222: Chapter 209, a transitional chapter, was fast-forwarded.

Kim Taeyeon walked downstairs.

She was wearing loose pajamas, her hair was a mess, and her face still bore clear signs of sleepiness. Her eyes were squinted, half-open and half-closed, perfectly capturing the "Who am I? Where am I?" state of mind.

What surprised everyone present the most was that she didn't greet her family as she usually did.

Father Kim was sitting at the dining table reading a newspaper, Kim Jiyong was making coffee, and Xia Yan was setting the table—Kim Taeyeon walked right past them as if she hadn't seen them, heading straight for the refrigerator.

She opened the fridge door, bent over, and rummaged around inside for something.

The Kim family was stunned, exchanging confused glances.

Jiang Zhiyu also paused what he was doing, quietly watching her for a few seconds. Perhaps feeling it was impolite to keep staring, he quickly turned back and continued frying eggs.

But Kim Taeyeon's actions were becoming increasingly strange.

She took a bottle of milk out of the fridge, then wobbled... into the kitchen.

She wasn't returning to the dining room, but instead walked straight into the kitchen area.

Mother Kim asked, puzzled, "Taeyeon, are you going to heat up the milk? Let me help you..."

Kim Taeyeon acted as if she hadn't heard. Clutching the cold milk bottle, she wobbled toward the kitchen again—presumably wanting to heat the milk.

But her nose twitched.

It was an almost instinctive reaction. In the cool morning air, a familiar, alluring aroma drifted into her nostrils—

The sweet scent of ripe fruit, mixed with the warmth of sunshine.

Kim Taeyeon's brain was actually in a state of chaos at that moment. She hadn't slept well last night, had many messy dreams, and was still in a half-awake, half-asleep state upon waking.

So, when she smelled that familiar, sweet scent of ripe fruit, her first reaction was: Ah, dreaming again.

Since it's a dream... then I can do whatever I want, right?

A thought flashed through her brain: This feels a bit perverted...

But soon, another thought overpowered it: So what?! It's a dream anyway!!

Thus, in the shocked gaze of everyone— "Thump." Kim Taeyeon crashed her whole body into Jiang Zhiyu's back.

It wasn't a light tap, but a solid collision. Her face was buried in his spine, and she could clearly feel the firm muscles beneath his T-shirt.

Jiang Zhiyu stiffened instantly.

The spatula froze in mid-air, and the egg sizzled in the pan, but he completely forgot to flip it.

The air in the kitchen froze. Father Kim's newspaper stopped in mid-air. Kim Jiyong's coffee cup almost dropped to the floor. Xia Yan covered her mouth. Mother Kim's eyes widened.

But the even more shocking part was yet to come.

After crashing into Jiang Zhiyu's back, Kim Taeyeon had no idea what she had done. The impact made her slightly more awake, but her brain was still in the "this is a dream" state of cognition.

And at this moment, that aroma became even more intense. Because of the proximity, the sweet scent of ripe fruit on Jiang Zhiyu almost enveloped her. The smell was so real, so alluring...

Kim Taeyeon's brain completely crashed.

Her hands moved almost instinctively. Her left hand quickly touched Jiang Zhiyu's waist and abdomen—through the thin white T-shirt, she could clearly feel the firm and powerful muscle lines beneath. Her fingers even pressed down unconsciously, as if confirming the texture.

"Such standard abs..." she mumbled indistinctly, "As expected, I'm dreaming..."

Her other hand was still clutching the milk bottle, but she had completely forgotten about drinking the milk. She buried her face in Jiang Zhiyu's back and took a deep breath of the scent on him.

The sweet scent of ripe fruit made her feel lightheaded. Then, she rubbed her cheek against Jiang Zhiyu's back like a spoiled kitten, letting out a perverted "hehe" giggle.

Jiang Zhiyu: "..."

Jiang Zhiyu's brain had already crashed for three seconds, and then his internal ranting mode started: [Noona, at first I believed you were just sleepy.] [But now I have reason to suspect you're doing this on purpose!] [This is completely sexual harassment!!] [My hand... should I put down the spatula? Or keep frying the egg? The egg is going to burn... No, the point is not the egg!] [Should I turn around? If I turn around, will she fall?] [But she won't let go! Her hand is still on my stomach!] [The Kim family is watching! What should I do? Waiting online, it's urgent!]

His heart was ranting wildly, but his body was as stiff as a piece of wood; he didn't dare to move at all. What if he moved and Kim Taeyeon did something even more outrageous? What if she woke up and realized this wasn't a dream? What if...

"Ahem, ahem..." Mother Kim finally recovered from the shock and coughed forcefully a few times.

The sound was like pressing a switch. Kim Taeyeon's body stiffened abruptly. She slowly lifted her head and looked around. She saw her dumbstruck family. She saw Jiang Zhiyu, stiff as a statue. She saw her hand resting on his abs.

