Chapter 46 [VIP]

During the day, Wen Zhiyu and Qin Jianling checked in on their work progress, with Han Shu accompanying them throughout.

—Forced to accompany.

Wen Zhiyu held Han Shu's hand tightly with his left hand, and even writing a brief introduction for the book jacket on the computer became a difficult task of typing with one finger.

Qin Jianling already had a tough time delivering goods a thousand miles by himself, but then he had to endure their affectionate displays, making his suffering even worse. In the end, he lost all interest in them.

Fortunately, Wen Zhiyu still had some conscience and treated him to a lavish meal, which allowed Qin Jianling and Han Shu to formally get to know each other.

When Han Shu got home that evening, he kept stomping his left foot on his right shoe for a while. "Why don't you let go of me first?"

Wen Zhiyu immediately reduced the force of his blows and asked anxiously, "Did I hurt you?"

“No…” Han Shu rubbed the back of his hand with his thumb.

"Is it because my hands are sweaty?"

"No," Han Shu said softly. "I'm wearing Roman...strap sandals today, and I need to untie the laces."

Wen Zhiyu lowered his eyes, and beneath the hem of his skirt, two black ribbons were tied around his slender ankles. He knelt down, and with a gentle flick of his index finger, the ribbons loosened.

"Hey—" Han Shu took a half step back and stopped him by pressing his shoulder, "I can do it myself."

Wen Zhiyu finally let go of the hand that had been holding hers all the way home since they finished eating. With an unyielding strength, he held her calf, gently untied it, and then took her slippers to put on before getting up.

The rough sensation on her ankle lingered for a long time. Han Shu bit her lip, not even having time to feel shy, before her hand, which had been free for less than a minute, fell back into her palm.

He led her inside, and she followed behind with small, quick steps.

"Actually, there's no need for Teacher Qin to stay in a hotel. I don't think it's inconvenient."

"I find it inconvenient," Wen Zhiyu scoffed. "It's incredibly annoying."

Han Shu couldn't help but laugh at the thought of Qin Jianling teasing Wen Zhiyu. It was truly unexpected that one of them, a refined and elegant gentleman, and the other, a cool and aloof handsome man, would turn into such a clueless fool when they were together.

The two settled down on the sofa.

During the day, with Qin Jianling's jokes and banter, the interactions were relatively natural. But now, face to face, he finally felt the change in their relationship.

Boy friend.

Wen Zhiyu is her boyfriend.

Han Shu pursed her lips and smiled secretly.

girlfriend.

Han Shu is his girlfriend.

Wen Zhiyu chuckled to himself.

"Today you and Lao Qin officially meet. Please introduce yourselves."

"Hmm, what's wrong? Did I say something inappropriate?"

Wen Zhiyu shook his head and turned his head to the side, "We also lack a formal acquaintance."

Han Shu turned his head, smiled with narrowed eyes, and said, "It seems so. You go first then."

Wen Zhiyu cleared his throat and straightened his shirt collar. "My name is Wen Zhiyu, I'm 28 years old, a writer, and I have no romantic experience. My parents are deceased, and I have no other relatives. I moved to Hainan Island from Nancheng four years ago."

Han Shu silently kept it in mind. "My name is Han Shu, I'm 25 years old, currently unemployed, and I have no romantic experience. My parents are an engineer and a teacher, respectively. They came to Hainan Island to relax after resigning from their jobs."

"I have a bit of an odd temper. I don't like crowds and noise. Besides Lao Qin, I don't have many friends. My life is very simple."

"I have a very conventional personality. I don't like being alone or having too many people around. I only have a few friends, and my life is quite boring."

Wen Zhiyu frowned. "Where is it conventional? It's clearly very special."

Han Shu was secretly delighted and almost spiraled into heaven, but unfortunately, he still retained some rationality: "No one in the world would think this way except you."

"So, will you listen to me or to everyone else?" Wen Zhiyu asked childishly.

Since he's already said that, there's nothing wrong with deceiving myself. Han Shu leaned shyly on Wen Zhiyu's shoulder, "I'll listen to you."

Wen Zhiyu turned his head to the other side and gave a faint "hmm," but his soaring cheekbones betrayed his mood.

Han Shu secretly reached out and, taking him by surprise, poked his cheek. Wen Zhiyu was startled and forgot to stop smiling when he turned around.

Caught red-handed, Han Shu chuckled, "Why are you hiding?"

Wen Zhiyu coughed lightly twice, then moved his face closer and pressed it against her still-unretracted fingertips.

Sitting so close, Han Shu could almost touch Wen Zhiyu's handsome face. He traced the sharp jawline with his fingertips, gently running his fingers over the sword-like eyebrows and bright eyes, and couldn't help but say, "Teacher Wen is really handsome."

Countless people had praised him with those words before, but Wen Zhiyu had always dismissed them with disdain, even finding them somewhat offensive, because his face seemed to receive more attention than his books. However, at this moment, he could no longer suppress his smile, and even arrogantly rotated his head 45 degrees, simply because Qin Jianling had said that this was the angle from which most people looked their best.

Han Shu reluctantly stopped, then belatedly felt embarrassed, "Is there...is there anything else you want to introduce?"

Wen Zhiyu pondered for a moment, "There isn't any for now, but I'll let you know whenever I think of it in the future."

He gestured with his hand, saying, "It's nice to meet you, boyfriend."

Together, Wen Zhiyu had no choice but to extend his left hand, grasp his hand from the back, and shake it up and down, "Nice to meet you."

They arrived home at seven in the evening, holding hands and whispering sweet nothings to each other, before finally saying goodbye with great reluctance.

