Shang Xinglu was holding one hand to her face, which was flushed red, while the other was being pulled by Lin Heng as they exited the restaurant.

“Explosions feel great at first, but then it’s like a crematorium…”

Earlier, Lin Heng had been so assertive, his aura overwhelming. Even Lin Maosen had been somewhat intimidated and left first.

Shang Xinglu quickly put on her coat to cover up the bloodstains.

Shang Xinglu thought to herself: Who gave you the courage to wear a white dress out?

And then, of course, the bright red menstrual blood had stained it!

Though she couldn’t bear to look at it, just thinking about the scene…

Shang Xinglu cried out: “Wuwuwu, I can’t face anyone, Lin Heng, I can’t face anyone, what should I do?”

Lin Heng calmly replied, “…We’re abroad anyway.”

Shang Xinglu cried even louder.

“Is this how you comfort people?!”

Lin Yan laughed so hard he nearly collapsed, then said to Lin Heng, “Your wife is quite something!”

Shang Xinglu didn’t need to sob in front of Lin Yan, that was just a waste of the “sob.”

She glared at Lin Yan angrily.

Lin Yan met her gaze for a couple of seconds before bursting into laughter again.

Shang Xinglu: “…”

Forget it.

Isn’t it enough to just hide?!

Fuming, she got into the car.

Lin Heng and Lin Yan talked outside the car for a bit, and after they finished, Lin Yan waved to Shang Xinglu, grinning brightly, almost as if he knew she was watching.

Shang Xinglu: “…”

Just go away already.

Then, Lin Yan patted Lin Heng on the shoulder, and Lin Heng got into the car from the other side.

The car door slammed shut.

The driver started the car.

And then… silence.

After a while, Lin Heng gently coughed and asked, “Does your knee still hurt?”

Shang Xinglu, in a moment of emotional turmoil, buried her face in Lin Heng’s chest and answered, “I… I… I don’t want to be a person anymore!”

Lin Heng said seriously, “You still have to be a person.”

Just like how humans still need to be created.

“So embarrassing! Why do I keep running into these situations?”

Lin Heng replied, “Anyway, you didn’t embarrass yourself in front of anyone, so overall, it’s not too bad.”

Shang Xinglu chuckled.

When it comes to biting words, President Lin is actually top-notch, but he usually doesn’t bother with petty arguments, and there’s rarely any need for them.

The two returned to the hotel, and on the bed in the bedroom, there were still pregnancy test strips scattered around—test strips that were never used.

Now, they were completely unnecessary.

Shang Xinglu walked over and silently collected her “phantom limbs.”

To be honest, she felt a bit embarrassed at that moment.

Earlier, Lin Heng had thought she had a miscarriage, which is why he had gotten so angry.

This was the first time Shang Xinglu realized that Lin Heng could look so terrifying and angry.

As she stared at the pregnancy tests, her heart was filled with mixed emotions.

She hadn’t even had time to think about becoming a mother, and now that question had been quickly dismissed.

Before they went to eat, Lin Heng’s expression… should have been one of happiness, right? But then this misunderstanding happened.

Various thoughts popped up in her mind, but she wasn’t a person who paid attention to details, so she didn’t have time to think them through. The chaotic thoughts only made her go silent.

Lin Heng walked over, took the test strips from her hand, and said, “Don’t think too much about it.”

He kissed her forehead and said, “Go take a shower first.”

Shang Xinglu hummed in response and walked into the bathroom.

After she closed the door, Lin Heng tucked the pregnancy tests into a drawer. As he closed the drawer, he let out a nearly inaudible sigh.

After Shang Xinglu finished showering and came out, Lin Heng patted the bed beside him, signaling her to sit.

She sat next to him, and Lin Heng had a medicine box beside him.

He knelt on the carpet, placing Shang Xinglu’s foot on his leg. When he looked closely, the spot where her knee had been scraped earlier was red and swollen. Someone had been careless and didn’t worry about infection, letting the wound get wet.

He started by disinfecting it, and Shang Xinglu gritted her teeth in pain.

She squirmed and slapped the bed angrily, saying, “You’re doing this on purpose to get back at me!”

“What am I getting back at you for?” Lin Heng asked.

Shang Xinglu retorted, “I don’t care, you’re getting back at me! President Lin, you’re such a petty person!”

Lin Heng, who had somehow been called petty: “…”

After disinfecting, he applied some medicine and bandaged the wound. Actually, it wasn’t necessary to bandage it, but since someone had been especially careless, Lin Heng had to be extra careful.

At this point, Shang Xinglu dramatically said, “Can you tie a bow for me?”

Then Lin Heng coldly and ruthlessly secured it with medical tape.

Shang Xinglu: “Wuwuwu.”

This tasteless, aesthetically clueless man!

After the bandaging was done, Lin Heng packed up the medicine box, but Shang Xinglu quickly grabbed it.

Lin Heng sighed helplessly. “What do you need the medicine box for?”

Shang Xinglu pouted, “It’s my turn to get back at you!”

Lin Heng: “…”

Was she planning to hurt him, then repeat the bandaging process?

This time, Shang Xinglu pressed Lin Heng onto the edge of the bed, which allowed her to finally see the top of his head.

…It felt kind of new.

She couldn’t resist, and reached up to pat his head a couple of times, which earned her a helpless look from Lin Heng.