Three seconds of dead silence. It was as if the "ding, ding, ding" error sound of a computer crashing echoed in Kim Taeyeon's brain. She... just... did what? That wasn't a dream? That was... reality? She... touched... Jiang Zhiyu's... abs... and... rubbed... his... back... and... made... a... perverted... laughing... sound...

Kim Taeyeon's brain crashed on the spot. "Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding—" If the brain had a sound, it would definitely be playing the error sound of a computer crashing right now.

She stiffly, bit by bit, lifted her head and saw Jiang Zhiyu's stiff profile. The tips of his ears... were red. She slowly, bit by bit, retracted her hand, like slow motion in a movie. Then, she took a step back, breaking away from that warm back.

In the kitchen, everyone's eyes were focused on her. Kim Taeyeon was silent for a full three seconds. These three seconds felt as long as three centuries.

Then, she took a deep breath, put on an extremely "normal" expression, and used an extremely "normal" tone to spout nonsense with a straight face: "I've had sleepwalking issues since I was a child. When I just wake up in the morning, I often do things I'm not aware of."

She said it so naturally, so calmly, as if everything that had just happened was truly just unconscious behavior during sleepwalking. If one ignored her bright red cheeks and slightly trembling fingers.

The air froze again. This time, even Jiang Zhiyu couldn't help but turn his head and look at her with an "Are you serious?" gaze.

Then— "Unnie, you sleepwalk? How come I didn't know?" Xia Yan was the first to pose the soul-searching question. This question hit the nail on the head.

Kim Taeyeon didn't change her expression: "Because... because when I sleepwalk, I don't know it myself, and you guys don't know it either. So it's normal that you don't know."

This explanation... was simply full of holes. Kim Jiyong's mouth twitched: "Taeyeon, you were... quite clear-headed just now? You even talked?"

"People who sleepwalk also talk," Kim Taeyeon continued to spout nonsense, "This has been scientifically proven."

She said it so confidently that the Kim family began to doubt—could Taeyeon really have sleepwalking disorder? And they never discovered it?

Only Jiang Zhiyu knew the truth. He slowly turned around and looked at Kim Taeyeon.

Their gazes met in the air. Kim Taeyeon's eyes were filled with "Please don't expose me," as well as "I was wrong, but I really didn't do it on purpose," and "If you expose me, I'll dig a hole and crawl into it right now."

Jiang Zhiyu looked at her flushed face and those eyes that were trembling slightly from nervousness. The shock and embarrassment in his heart suddenly... dissipated.

In its place was a strange... urge to laugh. He tried hard to keep a straight face and nodded earnestly: "I see. Noona, why don't you go rest for a bit? You need to catch up on sleep after sleepwalking."

This was said considerately and naturally, completely giving Kim Taeyeon a way out. Kim Taeyeon felt as if she had been granted amnesty and nodded quickly: "Okay, okay... I, I'll go back up and sleep for a while..."

She turned to escape, but after walking two steps, she remembered something. She turned back and whispered to Jiang Zhiyu: "...I'm sorry." Her voice was as soft as a mosquito's buzz. Then she rushed upstairs as if fleeing.

The kitchen fell into silence again. A few seconds later— "Pfft." Xia Yan was the first to laugh out loud. Then it was Kim Jiyong, then Mother Kim, and finally even Father Kim couldn't help but laugh.

Only Jiang Zhiyu, he turned around and continued frying the egg, but the curve of his lips wouldn't go down no matter what. The egg in the pan was already a bit burnt, but he didn't mind at all. This morning, because of this little interlude, had become exceptionally... interesting.

Meanwhile, upstairs, Kim Taeyeon rushed back to her room, closed the door, threw herself onto the bed, and buried her face deeply into the pillow. "Ahhhhhhh—!!!" A silent scream echoed in her heart.

What had she just done?! Touched Jiang Zhiyu's abs?! And made that kind of laughing sound?! And said something about "sleepwalking"?!

She was done for. She was truly done for. Social death. Career over. End of life. How could she have done such a thing???

But... Jiang Zhiyu's abs felt... really good... As soon as this thought popped up, she wanted to die even more.

She buried her face deeper into the pillow, curling her whole body into a ball, as if wanting to disappear from this world. But even so, the tip of her nose seemed to still retain that sweet scent of ripe fruit. And her fingertips seemed to still retain the touch of those firm muscles.

Kim Taeyeon realized in despair—she might, truly, be beyond saving.

At breakfast time, Kim Taeyeon shuffled downstairs. She had changed into a fully covered loungewear set—long sleeves and long pants, with the collar pulled up high, as if this could wrap up the morning's embarrassment along with her. Her hair was carefully combed, and she even wore light makeup, trying to use a "I'm very normal" appearance to mask the raging storm inside her heart.

But when she walked into the dining room and saw the seating arrangement at the table, her heart collapsed again—Jiang Zhiyu was sitting directly opposite her. In other words, as soon as she looked up, the two of them would make eye contact. Shit! What kind of hellish seating arrangement is this!!!