Shen Nanyue picked up a bite of food with her chopsticks and brought it to her lips.
“Not bad,” she commented.
Just like that, she lightly brushed past the previous topic.
Watching the satisfied expression on her face after tasting something delicious, Zhou Yushen chose not to continue the conversation either.
He picked up his chopsticks and began eating as well.
Neither of them liked talking during meals, so the entire dinner passed in a quiet atmosphere around the terrace.
But it wasn’t awkward.
Their way of getting along felt incredibly natural.
After the meal, Shen Nanyue paid the bill and said to Zhou Yushen, “Now I only owe you three meals.”
Zhou Yushen neither agreed nor denied it.
His gaze shifted toward the waiter standing nearby.
The waiter gave a slight nod before turning and leaving.
Shen Nanyue put away her card, picked up her handbag, and looked at Zhou Yushen.
“Let’s go back.”
Zhou Yushen obediently followed behind her as she walked away.
To leave the terrace, they had to either take the elevator or use the stairs.
There were two elevators.
One displayed a maintenance sign, while the other remained motionless on the sixth floor.
Shen Nanyue glanced at the time, wondering who was hogging the elevator without moving.
The terrace was located on the third floor.
Already impatient, Shen Nanyue looked at Zhou Yushen.
“How about we take the stairs?”
She pointed toward the nearby stairwell while asking the young master for his opinion.
Zhou Yushen nodded.
The two entered the stairwell.
The lights weren’t motion-activated.
Bright warm lighting illuminated the space year-round, making the white jade-like steps gleam.
Wearing sneakers, Shen Nanyue moved lightly as she descended the stairs.
Zhou Yushen followed behind her at an unhurried pace.
Just as Shen Nanyue stepped onto the last stair leading to the second floor— the lights suddenly went out.
The stairwell had no windows, and in an instant the entire space was swallowed by darkness.
Only the glowing green emergency exit sign above the doorway remained especially eye-catching.
“What happened?”
Shen Nanyue froze in place.
In the darkness, her face turned pale.
Her voice sounded calm, but listening carefully, one could still hear the slight tremble within it.
Zhou Yushen stood two steps behind her.
Upon hearing her voice, he descended the stairs and walked to her side.
Then he reached out and took her hand.
“The electrical system probably malfunctioned. Let’s head inside first.”
Turning on his phone flashlight, Zhou Yushen led Shen Nanyue through the second-floor stairwell door.
Shen Nanyue felt uneasy.
Surrounded by a strangely familiar sensation, she subconsciously followed Zhou Yushen into the second-floor corridor.
The hallway had emergency lighting, so it wasn’t completely dark.
The dim lights illuminated her bright eyes as though she had finally relaxed slightly.
“Why aren’t we going downstairs?” she asked.
While calling the hotel staff, Zhou Yushen calmly reassured her.
“There aren’t any emergency lights downstairs.”
Shen Nanyue said nothing further.
“What happened?”
“…”
“We’re on the second floor.”
“…”
“Alright.”
After hanging up the call, Zhou Yushen led Shen Nanyue forward to an open room.
“Why did you bring me here?”
Shen Nanyue frowned.
It wasn’t that she feared Zhou Yushen would do anything to her.
After spending so much time with him, she understood his character fairly well.
He wouldn’t take advantage of someone in a vulnerable moment.
Zhou Yushen answered calmly, “The restaurant said there’s an electrical failure. Repairs may not be finished until tomorrow morning. The main entrance downstairs is controlled electronically, and since the power’s out, it automatically locked. We can’t leave right now, so we might as well stay in a nearby vacant room. The hotel will cover all expenses.”
Shen Nanyue grabbed Zhou Yushen’s arm, stopping him in place.
Forced to halt, Zhou Yushen turned to look at her.
“Then I’ll go find another room.”
Shen Nanyue flung his hand away and walked toward the door.
