Chapter 2

Chapter 2: The Prodigal Son "Oh, family fortune declined, went bankrupt." The air fell into a stagnant silence, and Nan Shu blinked in disbelief. She had been in a hurry that day and hadn't had time to hand over the ham sausage to the dog walker in person. She never imagined it would turn out to be Xie Zeyan. How was this any different from hailing a taxi and getting a Rolls-Royce? After all, Xie Zeyan and dog walking were two completely unrelated concepts no matter how you looked at it. After thinking it over, there was only one possibility—Xie Zeyan was out experiencing life! That was it. Xie Zeyan was probably some company CEO now. Nan Shu didn't know the daily routine of a CEO, but she'd at least eaten pork even if she'd never seen a pig run. Based on her experience reading novels, a CEO was either in a meeting or on his way to one. Sitting for long periods was terrible for the neck. Sometimes, going out to walk a dog, getting close to nature, and breathing fresh air was actually a pretty good idea. But Nan Shu still felt something was off. The Xie Zeyan in her memory was like the moon in the sky—he wouldn't do something as down-to-earth as walking a dog. Her brain was still racing when Xie Zeyan's voice suddenly cut through the air. "Um..." She snapped back to attention and saw the man leaning slightly forward, a cool woody scent lingering around her nose. "This is your dog, right?" Nan Shu looked up, her gaze meeting the man's calm, unruffled eyes before instinctively shifting away to land on the white fluffy bundle in his arms. "Y-yes." The air fell silent again, her throat feeling like it was stuffed with cotton. Should she say something else? Should she greet him? Nan Shu stole a glance at Xie Zeyan. From the moment she'd opened the door, the man's face hadn't shown much expression—clearly he didn't remember her. Forget it. She'd just pretend not to know him. Nan Shu reached out, ready to take the ham sausage from Xie Zeyan's arms and quickly end this awkward encounter between former classmates who didn't recognize each other. Suddenly— "BANG!" A loud explosion came from the bathroom. Nan Shu's vision plunged into darkness in an instant, as if she'd fallen into a bottomless ocean. She let out a startled cry and instinctively grabbed forward, her hands clutching tightly onto a sturdy arm—warm and strong. Feeling the man's body stiffen, Nan Shu suddenly remembered something and yanked her hands back as if she'd touched a hot potato. She remembered hearing in high school that Xie Zeyan hated being touched by others. Once, a girl from their class had stopped him to confess her feelings, and Xie Zeyan's face had turned cold on the spot. She didn't know what he'd said afterward, but the girl was heartbroken and cried at her desk for the entire evening self-study session. Remembering this, Nan Shu broke out in a cold sweat. "Sorry, I have mild night blindness. I didn't mean to grab you just now... It wasn't intentional." The awkward silence she'd expected didn't come. Instead, Xie Zeyan's clear voice sounded by her ear: "It's fine. You can hold onto me and stand for a bit." Completely unexpected. Nan Shu was momentarily stunned but didn't take advantage of the offer. "No need, I'll just hold onto the doorframe." Her eyes gradually adjusted to the darkness, and Nan Shu fumbled to turn on her phone's flashlight. "It must be the bathroom light that's broken." The apartment she rented wasn't new. There had been short circuits and burst pipes before, often leaving the place in a mess. Xie Zeyan followed the light and looked into the apartment. "Mind if I come in and take a look?" "Sure," Nan Shu aimed the flashlight at the doorframe and instinctively warned, "Be careful." Xie Zeyan's lips curved almost imperceptibly. He leaned in and asked Nan Shu, "Where's the puppy's bed?" "The balcony." Xie Zeyan carried the ham sausage to the balcony, and Nan Shu followed closely behind him with the flashlight. When the ham sausage was placed in its bed, it let out a couple of whimpers—perhaps because it was afraid of the dark. Nan Shu gently stroked its fur. "The power will be back soon. Ham Sausage, just stay here for now." After calming the dog down, Nan Shu stood up and pointed ahead, saying to Xie Zeyan, "The bathroom is over here." Even with the flashlight on, the visible range was still very small. Nan Shu wasn't sure if there was anything at her feet, so she walked slowly. "Why is it called Ham Sausage?" Xie Zeyan suddenly asked. Nan Shu's arm brushed unconsciously against Xie Zeyan. "Because I fed it a ham sausage back then, and it followed me home. So I named it Ham Sausage." Xie Zeyan nodded. When he reached the bathroom door, he turned around and took the flashlight from Nan Shu's hand. "Wait a moment." He carefully inspected the floor