Midway through the banquet, after clinking glasses and exchanging pleasantries with the group’s executives one by one, Lu Shouyue left early.

He hadn’t had much to drink, at most he was just a little tipsy.

With his status, no one would force drinks on him at business events anymore; how much he drank depended entirely on his mood, and even his drinking looked refined and elegant.

Sitting in the car heading to Lin Wanwan’s place, Lu Shouyue opened his photo album and scrolled through the pictures he’d snapped of Lin Wanwan.

He wasn’t into photography, but as long as the lens was recording the girl he loved, he suddenly had an interest.

With his background in fine arts, the candid shots he took of Lin Wanwan were beautiful in both light and composition.

Of course, the most beautiful thing was the person in the photos.

Maybe a lover’s lens is like a lover’s eyes—sparkling because they’re filled with love.

In Lu Shouyue’s lens, Lin Wanwan was as sly as a little elf, bright eyes and dimples, her beauty vivid and alive. 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

If any of Lin Wanwan’s classmates from her school days saw these photos, they probably wouldn’t recognize her.

Back when she was in school, she gave people the impression of an ice-cold beauty—only to be admired from afar.

Even online, although she’d trended several times, the most widely spread videos and photos were still those from when she attended events with Xiao Junning back then.

The ones where she’s wearing an SV gown, expensive jewelry, with a cold, emotionless expression—the textbook aloof model look.

And all of that was completely different from the bright, radiant her in Lu Shouyue’s lens.

Although it was already night, Lu Shouyue’s car still drove into the complex without any obstruction.

After all, this was just an old neighborhood with mediocre security; after the double-code checks were cancelled, the security booth was basically for show.

But while the gate’s barrier didn’t stop the car, the packed parking spaces on the ground did.

Ah Hao drove a difficult loop around the complex and still couldn’t find a proper parking spot.

A lot of cars here were parked directly along the narrow internal roads, not in the marked parking bays.

"Boss, looks like there’s no free space inside the complex. We can only park by the roadside. Or you and Ah Li get off first, and I’ll go around again?" Ah Hao drove back to the building where Lin Wanwan lived and let Lu Shouyue and the other bodyguard, Ah Li, get out first.

"No need to park. Once I get out, you two can clock off. Find a hotel for yourselves tonight and come pick me up tomorrow morning."

"This... will it be safe? We can just crash on the floor." They were being paid by Grandma Lu for 24-hour protection, after all, with only four days off a month each, taken in turns.

"No need, I’m giving you one night off. This is Huaxia, it’s not that dangerous." Lu Shouyue put away his phone, opened the door and got out, striding steadily toward the stairwell’s iron gate.

The iron gate wasn’t shut tight and swung open without a key.

Ah Li followed behind him, wanting to escort him upstairs, but was stopped with a hand gesture.

The boss’s word was law; what the boss said went. Besides, the boss was more than capable of defending himself.

Ah Li immediately stopped and didn’t follow.

Time off—who wouldn’t like that. It wasn’t even half past eight yet, the night was just beginning; they could go unwind in Night Sea City.

Taking the stairs two steps at a time, Lu Shouyue quickly reached the front door of Lin Wanwan’s fourth-floor apartment.

"Ding-dong! Ding-dong!"

The doorbell rang twice, and there was movement inside.

The moment Lin Wanwan opened the door, Lu Shouyue smiled and lunged forward, closing the door behind him with a backward push.

"Wanwan, I missed you so much." He held her tightly for a moment before letting go, taking off his clothes as he looked around the place.

Lin Wanwan felt a little ill at ease, not sure where to rest her gaze. This was her first time letting Lu Shouyue spend the night in her home.

"Your banquet ended this early?" Lin Wanwan had just finished washing up and was holding her laptop, ready to find a movie to watch.

"It’s not over yet, I left early." Lu Shouyue tugged off his tie and asked, "Wanwan, where’s the bathroom? I should shower first, I reek of alcohol."

Face flushed, Lin Wanwan led the way. "In the master bedroom."

When she renovated this place, she hadn’t considered having anyone stay over, so there was only one bedroom in the whole apartment, and the bathroom was directly en suite.

"I do have new toiletries and towels, but what about your pajamas?"

Having already undone several shirt buttons, Lu Shouyue smiled faintly. "Then I just won’t wear any."

Lin Wanwan glared at him, her cheeks burning. "You’d better keep your shirt on."

It was already the twelfth lunar month, and a cold wave had just hit yesterday. Since she didn’t like hot air from the heater, Lin Wanwan hadn’t turned it on.

But with a man radiating body heat in her bed, it felt as if there was an electric blanket turned on high.

"Wanwan, do you miss me?" Lu Shouyue lightly breathed in the scent at her neck, brushing kisses against her skin, there and gone.

"We only just parted this morning, it hasn’t even been that long." Lin Wanwan squirmed at the ticklish kisses and tried to pull away, but was pinned down by Lu Shouyue.

"Not seeing you for a day feels like three autumns apart." His hand slid slowly from the side of her neck down to her chest.

Lin Wanwan grabbed his hand, her brows knitting slightly as she protested in a soft, coquettish tone, "I’m not... convenient today."

Lu Shouyue let out a low laugh, his gaze dark as he looked at her. "You say that like, when you are convenient, you’ll just let me do whatever I want."

Then he sighed and added, "Wanwan, I’ve been training my self-control, you know. If I can’t eat meat, can’t I at least have some soup?"

Lin Wanwan was a little embarrassed by his words. "What meat and soup, you’re talking nonsense."

"You don’t understand, baby. I’ll teach you." Hot breath and a flurry of light kisses fell against her ear.

In the end, Lin Wanwan couldn’t hold out and completely surrendered. When his kisses had her dizzy and dazed, a low voice suddenly sounded by her ear: "Why did you cry today? That piece you mentioned—was it played by some gigolo from ancient times?"

"Huh?" Lin Wanwan’s pupils flew wide, her heart skipping a beat, a guilty feeling surging up like she’d been caught doing something wrong.

Just as his kisses were wandering to her heart, Lu Shouyue suddenly felt the person beneath him start to heartbeat faster out of nowhere.

His heart sank hard. He lifted his head and stared deep into her eyes, his voice turning cold as he ordered, "Wanwan, look me in the eyes and answer me."

His heart was already twisting up. Although his tone was still relatively calm, an oppressive aura rolled off him; from his vantage point above her, he stared down like a lion confirming its territory.

He’d had his doubts, but had kept lying to himself that it wasn’t what he thought—after all, that night when he was drunk, she had responded to him.

But her instinctive reaction now made someone as sharp as he was understand everything in an instant.

He hated that his mind worked so fast.

"I..." Lin Wanwan didn’t dare meet his eyes and didn’t know where to start.

The hesitation on her face made jealousy drive Lu Shouyue mad. Enough. He didn’t want to hear it.

"Mm—" Lin Wanwan’s lips were completely sealed.

Lu Shouyue kissed her more roughly, more deeply, more fiercely than ever before, until she couldn’t breathe.