"Get back inside now!"
By the time Yu Hekun regained his senses, he was already wrapped tightly in a blanket, with a considerable weight pressing down on his back. A voice whispered close to his ear, "President Yu, you must be exhausted. How about a shoulder massage?"
With that, the person sat up, straddling Yu Hekun over the blanket, and began kneading his shoulders with practiced hands. They were indeed stiff.
Yu Hekun struggled to get up, but Jian Youyou coaxed, "President Yu, don’t move. Your shoulders are so tense—have you been suffering from migraines lately?"
Yu Hekun genuinely wanted to push her off, growling, "Get off me! How did you even get in here?!" But his body betrayed him, melting under her skilled fingers, leaving him weak and tingling.
"I walked in. I just couldn’t bear seeing you so worn out," she replied, working even harder. Muffled under the blanket, Yu Hekun let out an involuntary groan as his tense muscles gradually relaxed. Still, he muttered, "Breaking into someone’s room without permission—you really have no manners or upbringing..."
Jian Youyou ignored his complaints, continuing her ministrations while soothing him softly, "Relax, President Yu. Don’t tense up—your back is just as tight."
Yu Hekun had never met a woman so shameless, so brazen in her lies, yet so utterly unapologetic. But when he glanced sideways at her, he saw her half-dried hair tied messily on top of her head, making her look like a disheveled nun. She must have just showered—her face was bare, unnaturally pale, even her eyebrows faint.
Like this, she bore no resemblance at all to the woman in his memories—that radiant, gentle soul who seemed to gaze at everyone with boundless affection. The woman currently sitting on his waist was the polar opposite.
His lips moved slightly as he mumbled into the pillow, "Why aren’t you wearing makeup anymore? You look nothing like..." Nothing like her.
Jian Youyou understood. If this were the original owner of this body, those words might have stung. But for her, this was just work. "It’s nighttime. Women need to remove their makeup, or it’ll ruin their skin. You wouldn’t want it to feel rough, would you? I’ll put it on again tomorrow—whatever style you prefer, President Yu."
Her patron valued this face, and she was happy to oblige.
Yu Hekun was speechless. "Who said I’ve ever touched you?!"
Jian Youyou hummed vaguely. "Just preparing for the future. What if you want to someday? Besides, wearing makeup all the time causes breakouts, and that’d ruin the view for you, wouldn’t it? Just bear with it tonight—or don’t look at all. Think of me as a massage parlor girl."
Yu Hekun didn’t know how to respond. Massage parlor girl? He’d never even been to such places.
Yet when she told him not to look, he stole another glance. Without her usual fake smile, her plain face looked almost indifferent—her light brows and even her eyes, not the deep black he remembered, gave off an air of detachment.
Given her usual erratic behavior, Yu Hekun chalked it up to his own misperception. How could he possibly see detachment in her?
Little did he know, sometimes intuition strikes with startling accuracy. For a long time afterward, Yu Hekun would regret not trusting his gut that day.
Appearance reflects the heart—this age-old saying endured for a reason.
Gradually, he relaxed completely. Jian Youyou pulled the blanket away, straddling his waist to knead his back. He only let out a soft groan but didn’t move.
Exhaustion finally dragged him under. Yu Hekun never imagined he’d fall asleep with someone on top of him—let alone sleep so deeply.
When Jian Youyou noticed he was out, she stopped, her own limbs aching. She lay beside him, flicking his ear lightly. No reaction. He was dead asleep.
Sighing, she muttered, "Making money is so hard..."
Rubbing her sore arms, she climbed off the bed, tucked him in, turned off the lights, and returned to her own room.
The night passed quietly. The next morning, Yu Hekun woke up refreshed—even having slept an extra hour. Youth worked wonders; one night had erased weeks of fatigue.
He dressed for his usual morning run, but the weather had other plans. A fine drizzle had begun by the time he stepped outside in his workout gear.
Upstairs, Jian Youyou saw him leave at 6:30 AM and hurriedly threw on a dress—the only thing resembling sportswear in her closet. It was short, but at least it had a hood, which she pulled up against the rain.
After reviewing the plot last night, she knew her priority now was to raise Yu Hekun’s favorability. She’d never actively pursued anyone before—friends, ex-boyfriends, even Bian Xia had all clung to her over time. But she’d read enough romance novels to know the drill. How hard could it be?
So when Yu Hekun jogged near the villa, his jacket damp from the misty rain (now tied around his waist), he turned a corner—and there she was.
Jian Youyou, in a scandalously short striped dress (unbeknownst to her, the kind found in adult films), flashed him a bright smile. "Morning, President Yu! Out for a run?"
Yu Hekun nearly slipped into the ditch.
Regaining his balance, he scanned the area—thankfully, no one else was around at this hour. But then Jian Youyou bounded over, chirping, "The rain makes the air so fresh! Mind if I join you?"
