Chapter 21 Twelve years of secluded cultivation couldn't withstand a ridiculous spring dream.

Su Ruan was about to speak to test the waters.

"President Yan."

"Is this considered an upgrade to overtime benefits?"

Yan Tingnan turned to the side.

"The guest rooms are equipped with spare toiletries and pajamas."

"The rain is too heavy; it's not safe."

Su Ruan pouted.

It really does mean taking a bath and going to sleep literally.

Tsk, all that excitement for nothing.

What a scoundrel.

He flirts fiercely, yet he brakes smoothly.

What a waste of that bathrobe and those words about staying here; she thought she could finally get a piece of Buddha's flesh tonight.

She stood up resignedly.

"President Yan is so considerate of his employees."

She forced a business smile, her tone dry and unnatural.

Yan Tingnan didn't respond, but simply raised his chin to indicate the direction.

"The second one from the left."

"Oh, then I'm sorry to have bothered you, Mr. Yan."

"I'm going to rest now."

Su Ruan got up resignedly and walked towards the guest room.

The door closed slightly, shutting out the light and shadow from the living room.

The living room fell silent, with only the increasingly urgent sound of rain pounding against the glass outside the French windows.

Yan Tingnan stood there, staring at the closed door of the guest room, his throat moving slightly.

He turned and walked to the bar, poured himself a glass of ice water, and gulped it down.

The ice water went down my throat, but it couldn't quell the restlessness that had been stirred up inside me.

...

Guest room.

After taking a shower, Su Ruan changed into a brand new pure cotton pajama.

She threw herself onto the soft bed, the cool scent of the pillow brushing against her nose.

She turned over, reached for her phone, and sent a message to Song Shengsheng.

[Sleep soundly, stop taking supplements]

The other party replied instantly.

[Is President Yan not up to the task?]

Su Ruan chuckled and replied to her.

Buddhist disciples emphasize a gradual approach, first observing a vegetarian diet before introducing meat.

That's all for now, I'm going to sleep.

After sending the message, she turned over angrily, curled up in the blanket, and fell into a deep sleep.

Meanwhile, in the master bedroom.

Yan Tingnan lay on the bed, forcing himself to clear his mind of distractions.

Not long after I closed my eyes, my consciousness, like a wild horse, crashed straight into a warm, soft body of water.

The dream came unexpectedly.

Marble table edge, sudden rain pattering against the window.

“Yan Tingnan…”

The first time she called him by his full name, it went straight to her very core.

Yan Tingnan suddenly opened his eyes, a thin layer of sweat beading on his forehead.

3:17 a.m.

He threw off the covers and got out of bed, pouring cold water over his head.

Water droplets rolled down his taut back muscles, but they couldn't wash away the warmth of her clinging to him in his dream.

Twelve years of solitary cultivation could not outweigh a fleeting, absurd dream.

He needs to calm down and banish those delusional thoughts that defy the rules.

Yan Tingnan entered the study, spread out Xuan paper, ground ink, and picked up a brush.

A solitary lamp hangs on the desk, its cold, white light sparingly encircling only that one piece of Xuan paper.

He picked up his brush and dipped it in ink.

As soon as the brush touched the paper, the first character of the Heart Sutra was written crookedly.

The brushstrokes have lost their former calm and composure, the ink varying in shades, yet penetrating the paper with force.

Those images, like ghosts, kept tearing at his mind as he tried to focus.

Yan Tingnan tore off the Xuan paper, crumpled it into a ball, and replaced it with new Xuan paper to copy the text.

The more I write, the more chaotic it gets.

The more chaotic it is, the more I write.

Once.

Twice.

The faster I copied, the more chaotic my mind became.

The phrase on the paper, "Form is emptiness, emptiness is form," seemed like the greatest irony to him.

4:13 AM.

When Su Ruan was awakened by thirst, the sound of rain outside the window had stopped.

She stared at the unfamiliar ceiling for three seconds before remembering that she was at Yan Tingnan's house.

The guest room pillows were too soft, the mattress too hard, and even the scent of sandalwood in the air had an inhuman, cold tone.

What a terrible place! Even sleeping here feels like being in prison.

Rubbing his eyes, he walked out of the guest room and went to pour himself a glass of water.

Just as I was about to go back to my room to continue sleeping, I noticed a sliver of warm light leaking from the crack in the study door.

