When did he come over? How did I not notice at all?
Yu Yan was taken aback and said, “I don’t know them, just two strangers from out of town. They asked to borrow my phone for a bit.”
“Borrow your phone?” He Shuliu asked suspiciously. “Why would they want to borrow your phone?”
“Maybe I looked easy to talk to…” Yu Yan gently nudged him. “Forget about them, let’s hurry back and eat. I’m so hungry I can barely walk.”
He Shuliu, hearing this, actually asked her quite seriously, “Should I carry you over?”
“……KEŠA.”
Yu Yan was speechless. Afraid he might actually pick her up in front of everyone, she quickly sped up and walked ahead.
He Shuliu chuckled, glanced again in the direction the brother and sister had left, then took large strides to catch up with Yu Yan.
When they returned to the dining room, all the dishes had already been served.
As usual, He Shuliu took care of Yu Yan first, skillfully cracking open the crab, his nimble movements drawing envious glances from several nearby tables.
Yu Yan recalled the scene at the studio where he was the center of attention, and couldn’t help but ask, “It’s your first day at work today. How does it feel?”
“It’s okay?” He Shuliu said nonchalantly. “The colleagues are pretty annoying, but the pay’s decent, so I can put up with it for now.”
Yu Yan: “…………”
He didn’t look like someone who was just putting up with things.
Yu Yan rested her chin in one hand and idly twirled the lemon slice on her glass with the other. “You seemed pretty popular to me.”
“Yeah, those people said I was easy to photograph…” Before He Shuliu could finish, he looked at her with sudden excitement. “Yan Yan, are you jealous?”
Jealous…? Why would she be jealous?
She didn’t even like him.
Yu Yan was baffled by his question. “I just think it’s a good thing. What are you talking about?”
He Shuliu’s eyes flickered. “How is that a good thing?”
“Being popular means you’ll fit in better with them.” Yu Yan, not noticing his slightly odd expression, continued, “Isn’t that a good thing?”
He Shuliu stared at her intently, saying nothing.
Yu Yan didn’t know what he was thinking, but his gaze was so deep and unreadable that she instinctively wanted to avoid it.
Luckily, her phone lit up just then. She quickly looked down and saw there was a new notification in the Work Group.
This time, it wasn’t work-related, but a reminder to be careful about what they posted online and not to spread any rumors about Lin Rang.
Yu Yan took a sip of juice and smoothly changed the subject: “Do you remember that Lin Rang from our department?”
“Lin Rang?” He Shuliu thought for a moment. “Isn’t he that ugly guy who sent you home after the last Department Dinner?”
…He wasn’t that ugly, was he?
Yu Yan was silent for a few seconds. “Yeah, that’s him.”
“I remember.” He Shuliu’s expression instantly turned to disgust. “Did he harass you again?”
Yu Yan paused again. “No, he won’t be bothering me anymore.”
“Why not?” He Shuliu asked casually.
Yu Yan: “Because he’s dead.”
He Shuliu seemed surprised for a moment, then burst out laughing with delight.
“Really?” he asked between laughs. “When did that happen?”
“Last night.” Yu Yan hesitated, then corrected herself uncertainly, “Maybe this morning. Not sure of the exact time yet.”
Seeing her calm expression, as if she wasn’t joking, the smile on He Shuliu’s face slowly faded.
“He really died?” His eyes widened, round as a startled cat’s. “I thought you were kidding.”
“Of course it’s true.” Yu Yan showed him the Work Group notification. “The police came to the company to investigate today.”
“Even the police came…” He Shuliu propped his head up, looking thoughtful. “So it wasn’t suicide or sudden death?”
“The preliminary guess is homicide, but whether it was a crime of passion or premeditated, no one knows yet…” Yu Yan spoke, her delicate brows furrowing in concern. “Could there really be a killer lurking around here?”
He Shuliu reached out and gently smoothed her brows with his clean knuckles.
“Don’t worry,” he said softly and earnestly. “I’ll protect you.”
Yu Yan:
…Better protect yourself first.
He Shuliu just smiled unconcernedly and continued cracking open crab legs.
Watching his carefree attitude, Yu Yan actually felt a little relieved.
Thankfully, he came back from the mountain that night. Otherwise, with how things are going, he might be targeted by the killer any day now.
A killer wouldn’t spare him just because he’s good-looking.
Yu Yan picked up her chopsticks, grabbed a piece of fish drenched in sauce, and put it in her mouth, her brows immediately knotting.
…Awful.
“How bad is it?” He Shuliu blinked. “Let me try.”
Yu Yan held out the bitten piece of fish to him, and he opened his mouth and took it right from her chopsticks.
