Ding!
Zhou Wang heard the system notification midway, but at that moment, he naturally didn’t have the time to check.
...
In the moonlit room, everything finally settled down.
During these moments of silence in the dark, there remained a remnant of warmth amidst the desolation. Some people, especially those suffering from loneliness, might truly enjoy such times.
Like Shen Yurou at this moment, she held Zhou Wang tightly, but Zhou Wang could feel that she was more relaxed than ever before.
Zhou Wang once again felt a little puzzled.
He looked at Shen Yurou, about to speak but hesitated.
...
After who knows how long, Zhou Wang nudged Shen Yurou.
Shen Yurou rolled to one side off the soft bedding, no longer clinging to Zhou Wang.
Zhou Wang turned over and sat up, found his pajamas, and felt around, relieved that he had brought some cigarettes... He really wanted to smoke one right now.
He took out a cigarette, moved to the sofa, pulled out the Zippo lighter Xu Wenqian had bought for him, and without caring that Shen Yutong was sleeping inside, he lit the cigarette with a "click."
Shen Yutong, in her tired state, wasn’t likely to wake up. Just now, there was a moment when Shen Yurou couldn’t control herself and made a noise that definitely surpassed ordinary decibels, yet no movement came from inside...
Even if Shen Yutong really woke up, Zhou Wang felt he wouldn’t mind much.
Maybe it was because of Shen Yutong’s personality, which made Zhou Wang feel so less inhibited in front of her. He always felt that Shen Yutong would understand... a kind of inexplicable confidence.
Click! Click!
Playing with the Modoli-branded Zippo lighter in his hand, Zhou Wang’s thoughts wandered.
In the past, Zhou Wang didn’t particularly like using these metal lighters, mainly because lighters had a high disappearance rate, and this brand could easily cost a few hundred bucks, with the co-branded version typically over a thousand. Losing them would be distressing.
But now, Zhou Wang definitely didn’t care about this anymore. Xu Wenqian had bought him ten at once, so if he lost them, he lost them...
The funny thing is, when Xu Wenqian placed the order back then, she mentioned that Zippo released an 18K gold lighter. The design was plain, purely gold, and asked Zhou Wang if he wanted it.
Zhou Wang took a glance, and that lighter cost over 200,000. He rolled his eyes at Xu Wenqian on the spot—
I might have a lot of money, but I’m not stupid, okay?
It’s so ugly that even if you bought it, people wouldn’t realize it’s worth over 200,000. Are you crazy?
No reviews under that lighter on the official Tmall flagship store. Who knows what kind of fool would actually buy it...
While Zhou Wang was lost in these messy thoughts, Shen Yurou sitting on the carpet suddenly got up, then struggled a bit to move onto the sofa, quietly snuggling into Zhou Wang’s embrace.
As Zhou Wang was taken aback, Shen Yurou already lay against him, her warm-soft body tightly pressed against Zhou Wang, wrapping her arms around his neck like a cat seeking solace.
He didn’t speak, only raised the hand holding the cigarette a little higher to avoid accidentally burning Shen Yurou, while the other arm tightened around Shen Yurou’s waist.
Feeling Zhou Wang’s actions, Shen Yurou burrowed further into Zhou Wang’s embrace. Even though she said nothing, Zhou Wang felt like he could sense an attachment about to overflow from her body at that moment.
This woman, clearly crying and saying "no, no" twenty minutes ago, has settled down after some appeasement.
"Zhou Wang, with us like this, what about you and Yutong..."
To Zhou Wang’s surprise, she was the first to speak, her tone filled with complex emotions.
"What do you mean what about? Just keep things as they are."
Zhou Wang laughed and said, "Don’t worry. I’m not the type to just play and move on; I’ll take responsibility where it’s due..."
Perhaps the words Zhou Wang used were too unpleasant, so Shen Yurou scratched Zhou Wang in protest, though it was no different from scratching an itch.
She hesitated, then spoke softly, "How about we pretend tonight never happened, you, you just stay with Yutong, I won’t blame you, nor will I tell Yutong..."
If you really thought that, why were you holding so tight, like you were afraid I’d run away!
Zhou Wang spit-fired internally, but his face remained calm, "Have you ever heard this saying..."
With that, Zhou Wang lifted Shen Yurou’s chin, looking directly into her eyes that were filled with hidden confusion, timidity, and anticipation:
"A child makes a choice, but I’m an adult, so... I want both you and Tongtong!"
...Ignoring how scummy Zhou Wang’s words actually were, there was instantly a taste of the domineering president trope.
Shen Yurou opened her mouth but didn’t know what to say for a moment, her slightly moving lips seemingly a reflection of her conflicted heart.
"Let me put it this way, Yu Rou, besides Tongtong, I have other girlfriends as well... and Tongtong knows."
Zhou Wang sighed and revealed another fact.
"No wonder..."
Hearing this, Shen Yurou murmured in a daze.
"No wonder what?"
Zhou Wang asked curiously.
"Sometimes when I see Yutong spacing out, her expression not happy, I can’t figure out why she’s sad. Now I understand..."
Upon hearing this, Zhou Wang fell silent, not knowing how to respond for a moment.
Though Zhou Wang rarely felt conflicted, always adhering to the principle of "never regret what you’ve done" and forging ahead, that didn’t mean he was completely free of any emotional burden.
Occasionally, Zhou Wang would also wonder how the women around him truly felt about him deep down...
They were real, living individuals, with their own thoughts and uncontrollable emotions. Perhaps, in many moments unknown to Zhou Wang, they too might have had their moments of wavering.