Nan Xu was startled yet again by Xie Hejing’s bluntness, he always managed to shock her with just a few words.
She clenched her phone and typed back: [Can’t you be a little more subtle?]
The room felt uncomfortably stuffy.
Xie Hejing got up and walked to the balcony; without Nan Xu beside him, lying in bed felt pointless anyway.
He leaned lazily against the railing, a cigarette loosely held between his lips. The night breeze brushed past, lifting the strands of hair on his forehead.
Seeing Nan Xu’s message, he let out a quiet, scoffing laugh and tapped out a reply:
[If I were subtle, would you actually come sleep with me?]
In the glow of the cigarette’s ember, his Adam’s apple moved with a slow swallow.
Nan Xu: “…”
She glanced at the time, already two in the morning.
She was wide awake, and it kept feeling like something was… missing next to her.
After a long while of hesitation, she finally sent him another message: [I think I might be missing a… body pillow.]
A low laugh slipped from Xie Hejing’s throat.
So she wanted to sleep holding him, just had to say it that indirectly?
He flicked off some ash.
[Oh? So that’s what you mean by subtle?]
Then, without another word, he pulled off his shirt, found a spot with decent lighting, and snapped a photo to send to her.
The image took a moment to load.
Nan Xu, unsuspecting, tapped it open.
A second later, the image filled her screen…
Xie Hejing, shirtless, leaning lazily against the wall.
His waistband was pulled just low enough to make it questionable whether it was intentional, revealing the sharp cut of his V-line.
His lean waist and abs were half-covered by a sleep shirt hanging loosely off him.
A new line popped up in the chat: [Is this “body pillow” subtle enough?]
Nan Xu shoved her phone under the pillow in a panic, her heart pounding wildly.
If this counted as subtle, then there probably wasn’t a single unsubtle person left in the world.
She had no idea how long she lay there or what other messages he might’ve sent afterward, but she knew one thing for sure…
She absolutely could not keep talking to him.
If she did, she would stay awake the whole night.
She lay down and tried to coax herself into sleep.
The room was quiet.
Just as she settled against the pillow, she suddenly heard footsteps outside the door.
The steps came closer and closer.
The soft click of the turning doorknob made her entire body tense.
The next moment, Xie Hejing appeared at the doorway, leaning against the frame, his eyes narrowed slightly.
“Your ‘body pillow,’” he said, the corner of his mouth lifting as his tongue brushed over his dry lower lip, “comes with warm skin and hugging capabilities.”
Nan Xu quickly turned her face away, but her peripheral vision betrayed her—
it drifted right to the lean line of his waist.
The marks she’d left on him last night stood out starkly against his honey-toned skin, faintly visible each time he moved closer.
Her breath hitched.
Xie Hejing suddenly braced himself against the headboard, leaning in, the cedar scent of him mixed with warm breath rushing over her.
“Boss Nan,” he murmured, voice low and teasing, “do you need to inspect the goods?”
“No need.” Nan Xu clutched the blanket tightly.
Who knew what kind of “inspection method” he had in mind?
“So that means we’re using it directly.” Xie Hejing didn’t bother asking further, he simply filled in the rest of her sentence himself.
He lifted the blanket on the other side with practiced ease, slipped off his shoes, and slid right in.
Everything happened too fast.
By the time Nan Xu reacted, his hand was already resting around her waist with infuriating familiarity.
Nan Xu pushed at his chest. “Why did you just come in here?”
“Get out.”
Instead, Xie Hejing pulled her straight into his arms with lightning speed. His warm chest pressed against her back as he wrapped the blanket around both of them, deliberately brushing her sensitive earlobe.
“Don’t move. Be quiet. I’m only holding you.”
Nan Xu didn’t believe that for a second. “You said you’d sleep in your own room tonight. Look, look where you are now.”
At that, Xie Hejing smiled, completely unashamed. “On your bed.”
Nan Xu: “…”
She was seriously considering kicking him onto the floor.
“Shameless,” she fumed, chest rising and falling, pushing at him again. “You really…”
Before she could finish, he flipped her over and pinned her beneath him.
