Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios

The group ate their hotpot dinner under a heavy atmosphere.

When they finished their meal, they actually felt relieved.

Bai Muchuan assigned them tasks after they got out of the restaurant.

He told those who worked overtime last night to rest. The remaining ones went back to the office.

Xiang Wan went back to the office with Bai Muchuan to get her laptop. After that, she waited for him for about an hour before he knocked off from work and went back home.

It was rather rare for both of them to get back home together and it should’ve been a happy occasion. However, the heavy mood at work tended to affect their mood. When they were on their way back, they didn’t feel like chit-chatting with each other at all.

Fang Yuanyuan had come back directly from the restaurant. She was doing some housework together with Xie Wanwan and her assistant.

She was not a hardworking person in this aspect but Xie Wanwan was.

Ever since she came, she would clean up the house without anyone telling her to, every day. She didn’t rely on her assistant completely at all. She would actually do the chores by herself.

She did not put on any airs before them at all…

Well, that day… Xiang Wan was somewhat awkward.

Xie Wanwan actually washed all the clothes that Xiang Wan had changed out of.

Well…

Xiang Wan felt her face slightly burning.

“I can do it myself. Thanks for all the trouble…”

Xie Wanwan didn’t mind at all. “Don’t worry about it. Just take it that I’m paying my rent with labor.”

Xiang Wan: “…”

She didn’t know what to say.

This was especially the case after she saw the post on the internet where numerous keyboard warriors were cursing Xie Wanwan. When Xiang Wan saw her, she felt complicated and did not know what she could do to make her feel better.

She hoped that Xie Wanwan didn’t know about that post.

She wished that Xie Wanwan hadn’t seen the viciousness in human nature…

But there were no secrets on the Internet.

How could she not know?

Xiang Wan examined her calm face. Whether or not Xie Wanwan knew about the post, she would not take the initiative to talk about it.

“Have the two of you eaten?” she asked.

“We’ve eaten,” replied Xie Wanwan in a casual tone, “go rest, it’s tiring at work, so don’t worry about the housework. I’ve got nothing to do anyway.”

Nothing to do? Xiang Wan did not think so.

“You don’t need to do all these. You’re busy too.”

“I wanted to do something.” Xie Wanwan tightened her grip on the rag cloth and showed a smile. “When I’m busy doing something, I need not think of anything else. I just need to complete the task on hand… Then I’ll look out of the clean window and feel a sense of accomplishment.”

“…”

Xiang Wan got it now.

Xie Wanwan was trying to reduce her stress level.

“Alright, thank you then.”

Xie Wanwan pointed toward Xiang Wan’s room. “Mm, go rest.”

When Bai Muchuan came back, he headed straight to the bedroom. Xiang Wan chatted a little with Fang Yuanyuan before going back to her room.

There was some inconvenience to live under one roof with other people.

Especially when Bai Muchuan was the only man in the house.

When Xiang Wan came back to the room, he was already in the bathroom.

Xiang Wan felt that she was having a headache. She put down her laptop and sat down slowly on the sofa while listening to the sloshing sounds of water in the bathroom.

She leaned against the sofa and massaged her temples, then closed her eyes slowly to relax.

Sometime later, the sounds of running water stopped. A while later, Bai Muchuan came out of the bathroom, wiping his hair dry with a towel.

“You’re tired?” His gaze observed Xiang Wan for a while. He put the towel aside and sat beside her. “Come, I’ll give you a massage.”

His fingers were long and strong; his fingers pressed onto her temples and moved slowly in a rhythm that was relaxing and comfortable…

Xiang Wan opened her eyes a little reluctantly. “This feels so good.”

Bai Muchuan looked at her with a half-smile. “There’s something even more comfortable, you want it?”

Xiang Wan’s eyelashes quivered a little. “You’re not tired? You’re still in the mood for this?”

“It’s called striking a balance between work and play.” Bai Muchuan changed to a more convenient position. He placed her head on his thighs and ran his fingers through her long hair; the corners of his mouth lifted upwards as he let out a satisfied sigh. “Our work is endless. When a case is completed, there will be another one. Xiang Wan, you have to get used to such a life… Life still continues even if your work affects your mood.”

Eh?

That surprised Xiang Wan.

A smile appeared on her face.

“Your words are always so sensible.”

“Well, I’m an honest guy!” Bai Muchuan said matter-of-factly.

Pffft! Xiang Wan chuckled in amusement. “Oh please! If you’re honest, all others can’t live on anymore.”

“I’m serious.” Bai Muchuan held her head to face him, looking seriously into her eyes. “Solving cases is our job,” he said, “the greatest difficulty of this job is that it will have an impact on our lives… So we need to self-regulate from time to time for our emotional well being. Otherwise, if I frown the moment I wake up because of the cases, how am I going to live on?”

“Mm!”

Xiang Wan lifted her eyebrows, seemingly wanting to talk but was stopped by Bai Muchuan.

“Am I not right?”

“You’re right!” She nodded her head and looked at him. “Your Majesty, let me go for a bath first before I serve you?”

Bai Muchuan let out a chortle. “Go ahead!”

When a case concerned a life, it was easy for one to feel distressed.

If one didn’t know how to self-regulate themselves, life could become tough and difficult.

Xiang Wan, after receiving the advice from Sir Little Bai, calmed down and went for a bath.

There was a huge mirror in the bathroom.

Xiang Wan looked at her reflection in the mirror and suddenly felt a little unfamiliar.

It was still the same face, eyebrows, eyes, nose and mouth. Yet if she took a careful look, it felt completely different from her past self…

The charm of a woman… was closely related to what she had experienced, people she knew and books that she had read.

That must be it!

Bai Muchuan’s Xiang Wan and her own version of Xiang Wan were different.

Xiang Wan smiled at the clear mirror. “You have to work hard to become a better person!” she told herself.

She removed her clothing piece by piece and walked barefooted to the showering area. When she closed the glass door, the bathroom door opened.

Bai Muchuan’s face appeared to be hazy due to the mist in the bathroom…

Xiang Wan was startled and her heart started to race.

“Bai Muchuan…”

She wanted to ask him what he wanted.

But before she could do so, the glass door was opened.

The two of them looked at each other and time seemed to arrive at a standstill.

Xiang Wan looked at him, her mouth slightly open due to the unexpected situation and her heart was pounding furiously.

This was not their first time anymore, yet she would still be attracted to him unconsciously. The tall man in front of her had a healthy colored skin tone, clear and nicely sculpted muscle lines, and the sexy V-line abs that couldn’t be covered by the bath towel tied around his waist…

Xiang Wan’s eyelid twitched. “You should go out and wait for me!”

Bai Muchuan already entered the shower area and held her shoulders. “I’ll help you bath.”

“…” Xiang Wan felt that her heart was being lit up like a string of firecrackers. Her ears instantly turned red when he told her that.

She felt that they had been together for a long time and did everything that a married couple would do… Sometimes she even had the notion that they were already a married couple for a long time. In their days together, they were mostly faced with a heavy workload and were frequently under a tense and stressful environment. They hardly had alone time and they didn’t have time to wonder if their current lifestyle lacked the passion that young couples should have…

“What are you thinking about?” Bai Muchuan looked at her affectionately.

“Eh? I… didn’t.” Xiang Wan didn’t dare to look at him straight in the eye.

“I see. Looks like I’ve overthought this.”

“Huh?”

Bai Muchuan was not in a hurry to reply. His hand gently glided across her smooth and fair skin under the running water, subtly provoking the fire of desire within her. “I thought… you wanted me.”