Arrived in Nanshi.
The scenery along the way was all too familiar.
But this time, she had no mood to appreciate it at all.
The only thought in her mind was to finish the competition as soon as possible, find a corner to hide in, and live a life of seclusion.
Sigh…
However, Xin Yu couldn't deny the longing in her heart, for Mu Yichuan, and for Old Master Mu.
"Xin Yu, are you alright?" Her mentor, Donghua, asked with concern. "Why do you seem so preoccupied? The biggest mistake in competitions is focusing too much on the result. Relax, okay?"
Xin Yu looked up and smiled, a bitter smile tinged with sadness. She accepted her mentor's sincere advice and took a deep breath.
Then, looking into Donghua's eyes, she said earnestly, "Mentor, I want to revise my final piece."
Donghua was surprised. "Revise?"
He took out Xin Yu's drawings, unfolded them, and looked at the meticulously drawn library. "What do you want to change it to?"
In his opinion, the work was excellent—detailed and full of creativity.
"I want to change it to a villa." Xin Yu pursed her lips, her eyes clear and determined. Even if her mentor disagreed, she would still change it.
Actually, she didn't care about the competition result at all…
Donghua frowned slightly. It wasn't that he didn't believe in Xin Yu's abilities, but there wasn't enough time.
"I don't know why you have this idea, but I suggest you don't do it." Donghua was somewhat stern. "After all, time doesn't allow it."
"I can." Xin Yu said and returned to the hotel.
She sat at her desk, staring at the blank white paper. Her bright black eyes reflected the homes she had lived in: the cozy old house from her childhood, the large house after her family moved to Nanshi, the tenement building after her parents' divorce.
Then came the Nanlong Villa after meeting Mu Yichuan, the Biyue Longting Villa…
*Plop.*
Tears fell uncontrollably again.
She hadn't contacted Mu Yichuan these past few days, and neither had he.
She didn't know how things would develop, what Old Master Mu would say to Mu Yichuan, what he would ask for!
Would he take the initiative to tell her to give up? Just thinking about it made Xin Yu tremble.
She crossed her arms, trying to warm herself.
Then she picked up her pen and began to draw intently…
As the saying goes, when you're completely absorbed in something, you don't notice the passage of time.
That was Xin Yu's state at that moment. When she looked up again, the basic design was complete, and the clock struck midnight.
She got up and stretched, then took out her phone. There were over ten missed calls…!
Almost all of them were from Mu Yichuan.
Xin Yu instinctively flinched. She'd forgotten that she'd silenced her phone during the competition.
She quickly dialed back. His cold, menacing voice came through the line immediately, "Why didn't you answer the phone?"
"Sorry, I was drawing and forgot my phone was on silent—"
"So you haven't thought about me at all?"
"…" She didn't answer. She missed him terribly. But from the moment her parents divorced, she realized that life, whether rich or poor, is never a one-dimensional affair; it's multifaceted and shouldn't be limited to just love.
"How did the competition go?" Mu Yichuan sighed almost inaudibly.
"It went well," Xin Yu replied, pressing the phone tightly to her ear, trying to hear his voice, even his breathing. "And you... how's Old Master Mu doing?"
She desperately wanted to know Old Master Mu's current state, and even more so, what Mu Yichuan was thinking.
"Nothing," Mu Yichuan didn't want to elaborate. He simply changed his tone, calling out gently, "Ayu, open the door."
Xin Yu trembled, a clear shiver running through her heart.
Open the door? Was Mu Yichuan outside?
She practically rushed to the door, but there was no one there, no one in the hallway, only a pink box tied with a colorful ribbon.
Xin Yu carried it inside, placed it on the table, and opened it.
She froze instantly. She didn't know where Mu Yichuan had found such a skilled craftsman, but inside the box was a small house.
It was...made of lily petals, faintly fragrant.
A sense of peace welled up within her.
"Mu Yichuan..." Xin Yu murmured, then her dreamy, watery eyes fell on her design drawings, where a similar flower house design was clearly visible.
They were so perfectly in sync...!
Xin Yu's slender hands gently caressed every part of the little house, her heart melting with warmth.
She picked up her phone; Mu Yichuan was still on the other end. "Mu Yichuan, I—"
"I thought you'd be so moved you'd call me 'husband.'"
"..." She was stunned. Could she?
She looked down at the ring on her right ring finger, the ring from that beautiful dream she'd given herself that day.
"Ayu, call me 'husband,' and I'll give you a reward." Mu Yichuan's deep, magnetic voice came from the other end of the line, carrying a deep allure.
Xin Yu pouted, her gloomy mood gradually brightening. She took a breath, got up, and walked to the door, looking out through the peephole.
The corridor remained quiet, without a soul in sight.
"Hmm?" His voice came again, seemingly tinged with a faint chuckle.
"Did you plant a spy in the room next door?"
"Yes, I planted myself there. Why don't you come and see?" Mu Yichuan teased.
