Song Li immediately stepped forward and stood in front of Su Jin, her eyes cold as she stared at Lin Luan.
“Mr. Lin, this isn’t appropriate. Taking care of Miss is my duty. There’s no need for you to do these things.”
Go.
Pain.
Her meaning was clear: he was just a rental boyfriend, and crossing this line showed a serious lack of boundaries.
Even though Miss liked him, that wasn’t a reason for him to act recklessly.
Lin Luan didn’t back down. He didn’t look at Song Li, but kept his eyes on Su Jin’s face, as if waiting for her decision.
Su Jin met Lin Luan’s gaze, her heart in turmoil.
“Song Li.” Su Jin spoke, “Let him help me…”
Song Li whipped her head around, disbelief in her eyes. “Miss?”
“It’s fine.” Su Jin avoided Song Li’s gaze. “Leave it to him, you go get some rest.”
Song Li’s lips moved, but in the end she said nothing.
She shot Lin Luan a warning glare, then bent slightly at the waist and silently exited the garage, leaving the space to the two of them.
Su Jin turned and walked toward her bedroom, with Lin Luan quietly following behind.
Entering the spacious, luxurious master bedroom, Su Jin sat down by the bed, while Lin Luan went straight into the adjoining bathroom.
Soon, the sound of running water came from inside.
After a moment, he emerged carrying a wooden foot basin filled with warm water. A clean, soft white towel hung over the edge.
He set the foot basin gently on the carpet at Su Jin’s feet.
The water was just the right temperature, steaming with a faint, soothing fragrance.
Then, Lin Luan knelt down on one knee before her, reaching out to lift Su Jin’s foot, still encased in a delicate high heel.
“Wait…” Su Jin reflexively tried to stop him.
But Lin Luan’s movements didn’t pause for her refusal.
He carefully undid the slender strap on her left heel, gently slipping off the torment that had plagued her all night and setting it aside.
Next, his fingers moved to the thin layer of black stockings on her leg.
“Mm…” Su Jin let out a muffled sound as he touched a sore spot.
Seeing that Lin Luan wasn’t going to respond to her protest, Su Jin could only silently allow his actions.
His fingertips lightly rested on the edge of her stocking at the ankle, then he gently pinched the edge, slowly rolling it down inch by inch.
The silky material brushed against his fingers, making a faint rustling sound.
Su Jin bit her lip.
She could clearly feel the path Lin Luan’s fingertips traced.
The moment the stockings left her jade-like foot, the cool air made her toes curl involuntarily.
Lin Luan neatly folded the stockings he had taken off and placed them aside.
A slender, fair jade-like foot was now completely exposed to the cool air, its arch graceful, her toes tinged with pink.
Lin Luan’s gaze lingered for a moment on her foot, then he looked up and met her somewhat flustered eyes.
“Try the water temperature,” Lin Luan said, watching her.
Su Jin pressed her lips together and carefully extended her left foot as instructed, dipping her toes into the water.
A perfect warmth instantly enveloped her weary foot, and the comfortable sensation made her entire mind relax.
Seeing that she wasn’t rejecting him, Lin Luan gently held her ankle and slowly immersed both her feet into the water.
Su Jin instinctively tried to draw her foot back, but he held her securely.
“Don’t move,” he said quietly.
Su Jin froze, watching as he lowered his head, focusing intently on her feet in the water.
He scooped up warm water and poured it gently over the tops of her feet, then began to press her aching soles with just the right amount of pressure.
His technique wasn’t professional, but it was extremely attentive.
Each press landed exactly on her sorest spots, the tingling ache and fatigue intertwining, strangely soothing the long-endured soreness.
Su Jin leaned against the bed, lowering her head to look at the top of Lin Luan’s jet-black hair.
She realized she couldn’t see through Lin Luan at all.
Was the perfect boyfriend who took control in front of her the real him, or was it the somewhat green, puppy-like Lin from the beginning?
After a while, Lin Luan used the soft white towel to gently wrap up her feet, carefully drying away all the water.
Putting the towel and foot basin aside, Lin Luan stood up, his tall figure casting a shadow under the warm bedroom light, enveloping Su Jin as she sat on the bed.
Su Jin instinctively looked up at Lin Luan.
“It’s late. You should rest,” Lin Luan said.
It’s late. Anyone could hear what that meant.
Su Jin froze.
That’s… it? He was leaving?
She looked at him, her lips slightly parted, but found she didn’t know what to say.
Ask him to stay? With what identity? What reason?
In the brief, churning silence within her, Lin Luan nodded slightly.
“Good night, Su Jin.”
He turned and left, the bedroom door closing softly behind him with a gentle “click.”
The large room was left with only Su Jin.
Lin Luan’s faint scent seemed to linger in the air, yet to dissipate. Su Jin looked down at her smooth, fair feet.
A huge emptiness surged through her, as if her heart had been taken away by that man.
How could he do that?
First barging so forcefully into the world she had sealed off for her career, disrupting all her rhythms, and then, just as she’d finally started to adapt, even… even to grow a little dependent, he could so cleanly and decisively walk away?
What did he take her for? A toy to be played with and then set aside at will?
Su Jin suddenly grabbed the soft plush puppy pillow next to her and hugged it tightly, the fox ears on her head drooping sadly.
Let him be.
***
Outside Lin Luan’s home.
The voice-activated light in the hallway seemed broken, unresponsive no matter what he did. Lin Luan could only fumble in the dark, using his key to open the rusted security door.
“Ge? Is that you back?”
Lin Wan’s voice came from her room, light shining from the crack under her door. Her voice sounded sleepy.
“It’s me, Xiaowan. Did I wake you?” Lin Luan said.
“Not really. I was just about to fall asleep…”
“Then rest early.”
“Mm, you should get some rest too…” Her voice inside the room trailed off.
Lin Luan breathed a sigh of relief, quietly closing the door behind him.
He didn’t turn on the light, instead, using the faint moonlight filtering in through the window, he threw himself heavily onto the living room sofa.
In the darkness, Lin Luan lay sprawled on the sofa like a salted fish, not even bothering to move a toe.
Damn. Acting is so exhausting.
Really.
He felt the muscles on his face nearly cramp from smiling so much. Keeping up that gentle expression was even more tiring than hauling bricks all day.
And that damned etiquette—walking not too fast, not too slow, slicing steak neither too big nor too small…
Wasn’t this just trying to create a rainbow-colored black?!
Those tutorials online made it sound easy, but actually doing it was enough to kill a person.
Lin Luan sighed, lifting his hand to look at his fingers, which appeared pale in the moonlight.
These very hands had just been cradling Su Jin’s fair, delicate feet with such care.
Thinking back now, he could still feel the fine, soft sensation lingering at his fingertips, and the friction of the stockings slipping off.
Lin Luan suddenly sat up, shaking his head hard, trying to drive those images out of his mind.
No more thinking. If he kept it up, he’d never sleep tonight.
He groped his way to the kitchen, pulled a bottle of mineral water from the fridge, and gulped down over half of it in one go.
The icy liquid slid down his throat, quelling some inexplicable restlessness in his heart.
“Lin Luan, get a grip.” He muttered to the empty air, “That’s your sponsor, your boss. Don’t get bewitched by that atmosphere.”
Just do the job and get paid. After a week, walk away from the performance.
With this in mind, Lin Luan dragged his exhausted body, washed up briefly, threw himself onto the bed, rolled over, and buried his face in the pillow that still smelled faintly of sunshine.
Better sleep early. Tomorrow he still had to check out that Youwan Entertainment company with Shen Yu.