Yu Yan watched him chew. “Well? Isn’t it terrible?”
He Shuliu swallowed, licked the corner of his mouth, and looked at her innocently. “I couldn’t really tell. Feed me another piece?”
Yu Yan:
As if she couldn’t tell he was just tricking her into feeding him.
She had planned to refuse, but as soon as she met He Shuliu’s pleading gaze, she quietly picked up another piece of fish.
Fine, after they break up, they won’t be eating together anymore. She might as well indulge him a few more times now.
One was cracking crabs, the other feeding fish, and just like that, they took over an hour to finish the meal.
He Shuliu ended up eating the entire plate of fish himself. Yu Yan still didn’t know if the fish tasted good or not, but He Shuliu seemed quite happy with it.
When they got home, Yu Yan was exhausted. She put down her bag and went straight to take a shower.
Halfway through, she realized the shower gel was gone.
She searched all over the bathroom but couldn’t find any backup, wracked her brain, and finally remembered that she’d left the new shower gel in the guest room last time and hadn’t brought it over.
Now she was halfway through her shower, and going out naked to get it didn’t seem right—especially with He Shuliu right outside…
Yu Yan hesitated for a moment, then decided to ask He Shuliu for help.
She went to the bathroom door and knocked twice.
“What’s up?” He Shuliu’s voice quickly came from outside.
“I’m out of shower gel,” Yu Yan said. “Could you get me a new bottle? It’s in the storage box in the guest room.”
“Okay.”
There was the sound of footsteps moving away. Yu Yan wrapped her towel tightly around herself and waited patiently by the door.
Soon, the footsteps returned. He Shuliu was back outside the bathroom.
“Found it,” he called from outside.
Yu Yan heard him, opened the door a crack, and reached out to take the shower gel from He Shuliu.
But just as she was about to grab it, He Shuliu suddenly pulled it back, pressing his other hand easily against the door.
His strength was too much for Yu Yan; she couldn’t push the door open at all. She could only let him hold it shut, like a barrier that was actually no barrier at all.
“Need my help?” He tilted his head, his soft black hair falling across his face, making him look completely innocent and harmless.
Yu Yan felt a bit nervous. “Help me with what?”
He Shuliu’s gaze roamed slowly over her, from her wet, dripping hair down to her pink-tipped toes.
Slow and thorough, with a faintly predatory edge.
Yu Yan could almost see the desire in his eyes, so tangible it felt real.
A shiver crept up her spine. Before He Shuliu could reply, she flatly refused, “No need. Please leave.”
Right after she spoke, she regretted it, noticing how He Shuliu’s expression changed instantly.
Was her tone too harsh?
From his perspective, they were still a couple—wanting to be close to her wasn’t really wrong.
Yu Yan hesitated for a few seconds, about to rephrase herself, when He Shuliu suddenly bent down, set the shower gel on the floor, and obediently backed away.
…Crap, did I just make him cry?
The thought of He Shuliu possibly crying quietly outside left Yu Yan in no mood to finish her shower.
She rinsed off quickly, threw on a nightgown, didn’t even dry her hair, and came out of the bathroom. Scanning the room, she quickly spotted He Shuliu on the carpet in the living room.
He was sprawled over the coffee table, head resting on his arms, his back slumped like a dejected large dog.
Yu Yan crept up behind him and leaned over to peek at him.
Good—he wasn’t crying, though he definitely didn’t look happy.
“He Shuliu?”
She called softly. He Shuliu didn’t respond, still lying there, long lashes casting an arched shadow beneath his eyes.
Looking at his unusually quiet profile, Yu Yan suddenly felt the urge to take a picture.
She reached into her bag, which was beside her, and rummaged through it. All of a sudden, a small black box slid out and landed softly on the carpet.
Yu Yan picked up the Black Box, surprised. “What’s this?”
Only then did He Shuliu turn to look at her.
“It’s not yours?” he frowned.
“No, I don’t have anything like this…” Yu Yan said, puzzled, as she opened the box. Before she could see what was inside, a stream of black smoke suddenly poured out before her eyes.
He Shuliu’s pupils contracted sharply; he lunged toward her at once.
The next instant, the black smoke wrapped around his body. The moment he moved, it rushed eagerly into him.
The ceiling lights flickered twice and then went out completely.
The room was instantly plunged into darkness.
Yu Yan gasped and immediately reached out, groping around. “He Shuliu?”
There was no answer from He Shuliu; she couldn’t even sense his presence.
But she felt something strange—
Something cold, smooth, and faintly damp.
It was trembling slightly on the back of He Shuliu’s hand.
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