to his nose, taking a shallow sniff.

It smelled like strawberries—faint, but distinct.

Ms. Lan had the scent of expensive perfume. Yueyue had the scent of ice cream and cupcakes.

Xie Qian thought, Shi Zhen smells like strawberries.

Back in her room, Shi Zhen tidied up the messy wardrobe she had rummaged through earlier looking for the blanket.

Then she turned on her computer—thankfully, WeChat was still logged in.

She opened the file transfer panel, where she found the call logs of Zhang Meiren and Chen Hong, along with the video she had hastily uploaded of the hygiene conditions at the milk tea shop.

Shi Zhen copied Chen Hong’s phone number and sent her a friend request.

In the note section, she wrote:

I’m Shi Zhen. You maliciously twisted the truth and misled others to come to my home and cause trouble. That’s already a criminal offense. If you continue, I will report you to the police. Also, I’ve already filed a complaint with the relevant authorities. Do you really think the regulatory department belongs to your family?

She was indeed a newcomer to society, a total rookie—but that didn’t mean she could be bullied as others pleased!

Shi Zhen didn’t care whether Chen Hong would accept the friend request or not. As long as she read the note, that was enough.

Chen Hong was different from Zhang Meiren. She had a brain and knew how to adapt to circumstances, unlike Zhang Meiren, who only knew how to throw her weight around and act above the law.

After that, Shi Zhen logged into the 12315 food safety complaint website, truthfully uploaded the video, and detailed a series of facts, promptly reporting Chen Hong’s milk tea shop.

Then she closed the browser and finally let out a sigh of relief.

Suddenly, she thought of the 5,000-plus yuan in her WeChat wallet and felt a wave of frustration.

Her phone being broken meant that she was now truly penniless. And even if she wanted to return the 5,000 yuan to Xie Qian, he wouldn’t accept it.

What else could she do?

How could she quietly give the money back to Xie Qian?

Got it!

A lightbulb went off in Shi Zhen’s head. She remembered that when they first started chatting, Xie Qian mentioned he had spent some time in the Northeast.

Returning to a familiar place might stir emotions. What if I invited him to spend a few days in Xiaoshan?

The more she thought about it, the more she liked the idea. Excited, she flung open the door. “Brother Xie, you—”

Her breath caught slightly. The moment she saw the scene in the living room, she instantly fell silent.

In the pitch darkness, Xie Qian was already fast asleep. His heavy, steady breathing echoed softly throughout the room.

He was sleeping wrapped in a down jacket. Perhaps because the electric blanket was too warm, the comforter had been pushed beneath him.

Shi Zhen tiptoed over to his side and gently tugged the comforter out from under him, pulling it over his feet.

As she leaned in closer, she noticed that one of Xie Qian’s hands was holding onto the bunny’s ear on the comforter.

Asleep, Xie Qian had completely shed his usual commanding aura. The way he clutched the bunny’s ear looked a little… silly and cute.

He resembled a baby just a few months old, hugging a comfort toy while sleeping soundly.

Shi Zhen was suddenly overcome with playfulness—she really wanted to take a picture!

Scanning the area, she spotted Xie Qian’s phone on the coffee table.

She gently picked it up and pressed the screen.

As expected, the phone could take photos without unlocking.

Suppressing a giggle, Shi Zhen aimed the camera at Xie Qian.

Click.

A warm, tender moment was frozen in time. Xie Qian’s phone now held a photo he didn’t even know existed.