When they returned to the residence, Su Ci was so hot that her cheeks were flushed, her pair of black eyes bright and glistening with moisture, exceedingly alluring.

Walking to the sofa, she hurried to sit down, “So hot.”

Summer was beginning in full, and the weather grew hotter by the day. There was no air-conditioning in the living room, only a fan. Su Ci felt even the wind blowing toward her was hot.

Seeing Lu Zhe sit down on the other side, she quickly scooted over.

She didn’t know if it was because of the effects of ALS, but Lu Zhe’s skin felt cooler to the touch than hers, icy-cold like a large block of ice. Leaning against him helped her cool down.

“Lu Zhe, I want to eat peaches.” When they were coming back, she saw an auntie selling honey peaches at the entrance of the community, so she had Lu Zhe buy a few.

Lu Zhe was replying to Boss Fang’s message. Hearing the girl speak, he gave her a faint glance, “Wash them yourself.”

“My finger got hurt this morning because I made breakfast for you.” Su Ci stretched out the injured finger.

Lu Zhe looked at the girl’s pale-pink fingertip, the thin line of injury that had already vanished, and said, “A hurt finger doesn’t stop you from eating peaches.”

Su Ci didn’t feel shameless at all. She leaned closer to Lu Zhe, her arm touching his, as if wanting to absorb a bit of the coolness, “When you’re injured you can’t touch water, I can’t wash the peaches. When you’re injured you also can’t hold a knife, I can’t peel them.”

Her pair of black eyes looked at Lu Zhe pitifully, “If I can’t eat peaches, I’ll be sad. If I’m sad, the injury I got because of you will heal very slowly. Are you okay with that?”

After going around in circles, Su Ci was simply asking him to wash the peaches for her and peel them for her.

Putting away his phone, Lu Zhe stood up. Without sparing a glance at the girl’s water-filled dark eyes, he said coldly, “If you want to eat them, wash them yourself.”

In just a few days, he had discovered that if he took even half a step back, Su Ci would push forward a whole step, and she was very good at overstepping boundaries.

Lu Zhe faintly realized this was a very serious problem.

Seeing the youth walk into his small utility room, Su Ci froze for a moment. Why did she feel like Lu Zhe was disliking her?

Hmph, fine, she would wash them herself then.

Her eyes arched slightly, and the tear mole beneath them looked even more alluring. Su Ci lazily stood up, picked up a honey peach, and went to wash it herself.

The utility room was very small, and now that it was being used as a bedroom, it looked even smaller.

Lu Zhe didn’t have many belongings. He had already moved his computer, clothes, and some miscellaneous daily items from his original room and placed them all in a small cabinet. His clothes were piled on a chair, somewhat cramped.

Lu Zhe stood beside the folding bed, lifting dumbbells and doing curls.

One after another, the muscles on his arm were engorged, tightening to the extreme.

The utility room had its window open. There was no air-conditioning and no fan. In just a short while, sweat had already covered Lu Zhe’s forehead.

The young man’s build was strong. Sweat slid down the sharp lines of his side profile and fell at his collar, silently sensual.

Just then, the door was knocked.

There was no need to think — he knew it was Su Ci.

Lu Zhe did not intend to wash her peaches or peel them. Su Ci was too spoiled, and he had no intention of indulging her.

Lu Zhe continued his workout.

Outside the door, Su Ci knocked a few more times, but the person inside still showed no reaction. She became annoyed and kicked the door with her toe, “Lu Zhe, where’s the medicine box? My finger is bleeding.”

The next second, the door was opened.

Su Ci didn’t have time to pull back her foot, and the tip of her toe kicked right against Lu Zhe’s lower leg.

A girl’s strength wouldn’t amount to much, and the shoes Su Ci wore were soft and light. Kicking Lu Zhe’s leg was basically just a tickle.

Lu Zhe didn’t pay attention to the footprint on his pant leg. His pitch-black eyes looked at Su Ci’s finger; this time, it really was cut, bleeding.

“Look, this time I’m really hurt, bleeding nonstop.” Su Ci pitifully held her bleeding finger out in front of Lu Zhe.

Lu Zhe asked, “How did you do that?”

Su Ci looked at him with a small resentful gaze and confidently shifted the blame, “It’s your fault for not helping me peel the peach.”

Lu Zhe didn’t say a word. He walked out of the room to get the medicine box.

On the sofa, Su Ci sat beside Lu Zhe, naturally expecting him to bandage her.

Lu Zhe held her hand with one of his, and with the other, he used cotton dipped in antiseptic to clean her wound.

When the medicine touched the cut, the girl’s finger shrank back.

Su Ci’s hands were fair and soft, pretty and delicate. A cut the length of a fingernail marked her fingertip, like a scratch marring fine jade.

Lu Zhe frowned.

He hadn’t expected Su Ci to manage to injure herself even peeling fruit. Lu Zhe felt like his understanding of her fragility was being refreshed again and again.

