Chapter 254: Whispers in the Afternoon Light

The room fell quiet.

Lily’s phone still played music from the candidate competition, showing various contestants’ profiles and past music creations, but she had no interest in watching anymore.

She just listened absently, hugging her knees as she sat on the bed, lost in thought.

From afar, a fox’s cry echoed, and the little fox by the window stretched lazily, waking up comfortably first.

Her fox eyes gazed at the ceiling, then at the window where evening approached. After a pause, she grabbed her phone from under the pillow and exclaimed, “It’s past four? I slept for a full three hours?”

She let out a deep sigh, reflecting on even that short time in the restroom.

But Brother Zheng Ran had helped her.

It was completely different from doing it herself.

The joy was on a whole other level.

She turned to look at Xiao Heqing, still asleep in the bed next to her, and at Lily on the other side, sitting on the bed with her knees hugged, staring into space.

Han Wenwen whispered, “Has Xiao Heqing come back? What about Brother Zheng Ran?” She faltered, but Lily seemed not to hear, still deep in her thoughts.

Han Wenwen breathed a sigh of relief and slowly sat up, her hand on the bed, long hair falling over her shoulders. “Has Lin Zheng Ran returned?”

Still no response.

Han Wenwen looked curiously at Lily. “Lily? Lily!”

After calling twice, Lily snapped out of it and turned, noticing Han Wenwen was awake. “Han Wenwen, you’re up? What is it?”

Han Wenwen smiled helplessly. “Why were you zoning out? Is it nerves about the music candidate competition?”

She chuckled. “Nothing to be nervous about.” Compared to Zheng Ran, the competition wasn’t that important, and it wasn’t happening tomorrow anyway.

“Huh?” Han Wenwen was confused, sensing her mood was totally different from before she slept. She pressed on, “Has Lin Zheng Ran come back?”

“Yeah, Zheng Ran is resting in the room right now. He said we’d go eat together at five.”

With that, she went back to staring.

The little fox blinked, wondering what was up with Lily—she seemed half out of it.

She got out of bed.

Her snow-white legs under the skirt slipped into slippers, and she walked to Lin Zheng Ran’s room door, knocking gently.

Lin Zheng Ran called out, “Come in, it’s unlocked.”

The little fox opened the door a crack and peeked in, seeing Lin Zheng Ran sitting on the bed reading a book.

Lin Zheng Ran saw it was Han Wenwen and smiled. “You’re awake? Need something?”

Han Wenwen shook her head meaningfully, grinning. “Nothing, just checking if Lin Zheng Ran is back.”

She threw him a playful wink and closed the door.

But as Han Wenwen headed to the restroom to wash her face, her nose twitched involuntarily.

She caught a scent.

She glanced at Lin Zheng Ran’s closed door.

Her face shifted from puzzled to a faint blush. That smell—wasn’t it from Brother Zheng Ran’s… well, that? She was sure she hadn’t imagined it.

It was very faint, though.

The little fox looked back at the half-open window.

The rain outside had stopped completely, and there was no wind, but with the window ajar, some of the room’s scent must have drifted away over time.

So, she couldn’t quite figure out when the smell started or exactly where it came from, but it was definitely there.

First, she ruled out Brother Zheng Ran doing it himself—before last week when she attended to him, she’d never smelled that on him.

That meant he didn’t have the habit.

But this afternoon, while she was sleeping, Lily was in the room looking at materials, and Xiao Heqing was too straightforward and was sleeping now anyway—so it couldn’t be her.

Was Brother Zheng Ran just really pent up?

If so, that explained the faint scent. And if her nose was sharper now, that meant it had evolved!

With that thought, tonight he’d probably want her, and she should properly attend to Brother Zheng Ran—claim his first time.

The little fox made up her mind and skipped washing her face.

Instead, she decided to take a bath to prepare for the evening.

She went back to the bed, found her luggage, and pulled out a towel and shower gel. “Lily, do you need the restroom? If not, I’m going to shower.”

Lily responded with an “Oh.”

“No.”

Han Wenwen: “.”

What was wrong with her?

She walked over with the towel and shower gel, concerned. “Lily? Are you okay? Did something happen?”

Lily chuckled and waved it off: “Nothing at all, everything’s fine. What could be wrong? Nothing happened and nothing will. It’s not that easy for things to happen anyway.”

“You said it once—that’s enough. Why repeat it so much?”

Lily blinked. “Did I repeat?”

“More than repeat,” Han Wenwen asked seriously, “Are you really okay?”

Lily got a bit anxious. “Of course I’m fine! Why would you think something’s wrong? Nothing could be wrong!”

Han Wenwen found her behavior odd.

“Alright, as long as you’re fine. I’m off to shower.”

“Yeah, go ahead.”

Han Wenwen went to the restroom, locked the door, and started her shower.

Lily went back to hugging her knees and turned to look at Xiao Heqing still asleep on the next bed.

Her brows furrowed slightly, full of jealousy.

By the time Han Wenwen finished her shower, it was just past five.

During that time, Lin Zheng Ran checked his phone and saw no messages from the company.

That meant Jiang Jingshi had taken care of everything there these past few days.

So, he sent her a few messages: “Jingshi, how have you been feeling lately? Is the company busy?”

Jiang Jingshi replied almost instantly: “I’m doing great, and the company’s not busy. How about you over there? Everything going smoothly?”

“Yeah, pretty smooth.”

“That’s good. Ever since things got better between me and Zheng Zheng, it’s been amazing—my work efficiency has skyrocketed, way easier than before.”

Lin Zheng Ran smiled and chatted with Jiang Jingshi briefly.

Since signing the contract with Jiang Jingshi, Lin Zheng Ran had clearly felt his cultivation experience growing faster than before.

After all, he got triple the benefits from his contractee’s progress, and while the three girls might improve a bit daily, they weren’t studying all the time. Jiang Jingshi was different—she handled company matters every day, learning a variety of intense things, so Lin Zheng Ran’s experience kept rising nonstop.

He was even on the verge of another level breakthrough.

Past five, Han Wenwen had finished showering and blow-drying her hair, now sitting on the bed.

Lin Zheng Ran stepped out of his room. Though Lily was lost in thought, she snapped to attention the moment she saw him.

She quickly sat up straight.

Lin Zheng Ran asked, “Are you two hungry? If so, let’s go out and grab something to eat. No point eating the hotel’s delivery tonight—the stuff they sent at noon wasn’t great.”

Lily nodded. “Yeah.”

Han Wenwen nodded too. “Okay.” She glanced at the resting Heqing. “What about Xiao Heqing? Should we wake her?”

Lin Zheng Ran looked at Heqing, and Lily watched his gentle expression, feeling a twinge of jealousy.

Lin Zheng Ran said, “Let Heqing rest. We don’t need to wake her yet. We’ll grab food and come back to eat in the room.”