Why didn't you tell me earlier that my little sister is still waiting for me?

Chen Nanxing immediately noticed the open letter on the desk. It contained only two lonely lines of writing, the ink dried, indicating its owner had been staring at it for quite some time. Chen Nanxing walked over, picked up the letter, and read it under the lamplight. His lips twitched involuntarily, his face utterly speechless: "Boss Lin! You spent an entire afternoon and evening… and this is all you produced? Even a dog would be disgusted by this level of sincerity!"

Although Lin Bufan felt a little embarrassed, he couldn't admit it: "What do you know! Do you think it's easy for a man like me... who is proud all his life and never easily bows his head, to write something that deeply analyzes himself and sincerely begs for forgiveness? It's super difficult, okay?"

"Difficult?" Chen Nanxing put the letter on the table, crossed his arms, and looked at Lin Bufan with a leisurely air.

"Extremely difficult!" Lin Bufan said decisively.

"Okay." Chen Nanxing nodded, then suddenly said, "Stand up."

Lin Bufan was taken aback by Chen Nanxing's sudden instruction: "What?"

"Stand up when I tell you to," Chen Nanxing said, raising his chin in an unquestionable tone.

Lin Bufan was puzzled, but he still stood up as instructed.

The two faced each other. Chen Nanxing was much shorter than Lin Bufan and had to look up at him.

"Lower your head," Chen Nanxing said again.

"what?"

"Lower your head and kiss me." Chen Nanxing's voice was calm, even carrying a hint of command.

Lin Bufan was completely dumbfounded. He looked at the tightly closed door, then at Chen Nanxing's serious face, and couldn't figure out what she was up to: "Nanxing, what's going on?"

"Hurry up, why are you dawdling?" Chen Nanxing urged, a sly glint in his eyes.

Lin Bufan had some doubts, but he still lowered his head slightly and gently touched her lips as instructed.

As soon as they separated, Chen Nanxing immediately took a half step back, put his hands on his hips, and said with a smug expression, "Wasn't it easy for you to give in? What was difficult about it?"

Lin Bufan then realized what was happening and was immediately exasperated: "Nanxing! What time is it? Can't you be serious for once? I'm discussing the psychological barriers to writing apology letters with you. What kind of performance art analogy are you using? Is this even the same thing?"

“How can it not be the same thing?” Chen Nanxing said righteously. “Aren’t we both lowering our pride and adopting a humble attitude? You kissed me so readily, but it’s incredibly difficult for you to write a few soft words on paper? I think you just didn’t put your heart into it and didn’t really feel the need to apologize.”

Lin Bufan nearly choked on his words, pointing at Chen Nanxing: "You...you're just being unreasonable!"

"I learned that from you!" Chen Nanxing raised his chin, showing no sign of backing down.

Lin Bufan opened his mouth, but found he couldn't really refute it. Finally, he collapsed onto the bed in frustration, adopting a "what the hell" attitude: "Fine, fine, whatever you say. Anyway, this apology letter... you write it yourself. You want me to write it? You might as well just kill me with your sword and give me a quick death!"

Seeing Lin Bufan's shameless appearance, Chen Nanxing's eyes darted around, and his gaze swept across the room, suddenly fixing on the fruit plate next to the desk—there was a small knife for cutting fruit, the blade gleaming coldly under the light.

A sly smile played on her lips as she slowly walked over, picked up the fruit knife, weighed it in her hand, then turned and walked step by step toward Lin Bufan, who was lying on the bed.

“Since Boss Lin has said so…” Chen Nanxing walked to the bedside, looked down at Lin Bufan with a half-smile on his face, but deliberately spoke in a soft and slow tone: “Then let’s express our sincerity in another way.”

Lin Bufan, who had been pretending to be dead with his eyes closed, opened his eyelids a crack upon hearing this and saw the gleaming fruit knife in Chen Nanxing's hand. He was stunned for a moment, and before he could fully react, he saw Chen Nanxing twist his wrist, and the tip of the knife slowly moved down, finally pointing vaguely at a certain important part of his body.

“Look,” Chen Nanxing suggested “sincerely,” “wouldn’t it be more direct and impactful to use this instead of an apology letter? I guarantee that Hongdou will see your sincerity at a glance.”

Lin Bufan was genuinely scared now. Although he knew Chen Nanxing was probably joking, seeing the gleaming blade tip still made him instinctively squeeze his legs together, shrink back, and put on an exaggerated expression of terror: "Nanxing! Are you serious?!"

