heating

An hour passed, and the heavy rain showed no signs of stopping. Rainwater flowed down the eaves, creating a four-sided rain curtain perfectly suited to the low pavilion.

The wind ruffled the rain curtain, and a damp, cool feeling rose in the pavilion.

Gu Nan lowered her head and pulled her coat tighter, covering herself completely, while looking up at the man wearing only a thin shirt.

Outside the pavilion, the rain poured down. Lu Yushi remained silent, his brows slightly furrowed, as if he had encountered some problem that was not easy to solve. The rain poured down and covered his arms with tiny specks. The summer clothing was too thin, and the specks disappeared instantly upon falling in, leaving only inconspicuous water stains.

Without any martial arts skills, the shirt had lost its concealing function, revealing clearly the muscle lines underneath.

Gu Nan's fingers stiffened for a moment, and her hands, which were gripping the hem of her clothes, unconsciously tightened, as if afraid that the person in front of her would see through her inappropriate concern. The hesitant words that were about to come out were deliberately uttered in a mean way: "Aren't you cold?"

Lu Yushi seemed to suddenly grasp the key to solving the problem. His slightly furrowed brows gradually relaxed, and he casually shifted his gaze, lingering briefly on the hem of her tightly clenched clothes. He asked without much meaning, "Give it back to me?"

His calm tone betrayed no particular attachment to the coat, but the upturned corners of his eyes revealed a strange emotion.

Gu Nan couldn't understand it, nor was she interested in understanding it, so she just held her coat without moving.

It's still impossible to pay it back.

Meng Qing angered Master Wan, and given his meticulous nature, he will definitely take action against Meng Qing next. In addition, the marriage between the Lin and Shen families failed, and Lin Jianye is furious. She should take this opportunity to "comfort" him properly, and she should also meet with Shen Ming if she has the chance.

At such a crucial juncture, she has no right to be sick.

He rubbed his numb wrist and muttered, "Let it get cold. I didn't ask any more questions."

If she gets sick from the cold, it's good that she doesn't have to worry about where to take her ex-boyfriend, whom she never met before, to see her.

Gravesites aren't so easy to find.

Lu Yushi's lips twitched, and a barely audible chuckle seemed to echo in her ears. The laughter blended into the wind and rain, disappeared into the mist, and vanished without a trace the moment she looked up.

As if it were an illusion, Lu Yushi's expression remained unchanged from beginning to end.

She paused for a moment, then muttered to herself in dissatisfaction, "What new problem have I developed?"

Even if Lu Yushi had the ability to laugh, he had no reason to laugh now. He couldn't be happy just because he was freezing.

A self-loathing hum, ears wandering away from home, and brain striking a strike?

Silence filled the pavilion when Lu Yushi abruptly spoke: "Are you waiting for someone here?"

Like a muffled thunderclap in her ears, her blood rushed to her head, Gu Nan's eyes flickered, and she suddenly felt less cold. She muttered to herself, "This is what Lu Yushi couldn't figure out earlier?"

The stiff expression came quickly and went even faster. She took the opportunity to stretch and casually said, "I'm waiting for you. You're not on the mountain, and I'm afraid you'll come down too late and be all alone halfway down the mountain, which would be pitiful."

Lu Yushi's expression was complicated: "Wait for me?"

His gaze fell on the suit jacket she was wearing, as if he wanted to stare a hole through it.

Gu Nan shrugged indifferently and explained, "It's only early autumn, how was I supposed to know it would be this cold? Should I return it to you?"

As expected, Lu Yushi didn't take the coat, nor did he say anything. It wasn't the first time she had noticed Lu Yushi's sullenness. Bored, she lay down on the table, tilting her head to look at the rain-soaked walls on all sides, which were being torn apart by the wind.

Pray that the rain will stop.

For no other reason than that she didn't want to owe anyone a favor.

It was definitely not because of some strange feeling surging in my heart.

It's not some laughable concern.

After the heat subsided, an even more biting cold followed, the chill creeping up her spine. She shivered, her eyes involuntarily glancing at the silent figure beside her.

Lu Yushi stood sideways, his jawline taut. His thin shirt was soaked with rainwater, and his back and shoulder blades were damp, clinging to his skin and revealing the contours of his muscles.

His overly stiff shoulder and neck lines revealed his true feelings.

If it weren't for the biting cold, someone like him would be able to get by anywhere.

Before him remained a vast expanse of white, and in his blurred vision, the palaces and pavilions atop the mountain appeared as condensed, overlapping images.

This rain is unlikely to stop anytime soon.

