After the breakup, I was taken in by a group of trendy young women.

The hem of the light blue nightgown swayed in mid-air for a moment, and the knitted cardigan finally slipped off her shoulders and fell onto the stair steps.

"Brother! Put me down—I can walk by myself—"

"You walked those two steps like a duck; by the time you came down, it would be dawn."

"You're the one who looks like a duck!"

Shen Na buried her face in his chest and muttered a retort.

Lin Ye carried her down the spiral staircase.

She was lighter than expected, but she was still very curvy in all the right places.

The soft, full weight pressed against his chest through two thin layers of fabric, just like the feeling when she lay on his chest in the fitting room last time.

The living room was quiet.

The crystal chandelier was off, and only the floor lamp in the corner was still on, casting a warm yellow light that created a soft halo around the sofa area.

The cup of honey water that Shen Qing gave me was still on the coffee table, and it had long since gone cold.

Lin Ye placed Shen Na on the sofa and helped her sit up against the cushions.

Her cardigan was left on the stairs; she was only wearing her light blue cotton nightgown.

The neckline slipped down a bit, revealing her thin shoulders, and a small red mark remained in the hollow of her collarbone.

She curled up on the sofa, her legs pulled up, and rested her chin on her knees.

Shen Na lowered her head and remained silent for a while before speaking.

The sound was very soft, as if afraid of waking someone upstairs.

"Brother, just now—did I do something wrong?"

"no."

"Then why did you stop twice in the middle?"

She looked up at him, her eyes no longer showing the competence and brightness she usually displayed when she stood up for Shen Qing; instead, they were filled with nervousness and anxiety.

"The first time, I asked you if it hurt. The second time, you stopped it yourself—you said you had a leg cramp."

Shen Na buried her face back in her knees, her ears turning bright red.

"That wasn't a cramp—it was just too much tension. I don't know why I was so nervous, even though I was mentally prepared. But when I got nervous, my leg straightened, and then it cramped."

"It's similar to the previous full-arm tattoo."

Lin Ye leaned back on the sofa armrest, picked up the glass of ice-cold honey water, and took a sip.

"I was too nervous last time I got a full-sleeve tattoo. I had to stop three times in the middle."

"three times?!"

Shen Na lifted her head from her knees, a complex expression on her face—a mixture of amusement and relief.

"Then I beat her once."

"You two even have to compare this?"

Lin Ye put the honey water back on the coffee table, the bottom of the cup tapping softly on the glass surface.

Shen Na put her legs off the sofa and curled her toes twice on the carpet.

Then she stood up and walked to Lin Ye.

Her nightgown was crumpled into a rag, the neckline was askew, and her collarbone chain was completely flipped up behind her back.

"Brother, help me up."

Lin Ye reached out and supported her elbow.

She used the support to steady herself and looked up at him.

"I'm going back to my room. If Shen Qing asks about it tomorrow morning, I'll just say I tripped and fell."

"You fell and got hurt like this?"

Lin Ye glanced down at her walking posture.

"Your legs went weak from the fall?"

Shen Na's face turned red again.

She reached out and gave him a light push on the chest, as light as brushing off dust.

Then he turned and walked towards the stairwell.

After taking a few steps, I bent down and picked up the cardigan that had fallen on the steps, draping it back over my shoulders.

He took two steps and then stopped, glancing back at Lin Ye.

"Brother, you just said—you didn't perform badly. Is that true?"

"real."

Shen Na looked at him, her lips curving into a smile just like Shen Qing's—a smile of relief, as if all the weight had been lifted from her shoulders.

Then, holding onto the stair railing, she slowly and deliberately walked back to the second floor, like a little duck that had just learned to walk.

Lin Ye leaned back on the sofa, crossed his legs, and watched her figure disappear around the corner of the stairs.

The footsteps faded into the distance, followed by the soft sound of the second bedroom door closing.

He took the cigarette out of his mouth and stubbed it out in the ashtray on the coffee table.

The shadow of the crystal chandelier remained perfectly still on the ceiling.

In the garden outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, the automatic irrigation system had just stopped running, and the sprinklers were still dripping the last few drops of water, drawing out extremely thin silver lines in the moonlight.

He closed his eyes, and the image of Shen Na's face flashed through his mind—her lips trembling with nervousness in the corridor, yet she stubbornly refused to back down.

Then he chuckled.

It's not that I'm smug, but I feel that every single one of these girls is tougher on the outside than anyone else, but when it comes down to it, they're all cowards.

Lin Ye's eyes widened.

My head is buzzing.

It wasn't a metaphor; it was a real buzzing sound—like someone had installed an old air conditioner unit inside his skull, constantly whirring and turning.

He leaned against the headboard of the master bedroom bed, a freshly lit cigarette between his fingers, unaware that the ash had fallen onto the blanket.

The projector at the foot of the bed is playing a promotional video for a certain brand of mobile phone on a loop, and the light and shadow on the screen are projected onto the white wall opposite.

He couldn't believe what he had just heard.

Qi Liuhai sat on the corner of the bed, the hem of her pale yellow nightgown pressed down by Wangcai under her bottom.

The cat was sleeping on its back, belly up, front paws curled up on its chest, and its tail sweeping across the sheets.

She buried her face in her palms, her ten fingers spread wide, revealing a pair of bright red ears and a small patch of her forehead peeking out from between them.

Her bangs peeked out from between her fingers, looking as messy as a bird's nest.

"I didn't say that—"

Her voice came out muffled from her palm, trembling at the end, as if someone had choked her.

"It was Sister Shen Na who said it—I happened to be standing right next to her when she said it—I didn't mean to overhear—"

When she said the last few words, her voice was so soft it was like a mosquito flapping its wings.

The blond-haired man lay on the right side of the forest, one of his honey-brown pigtails had come undone, and the hair tie on the other side was also hanging loosely on the end of his hair.

She was almost asleep when she heard Qi Liuhai's words and immediately jumped up.

She didn't even bother to pull the thin straps of her silk nightgown down from her shoulders.

His dark brown pupils were wide open.

"What? What did Sister Shen Na say?"

The tattooed woman sat cross-legged at the foot of the bed, her tattooed arms crossed over her chest.

She was playing a game on her phone when she heard the noise, so she slammed her phone onto the bed and flicked her tongue between her lips.

"I heard it too. When Sister Shen Na finished talking to my brother in the hallway and went back to her room, she passed by my and Hua Tui's room, and the door wasn't closed properly—she said something really awesome."

Hua Tui sat on the other side of the foot of the bed, the rose tattoo on her leg glaringly red in the dim light.

She was holding a fruit platter, her fork raised in mid-air, and she didn't even notice the watermelon juice dripping onto the hem of her floral nightgown.

"What did you say?"

The man with the tattooed arm cleared his throat and sat up straight.

Then she pinched her throat and spoke in an extremely affected tone, imitating Shen Na's soft and sweet voice.

"Sleeve tattoos, let me tell you—"