Fu Jinyin’s voice and expression were never gentle.
They were always cold, as if laced with shards of ice.
Liu Qiu nodded slowly, her voice hoarse.
“I understand.”
Since Fu Jinyin had said so, she didn’t have to insist on helping.
Fu Jinyin released Liu Qiu’s chin and said stiffly, “Then go out.”
She had already been more than gentle enough with Liu Qiu tonight.
Liu Qiu lowered her head and looked at her toes.
“Jinyin, do you have any impression of that long-haired woman?”
Fu Jinyin’s expression dimmed slightly.
She turned on the tap and let the stream of water rinse over the lobsters.
“No. Liu Qiu, you talk too much.”
Liu Qiu lightly gripped her pants with her fingers and said in a low voice, “I’m leaving.”
It seemed Fu Jinyin didn’t want to tell her.
She really was becoming annoying.
This time, without waiting for Fu Jinyin to say anything else, Liu Qiu turned and walked out on her own.
Fu Jinyin didn’t look at her.
Instead, she stared at the lobsters flailing in the sink, her overly long bangs falling down and completely covering her brows and eyes.
So they knew she wasn’t dead and had already sent someone to find her.
In the living room, Duan Fan asked Chaoyue, “You saw her, right? That tall one is Fu Jinyin.”
“Any discoveries?”
Chaoyue peeled off the last bit of shell from a shrimp tail and held it up toward Duan Fan.
“None for now. I think I’ll need to stay here tonight.”
Duan Fan laughed softly.
“Chaoyue, are you planning to sleep at the doorway?”
There was no way Liu Qiu and Fu Jinyin would let a stranger stay the night so easily.
Chaoyue shrugged.
“You’re the one who’s close to them. You go ask.”
After saying that, she set the shrimp aside and began peeling another large one.
Duan Fan’s lips curved into a smile, though there was no warmth in it.
At that moment, Liu Qiu walked out of the kitchen.
Duan Fan saw her and had just opened her mouth when Chaoyue stood up first and waved at Liu Qiu.
“Liu Qiu, come here for a moment.”
Duan Fan cast Chaoyue a sideways glance.
She was even better at pretending familiarity than she was.
Liu Qiu looked up at Chaoyue.
When it came to someone she had just met that day, Liu Qiu would not be rude.
Even if that person had been brought by Duan Fan.
She walked over and stood in front of Chaoyue.
“What is it?”
She had already wiped away her tears before coming out.
But her eye rims were still moist, her eyes slightly drooping at the corners, her lashes long, giving her a faintly pitiful look.
Chaoyue looked up and met Liu Qiu’s damp eyes beneath those long lashes.
She reached out, took Liu Qiu’s hand, and stuffed the peeled shrimp into it.
“Dear, I peeled a lot for you. Come eat.”
Liu Qiu froze for a moment, then pressed her lips together.
“Miss Chaoyue, you should eat it yourself.”
“We… aren’t familiar.”
It was blunt, but it was the truth.
The smile on Chaoyue’s face instantly vanished.
She blinked, and a crystalline tear slipped from her eye.
She sighed softly, her expression full of sorrow.
“I’m sorry, Miss Liu. I overstepped.”
“I just really like making new friends.”
“I didn’t expect to make you dislike me.”
Liu Qiu tightened her grip on the lobster in her hand.
She hadn’t expected a single sentence from her to make Chaoyue cry.
She didn’t like making others sad.
She let out a soft breath.
Chaoyue had peeled shrimp for her and warmly invited her to eat—it had been kindness.
She should have thanked her first.
Chaoyue held Liu Qiu’s slender wrist, her tears falling even harder.
“Miss Liu, I’m really sorry.”
“My family doesn’t usually let me go out. I finally got a chance today, and when I saw someone as beautiful as you, I got too excited.”
“Miss Liu, will you forgive me?”
Liu Qiu was the worst at handling tears.
In her previous world, Su Li had started out crying constantly, and Liu Qiu had always coaxed her gently.
Duan Fan let out a strange laugh from the side.
“President Liu is impressive. Just a couple of sentences and you’ve already made someone cry.”
Liu Qiu maintained her indifferent expression and said quietly, “I’m not angry.”
“Miss Chaoyue, please let go of me first.”
Chaoyue obediently released her the next second.
Liu Qiu was still holding the lobster.
She looked into Chaoyue’s eyes, took a small bite from the lobster, and said softly, “I ate it.”
Then she showed Chaoyue the small bite mark to prove she wasn’t lying.
Chaoyue immediately broke into a smile.
“Miss Liu, can I call you by your name?”
Liu Qiu felt a little helpless.
Chaoyue had already been calling her that from the start, yet she was only asking now.
She nodded.
“Mm.”
Duan Fan took in their entire interaction.
What surprised her was that Liu Qiu truly had no defense against tears.