The previous excuses could no longer convince me. An inexplicable sense of unease, mixed with unspeakable guilt, quietly surfaced in my heart.

He let out a deep breath silently: "Hey."

When she met Lu Yushi's gaze, she found it even harder to speak.

He unconsciously licked his dry lips, opened his mouth, but made no sound.

Lu Yushi glanced at her, his gaze lingering on her face: "Still cold?"

I felt even more guilty.

She coughed lightly, trying to look innocent, her hands supporting her chin, her bright eyes seeming to hold shattered stars, and she looked around nervously, feigning ignorance: "The book says that it's warmer when two people hug each other."

The deliberately flattened voice, upon closer inspection, revealed a genuine tremor, which it failed to conceal.

Lu Yushi raised an eyebrow, looked at her without saying a word.

Gu Nan gritted her teeth. What kind of reaction was this? She was making such an obvious invitation, and Lu Yushi couldn't understand it?

I have to make her say it clearly: "Hold me tight, or you'll freeze to death."

She glanced at Lu Yushi's face, which showed neither happiness nor anger. His deep eyes were fixed on her, as if he wanted to dissect her from the inside out to see her truest thoughts.

She knew Lu Yushi had always suspected her motives for approaching him.

She herself had impure motives and didn't care about his attitude, but now she was so innocent that she didn't even recognize herself, and yet she was being suspected. She glared at him coldly and cursed, "Your kindness is being taken for granted."

Even if she's soft-hearted, she's still a dog!

As the sound faded, only the relentless patter of rain remained in the pavilion.

Lu Yushi clenched his fist and looked up at the sky.

The white mist formed by water vapor shortened visibility, and even through the blur, one could clearly see the dark, heavy clouds overhead, showing no signs of dissipating.

At Xiangshan Palace, Master Wan bluntly raised his questions, asking where he had found the two women. One had caused the marriage between the Lin and Chen families to fail, and the other dared to question him about his legitimate and illegitimate children.

He vehemently denied it, but Master Wan was certain that the two women were related to him; otherwise, why would one ask him for help and the other speak up for him?

This left him speechless and unable to defend himself.

He was clearly a victim too; both women had connections to Gu Nan and "helped" him break off relations with Master Wan and the Shen family.

Even this so-called hug is most likely just a ploy to build a good relationship so that it can be used for personal gain.

If you couldn't figure out Gu Nan's thoughts before, it would be foolish to remain confused now.

It is still unknown who Gu Nan will ultimately deal with, but one thing is very clear to him: he is just a pawn in Gu Nan's game, and he doesn't care about his life or death, but only whether he is useful and whether he can achieve the desired effect.

Even though they knew it was dangerous, their bodies abandoned their instinct to save themselves.

She led him step by step into depravity.

He had heard about the news that Mr. Xue and his entire family of over a hundred perished in the fire.

Since then, only one of his beloved disciples, Lin Jianye, has done countless good deeds and become famous.

Lu Yushi gazed at the exquisite face before him, which feigned innocence but concealed a complex scheme deep within its eyes. His gaze softened slightly, and an imperceptible emotion surged deep within his pupils. A small part of his heart softened in an extremely subtle way.

Never mind, he was going to break the current situation in Beicheng anyway.

"Hugging each other?"

"No need. I've never seen anyone freeze to death in front of me. This is a good opportunity to broaden my horizons." Gu Nan said coldly, refusing to look at him.

Lu Yushi shook his head with amusement: "What, don't you think this kind of weather is perfect for dumping a body now?"

The rising intonation at the end of the sentence reminded Gu Nan of the stern warning she had given an hour earlier.

Gu Nan was speechless: "...You really...I really can't help but suspect that you have no friends. I was worried you were cold, so I kindly tried to help you. Are you even a human being?"

Before the last syllable had even dissipated into the damp, cold air, the light in front of me suddenly dimmed.

Gu Nan looked up, and a tall figure took a step forward. The dim light swayed in the wind but did not reach her eyes. An inviolable sense of oppression invaded all the space and light in front of her.

He stirred the air around him, giving it a damp and cold feel.

She instinctively gripped the stone table tightly, her knuckles turning slightly white from the force, and her lips tightened uncontrollably.

Lu Yushi noticed the subtle hesitation, and the two of them, one standing and one sitting, were locked in a stalemate.

Lu Yushi hesitated and stopped, a half-smile on his face: "Is this out of kindness or just casual talk?"

Gu Nan glared at her: "Can't you walk slower? It's already cold, and you're bringing a gust of wind with you."

