Chapter 5

Joy That I Return Has a Time Limit（05）

Chapter Five

Perhaps because of the heat radiating from his face, when he kissed her, Mu He could clearly feel that his lips carried a slight chill.

What is he doing?

Mu He’s mind went blank; she just instinctively closed her eyes. The moment the light disappeared, she felt his warm breath brush against her lips, and her chest fluttered more intensely.

Huo Siheng’s peripheral vision caught her tightly shut eyes and tense expression. After a brief pause, he tugged the corner of his lips slightly, then kissed her left cheek.

It wasn’t until he kissed her cheek a third time that Mu He sluggishly realized his intent. She had once deliberately learned that in Russian etiquette, in formal occasions, a gentleman would bow and kiss a lady’s hand as a sign of respect. Kissing the cheek three times clearly indicated the affection of an elder toward a junior.

An elder?

Him?

A junior?

Her?

Mu He felt both annoyed and amused. He was only five years older than her, yet he dared to cross a generation to take liberties. Too much.

After delivering this elder’s greeting, Huo Siheng, in a very gentlemanly manner, stepped back lazily, leaning against the door. He tilted his head to look at her. His long legs stood casually, the black shirt outlining his toned physique, smooth lines from shoulders to waist.

Those two buttons that Mu He had forcibly undone? He didn’t care, letting the collar open, creating a messy crease. His two collarbones were faintly visible, exuding irresistible allure.

Contradictory as it was, desire and restraint achieved a perfect fusion in him.

At this moment, Mu He deeply realized that the once rebellious young man had grown into a cool, mature man.

But to her, he was still him, unchanged.

Mu He’s nose tingled, her eyes reddened slightly, but her smile grew even brighter. She walked up to him, stood on tiptoe—he was too tall, she couldn’t reach—so she grabbed his collar, pulling him slightly down, then kissed his right cheek.

The second kiss was on the left cheek. Her heart raced uncontrollably, and in a small voice, nearly a whisper: “This is a return gift.”

From the junior to the elder.

Not knowing if it was an illusion, Mu He heard what seemed like a very low laugh from him. After she finished, she opened her arms, hugging him, her voice choked but joyful: “Xi Heng, long time no see.”

This was also a return gift.

From Mu He to Huo Siheng.

“Mm, indeed long time no see.”

Huo Siheng lightly touched the top of her head, raising an eyebrow. “But why are you still so short?”

“Hey—” The sentimental mood broke instantly. Mu He pouted, looking up at him, “Clearly, you grew too tall.”

This height, must be around 1.9 meters?

His interruption brought back the familiar feeling entirely. Drifting alone in an unfamiliar city, unexpectedly reunited with an old acquaintance, a warm current flowed in Mu He’s heart. She savored the beautiful feeling, hugging him a bit longer, then let go after gathering her emotions.

“That day, at Banruo Temple, it was you too.”

Huo Siheng didn’t deny it: “It was me.”

Mu He didn’t ask why he hadn’t admitted it back then. She was more curious: “Your voice…”

He switched back to the same tone as then, knowing what she meant: “What about my voice?”

Mu He had nothing more to question. She shrugged, perfectly masking her emotions, shifting with ease.

Tonight was yet another unexpected adventure. There were so many things she wanted to say, but time passed too quickly. Before leaving, she asked for his contact. Although his phone was off, she memorized the eleven digits with her eidetic memory.

Back home, the first thing Mu He did was charge her phone. After rebooting, she entered the number into her contacts. New message alerts kept popping up. She opened WeChat and saw a message from Tan Mian: “Mu Teacher, check Weibo! You’re trending!”

“Mu Teacher, do you know you’re going to be famous?!”

“Mu Teacher, your Weibo gained 300,000 followers in one go!”

“Hahaha, Zhao Yike must be furious!”

“Mu Teacher Mu Teacher Mu Teacher ah”

…

Mu He was completely bewildered. Logging onto Weibo, she was shocked by the new interface. Her original 50,000 followers suddenly became 420,000. Under the repost of Xingyu’s official account, there were over 30,000 comments and 110,000 likes.

An unprecedented scene.

She usually didn’t use Weibo much, taking ten minutes to figure out what had happened. Seeing so many fans following and supporting her warmed her heart, leaving her pleasantly astonished.

The front-line commentators angrily scolded the Keke fans who had come to mock and stir trouble. These were Zhao Yike’s haters, who now joined Mu He’s fanbase, taking on a new identity with renewed confidence.

The Keke fans couldn’t let go of Mu He’s simple repost comment: “Thank you Xingyu, thank you all seniors, I will work hard.” They sarcastically remarked: “Compared to our Keke’s heartfelt essay, this low EQ is basically dead on arrival.”

