Translated by newbienoona

Edited by anks

Han Qilu turns on the faucet, and water flows out quickly into the sink, and down the drain .

He reaches out and splashes his face with a handful of water . Then he lowers his head and buries his face in the palm of his hand . The cool touch refreshes him . He looks up at his reflection and stares at his hickey, fascinated .

Mankuai’s gimmick . Some idiot might fall for her tricks, but not him . He scoops up a handful of water to wash away her lipstick, but since it’s waterproof, he can’t wash it off . Then, a brilliant idea overcomes him . He finds a bottle of makeup remover for him to use .

He pours out the remover like it’s water, and was able to wash off the makeup .

He finally walks out of the bathroom and walks toward Mankuai . He has the urge to pat her on the head which he doesn’t know why . It’s not like Mankuai is that much shorter than him .

“I’m leaving . Get some rest . ” He flashes a small smile at her . He rarely laughs, and his emotion is authentic .

“I’ll see you off downstairs,” she offers .

Han Qilu holds his hand up in refusal . “I came up here to see you off, so it would be inconvenient for you to send me off . Good night . ”

He puts on his shoes and heads for the door . Once he closes the entrance behind him, he presses himself against the wall . The most accurate description of his current feelings is ecstasy .

With the soundproof door and the quiet stairs, Qilu can hear his heartbeat . Just for a moment, he loses interest in Mankuai; but his body has a mind of its own . He knows: he’s still burning hot!

He needs to get home so he can take a cold shower!

Han Qilu takes a deep breath and quickly descends down the steps . He pa.s.ses a few people returning from the park . He knows no one would like to stay out and be prey for the mosquitoes .

His car disappears into the darkness, away from her sight . It is only then she drops the curtain before returning to her bedroom . Maybe she’s not fascinating enough . Any normal, hot-blooded male wouldn’t have been able to leave her once she stoked their fire .

It’s clear that Chuxia has planted her seed in Han Qilu .  Maybe the deterrent is Jiang Yuan? She can’t figure out the answer, but she’s made up her mind not to let him go .

Her grandmother gave her a month to be pregnant . She better be . As she thinks about it, her eyes tighten as she turns pale . She feels like she’s back to being five-years old . Taking a deep breath, she takes off her clothes one by one and walks toward the bathroom .

After Jiang Yuan made the phone call, An Chuxia got bored and went back to the house . Once she picks up her phone, she’s shocked to find out she missed about twenty unread text messages .

So many texts, but it’s not spam .  But who would send her so many messages? She opens the texts, and all but one is from Meng Xiaonan .

Her first reaction is to think she’s been kidnapped .

The text messages were about Han Qilu bringing Mankuai to the restaurant to have dinner with her and Mingluo . She was asking what she’s supposed to do .

She even asked if she wanted to handle her in the toilet!

She thought about Mankuai immediately, lying in a pool of blood, and Meng Xiaonan clasping her chest and smiling . An Chuxia should rid of those memories! She quickly dials Meng Xiaonan .

At that moment, Meng Xiaonan had just been driven home by Xiao Mingluo . Neither have met each other’s parents, so he had dropped her off a block away from her home .

When Meng Xiaonan receives Chuxia’s call, she immediately spits the toothpaste in her mouth and picks up her phone with wet hands . The moment she answers, she curses out Chuxia . “Why didn’t you return my messages? I thought you were kidnapped! Have you read all my messages? Han Qilu almost shredded me to bits!”

“You’re not? He really followed you to the bathroom? What happened? What did you do to be on his bad side? Are your limbs intact?” An Chuxia teases her over the phone as she walks to the balcony .

As long as she has known Xiaonan, she’s a force to be reckoned .

“I was just talking about life with Mankuai . Han Qilu then rushes over and picks me up and throws me on the ground! Then Mingluo kissed me and I was afraid I’d get him dirty… But that’s besides the point! Qilu and Mankuai are meeting friends together! Do you know what that means?” Xiaonan takes another mouthful of water from her cup to gargle the remaining toothpaste she feels at the back of her throat .

She’s not a fool; she knows what it means when Han Qilu introduces Mankuai to his circle of friends .

Although they’ve not officially broken up, saying “I’m sorry” might as well have the same meaning .

Gripping her phone tightly, An Chuxia changes the topic . “Tell me first about what happened to you . ”

Meng Xiaonan knows what she did is embarra.s.sing . So she says with remorse, “TV plots are a lie when it comes to stimulating a person with amnesia .

“It can be any kind of stimulation, not just mental, but physical too . Like if you hit Han Qilu out, he should regain his memories when he wakes up . ”

Well, Meng Xiaonan didn’t have a stick to hit him with, and if she did, she’d deny the plan .

“You’re too sloppy . Next time, think . If you’re scared, you are useless, right?” An Chuxia says before she sees a car pull in from the gates . She jumps up before saying, “I’m returning to cla.s.s tomorrow . Tell me then . Goodbye!”

She hangs up in a hurry and runs to the mirror to check her appearance . Satisfied, she runs downstairs . But before she takes a step, she stops .

“What are you doing? It’s not like he wants to see you!” She grinds her teeth and turns back .

Coincidentally, Jiang Yuan calls her down to have some fruit . She persuades herself that she’s going downstairs to eat fruit .

When she gets to the dining hall, there’s a plates of grapes, mangoes, and lychee, Jiang Yuan’s favorites .

“Mommy, would you be able to send me the novel outline in a little bit? I seem to forget . ” She pulled this excuse, but her thoughts and eyes are on the door . Fortunately, Jiang Yuan is just too accommodating . She eagerly writes out the novel outline without regard to Chuxia’s attention .

Qilu tosses the keys to the servant the moment he steps out of the car . The heat in his loins is still burning despite the half hour drive . Even with the air conditioning in full blast, and the temperature set at its coldest setting, driving was difficult .

The maids open the door to the entrance . It doesn’t take much for him to see that Jiang Yuan and An Chuxia are in conversation .

“The most important thing an author should do is setting up the character . They can’t be too obvious . But to make sure you don’t make mistakes about what happens in the future, make sure the character’s background is well presented,” Jiang Yuan says before she hears Han Qilu’s name being announced .

Jiang Yuan lifts her head and looks at An Chuxia, who’s not listening . Then she whispers to catch her attention . “Chuxia, help mommy and bring the grapes to your uncle . He’s been working since after dinner . Tell him to take a break . ”

“Okay . ” An Chuxia moves noisily . She knows Jiang Yuan wants to have a private conversation with Qilu .

She also doesn’t want to hear the name, Mankuai .

“Remember to knock first before entering . Otherwise, you might startle him . ” Jiang Yuan reiterates as she looks at Chuxia ascending the steps with the tray of fruit . Then, she turns to look at a stunned Han Qilu .

Qilu wonders how Jian Yuan was able to convince Chuxia to go upstairs . He immediately realizes his mother would like him to “drink tea” with her .

There’s no time like now to recite “Thirty-six counts as a measure… . ”