Chapter 8

Unrequited love.

Han Shu angrily opened the red app and muttered again: "You're just being presumptuous!"

She was just considering the possibility of living there temporarily, so why did Wen Zhiyu think she was going to stay here forever?

The service attitude is zero, the service awareness is zero. How could she possibly choose this place if she wanted a long-term lease?

Speechless, truly speechless.

Han Shu took a deep breath to calm himself, and then typed "Hainan Island travel" into the search box.

A dazzling array of posts popped up, and she began to browse them carefully.

Living abroad, once a fantasy confined to her workstation, now seems to be a tangible reality. She doesn't want to miss this opportunity, and also wants to use this time to see scenery she wouldn't normally see, meet people she wouldn't normally meet, and think about her future path.

And so they looked until late at night.

Directly above his head, in the study, Wen Zhiyu sat with his hands folded, a blank Word document in front of him bearing only the words "Chapter One," having also been sitting there until late at night.

The next morning, when Han Shu drew back the curtains, her eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. If it weren't for the tree peeking out from outside the yard, she would have thought she had been teleported overnight from Hainan Island to the rolling Yellow River. (Turbid version after rain)

The vegetation in the yard had been completely submerged, and some broken branches and corpses that had met with misfortune floated on the murky yellow water, reflecting the gloomy clouds.

Thankfully, the rain has lessened and the wind has died down. We're getting closer to the end of the typhoon.

After washing up and eating a simple breakfast, Han Shu listened for a while next to the cardboard box to confirm that there were crawling sounds, but the landlord still hadn't shown up.

It wasn't that I was waiting for him; it was just that I felt a little uncomfortable being alone on an empty floor.

She looked around, but her attention was eventually drawn to an entire bookshelf, so she slipped over, stood with her hands behind her back, and carefully observed it.

From Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, Jung, Don Quixote, Homer's epics, Thomas Manchekhov, Plato, Kant, Foucault, Freud, Wittgenstein, to great writers and works in literature, philosophy, history and other fields.

In junior and senior high school, Han Shu also loved reading books that seemed unrelated to the Chinese textbook and the new curriculum standards, and had a good reading habit. However, Ms. Xu's firm commitment to exam-oriented education squeezed out all his spare time. After graduating from high school and entering university, he seemed to have more time and freedom, but he could no longer find the state of mind to calmly read.

The top left shelf of the bookshelf contained a whole collection of Wen Zhiyu's published novels. Given the collectible and private nature of books, she didn't pull any out, but simply scanned the spines of the row of books.

Goodnight Collection, Sudden Rain and Clear Sky, Eating Bones, Holding a Sun...

Isn't this a case of book title fraud?

Han Shu clicked his tongue in disbelief. He couldn't believe that in such a warm and comforting name as "Goodnight Collection," the first page featured transparent blood vessels.

It was a scam, but a consensual one. Quite interesting.

Just then, footsteps and the sound of heavy objects being dragged came from the stairs.

She peeked out from the corner of the wall and saw Wen Zhiyu dragging a grayish-yellow unidentified object in one hand and holding two oars in his right.

paddle.

Han Shu opened his eyes wide, "What are you doing...?"

Wen Zhiyu glanced at her, but didn't respond. He walked to the open space in the living room.

Amidst the hum of the electric air pump, the unidentified object slowly inflated.

—It turned out to be an inflatable kayak.

"..." Han Shu hesitated, "You...you want to go boating outside?"

"Um."

Wen Zhiyu put away the air pump, threw the paddle into the kayak, pushed it to the door, turned back, put on his black overalls for beachcombing, and then put on a hooded black raincoat. The whole process was as natural as eating and drinking.

Han Shu was dumbfounded. At the same time, he was moved by Han Shu's frank admission.

The man was tall and thin. As he strode toward the security door, the hem of his raincoat fluttered, giving him a rather ethereal and otherworldly air.

Just as he was about to open the door of the kayak, Han Shu, speaking faster than he thought, shouted "Wait a minute!" and then jogged a few steps to catch up, "Can I go too...?"