His half-open sleep shirt fell to the side, and the muscles of his abdomen brushed lightly against her skin with each breath he took.
“If you keep struggling, I won’t just be a pillow anymore.”
Nan Xu froze, hands still awkwardly pressed against his chest. Xie Hejing gently lowered her arms, placing them back by her sides.
He buried his face into the curve of her neck—the spot that always drove him crazy—and spoke in a low, tempting murmur. “Be good. Hold me. I’m very useful.”
Nan Xu’s lashes fluttered. She wanted to refuse, but she could already imagine what he’d try the moment she said no.
After hesitating for a long moment, she whispered: “Then… you’re only allowed to be a pillow.”
Her timid tone made Xie Hejing laugh helplessly. “Mm. I said I came to deliver a ‘pillow,’ so I’m only delivering a pillow. Everything else… next time.”
Everything else?!
Nan Xu didn’t even want to ask. Anything that came out of his mouth was never reassuring anyway.
Her hands lifted shakily, hovered for a few seconds, and finally dropped onto his body in quiet surrender.
Xie Hejing clicked his tongue. “Why do you look like you’re marching to your death? Are you really that unwilling?”
“No.” Nan Xu’s cheek pressed against his chest. “I’m just… afraid you won’t be able to hold back. You have a lot of past offenses, you know.”
Xie Hejing: “…”
“Hold me properly,” he said, tightening his arms around her, “and I can endure it.”
Judging from his tone, he actually sounded serious.
Nan Xu gave a soft “mm,” too tired to stay awake any longer. She hugged Xie Hejing and shifted around to find a comfortable position.
Maybe it was his scent working its magic, she had barely held him for ten minutes before she drifted off to sleep.
Her steady breathing brushed against his ear. Xie Hejing quietly pulled her closer and soon fell asleep as well.
. . . . .
The next morning, when Nan Xu woke, Xie Hejing was still holding her in the exact same position.
She was a little surprised, he had actually endured the whole night without making a move.
She wanted to get up first, but his arms were locked firmly around her. Even trying to sit up was a struggle.
Helpless, she shifted her leg slightly to push herself up. But after just two small movements, she froze completely.
A low, husky sound rumbled from Xie Hejing’s throat, rough with sleep and tinged with a dark, magnetic tone.
“What’s wrong? Can’t move anymore?”
He had woken up the moment she started squirming, but he purposely kept still just to tease her a little longer—didn’t expect she’d notice on her own.
Nan Xu glared at him. “How are you like this first thing in the morning?”
Xie Hejing sounded wronged. “Wife, having a reaction is normal. If I didn’t react, that’s when you should worry.”
“Hmph.” Nan Xu refused to discuss this any further. “Let go and go back to your room. Auntie said she wants to talk to us about the wedding today.”
Hearing that, Xie Hejing actually looked a bit more serious for once. For the first time after waking up, he didn’t insist on pulling Nan Xu back into a morning tangle.
“Alright,” he said, getting out of bed and walking around the foot of it toward the door. “See you downstairs in a bit.”
Both Nan Xu and Xie Hejing had work today, so they could only squeeze in a discussion over breakfast.
Zhang Huiwan asked, “Jiaojiao, just tell me what theme you like. I’ll talk to the hotel staff for you, so you two won’t have to run around.”
Nan Xu paused. “But Auntie, you have work too, don’t you? Wouldn’t this be too tiring?”
“It’s fine,” Zhang Huiwan replied briskly as she finished the food in her bowl. “A friend of mine runs a wedding planning company, she’s very professional. You tell me the style you want, I’ll pass it to her. We can view the setup later, and if it’s not good, we’ll adjust it.”
“Okay, let me think about it.” Nan Xu fell into thought, a bit torn. Mostly because she genuinely didn’t know what theme she wanted on such short notice.
Zhang Huiwan added, “No rush, take your time. And as for the other details…” She paused, realizing that breakfast wasn’t enough time for all this. “Why don’t you two stay here again tonight? We can go over everything carefully this evening.”