Chaoyue’s fake crying had been so obvious.
Did Liu Qiu really not see through it?
Or had she seen through it and pretended not to, using it as an opportunity to grow closer?
After all, when they first met, Liu Qiu had stared at Chaoyue without blinking.
Duan Fan let out a faint scoff.
Liu Qiu had sharp, striking features, handsome and refined in a heroic way, the kind that looked like she could ‘do it.’
Married for two years and never having shared a bed, it wasn’t impossible that Liu Qiu was starving and looking for someone to satisfy her cravings.
Duan Fan stood up abruptly, the chair scraping harshly against the floor.
“I’ll go check on Fu Jinyin.”
Liu Qiu immediately put down the shrimp in her hand and warned, “Duan Fan, you’re not allowed to go near her.”
Duan Fan strode toward the kitchen.
“President Liu won’t talk to me, so I’ll just chat with someone I’m familiar with.”
Liu Qiu tried to follow, but her clothes were suddenly tugged.
She could only watch as Duan Fan opened the kitchen door and slipped inside.
Turning her head, Liu Qiu looked at Chaoyue in confusion.
Chaoyue smiled.
“Liu Qiu, want to hear a story?”
“I don’t—”
“I came here mainly to find someone. Your wife might be my sister.”
Liu Qiu swallowed her refusal.
Alright.
She would listen.
“Six years ago, my sister disappeared. We were both children from an orphanage. Usually, the orphanage stops supporting us after we turn eighteen.”
“No one wanted to adopt us, and we grew up there until we were sixteen. That year, my sister went out one day and never came back. It was as if she vanished from this world.”
Chaoyue took out a small photograph and handed it to Liu Qiu.
“This is my sister.”
“Your wife looks somewhat like her. But so much time has passed—I can’t be sure.”
“Liu Qiu, can I stay here for one night? I want to observe more closely. I miss my sister too much.”
Liu Qiu took the photo and looked at the small figure in it.
The hair was too long, completely covering the eyes.
But the nose and lips were almost a smaller version of Fu Jinyin’s.
Fu Jinyin’s features were exquisitely delicate, flawless in a way that made her rare.
Combined with the photo tucked inside Fu Jinyin’s diary, even without the system’s notification, Liu Qiu could almost confirm that Fu Jinyin was the person Chaoyue was looking for.
But she still refused.
“Miss Chaoyue, you should bring this up with my wife, not me.”
Fu Jinyin had definitely seen Chaoyue already, yet she had shown no intention of recognizing her.
That meant there were things Liu Qiu didn’t know.
She would not casually agree to let someone stay.
Chaoyue lowered her head as if disappointed, though in truth she smiled faintly.
Such high vigilance.
In the kitchen, Duan Fan pinched her nose and grinned.
“Jinyin, what do you think? My suggestion isn’t bad, right?”
Fu Jinyin poured beer into the pot and covered it with a lid.
The heavy oil smoke was quickly sucked away by the range hood.
She turned her head toward Duan Fan.
“You want to sleep with me?”
Duan Fan laughed.
“The two of us, together with Liu Qiu. Didn’t you want to cuckold her and make her suffer?”
“Tonight’s perfect. Once Liu Qiu falls asleep, I’ll come over. We’ll make some fake noises and wake her up.”
Fu Jinyin fell silent, as if thinking.
Duan Fan added fuel to the fire.
“It’s a rare opportunity.”
“Think about it. Her company is entirely in your hands now, and from what I know, she doesn’t have much money either.”
“Even if you cheat on her right in front of her, she’ll have to swallow it without a word.”
“Last time in the office, you pulled me over on purpose to make her misunderstand. I got slapped for that.”
“And you saw it, didn’t you? She cried instantly. If we continue tonight, she’ll collapse.”
Duan Fan always spoke with a light, teasing tone, as if joking.
Fu Jinyin lowered her eyes to the steaming pot and said softly, “Fine.”
Duan Fan’s smile deepened.
“This is going to be interesting.”
By the time dinner was finally eaten, it was nearly eleven.
Fu Jinyin had made garlic crayfish.
The fragrant aroma drifted straight into Liu Qiu’s nose.
Fu Jinyin only set out bowls and chopsticks for herself and Liu Qiu, as if Duan Fan and Chaoyue didn’t exist.
Duan Fan sat opposite Liu Qiu and smiled.
“President Liu, we’re staying at your place tonight.”
Liu Qiu looked at Fu Jinyin, who was serving rice.
She didn’t know if she had heard.
Frowning, Liu Qiu asked, “Jinyin, did you agree to let Duan Fan stay here tonight?”
Her voice was slightly louder this time.
Fu Jinyin looked up.
“Yes. You’ll sleep with me.”
“They’ll sleep in your room.”
Liu Qiu’s brows relaxed.
“Alright.”
She didn’t have a cleanliness obsession.
If they wanted her room, they could have it.
