You got your marriage certificate and then abandoned me? I'll feed the richest woman in the wor

Rough fingertips brushed against the soft corners of the lips.

Chen Yuan gently wiped away the tiny crumb of caramel-flavored sugar.

Cool fingertips touched Shen Wanzhou's warm skin.

It felt like a faint electric current was coursing through my nerve endings and into my heart.

Shen Wanzhou quickly lowered her eyelashes.

A blush instantly spread across her porcelain-white cheeks, burning all the way to the roots of her ears.

She buried her face in the SpongeBob SquarePants pillow in her arms.

Ten fingers unconsciously twisted and turned on the plush edge of the pillow.

My heart was pounding in my chest, so fast it felt like it was going to jump out of my throat.

Boom—

Outside the window, a blinding flash of lightning tore through the night sky.

A dull clap of thunder followed.

The shockwave made the thick bulletproof glass of the manor vibrate and rattle.

The strong wind whipped up large raindrops, which pounded against the windowpane like a dense drumstick.

The warm light inside the room flickered for a moment in the flash of lightning.

The comical laughter of the yellow sponge fell just as it landed on the light-rejecting screen.

The upbeat ending theme song played in the quiet room.

Chen Yuan picked up the glass bowl, which was already more than half empty.

With a push of his wrists, he stood up from the soft cashmere carpet.

Go to bed early.

He glanced down at Shen Wanzhou, who was still playing the ostrich.

"I'll take the bowl down to wash it. Tell me on WeChat what kind of porridge you'd like to have tomorrow morning."

After saying that, he turned around.

With long, slender legs, she strode toward the heavy mahogany door of the master bedroom.

Shen Wanzhou's hand, which was holding the pillow, suddenly stopped.

The scent of soap that belonged to that man in the room seemed to be gradually fading away with his footsteps.

Click!

Then another, even more devastating bolt of lightning struck down.

A pale white flash of electricity pierced through the gap in the curtains, like a sharp blade cutting into the carpet.

Rumble.

The thunder seemed to explode right overhead.

Shen Wanzhou's muscles tensed instantly, and her shoulders involuntarily shrank inward.

The health problems caused by years of being confined to a room were magnified on a stormy night.

That familiar sense of panic rushed into my nasal cavity like a tidal wave.

A chill crept up my ankles, causing me to break out in a fine layer of cold sweat.

She wanted to call out to Chen Yuan.

But when I opened my mouth, it felt like my throat was stuffed with a wad of dry cotton.

Not a single word could be squeezed out.

Chen Yuan's fingers had already touched the cold brass doorknob.

Shen Wanzhou didn't even bother to put on slippers.

Barefoot, her delicate white feet trod across the thick cashmere carpet.

Like a kitten cornered against a wall.

He stumbled forward two steps.

Chen Yuan was about to press the doorknob.

Suddenly, I heard a rapid rustling sound of fabric behind me.

Immediately afterwards, the fabric at her waist tightened abruptly.

A backward pull abruptly halted his steps.

Chen Yuan stopped what he was doing and turned around.

My gaze followed my gray loungewear downwards.

Two slender, pale fingers were tightly gripping the hem of his shirt at his waist.

Her fingernails dug deep into the folds of the pure cotton fabric.

Because of the excessive force, the knuckles of those two fingers turned a pale, bloodless bluish-white.

Going further up.

It was a face devoid of color, pale and sickly.

Shen Wanzhou was not wearing a mask.

Those usually evasive peach blossom eyes were now filled with brimming tears.

His eyes were red and swollen, like a rabbit with nowhere to run.

She bit her lower lip, leaving a row of deep, whitish teeth marks.

He didn't speak.

But in those wet eyes, there was no attempt to hide the panic and pleading.

It was like grasping at the last straw on the edge of a cliff.

The cold wind from outside the corridor seeped in through the crack in the door.

The wind blew on her thin peach-colored nightgown, causing her to shiver slightly again.

Chen Yuan's usually cold and hard heart crumbled completely the moment he met those eyes.

He slowly loosened his grip on the doorknob.

A large, well-defined hand covered the two small, pale hands.

The warmth from my palm gradually spread to it.

"It's just thunder, why are you so scared?"

Chen Yuan spoke in a very low voice.

It carried a sense of indulgence and helplessness that even he himself was unaware of.

Shen Wanzhou sniffed, her nose stinging.

Stubbornly refusing to let go.

