72: My mom didn't satisfy you?

Both of their movements froze instantly.

Yu Heng cursed under his breath, and Shen Yueling hastily and frantically tidied her clothes.

"Delivery?" she asked, her face flushed.

"Must be." Yu Heng stood up, taking a few deep breaths to steady his breathing.

He walked to the door, glanced through the peephole, and confirmed it was the delivery person.

Yu Heng opened the door, took the delivery, said thank you, and closed the door.

Returning to the living room, Shen Yueling had already tidied her clothes and was sitting on the sofa, her face still red.

Yu Heng placed the takeout on the coffee table and sat down next to her.

"Eat first?" he asked.

"Mhm." Shen Yueling nodded, her voice still a little hoarse.

Yu Heng opened the takeout box, and the aroma immediately wafted out.

He snapped open the disposable chopsticks, handed them to Shen Yueling, and began eating himself.

Neither of them spoke, and the atmosphere was slightly awkward.

After eating half a bowl of rice, Shen Yueling finally spoke: "Just now..."

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry," Shen Yueling whispered. "I'm not ready yet."

Yu Heng glanced at her: "It's fine."

He spoke calmly, but Shen Yueling could detect the disappointment in his tone.

She bit her lip and said nothing more.

After eating, Shen Yueling tidied up the boxes and threw them into the trash bin, then turned to Yu Heng: "I want to take a shower."

Yu Heng raised an eyebrow: "Together?"

Shen Yueling immediately refused: "No."

"Why?"

"You were just like that earlier..." Shen Yueling said, frowning. "If we shower together, I won't be able to stop you."

Yu Heng smiled: "Then go shower by yourself."

Shen Yueling nodded and walked toward the bathroom.

As she reached the door, she looked back at Yu Heng: "You are not allowed to come in."

"Don't worry!" Yu Heng pursed his lips. "Or you can just lock the door!"

Shen Yueling bit her lip and closed the bathroom door.

Yu Heng sat on the sofa and sighed; he had almost succeeded just now.

Too bad the takeout interrupted them.

But it didn't matter; there was plenty of time.

He felt he had figured out Shen Yueling's thoughts today.

She wanted it but had reservations; she yearned for it but was confused.

This was normal. A girl who had just reached adulthood wasn't very mature, whether mentally or in terms of life experience.

For her to accept an unconventional relationship, she needed time and psychological preparation.

But precisely because she wasn't mature yet, instilling this kind of thinking now made acceptance possible.

Although this was indeed immoral, if he was going to start a harem, why talk about morality?

It could be said that this was the only way to start a harem in reality without relying on wealth/sex transactions, outside of certain circles.

Emotionally and materially, he would try his best to be the best, but he would absolutely not confirm a romantic relationship.

This wasn't irresponsible; rather, it was a form of responsibility.

He had read a Rebirth Novel before.

It was ridiculous enough to start a harem and still insist on the pure love trope. Wasn't that essentially cheating?

If you're going to start a harem, be upfront about it.

What Yu Heng found most disgusting was acting like a whore while trying to maintain a virtuous reputation. He didn't know what kind of mentality people who liked reading such books had.

Fantasizing about a life where multiple women wanted pure love with you, loving you to death?

That was pure spiritual opium, mere fantasy. Only an idiot would believe it.

The funniest thing was that some of these idiots found open relationships unacceptable, yet were perfectly fine with cheating and love triangles/battle royale scenarios.

They were truly clowns.

The doorbell rang again.

Yu Heng frowned. It couldn't possibly be takeout again this time.

He got up, walked to the door, and looked out through the peephole.

It was Qin Ya.

She was standing at the door, looking down at her phone.

Yu Heng opened the door.

Just as he was about to speak, his peripheral vision caught sight of the car parked by the roadside in front of the Villa.

The driver's side window was halfway down, and Qin Lu was sitting inside, looking over in their direction with her face turned sideways.

Her expression wasn't very clear, but Yu Heng could feel her gaze.

The two of them stared at each other for a few seconds across a distance of more than ten meters.

Then Qin Lu turned her head back, and the car window slowly rose.

The car started, turned around, and drove away.

From start to finish, she neither got out of the car nor said hello.

Tsk, this woman. She wasn't acting like she did last night when she told him to be rougher.

Not only did she block him on WeChat, but now she wouldn't even get out of the car when dropping off Qin Ya.

"What are you looking at?" Qin Ya leaned in, following his gaze. "Oh~ stop looking, she's gone!"

After speaking, she tossed her backpack onto the floor and started changing her shoes.

Yu Heng closed the door, turned, and looked at her: "How is your mom today?"

Qin Ya finished changing into slippers, straightened up, and looked at him strangely: "Didn't you see the WeChat message I sent you?"

"WeChat?" Yu Heng was stunned for a moment. "What WeChat message?"

"The one I sent this morning." Qin Ya pulled her phone out of her pocket, unlocked it, opened the WeChat interface, and handed it to him. "Here."