“Looks like someone with low intelligence, not even worthy of being our Keke’s maid to carry shoes.”

“Ugh, high-cold pretentious stans, a lifetime of irrelevance, thank you for taking the C position at your own funeral!”

Even Zhao Yike’s original haters were formidable:

“High-cold, pretentious, leeching off popularity, with mouths filthy enough to shame your ancestors. Your dad should’ve thrown you against a wall instead of letting you escape, embarrassing the whole lineage.”

“@Zhao Yike, stop playing dead and come secure your vicious dog!”

“Just to be clear, I’m a bystander. Honestly, that comment isn’t pretentious, concise and even added a cute emoji. She must be a very gentle person.”

“@Miss Mu He, don’t be afraid, we’ll always support you head-on!”

No matter how enraged the Keke fans became, Mu He’s Weibo popularity continued rising. In under two hours, she gained another 10,000 followers.

Mu He spent nearly the whole evening reading comments and private messages. After showering, she lay on her bed with her phone, rolling happily under the covers, the smile never leaving her face.

This unprecedented feeling—being adored and protected by fans—was truly wonderful.

Seeing Huo Siheng again, even better.

Perhaps in her good mood, the room felt warmer.

She rolled over, accidentally hitting a switch. Suddenly, the bedroom ceiling revealed a seam, which slowly opened on both sides. The starry night sky filled her eyes.

At first, she thought it was a projected image, but it was real—a massive glass ceiling replaced the roof, and beyond it was the real night sky, strewn with stars.

This was breathtaking.

Mu He found the large but sparsely furnished room quite nice.

She set her phone down, fully enjoying the view. As night deepened and all was silent, she fell asleep under the moonlight and starlight.

The next two days, Ye Xi didn’t assign much work, so Mu He decided to attend diction classes. Not being professionally trained, her speech skills were weak. The company hired a retired professor from the Central Academy of Drama. After a few classes, she benefited greatly.

During a break, Mu He went to the restroom. Habitually, she washed her hands first. Upon opening the faucet, water sprayed out. Luckily, she reacted quickly, stepping aside, trying to turn off the tap, finally stopping the flow.

She opened another faucet, washed her hands properly, then entered a stall.

Two minutes later, footsteps approached, followed by a cautious female voice: “Sister Keke, are you okay?”

Zhao Yike twisted open a lipstick, applying it to her lips while speaking sharply: “What’s wrong with me?”

In fact, she had been angry all night, her body aching from dancing. Those idiots with poor judgment not only didn’t help but hindered her, ultimately giving Mu He exposure and 300,000 followers for free.

Even without anyone gossiping to her face, she knew she had become a laughingstock in the circle. People behind her laughed with schadenfreude.

She complained to her manager Luo Li, only to be scolded. Being in the same company, making a scene publicly would be inappropriate.

Heh, Mu He, having ridden the wave to become the biggest winner, gained fame and fortune, while Zhao Yike, the supposed victim, became everyone’s amusement. How could she tolerate it?

Thinking this, Zhao Yike’s teeth ached with rage: “Mu He must have bought water soldiers!”

Logically, Mu He had no background and no connections in the circle. How could she have entered Xingyu so easily?

Buying marketing accounts and trending searches to overshadow her must have cost a lot of money, right?

Where would the money come from, just from the little she earned doing extra roles?

There’s only one possibility.

“She must have been kept by someone.”

Heh, thought she was really so pure, but in the end…

The more Zhao Yike thought about it, the more she felt this speculation was not groundless. She heard that President Wang from Huayang was especially attentive to Mu He, going to great lengths to try and get close to her. Xingyu and Huayang already had a partnership, so giving a personal favor was normal.

Thinking this way made Zhao Yike feel somewhat balanced. No matter how beautiful someone is, they’re still at others’ mercy.

Men are creatures who love the new and discard the old. Maybe after a while, once bored, they’d discard her like trash.

Mu He didn’t expect that going to the restroom would let her overhear gossip about herself. Rumors are fiercer than tigers; repeated often enough, they become reality. Being doused in such baseless filth, any normal person wouldn’t remain indifferent.

What’s that saying again?

Endure a moment and it only angers you more; retreat a step and it feels more unfair.

Mu He opened the door and walked out. Zhao Yike and assistant Lili at the sink looked over. Both had expressions ranging from astonishment to something else. Mu He met Zhao Yike’s gaze and asked coldly, “Who is keeping me?”

At this point, there was no need for pretense.

Zhao Yike regained her composure and sneered, “You know the answer yourself.”

The atmosphere was tense. Lili tactfully suggested, “Sister Keke, it’s almost time. You should go back to practice dancing.”

Zhao Yike remained unmoved, staring at Mu He: “What, did I hit the mark? Feeling guilty?”