Su Ci whimpered from the sting. She looked at the young man who was lowering his head and carefully treating her wound, and said, “I’m so miserable. Hurt this morning, and now hurt again. Am I going to turn into a little unlucky baby?”

Lu Zhe picked up a bandage strip and wrapped her slender white finger, saying coldly, “You’re not unlucky, you’re stupid.”

Clumsy and foolish.

Good at nothing, number one in being spoiled.

Lu Zhe let out a sigh and stood up to put the medicine box away. He was now very clear that what he had taken in wasn’t a cute little rabbit, but a little troublemaker.

Su Ci stared wide-eyed in disbelief, “Fugui, did I hear wrong? Did Lu Zhe call me stupid?”

Fugui, who had been released, became excited: [Master, Lu Zhe hates that you’re stupid. Don’t give him cotton candy, give it to Fugui.]

This was the first time Su Ci had ever been called stupid. She huffed angrily and was just about to agree with Fugui.

Beside the sofa, Lu Zhe sat down again. In his hand was a washed honey peach, fresh and dewy, pink and white, looking very sweet.

He picked up a small knife, and the honey peach spun quickly in his large hand.

In less than a minute, Lu Zhe had finished peeling it. He washed it again, then cut the peach into evenly-sized small pieces, placed them on a small plate, and handed it to Su Ci.

How could Su Ci still remember her anger from a second ago? She smiled brightly and ate a piece of peach. “Lu Zhe, you’re amazing.”

The honey peach was very fresh — sweet, crisp, and refreshing.

Su Ci ate happily, her little mouth becoming sweet as well. “If I didn’t have you, what would I do?”

Lu Zhe ignored the casual flattery she tossed out and stood up to make dinner.

In the next second, his shirt hem was tugged by the girl’s hand.

“Don’t go yet.” Su Ci was still eating peach, her voice muffled.

“Mm?”

“You have to kiss me first.”

Lu Zhe said, “Last night you kissed me three times.” No — it was three kisses, and she bit him once.

Counting it properly, it should at least last her until tomorrow.

Su Ci didn’t care how many times she kissed him yesterday. In her view, it was never enough. The more kisses, the better — besides, she still had something to give him.

“This time is different,” she said.

Lu Zhe asked, “What’s different?”

“You’ll know once you kiss me.” Su Ci lifted her face, her fingertips refusing to let go of his shirt hem.

Lu Zhe lowered his eyes to look at the girl on the sofa.

Snow-pale skin, ink-black hair, dressed in a light blue silk dress. The soft fabric clung to her body. Her red lips were stained with peach juice, dewy and glossy. Even if Lu Zhe normally paid no attention to girls, he still knew that the Su Ci in front of him was extremely beautiful.

But she seemed completely unaware, her black eyes shimmering as she urged him to kiss her.

If he didn’t comply, she’d look at him with an accusing gaze, as though he had committed some unthinkable sin.

Lu Zhe’s expression stiffened. He bent down, intending to give Su Ci’s lips a casual peck — enough to make her let go of him.

His lips brushed against her red lips.

Just a light touch, and he caught the fruit juice on her mouth, the sweet and cloying scent of honey peach filling his senses.

Lu Zhe lowered his eyelashes, hiding the look within his eyes.

He lifted his head, about to pull away, when the next second, the girl’s hand wrapped around his neck and pulled him down again. Lu Zhe was caught off guard, his hand bracing against the sofa back.

“Don’t move.” Su Ci spoke, kissing Lu Zhe’s lips, her black eyes fixed on him. Where Lu Zhe couldn’t see, a small ball of golden cotton candy entered his mouth and slowly disappeared.

Bent over, Lu Zhe’s entire body was tense, his gaze deep and dark, the veins on the back of the hand braced against the sofa bulging. Unlike his coolness, the girl’s lips were warm and soft, making one want to bite them at any moment.

Their lips pressed together for dozens of seconds before Su Ci finally withdrew. “This time, did you feel anything?”

Facing her bright black eyes, Lu Zhe straightened his waist. “No.”

“No?” Su Ci blinked, thinking he would sense something different.

But since he couldn’t see what he ate, having no reaction was normal.

No — what did he mean by “no reaction”? Being kissed by a breathtaking beauty like her, shouldn’t he feel at least something?

She looked at Lu Zhe again — the young man’s expression was icy, his eyes cold. He truly felt nothing.

Su Ci irritably kicked him with her toe, “Are you even a man?”

Lu Zhe glanced at her lightly with his pitch-black eyes, then turned and left.

– – – ˗ˋˏ♡ˎˊ˗ – – –

In the office, when Li Dongliang arrived at his seat, he enthusiastically greeted Lu Zhe, “Morning, Bro Zhe.”

Lu Zhe: “Morning.”

Li Dongliang had changed into a new pink backpack today. He excitedly opened it and took out a small cage from inside and inside it was actually a gray baby rabbit.