Page 18

After the KTV gathering, Shen Yue personally took Yu Wei home. When Yu Wei saw Shen Yue’s motorcycle, she couldn’t help but sincerely praise, “It’s so beautiful!”

Before meeting Shen Yue, Yu Wei had never come into contact with heavy motorcycles. After becoming his girlfriend, she decided to learn more about them so they could have more shared interests in the future. Seeing a motorcycle up close for the first time, she thought it was pretty cool.

Shen Yue’s Ducati motorcycle was entirely black, and under the night sky, its body seemed to gleam. This high-displacement motorcycle, nicknamed the “Little Cannonball,” was Shen Yue’s favorite among all his bikes.

Upon hearing Yu Wei’s praise, instead of feeling happy, Shen Yue felt a faint sense of oddity.

He straddled the motorcycle, one foot resting on the ground and one hand gripping the handlebar. Looking back at Yu Wei with a scrutinizing gaze, he asked, “Haven’t you seen it before?”

Yu Wei’s heart skipped a beat. Despite the hot weather, a cold sweat began to form on her back. She forced a smile and replied nonchalantly, “I’ve always thought it looked great. I just never had the chance to say it before.”

Only then did Shen Yue smile faintly and casually praise, “Your motorcycle is nice too.”

Yu Wei responded with a calm “Mm,” but when she got onto the bike, her slightly stiff and awkward movements betrayed her.

Shen Yue noticed her unfamiliar posture while getting on and felt the strange feeling in his heart grow stronger.

Unable to resist, he tested her again. “It was you I met before, right?”

Yu Wei’s heartbeat quickened. Did Shen Yue suspect something?

She was confident she hadn’t made any obvious mistakes.

Suppressing her emotions, Yu Wei turned her head away and pretended to be annoyed. “Who else could it be if not me?”

Shen Yue made an indistinct sound in response, but deep down, a seed of doubt had already been planted.

—

After accepting Shang Su’s commission, Yu Sheng had been locked in her room, focusing on her artwork. She had already discarded several sketches, feeling unsatisfied with each one. Something was missing, but she couldn’t quite pinpoint what.

After crumpling yet another piece of paper and tossing it into the trash, she finally realized she was hungry.

Checking the time, she saw it was already past 11 PM.

As someone who often stayed up late, she wasn’t planning to sleep until she had completed a satisfactory piece. Stretching, she left her room and went downstairs to see if there was any leftover food in the kitchen.

Just as she reached the first floor, Yu Wei arrived home.

Yu Sheng thought Yu Wei would ignore her and go straight to her room as usual. But surprisingly, Yu Wei walked over and even called out, “Sis.”

Hearing this, Yu Sheng’s lips curved into a faint smile, and she accepted the greeting without hesitation.

Just as she was wondering what Yu Wei was up to, Yu Wei spoke. “Sis, where’s your motorcycle?”

At the mention of the motorcycle, Yu Sheng suddenly remembered that she had left it where she encountered those gangsters earlier in the afternoon. She wasn’t even sure if it was still there. She looked at Yu Wei, puzzled. How did she know she had bought a motorcycle today?

“What’s the matter?” Yu Sheng asked calmly.

“I want to learn to ride, so I’d like to use yours for practice.”

Practice?

That excuse was so weak it could only fool a child.

Yu Sheng knew that Yu Wei received a generous monthly allowance. Buying a new motorcycle would be no problem for her. Why would she need to use Yu Sheng’s?

No matter how she looked at it, Yu Wei’s reasoning didn’t make sense.

Since Yu Sheng didn’t have the bike with her anyway, she chose to tell the truth. “It’s not with me right now.”

Yu Wei immediately asked, “Then where is it?”

Yu Sheng didn’t answer right away.

Yu Wei pressed further. “At least tell me the model. I’ll buy one myself.”

Seeing how eager Yu Wei was, Yu Sheng chuckled. “I don’t know exactly. I just bought a random no-name brand from a roadside shop.” This wasn’t entirely false—she had indeed picked a bike on a whim.

Realizing she couldn’t get any useful information, Yu Wei grew frustrated. Taking a deep breath, she said, “Sis, it’s just a motorcycle. You can’t even share that with me? I even gave you my sports car before.”

Yu Sheng found this amusing. “Oh?” She drawled before continuing slowly, “But didn’t the car end up back in your hands anyway?”

Yu Wei looked momentarily embarrassed before snapping, “Dad said he’d buy you a new one! And anyway, you were out racing today, weren’t you? Does Dad know about this?”

Yu Sheng’s eyes sparkled mischievously as she smiled innocently. “Was I racing? I don’t remember at all. Don’t go making things up in front of Dad.”

Yu Wei’s eyes widened in disbelief.

Wasn’t Yu Sheng just some country girl?

Why was she so cunning? She could outright deny something like this without batting an eye?

If Yu Sheng refused to admit it in front of their father, he wouldn’t punish her.

Just then, Yu Wei’s phone rang. Seeing that it was Shen Yue calling, she stormed off to her room to answer the call.

Yu Sheng shrugged indifferently.

She went into the kitchen but found no ready-to-eat food. Too lazy to wake the cook, she made herself a bowl of tomato and egg noodles.

Hungry, even simple tomato and egg noodles tasted extra delicious.

As she ate, she continued thinking about her artwork.

But even after eating, she still had no inspiration. What now?

She took a big bite of tomato, racking her brain.

Then, an idea struck her—her source of inspiration: Shen Yao.

Every time she saw him, inspiration would flow endlessly.

