CM - 46

Shen Tingwen followed Zhou Shuirong into her apartment building, then used someone else’s card to get to her floor, and knocked on her door.

Zhou Shuirong didn’t open it. She knew it was Shen Tingwen. She didn’t have time to deal with him; she wanted to take a shower and then get some sleep.

Shen Tingwen stopped knocking and called her instead.

Zhou Shuirong saw the unfamiliar number and answered. The moment she heard his voice, her head was about to explode. “How did you get my number?”

Shen Tingwen said, “Open the door and I’ll tell you.”

“I’m not opening it.”

“Then I’m not telling you.”

Zhou Shuirong hung up on him.

Shen Tingwen called her again, but she rejected the call. He sent her a text message: “Then do you want to know how I figured out the chess game?”

Zhou Shuirong suddenly became a little interested. This was the only thing that had brought her a moment of relief in recent days. She went to the door and opened it, but she didn’t let him in. “Just say it from there.”

Shen Tingwen was tired. “I’ve been walking for so long, my legs hurt. Let me in and sit down for a bit.”

“No.”

“I promise I won’t do anything.”

“I won’t let you in no matter what you do.”

“Then I won’t tell you.”

Zhou Shuirong was furious. She grabbed his vest and pulled him through the door. “Tell me now!”

Shen Tingwen looked down at her hand. Her hand was pressed against the skin on his chest. “I’ll tell you, but why are you touching me? Do you like it that much?”

Zhou Shuirong slapped him. “What’s there to touch? You’re so hard!”

“Why are you bringing that up again? Can’t you forget it? Is your mind full of me being hard? Zhou Shuirong, you said you wouldn’t like me, but now you’re thinking about me every day? You’re fantasizing about my body?”

Zhou Shuirong tried to do an over-the-shoulder throw, but she didn’t have enough strength. Instead, they both fell onto the sofa. To be precise, she ended up on top of Shen Tingwen, her back against his chest, her butt against his groin.

She immediately tried to get up, but Shen Tingwen wrapped his arms around her. She elbowed him in the stomach. “Let go!”

Shen Tingwen didn’t let go; he held on even tighter. “I’m sorry, I don’t want to let go even if it offends you.”

“What exactly do you want?”

“I want you to like me. If that’s not possible right now, I want you to be happy.” Shen Tingwen’s voice was low but very gentle.

Zhou Shuirong stopped struggling. The feeling of distress came back. She suddenly felt cold and moved closer into Shen Tingwen’s warm body. She had thought she didn’t need a hug, but she occasionally wanted some warmth. Shen Tingwen’s arms were very warm.

She might have to temporarily forget who she was, forget that she had just said she needed to draw a clear line between herself and Shen Tingwen.

She wanted this warmth.

Shen Tingwen and Zhou Shuirong lay on their sides on the sofa. He was on the inside, she was on the outside. He was holding her, his chin resting on her shoulder.

After an unknown amount of time, Zhou Shuirong’s cold body was warmed up. Shen Tingwen said, “Uncle Er’s real name is Fei Xianming. He’s the second oldest among his uncles and cousins. His family’s ancestors were opera singers, but he doesn’t sing opera. He plays chess. However, he’s not very good at playing chess. He’s good at setting up chess problems.”

Zhou Shuirong listened.

Shen Tingwen continued, “I heard he has ancient chess manuscripts filled with incredible problems. He doesn’t care about winning or losing because he wants to make every game into a puzzle. He enjoys the process. Setting up chess problems used to be a scamming technique for street chess players, but for some people now, it’s a lifelong pursuit.”

Zhou Shuirong asked him, “How do you know this?”

Shen Tingwen’s face was close to hers. “What does your husband not know?”

Zhou Shuirong wouldn’t let him hold her anymore. She twisted his arm. “Say that one more time and I’ll chop off your arm!”

Shen Tingwen didn’t let go. He held on even though it hurt. “You’re crossing a bridge and then tearing it down. You’re warm now, so you don’t need me as a heater anymore.”

“You’re full of it! I am not! I’m not cold at all!”

“Okay, then I’m cold. Can you let me hug you for a little longer?”

Zhou Shuirong refused to let him hug her. The jerk wanted to hug her? In his dreams! She pushed him. “Let go of my hand!”

“I’m still injured. If you push me this hard, what if my wound reopens? You’ll feel bad then.”

Zhou Shuirong didn’t believe his lies. “You’ve been lying to me since I met you. If I could believe what you say, the sun would never rise!”

Shen Tingwen said, “Do you still want to hear about Uncle Er?”

Zhou Shuirong calmed down.

“Then can you let me hug you?”

“No! Don’t try to bargain with me! Say it or don’t! Your dad’s not listening anymore!” Zhou Shuirong slapped his arm, turning his pale skin red. “Get up! Don’t lie on my couch!”

The slap landed right on Shen Tingwen’s wound. He held back from reacting during the most painful moment, and only after the pain subsided did he yell, “Ah—”

He made such a strange sound that Zhou Shuirong’s eyes widened. She instinctively covered his mouth. “What are you yelling about!”

Shen Tingwen grabbed her wrist, his lips pressed against her palm. “It hurts.”

“It hurts, so you yell? Are you even a man? Does it hurt that much? And what was that sound you made? Are you in heat!?” Zhou Shuirong wanted to sew his mouth shut; he was so annoying.

Shen Tingwen pouted. “Oh.”

There he went again. The same act. He always lied to her, taking advantage of his harmless look. She stopped looking at him, turned her head away, and sat on the carpet leaning against the sofa. “Weren’t you going to tell me about Uncle Er?”

Shen Tingwen continued. “Uncle Er and my grandfather are very close friends. They ran away from home together and spent a long time broke. Later, they agreed that once they made something of themselves, they’d hold a big wedding banquet just for each other. That chess problem was the one Uncle Er set up for my grandpa when they met again. My grandpa thought about it for half his life and couldn’t solve it. My dad eventually solved it, so I knew what it was when I saw it.”

Zhou Shuirong was surprised the world was so small, but on second thought, it made sense.

Her neighborhood was considered a wealthy area, so the neighbors were naturally well-off. The entertainment industry is a circle, and the financial world is also a circle. It wasn’t so incredible that their paths would cross in the same circles.

Now that she knew, Shen Tingwen could leave. She was ready to send him off. “Is that all? If so, get lost.”

Shen Tingwen didn’t want to leave. “Then can you let me stay if I keep my distance?”

“No.” Zhou Shuirong was a little tired. “Don’t make me say it a second time.”

Shen Tingwen had spent all that time trying to distract her, but she was too hard to distract. It seemed there was no point in him staying. If Zhou Shuirong felt more comfortable alone, he certainly wouldn’t disturb her.

When the door closed, a huge sense of helplessness instantly swallowed Zhou Shuirong. It turned out that being alone wasn’t much better than having Shen Tingwen there. It turned out that not only was she influenced by Shen Tingwen, but she was also getting a little used to him being around.

In fact, something had quietly changed the moment he was able to deceive her, and she allowed him to get close.

For some reason, Shen Tingwen seemed to understand her so well. He saw right through all her contradictions.

She walked to the sofa and started to daydream, thinking about everything that had happened recently.

Shen Tingwen didn’t leave. He sat down right outside her door. He was worried about her. He hadn’t brought up the school issues at all just now, but he knew they were weighing heavily on her mind.

He was going to stay there and watch over her. That way, if anything happened, he would be the first to know.