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They had agreed on one minute, and He Jingxiu really only hugged her for exactly that long.
When they parted, it was Bo Ying who found it hard to let go.
But she didn’t let herself show it too obviously. She said “goodnight” again and turned to enter the community.
He Jingxiu’s embrace was warmer than she remembered.
Bo Ying hadn’t experienced much paternal affection, but she had the love and care of her older brother. As a child, she didn’t feel like she craved paternal love much.
As she grew older, she gradually realized that she did crave it—perhaps even more than most people.
The less she had of something, the more she wanted it.
In her memory, her father had held her a few times, but his hugs weren’t warm; instead, they felt cold.
As for Boyan’s embraces, by the time she entered middle school, Bo Ying understood the differences between boys and girls and no longer clung to him as she used to.
So in her memory, He Jingxiu’s embrace was the clearest and most tangible.
His chest was burning hot, and his heart, pounding uncontrollably, transmitted its rhythm through the thin fabric of his clothes, letting her feel his intense heat.
Perhaps because of the pre-sleep hug or perhaps because of the past mentioned in the small shop, Bo Ying had a very long dream that night.
She dreamed of her first hug with He Jingxiu during her second year of high school.
That day, Bo Ying had an argument with her family.
Her parents were busy with work and rarely came home. Boyan also spent less time at home due to his studies and work.
Usually, only Bo Ying and the housekeeper were at home.
During a mid-term exam, Bo Ying had stomach pain and couldn’t concentrate on the test.
Her grades had always been above average, but this time, they plummeted.
Coincidentally, her parents, who had been away on a business trip for a month, returned home.
Upon learning about her poor performance, without hearing her side, they threw the game console she was playing with and even discarded all the comics and magazines piled up in her room.
They believed that her drop in grades was due to playing games and reading comics.
At first, Bo Ying didn’t feel much about them breaking her game console. But the comics were different.
Those comics were sent to her by friends from overseas. She had a favorite comic artist whose works were mostly out of print, and these were the few sets she had just collected.
Two of those sets were birthday gifts from Boyan, who knew she liked them and had purchased them at high prices.
It was raining that day.
The comics were thrown off the balcony into the yard. The rain poured down heavily, accompanied by thunder and lightning, and the wind blew the branches wildly, breaking several flowers and dry leaves.
Outside, it was pitch black and particularly frightening.
Bo Ying had always loved rainy days, but that day, she sincerely hoped the rain would stop.
The moment the comics were thrown out, she ran out of her room. Alone, she ran into the stormy night, crying and picking up the rain-soaked comics in the yard.
She had only picked up a few when the house’s security guards forcibly dragged her back inside.
But Bo Ying wouldn’t give in. She cried and screamed to go back outside. In the end, taking advantage of the two guards going back to sleep, she returned to the heavy rain and picked up all the rain-soaked, blurred comics and magazines.
The comics were completely soaked, and the chances of salvaging them were slim.
The housekeeper advised her to give up, but Bo Ying refused. She thought that wet books could be dried, and once dried, they could still be used.
But for some reason, that day, Bo Ying searched upstairs and downstairs but couldn’t find any tools to dry the books.
Just as she was feeling desperate, He Jingxiu sent her a message.
Originally, they had planned to go to the snack street that night. Bo Ying knew a new shop had opened there, and she had been craving it for a long time, constantly begging He Jingxiu to accompany her.
Seeing He Jingxiu’s message, Bo Ying felt like seeing a savior. Without thinking, she called him directly.
“Hello.” He Jingxiu’s voice was clear and pleasant. “Bo Ying, it’s raining. Let’s go tomorrow—”
Before he finished speaking, he heard Bo Ying’s restrained sobs.
“Bo Ying?”
He Jingxiu sounded worried. “What happened? Where are you?”
Bo Ying ignored his questions, crying and saying, “He Jingxiu, my books got soaked in the rain.”
At that moment, she couldn’t hear what He Jingxiu was saying. She was only focused on her own words, trying to solve the problem.
Hearing this, He Jingxiu seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. “How many got wet? Don’t cry first. Find a cloth to wipe off the water.”
“I can’t find one.” Bo Ying cried harder. “They won’t let me dry them. All my books are gone. Help me. Please help me.”
“Okay.”
She heard He Jingxiu’s immediate response. “Where are you now? I’ll come find you.”
“At home.”
He Jingxiu replied, “I’ll be there in twenty minutes. Don’t cry first. Calm down and find a soft cloth to wipe the water. Did you get soaked too?”
Bo Ying sniffled, “Mm.”
“Then change your clothes first. I’ll be there soon.”
Bo Ying knelt on the floor, crying and hiccupping, responding vaguely, “Mm.”
When He Jingxiu arrived, Bo Ying walked out holding her pile of books, without an umbrella.
The rain seemed to have eased a bit, but she was drenched, with water dripping continuously from her clothes.
Seeing He Jingxiu, she immediately asked him to save her books.
Standing in the rain, He Jingxiu took the soaked books from her hands without asking what happened and directly took her back to an apartment near the school.
