Ming Hong felt puzzled.

When exactly was “a while”? It seemed like Fang Deng had been talking about their wedding for a long time, but there still didn’t seem to be any progress.

“It’s okay, everyone can go home now,” Qin Si seemed reluctant to discuss this matter further.

His mood was not particularly high, and apart from work, he didn’t have much to say.

…

It was already late at night.

He glanced at the time.

Lu Nian sent a message saying she wouldn’t come back for dinner tonight, so he lost interest in going home and stayed at the company until now.

Reading the message again, he couldn’t discern any tone.

It just said she wouldn’t come back for dinner, seemingly neither happy nor upset.

But there was also none of her usual clingy sweetness when she was happy.

He remembered the discussion about getting married.

He didn’t know how to bring up this matter with Lu Nian again.

He wanted to get married, really wanted to.

Logic told him that once they were married, their relationship would have an additional safeguard against her changing her mind.

But Lu Nian seemed to have reservations about this.

He had a high sense of pride.

After being rejected in his proposal, he couldn’t bring himself to ask again.

He also didn’t think she would agree now.

He could only maintain the current status quo. He didn’t know if she was just playing with him or what.

They had a small argument recently about Lu Nian staying up late to finish her drafts.

Was she still angry?

He was also in a bad mood, feeling that he might have interfered with her too much.

But seeing her in that state, coupled with memories of her frail health as a child, he really couldn’t bear it.

The scenery outside the car window passed by quickly, and they finally arrived home.

That day, Lu Nian finally succeeded in submitting her draft, and it was also the last day for Qiao Li to stay at their home.

None of the three were at home.

Lu Nian said she wanted to stay at school to finish her draft, Qiao Li had evening classes, and Qin Si was at the company.

From eight in the morning when they all left together until nine in the evening, the house was empty.

Lu Nian was the first to return home.

As soon as she opened the door, she felt that something was wrong.

Shortly afterward, she discovered that the problem originated from Qiao Li’s room.

She ran upstairs, and as soon as she reached the second floor, she saw a trickle of water flowing out onto the floor.

The source was Qiao Li’s bedroom.

Opening the door, her expression turned grim.

…

When Qin Si returned home and turned on the lights, he saw that the upstairs was lit.

Lu Nian happened to come out of a room, looking very serious.

They had just had an argument.

He wasn’t sure if she was still angry, and it seemed she ignored his presence.

With his head lowered, he changed his shoes, intending to go to the study for a while.

Lu Nian seemed numb, her tone flat as she said, “Something’s wrong, can you come and take a look?”

He paused in his steps.

“The faucet is broken,” she said. “The bathroom is leaking water.”

Qin Si went upstairs, silent.

Lu Nian continued, “Can we call someone to come and fix it at this hour?”

Otherwise, if the water kept flowing, they wouldn’t be able to sleep, and the whole house would be flooded.

Qin Si went into the bathroom and inspected it.

Calmly, he said, “There’s nothing serious.”

There were tools in the house, so he rolled up his sleeves and waded into the water.

In less than five minutes, the water stopped.

Lu Nian remained silent.

Lu Nian had a headache for a while and decided to take some painkillers.

“How about we ask Qiao Li not to come back?” Lu Nian glanced around the room.

The guest room’s bed was a low-style tatami bed, completely soaked by water.

It was impossible to sleep on it.

Qin Si hadn’t planned on having guests stay over, so apart from the two remaining beds in their bedroom, there was no other bedding available.

Just as she finished speaking, they heard movement at the door, and Qiao Li entered with his backpack.

Lu Nian stood on the second floor facing him.

Qiu Li looked puzzled. “Lu Nian, what’s wrong?”

Lu Nian wanted to facepalm.

It really was an unfortunate series of events.

After Qiao Li learned of the situation, he said, “Then, I’ll go back home and stay. I’ll take a taxi back now.”

It was supposed to be his last day here, and he had planned to leave the next day. Unexpectedly, this happened on the way.

“Forget it,” Lu Nian glanced at the time. “It’s too late. Don’t bother.”

