The man was standing right behind her, his breath brushing past her earlobe. Upon learning that Jing Jihan would not leave immediately, Shi Su’s uneasiness, largely due to that dead cat, remarkably dissipated in an instant. She nodded while tidying Shi Mianmian’s hair, "Anyway, this is your place, I haven’t touched anything in the study, feel free to use it." Half-past ten at night. Mianmian was already asleep. Jing Jihan had been in the study for over an hour since he came in. Shi Su thought of the pack of tea she had brought from home, the pre-rain Longjing tea that Jing Jihan had once encountered at her place. After pondering, she got up to boil water to brew the tea, then knocked on the study door and walked in holding a teacup. "Not finished yet? Will you be working late?" "Several new projects at the overseas branch are about to start, the materials have been submitted to me and I need to approve them immediately." When talking about work, Jing Jihan’s occasional light humor and his usual gentle and graceful manner seemed to disappear, replaced by a solemn and earnest demeanor. Jing Jihan stared at the computer screen, focused on his work. Shi Su watched him for a moment and then gently placed the teacup down. The man’s back was straight as a pine or cypress, his smoky gray shirt reflecting a stern cool tone in the dim light of the study. For a moment, everything seemed serenely distant. Shi Su gazed at him briefly, suddenly hoping he would work here all night, or if he got tired, rest here instead. If he slept in the master bedroom, she could move to another room, and the house had plenty of rooms anyway... Her unsettled emotions seemed to calm every time she saw him sitting there. Shi Su grabbed a few scripts and returned to the study, curling up on a single sofa. These scripts were newly acquired by Jun; the crews and production teams were all pretty good, with both modern fashion dramas and period pieces, various styles. They had shown great sincerity in delivering the scripts. Since the desk was occupied, she held another laptop to look up original texts related to the scripts and character analyses, while opening the scripts to analyze the adapted plot and each character’s personality. Jing Jihan knew Shi Su would feel scared tonight; though she didn’t say it, her occasional absent-mindedness and different demeanor tonight revealed the significant fright inside her. Although he indeed planned to accompany her more here, when it came to work, he was always overly focused, discussing the merits of new projects with overseas partners while checking the materials they sent. Noticing the tea was cold after working until past eleven o’clock at night, only then did he see Shi Su curled up on the single sofa in the study. Shi Su sat there cross-legged, still holding the laptop, looking up original material. Jing Jihan withdrew his gaze and continued discussing the follow-up with his overseas partners, until over an hour later, as the time approached one a.m., a gentle rhythm of breathing filled the air. Shi Su had fallen asleep on the sofa. The scripts and the laptop were placed beside the sofa. The little woman’s bun, neatly tied before, was now loose due to her sleeping posture, the buttons of her nightwear fastened to the top, she leaned back on the sofa, head tilted, in a deep sleep. Early the next morning, Shi Su was awakened by the sound of a phone ringing. She had a nightmare last night, but didn’t know how it stopped, sleeping peacefully through till now. She squinted her sleepy eyes, grabbed the phone, and answered it: "Hello? Jun?" "Shi Su, what’s the specific address where you’re staying now? I just received a new script. The project and team are good, the film side requires a response within three days. I’ll send the script over now." Shi Su turned over in bed, before she could reply, suddenly paused, then sat up abruptly. How did she end up back in bed? Wasn’t she in the study last night? Later on, she became too sleepy and didn’t feel like lying alone in a room, nor did she want to disturb Shi Mianmian’s sleep, so somehow she fell asleep on the sofa. How did she return to the bedroom? "The address?" Jun urged over the phone. Shi Su instinctively gave the address, regretting it immediately, feeling that Jun would misunderstand. After all, Kaixing Mansion wasn’t somewhere she could casually afford to live now. Jun was indeed surprised but had to rush the script over, asked for the address, then hung up saying she’d see her shortly. Shi Su scratched her messy hair, then lay back on the bed, closing her eyes for another two minutes, but couldn’t fall back asleep, so she quickly got up, took a shower in the bathroom in the bedroom, then with hair untouched by a dryer, in her nightwear, walked out to prepare breakfast for Shi Mianmian. On the second day after filming finished, it was the weekend, Shi Mianmian didn’t need to go to kindergarten, it felt like she had returned to a less busy routine of focusing only on caring for the child. When did Jing Jihan leave? He probably left after finishing work? After frying two eggs, she fried some ham, made the sandwiches Mianmian loved, and warmed some milk to call Mianmian up later to drink. Just as everything was ready, the doorbell rang suddenly, and Jun’s WeChat message came in asking her to answer the door. Shi Su wiped her hands and went to open the door. Jun stood outside, her glance quickly scanning the large living room behind her, then she examined Shi Su and asked, "Whose house is this?" Sure enough, Jun’s 365 questions, though late, never failed to arrive. "A friend’s." Shi Su knew her answer was perfunctory. After all, she couldn’t answer as ’the pretty boy you mentioned,’ could she? Jun rolled her eyes at her, knowing this wasn’t Shi Su’s own home, after peering inside, she said, "Is it convenient for me to come in?" "Convenient, of course." Shi Su quickly invited her in. At first glance, the atmosphere inside was no different from Shi Su’s former living space. Except, the house was many times larger, the furniture and facilities were inclined toward luxury, expensive yet understated, especially with that huge floor-to-ceiling window in the living room, which was a definite plus. It was truly a top-notch apartment in terms of layout and decor. "Shi Su, since you joined the ’Yao Platform’ crew, I’ve been aware of everything that has happened." Jun said as she walked around the living room, "Raising a child alone really requires someone reliable around. Though I don’t know who this powerful backer that’s always supporting you is, if they are trustworthy and value you, you must cherish it. But remember, never let any relationship get exposed so easily, you need to handle it well." Shi Su couldn’t help but admire Jun’s ability to jump to conclusions: "...Jun, you misunderstood." Jun interrupted with a dismissive wave, "No matter what misunderstanding, as long as you cut ties with that pretty boy who was staying at your house, that’s good enough!" Shi Su was just about to speak but suddenly saw the study door open behind Jun. She thought the man had already left, instead, he emerged from the study, heard Jun’s words, and his calm and impassive gaze landed on the back of Jun’s head. Read full story at 𝔫𝔬𝔳𝔢𝔩·𝔣𝔦𝔯𝔢·𝔫𝔢𝔱