Chapter 17: How is this like an illicit affair?

Gu Yan spent the afternoon in the art studio.

Mixing colors, applying paint, scraping it off. The lines on the canvas finally had a vague, rudimentary shape; though she wasn't satisfied, it was better than the blankness of the past few days.

When the servant came to call her, the sky outside the window had already darkened.

She put down her paintbrush, rubbed her sore neck, and picked up the phone lying to the side.

On the screen, there was one missed call.

The note read "Dog Man."

The corners of Gu Yan's mouth curled up involuntarily. She had turned on Do Not Disturb for painting in the afternoon and hadn't heard it.

Her fingertips hovered over the screen for a moment, but she pressed the screen dark anyway.

Not calling back.

Leaving him hanging.

After dinner, Dr. Zhou came in carrying a bowl of warmed medicinal soup. The dark brown liquid had a bitter, medicinal scent.

Gu Yan furrowed her brows tightly, pinched her nose, and tilted her head back to gulp it down. The bitterness spread from the tip of her tongue all the way to her stomach.

She stuck out her tongue and had to drink several mouthfuls of warm water to suppress it.

In her heart, she cursed Shen Yanhui from head to toe once more.

It was all his fault.

After finishing the medicine, she felt listless, lay flat on the large bed in the bedroom, and stared blankly at the intricate relief patterns on the ceiling. Her mind went blank; she didn't want to think about anything.

The phone rang abruptly.

She didn't look at the caller ID and swiped to answer it.

"Hello?" Her voice was languid, wilted from having just finished the medicine, "Who is this?"

The other end of the line was silent for a second.

Immediately, a low, pleasant voice came through the receiver, carrying a slight electrical texture that clearly struck her eardrum.

"It's me."

Gu Yan's thoughts were instantly pulled back, "Oh... what is it? Do you need something?"

"Can't I look for you if there's nothing wrong?" Shen Yanhui chuckled.

"Well, I can't control you; if you want to look for me, you look, and if you don't, you don't." Gu Yan deliberately snapped back at him.

Shen Yanhui didn't take the bait and asked, "Why didn't you answer the phone this afternoon?"

"I didn't want to answer, so I didn't," Gu Yan rolled over, lying on her side, her fingertips unconsciously twisting the corner of the quilt, "Do I need a reason?"

A low chuckle came from the other end of the phone.

It was very soft, yet it felt like a feather brushing against the tip of her heart.

"Come down," he said.

Gu Yan was stunned, "What?"

"Come down," Shen Yanhui repeated, "Now."

Gu Yan subconsciously sat up from the bed, ran barefoot to the window, and "swished" open the heavy curtains.

Downstairs, under the streetlamp outside the villa's wrought-iron gate, a black Bentley was parked quietly. A tall, blurry figure leaned against the car, a point of scarlet light flickering at his fingertips.

He seemed to sense her gaze and looked up.

Across the vast distance and the glass, their gazes seemed to meet precisely.

Her fingers gripping the curtain tightened slightly.

"... What are you here for?" she asked into the phone, her tone involuntarily a bit nervous.

In the middle of the night, this feels just like an illicit affair...

"What do you think?" Shen Yanhui countered, stubbing out the cigarette in his hand.

Gu Yan bit her lower lip.

"I'm going to sleep."

"I suddenly remembered that I have never formally paid a visit to the elders of the Gu Family..."

"Don't! I'm coming down right now."

She absolutely couldn't let her parents know; she would definitely be nagged to death if they did.

She turned around, grabbed a thin cashmere cardigan from the back of the chair, and wrapped it haphazardly over her nightgown. She didn't even fix her hair and ran out barefoot.

When she reached the door, she turned back and hurriedly slipped on a pair of soft-soled slippers.

Pushing open the main door, the night wind brushed against her face with a chill.

Shen Yanhui had already straightened his body, watching her run down the steps and across the garden path in a bit of a rush.

The halo of the streetlamp outlined his tall, upright figure and the clean lines of his profile.

