It was precisely this purity that made him envious, made him resentful, and in the end, dragged her into his world, wanting to taint her as dark as he was.

But he didn’t know when it started, that he began to crave her innocence, unaware even to himself.

Yu Xiuzhun unconsciously raised his hand, caressing her cheek.

"Mmm..."

His rough fingers wandered over her soft cheek, Ye Mingmei feeling a bit ticklish, mumbling childishly.

Her small face snuggled against his chest.

Yu Xiuzhun’s lower abdomen tightened instantly, but he withdrew his hand, making no further moves.

He seemed to never have tried this before, holding a woman and doing nothing.

Seeing her sleep so well made him feel that doing nothing wasn’t so bad.

Yu Xiuzhun didn’t know how long he stared at her before he slowly closed his eyes.

Falling into a deep sleep.

...

Early in the morning, Ye Mingmei was awakened by the alarm clock.

She reached out in a daze to turn off the alarm, about to catch some more sleep, when she noticed the "big pillow" next to her. Her mind went blank for over a minute before remembering everything from the night before.

She glanced down at her intact pajamas, then looked at Yu Xiuzhun still lying beside her, her eyes almost popping out.

She couldn’t help but pinch her own cheek.

"Hiss—"

It hurt, so it wasn’t a dream.

Yu Xiuzhun really didn’t do anything to her the whole night, just held her while sleeping.

"Have you seen enough?"

Yu Xiuzhun had woken up at some unknown time, his wicked eyes slightly narrowed, watching Ye Mingmei pinch herself one moment, and staring at him wide-eyed the next.

The look of surprise on her face was so vivid it could become an expression pack.

"Don’t want to sleep?" Yu Xiuzhun saw her not responding, pulling her closer into his arms.

"I want to..."

Ye Mingmei murmured softly, "But let go of me first, I can’t sleep well like this."

Ye Mingmei reached out and pushed against his chest.

She hugged the blanket, moved to the farthest position from him, then lay down at ease.

He had hugged her, and last night while she slept, he hadn’t missed stealing kisses.

Now that she thought of being cautious, Yu Xiuzhun amusingly stared at the silly-cute Ye Mingmei, a mischievous smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

"When are you leaving?" After a while, Ye Mingmei poked her head out from the covers, glancing at him.

"Are you kicking me out?" Yu Xiuzhun raised an eyebrow, his expression noticeably darkening.

"No, I was just asking, didn’t you come to Paris for work? Once the work’s done, you should leave..."

"Who told you I came to Paris for work?" Yu Xiuzhun frowned.

Remembering he had told her last night he left for something, he added.

"Work is incidental; my main purpose this trip was to catch a woman who dared to escape from the palm of my hand."

"..."

"Oh, I forgot to tell you, that woman is named Ye Mingmei, do you know her? If you do, remember to pass on a message for me, next time don’t be so stupid, or she’ll have to face the music! There’s assuredly a lot for her to handle!"

"..."

Ye Mingmei pouted, looking at the childish man in front of her, suddenly feeling that he wasn’t so scary after all.

Summoning her courage, she glared at him, muttering.

"That’s because you’re too fierce, scaring people away. Women are timid; if someone like you comes along, even the bravest would be frightened enough to run. Not running means there’s something wrong in their head."