Lu Ke's pupils quaked as she looked at Fu Jihuai in disbelief.
What did this man mean?
Wasn't he supposed to be her final safe haven?
What was her safe haven doing?
Why did he want to sleep in the same room as her?
Was he actually no different from the other male leads? Were they all cut from the same cloth? Did they all just want to sleep with her?
Noticing Lu Ke's shock and seeing her silently bury herself deeper into the blankets as if terrified of being violated, Fu Jihuai's newly improved mood was tainted with a hint of displeasure. He fell silent for a moment before explaining, "You are injured. I don't feel at ease letting you sleep alone at night."
"If you need anything, you can call me."
That sounded reasonable enough, but why not let the housekeeper come?
Lu Ke thought this, and so she asked it.
The answer she received was, "Auntie sprained her waist recently, so it's not very convenient for her."
Really?
But just earlier, Auntie was walking with a spring in her step, not looking at all like someone with a sprained waist.
Could she have seen wrong?
Lu Ke silently pulled the blanket up to cover half of her face, her eyes darting around as she stared at Fu Jihuai.
She clearly didn't believe him.
Fu Jihuai chuckled. He stepped forward and pulled her blanket down a bit, exposing her nose and mouth.
"It really is inconvenient for her. Besides, Auntie has had a lot going on at home lately, so I already let her go back."
"Yaya, even though Auntie works for us, we can't exploit her too much, right?"
Lu Ke actually agreed with this statement. She didn't expect a black-hearted landlord like Fu Jihuai to actually have a bit of a conscience. How rare.
Wasn't his conscience supposed to slowly emerge only after the female lead returned and moved him?
But Fu Jihuai was clearly dead set on sharing a room with her. Lu Ke understood his personality well enough to know he wouldn't leave easily.
She couldn't be bothered to argue further.
She closed her eyes. "Then turn off the lights, brother, I want to sleep."
Fu Jihuai gave a hum of agreement. After turning off the lights, he lay down on the small bed.
Listening to the sound of breathing by his ear, clearly feeling that Lu Ke was right beside him at this moment and hadn't been taken away by anyone, he felt an unprecedented sense of peace in his heart.
Having not closed his eyes for two days and two nights, Fu Jihuai's body was also exhausted, and it wasn't long before he fell asleep.
But he had always been a light sleeper. While sleeping, he seemed to hear someone calling him.
Opening his eyes, he saw Lu Ke poking his arm from the side.
"Brother, are you awake?"
Fu Jihuai's mind wasn't entirely clear yet. He asked groggily, "What's wrong?"
Lu Ke's face flushed red, and she stammered, "Um, I, I need to use the bathroom..."
Fu Jihuai blinked as his consciousness returned. Once he fully registered her words, his ears instantly turned bright red. He quickly sat up. "I'll carry you over."
Lu Ke lowered her head and gave a muffled sound of agreement.
Fu Jihuai turned on the light. Avoiding Lu Ke's injuries, he carefully lifted her out of bed.
The bedroom had an en-suite bathroom, so they didn't need to go out, which made things a lot more convenient.
Walking into the bathroom, he set Lu Ke on the ground and steadied her so she could stand properly, then opened the toilet lid.
When he looked back at Lu Ke, his eyes held a hint of uncertainty.
Looking at her pants, he reached out a trembling hand, then tried to pull it back. Lu Ke was so startled she slapped it away.
Her cheeks were already completely crimson. Not daring to look into Fu Jihuai's eyes, she whispered, "You, you go out. Stay far away. I'll do it myself."
Fu Jihuai didn't dare look into Lu Ke's eyes either. He gave a muffled response.
While he felt a sigh of relief in his heart, he also felt a trace of disappointment.
He turned around to leave, but still felt a bit worried. "Can you manage on your own?"
Lu Ke nodded. "I can."
Despite her words, Fu Jihuai still couldn't rest easy. He only took a few steps outside.
After seeing Lu Ke close the bathroom door, he didn't walk any further. He glanced out the window for a moment, then back at the closed bathroom door.
Lu Ke carefully supported herself against the wall. She finally managed to shuffle over to the toilet, but taking off her pants presented another difficult challenge.
Her back ached the moment she bent over. If she had known, she wouldn't have taken that blow for Gu Yi.
She clearly could have just pretended to lunge over, or if all else failed, tripped over her own feet and fallen. Anything would have been better than taking that club straight on for Gu Yi.
Why was she so foolishly honest?
Lu Ke wanted to cry but had no tears. Enduring the pain, she pulled down her pants, expending a great deal of effort just to sit stiffly on the toilet.
She breathed a sigh of relief.
But the moment she thought about a super handsome guy waiting right outside the door, even the act of using the toilet lost its satisfying sensation.
After dawdling through her bathroom trip, the smell lingered in the air for a long time.
Lu Ke was incredibly embarrassed and didn't dare open the door.
She dawdled some more before turning on the air purifier.
Right at that moment, a knock came from the door.
Fu Jihuai's voice drifted in from outside. "Yaya, are you alright?"
She had been in there for quite a while, and Fu Jihuai was terrified she might have fainted in the bathroom without him noticing.
Lu Ke hurriedly replied, "Almost, I'll be right out."
After waiting a good while and making sure there was no smell left, Lu Ke finally opened the door.
Fu Jihuai quickly walked over. Seeing him glance inside, Lu Ke hastily switched off the bathroom light.
Her tone carried obvious panic. "I'm sleepy, brother. Can you carry me back to sleep?"
Fu Jihuai looked down at her without speaking.
After a moment, he gave a soft chuckle, said okay, and bent down to scoop Lu Ke up in his arms, placing her back onto the bed.
After all that tossing and turning, Lu Ke found it a bit hard to fall back asleep.
Fu Jihuai clearly wasn't asleep either; the breathing sounds by her ear remained slightly uneven.
Lu Ke couldn't help but think about what just happened, and her cheeks flushed red again in the darkness.
God, why did a massive heartthrob like Fu Jihuai have to be left waiting outside the door during her most awkward and helpless moment?
If it had been an ugly guy, she definitely wouldn't have struggled so much, terrified of making even the slightest sound that might be heard outside.
Fortunately, the awkwardness didn't last too long. Drowsiness washed over her, and Lu Ke fell asleep.
Hearing the steady breathing beside his ear, Fu Jihuai opened his eyes and sat up with very gentle movements.
He turned his head to look at Lu Ke.
The room wasn't completely pitch black; a very dim nightlight had been left on.
However, this light only allowed one to barely make out the dark silhouettes of objects in the room, making it impossible to see details clearly.
So he couldn't actually see Lu Ke's face clearly either.
But the shy look Lu Ke had just shown lingered in his mind, refusing to fade.
Whenever he looked at her, he would think of how she had just looked.
Lu Ke had been shy in front of him before, but none of those previous times she blushed had ever been as cute and beautiful as this time.
The corners of Fu Jihuai's lips curled up unconsciously. He reached out and gently poked Lu Ke's cheek.
The affection in his eyes was wrapped in a tenderness that could melt the heart of the hardest person in the world.
Fu Jihuai whispered, "Yaya, when will you finally understand my feelings?"
She was so silly. If he didn't take the initiative to say it, would she just never understand?