Xin Yu was skeptical, a glimmer of hope rising in her heart. "Are you serious?"
"Go try and see."
Xin Yu didn't dare. She was never a bold person, especially knocking on doors in the dead of night. If it was Mu Yichuan, she'd be fine; at worst, she'd be "eaten up."
If it wasn't, she'd be utterly humiliated.
"Aren't you coming? I've been waiting for you for ages."
"..." Xin Yu listened to Mu Yichuan's increasingly outlandish words, her lips twitching, still hesitant to open the door.
However, most of her gloom had dissipated, and she was gradually feeling cheerful, a fact she hadn't yet noticed.
"Are you tired? Do you want to rest?"
"Tch." Mu Yichuan only scoffed at Xin Yu's change of topic. "I haven't finished giving out the reward yet, I can't sleep."
"Then hurry up and take it out, I'll pretend I have a surprise." Xin Yu turned and closed her eyes, but her ears were still listening intently to the sounds outside the door.
"You haven't called me 'husband' yet." He wasn't falling for it.
Xin Yu sighed and softly called out, "Husband."
At the same time, she made a wish in her heart, if only she could keep calling him that forever…
"Open the door."
Xin Yu quickly turned around and opened the door, but there was nothing outside—no gift, and certainly no Mu Yichuan!
"You're lying! You're a liar!" she said angrily.
"I thought Ayu would like the endless imagination and good mood I gave you." There was even a hint of suppressed grievance in the man's voice on the other end of the phone. "..." Xin Yu bit her lip tightly, her eyes instantly reddening. She hadn't expected this.
But only after being exposed did she realize that her mood had indeed been improved by Mu Yichuan.
Endless imagination, and a good mood...
Who said she didn't love him!
It was just that she had a sliver of hope just now, seeing him, seeing the man who had filled her mind these past few days.
"So moved you cried?"
"Who said that... I was just angry with you!" Xin Yu retorted defiantly, then sweetly added, "Thank you, Mu Yichuan."
As long as he still remembered her, that was enough.
"Thank you... husband..."
"Such a sweet tongue." Mu Yichuan praised generously, his mood improving as well.
"Of course!" Xin Yu lowered her head and wiped away her tears, teasingly adding, "There will be something even sweeter for you when we get back."
"I want it now."
Her chin was lifted, and Xin Yu was stunned, her dark eyes filled with surprise, shock, and a hint of fear.
She stared intently at the person before her… Mu Yichuan?!
"Ah!" She gasped, her scream swallowed by the man.
Mu Yichuan deftly forced his hot lips into hers, savoring her sweetness.
For this little girl, he was really going all out, enduring it from the afternoon until now…
He was still acting like a fool, trying every possible way to make her happy.
Xin Yu tossed aside her phone, ignoring why he had come. She stood on tiptoe, reaching out to wrap her arms around his neck, responding to his strength, enjoying the sensation…
A cool breeze swept across her exposed porcelain-white skin, and Xin Yu snapped back to reality.
"Ah!" she screamed.
Not because their clothes were already undressed and they were entangled on the bed, but because…
"I… I can't."
"I can." Mu Yichuan gently bit her cherry lips, a smile playing on his lips.
"No, Mu Yichuan, I... I haven't finished my design yet!"
"Draw it later!"
"No, it's due by 9:30 tomorrow morning." Xin Yu placed her hands between them, accidentally brushing against his burning chest. "Please, tomorrow."
"So... you're making me stop?" Mu Yichuan's hawk-like black eyes swept over their pressed skin. "Aren't you being too cruel!"
"But the design has to be submitted!" Xin Yu's eyes flickered. "You always..." last so long.
What if he doesn't stop until tomorrow morning, making her draw with a sore body? That would be truly cruel!
"I'll be faster this time."
"..." Xin Yu didn't trust him at all in this regard!
But it was all too late...
Xin Yu opened her heavy eyelids and looked at the time. It was already 6:00 AM.
"Mu Yichuan, you bastard!" she said through gritted teeth, struggling to lift her aching body. *Sob*, she'd only slept for less than two hours…
Wrapped in a heavy bathrobe, Xin Yu sat at her desk, engrossed in her work, while a certain man leaned against the bed, watching the little girl's focused expression.
"Call me 'husband,' and I can help you draw."
"No!" She was a woman of principle; if she didn't beg him, she could refuse him loudly later!
"Call me 'husband,' and I can postpone the competition by a day."
"Don't bother me!" She couldn't just use her privileges!
"Call me 'husband,' and I can prepare breakfast for you."
"Mu Yichuan, if you have nothing to do, lie down and sleep!" If she didn't get distracted, she could finish in another hour or so.
"Call me 'husband—'"
"Husband! Husband! Husband! Husband!" Xin Yu turned around angrily, shouting four times, "Is that enough?"
Just calm down.
"I'm giving myself to you."