“You’re not afraid of the dark anymore? Or do you think your phone battery can last until tomorrow morning?”
Subconsciously, Shen Nanyue glanced at her phone battery percentage.
Twenty percent remaining.
There was no way it would last the whole night.
Seeing her stop walking, Zhou Yushen spoke again.
“Or are you more afraid of me? You think I’m still interested in you?”
Hearing that, Shen Nanyue immediately turned around and glared at him coldly.
“A provocation tactic?”
Zhou Yushen said nothing.
Shen Nanyue pushed past him and stepped into the room first.
“You’re sleeping on the sofa tonight.”
She issued the command coldly.
A faint smile curved at Zhou Yushen’s lips as he closed the door and entered the room.
At the right moment, he switched on his phone flashlight.
“You should sleep first. I’ll wake you up once the power comes back.”
Shen Nanyue sat at the edge of the bed, watching as Zhou Yushen placed his phone flashlight on the bedside table before consciously lying down on the sofa.
She silently watched him.
He was being surprisingly self-aware tonight.
No longer dwelling on it, she lay down on the bed without changing clothes.
After messaging the butler that she wouldn’t be returning home tonight, she closed her eyes and tried to fall asleep.
Only after her breathing became steady did Zhou Yushen slowly rise from the sofa.
He picked up the phone from the bedside table.
Looking at Shen Nanyue’s restless sleeping face, he gently pulled the blanket up for her and lightly brushed the space between her brows.
When his warm fingertips touched her brow and eyes, Shen Nanyue subconsciously frowned.
But under his soothing touch, she gradually relaxed again.
Zhou Yushen had only learned that Shen Nanyue was afraid of the dark after marrying her.
Shen Nanyue liked sleeping with the warm bedside light on.
Sometimes, before going to sleep, he would habitually switch it off.
But whenever he woke up in the middle of the night, he would always find the bedside lamp glowing again.
With her head bathed in the warm yellow light, Shen Nanyue always looked especially obedient and peaceful while sleeping.
He didn’t turn off the phone flashlight.
Instead, he lowered his head and sent a message to the staff.
A few minutes later, the room lights came back on.
Stimulated by the sudden brightness, Shen Nanyue’s sleeping expression instead became more peaceful.
Zhou Yushen got up and walked into the hallway outside before making a phone call.
“Leak some information to Huo Zhu. Tell him Shen Nanyue is with me.”
Li Che fell silent for two seconds.
“You’re not planning to get back together with Shen Nanyue, are you?”
“Mind your own business.”
Zhou Yushen hung up the call.
Getting back together was only a matter of time.
Before that, he intended to resolve everything first.
He turned his head to glance once at the room door before striding away.
Early the next morning.
When Shen Nanyue woke up in bed, she was momentarily confused.
The unfamiliar surroundings made her subconsciously snap awake.
She sat up.
Sunlight poured across the horizon outside the window, causing the brightness of the ceiling lights in the room to dim automatically.
Zhou Yushen was no longer in the room.
Shen Nanyue scratched her hair and got out of bed.
Just as she was about to head into the bathroom to freshen up, Zhou Yushen pushed the door open and walked in.
Their eyes met, and Zhou Yushen spoke first.
“The clothes and toiletries are here.”
Shen Nanyue accepted the bag Zhou Yushen handed over and asked, “When did the power come back last night?”
“It came back close to morning. You were sleeping deeply, so I didn’t wake you.”
Shen Nanyue nodded and lifted the bag in her hand slightly.
“I’ll transfer the money to you later.”
Zhou Yushen: …
“No need.”
“That won’t do. Accounts should be settled clearly. What kind of situation would it be if things stayed vague between us?”
After a whole night, Shen Nanyue’s phone had already run out of battery.
“Just tell me the amount. I’ll send it to you once my phone’s charged.”
With that, Shen Nanyue carried the bag into the bathroom.
— The end of the Chapter–
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