In the dim light, Han Shu took advantage of Wen Zhiyu's momentary lapse in attention, then dashed back into his room and slammed the door shut.

Wen Zhiyu was stunned. After realizing what was happening, he immediately raised his hand to cover his chin, not wanting the soft touch to slip away. He skipped to the door and poked his head into the narrow space formed by the door panel and the door frame. "Good night, Lesser Heat."

A gentle male voice drifted through the crack in the door and landed directly in Han Shu's ears.

Her heart, which had just calmed down a bit, started beating wildly again. She covered her chest with one hand and her face with the other, fidgeted on the spot for a while, and then pounced on the bed to fidget again.

Lesser Heat.

He calls her Xiaoshu!

Her parents called her Xiaoshu, and her best friend also called her Xiaoshu, but it sounded so intimate and ambiguous when he said it.

Han Shu turned over, buried his face in the blanket and chuckled, not even realizing when he fell asleep.

Wen Zhiyu rushed up the stairs to the second floor, taking three steps at a time. Instead of going to the study or the bedroom, he went straight to the gym and worked out intensely for an hour on anaerobic exercise, then did twenty minutes on the rowing machine, followed by twenty minutes of running and a shower. Only then did he lie down, exhausted.

The next day, Qin Jianling returned to the villa very early in the morning.

Upon entering, one sees Wen Zhiyu sitting upright on the sofa, his eyes fixed on the guest room door. If you gave him laser eyes, it wouldn't just be two holes in the door; the entire room would probably burst into flames.

"Hey!" Qin Jianling left his suitcase in the porch, dragged his feet over, and slapped Wen Zhiyu on the forehead. "The Wife-Gazing Stone?"

Wen Zhiyu shifted his position, moving from the left side of the sofa to the right, avoiding the obstacle, and continued to stare intently.

Qin Jianling couldn't bear to watch, so he walked around to the single sofa and sat down. "I said, can't you be normal for once?"

"Shut up," Wen Zhiyu said irritably. "What's it to you?"

"It has nothing to do with me, it has something to do with your girlfriend."

"What's the meaning?"

Qin Jianling didn't sleep well last night, plagued by nightmares and sleep paralysis. He was extremely tired now, pressing his temples with both hands. "You're exaggerating too much. It puts pressure on people. Imagine you just woke up and opened the door, only to find someone staring at you without blinking. Wouldn't you be scared?"

Wen Zhiyu thought for a moment, "If it were you, I'd be scared. If it were her, I'd be happy."

"..." Qin Jianling was speechless.

As luck would have it, the guest room door clicked open.

Han Shu yawned as she walked out, immediately meeting Wen Zhiyu's fixed gaze. She smiled brightly, "Good morning!"

"Good morning." Wen Zhiyu greeted him the moment the door opened, not forgetting to glance back at Qin Jianling.

Qin Jianling: ...

One radish, one hole; there's no need for that extra word of advice.

Qin Jianling has an afternoon flight, and there are still some work matters to discuss and handle in the morning.

As Wen Zhiyu was being escorted to his study, he clung to the stair railing, reluctantly bidding farewell and repeatedly giving instructions.

"I'll come down as soon as I'm done. I'll cook lunch."

Han Shu suppressed a laugh and said, "Mm."

"If we don't go to the beach retreat, we'll go skateboarding tonight."

"good."

"So what do you want to eat tonight—"

Unable to bear it any longer, Qin Jianling grabbed Wen Zhiyu's arm and choked him, forcibly stopping his endless nagging.

"Please excuse my rudeness." Qin Jianling gave Han Shu an apologetic smile, then pulled him upstairs, gritting his teeth, "It's only taken up two hours of your time, is it really necessary to make such a fuss! The plan is due tomorrow, can't you be a little more sensible?!"

Wen Zhiyu, with Qin Jianling holding his head, still managed to wave to Han Shu as they turned the corner, managing to say with difficulty, "Wait for me—"

As the two figures disappeared, the stumbling footsteps ended with the sound of the door closing, and Han Shu finally burst out laughing.

So cute, such a cute little devil.

Wen Zhiyu went to work, and Han Shu also went back to his room to call Chun Jing.

Even after the typhoon ended, Jielang has remained closed. Chunjing is busy, so I can only offer a brief update. The male victim has been confirmed dead, and his family arrived this afternoon.

"I'll come over this afternoon if needed."

“No need.” Chun Jing lowered her voice. “Ming Ge and Xiao Yu are both here. Too many people would be bad, as it would put pressure on the family.”

“Then I’ll come tomorrow morning,” Han Shu said firmly.

Chun Jing was about to refuse when a sudden commotion came from the other end of the line, and the call was abruptly ended.

Han Shu sighed. To die so young in such an unexpected way is like a devastating blow to the family; just imagining it is hard to accept.

She felt inexplicably uneasy and picked up the unfinished book by Wen Zhiyu to read.

Regarding the new book, Qin Jianling and Wen Zhiyu finalized the cover design, bringing the long meeting to a close.

"I'll go downstairs first." Wen Zhiyu opened the door and was about to leave before Qin Jianling could put away the documents and computer on the table.

"Wait!" Qin Jianling went over and pulled the person back.

Wen Zhiyu paced back and forth anxiously, "Is there anything else?"

"Yes, it's a personal matter."

"Speak quickly."

Qin Jianling took a deep breath. "Han Shu is from Beicheng. His parents and family are all there. His stay here is temporary; he'll have to go back sooner or later. Have you thought about what you'll do after that?"