Qin Shuang's heart skipped a beat, and the tips of her fingers clutching the phone trembled involuntarily. Why was He Zhiyao at home?
She had thought he had already left.
Qin Shuang almost subconsciously snuffed out the phone screen; she dared not think about what would happen if He Zhiyao saw those messages.
Last night he had already threatened her with the incident involving the school. If he saw them, all the humiliation she suffered last night, all her efforts over the past half year, would have been in vain...
She absolutely couldn't let him see them.
As He Zhiyao's fingers almost touched the phone, Qin Shuang suddenly flipped it onto the nightstand and turned, barely standing on tiptoe, her arms wrapping around He Zhiyao's neck.
He Zhiyao was very tall; even as she embraced him, she still had to lift her head to look at his nearly flawless face. Perhaps because he had just woken up, he wasn't wearing glasses, and his cool, indifferent eyes shone with a touch of chilly light.
Qin Shuang's heartbeat abruptly missed half a beat, and she felt an urge to pull away.
Yet the phone next to her kept ticking away relentlessly, reminding her like the toll of a death knell that if He Zhiyao should see the messages from Gu Nanzhong, she would indeed be finished.
"Why didn't you go to work?" Qin Shuang held her breath, lifting a coy smile at He Zhiyao.
Having been by He Zhiyao's side for over a year, she had practiced millions of times what he liked, the kind of smile he preferred, ensuring she could always get it just right.
However, today, while looking at He Zhiyao, her mind uncontrollably flashed to another face.
Yet this image was quickly concealed by her, hiding all emotion from the depths of her eyes, her lips landing softly beside his, giving him a gentle kiss.
This was the exclusive gesture she used to show her affection for him.
He Zhiyao's gaze darkened, and he lifted her chin with his hand, kissing her lips.
Qin Shuang's body tensed instinctively, but her heart let out a sigh of relief.
She hoped that was the end of it for today.
After a while, He Zhiyao released her, and the ticking of her phone finally ceased, the room returning to silence.
With unspoken understanding, neither of them mentioned what had happened the night before, acting as if nothing had occurred.
Qin Shuang released his neck and asked softly, "Have you had breakfast?"
He Zhiyao stared at her for a moment, his fingers hooking the neckline of her nightgown and pushing it aside. Qin Shuang wanted to dodge, but her body stiffened instinctively and didn't dare move; she just clenched her fingers tightly.
On her snow-white skin, patches of purple bruises looked somewhat scary.
He Zhiyao pressed on the bruises with the tip of his finger and asked, "Does it hurt?"
Qin Shuang's eyelids flickered, not quite understanding his intent, and she replied softly, "It doesn't hurt."
He Zhiyao chuckled softly, letting go of her. "Seems like next time it needs to hurt a bit more for you to learn."
Qin Shuang froze.
He Zhiyao had already turned around, walking out with a casual demeanor. "Clean up, I'll take you to school in a bit."
"No..." Qin Shuang started to say there was no need, but in the instant the bedroom door closed, it dawned on her that she couldn't say no to He Zhiyao.
After He Zhiyao left, Qin Shuang sat back on the bed, feeling somewhat drained.
She glanced at her phone on the nightstand, and before she could reach for it, the ringtone blared.
In her flurry, she pressed down on the phone, fumbling to hit the mute button, but her fingertips inadvertently hit the answer button. Just as she pressed the mute button, a low voice came from the phone,
"Shuangshuang?"
Qin Shuang's eyes widened in shock. She glanced instinctively toward the door, then forcefully pressed to hang up.
And she quickly turned the phone off.
Having done all this, her palms were sweating.
She threw the turned-off phone onto the bed and let out a self-deprecating laugh.
Qin Shuang, you really are... becoming less and less like yourself.