novelraw Chapter 8 Cannot Be Hidden
Chapter 8 Cannot Be Hidden
The thought of seeking help from Gu Yanshen softened Lu Xiran's heart.
After all, it was he who personally agreed to make her his nominal Mrs. Gu.
If the marriage of the current head of the Gu family were made public, it would likely be the most eye-catching news in Haicheng.
However, he hasn't mentioned it at all these past few days, and as a girl, she doesn't feel comfortable bringing it up herself.
Moreover, apart from his grandmother, it seems that no one in the Gu family truly hopes that he will get married; there is an inexplicable subtle tension in everything.
As Gu Yanshen said, this family never reveals its affairs to outsiders, making it difficult for them to glean even a glimpse of the truth.
He had already saved her three times.
She could never repay this debt of gratitude.
People should know their limits and be content, rather than constantly demanding from others.
Lu Xiran glanced at her phone—it was 3:30 a.m.
I was wide awake.
She tiptoed to the kitchen to pour water, and as soon as she turned around, she heard footsteps coming from the stairs.
Gu Yanshen was slowly descending the stairs.
The robe's belt was loosely tied, and the silk hem slipped slightly with the movement, revealing the clear lines of the collarbone hidden in the shadows. The figure with broad shoulders and a narrow waist was outlined as slender and graceful in the dim light.
The warm yellow light seemed to coat him with a golden edge, giving him a lazy air, but his deep-set eyes and straight nose firmly supported the aloof and noble air in his bones.
Lu Xiran's gaze seemed to be slightly tripped by something, and she stared blankly at him—
Reason whispered in my mind: Jin Qiqi said he doesn't like NS.
Some things are innate and cannot be changed.
But my heartbeat wouldn't obey me at all.
My gaze swept over his slightly open collar, past his Adam's apple, and landed on his hand casually resting on the stair railing.
In the end, she couldn't help herself and quietly, very gently, swallowed her saliva.
She quietly looked away. "Uncle, you're not asleep either?"
"Thirsty?" His voice was slightly hoarse from just waking up, but it sounded very pleasant.
"Um."
Gu Yanshen sat down by the island platform, and Lu Xiran followed him in small steps and sat down gently next to him.
"It's very safe here. We've already applied for the highest level of reporting, and Deputy Li doesn't have the authority to access it."
"Mm." She nodded.
For some reason, she always felt exceptionally safe and secure when she was by his side.
Gu Yanshen looked up at her, raising an eyebrow slightly. "Afraid to sleep alone?"
"Huh?" Lu Xiran was taken aback.
What did he mean by that...?
A lone man and a lone woman, could it be...?
No, she must be overthinking it.
Lu Xiran shook her head vigorously in her mind and quickly said, "...No!" She paused slightly, "With Uncle here, I'm not afraid."
She tried to put on a bright smile, but the corners of her mouth trembled slightly involuntarily.
In Gu Yanshen's eyes, that smile was more forced than a cry.
A very faint smile played at the corners of his lips, almost imperceptible.
"If you're really worried, you can sleep on the second floor." He slowly stroked the rim of the cup with his fingers, his voice low and steady.
"Huh?" Lu Xiran subconsciously covered her mouth, but couldn't hide the soft gasp.
Gu Yanshen seemed quite satisfied with her reaction, a barely perceptible smile flashing across his eyes.
His deep eyes fell on her face, looking at her eyes that were slightly wide with surprise—they looked as innocent as a fawn encountered for the first time in the forest, wet and tinged with an unconscious bewilderment and timidity, so clear that you could see right through them.
Lu Xiran's cheeks flushed crimson at a visible speed, spreading all the way to the tips of her ears. She subconsciously pursed her lips, making her already moist lips even more vibrant red. Her long eyelashes fluttered frantically a few times, then drooped timidly, casting a small, uneasy shadow on her lower eyelids. Even her fingers, unconsciously clutching the hem of her clothes, exuded a soft, bewildered tenderness.
A corner of Gu Yanshen's heart felt as if it had been unexpectedly brushed by an extremely light feather.
"You sleep in the bedroom, and I'll sleep on the sofa bed in the suite. I'll keep watch over you outside your room, is that alright?"
Lu Xiran lowered her head unconsciously, "I...I didn't..."
"No need to trouble yourself..."
"Actually... I'm not afraid..."
She became increasingly flustered as she spoke, so she simply stood up and said, "I'm going back to sleep!"
But he forgot to watch out for the misalignment under his feet, stepped into a hole, and swayed forward—
She fell directly into Gu Yanshen's outstretched arms.
The delicate scent of cedarwood instantly enveloped her, and her face pressed directly against his chest.
Now there's no way to explain this.
—To make matters worse, a sharp, piercing pain shot through my ankle.
I twisted my ankle.
Gu Yanshen didn't let go; instead, he picked her up horizontally in his arms.
"Ah—" Lu Xiran exclaimed softly, instinctively grabbing his pajamas and looking up to meet his lowered gaze.
Eyes facing each other.
Gu Yanshen paused slightly.
The person in his arms had wide-open eyes, their gaze filled with shyness, panic, and helplessness.
Her fair face flushed crimson, and her lips were as moist as cherries, making it take all his strength to suppress the urge to get closer.
"Hold me tight." He looked away, his voice slightly deep.
Lu Xiran hurriedly wrapped her arms around his neck.
Even without looking at her, the faint sweet fragrance emanating from the girl, along with her increasingly rapid breathing, still seeped through her collar and into his heart.
Lu Xiran's entire face turned bright red.
She dared not look at him anymore and could only lower her face quietly.
She kept telling herself: Gu Yanshen wouldn't like her.
She was merely his nominal marriage partner, nothing more.
That's why he was so calm and approached her without any hesitation.
Because he doesn't care.
His embrace was warm and reassuring; with each step he took, her heart skipped a beat.
The crisp masculine scent mingled with her faint sweet fragrance, silently intertwining in the quiet night.
She lowered her face quietly, but couldn't hide her increasingly hot ears.
Her heart was beating faster and faster out of control, so fast that when she walked into the room, she felt like she could hardly breathe.
I know I shouldn't overthink it...
He held me like this, carrying me step by step up the stairs, towards my own space—
All the fantasies about love that she had secretly kept hidden in her heart for a long time suddenly surfaced.
The hugs in movies, the goodnights in novels, and those unspoken flutters of the heart...
Countless fantasies about love flashed through my mind, and romantic scenes from the movie played back frame by frame.
What is she expecting?
Lu Xiran really wanted to clear her head.
But the traces of attraction had already been revealed.