Yu Tu walked out of the laboratory, took off his white coat, and changed into his trench coat. Guan Zai followed behind him, glanced over, and said disdainfully, "Ever since you started dating, you've been dressing more and more like a proper human being."
Yu Tu calmly closed the locker, "Would you dare not wear clothes your wife bought?"
"Who's like you? I have principles—I don't compromise easily. How can a shirt be as comfortable as a T-shirt?" Guan Zai said proudly.
"That's true," Yu Tu mused for a moment. "But for now, I'll go along with what she likes. We'll see later."
The way he said it... Guan Zai pondered the meaning of "later"—did he mean after marriage? So he planned to comply now and reveal his true self after tying the knot? Guan Zai looked at Yu Tu and suddenly felt like he was witnessing a scam artist planning to deceive his way into marriage.
Yu Tu tucked his documents under his arm and walked with Guan Zai toward the office. After all, clothes make the man. Yu Tu was already tall, slender, and upright, but he used to dress rather casually. Now, after Qiao Jingjing's makeover, his graceful and handsome demeanor as he walked was indeed more pronounced than before.
When they reached the office, Yu Tu said, "I'll leave work with you today."
After two years of treatment and rest, Guan Zai had finally returned to work last month. Of course, he still couldn't go on business trips or engage in overly strenuous mental work, and overtime was strictly forbidden by both his wife and his superiors.
But the new generation's overtime fanatic actually wanted to leave with him? Guan Zai immediately understood.
"Is your Princess returning to Shanghai today?"
"Yes, she's coming back from shooting abroad."
"Got time to bring the Princess over for a meal at my place? My wife keeps thinking about her," Guan Zai said, a bit sourly.
"She should have time this time," Yu Tu said, his expression relaxed. "But Her Highness doesn't like that title. If you call her that during dinner, she'll throw a tantrum."
Guan Zai had met Qiao Jingjing several times, and for some reason, the two of them had a kind of kindergarten-level rivalry that made Yu Tu and Shen Jing both exasperated and amused.
Yu Tu had privately asked Qiao Jingjing to go easy on Guan Zai, but she didn't take it seriously. "If you're all so careful around him, he won't be happy. Besides, Guan Zai and I don't really have any issues—we're just teasing each other. Look how lively he gets when he bickers with me!"
Sure enough, Guan Zai's eyebrows twitched, and he scoffed, "Am I scared?"
Yu Tu said, "She'll take it out on me, and she'll also tattle to your wife. How old are you two?"
Yu Tu arrived home exactly at five.
When he opened the door, the house was quiet, but two suitcases had appeared in the living room.
He made no sound and gently pushed open the bedroom door. Sure enough, that person was already curled up in his bed, fast asleep. Her soft, long hair was scattered messily across his pillow, revealing only a delicate face with long, sweetly closed eyelashes, like a dream.
Yu Tu walked over, leaned down, and kissed her gently. Though he was careful, he still woke her. She opened her eyes, looked at him, and wrapped her arms around his neck.
"More."
Yu Tu chuckled softly, "Let me change, and I'll sleep with you?"
"Okay, I didn't sleep on the plane at all."
Yu Tu took off his coat and casually draped it over the back of a chair, then unbuttoned his shirt and changed into pajamas. Qiao Jingjing lay on her side, her eyes fixed on him the entire time. Yu Tu glanced at her, approached the bed, and before getting in, covered her eyes with his hand.
Qiao Jingjing's vision went dark, then the covers were lifted, and she was pulled into his embrace.
"What are you looking at?"Yu Tu's voice was low, almost hook-like. Since getting together with Yu Tu, Qiao Jingjing had discovered that beneath Teacher Yu's aloof exterior... he was actually, well, a bit of a refined scoundrel with a wild side.
"It's been so long since I've seen you take your clothes off~" She nuzzled her head into his chest.
Yu Tu's voice dropped several tones. "Didn't you say you couldn't sleep on the plane?"
Jingjing didn't answer, but her hands began to wander restlessly. "How do you still have muscles when you're so busy?"
"Even in the lab, there's manual labor." Words had become unnecessary now. Yu Tu caught her hand, kissed her hair, then slowly worked his way down until he captured her lips. After thoroughly kissing her, he began unbuttoning her pajamas. Jingjing protested, "Take yours off first, the buttons are uncomfortable."
Yu Tu hummed in agreement and removed his own clothes first.
After a while, Jingjing protested again, "Slow down"
She was as finicky and full of complaints as ever, but this time Yu Tu didn't indulge her.
When the clouds dispersed and rain ceased, Jingjing felt even sleepier. Yu Tu held her with one arm. "How long are you resting this time?"
"I have to leave tomorrow when you go to work."
Yu Tu's body stiffened slightly, his tone restrained. "Didn't you say last time you had two months off?"
"But the movie ran over by more than a month, then I went abroad to reshoot some scenes from the previous drama, and the next job lined up right after."
The person holding her fell completely silent, then after a long while, let out a deep sigh from his chest.
Jingjing buried her head in his chest, feeling somewhat bittersweet. But thinking about tomorrow, she secretly smiled.
The hectic work abroad had completely messed up Jingjing's biological clock. She woke up at nine o'clock again. Yu Tu wasn't in the bedroom or the living room. Jingjing pushed open the study door and, sure enough, he was working at his computer.
Noticing movement at the door, Yu Tu looked up. "Awake?"