Mu He pressed two drops of hand soap, lathered carefully, and said lightly: “Some people have dirty hearts, dirty eyes, and dirty mouths, so they think dirty, see dirty, speak dirty. All three dirts in one, yet they pretend to stay unstained by the muck…”

Zhao Yike’s anger flared: “Who are you talking about?”

Mu He tilted her head, smiling: “Oh, not you. I’m rehearsing lines.”

Zhao Yike could tell she was subtly mocking her, but there was nothing wrong with her words, and it stuck in her throat, aching as she tried to speak. She opened the faucet, and a stream of water burst out, hitting her face before she could dodge, soaking her hair and makeup.

Lili hastily turned off the faucet, handing over some tissues: “Sister Keke, are you okay?”

Zhao Yike wiped off the water. Her makeup was half ruined, leaving her looking extremely embarrassed, even more humiliating than the slap she had received remotely last night.

Mu He lowered her eyelashes, hiding the laughter in her eyes. She tossed the paper towel into the trash and casually glanced at a patch of pale green at the doorway. Looking at Zhao Yike, she said with slightly parted red lips: “The cleaning lady came to take out the trash. Why don’t you leave quickly?”

Zhao Yike, provoked repeatedly, couldn’t think clearly and hurried out.

Lili followed immediately.

After some distance, Zhao Yike finally realized—what did the cleaning lady taking out the trash have to do with her? Why was she being told to leave, in such a kindly tone?

Ahhhh!

Mu He was indirectly calling her trash and telling her to leave quickly, so she wouldn’t be taken away by the cleaning lady.

Zhao Yike’s fury surged, almost to the point of exploding!

Mu He’s afternoon diction class went smoothly, and she was even praised by the teacher. After dinner that evening, she went home, showered, climbed into bed early, and scrolled through Weibo for half an hour before feeling drowsy.

Her sleep was always good; she could fall asleep anytime, anywhere. Once asleep, she usually didn’t wake up, even if her period arrived. Naturally, she discovered the next morning that her bedsheet was stained with blood.

She fished a spare sanitary pad from her bag, ran to the bathroom, and applied it. Realizing there was no trash bin inside, she wrapped the packaging in tissue, balled it up, planning to throw it away later.

She woke up relatively late. After getting ready, the driver was already waiting downstairs. She grabbed her bag and hurried out, planning to deal with the sheets when she returned.

At ten o’clock sharp, the cleaning lady arrived.

This apartment used a lot of high-tech elements in its design: temperature, humidity, and more were controlled by the smart home system. The floor and glass had self-cleaning functions, so her job was easy—mostly changing bed linens and taking out the trash on schedule.

Entering the master bathroom, the cleaning lady noticed a nightgown hanging on the rack and a few long hairs on the floor, clearly indicating a woman had moved in.

When she saw the cluster of dark, fist-sized stain on the wrinkled bedsheet, presumably blood, her brows furrowed into a deep crease…

She efficiently replaced the sheets, treated them briefly, and put them in the washing machine. She came out still looking concerned.

When she was almost done, she heard voices from the living room—the male owner had returned.

He usually didn’t stay here, and they might meet less than twice a year.

But this time, the matter was serious enough that she felt it necessary to speak with him.

In the living room.

Huo Siheng lounged lazily on the sofa, eyes closed, resting. Zhang Chang stood beside him, reporting: “Middle Young Master will probably act soon…”

As Zhang Chang spoke, he saw the cleaning lady walking over with a serious, slightly nervous expression. He asked, “What’s the matter?”

The cleaning lady looked straight at Huo Siheng. Under his intimidating aura, she steeled herself and spoke: “Sir, I know it’s presumptuous, but I must tell you—women are not men’s toys. They have dignity and rights too…”

Zhang Chang was utterly confused. What?

Huo Siheng opened his eyes, cold as a star, exuding an icy aura.

The cleaning lady thought of the fist-sized bloodstain on the sheet. She was deeply sympathetic. She had heard some rich young masters had unusual interests and played very freely. Seeing the girl bleed so much, she must have suffered greatly, probably torn.

People’s hearts are made of flesh. She had a daughter too. Since she encountered this, she could not turn a blind eye.

She delicately continued: “Sir, women are made of water. Before intimacy, there are many ways…”

Intimacy?

Zhang Chang was even more confused. How did the topic suddenly jump from women to “intimacy”?

Had this lady reached menopause? Her speech was disjointed, and her thoughts erratic.

Wait—what has to do with women, other than that intimacy, what other… intimacy?

!

Zhang Chang seemed struck by lightning, staring at the man on the sofa in shock.

Huo Siheng’s normally calm face now showed a trace of an unusual expression.