Suppressing her inner resistance, she deliberately leaned forward to meet the body, muttering in a voice that Lu Yushi could hear: "Hurry up, don't freeze to death. It's easy to dump a body on a hot day, but it's a hassle to collect it."

Lu Yushi stood in front of her, close enough to feel the faint breaths of each other, and could see the tiny water droplets condensed on Gu Nan's eyelashes, trembling slightly.

He lowered his eyes, looking down at Gu Nan's profile, which was feigning dissatisfaction, and his dark expression froze for a moment.

He raised his hand silently.

A gentle breeze swept by.

Gu Nan forced herself to remain still, letting her breathing completely stop, and closed her eyes.

I didn't feel any touch for a long time.

Open your eyes.

Lu Yushi remained completely still.

Just as she opened her eyes, Lu Yushi leaned down.

Gu Nan laughed in exasperation, cursing under her breath, "He did that on purpose, didn't he?"

She felt that arm go over her shoulder, but the expected touch didn't come.

That hand simply pulled her oversized coat tighter, keeping the cold wind and rain completely out.

He then left.

"If you don't want to, then don't talk nonsense."

Gu Nan was stunned for a moment.

She could still feel the fleeting touch on her neck; the icy fingertips seemed to come from the snow, sending a tiny, yet heart-pounding shiver down her spine as they brushed against the skin of her neck.

The voice above her was deep and slightly hoarse, as if it could see through the timidity hidden beneath her skin, carrying a hint of almost imperceptible indulgence.

"you……"

As soon as she said it, Gu Nan quickly shut her mouth and turned her head away.

Rain falls before my eyes, but the fire in my mind never dies out.

Flames twisted and rose, illuminating half the sky red. The scorching air currents seemed to have grown tentacles, relentlessly destroying life after life. Every frame of distant memory carried a terrifying temperature, eroding reason.

She had been having the same dream for over a decade, in which countless large hands gripped her neck, nearly suffocating her, with no way to escape.

He curled his fingers tightly inside the wide sleeves of his shirt, his nails digging deep into his palms, using the pain to force himself to calm down.

She couldn't forget those chilling fears, and she would never allow herself to develop any feelings of liking or affection.

He squeezed his eyes shut, and when he opened them again, the panic in his eyes was forcibly suppressed, replaced by his usual nonchalant attitude.

Looking back into those unfathomable eyes.

Its sharp, discerning gaze seemed to see right through her loss of composure.

Her throat tightened, and she tried her best to adjust her mindset, using nonsense to buy herself some breathing time: "I'm so beautiful, what if you can't control yourself? I'm taking precautions."

"Prepare for a rainy day?" Lu Yushi repeated in a low voice, the last syllable slightly drawn out. After a playful examination, he became serious. "By provoking Master Wan in that way and making him lose face, Wan Yi won't gain anything, and your friend will be in even more danger."

Gu Nan's heart sank, and her face immediately filled with confusion. She pretended to be clueless, saying, "Did the cold make you hallucinate? When did I see Master Wan? Where did he come from?"

While talking, he covered his phone with his elbow as if he were doing something wrong.

Before the signal disappeared, her young apprentice happily reported the results to her.

"Thank you, Master. I've finally gotten my revenge. Seeing Lin Haoyu being jilted by the Shen family and beaten by the Lin family head fills me with indescribable satisfaction."

[But the process was very bumpy. Those people outside seemed brainless; they wouldn't listen to or believe anything I said, swarming around the Lin family head like flies, accusing me of trying to climb the social ladder, and even making sarcastic remarks that I was trying to attract the attention of Young Master Lu and Young Master Shen. Young Master Lu is so intimidating, who would want to attract his attention?]

"But you're right, Young Master Lu is indeed a good person. He came out to speak for me as soon as I called him, and even said he'd go to the Fourth Hospital to check the surveillance footage. That's when Patriarch Lin suddenly believed me. Before we went down the mountain, Young Master Lu even reminded me to be careful. Although his aura is a bit intimidating, he's a genuinely good person!"

Gu Nan silently murmured "okay" and looked up. Her gaze met his, and the look in those eyes seemed less composed than she had imagined.

Beyond her own figure, there seemed to be a concern she most feared to see flowing through her.

The warm coat, heavy and pressing down on my shoulders, dispelled the chill but brought with it a different kind of oppressive heat.

When Lu Yushi tightened her front of her shirt, his fingers were very cold, so cold that for a moment she wanted to put those hands in her bosom to warm them up.

Startled by the thought, she lost her breath, hurriedly lowered her gaze, and fell silent.