A cool morning breeze brushed against her cheeks, and wisps of hair at her temples fluttered back and forth against her ears. Shi Lan stood by the open window, gazing at the expansive view outside, silently thinking about Ning Yuze, who had yet to make a move.

Shuiqin and another woman named Wenjiao were cleaning up the decorations leaning against the display cabinet. When they saw Shi Lan standing there, they said, "Lan, come and help us."

Shi Lan turned around and saw two people carrying a vase that was taller than a person, so she quickly went over to help.

The three of them struggled to move the vase, and after catching their breath for a moment, the other two turned around and went to tidy up other things.

Shi Lan grabbed a rag from the side and gently wiped the handrail, which was shiny from being waxed, while glancing around from time to time.

For some reason, she always felt that someone was secretly watching her from the shadows in the room. Shi Lan searched several times, but each time she found nothing.

Time seemed to pass slowly in the mansion, but it actually flew by. More than half a month had passed in the blink of an eye, and the weather was getting colder and colder. Shi Lan's mood also grew colder and colder with the weather.

Ning Yuze's delayed appearance gave Shi Lan, who was already quite impatient, a sense of unease. She often wondered if that night was just a figment of her imagination, or perhaps she had mistaken him for someone else.

To confirm whether it was her imagination, Shi Lan felt she had to see Ning Yuze again as soon as possible. To this end, she asked Butler Wan for an advance on her salary for the month, claiming that she needed to find that old friend. Butler Wan was very understanding and, upon learning that she wanted to hire a private investigator, even provided her with a familiar candidate.

Shi Lan was very happy and took advantage of her vacation to meet with that person, providing the names of the only three people she knew and the address of Lisa's house.

The man left with a meager message and a wad of cash. Shi Lan returned home in high spirits, and on the way, she saw a fruit vendor and bought a few pieces in a good mood.

After climbing the dilapidated stairs, I saw a figure in the distance, half-leaning and half-sitting at the door of his room.

Because she was in debt to loan sharks, Shi Lan subconsciously tensed her back, but she quickly thought of another possibility, and with a sway of her body, she walked over with extremely light and fast steps.

The figure seemed to sense the approaching person and silently raised its head.

Seeing that handsome face, Shi Lan was stunned, feeling a sense of unreality for a moment.

What are you doing here?

Ning Yuze smiled slightly, "I was just passing by and thought I'd stop by."

Ning Zeyu's face was as fair as ever. The light of dusk shone through the tiny window and enveloped him, giving him a strange feeling as if Haoze, who was sitting in the space, had appeared before him.

Shi Lan blinked, the hallucination disappeared, and her mood immediately plummeted. Seeing him sitting on the ground again, she could only manage a weak smile and said, "Have you been waiting for a long time?"

Ning Zeyu said, "Not long."

Shi Lan secretly grimaced. Looking at his clothes, it wouldn't be long before he was covered in dust.

Shi Lan took two steps forward, took out her key, and opened the door.

The door clicked open, and the door slid open, causing Ning Yuze to fall limply inside.

Shi Lan exclaimed "Hey!" and her expression immediately changed. She hurriedly threw away the fruit and bent down to help him.

"What’s wrong with you?"

Ning Yuze took a couple of light breaths, then smiled again, "It's nothing, I just got a minor injury."

Hearing him say that, Shi Lan realized that without the sunlight, although he still looked the same, his lips were noticeably pale and his complexion was much duller.

Shi Lan struggled to help him into the house, settled him on the bed, and helped him sit up in a half-reclined position before asking, "What happened?"

Ning Yuze still wore a faint smile, "I ruined his business deal, this is his way of returning the favor."

Shi Lan frowned and carefully lifted the area where his fingers were pressing. A wound about the length of a finger on her side, with the skin turned inside out, was slowly oozing blood.

Shi Lan gasped and quickly looked around. Finding that there was nothing in the house to stop the bleeding or reduce inflammation, she hurriedly said, "Wait here," and got up to rush downstairs to the medicine store a few hundred meters away. When she returned, she was carrying a bag of internal and external medicines for treating external injuries.

Back inside, Ning Yuze looked up and smiled faintly.

Shi Lan gritted her teeth, squatted down in front of him with a bad temper, carefully pulled open his clothes, and when she saw the shocking wound, her heart couldn't help but clench.

Seeing her pale face, Ning Yuze reached out and said, "How about I do it myself?"

Shi Lan tilted her hand to the side and glanced at him, "Are you sure you still have the strength to wrap the bandage tightly?"

Ning Yuze smiled faintly, his handsome face showing signs of fragility due to blood loss, making him all the more heartbreaking.

However, for Shi Lan, who cares about Haoze, no amount of beauty is as important as dealing with what's in front of her.

Seeing his hand slowly reaching out, Shi Lan rolled her eyes, gently waved it away, disinfected the wound as lightly as possible, and then quickly wrapped the bandage.

After doing all this, Shi Lan noticed a trace of bright red on the side of his waist where it was touching the bed sheet. Upon closer inspection, he realized that his pants were soaked with blood.

"How long have we been waiting?" Shi Lan's heart skipped a beat, and she felt very uncomfortable.

Carefully, she took off his outer garment, his face flushed, and hesitantly reached for his belt.

Ning Yuze gently pressed the metal buckle on his belt and said, "I don't think this is necessary."

Ning Yuze's tone was calm and gentle, but even so, it made Shi Lan, who was already extremely embarrassed but couldn't bear to see him lying there covered in blood, completely lose her temper.

"You think it's unnecessary just because you say so? This is my home, and I make the decisions. You're not allowed to lie on the bed with your clothes on," Shi Lan shouted angrily, roughly pushing aside his weak and powerless hand, pulling down his pants with her eyes closed, and then grabbing the blanket at the foot of the bed and throwing it at Ning Yuze based on her memory.

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