Chapter Thirty-Two

After venting her frustrations, Mo Wansheng felt much better.

My phone vibrated; it was another message from Huo Yuzheng.

A photograph.

The background remains the same huge office, but the camera zooms in on the collarbone, with Huo Yuzheng's fingertips lightly touching the bite mark.

This is a more obvious close-up.

Even more direct than last time, Mo Wansheng had to admit that it was even more alluring.

"!!!"

"I'm impressed! You're amazing!"

"How can someone be so narcissistic, posting two selfies instead of one?"

"And they even have the nerve to point at that spot!"

After a while, her phone vibrated again.

Huo Yuzheng: "It still hurts."

Mo Wansheng abruptly slammed her phone face down on the table and took a deep breath.

Is this busy boss really free today?

She forced herself to calm down, picked up the water glass, and took two big gulps.

A few minutes later, she finally couldn't resist and turned her phone back on.

"Mr. Huo, are you not busy at work today? (smile.jpg)"

"I'm fine, thank you for your concern, Mrs. Huo."

Mo Wansheng rolled her eyes.

She genuinely didn't understand what he was trying to express.

Her fingertips lingered on the chat box between the two, unsure of what to send next.

A message about "blueberry cake" suddenly popped up on the notification screen.

"Regardless of his meaning, you're unhappy that he did this?"

Mo Wansheng instinctively wanted to retort, but her finger hovered over the phone, unable to fall.

Are you unhappy?

It seems... not quite.

The afternoon sun shone through the dessert shop's floor-to-ceiling windows, illuminating her rosy cheeks.

She shook her head, trying to break free from this distress.

Another message popped up in the dialog box.

"If you're unhappy, you can just tell him directly."

"Blueberry cake" always points out the crux of the problem, but after a moment's thought, Mo Wansheng's mind was in complete turmoil.

She tilted her head back to improve blood circulation.

After hesitating for a moment, she finally voiced her confusion.

"Actually, it's not that I'm unhappy. I just don't quite understand him."

Blueberry Cake: "Did he do something you don't understand? Did he send you a selfie because you two kissed?"

"No, it's not that. I just don't understand him as a person."

"I've never been in a relationship. The kind of romance I imagine is all formulaic and like a game. It can be melodramatic, overly sentimental, or anything like that. Besides, as I told you, my marriage to my partner is an arranged marriage, so I always feel like our relationship is tied to some kind of business interest."

"To be fair, he's a good guy. At least over the past three months, we've had a pleasant time together most of the time."

"I just don't know how to define our relationship. We are husband and wife, and physical contact is a perfectly normal thing in principle. Even the marriage law protects against it."

"But to be honest, it wasn't a passionate, whirlwind romance. I actually asked him last time if he liked me, and his answer probably made me a little sad. But the truth is, after three months of knowing each other, how can we really call ourselves lovers?"

"Blueberry cake" was mentioned in her narration.

"So you hate him?"

Without any hesitation, Mo Wansheng gave her answer.

"I don't hate it."

She paused for a moment, then finally confessed the somewhat shameful honesty.

"Maybe I'm still a little greedy for him? I quite like kissing him, at least from a physical point of view, I really like it."

"But that's what makes me feel awkward; our feelings for each other aren't that intense."

"But our actions seem to have skipped many steps and gone straight to the next stage."

The "blueberry cake" comment incisively points out the problem.

"So, what you want is a spiritual connection that catches up with your physical instincts, right?"

"Yes," she admitted.

Blueberry cake: "I understand."

Mo Wansheng stared quietly at her phone screen, waiting for "Blueberry Cake" to offer further suggestions to resolve her current predicament.

However, the message "The other party is typing" appeared intermittently in the chat box, and there was no reply for a long time.

After a long while, a few new messages popped up.

"I remember you're very good at game formulas, so why don't you treat the two of you as a game world for now? Anyway, you have plenty of time, so you can slowly build up your affection for each other. In the end, I think you'll completely conquer the game and achieve the ending you want."

"However, if you really can't accept it right now, you can always move to another place."

"Hey bro, why don't you teach me? Look at you, your analysis is so thorough, I think you must be very experienced."

Mo Wansheng suddenly had a whimsical idea: since they were just gaming partners and didn't know each other, what was the point?

Moreover, "Blueberry Cake" works at Huo Yuzheng's company, so she might know quite a bit about him, her marriage partner.

She's a complete novice when it comes to relationships, but she's really going all out.

Blueberry cake: "Okay."

"Wow, you're such a wonderful person! The cutest girl in the world!"

"Need to pay tuition? Pretending to be innocent.jpg"

Blueberry cake: "Let's talk about it after I've mastered the craft."

"Hehe, you're so kind, boss! But I've noticed you're always quite busy, usually only online at night. I hope I'm not bothering you too much."

"It's okay, I'm not too busy lately. You can always reach out to me."

Mo Wansheng turned off her phone with satisfaction and started humming a little tune.