Qiao Li’s place was more than two hours away by car, and if he drove back now, it would be well into the night by the time he reached home.

“You come and stay with us for the night,” Lu Nian suggested. “We’ll manage for one night.”

Lu Nian’s intention was for Qiao Li to stay in either her or Qin Si’s room, while she and Qin Si would share a bed for the night.

Qin Si glanced at her, his lips pursed tightly.

He said to Qiao Li, “You can sleep in mine.”

Lu Nian was somewhat surprised.

She thought Qin Si wouldn’t be willing to lend his room to Qiao Li, and she was about to suggest that Qiao Li could sleep in her room instead.

They had just had an argument not long ago, and she thought Qin Si might be stubborn for a while.

Unexpectedly, he was being so accommodating this time.

Then he added, with a distant expression and a cold tone, “I’ll sleep on the sofa.”

Lu Nian paused, confused.

Was he still mad and planning to give her the silent treatment?

How could Qiao Li accept? “No need, I’ll sleep on the sofa…”

Lu Nian couldn’t help but smile and interrupted him, “It’s okay. Go ahead, Qiao Li. Your health isn’t good, and sleeping on the sofa definitely won’t be comfortable.”

Qin Si pursed his lips, saying nothing.

He had volunteered, so he didn’t really mind sleeping on the sofa.

He had slept in much worse places when he was younger.

But even though he knew that Qiu Li meant more to Lu Nian than he did, it still made him uncomfortable to hear it so directly from her.

Qiao Li was surprised, opened his mouth as if to refuse.

Lu Nian blinked, smiled at him, and said, “Thank you, Mr. Qin. I’ll change the sheets and blankets.”

Qin Si kept his eyes lowered, his expression indifferent, saying nothing.

It was already very late.

After tidying up the room a bit, the three of them went to wash up separately.

Qin Si was tall, and the sofa in the living room looked a bit narrow for him.

Sleeping on it wasn’t very comfortable.

Feeling terrible, he decided to get up and continue working.

Upstairs, there were soft footsteps, and Qin Si sat up, turning on the floor lamp next to the sofa.

A girl in a light beige nightgown entered the room.

The summer night breeze was cool, and a sliver of her delicate ankle peeked out from under her skirt.

Tonight, she seemed to have used orange-scented body wash, and a faint sweet fragrance wafted through the air.

Qin Si sat up on the sofa, his eyelashes lowered, saying nothing.

“Is the sofa comfortable?” Lu Nian asked.

He remained silent.

“Is it really that comfortable?” She sat down next to him. “Are you enjoying it so much?”

She was petite and slender.

Sitting beside him made him feel stiff. “It’s not uncomfortable,” he replied.

Lu Nian thought to herself, ‘What’s the point of being so stubborn at this hour?’

“Since it’s so comfortable, why don’t I try it too?” she suggested.

The sofa was narrow to begin with, barely enough for one person, let alone two adults.

Lu Nian kept fidgeting, making Qin Si uncomfortable.

He thought about their recent cold war; she was the one ignoring him.

But he couldn’t control his reactions either.

Qin Si stood up abruptly from the sofa, his jaw clenched tightly, his voice hoarse. “I’ll go to the study.”

“Oh.” Lu Nian said, “Then go ahead. I’ll sleep here.”

Qin Si hesitated.

She actually didn’t even cover herself with the blanket; it seemed like she was really planning to camp out here.

Suddenly, Lu Nian felt light as she was lifted horizontally and carried upstairs.

“What are you doing?” Lu Nian couldn’t help but pound on his shoulder.

Qin Si remained silent, opening her bedroom door and tossing her onto the bed.

Wide-eyed, Lu Nian wondered what he would do next.

But Qin Si turned around and left without a word.

Lu Nian got up from the bed. “What are you doing?”

“Do you really want to sleep on the sofa? Is it that comfortable?” she asked. “Are you so angry that you don’t even want to sleep with me for one night because we had an argument?”

He froze in his steps.

The room fell silent.

“Am I at the level where we can sleep together?” he asked, his back turned to her, his expression unreadable.