Chen Nanxing tilted his head, looking completely innocent: "Didn't you say it yourself? I'd give you a quick death. Isn't that what I was about to do?"

"You'll just give it to me if I ask?!" Lin Bufan's voice rose two octaves, tinged with disbelief.

"Of course!" Chen Nanxing blinked, speaking matter-of-factly, "If you want it, how could I refuse?"

"You'll give it to me if I want it?" Lin Bufan repeated, but this time he dragged out the words, and a meaningful smile appeared in his eyes as he glanced back and forth between Chen Nanxing's face and the knife in his hand.

Chen Nanxing didn't react at first, and continued, "Of course, you have to..."

She paused mid-sentence. Looking at Lin Bufan's ambiguous, meaningful expression, and considering the tone and look in his eyes when he repeated the sentence... Chen Nanxing instantly understood the other meaning behind the word "want".

Giving Lin Bufan a disapproving glare, Chen Nanxing subconsciously pulled the knife back from her hand and spat, "Pah! Shameless! What kind of time is this to be thinking about such nonsense!" She lowered her voice and gestured towards the next room, "Hongdou isn't asleep yet! She's in the next room! Aren't you afraid of making too much noise and letting her hear something?"

"So what if I hear it?" Lin Bufan shrugged, looking like he'd given up entirely. "I've seen everything I needed to see, what's there to be afraid of hearing?"

"You!" Chen Nanxing was speechless, her face flushed with shame and anger, but a hint of a smile lingered in her eyes. She tossed the fruit knife in her hand onto the table beside her with a soft clatter, and then pounced on him.

……

In the stillness of the night, the faintest sounds were amplified in the poorly soundproofed courtyard building. In room number six next door, Xu Hongdou was not asleep. She lay on her side, gazing at the hazy moonlight outside the window, her mind a jumble of images from last night and this morning.

Just as she was feeling unsettled, a very faint yet difficult-to-isolate sound came intermittently from the direction of room number five next door.

The sound… Xu Hongdou was stunned for a moment, then realized what it was, and her face flushed instantly. She quickly pulled the blanket up over her head, trying to block out the annoying sound, but her heart was beating faster than usual.

"Those two...!" Xu Hongdou bit her lower lip, cursing inwardly. She was still angry, and they actually... actually just...!

Feeling stifled under the covers, Xu Hongdou quietly pulled them down a little more, revealing her flushed cheeks and ears. The sound, sometimes high, sometimes low, was like a feather, subtly tugging at her heartstrings. Frustrated, she turned over and buried her face in the pillow, but her attention still uncontrollably drifted to the next room.

This night was exceptionally long for Xu Hongdou.

……

The next morning, the sun shone brightly.

Lin Bufan woke up early, feeling refreshed. He glanced at his phone; the flight information sent by Zhu Suosuo indicated they would arrive that morning. After greeting Ma Qiushan, who was meditating in the courtyard, and glancing at room number six, whose door remained tightly shut, Lin Bufan hopped on his motorcycle and headed towards the airport.

The airport arrival hall was bustling with people.

Lin Bufan quickly spotted two striking figures in the crowd. Zhu Suosuo, dressed in a sharp beige suit skirt and pulling a small suitcase, sunglasses perched on her head, was smiling and waving at him. Beside her, Jiang Nansun wore a light blue dress with a knitted cardigan, her long hair flowing smoothly over her shoulders, giving her a gentle and scholarly air. However, her face was expressionless, her head slightly tilted to the side, as if she wasn't particularly interested in her surroundings.

"Boss!" Zhu Suosuo's eyes lit up when she saw Lin Bufan. She pulled her suitcase and jogged over. When she was still two steps away from Lin Bufan, she simply let go of the suitcase and threw herself into his arms, giving him a tight hug. Her laughter was crisp and clear. "Did you miss me?"

Lin Bufan smiled and caught Zhu Suosuo, patting her on the back: "Of course I want to. Manager Zhu, it's an honor to have you here."

The embrace quickly ended, and Zhu Suosuo took a half step back, smiling sweetly. Lin Bufan's gaze passed over her and landed on Jiang Nansun, who was slowly walking up behind him. He raised an eyebrow in surprise: "Nansun? What are you doing here?"

Jiang Nansun walked closer, stopped, glanced at Lin Bufan, and said in a light tone, with her characteristic aloofness and a hint of barely perceptible awkwardness, "I came because I wanted to, is it any of your business?"

Zhu Suosuo chuckled softly, covering her mouth, and interjected, "Is that even a question? Nansun came because she missed you. Otherwise, why would she travel all this way?"