“No.”
Xie Hejing rejected it immediately, before Nan Xu could agree. If she stayed, he’d have to figure out another way to sneak into her room again.
Going back to the home that belonged only to the two of them was much better—there, he could be close to her whenever he wanted.
Zhang Huiwan turned to him. “What about you? Do you have any ideas?”
“Nan Xu’s ideas are my ideas.”
But since Nan Xu liked flowers, he could at least start preparing something on his own.
Knowing there was no point expecting any useful suggestions from Xie Hejing, Zhang Huiwan said, “It’s alright. Jiaojiao, when you have an idea, just tell me—or tell Wen Qiu. We can discuss it together then.”
“Okay, thank you, Auntie,” Nan Xu replied.
On the way to work, Nan Xu curled up in the passenger seat, exhausted and trying to catch up on sleep. She had gone to bed late and woken up early, leaving her completely drained.
But with the morning rush hour—car engines, honking, and all that noise—she couldn’t fall asleep. She could only close her eyes and pretend to rest.
Seeing how tired she looked, Xie Hejing’s heart ached. “When we get there, go sleep in my lounge for a bit. Come out and work after you’ve rested.”
Nan Xu shook her head. “It’s not that serious. And besides, I’m just a regular employee—how would it look if I go sleep in your lounge during work hours?”
Xie Hejing chuckled. Her insistence on following the rules was so strong even he couldn’t budge it.
“Look at you, your eyes can barely stay open.”
Hearing that, Nan Xu instantly forced her eyes wide open. “I’m fine. Totally fine.”
“If I’d known you’d be like this, I should’ve gone over earlier last night so we could sleep together,” Xie Hejing said as he turned the steering wheel. “Then you wouldn’t have ended up staying awake so late.”
Nan Xu let out a sigh. Within moments, she wilted back into the same sleepy, lifeless state. “How am I even losing sleep? I used to sleep just fine when I was by myself.”
Xie Hejing had taken the matter of “making Nan Xu addicted to him” very seriously. He had even consulted a few professional friends about it.
The methods they came up with were gentle but time-consuming. First, he had to let Nan Xu get used to him without realizing it—remember his scent in everyday moments, feel his body heat, learn the rhythm of his breathing…
All these little fragments would eventually weave into a tight net, one she wouldn’t be able to slip out of.
Until she slowly realized she couldn’t go without him.
For example, before bed, Xie Hejing would spray a light sleep-inducing fragrance. Because of her night blindness, he always left a wall lamp on. Sometimes he would sing to her before she slept, or tell her a story—creating the perfect atmosphere for falling asleep. And paired with their unwavering routine of sleeping in each other’s arms every night, it was impossible for Nan Xu not to get used to him after a while.
So when she slept alone, something always felt missing.
Thinking about all this, Xie Hejing guiltily averted his gaze, his Adam’s apple shifting in a stiff, unnatural swallow.
“Maybe… you just need me more,” he said.
Nan Xu fell silent, because she realized it might actually be true.
Not sleeping well left her sluggish and listless for the entire workday.
When she got home in the evening, Nan Xu’s whole body softened, and she collapsed straight onto the sofa.
Following behind her, Xie Hejing let out a soft laugh, helping her hang up her bag and straighten the shoes she had kicked out of place. By the time he returned to Nan Xu’s side, she was already fast asleep, slumped against the sofa.
Was she really that tired?
As someone with endless energy, Xie Hejing couldn’t quite relate—but the faint crease between her brows still made his heart ache.
He gently removed her outer coat, carried her into the bedroom, tucked her under the covers, and then headed to the kitchen to make soup for her.
When Nan Xu woke again, Xie Hejing had just finished cooking. Drawn by the delicious aroma, she wandered straight into the kitchen.
When it came to his cooking, she never held back her compliments. “You’re amazing. Everything you make tastes so good. Is there anything you can’t do?”
Xie Hejing said lazily, “There is. For example, figuring out how to boost your energy.”
Nan Xu shrugged. That was basically impossible, she didn’t like physical exercise to begin with.