He Jingxiu had an apartment near the school for resting during noon breaks. Bo Ying knew about it but had never been there.
The apartment wasn’t large, designed with two bedrooms and a living room—one bedroom and one study.
When they returned, both were soaked by the rain.
As soon as He Jingxiu entered, he handed Bo Ying a large towel. “Bo Ying, go change your clothes first.”
Bo Ying stubbornly looked at him. “My books—”
“I’ll help you dry them.” He Jingxiu was unusually patient that day, becoming much gentler with her. His seriousness was written all over his eyes, softly telling her, “Go wash up in the bathroom. I’ll get you some clean clothes.”
To prevent Bo Ying from being scared, he added, “You can lock the door. I won’t come in. I’ll be in the living room. Call me if you need anything, okay?”
At that moment, it was the only time Bo Ying remained somewhat rational.
She nodded, taking the unused clean clothes He Jingxiu gave her and entered his bathroom.
When she came out after her bath, her previously foggy mind seemed to have cleared up a lot.
In the living room, He Jingxiu was patiently using a soft cloth to wipe her rain-soaked, nearly unsalvageable comic books.
His movements were gentle, as if he were handling treasures rather than comic books.
Even though some couldn’t be saved, he treated them the same way, flipping each page carefully to dry and hang them aside, using a fan he found somewhere to blow them dry.
After calming down, Bo Ying called Boyan, telling him she was at a classmate’s place. Then, He Jingxiu, who had finished organizing the books, sent her to bed.
It was her first time occupying his personal space.
Bo Ying fell asleep quickly. In the middle of the night, she felt unwell.
She had a fever.
When she was shivering and her lips turned blue from the cold, a ray of sunlight enveloped her, making her feel warm.
In her half-conscious state, Bo Ying had a glimmer of awareness.
She kept moving closer to the heat source, absorbing the warmth and comfort it provided.
She was so greedy for that embrace, unwilling to let go.
When she woke up the next morning, Bo Ying’s fever had subsided.
Instinctively, she touched the spot beside her bed, which still felt warm. The embrace from last night wasn’t a delusion caused by her fever.
When Bo Ying walked out of the room, Chi Lü was waiting for her in the living room.
Her brother was still out of town and couldn’t return, so he sent Chi Lü to pick her up.
When leaving, Bo Ying forgot to take her comics.
Later, she asked He Jingxiu several times if he had hugged her and warmed her that night.
He Jingxiu never directly admitted it.
Occasionally, when Bo Ying persisted, he would tap her forehead and scold her, telling her not to talk about such things externally, as it could harm her reputation.
He didn’t care, but Bo Ying was a girl, and he didn’t want others to judge her negatively.
…
Suddenly, Bo Ying woke up from her dream.
The room was pitch black, with no light visible.
Bo Ying paused, picked up her phone, and saw it was 2 a.m.
She touched her forehead, feeling it was hot, similar to when she had a fever.
Bo Ying coughed lightly. As soon as she moved, He Pom Pom, lying on the floor, woke up.
Man and dog stared at each other, and Bo Ying chuckled, pulling back the blanket and getting out of bed to pour a glass of water in the kitchen.
While drinking water, she absent-mindedly tapped on her phone.
Perhaps emotions were amplified and fermented late at night. Bo Ying couldn’t resist asking the question she hadn’t received an answer to years ago.
Bo Ying: [One last time, did you act as my personal heater that night?]
After sending it, Bo Ying put her phone aside.
In the middle of the night, she didn’t expect He Jingxiu to reply.
Unexpectedly, the phone screen lit up five minutes later.
Bo Ying was startled and instinctively answered his call.
She opened her mouth, extremely surprised. “You’re not asleep yet?”
He Jingxiu hummed, “Just finished bathing.”
“…”
Bo Ying blinked slightly, asking blankly, “Do bosses not need to sleep?”
With this workload, could his body handle it?
She was very curious.
He Jingxiu laughed, explaining, “I slept on the plane. I’m not very tired.”
Bo Ying went “Oh,” understanding, “Got it. You haven’t adjusted to the time difference yet.”
He Jingxiu didn’t explain that he still had work to finish, replying, “Which night were you referring to earlier?”
Bo Ying paused, rubbing her hot ears, mumbling, “Do we have many nights like that?”
Hearing her words, He Jingxiu’s smile froze, momentarily unsure how to react.
He was helpless at Bo Ying’s lack of defenses. She was truly open with him, saying whatever came to mind.
“Bo Ying.”
“What?”
“Do you know what you’re saying?” He Jingxiu asked.
Bo Ying hesitated, licking her lips. “Isn’t that what you asked?”
He Jingxiu wasn’t angry at her deflecting the question. After recalling for a moment, he said, “Not a single night.”
By the time they finished organizing those books at home, it was already one or two o’clock.
Bo Ying froze, pursing her lips, her eyelashes trembling lightly. “So my feelings weren’t wrong, right?”
He Jingxiu was silent for a moment, then said, “Bo Ying, your sleeping posture is really not good.”
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