Chapter 16 "Are you so afraid of me?"
The master bedroom is nearly twice as large as the guest bedroom, and the color tone is Lu Yu's usual preference of cool gray, simple and neat.
The huge floor-to-ceiling windows offer the dazzling night view of the city, making the interior seem even more spacious and quiet.
Lin Che stood where he was, looking around at this absolute territory that belonged to Lu Yu.
The large double bed was in the middle of the room, and the air was filled with the faint, cold cedar scent of Lu Yu. Lin Che suddenly felt that the insurmountable distance was within reach.
The sound of water in the bathroom suddenly stopped.
When Lu Yu pushed open the frosted glass door, he casually placed the towel he used to wipe his hair on the back of the chair. The water droplets on the ends of his hair slid down his neck, stayed briefly in the depression of his collarbone, and finally sank into the collar of his dark gray silk nightgown.
"What's wrong?" Lu Yu turned around and asked Lin Che, who was standing there in a daze, face to face.
Lin Che couldn't answer and shook her head, speechless.
Even if it was just a formality, it was far beyond his psychological expectations at the moment.
The cold terms in the agreement were in sharp conflict with the real-life scenario he was facing at the moment.
He needs a buffer zone, a safe distance.
"Not adapting? Or are you feeling uncomfortable somewhere?" Lu Yu slowed down his tone, lowered his body to look Lin Che in the eye, and asked cautiously.
Lin Che never thought of herself as being so pretentious, but when she met Lu Yu's eyes, her eyes unconsciously turned red.
Lu Yu noticed that Lin Che was in a bad mood, and rubbed Lin Che's head gently with his big hands.
"I'm going to deal with two emails. You go take a shower first."
Lu Yu left the room to Lin Che alone. Personal space was the best thing for him at the moment, and he had to handle everything by himself.
The moment the bathroom door closed, Lin Che's tense shoulders finally relaxed.
He took a deep breath, and the scent of cedar mixed with the mist in the bathroom became even stronger and lingered in his breath.
When Lin Che came out of the bathroom, Lu Yu had not returned yet and the entire villa was silent.
The lighting in the room is always in warm light mode, which is just the right warmth on a late autumn night.
When Lu Yu came back from the study, he gently pushed open the door and left only a floor lamp in the room.
Lin Che lay sideways on the sofa, half of his face buried in the goose down pillow. He had changed into light-colored cotton pajamas at some point, the collar slightly open, revealing a slender collarbone.
After all, the sofa was too narrow for an adult man. He had to bend his knees and unconsciously fold his hands over his chest like an insecure child.
Lu Yu squatted on one knee on the dark carpet in front of the sofa. The refraction of the light allowed him to see more clearly the fan-shaped shadows cast by Lin Che's trembling eyelashes under his eyes, as well as the small mole on the bridge of his nose that was so faint that it was almost invisible.
He noticed that Lin Che's right hand was still loosely holding the book "Essence of General Surgery", and it was obvious that he had fallen asleep while reading.
"Are you so afraid of me?" Lu Yu muttered to himself as he looked at Lin Che's profile, reaching out to take away the shaky professional book.
As his fingertips touched the book, the sleeping person suddenly flinched and the book fell to the carpet with a clatter.
Lin Che frowned in his dream and unconsciously curled up deeper into the sofa.
The hem of her pajamas was lifted up by this action, revealing her fair ankles, which stood out against the dark sofa lining.
Lu Yu's gaze lingered on that piece of skin for a moment. Outside the window behind him, a light rain was falling late at night, rippling the gauze curtain and making a slight sound.
Lin Che, who was sleeping soundly on the sofa, frowned unconsciously. Seeing this, Lu Yu stood up and closed the window half a beat slower than usual to ensure that there was no metal collision sound when the lock fell.
He leaned over, put one hand through Lin Che's neck, and placed the other hand under his knees. The sleeping person seemed to sense the heat source and unconsciously rubbed his cheek against Lu Yu's hot chest. His black hair fluttered, revealing the red tip of his ear.
Lu Yu suddenly stopped moving while still leaning forward.
He saw that the second button of Lin Che's pajamas was a little loose, and saw his chest rising and falling slightly with his breathing. At this moment, he was like a homeless little animal curled up for shelter.
This realization made Lu Yu's Adam's apple move.
In the end, he just reached out to push aside the strand of hair that fell from his forehead and gently placed Lin Che on the bed.
When the morning light filtered through the gaps in the gauze curtains, Lin Che first felt an unusual warmth.
A solid heat source pressed against his back, and the even heat came through the fabric of his pajamas.
He rubbed towards the heat source in a daze, and the back of his head hit something soft and elastic.
"woke up?"
A low, hoarse male voice exploded right next to Lin Che's ear, and he instantly woke up.
He suddenly opened his eyes and found that he was almost embedded in Lu Yu's arms.
His back was pressed against the other person's chest, and one of Lu Yu's arms was across his waist. What he had just touched was clearly the other person's arm muscles.
Lin Che jumped back as if she had been electrocuted, but was instantly grabbed by an arm around her waist.
Lu Yu's voice was lazily filled with the sound of someone just waking up. "Don't move. Your side is the edge of the bed."
The heat brushed against the back of my neck, causing a small shiver.
This realization made Lin Che freeze. He then realized that he was indeed lying on the very edge of the bed. If he retreated an inch, he would fall off.
Lu Yu's sleeping posture was surprisingly regular, still lying on his right side as he had last night, but his arm was resting on him at some point.
"I...I'll go make breakfast." Lin Che's voice was tense, and the tips of his ears were red enough to drip blood.
He tried to get up in a hurry, but forgot that his hair was still pressed under Lu Yu's arm. He groaned in pain when his hair was pulled.
Lu Yu suddenly laughed, and the vibration of his chest could be heard through their backs.
He slowly pulled his arm out, his fingertips accidentally brushing the back of Lin Che's neck. The collar of his nightgown was wide open, and there was a suspicious red mark on his collarbone, most likely caused by Lin Che's hair.
Their eyes met in the air and then looked away at the same time.
Lin Che noticed that Lu Yu's hair was unusually messy, with strands of hair hanging down in front of his forehead, softening his usually sharp features.
Lu Yu looked at the crooked buttons on the collar of Lin Che's pajamas, revealing a patch of red skin.
"Aunt Qu will be here at eight o'clock." Lu Yu suddenly reached out and buttoned his shirt before Lin Che could react.
"Before..."
His fingertips lingered on the button for a second. "You can get some more sleep."
Lin Che stared blankly at Lu Yu's back as he walked towards the bathroom. The belt of his nightgown was tied loosely around his waist, revealing his waistline faintly as he walked.
Fragments of last night's memories suddenly came flooding back: the warm embrace, the breath on my head, and the vague "Don't be afraid" I heard in a half-asleep state.
The sound of the bathroom door closing startled Lin Che from her daze.
He looked down at the wrinkled sheets. The side he had slept on had become flat again, while there was almost no dent on Lu Yu's side due to the pillow.
Lin Che buried his burning face in the pillow, the scent of cedar gently enveloping him.
A certain realization suddenly became clear to him - the smell of Lu Yu on this bed was stronger than his own.
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