Yu Heng took the phone and glanced at it.

On the chat interface, three messages were lined up next to Qin Ya's profile picture:

Qin Ya: Report, my mom didn't go to work today.

Qin Ya: She only came out of the room after 10 o'clock.

Qin Ya: I think her condition is okay?

"I haven't checked my phone." Yu Heng sat back down on the sofa. "So, how was your mom's condition today?"

Qin Ya sat down on the sofa, crossing her legs: "She was alright. I thought she seemed quite happy when we left? But she started putting on a cold face once we got close."

Yu Heng sat next to her: "Did she say anything?"

"Say what?" Qin Ya tilted her head, thinking. "Nothing special. She just asked if I was coming to stream today. I said yes, and she offered to drive me. She didn't talk much on the way."

At this point, Qin Ya suddenly leaned closer and lowered her voice: "But I have to tell you, she wore stockings today too."

"What color?" Yu Heng asked, narrowing his eyes.

Qin Ya tilted her head: "Flesh-colored, the thin kind. But it's cold today, so she also wore a 'Bare-Leg Artifact'." As she spoke, her eyes darted toward the bathroom. "Who is showering in there?"

Yu Heng didn't immediately reply.

Who was Qin Lu wearing stockings for today?

She was wearing stockings even though she already had the Bare-Leg Artifact on.

What was this, playing hard to get?

Saying no but meaning yes?

"Mind your own business." Yu Heng lightly flicked her forehead. "Go up and stream."

Qin Ya covered her forehead and pouted: "Bai Xinran?"

"No." Yu Heng couldn't be bothered to explain. "Stop prying, hurry up."

He was actually a little annoyed. Shen Yueling was still in the bathroom.

If she came out and ran into Qin Ya, that girl had a quick mouth and might blurt something out.

"Tch~" Qin Ya pouted, "Didn't my mom satisfy you last night?"

"Huh?" Yu Heng raised an eyebrow.

Qin Ya squinted at him: "Otherwise, why are you meeting another girl?"

"What nonsense are you talking about?" Yu Heng pushed her toward the stairs. "Hurry up and go upstairs."

As Yu Heng pushed her, Qin Ya didn't forget to look back: "If you weren't satisfied, you can go find my mom again!"

"Qin Ya." Yu Heng interrupted her. "That's enough. Go upstairs and stream properly!"

"I know," Qin Ya mumbled, pouted, and went upstairs.

He turned and walked back to the living room, sitting on the sofa.

The sound of water in the bathroom hadn't stopped yet.

Yu Heng took out his phone, unlocked the screen, and opened WeChat.

Qin Ya's three messages were still hanging there, timestamped around 8 AM.

What was he doing then?

He went out with Bai Xinran to pick up the Pull-Up Banner, then set up the stall, then Shen Yueling arrived, and then... Yu Heng rubbed his brow.

So many things happening every day.

He exited the chat interface with Qin Ya, and Qin Lu's profile picture was silent.

Yu Heng stared at the profile picture for a few seconds, then finally turned off the screen.

Forget it.

If she wants to block him, let her block him. If she wants to hide, let her hide.

He'd let her cool down for a day before dealing with it.

Just as he was thinking, the sound of water in the bathroom stopped.

A moment later, the door opened.

Shen Yueling walked out wearing his T-shirt.

The shirt was too big for her; the hem of the T-shirt reached her thighs.

Yu Heng watched her appearance, and his Adam's apple bobbed.

When she wore his clothes, she looked even more enticing than usual.

Shen Yueling pursed her lips, walked to the sofa, and sat down, maintaining a distance from him.

Neither of them spoke.

After a while, Shen Yueling spoke first: "Did someone come just now?"

"Yes, Qin Ya," Yu Heng said. "She came to stream."

"Did she..." Shen Yueling paused, "Hear me showering?"

"She heard the water," Yu Heng turned his head to look at her. "But I didn't tell her who you were."

Shen Yueling breathed a sigh of relief, but then frowned again: "Will she talk carelessly?"

"No," Yu Heng said. "She keeps her mouth shut tight."

Qin Ya, you better have!

"Do you have anything planned for the afternoon?" Shen Yueling asked.

"I need to go back to school," Yu Heng said. "To see how the results turned out."

"Mhm." Shen Yueling replied. "Then I'll head back to the dorm too."

Yu Heng turned his head to look at her: "Leaving already?"

"What else?" Shen Yueling glanced at him. "What else do you want to do?"

Yu Heng smiled: "What do you think I want to do?"

Shen Yueling turned her face away: "Don't you have something to do this afternoon?"

"Having something to do doesn't stop this." Yu Heng leaned closer, placing his hand on her waist. "Shall we finish what we started earlier?"

Shen Yueling's body stiffened slightly.

"Yu Heng..." Her voice was slightly panicked. "I really can't..."

"I know." Yu Heng sighed, but didn't release his hand. "Just a hug."