"Suo Suo!" Jiang Nansun's cheeks flushed slightly. She glared at Zhu Suo Suo and hurriedly clarified, "Don't talk nonsense! I came here because there's an old lady who looks a lot like my grandma, and I wanted to come and see her. It has nothing to do with anyone." She deliberately emphasized the word "someone," but her eyes darted away, refusing to look at Lin Bufan.

Zhu Suosuo shrugged and made a gesture of surrender: "Fine, fine, whatever you say. Some people are stubborn, so if they don't want to admit it, fine."

Lin Bufan found it amusing to see Jiang Nansun pretending not to care when he saw her clearly caring, but he didn't tease her any further. Instead, he turned to Zhu Suosuo and asked, "You must be tired from flying all the way here?"

Zhu Suosuo stretched, revealing her curves, and said in a slightly coquettish and languid tone, "That's right, I've been on a plane for half a day, and my back is sore. I need to find a place to rest properly." She deliberately emphasized the word "rest" with a meaningful tone, and looked at Lin Bufan with a flirtatious gaze.

Lin Bufan immediately understood and nodded readily: "Indeed, we've been traveling a long way, so rest is very important. There's a nice hotel nearby, the environment and facilities are decent, how about we go there first?"

Jiang Nansun, who was listening from the side, rolled her eyes and couldn't help but say, "Hey, you two... don't go too far, okay? It's broad daylight!"

Zhu Suosuo looked at Jiang Nansun with an innocent expression: "What happened during the day? You were tired from flying all day, can't you rest?"

"Is that a proper rest?" Jiang Nansun's face flushed slightly as she said irritably, "I don't even want to talk to you about it!"

"What's wrong with you? Jiang Nansun, can't you think a little healthier?" Zhu Suosuo said matter-of-factly, "Besides, even if we're not tired now, we'll definitely be very tired later. In that case, isn't it reasonable to book the hotel in advance?"

Jiang Nansun was speechless!

Did you only open a hotel because you were tired?

You only get tired when you're running a hotel!

Despite his reluctance, Jiang Nansun eventually got on Lin Bufan's motorcycle after being persuaded by Zhu Suosuo and Lin Bufan!

Just as Lin Bufan had said, the hotel environment was indeed very good—spacious, bright, and clean. However, the three of them didn't have time to pay attention to any of that!

The door had just closed behind her, and the sound of the suitcase wheels still lingered on the carpet when Zhu Suosuo released the handle, turned around, stood on tiptoe, wrapped her arms around Lin Bufan's neck, and pressed her soft lips against his without warning.

Jiang Nansun, who was walking ahead and about to put down his backpack, stopped in his tracks, turned around, and his face was filled with speechlessness: "Hey, you two... are you in such a hurry? The door isn't even closed properly!"

However, the two, immersed in their passionate kiss after a long separation, were clearly oblivious to everything else. Lin Bufan's arm naturally wrapped around Zhu Suosuo's waist, pulling her tightly into his embrace, responding to her passion.

Seeing this, Jiang Nansun could only sigh resignedly, toss his backpack onto the single sofa next to him, return to the entrance, carefully close the door, and hang up a "Do Not Disturb" sign.

As she turned around again, about to walk past the inseparable conjoined twins without looking to either side, a strong arm suddenly reached out from the side, precisely encircling her waist and gently pulling her along—

"ah!"

Caught off guard, Jiang Nansun let out a soft cry as Lin Bufan pulled her into his arms.

Zhu Suosuo's lips reluctantly left Lin Bufan's. Looking at Jiang Nansun, who was close at hand with a flushed face, a sly smile flashed in her eyes. Instead of backing away, she moved closer, her warm breath brushing against Jiang Nansun's ear.

"Nan Sun..." Zhu Suosuo's voice was hoarse with emotion and a hint of laughter: "Since you're already here, why are you still hiding?"

Jiang Nansun's body stiffened slightly, her heart pounding uncontrollably, but she still tried to remain calm, struggling to speak: "Who...who hid! You...you're going too far!"

Lin Bufan looked down at Jiang Nansun's reddened ears and her forced composure, chuckled softly, tightened his arms, and then kissed her again, silencing all of Jiang Nansun's subsequent futile protests.

For the next few days, perhaps due to exhaustion, the comfortable hotel suite near the airport became a small haven for the three of them, a temporary escape from the outside world. The curtains were drawn, shutting out the sunlight and noise, leaving only soft light and warm air inside. From afternoon to evening, and into the depths of night, the suite door remained closed.

……