He was practically her muse.

Thinking of Shen Yao, even the delicious noodles suddenly lost their appeal.

She set down her chopsticks and picked up her phone.

It was already 11:30 PM. Would he be asleep?

Not wanting to disturb him, she sent a message instead: “Shen Shen, are you asleep?”

She held her phone, waiting anxiously.

A minute later, Shen Yao replied: “No. What’s up?”

He wasn’t asleep!

Excited, Yu Sheng immediately sent a FaceTime request.

Shen Yao had just finished showering. His wet hair was dripping, and he was wearing only a towel around his waist, revealing his muscular chest and sculpted abs.

He reached for his phone, intending to decline the call, but water dripped onto the screen. His finger slipped—

And he accidentally accepted!

Yu Sheng stared at the screen, momentarily stunned by his handsome, bare-chested appearance.

Three seconds later, just as she was about to speak, Shen Yao hastily hung up.

A few seconds later, Yu Sheng received a text message from Shen Yao:

“Sorry, I accidentally clicked the wrong button. If you need anything, just text me.”

The smile on Yu Sheng’s lips unconsciously grew wider and wider. Then, as if she couldn’t hold it in anymore, she burst into laughter.

She hadn’t missed the sight of his slightly flushed ear tips just before the video call was cut off.

He looked really cute. It made her fingers itch to touch them.

Shen Yao had a mysterious effect on her. Normally, just seeing him would make her feel creatively recharged, as if her inspiration had been replenished. But this time, after seeing Shen Yao’s bare body, her inspiration felt like it had exploded all at once!

As she replied to Shen Yao, Yu Sheng couldn’t help but savor the memory of his physique.

He was the epitome of “slim in clothes, toned underneath.” She never would have guessed that beneath his usual attire, his body carried such an explosive strength.

“It’s okay, Shen Shen. Rest early, good night.”

After seeing Shen Yao’s body, Yu Sheng felt completely satisfied. Now she had both inspiration and a fantastic mood. After sending the message, she quickly finished the rest of her noodles, placed the bowl in the dishwasher, and prepared to return to her room to continue creating.

As she reached the stairs, Shen Yao’s reply arrived.

“Two female bodyguards will move into the villa next to yours tomorrow. They won’t interfere with your daily life but will be there to protect you at all times. As for your motorcycle, I’ll have someone bring it to your house tomorrow. Good night.”

A warmth rose in Yu Sheng’s heart as she read his message.

Whether in her past life or this one, it seemed like she had always been distant from deep, familial bonds.

In her previous life, she had no parents since childhood and was raised by her grandparents. As she grew older, her grandparents aged as well, and within a few years, they both passed away. The year they left her, she had just started third grade.

In this life, her parents clearly favored their younger daughter, Yu Wei, showering her with far more attention and care. Yu Sheng understood it well. After all, one was a daughter they had loved and raised for eighteen years, while the other was a daughter they had only recently found less than a month ago. The difference in closeness was obvious.

And yet, Shen Yao was currently the one who seemed to care the most about her safety.

Even though—including tonight’s accidental FaceTime—they had only met three times.

Yu Sheng had the sudden urge to ask him: “Are you this good to everyone?”

But deep down, an intuition told her that she was special to Shen Yao.

His distant and unapproachable demeanor was not an act.

Lowering her eyes, Yu Sheng carefully typed out her reply.

Although they had already said goodnight, and their conversation should have ended, she still wanted to send him something.

“Okay, Shen Shen. Thank you. （づ￣3￣）づ╭～”

Shen Yao’s response came even faster this time—almost instantaneously.

“You’re welcome. Good night.”

Though his tone wasn’t particularly affectionate, Yu Sheng was already satisfied.

One day, she would make sure his texts included an exclusive nickname for her—“baby.”

Back in her room, Yu Sheng found herself utterly inspired, as if she had unlocked some supernatural ability.

Before long, she had finished a vampire-themed illustration of Shang Su.

In the painting, Shang Su’s complexion was pale, her eyes a striking, blood-red hue, and her lips as crimson as fresh blood. Two sharp fangs peeked from the corners of her mouth, where trickles of blood snaked downward, pooling at her chin. Her head was slightly bowed, but her gaze held a predatory intensity as she stared forward.

She wore a black, strapless slit dress adorned with shimmering silver sequins across her chest. Nestled in the hollow of her collarbone was a dewy, deep red rose. Over her dress, she had a short, rose-red jacket draped around her shoulders.

One leg was planted firmly while the other was slightly extended outward, her posture exuding both nonchalance and allure. Black silk ribbons intertwined around her legs, spiraling up to her thighs.

The entire composition was stunningly seductive, captivating at first glance.

Yu Sheng admired her work with satisfaction.

Glancing at the time, she realized it was already 5 a.m. The sky was beginning to brighten.

But she felt no trace of drowsiness. Her heart pounded wildly, exhilarated by her creative high.

Looking at the vampire illustration she had just drawn, she suddenly felt an itch in her heart.

Why not bring it to life?

Without hesitation, Yu Sheng sat before her vanity and used the makeup products on hand to create a vampire look on herself.

Once finished, she found that the transformation was so drastic that she felt completely at ease uploading her vampire-makeup photo to Weibo.

She even added a playful caption:

“Don’t you think I look like a perfect match for Mr. Devil? （づ￣3￣）づ╭～”

What Yu Sheng didn’t expect, however, was that this seemingly ordinary selfie would cause an uproar online—one even hotter than a blazing summer.