Su Ruan stepped forward with a water glass in her hand. Through the slightly ajar door, she saw Yan Tingnan sitting upright like a pine tree, writing furiously at his desk.

It lacks the coldness of the daytime, but gains a sense of loneliness in the dead of night.

The table was covered with Xuan paper, and a few crumpled pieces of paper were scattered on the floor.

The scene was serene and solemn, carrying a sense of divine asceticism.

Wow, practicing calligraphy in the middle of the night instead of sleeping?

The work and rest schedule of retired cadres is indeed abnormal.

Su Ruan was about to turn around when her slipper kicked the door frame.

With a soft click, the study door was pushed open half a foot.

Yan Tingnan's hand, which was holding the pen, suddenly stopped.

Seeing this, Su Ruan had no choice but to bite the bullet and greet them.

"President Yan?"

She spoke tentatively in a low voice, her tone slightly hoarse from just waking up.

"Still not resting?"

A drop of thick ink fell on the word "emptiness," which signifies the emptiness of the five aggregates, and instantly spread, staining the entire passage of scripture.

Yan Tingnan didn't look up, but slowly put down his pen.

"Um."

He responded with a sound of nonchalance, only displaying a distant and aloof demeanor.

"What's up?"

"Pour me a glass of water," she said, trying to sound natural.

"Do as you please."

Su Ruan didn't notice his strange behavior and took two steps forward.

His gaze fell curiously on the Heart Sutra.

The ink blots are ferocious, the brushstrokes are like knives; where is there even a trace of Buddhist tranquility?

She tilted her head, touched the ink stain, and spoke in a tone that was both innocent and poignant.

"This copy of the Heart Sutra looks so menacing! If you didn't know better, you'd think President Yan was writing a declaration of war."

Upon hearing this, Yan Tingnan finally raised her eyes.

"Go back to sleep."

"Don't go out wandering around unless you have to."

Su Ruan: "..."

Su Ruan shrugged indifferently and yawned slightly.

She turned and dragged her feet back, her voice drifting lazily back.

"Alright, alright, capitalists are the biggest, time to sleep."

Until the study door closed gently, shutting out that unsettling figure.

Yan Tingnan's tense shoulder line relaxed almost imperceptibly for a moment.

He looked down at the glaring ink stain on the table and gave a self-deprecating twitch at the corner of his mouth.

Yan Tingnan took off her glasses and pinched the bridge of her nose.

He looked unusually tired, like most ordinary people.

He closed his eyes, suddenly grabbed the illegible page of the Heart Sutra, crumpled it into a ball, and threw it into the wastebasket in the corner.

He stood up irritably.

I took a cold shower, so I have to take another one.

...

Yan Yunye is also having trouble sleeping tonight.

At 10 PM.

Under the same night sky, Nebula's neon lights were dazzling.

Yan Yunye leaned back in the booth, twirling a lighter as he listened to Wen Wanwan sing a tender love song.

Zhou Wei suddenly shoved his phone in front of his face.

"Holy crap! Su Ruan is ordering male models from LOST!"

"Brother Ye, your little tail is really something else!"

In the photo, Su Ruan's fingertips rest on the back of the male model's hand, under an ambiguous and glaring light.

Immediately afterwards, some people started to jeer.

"Brother Ye, are you doing this on purpose to annoy you?"

Yan Yunye's lighter clicked to a halt, the flame leaping up and reflecting a sinister glint in his eyes.

My heart felt like it had been squeezed tightly by something, a dull, aching pain.

"Oh."

Yan Yunye let out a short, cold sneer, his fingertip grinding heavily against the lighter's roller, extinguishing the flame instantly.

"That's all she's good for."

"What, do you think I would care?"

Even so, my finger involuntarily clicked on that long-dormant profile picture.

The brothers around him exchanged glances, their laughter mixed with the excitement of watching the spectacle.

"Exactly! Brother Ye knows all about Su Ruan's skills."

"He deliberately posted it on his WeChat Moments to annoy people, trying to get Ye Ge's attention!"

Yan Yunye refreshed the screen.

A glaring gray line runs across the screen.

"Is it blocked?" Zhou Wei peered over the shoulder.

His pupils contracted sharply, and he returned to the chat interface, typing rapidly.

Are you crazy?

The moment it was sent, the scarlet exclamation mark stung my pupils.

The other party has enabled friend verification; you are not yet their friend.

The cold system notification was like a resounding slap across his face!