The initial awkward storm has now turned into a gentle breeze and sunshine, and the road ahead doesn't seem so uncertain anymore.

After all, she has a strategist, and a top-tier one at that.

In the evening, after much deliberation, she finally decided to sneak away to stay at Huo Yuzheng's apartment in the city.

Last time, he told her the password.

After much thought, she concluded that that was the safest place.

The place that seems most dangerous is actually the safest.

Back at the suburban villa, the butler told Huo Yuzheng directly.

If they go back to Jingyuan, they've been staying there these past few days, and Huo Yuzheng will definitely go back to stay there at night as usual.

The city apartment was a perfect place for her to usurp the place.

She planned to rest for one night before embarking on her grand journey to win over Huo Yuzheng.

What Mo Wansheng didn't expect was that as soon as she entered the password and opened the door, the apartment was lit up.

There's no doubt that someone is already inside.

She gripped her phone tightly, ready to call the police at any moment.

Slowly, I stepped through the entrance hall.

Her eyes widened instantly; it was Huo Yuzheng.

Instinctively, I asked, "What are you doing here?"

Huo Yuzheng looked up at the sound and calmly said, "This is my home."

Mo Wansheng forced a smile; she had almost forgotten that this was his home.

It's only natural for him to be here.

She took a few steps back, trying to escape the place.

Since he's here, she'll go back to Jingyuan.

"Aren't you coming in? The rice is just cooked."

Mo Wansheng stopped in her tracks, turned around and replied, "I'm tired, and a little mentally unstable."

A bright smile graced her face, but she was secretly clenching her teeth tightly.

Heroes don't run away from battle; at worst, we'll start the strategy tonight.

She feigned composure and walked into the restaurant.

There were all sorts of dishes on the table. She asked with some doubt, "Do you usually cook this much food for yourself? Can you finish it all?"

Huo Yuzheng pulled out a chair for her and hummed in response.

Mo Wansheng nodded thoughtfully, then looked Huo Yuzheng up and down, whose expression remained calm.

They really have a lot of energy.

Because it was cooked by Huo Yuzheng himself, the food was as delicious as ever.

While serving the soup, Mo Wansheng couldn't help but glance at Huo Yuzheng's neck.

Just like in the morning, the buttons weren't fastened properly, revealing the bite marks.

She took several sips of soup guiltily, completely unaware of the blatant look in her eyes.

"Mrs. Huo, how long do you plan to watch?"

Mo Wansheng almost choked on her soup.

"I don't!"

She muttered under her breath, "It's clearly because she doesn't dress properly."

"Oh, no." Huo Yuzheng slowly put down his chopsticks, a smile flashing in his eyes.

Her slender fingers slowly and deliberately unbuttoned another button.

Now, it's completely revealed.

Mo Wansheng was stunned by his actions.

She told him to dress properly, so why is he dressing even less properly?

He could only pretend not to see it, quickly emptied the soup in the bowl, and then slipped into Huo Yuzheng's room.

Watching the fleeing figure, Huo Yuzheng no longer concealed his smile, which rippled outwards like waves.

He still let her go.

Without hesitation, Mo Wansheng, who had retreated into the master bedroom, reported her current situation to "Blueberry Cake".

"I was trying to avoid him, but it turns out it's a terrible fate that he came back here today too."

"My strategist, what should I do next? Continue to play dead, or fight my way out?"

She stared nervously at the screen, waiting for "Blueberry Cake's" remote instructions.

On the other side, Huo Yuzheng had just come out of the bathroom when he heard a special notification sound from the backup phone on the bedroom table.

He leisurely rubbed his hair with a towel, picked up his phone, and only opened the message after walking into the study.

Looking at the SOS message sent by "Shengzhuzi", he could almost imagine the conflicted look on her face.

"Playing dead is the most ineffective defense."

"Since we've met on a narrow path, let's take advantage of our home field and take the initiative."

Mo Wansheng was a little confused when she saw the reply.

"Home-field advantage? Dude, what does that mean?"

This isn't her house either.

"It means this is your territory too. Show some respect for being the owner."

"You could go to the kitchen, cut some fruit, and take a portion to him. Then you could chat with him."

Mo Wansheng was dumbfounded. Was this "blueberry cake" meant to kill her?

"???"

"Send him fruit? Dude, are you sure this isn't just suicide?"

"Staying still is tantamount to waiting for death. This is called strategic goodwill, which can both break the deadlock and observe his reaction. What you're doing now only makes you look guilty."

"Remember, be natural."

Mo Wansheng took a deep breath. Indeed, she couldn't stay hidden in her room forever.

"Okay! I'll do as you say!"

Mo Wansheng put down her phone, took a moment to mentally prepare herself, and tiptoed out of the room.

She went to the kitchen, opened the refrigerator, looked at the wide variety of fruits inside, and randomly picked out one or two.

While washing the fruit, she kept glancing at the dimly lit study.