Chapter Seven: What Now? Yun Mian Is Hesitant?

On a February night in Paris, the biting cold wind cut through the skin like icy blades, leaving a sharp sting on the face. Luo Yunmian instinctively wrapped her trench coat tighter around herself, yet the chill still seeped through.

Seeing this, Fu Yanchi stepped forward and took off his black scarf. Without thinking, Luo Yunmian took a step back, trying to put some distance between them, but Fu Yanchi grabbed her hand and, without a word, wrapped the scarf around her neck.

“If you catch a cold and get sick, it’ll be a misery for Sister Mianmian,” he said.

Luo Yunmian was momentarily taken aback but didn’t resist any longer.

The two strolled slowly along the base of the Eiffel Tower. On both banks of the Seine, the streetlights mirrored the shimmering waves, while the gentle breeze stirred layers of light and shadow. The buildings by the river were outlined by the glow, their reflections in the water creating a picturesque scene.

Luo Yunmian paused, looking ahead. Fu Yanchi followed her gaze and saw a foreigner running a small street stall.

“Shall we try that?” Fu Yanchi suggested first.

In the past, when she was with Fu Tingshen, she had stopped eating from street vendors because he thought they were unhygienic.

Before Luo Yunmian could respond, Fu Yanchi had already approached and was ordering two Jianbing Guozi in fluent foreign language from the vendor.

Standing quietly beside him, Luo Yunmian, in her heels, was about 1.68 meters tall, but next to him, she barely reached his shoulders.

She gazed at Fu Yanchi’s back, listening to his fluent conversation with the foreigner. Sometimes, the maturity he displayed seemed at odds with his youthful vitality and adorable demeanor.

Fu Yanchi handed her a portion. She opened the steaming package; inside, the Jianbing had lots of cilantro but no scallions. Strangely, her nose twitched as if touched by an inexplicable sadness.

Love and indifference appeared so distinctly contrasted.

Fu Yanchi naturally stood on the side of the road with passing traffic, giving the safer spot to Luo Yunmian. They walked slowly, eating the Jianbing Guozi side by side.

Luo Yunmian’s heart churned with complicated emotions as her eyes rested on the person walking beside her. The chubby boy from her memories had grown up.

She tilted her head slightly, half-teasingly asking, “How did you know I was at the bar? Did you plant a tracker on me?”

This question eased the slightly awkward atmosphere.

Fu Yanchi smiled, his eyes crinkling, his expression pure and clear.

“I was just afraid Sister Mianmian would stop wanting me.”

Luo Yunmian took a deep breath, her expression turning serious.

“Yanchi, we need to have a proper talk.”

“Sure, but it’s really cold here, Sister Mianmian.”

“Then let’s go back first. Which hotel are you staying at?” Luo Yunmian asked.

“Sister Mianmian, you have to let me stay with you. The hotels are all full.”

“Such a big city, can they really all be full?”

Luo Yunmian didn’t believe it.

“Really? You’re going to talk to me, and I promise I won’t cause trouble.”

Fu Yanchi raised two fingers as if to swear.

Finally, Luo Yunmian took him to her room. However, when they reached the hallway on the floor, her furtive, guilty glance around made Fu Yanchi feel uneasy.

He deliberately stepped out of the elevator first.

Luo Yunmian hurried out, grabbed Fu Yanchi’s hand, swiped her key card, and pushed him inside.

“Am I really that shameful to be seen with?”

“Shut up.”

Luo Yunmian quickly closed the door behind them.

Before she could change her shoes, there was a sudden knock.

“Yunmian, are you in the room?”

It was Fu Tingshen’s voice.

Panicked, Luo Yunmian grabbed Fu Yanchi and hurried deeper into the room, her eyes frantically searching for a hiding place.

Then she pointed firmly at the bathroom and pushed Fu Yanchi inside, urgent.

“You go to the bathroom. Don’t come out.”

Luo Yunmian stumbled down and hurriedly opened her suitcase, quickly changing out of her clothes into loose loungewear. She loosened her tied-up hair, letting it cascade softly over her shoulders.

Unbeknownst to her, hidden in the bathroom, a pair of eyes watched her every move through the mirror’s reflection.

The man’s deep eyes shimmered with an ambiguous glow. As Luo Yunmian undressed, her figure was exposed without reserve to his gaze.

He noticed the mark left on her body by him, the original cause of this whole mess.

After finishing, Luo Yunmian went to the door and opened it.

“What’s going on? Took you so long to answer the door.”

Fu Tingshen walked straight inside.

“I wasn’t feeling well and went to bed early.”

Fresh from a shower, Fu Tingshen wore casual clothes, his hair naturally falling to the sides, adding a relaxed air.

He handed her an exquisite box.

“See if you like it.”

Luo Yunmian opened it to find a pair of black high heels. Her eyes showed no emotion as she simply said, “Thank you.”

“There’s a press conference for our partners tomorrow. I saw you didn’t pack much, so I bought them for you.”

Fu Tingshen pulled Luo Yunmian into his arms. The scent of rose from his shower enveloped her.

Instinctively, Luo Yunmian tried to push him away, her brows furrowing as memories of him with Shen Xin’er in the greenhouse flashed through her mind.

Fu Tingshen hadn’t realized how slender her waist was. After all this time together, for the first time, he thought the woman before him seemed a little different.

He had always known Luo Yunmian was beautiful, but his heart had been clouded by obsession.

Now, his gaze fell on her loungewear-clad form. Her fair skin glowed with a healthy pink hue, and a few sparks of desire flickered unintentionally in his eyes.

He tightened his embrace around her waist and, in a low voice near her ear, said, “Yunmian, we are about to get engaged. Shall I stay tonight?”

Luo Yunmian looked up, meeting the unabashed longing in his eyes. A sudden pang pierced her heart.

If this had been before, hearing those words would have filled her with joy.

She swallowed her nausea and pushed him hard.

“President Fu, you’ve had too much to drink.”

But Fu Tingshen mistook her resistance for shyness and stepped closer.

“We will have that step sooner or later.”

He bent down, about to kiss her lips.

At that moment, a loud crash came from the direction of the bathroom.

“What was that noise?”

Damn it, Fu Yanchi must have heard their conversation—he was definitely doing this on purpose.

Luo Yunmian tried to grab Fu Tingshen, who looked at her with confusion and strode toward the bathroom.

Fu Tingshen pushed open the door and glanced around, his gaze fixed on the shattered cup on the tiles.

Luo Yunmian followed nervously, looking at the bathroom, then breathed a sigh of relief when Fu Tingshen turned away.

“Must have been the cup I didn’t put away properly after washing up.”

Fu Tingshen nodded and sat at the edge of Luo Yunmian’s bed, his eyes filled with unspoken emotion.

Clearly, he intended to stay tonight.

Luo Yunmian couldn’t understand why. Didn’t his white moonlight live next door? Was he out of his mind today?

No matter what, Luo Yunmian didn’t want him to stay, especially with a ticking time bomb in the room.

“What’s wrong? Don’t want me here, Yunmian?”

It was the first time Luo Yunmian heard such blunt words from Fu Tingshen.

She was stunned, and then his phone rang.

The man’s eyes flickered, and he silenced the call.

“That must be Miss Shen. Go check it out.”

Luo Yunmian gave him an escape route.

He glanced at her as the phone rang again like a death knell.

Fu Tingshen had no choice but to stand.

“I’ll see what’s going on. Yunmian, you get some rest early.”