The antique girlfriend of a chaebol heir

Xie Shuheng slowly withdrew his hand from the wall, his tall figure taking half a step back, widening the distance between the two.

His fingers, hanging by his side, curled slightly, as if he was trying his best to hide his earlier loss of control and embarrassment.

"……Feel sorry."

He spoke in a low voice, still hoarse, but without the previous fierceness; instead, it carried a hint of unspeakable huskiness.

Shen Ci felt as if she had been granted a pardon. She quickly bent down, hastily gathered the sheets and pajamas on the floor into her arms, and didn't dare to look at him again.

She tried to press down the laundry room doorknob again, but her hands were shaking so badly that she couldn't manage it even after two attempts.

A warm hand covered it.

He gently placed his hand on the back of her hand and pressed her down.

The door opened.

Shen Ci practically fled inside.

When she came out again, the corridor was empty, with only a wall lamp casting a dim yellow light on the spot where Xie Shuheng had just stood.

She stared at the patch of light and shadow for two seconds before finally letting out a sigh of relief.

The night was deep, and the corridor was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Xie Shuheng had just reached his room when he suddenly stopped.

Jiang Duo was leaning against the door frame, his arms crossed over his chest.

The dim light from the corridor wall lamps shone on his cold profile, making the dark undercurrents in his eyes appear even more unfathomable.

He didn't speak, but stared silently at Xie Shuheng with his extremely imposing eyes. After a long while, he parted his thin lips slightly, his voice low and devoid of warmth: "Want to talk?"

The private tea room on the second floor was filled with a faint scent of sandalwood.

Xie Shuheng followed Jiang Duo inside, but his gaze was involuntarily drawn to the guqin quietly placed in the corner.

He stared at the zither for a long time, a barely perceptible daze flashing in his eyes, until Jiang Duo pulled out a chair and sat down, at which point he slowly withdrew his gaze and took his seat opposite him.

Jiang Duo didn't beat around the bush and went straight to the point: "You shouldn't have been so close to her."

Xie Shuheng raised his head and met Jiang Duo's gaze.

His tone was flat, revealing no emotional fluctuation: "You saw it just now?"

The moment he finished speaking, Xie Shuheng himself was stunned for a moment.

He had expected to feel embarrassed and guilty for having his secret thoughts exposed, but strangely, he felt unusually calm at that moment.

Jiang Duo looked at him, and the scene from just now involuntarily surfaced in his mind.

There had been some commotion in the corridor, and when he passed the corner, he saw from afar that his beloved girl was being tightly held in his best friend's arms.

At that moment, he almost couldn't resist the urge to go up and beat Xie Shuheng up.

But he held back in the end.

It wasn't because he wanted to avoid a conflict with Xie Shuheng late at night, lest he become a laughingstock.

He didn't want to embarrass Shen Ci in that situation.

She did nothing wrong.

The one who was wrong was the man who shouldn't have been thinking about her.

Jiang Duo snapped out of his reverie, leaned forward slightly, and stared sharply at Xie Shuheng, warning him word by word:

"Youyou is timid and has a small heart; she can't hold so many people. I don't want something like this to happen again."

Xie Shuheng did not respond.

He stood up and walked to the zither table, his fingertips hovering above the strings, and gently stroked them.

"Jiang Duo, do you believe in reincarnation?" he asked softly, his voice carrying an indescribable sense of desolation.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Duo frowned deeply.

He understood Xie Shuheng's personality and knew that the other party would never say such nonsensical things casually.

He didn't know what had happened that made Xie Shuheng use such an ethereal connection as "past lives and present lives" to explain his almost out-of-control impulse towards Shen Ci just now.

But he wasn't interested in knowing, nor did he care.

Jiang Duo leaned back, his tone revealing an undeniable domineering and absolute possessiveness:

"Past lives and present lives? I don't believe in those things. All I know is that Shen Ci is my girlfriend. I won't let anyone take her away from me."

He paused, his voice low yet resolute:

"Of course... that includes you too."

The suite was so quiet that only Xie Shuyun's long, even breathing could be heard.

Shen Ci lay on the soft single bed, staring at the ceiling with wide eyes, her mind a jumbled mess that she couldn't sort out.

Senior Xie just now... definitely didn't seem to be sleepwalking.

Even if she was oblivious to matters of love, she finally belatedly noticed something was amiss.

He might have had designs on me.

She was all too familiar with the aggressive look in his eyes when he pinned her against the wall in the hallway.

She had seen similar looks in Jiang Duo's eyes more than once.

Shen Ci took a deep breath and secretly rejoiced.

Thank goodness... thank goodness Jiang Duo didn't bump into me in that situation.

Otherwise, that guy would probably explode on the spot...

……

early morning.

Yin Kuo, holding his girlfriend Tang Ziying's hand, went downstairs in high spirits, though his eyes still held a hint of weariness and satisfaction.

As soon as he stepped into the restaurant, he spotted Jiang Duo and Xie Shuheng at the table.

The two were already seated, with two empty seats between them, and the atmosphere was as cold as ice.

What's even more striking is that both of them had faint dark circles under their eyes, clearly indicating they hadn't slept well.

Jiang Duo lowered his eyes and slowly and methodically cut the fried egg on the plate. The sound of the knife and fork clattering against the porcelain plate was particularly clear in the overly quiet restaurant.

Xie Shuheng stared at his reflection in the coffee cup, his fingers lightly rubbing against the cup's surface, as if he didn't want to talk to anyone.

Yin Kuo raised an eyebrow, about to speak, when footsteps sounded again on the stairs.

Shen Ci and Xie Shuyun walked in one after the other, both of them looking pale and tired with sleepless eyes.

Yin Kuo blurted out, "What's going on with you guys? Did you have a private party last night?"

The air froze for a moment after he finished speaking.

Shen Ci's heart tightened suddenly, and her fingers unconsciously clenched the hem of her clothes.

She couldn't help but turn to look at Jiang Duo. Seeing that he looked perfectly normal and even took a sip of milk without changing his expression, she breathed a sigh of relief and lowered her head to slowly eat her breakfast.

Breakfast was served in an eerie silence.

After finishing his meal, Yin Kuo enthusiastically suggested, "The weather's nice today, let's go play in the snow on the back mountain? There's a new layer of snow there, the scenery is especially beautiful."

Shen Ci put down her spoon and gently placed her hand on the back of Jiang Duo's hand.

Her fingertips were slightly cool, and her voice was very soft: "Jiang Duo, I want to go back."

Jiang Duo stopped moving.

This was the first time she had taken the initiative to touch him, with a touch of dependence in her.

Jiang Duo glanced at her, his gaze falling on the hand she was resting on the back of his. A faint tenderness flashed in his eyes, then he smiled and said gently, "Okay."

After he finished speaking, he took her hand in his palm and gently rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb.