…

When the long-awaited silence arrived, Chen Yuan greedily savored every precious second.

In the documentary, a small rodent frolicked through the dead leaves and branches of a jungle. Chen Yuan watched the screen in silence. All the surrounding noise had vanished, and Jiangg Yao was no longer bustling about.

These few minutes were so peaceful and serene, it felt as though time had slowed to a crawl.

‘If only this could last…’

But Jiangg Yao suddenly shattered his fantasy. She spoke softly, her vermillion lips parting almost imperceptibly as she whispered a question.

“Why did you have such a strong reaction? You never used to be like that. You gave me a real fright. My heart still flutters when I think about it, you know, Young Master?”

“Hm… I don’t know.”

Chen Yuan shifted his legs, causing the laptop on his lap to tilt. He turned to glance at Jiangg Yao and gave a curt reply.

Clearly, he didn’t want to continue this conversation.

‘I just want to watch Planet Earth for a while, and then go to sleep when I get tired.’

“There has to be a reason. Let me think,” Jiangg Yao said, her slender fingers twirling a lock of her hair as a thoughtful look appeared on her face. “I’ve sensed it before. You seem to have a… stronger interest in certain parts of me than others, right?”

“Huh? I do?”

“Yes, you do. Like the first time I came to your house, you helped me take off my thigh-high boots and then just kept staring at my feet.”

“??? I don’t remember that.”

“Don’t you dare deny it, you bad Yuanyuan!”

“What the hell kind of nickname is that…?”

“Never mind the nickname. I’m trying to have a serious conversation with you. Every time I’ve come over, your eyes always seem to linger on my legs or my feet… I’ve noticed for a long time. Young Master, do you have a foot fetish?” Jiangg Yao asked tentatively.

“Nonsense!” Chen Yuan shot upright, his eyes wide as he stammered, “How could… That’s a pretty hasty conclusion to jump to, just because you think you noticed a few times… How can you just make baseless accusations and slander my good name!”

Jiangg Yao hadn’t been so sure at first, and Chen Yuan’s reaction startled her for a moment.

Then, a sly look entered her eyes, and she watched him with a playful expression.

Jiangg Yao’s eyes narrowed slightly, her brows furrowed just a bit, while the corners of her lips curled into a smirk, revealing her pearly white teeth.

“Why are you so nervous? I was just asking.”

“I’m not nervous. Not at all~ Definitely not.” Chen Yuan waved his hands dismissively. Realizing he had overreacted, he quickly lay back down.

“So you really do have a foot fetish. Tsk, tsk… Your reaction just makes me more certain. I never thought you’d have *that* kind of kink, Young Master. It’s completely changing how I see you.”

She enunciated the words “that kind of” with particular clarity.

In an instant, Chen Yuan’s cheeks flushed bright red.

He didn’t know how to argue because he wasn’t even sure himself if he had that kind of kink. He’d never really thought about it.

It was just that whenever he saw Jiangg Yao’s feet, he found them beautiful and felt an inexplicable urge to stare a little longer.

The aesthetic was hazy, not obvious, yet it effortlessly stirred something within him, creating a faint desire to reach out, to touch, to feel.

The two words, “foot fetish”—he had never really looked into them.

He had only ever thought of it as a popular slang term, nothing more.

“Fine, I don’t really get it… If you say so, I guess so. I’ll admit, it was a… strange feeling when you stepped on me.”

“How strange?” Jiangg Yao’s interest was piqued. She instantly scooted closer, her bright, sparkling eyes brimming with curiosity.

“It’s hard to describe. I just… get excited, my body heats up…”

“Is that all?”

Jiangg Yao gave Chen Yuan a few shoves, as if chiding him for not being completely honest. After all, she was a twenty-six-year-old woman; she knew more about these things than he did.

She might not have any firsthand experience, but she wasn’t completely clueless, either.

‘The novels I’ve read went into great detail!’

“It gets… uncomfortable,” Chen Yuan said after a moment’s thought. “My head feels fuzzy, and I can’t focus. It’s like I’m being controlled by something invisible.”

“I see…”

Jiangg Yao seemed lost in thought. She nodded, pursed her lips, and looked down at him.

“Okay, let’s stop talking about this. I’m starting to feel weird again. Let’s just go to sleep.”

Chen Yuan set the laptop aside, intentionally turning his flushed face away. He reached for the light switch to finally end the day.

CLICK—

The light went out.

The light filtering through the drawn curtains was exceptionally faint. His eyes, accustomed to the bright room, struggled to adjust as everything was plunged into darkness.

It was so dark you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face.

Chen Yuan couldn’t even see Jiangg Yao anymore. He could only vaguely sense her body heat and feel her soft breath brush against his cheek before dissipating.

Jiangg Yao had laid down as well, snuggling close to his side.

Neither of them spoke, as if adjusting to the sudden dark…

Until…

A gentle voice, so faint he wouldn’t have heard it had he not been listening intently, whispered next to his ear. His mind went blank, his expression slack.

“How about… I help you…?”

Her voice was captivating—soft and sweet like that of a young girl, yet laced with a sultry huskiness. The upward lilt at the end sent a shiver down his spine.

He was stunned for a long moment before whispering back.

“How?”

Almost immediately, Chen Yuan regretted asking that question.

Because a soft, delicate hand was already groping its way toward him, its fingers tracing his waist.

…

Jiangg Ning scrolled through her social media feed for a long time and chatted in a group chat with her best friends for half an hour.

The drowsiness she had been waiting for finally arrived.

She let out a huge yawn, her eyes starting to water. Only then did she put her phone away, adjust her pillow to the perfect spot, and lie down comfortably.

‘It’s still hard to get used to, going from having someone around to being all alone.’

‘Human greed truly knows no bounds.’ In truth, Jiangg Ning didn’t want to share Chen Yuan with her sister one bit, especially not after experiencing just how wonderful it felt to be inseparable from him like a real couple.

She couldn’t help but think, ‘If I didn’t have to give half of him to Yaoyao…’

‘How blissful would that be…?’

‘When we first set the rules, I was determined to be fair and just. I swore to myself I wouldn’t be the first to break them, but now… these guilty thoughts are starting to creep in.’

She closed her eyes.

Lying in her cozy bed, Jiangg Ning quickly tried to banish the idea.

‘No, we have to compete fairly! I’m confident I can win against my sister. And once this Heartbeat Game is over, Chen Yuan will be all mine.’

‘I just have to be patient for a little while longer.’

‘I just have to get through this!’

Jiangg Ning let out a little hum to psych herself up and pulled the covers up a bit higher. Listening to the rain outside her window, she dreamed of the wonderful time she would have with Chen Yuan tomorrow.

Slowly, she drifted off to sleep…

She had no idea that just a few walls away, her sister was committing a most grievous sin… Yaoyao had already seized the initiative, claiming yet another “first.”

Yaoyao had unlocked a new achievement, while Ningning foolishly believed it had been nothing more than an innocent evening.

In love, the one who takes the initiative is always the one who reaps the greatest rewards.

Compared to her sister, she lacked more than just a little courage.

But at this moment, the peacefully sleeping Ningning couldn’t possibly know this. It would be a long, long time before she would suddenly realize just how many… opportunities she had missed!

…

「12:12 AM」

The sea breeze whimpered as it blew ashore, the cool air thick with the smell of salt and damp. A dark veil of night shrouded the world.

On the fine sand, a tiny insect crawled along, leaving a faint trail behind it… Compared to the brilliantly lit skyscraper towering in the distance, the insect was minuscule.

Inside that expensive and quiet high-rise, in Room 9209.

Jiangg Yao’s heart was still pounding in her chest, even after she had slipped on her slippers and gone into the bathroom to wash her hands.

She tried her best to calm the wild fluttering inside her, but her cheeks were scorching hot, so red they looked as if they might bleed.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep