"Aren't you going to explain what happened back then to me?"

The recollection ended there, and Gu Qingqiu glanced at the man's tightly pursed lips.

"I..." The man was about to speak when he realized that the two of them had unknowingly arrived on the first floor.

"Let's talk about it when we get home," Gu Qingqiu said.

"...Which home should we go back to?" the man asked repeatedly, his eyes revealing obvious insecurity.

"Oh? You don't know where I live? Then I'll go back by myself." Gu Qingqiu teased him intentionally.

"No! It's so late, and your home is so far away..." The man quickly replied, "My home is very close to here, only a ten-minute drive away."

"Let's go then. Where did you park your car?"

Even after Gu Qingqiu got into the car, the man was still visibly insecure, his hands trembling as he fastened her seatbelt, which amused Gu Qingqiu.

Soothing music played in the car, and Gu Qingqiu couldn't help but yawn and stretch. The fatigue returned, and she unconsciously closed her eyes.

After an unknown amount of time, Gu Qingqiu even had a dream. When she opened her eyes, she found herself still in the car. The car window was slightly ajar for ventilation, and her seat was reclined. The man in the driver's seat was staring intently at her.

Gu Qingqiu felt a little embarrassed and straightened up. "We're here? Why didn't you wake me up?"

"I can't bear it." The man smiled gently, "You're sleeping so soundly."

The two of them, like a couple deeply in love, held hands and went upstairs.

The man opened the door and pulled Gu Qingqiu into a tight and loving embrace. "You know what? I've been dreaming of bringing you home."

"Then pinch yourself and see if you're dreaming?" Gu Qingqiu replied.

To her surprise, the man actually pinched her forearm hard, making her hiss in pain.

Gu Qingqiu quickly pulled his arm over to check it. Seeing the bruises on it, she said with heartache, "Are you stupid? Why did you actually pinch me? And so hard!"

The man smiled foolishly: "It's not a dream, it really is you."

The two nestled together on the spacious sofa, and the man explained everything that had happened back then. Gu Qingqiu asked him any questions, and he answered without any concealment.

"You know what? I really regret it. If only I had..."

If only I had been braver back then, if only I had told you about my family from the beginning, if only I had been more shameless when I sensed you were trying to back down, then they wouldn't have missed so many years.

Gu Qingqiu covered the man's mouth with her hand and suddenly asked, "So, what do you like me to call you? What name do you want me to call you? Zou Jingxi or Lin Yelan? Or some other nickname?"

"Anything is fine, you can call me whatever you like." The man was actually a little unsatisfied, after all, Gu Qingqiu had already used more intimate terms before, and now just calling her by her name was obviously not enough for him, but their relationship had only just begun, so they would take it slow.

Gu Qingqiu said thoughtfully, "Then I'll call you senior for now, since that's what I've called you before."

"Okay." The man was visibly disappointed. "Do you want to take a shower? I'll go run some hot water and get you some pajamas."

"You still have pajamas I can wear?" Gu Qingqiu had actually put on the pink fluffy slippers by the door when she came in, but now she belatedly felt a little jealous: "Did you prepare these for your ex-girlfriend?"

"Where did I get an ex-girlfriend?" The man immediately denied it, and didn't forget to be sincere and play the victim: "I just fantasized about living with you too many times, so... I prepared a lot of things in advance to make it feel more real. I've only ever loved one woman, really."

"Really?" Looking into the other person's eyes, Gu Qingqiu already believed it, but she deliberately said, "So you've been single all these years? With your good qualities, you must have had many women who like you, right? Doesn't your family pressure you to get married?"

“There are people who like me, but I don’t feel anything for them, so I rejected them all. As for my family, I told them that I’m busy building my career and that a man should establish himself before starting a family, so my family doesn’t pressure me.”

"Isn't there anyone who's persistent and clingy?" Gu Qingqiu asked curiously.

"There really was one," the man said helplessly. "I finally scared her away by accusing her of being impotent."

"You can't get it?" Gu Qingqiu's eyes widened, her gaze involuntarily shifting to the man's lower body.

"How could that be!" the man immediately denied. "That's just an excuse! An excuse! Besides, don't you know whether I'm capable or not?"

"I really don't know." Gu Qingqiu blinked innocently. "After all, we haven't done anything."

That was indeed it… Thinking of something, the man's eyes darkened, and his breathing became heavier.

"By the way, do you have any records of information from those worlds?" Gu Qingqiu asked him.

“Of course I do.” The man replied without hesitation: “I thought to myself, if you find out about this, or if you still don’t accept me after you leave, I’m prepared to spend the rest of my life relying on this information.”

"You really are..." Gu Qingqiu shook her head as she walked to the bathroom door, then suddenly stopped and turned back: "Want to shower together?"

"...What?" The man couldn't believe it. Happiness had come too suddenly!

"Don't you want it? If you don't want it, then forget it." Gu Qingqiu turned around and prepared to close the bathroom door.

"Yes!" The man staggered for a moment, then ran to the bathroom door as fast as he could and squeezed inside.

Although the bathroom was quite large, the two of them were very close together. They first tentatively hugged and kissed, and then took off each other's clothes.

As the temperature in the bathroom gradually rose, the two lovers, like dry wood meeting a raging fire, could not suppress their desire to be close to each other.

The man forced himself to climb out of the bathtub, saying, "No, not today. I'm not ready."

"What are you going to prepare?" Gu Qingqiu looked at his erect penis and asked curiously, "Are you really impotent?"

"No!" The man blushed and stammered, "We don't have... condoms at home..."

"Oh." Gu Qingqiu suddenly realized, then gave a half-smile: "Didn't you really want me to have your child? After all, you even created a world and background setting for me. Was it to prepare me mentally, or to satisfy your own fetish?"

"I...I..." The man couldn't find a reason to deny it, and he didn't dare to look at Gu Qingqiu anymore.

Gu Qingqiu, emboldened by some unknown source, pulled the man back and stroked his firm abs: "At a time like this, you're still thinking so much? Are you even a man?"

If he could tolerate this, he wouldn't be a man. The man pushed Gu Qingqiu down and demonstrated to her with his actions that he was very capable, until Gu Qingqiu cried out that she didn't want it anymore before he stopped.

He wasn't planning to stop, but Gu Qingqiu was too tired today, and he couldn't bear to. He helped Gu Qingqiu wipe the water and other liquids off her body, carried her back to her room, covered her with a blanket, and spoke gently in her ear.

Goodnight, my whole world.