Shang Xinglu smiled, saying, “You criticize me, but you didn’t even notice when your own hand got hurt… Seriously.”

She gently lifted his hand.

With its distinct joints and long fingers, Lin Heng’s hand looked beautiful—not like a CEO’s hand at all, more like an artist’s.

However, the hand that had been used for hitting was bruised between the joints and even had a few small cuts.

Shang Xinglu frowned deeply.

…Heartache.

That so-called “Uncle”—what kind of nonsense was he? Was he even worthy of being punched by Lin Heng?!

Disgusting hands!

No matter how you looked at it, Lin Heng was the one at a loss!

Shang Xinglu carefully disinfected the wounds where his skin was broken, applied a bandage, and then wrapped some ice in a towel to gently press against it.

After she finished, Lin Heng pulled her into his arms.

He held her in silence.

No words—just holding her.

His chin rested against the curve of her shoulder, his warm breath brushing against her neck, ticklish but without a trace of desire.

At this moment, Shang Xinglu felt that the Lin Heng embracing her was different from his usual self.

Uncharacteristically clingy.

…Not annoying.

In fact, she liked it very much.

Lin Heng said, “I’m sorry.”

“For dragging you into all of this again.”

But Shang Xinglu raised her little fists and said, “Ugh, ugh, ugh! Who does he think he is?! Bloodline? I swear—”

She quickly censored her own cursing and continued, “—Anyway, he has no right to insult you! If he dares to scold you, I’ll scold him back. Karma will come for him!”

Thinking back to what had just happened, she got even more furious.

“Ahhhhh! I’m so mad!!! I’m gonna make a voodoo doll of him and stick needles in it when we get back!!!”

Lin Heng let out a low chuckle.

His chest rumbled with laughter, and since they were so close, Shang Xinglu could feel the vibrations in her ears and all over her body.

Lin Heng had never cared about Lin Maosen’s verbal attacks.

Why should a victor care about the barking of a sore loser?

But today, for the first time, someone cared on his behalf—someone who fought back for him.

Not because of any external interests or power struggles.

Just because she wanted to. Just because she was angry.

Lin Heng kissed her ear, then her earlobe, then her neck.

Shang Xinglu instinctively wriggled away.

“That tickles…”

Lin Heng whispered, “Louise, I want to…”

Before he could finish—

Shang Xinglu turned her head and said, “No, you don’t.”

Lin Heng: “…?”

He asked, “What do you think I was going to say?”

Shang Xinglu eyed him suspiciously. “Weren’t you about to say ‘OOXX’???”

Lin Heng: “…”

Shang Xinglu: “But I’m on my period.”

Lin Heng: “…………….”

Tonight, in his arms, was a mood-killing Shang Xinglu.

Within a second, Lin Heng released her.

“Go to sleep.” He said coolly.

Shang Xinglu: “???”

That attitude…

And he dared to say he wasn’t thinking about “OOXX”?!

She was the one who brought it up, and now he suddenly didn’t want to anymore?! What kind of divine lie was that?!

Hmph, men never understand the struggles of women on their periods!

A moment ago, they had been getting along so well—now they were sleeping back to back.

---

In the middle of the night, Shang Xinglu stealthily climbed out of bed.

She tiptoed to the tea station outside the bedroom to boil some water, then rummaged through her bag for painkillers.

Truth be told, she was having cramps.

Not unbearable, but still uncomfortable.

She took the pills, drank some hot water, and felt much better—except that she was only wearing a camisole, so even with the heating on, her hands and feet were ice-cold.

Shang Xinglu crept back into the bedroom.

She sneaked over to Lin Heng’s side, saw that he was still asleep, and grew bolder.

This infuriating Lin Heng!

How could he change moods so fast?!

What did she even do wrong?!

She had been fuming, but looking at Lin Heng’s sleeping face, her anger slowly melted away…

She couldn’t help but marvel—love was truly powerful.

A face-lover like her really had no dignity.

She was actually watching someone sleep and forgetting to be mad?!

Then suddenly, she froze.

…Wait, what did she just say?

Shang Xinglu, do you dare to say that again?!

Shang Xinglu: “……..”

She quickly rolled back to her side. Sleep, sleep, sleep!

But she couldn’t fall asleep.

She rolled over again to look at Lin Heng’s sleeping face.

Lin Heng was a light sleeper.

No matter how quietly she moved, she couldn’t be completely silent.

Getting in and out of bed, tossing and turning—by now, he was already awake.

But he kept his eyes closed, patiently waiting to see what she was up to.

The person who had been facing away from him suddenly snuck closer, resting her head on his shoulder, wrapping her cold hands and legs around him.

Lin Heng—what was he even mad about anymore?

Fine, fine, whatever.

Just as he was about to pull her into his arms, she suddenly lifted her head, leaned in close to his ear, and whispered quickly—

“…I love you.”

Then she buried herself back against him.

Lin Heng: “!”

His breathing deepened.

It was like walking through endless darkness and finally seeing light.

Like a traveler searching for treasure, finally finding something rare and precious.

Like a long-abandoned garden of thorns, where a vibrant rose suddenly bloomed.

Lin Heng’s eyelashes trembled.

He didn’t open his eyes.

He simply turned over and, to Shang Xinglu’s shock, pulled her into a tight embrace.

He whispered, “Me too.”

Shang Xinglu: “!”

Ahhh! He eavesdropped! That’s against the rules!

Referee, disqualify him from the game!!!