He closed the computer and stood up. "I saved dinner for you."
Dinner was plain congee with side dishes - the only thing she ever wanted after returning from abroad. Of course, this was pretty much all Yu Tu could cook anyway. As Jingjing drank her congee in the dining room, she gradually began to feel something was off.
Was Teacher Yu being too calm? According to past patterns, if she was leaving tomorrow, shouldn't he be making the most of their remaining time day and night, or preparing to do so?
But Teacher Yu now...
She glanced toward the living room - was he actually reading?!
Full of doubt, Jingjing went to rinse her mouth. When she looked up at the mirror, she thought she might have found the reason.
After more than ten hours on the plane, collapsing into sleep as soon as she reached his place, followed by physical exertion, she was currently rather disheveled.
Jingjing quickly took a shower and cleaned herself up. But when she came out with her hair dried, Yu Tu was still reading, though he had moved to the bed. Hearing her movements, he didn't even look up.
Jingjing walked to the bedside. "You can go brush your teeth and wash up now, I'm done."
"I already washed up in the other bathroom."
"Oh... are you going to sleep?"
"Mm, I've been working overtime a lot recently. Going to bed early today."
With that, Yu Tu put down his book and reached to turn off the light. "You should try to sleep early too, to adjust to the time difference."
Jingjing: "..."
How could Jingjing possibly sleep? She tossed and turned in bed. Could Yu Tu be angry? That shouldn't be the case - it wasn't like he had never stood her up before.A faint light from outside filtered through the curtains, barely illuminating the outline of the person lying beside her. Yu Tu’s eyes were closed, seemingly already deep in sleep. Qiao Jingjing watched him for a while, sighed out of boredom, and turned over.
Just as she settled on her other side, Yu Tu’s voice sounded from behind her.
“Ling Jie called you earlier while you were asleep.”
Qiao Jingjing’s body stiffened.
“I answered it.”
Qiao Jingjing: “…”
“Is there anything you’d like to explain to me?”
…Oh no, I forgot to coordinate our stories.
Qiao Jingjing quickly sat up, ready to defend herself with a thousand excuses: “Well… you know, there’s something called playful teasing… Besides, I didn’t exactly lie to you. I said I’d leave tomorrow morning, but I never said I wouldn’t come back tonight. It was all so rushed today—I was planning to go to Lujiazui tomorrow to pick up some things and decorate the house to surprise you…”
Yu Tu stared at her, and Qiao Jingjing finally trailed off, unable to continue. In the end, Yu Tu sighed and said, “Forget it.”
He added, “I can’t be bothered to reason with you.”
Before Qiao Jingjing could react, he pulled her over, flipped her onto the bed, and tugged open her nightgown…
This time, Yu Tu was nothing like his usual gentle self—wild and unrestrained, he left no room for retreat. After what felt like an eternity, Qiao Jingjing couldn’t take it anymore and began to plead.
“I was wrong, I won’t lie to you again. I really wanted to surprise you tomorrow.”
“Am I surprised?” Yu Tu’s hair, damp with sweat, fell over his forehead.
“Mm… Yu Tu…” Qiao Jingjing whimpered, softly calling his name. But his intensity didn’t lessen, as if he were forcing her to answer. Qiao Jingjing was on the verge of tears, stammering, “N-No, you’re not surprised.”
“How long is your break, really?”
“Two months.”
“Not lying this time?”
“No.” Qiao Jingjing wrapped her arms around his sweaty back, pleading weakly, “I’ll stay here with you every day.”
Yu Tu stared at her, his rhythm finally slowing slightly. Qiao Jingjing felt too exhausted to even try to soothe him, surrendering passively to his movements.
After he finally released his pent-up energy, the kisses that fell on her face softened once more.
This time, Qiao Jingjing was truly worn out and on the verge of sleep. In her daze, she thought she heard Yu Tu asking her something.
“Did you notice anything different about the house when you came back today?”
“No, I came back and went straight to sleep,” she mumbled drowsily.
“I renovated the small bedroom on the north side.” Seeing how exhausted she was, Yu Tu kissed her eyelids and said, “I’ll show you tomorrow morning.”
But Qiao Jingjing’s curiosity was piqued. Struggling to keep her eyes open, she insisted, “I want to see it now.”
As she wrapped herself in her nightgown and got out of bed, her legs nearly gave way, but she stubbornly refused help from the culprit and walked steadily to the small room on the north side.
When she pushed the door open, Qiao Jingjing froze in surprise.
She remembered this room used to hold a single bed and some clutter. But now, the bed and clutter were gone, replaced by a brand-new walk-in closet.
Yu Tu spoke from behind her, “Last time you mentioned taking a two-month break, I thought you might stay here with me. But my Jingjing loves looking beautiful—what would we do if there wasn’t enough space for your clothes and shoes?”
“So you turned this into a walk-in closet for me?”"Mhm. Do you like the color?"
"I do."
Qiao Jingjing answered him, yet a faint gloom suddenly settled in her heart. He must have been eagerly awaiting her time off, and yet she had teased him about it.
"I've added some functions. The control panel is here..."
Unable to resist, Qiao Jingjing wrapped her arms around his waist. "Is this a gift from you?"
Yu Tu halted what he was about to say, holding her close. "How could this count as a gift? It's something you need for living here. At most, it's..."
He paused briefly, as if considering his wording, then looked down with a soft laugh and said, "Nest building."
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