Lu Nian was stunned.

She had made that level chart purely to tease him.

She hadn’t expected that, even after all this time, Qin Si would still care about what she said that day.

Did he actually calculate in his mind how many points he needed to reach the next level?

She couldn’t help but laugh.

Why was he so adorable?

Before, why hadn’t she noticed these playful aspects of his personality?

“You’ve gained a lot of points lately,” she said with a smile. “If you don’t mind me staying up late and if you speak a little more nicely, and don’t sulk, you’ll gain even more.”

“Come sleep with me,” Lu Nian got up, wrapping her soft arm around his waist. “I don’t want you to sleep on the sofa.”

It was unexpected that he would rather sleep on the sofa than suggest sleeping with her.

Actually, this bedroom was not meant for a single person; it was clearly a double bed.

But since he didn’t say anything, Lu Nian had always treated it as a single bed, hogging the entire space for herself.

His ears turned red as he pursed his lips, not saying anything about leaving.

The bed felt heavier, bearing the weight of a man, and slightly sank under the added pressure.

Lu Nian realized that the bed was much larger than she had thought.

With two people lying side by side, there was still a deep trench between them.

Qin Si slept very properly, his profile becoming even more handsome and indifferent.

It seemed like it had been days since they had been this close.

She pulled the blanket closer, looking at him with big eyes, and suddenly broke into a smile.

Finally, they were sleeping together for once, and if they didn’t do anything, wouldn’t it be a waste?

He had still argued with her.

Lu Nian leaned in, her voice playful, “Hey, are you asleep?”

His long eyelashes fluttered, and he opened his eyes, his pupils dark, with thin and elongated double eyelids, making his beautiful eyes seem so close.

Lu Nian mischievously said, “Let me tell you something.”

He turned slightly, seemingly wanting to hear what she had to say.

Lu Nian leaned closer and quickly kissed his collarbone peeking out from his neckline.

He stiffened.

Lu Nian found that faint red beauty mark of his, kissed it gently at first, then, sensing his reaction, couldn’t resist biting it.

His eyelashes trembled, and his fair skin quickly turned red.

“Afterward, will you still nag me about rushing the drafts?” she asked.

That was the root cause of their argument.

He remained stubborn. “…Only if you stay up late.”

Lu Nian raised an eyebrow.

She sat up, her long black hair cascading down like silk, tilting her head with a smile. “Is that so?”

The corner of the blanket was lifted, revealing the thin layers underneath.

She leaned her legs in, rubbing them against his, slowly climbing up like a vine around a tree.

The girl’s skin was smooth and delicate, like fine jade, lightly teasing, drawing near and then pulling away, her exposed face exceptionally charming and playful.

…

She was going to drive him crazy.

He took a deep breath, his eyes reddening.

Unable to suppress it any longer, he wanted to kiss her lips.

Lu Nian dodged his kiss, smiling as she withdrew her legs.

“I heard that intimacy shouldn’t be too frequent,” Lu Nian said. “Otherwise, you’ll get tired of it quickly.”

Qin Si didn’t understand why she suddenly said that.

Feeling uncomfortable all over, he could only suppress it.

Quickly recalling the recent lack of intimacy between them, he thought it was because of their argument.

Was it because she was already tired of him?

His heart sank, sinking deeper and deeper.

But then he heard Lu Nian ask, “Are you tired of it?”

“…No, I’m not tired,” he replied hoarsely, closing his eyes.

“That’s not right. Normally, you should get tired of it. You’re lying to me,” Lu Nian frowned, explaining on his behalf.

“Otherwise, it might be because we haven’t reached the final step yet.”

“Let’s try it,” she smiled, “Let’s see if you’ll get tired of it in the end.”

Outside, the summer breeze was cool, and Lu Nian suddenly felt a strong desire for him.

In fact, she had already had such thoughts long ago.

“Do you want it?” she asked softly, her lips brushing past his eyes, kissing those beautiful eyes, feeling his body’s warmth and unusual reaction, quickly stirred up by her, as always.

She leaned over, opening the bedside table drawer, where there was an unopened box of something.