Wen Zhiyu was taken aback and turned around. "What?"

His brow furrowed into a shallow line, and when he looked down at her, the dark circles under his eyes were particularly noticeable, giving him an aura of male ghostliness. He seemed to have slept poorly and was in a bad mood, even colder than when he first checked in.

Han Shu scratched the side of his neck, knowing he was crossing a line, but still insisted on asking, "Two oars, can I kayak with you?"

Wen Zhiyu raised his hand to press his temples, and amidst the rustling sound of his raincoat, asked, "The water is dirty. Do you have any waterproof clothes?"

"That's easy."

When Han Shu returned to the porch wearing makeshift rain pants and aprons made from a large plastic bag, Wen Zhiyu's expression was somewhat strange. She guessed Han Shu had used the raincoat as an excuse to refuse, but unexpectedly, Han Shu had solved the problem with her exceptional DIY skills.

"Can I answer a lot more questions to cover the cost of the kayak?"

"..."

Although Wen Zhiyu was not very willing, he still held Han Shu's arm when she lost her balance on the kayak and did not let go until she was seated properly.

Han Shu hugged the paddle and said, "Thank you."

Wen Zhiyu sat down behind her. "Can you row?"

"No, can you teach me?"

"I don't know either."

"..."

So the two of them circled around in the yard for five minutes before they finally got a feel for it, opened the gate, and slid out.

The steps at the entrance were completely submerged. Sitting in the kayak, Han Shu didn't need to peer out; her gaze could easily pass over the walls of all the villas. The once tall trees had shrunk considerably; as she passed by, she touched the trunks, finding them cold and damp.

The world has changed.

Han Shu blinked and shook the raindrops off her eyelashes. "It feels so magical."

Behind her, only the sound of oars cutting through the water could be heard; no one answered. She wisely kept quiet, afraid of displeasing Wen Zhiyu and being banished to the boat, and focused on rowing as well.

After turning the first corner and paddling about twenty meters into the alley, a man holding a child saw the kayak as we passed a house. He opened the window and talked to the child, and we could vaguely hear laughter.

Han Shu's cheeks, hidden in the plastic bag, felt a little hot, and he rowed faster. Meanwhile, the unsuspecting Wen Zhiyu continued at the same speed, veering left and right, before spinning ninety degrees and bumping his head against the wall of the house opposite.

"...Sorry." Han Shu quickly adjusted himself, but with two pairs of eyes, one large and one small, the more anxious he became, the more mistakes he made. The kayak spun around in place again.

"Don't paddle yet," Wen Zhiyu called out, pushing against the wall to create some distance before paddling a few times left and right with one paddle, finally straightening the direction. He remained calm throughout, and his movements were swift and skillful; you couldn't tell he was a complete novice who had just taught himself the craft.

As the father and son disappeared from sight, Han Shu couldn't contain his curiosity. "They kept staring at us. Didn't you feel awkward?"

"Why?" Wen Zhiyu asked.

Han Shu turned around and said, "Playing kayak in the puddles is such a weird thing, and someone kept staring at you and laughing!"

Wen Zhiyu continued paddling, his expression calm beneath his black hat. "What do other people's opinions have to do with me?"

Han Shu stared at him for a long time, then said from the bottom of her heart, "How can I cultivate such an excellent mindset as yours..."

Wen Zhiyu lifted his eyelids and said, "Let's go back to the drawing board."

"..."

Sharp tongue.

Han Shu stopped looking at him.

After a while, Wen Zhiyu asked, "If you felt it was strange and awkward, why did you insist on coming?"

Han Shu hung his head, looking somewhat melancholy. "I was just curious about you."

Wen Zhiyu's pupils dilated, and he stared at the mushroom head through the plastic bag.

What does that mean? Why is she concerned about him? Their relationship hasn't reached that stage yet, has it?

"I'm curious how you can be so nonchalant about doing such outrageous things."