tiles, making sure there were no glass shards or anything else that had fallen, then reached up to check the light fixture above. The bathroom ceiling was low, so Xie Zeyan could easily reach it without even needing a stool. For the first time, Nan Shu clearly felt the height difference between them—Xie Zeyan was a full head taller than her. "Do you have any tools at home?" "Yes, I'll get them for you." Nan Shu pulled out a toolbox from under the sink. Xie Zeyan took off his plain ring and set it on the counter, then began rummaging through the small box for tools. This tool set was a mini version designed specifically for girls, and a pair of pliers looked especially tiny in Xie Zeyan's hand. But Xie Zeyan used them without any issue, and his skilled movements left Nan Shu utterly astonished. In her impression, Xie Zeyan was the type of pampered young master who would never have to change a light bulb himself. She looked up again, and just then Xie Zeyan raised his arm, revealing a glimpse of his waist beneath the hem of his shirt. Muscles hugged his frame, with clean, defined lines. He was so close to her that she could even feel the heat radiating from his body. Nan Shu couldn't help but swallow, and the hand holding the flashlight trembled slightly. "Sorry." Nan Shu tried to cool herself down, forcing her attention back to the task of changing the light bulb. A few minutes later, the bathroom light flickered back on. Xie Zeyan walked over to the sink, and amid the sound of rushing water, he slowly lifted his head, his gaze meeting the girl's dark eyes in the mirror. "Nan Shu." The man let out a low chuckle, saying her name. Nan Shu was surprised. "You actually know me?" Xie Zeyan turned off the faucet and turned around. "Weren't we high school classmates?" "Yeah, but we were only in the same class for one year." Nan Shu's hand unconsciously poked at the hem of her shirt, her voice so low that the words sounded like a hum. "Then do you still remember who I am?" Xie Zeyan asked. "Of course." Nan Shu looked up, her words speeding up, but she paused slightly at the last few syllables. "You're... Xie Zeyan." "See," Xie Zeyan curved his lips into a smile. "You remember me too." "It's different..." After all, Xie Zeyan had been her secret crush, a name that appeared frequently in her diary. But to Xie Zeyan, she was just an ordinary classmate he'd had for one year, and after they were placed in different classes, they had no further contact. It was perfectly normal for him not to remember her. "What's different?" Nan Shu paused for a moment, then came up with a flawless excuse. "Because you were a well-known figure at school back then. Everyone knew your name." "Fair enough." Xie Zeyan let out a low laugh, his attractive peach-blossom eyes slightly upturned, as if he accepted the answer and didn't press further. The two walked out of the bathroom, and Xie Zeyan pulled up the circuit breaker, restoring light to the house. Ham Sausage came running over from the balcony, circling around Nan Shu's feet. Nan Shu picked up Ham Sausage, and afraid the silence would make things awkward again, she asked another question: "By the way, doesn't your family own a company? How did you end up as a dog walker?" Xie Zeyan raised his brows lightly, speaking with ease. "Oh, the family fell on hard times. Went bankrupt." Nan Shu: ?? What? Xie Zeyan's family went bankrupt?! For the first time, Nan Shu felt like she'd been struck by lightning, and she wished she could punch herself in the head. Her first reunion with her former crush after seven years apart, and she had to go and hit a sore spot, asking such an awkward question. "Um, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it." Nan Shu apologized in a small voice, already wishing she could crawl into a hole in the ground. "It's fine," Xie Zeyan raised an eyebrow, his tone lazy. "I actually quite like this job." • The world had truly gone mad. Long after Xie Zeyan left, Nan Shu still stood at the entrance, unable to recover from the shocking news. She could believe that the Chinese men's football team had won the World Cup, she could even believe that she'd wake up one morning to find the sun in the west, but she simply couldn't believe that Xie Zeyan's family had gone bankrupt. Back in high school, she'd heard classmates mention that the Xie family had vast wealth, with assets reaching astronomical figures that ordinary people couldn't even dream of. Where exactly had things gone wrong? It couldn't be that Xie Zeyan was a spendthrift who had squandered the family fortune, could it? No, that was impossible. Nan Shu immediately dismissed that thought. In high school, Xie Zeyan had been the top student at their school, never once falling from the number one spot in the grade, winning competition awards left and