If Fu Jinyin was willing to sleep with her, did that mean her impression of her had improved a little?
Though her face remained calm, her eyes were smiling.
She looked happy.
Fu Jinyin noticed and tightened her grip on her bowl.
Of course Liu Qiu would be happy.
She had always wanted to sleep with her.
Liu Qiu had no idea what Fu Jinyin was thinking.
She put on gloves and began peeling the crayfish.
Fu Jinyin had made them, so she wouldn’t feel embarrassed eating more.
She peeled quickly, and before long, the empty bowl beside her was piled high with shrimp meat.
Duan Fan watched, her mood darkening.
Was the seafood she bought poison?
Why wouldn’t Liu Qiu eat it?
Yet she was willing to eat Fu Jinyin’s cheap crayfish and even put in so much effort peeling them for such a tiny yield.
Liu Qiu’s plastic gloves were coated in oil.
She removed them, threw them into the trash, and pushed the bowl full of shrimp meat toward Fu Jinyin.
Her expression was calm, but her eyes shone brightly.
“For you.”
Fu Jinyin had rushed home from work and cooked nonstop. She must be tired.
The air fell silent.
Until Chaoyue let out a soft “Wow.”
“I’m a little jealous. Liu Qiu really dotes on her wife.”
Duan Fan chimed in, “Yeah, no one peels shrimp for me.”
It sounded like teasing, but if one looked into her eyes, there was no smile.
Fu Jinyin put down her chopsticks and looked at Liu Qiu’s sparkling eyes.
“I didn’t ask you to.”
Her words were slow and clear.
Liu Qiu heard them distinctly.
Her expression didn’t change, but her eyes dimmed visibly.
Fu Jinyin pressed her thin lips together.
“You. Eat it yourself.”
“Mm.”
Liu Qiu lowered her head and quietly began eating the shrimp she had peeled.
So annoying.
She looked like she might cry at any moment again.
But Fu Jinyin hadn’t said anything harsh.
Liu Qiu felt a little disappointed.
Fu Jinyin was always rejecting her.
Even so, the crayfish were delicious.
She quickly finished what she had peeled.
[So good. System, can you eat? I want you to try some.]
The system was touched.
But it replied regretfully, [I’d need a physical body for that. Though we system units do have snacks—there’s even a crayfish flavor.]
[Alright.]
Liu Qiu ended the conversation and put on a new pair of gloves to continue peeling.
At that moment, a small bowl was pushed toward her.
It was filled to the brim with shrimp meat.
She looked up at Fu Jinyin.
Fu Jinyin’s head was lowered, bangs covering her brows and eyes.
Liu Qiu could only see her high nose bridge and thin lips.
Liu Qiu’s eyes widened slowly.
Her disappointment vanished.
Fu Jinyin had peeled so many for her.
She really was adorable.
“Jinyin, you’re so good.”
Liu Qiu’s heart softened, and so did her voice, trailing slightly at the end like a quiet, sticky note of affection.
Duan Fan’s fingers tapped the table, faster and faster.
Irritation rose within her.
Wasn’t Fu Jinyin supposed to hate Liu Qiu?
Then what was this?
That night, just past midnight, Liu Qiu lay on the same bed as Fu Jinyin.
The bed was small.
Fu Jinyin was tall—one meter eighty-two—even thin, her frame took up most of the space.
It was inevitable that their bodies would brush against each other.
“Jinyin, move in a little,” Liu Qiu whispered softly.
“If you sleep like that, you’ll fall off when you turn.”
Her voice, wrapped in the night, sounded low and intimate.
Fu Jinyin stiffened.
“Liu Qiu, you’re noisy.”
Liu Qiu obediently turned away and gave her more space.
Alright. She wouldn’t disturb her.
She was sleepy anyway.
Later, the silence returned.
And then—
Darkness.
The sound vanished from Fu Jinyin’s world.
Cold, like the laboratory table from her nightmares.
She remembered the bright white lights.
The researchers holding her severed tentacles in their hands.
Cutting them without hesitation.
Her body trembled.
Her breathing grew rapid.
She needed her hearing aid.
Just as she was about to get up, a warm hand reached across her body and landed on her arm.
Warmth spread.
Liu Qiu, still asleep, had moved closer instinctively because it felt cool and comfortable.
Her hand.
Her leg.
Her entire body draped over Fu Jinyin.
Fu Jinyin froze.
There was no sound.
But there was warmth.
Breathing.
A different kind of sound.
Warm.
Her trembling gradually stopped.
Slowly, she lifted her arm and wrapped it around Liu Qiu’s slender body.
Warm.
Slim.
Soft.
The fear receded.
If You Notice any translation issues or inconsistency in names, genders, or POV etc? Let us know here in the comments or on our Discord server, and we’ll fix it in current and future chapters. Thanks for helping us to improve! 🙂