State of Mind

"Ye Zi is missing, boss!"
"When did this happen?"
"...Several days ago."
"...I understand."

Because she was still at the Si family’s residence, even though Mu Qingcheng was burning with anxiety, she had no choice but to forcefully suppress her emotions. She could not ask more, nor could she lose her composure.

Not far away, Si Qingchen’s gaze had been fixed on that slender figure. He watched as her back tensed suddenly, then relaxed in an instant... His eyes narrowed slightly.

Lowering his eyes, the man glanced at his own wrist, recalling a previous scene... As a glimmer of light flashed through his dark eyes, he quickly curled his lips in a faint smile.

‘Heh, what an interesting little thing, truly adorable.’

By now, Mu Qingcheng had ended her call. She slipped her phone back into her pocket and turned around, her expression unchanged except for a lingering chill at the corners of her eyes.

Without a word, Si Qingchen advanced a step, pulled her confidently into his arms once more.

"Si Qingchen..." Mu Qingcheng stared at him in astonishment, caught off guard by his rocket-fast movement, unable to react in time.

"You’re sweating; don’t catch a cold," Si Qingchen replied as though it was the most natural thing in the world, as if there was nothing amiss.

Nearby, Si Bei raised his brows, a little surprised at his boss’s decisiveness.

From the looks of it, Miss Mu was indeed quite flustered by his advances—her cheeks were flushed and had stayed that way all day.

‘It seems we’ll soon have a young mistress in the family,’ Si Bei mused, following behind at just the right distance, while Si Qingchen, utterly pleased, carried his precious little darling into the house.

...

It was nearly four in the afternoon.

After receiving that phone call, Mu Qingcheng had no mind at all for studying. All she wanted was to escape this man as quickly as possible and hurry to the base to deal with Ye Zi’s disappearance.

At present, in the side hall, Mu Qingcheng sat alone at the table, staring at the stack of exam papers Si Qingchen had prepared for her in advance. She held a pen but felt no urge to answer a single question.

"Where is your boss?" Glancing at Si Bei standing nearby, Mu Qingcheng sounded a little irritable.

"He’ll be right here. Please wait a moment."

"...Fine." Mu Qingcheng took a deep breath, trying her best to calm the anxiety in her heart.

Just then—a gentle, warm breeze fell upon her head. Startled, she looked up to see that Si Qingchen had returned at some point, a hair dryer in his hand, intending to dry her hair.

"What are you doing...?"

"Don’t catch a chill." The man’s words were few, but his movements were exceptionally gentle and meticulous.

His long fingers slowly parted the layers of her hair, letting streams of silky tresses fall through them like waterfalls of satin. The warm air carried a delicate fragrance to his nose, making his Adam’s apple bob involuntarily. Very soon, a restless heat began to stir in his chest.

At this moment, a servant brought over a bowl of ginger soup, perfectly warm.

After drying her hair, Si Qingchen handed the hair dryer to the servant, wiped his hands, and sat down beside Mu Qingcheng.

"Drink this while it’s hot."

"...Alright." The young girl before him was barely twenty. No matter how composed and self-possessed she usually appeared, she was still at an age meant for innocence. At this moment, she sat quietly, cradling the cup, sipping obediently and sweetly.

Perhaps everything was too comfortable; her guard lowered, and a gentle, rosy hue gradually spread across her brows and cheeks.

Si Qingchen’s heart stirred uncontrollably. At last, he leaned closer, gently pressing a kiss to the center of her brow.

Yet the moment his lips touched that “cream-soft” spot, he realized—far too late—what he had just done!

...

Beside them, Si Bei saw what happened and quickly withdrew with all the servants.

At the table, the two, nearly pressed together, seemed to have turned to stone—neither moved for a long, breathless moment...