Gu Yan stopped a few steps away from him, panting slightly, her cheeks flushed a faint red from the light jog.

"In the middle of the night, Mr. Shen is trespassing on private property?" She lifted her chin, trying hard to muster some presence.

Shen Yanhui didn't speak, but stepped forward twice and reached out to grasp her wrist.

The force wasn't heavy, but he pulled her into his arms in one motion.

He opened the rear car door and half-carried, half-supported her inside.

The car door closed, shutting out the chill and light from outside.

It was very dark inside the car, and his scent instantly enveloped her—a crisp cedarwood fragrance mixed with an extremely faint smell of tobacco.

Gu Yan was led by him and fell down, caught off guard.

But she wasn't sitting on the seat.

She was sitting on his lap.

The man's thigh muscles were firm and warm; through the thin nightgown and cardigan, their presence was astonishingly strong.

Gu Yan's body stiffened, and her earlobes burned instantly. She wanted to struggle to get up, but her waist was firmly encircled by his arm.

"Shen Yanhui, you..." She looked up in shame and annoyance, only to meet his deep eyes in the dim light.

He looked at her with a heavy gaze, his eyes darker than the night outside the car.

Then, his line of sight slowly moved downward.

It landed on the neckline of her cardigan, which had opened slightly due to her struggle just now, and the silk camisole nightgown underneath.

The nightgown fabric was soft and form-fitting, outlining her slender shoulders, neck, and the curves of her chest. Without the restraint of a bra, something beneath the thin fabric was vaguely visible.

Shen Yanhui's gaze darkened abruptly.

His Adam's apple rolled almost imperceptibly.

Gu Yan followed his gaze and looked down, instantly understanding what he was looking at. Her cheeks turned bright red, and she scrambled to pull her cardigan closed.

But he made a move first.

The arm around her waist tightened slightly, pressing her more firmly against himself. His other hand lifted, and with his fingertips, he very lightly toyed with the cashmere tassel that had slipped from the edge of her cardigan.

The tassel brushed against the skin of her exposed collarbone, triggering a faint shiver.

"Why," he spoke, his voice raspier than before, carrying a texture like sandpaper, "did you run down dressed like this?"

Gu Yan was both ashamed and angry, her neck turning red as well, "Who told you to suddenly come over..."

"Are you cold?" He interrupted her, his palm pressing against her back, where she wore only the thin nightgown.

The warm sensation traveled through the fabric. Gu Yan trembled and stubbornly replied, "Not cold."

"I feel cold." He pulled over a suit jacket from the side and, without room for argument, draped it over Gu Yan.

Gu Yan was stunned for a moment; the jacket seemed to still carry his body heat and a pleasant, crisp woody scent, just like him. It wasn't strong, but it was full of presence.

Her body went a bit soft, and her heart was beating uncontrollably fast.

Yet, unwilling to show weakness, she had no choice but to stiffly straighten her spine.

Her beautiful curves were completely hidden by the suit jacket, but the fire it had ignited was not so easily suppressed.

Shen Yanhui tugged at his tie, a sense of agitation spreading through his whole body.

Gu Yan had been carefully watching his expression, and seeing the irritation emerge between his brows, she suddenly curled her lips.

It seems he isn't as in control of everything as she had imagined.

His heart was in chaos.

This realization gave Gu Yan a small sense of triumph at having regained some ground.

She deliberately gave a light cough and reached out to wrap her arms around the man's neck, the suit jacket sliding off her shoulders due to her movement.

"You look very hot, Mr. Shen."

Shen Yanhui stared at her without moving, his eyes dark as ink, making one feel inexplicably endangered.

Gu Yan ignored his gaze, continued to press against him, leaned into his ear, and sighed softly, "Do you want me to help you blow some cool air?"

The breathing beside his ear grew a few degrees heavier.

Gu Yan revealed a triumphant smile, "Silence means yes, then?"

In the dim light, she saw his Adam's apple roll heavily once, then again.

After a long while, she heard his low, raspy voice, extremely dangerous, "How will you blow it?"

Gu Yan blew a light breath against his earlobe.