right. He was completely different from those spoiled rich kids at school. Could it be that the capital world was full of undercurrents, and with a sudden turn of events, the weak fell prey to the strong, leaving the Xie family in decline? Nan Shu sighed, unable to figure it out no matter how she thought about it. In the end, she decided to look for clues in Xie Zeyan's Moments. She tapped on the black profile picture at the top of the chat. Nan Shu remembered that this WeChat contact had been recommended to her by a colleague from the film crew. Back then, after adding the dog walker's WeChat, she'd forgotten to set a note, and combined with the fact that she'd switched phones in between, when she tried to contact the dog walker a few days ago, she almost couldn't find his WeChat. Fortunately, she remembered the profile picture. Nan Shu clicked into Xie Zeyan's Moments. It was very clean, with only one video, posted three days ago. The subject was Ham Sausage. The filming range was limited, and all that could be seen was an open space paved with white tiles. Nan Shu guessed it might be the living room of Xie Zeyan's house. It looked quite empty, and on closer thought, there really was a hint of decline to it. In the video, Ham Sausage was holding a small ball in its mouth, about two meters away from the camera. The next second, a hand appeared in the frame, curling its index finger toward Ham Sausage... After replaying the video three times, Nan Shu paused at that frame, took a screenshot, and returned to her photo album to zoom in on the image. She recognized it—this was Xie Zeyan's hand. The knuckles were well-defined, the nails trimmed neatly and cleanly, the wrist bone slightly protruding, and faint blue veins visible beneath the fair skin. She thought again of Xie Zeyan she had seen at the door earlier. Despite his family's bankruptcy, there was no trace of life's wear and tear on him at all. His looks were in no way inferior to back then, and even... Nan Shu stared at that slender hand on the screen, thinking of the man's thick dark lashes, his cool pale Adam's apple, and the small mole on it. Even more alluring than before. Nan Shu couldn't help but sigh—oh my god, how could someone still be this handsome even after falling on hard times! • That night, Nan Shu slept deeply, with fragments of high school memories flashing through her dreams, mostly related to Xie Zeyan. After who knows how long, she heard the sound of splashing water around her in a half-awake, half-asleep state. Nan Shu rubbed her bleary eyes, vaguely sensing that the sound seemed to be coming from the bathroom. A burglar in the house? Nan Shu immediately jolted awake, sat up gasping for breath, and the sound of rushing water became even more distinct—it really was coming from the bathroom. Nan Shu nervously swallowed, then tiptoed off the bed. The bathroom door was almost ajar, and Nan Shu crouched low to peer through the gap. The bathroom was filled with steam, and she could vaguely make out a man standing under the spraying showerhead. The warm, dim yellow light outlined his figure—a solid chest, defined abdominal muscles, and clean, flowing arm lines. Water cascaded down, dripping from his hair strands, sliding past his sensually prominent Adam's apple and the distinct V-lines at his waist, finally "drip, drop" into the depths. She was completely stunned, and her head accidentally bumped against the door, making a sound. The man in the bathroom turned at the noise, and through the hazy mist, Nan Shu vaguely saw desire surging uncontrollably in his eyes. It was actually... Xie Zeyan? Without time to think about why Xie Zeyan was in her house, Nan Shu inexplicably pushed open the bathroom door. The steaming heat rushed at her face, mixed with the scent of masculine pheromones. "Nan Nan." Xie Zeyan wrapped his arms around her waist from behind, his chest pressed tightly against her back. The hand she had just seen in the video tonight was now roaming freely and wantonly. Sending a shiver through her. The man's voice was hoarse and burning, his scorching breath brushing past her ear. "Want to?" ... "Boom—" A thunderclap struck, and Nan Shu jolted awake in bed. Rain had started falling outside at some point—a torrential downpour, beating chaotically against the window in the howling wind. She had actually dreamed of Xie Zeyan, and an indecent dream at that? A flush quickly crept up Nan Shu's face. Feeling her body's subtle reaction, she was so embarrassed she pulled the blanket over her head. But those sexy hands lingered stubbornly in her mind, and her skin still seemed to retain the grainy sensation of his fingertips pressing against it. It was only a little past two in the morning, but Nan Shu was completely wide awake. After sitting in bed for a full ten minutes, she