His face darkened. "Go home. What the hell are you wearing?!"
She glanced down, swinging a leg. "Don’t you like it? I even put on makeup—see? Has it smudged?"
Leaning in, she rose on her toes, bringing her face closer. "Is this the look you prefer? Or should I go heavier?"
Yu Hekun watched as the person drew closer, instinctively reaching out to press a hand against her shoulder to prevent her from lunging forward. His gaze dropped to her delicate, rain-dampened face, and for a moment, he found himself unable to look away.
Unbidden, the words she had spoken earlier flashed through his mind: "What if President Yu wants to touch me someday?"
He… he didn’t want to touch her at all!
With a sudden jerk, Yu Hekun pushed Jian Youyou away, his hand dropping to his side, fingers twitching slightly before he snapped, "Go back!"
Jian Youyou had come out specifically to intercept him and join him for his morning workout. There was no way she was going back now. She pouted and said, "No, I want to exercise with you. I woke up early for this—come on, let’s go together!"
Yu Hekun’s expression darkened further than the overcast sky. "You call this workout attire?"
Jian Youyou glanced down at herself. "What’s wrong with it?"
"Are you doing this on purpose?" Wearing a seductive little dress and flaunting herself in front of him first thing in the morning—this woman had no shame!
Jian Youyou nodded earnestly. "Of course. I wore it for you, President Yu. Didn’t I say yesterday? Whatever you like, I’ll wear. Whatever makeup you prefer, I’ll put on."
She blinked up at him, completely unaware of the intense implications of her words and outfit. A small smile curved her lips as she added cheerfully, "Don’t worry, my mascara’s waterproof. The rain won’t ruin it. Let’s go!"
She was utterly serious about catering to his preferences, but Yu Hekun felt heat rushing to his head.
He inhaled sharply, taking another step back and deliberately avoiding looking at her long, shapely legs. The tips of his ears tinged pink. No matter how composed he tried to be, he was still a man—and having a woman say such things to him first thing in the morning, dressed like that, was practically an invitation. If he didn’t feel something, he wouldn’t be human.
Exhaling slowly, he gritted his teeth and growled, "Just go back already!"
With that, he turned and broke into a run along his usual route.
But Jian Youyou didn’t leave. Instead, she followed him, jogging up the gentle slope in front of the villa.
Hearing footsteps behind him, Yu Hekun glanced back and nearly exploded in frustration. This woman was infuriatingly stubborn!
He stopped abruptly, turning to glare at her as she jogged toward him. "Stop following me! If you can’t keep up, don’t expect me to carry you back down!"
Jian Youyou wasn’t even out of breath. She gave him a puzzled look. She had intended to humor him at first, but as she ran through the light rain, she found herself genuinely enjoying it—the damp air, the scenery. If he hadn’t turned around to scold her, she might have forgotten he was even there.
"Oh," she said, still some distance away. The drizzle had cooled the feigned warmth in her eyes, leaving behind an aloofness that seemed to push the entire world away. "Don’t worry, President Yu. I can keep up."
She had never lost when it came to endurance sports, especially long-distance running. Growing up helping in her family’s small shop during the pre-internet era, she had worked nonstop for over ten hours a day, flipping tables from morning till night. After closing, she and her mother would bike all the way to the suburbs, rain or shine. Her stamina was unmatched.
Yu Hekun scoffed, unconvinced. In his experience, women were fragile creatures. He remembered a hiking trip from his school days—him, his brother, and… Huo Jiaoyue. On the way down, Huo Jiaoyue had been too exhausted to walk, and his brother had carried her.
The memory made his frown deepen. He turned and started running again, this time deliberately veering off his usual path toward a steeper uphill trail.
He wanted to make Jian Youyou give up—just like he had been forced to back then.
Yu Hekun had always believed that Huo Jiaoyue hadn’t chosen him because he wasn’t strong enough—in every sense, he had fallen short compared to his brother. Back then, he had been too young, his slender shoulders unable to carry her down the mountain, unable to provide for her the way his brother could. Of course she had chosen his brother. Women were like that—they needed someone to rely on.
But on this misty, rain-soaked morning, Yu Hekun came to a startling realization: not all women were the dependent, delicate creatures he had assumed. Some, like Jian Youyou, shattered those assumptions with the sheer, bullheaded strength of their will—and their freakishly inhuman stamina.
At the mountaintop, Yu Hekun collapsed ungracefully onto the ground, completely spent. Jian Youyou, meanwhile, stood at the highest point, some distance away, arms outstretched as she welcomed the fractured sunlight spilling through the clouds.
Her hair clung damply to her neck, and the droplets on her face and skin sparkled like scattered diamonds in the light.
She turned, wet strands whipping as she shook off the rain, and called out, "Come on, President Yu! The view’s amazing up here!"
Yu Hekun could only stare at her, breathless and utterly speechless.