Outside the bedroom, Xie Hejing could never bring himself to push her hard. He had said many times that he’d take her to the gym to train properly, yet in the end, Nan Xu only went once.
And during that one visit, someone had come over to hit on her. Xie Hejing had been so furious his face turned dark, and he immediately decided he’d just train her at home from now on.
But training never lasted long. After a bit of exercise, Nan Xu would either beg for mercy or soften her voice to say she couldn’t go on, and Xie Hejing completely lost the ability to push her. As long as it didn’t affect her health, he let it slide.
“It’s really difficult. I think I was just born with low energy,” Nan Xu said as she picked up a piece of meat with her chopsticks.
The meat had only just come off the heat, it was still steaming hot. Focused on talking to Xie Hejing, she didn’t notice at all.
The moment it touched her tongue, a sharp scalding pain stung her. But Nan Xu had been taught by Wen Qiu from a young age that no matter what happened during a meal, she must never spit food back out in front of others.
Even as an adult, even in front of Xie Hejing, she kept that habit.
She instinctively wanted to go outside to find a tissue so she could spit it out discreetly, but the burning on her tongue was unbearable, and her eyes were already turning red from the pain.
Xie Hejing immediately reached his hand to her mouth. “Spit it out.”
Nan Xu shook her head. How could she spit food into his hand? That was way too gross.
She looked around—but of all times, the tissues in the kitchen had just run out.
Xie Hejing was one second away from losing it. He barked sharply, “Nan Xu, spit it out! Are you stupid? Why are you worrying about that right now?”
Startled by the stern look in his eyes, Nan Xu immediately spat the meat out. Xie Hejing flicked it away without a second thought.
He poured a glass of water and handed it to Nan Xu. “Hold it in your mouth first. Spit it out after a bit.”
Nan Xu puffed out her cheeks and nodded.
Xie Hejing still hadn’t gotten over his frustration. “Why are you following all those rules in front of me? Can’t spit it on the floor? Can’t spit it in my hand? Where did you get all these manners from?”
Nan Xu spat out the water. “My mom taught me.”
Wen Qiu doted on her, but when it came to manners, she never cut corners—especially back when Nan Xiaocheng hadn’t gone bankrupt yet. The gatherings they attended were full of wealthy, high-status people. Table etiquette was practically a reflection of a family’s upbringing.
Xie Hejing was completely shut up by that answer. He could only stew in silence as he poured her more water, then turned away.
Nan Xu tugged on his sleeve and whispered, “Why are you angry?”
He didn’t respond. She tugged again. “You’re ignoring me? I got burned and you’re still mad at me?”
Xie Hejing finally turned around. Without saying anything extra, he leaned down and gestured for her to open her mouth.
Nan Xu obediently opened it.
After inspecting for a moment and seeing nothing wrong, he asked, “Still hurts?”
Nan Xu shook her head. Seeing he was about to leave again, she quickly said, “You still haven’t answered me. Why were you angry?”
“Because you’re stupid, still following all those rules in front of me.”
Nan Xu tilted her head. “Wouldn’t you think it’s gross?”
Xie Hejing lowered his gaze. “What’s gross about it? If I’m willing to catch it, then that’s that. If you ever hesitate again and don’t spit it out…” He paused. “If you get yourself burned again because of that, I really will punish you.”
Nan Xu blinked, actually sounding a little curious. “How exactly are you planning to punish me?”
After a moment she added, “I don’t believe you would. You always let me off whenever I soften up.”
Her slightly provocative look made Xie Hejing give a cold laugh. He bent down and scooped her up into his arms, heading straight for the bedroom.
If he couldn’t resist her while standing beside the bed, then he might as well move things onto it.
“We can have a little discussion about the process of creating a new life.”
“Hey… we haven’t even eaten yet. The food’s going to get cold.” Nan Xu slapped his arm, regretting her words. She should’ve known he couldn’t handle being teased.
“We’ll eat after the discussion. Or,” he lowered his eyes, “we can eat while discussing. You eat yours, and I eat mine.”