It's not about caring about him personally; he doesn't want to get too involved with Mushroom Head. Just as Wen Zhiyu was about to breathe a sigh of relief, he was struck again, frowning and asking, "...Is kayaking that outrageous?"

Han Shu didn't answer, but said again, "I'm also curious about what you were thinking when you did these things."

Hearing the alarm bells ring again, Wen Zhiyu arrogantly retorted, "What does this have to do with you?"

Say it's okay!

Qin Jianling was right, men also need to protect themselves!

Mushroom Head didn't speak, and even loosened her paddle, changing from a cross-legged sitting position to a kneeling one. The single-person kayak was already small, and with her movement, plastic bags and raincoats were smeared onto Wen Zhiyu's face.

The kayak owner was getting annoyed and decided to send the unsightly mushroom back immediately. Just as he was about to put it into practice, Han Shu grabbed his hand and started paddling.

On the back of his hand, there was a strange touch that was both cool and soft. Wen Zhiyu's hand trembled, and he almost dropped the paddle into the water. He immediately said loudly, "Don't violate my cylinder!"

To everyone's surprise, Han Shu not only didn't let go, but also shook it vigorously a few times, "Look, look! Isn't there a kitten on that branch?!"

It was a young banyan tree, with three branches extending in different directions. In the center of the branch was a noticeable indentation, through which one could vaguely see a fluffy orange head. It was indeed a cat, an orange tabby cat that was not yet an adult.

Wen Zhiyu narrowed his eyes as he thought of the two geckos. "You want to keep them?"

"Are you allergic to cat fur?" Han Shu looked back expectantly, unconsciously clenching her fists tighter. "Animals have a hard time surviving during typhoons. Can you take them in for a few days?"

Wen Zhiyu found his mind was malfunctioning. He wasn't allergic to cat fur, he just disliked cats, much like he disliked geckos and all living things, including humans. Why was she holding his hand so tightly?

He didn't like this overstepping mushroom head either. How could she suggest keeping a cat in someone else's house? The thought of the cat meowing and running around made him uncomfortable. Why was she holding his hand the whole time?

Why won't she let go?!

Wen Zhiyu's Adam's apple bobbed several times before he said, "You're already married."

"Huh?" Han Shu blinked blankly.

"How long are you going to keep taking advantage of single young men?"

Han Shu followed Wen Zhiyu's gaze and realized she had been holding that hand with its distinct knuckles. She flung it away as if burned, waving her hands repeatedly, "Sorry, sorry, sorry, I didn't mean to, I just got a little excited seeing the cat..."

She screamed internally: Help! Does he think I'm deliberately groping him?!

Most importantly, this was the first time she had held a man's hand since becoming an adult! And the man was... was...

Okay, he's a handsome guy.

Wen Zhiyu was forcefully thrown away by her, and the oar almost slipped from his grasp for the second time. After regaining his balance, he exhaled a few breaths, his chest heaving, "Such a small cat, the big cat must be nearby too."

—The typhoon has passed, and with Mom taking care of me, there shouldn't be any major problems.

Han Shu suddenly realized and slapped the edge of the boat, "That's right! Could we take the mother cat in for a few days too?"

Wen Zhiyu: ...?

Han Shu turned around and knelt down in front of him. "They will stay in my room and will never go out. After the typhoon, I will release them and clean the room until there is not a single cat hair. It will definitely not affect your life."

Despite the sincerity of the sentiment, the homeowner's face remained gloomy.

Han Shu was at her wit's end. She knew her request was a bit excessive, but she couldn't bear to see those little lives suffer. So she clasped her hands together, fingertips touching her chin, her bright almond-shaped eyes fluttering, tears welling up in her eyes, "Kittens less than three months old are so fragile, please, Wen Zhiyu..."

Wen Zhiyu still frowned, his dark eyes coldly glaring, his thin lips pressed tightly together.

But his ears turned red.

Wen Zhiyu: What a pushover! He will definitely stand firm on his principles!