suddenly thought of something, slipped on her slippers, and went "pitter-patter" running to the study. In no time, Nan Shu carried all her comic-drawing tools into the bedroom. Since she couldn't sleep and her mind was full of filthy thoughts anyway, she might as well take the opportunity to draw the next chapter's content, using the dream just now as inspiration. Summer rainstorms always come and go quickly. By the time Nan Shu uploaded the latest chapter's draft to the backend for review, the rain outside had stopped at some point, and a hint of orange-red dawn light was breaking through the leaden gray sky. Having stayed up all night, Nan Shu's head was groggy. She yawned endlessly while walking the dog, looking from a distance like the hot dog was walking her instead. After getting home, she dove straight into bed to catch up on sleep. Until a video call woke her up. Nan Shu reached for the bedside table several times before she managed to grab her phone. She groggily opened her eyes—it was her best friend, Liang Jiayi. "Congratulations on wrapping up, future Grand Slam Best Actress!!" Liang Jiayi held a bouquet of blue and white roses, bustling her way toward Nan Shu's house. The two had been neighbors as children, often visiting each other's homes to play. They hadn't seen each other for years after that, but coincidentally ended up in the same class in their first year of high school. Even after Nan Shu transferred schools in her third year, Liang Jiayi would frequently send her messages on QQ. Since then, from Nan Shu's very first time acting as an extra, Liang Jiayi would always send her a bouquet when she wrapped up a project. "Why are you still sleeping? What did you sneak off to do behind my back last night!" Liang Jiayi looked at the dazed girl on the screen. Last night... Thinking of the culprit who had kept her awake, Nan Shu's cheeks flushed faintly. She hugged her soft body pillow and rolled over, speaking lazily: "I was up all night thinking about you, so I couldn't sleep." "Pfft, I don't believe that." Liang Jiayi urged again, "Hurry up and get up, I'm almost there." Liang Jiayi arrived ten minutes later. When Nan Shu opened the door, Hot Dog also rushed up to greet her. Liang Jiayi handed the flowers to Nan Shu, then crouched down to pick up Hotdog Sausage. "Our Hotdog Sausage has gotten chubbier again." Nan Shu fetched a vase from the balcony and sat cross-legged in front of the sofa, trimming each rose before arranging them in the vase. "I remember when you first brought Hotdog Sausage home, it was a whole size thinner than it is now." Liang Jiayi gestured with her hands. Hotdog Sausage was a dog Nan Shu had picked up a little over a month ago. At first, Nan Shu had run into it twice at the entrance of the residential complex and assumed it was someone's lost dog. After posting a message in the homeowner's group chat with no response, she kept encountering the little dog for half a month straight. The last time, she bought a hotdog sausage to feed it, and the little dog seemed to have decided Nan Shu was its person, following her all the way to her doorstep. Nan Shu's heart softened, and she chose to adopt this little Pomeranian. Liang Jiayi knew Nan Shu had always loved cats and dogs, but when she heard Nan Shu was going to keep Hotdog Sausage, she still advised her to think it over. "You're always going off to film sets for shoots. What are you going to do with Hotdog Sausage then?" Nan Shu had naturally considered this problem too, but when she saw the little dog crouching at her doorstep with pleading eyes, cautiously poking its head in, wanting to come inside but not daring to, she really couldn't bear to abandon it. She had said at the time, "We'll see when the time comes. There'll be a way." "Nan Nan, what's this?" Liang Jiayi's voice suddenly came from the bathroom. She held up a plain ring as she walked out, and after comparing it, found it was a size bigger than their own rings. "What the hell? This isn't a man's ring, is it?!" A man's ring? Nan Shu was stunned for a moment when she heard that, then suddenly remembered that when Xie Zeyan had helped her fix the light yesterday, he had taken off a pinky ring and left it on the bathroom counter. Feeling guilty, she quickly responded, "The bathroom light was broken yesterday, and someone came to fix it for me. It must have been left behind by him." "Is that so," Liang Jiayi said, half-convinced. "The repairman you found is pretty trendy, wearing a plain ring like that." "Yeah, yeah." Nan Shu opened her chat with Xie Zeyan. Nan Shu: [Are you there?] Xie Zeyan: [Mm.] Xie Zeyan: [What's up?] Nan Shu: [Your ring was left at my place yesterday, I just found it.] [How about...] She had only typed halfway when Xie Zeyan's message popped up. Xie Zeyan: [Want to meet up?]