Instead, he gripped the fabric even tighter, and the cold sweat in his palms soaked the hem of Chen Yuan's clothes.

"Afraid of the dark?" he asked.

Shen Wanzhou shook her head very slightly.

"Afraid of thunder?"

This time, she hesitated for two seconds and nodded slightly.

A few stray strands of hair clung to her cheeks with her movements, revealing an indescribable fragility.

Looking at her like this, Chen Yuan knew he wouldn't be able to step out of that door tonight.

He turned around and closed the half-open mahogany door tightly again.

With a click, the sound of the electronic lock locking echoed in the room.

This soft sound, however, was like a reassuring pill to Shen Wanzhou's ears.

Her nerves, which were so taut they were about to snap, relaxed a little.

Chen Yuan grabbed her wrist and led her back to the sofa.

"Go sit on the sofa, the floor is cold."

Shen Wanzhou, like a puppet on a string, obediently shrank back into the corner of the sofa.

He picked up the SpongeBob SquarePants pillow again.

But her gaze never left Chen Yuan for even a second.

It was as if, in the blink of an eye, this tall figure would melt into the air.

Chen Yuan did not sit on the other single sofa.

He placed the glass bowl of popcorn on the coffee table.

He leaned back against the sofa base, crossed his long legs, and sat down on the carpet at Shen Wanzhou's feet.

This distance is ridiculously close.

Shen Wanzhou could see his broad shoulders and sturdy back with just a slight lowering of her eyes.

This sense of body temperature and presence is so close.

It gives me more peace of mind than any other lock in the room.

The thunder outside the window continued to rumble.

The rumbling sound sent shivers down people's spines.

Every time thunder rumbled, Shen Wanzhou's shoulders would instinctively hunch.

But after shrinking back.

Her gaze only fell upon the unwavering figure on the carpet.

Your panicked heartbeat will miraculously calm down.

"How about we watch another movie?"

Chen Yuan casually picked up the remote control and turned on the screen.

"Comedy or animated film?"

Shen Wanzhou huddled on the sofa, her chin resting on her knees.

Her voice was as soft and sweet as a cotton candy, with a lingering nasal tone.

"Can I still watch SpongeBob SquarePants?"

Chen Yuan paused for a moment while pressing the key, then chuckled to himself.

A female billionaire who can turn the financial world upside down.

In the middle of the night, I hugged a pillow and insisted on watching SpongeBob SquarePants to seek a sense of security.

This unexpected cuteness is so striking, no one would believe it if you told them.

"Okay, let's continue looking at that yellow sponge."

The screen started moving again.

The cheerful music drowned out the sound of rain hitting the glass outside the window.

The room temperature seemed to have warmed up again.

Chen Yuan leaned against the edge of the sofa and casually peeled a roasted chestnut from the coffee table.

He didn't turn around; his arm naturally stretched out behind him.

Open your mouth.

Shen Wanzhou was stunned for half a second.

Looking at the chestnut being offered to my lips, the sweet aroma of roasted nuts lingered in my nostrils.

She obediently leaned forward, opened her red lips, and put the chestnut into her mouth.

Warm fingertips brushed against her lower lip unintentionally.

This caused her cheeks, which had just calmed down, to burn again.

Time passed by, second by second.

The fierce winds and torrential rain were kept out of the thick walls.

Chen Yuan sat on the carpet for as long as the movie played.

He could feel the tense body behind him gradually relaxing.

The rhythm of breathing also became long and steady.

I don't know how much time passed.

The image on the screen went dark again.

Chen Yuan rubbed his slightly sore neck and turned to look behind him.

Shen Wanzhou leaned against the armrest of the sofa and had already fallen into a deep sleep.

Long eyelashes cast a peaceful shadow over the eye sockets.

My chest rose and fell rhythmically with my breathing.

But those two slender fingers.

It still gripped the corner of his loungewear like an iron clamp.

Fine beads of sweat, seeping from nervousness, still clung to his fingers.

She held on so tightly, as if even in her dreams she was guarding against his departure.

Chen Yuan tried to gently pry her fingers apart.

As soon as she exerted force, Shen Wanzhou, still asleep, let out an uneasy murmur.

Her brows immediately furrowed into a small knot, and her fingers gripping the hem of her clothes tightened even more.

She even rubbed her face against his shoulder, seeking a source of warmth.

Chen Yuan sighed helplessly, looking at the small hand that was gripping his clothes tightly: "Boss, if you keep holding me like this, I'm afraid I won't be able to go home to sleep tonight."