Flustered, Ruan Xingchen quickly bent down and fastened her buttons properly. Then she looked up and glared at the man again, annoyed.
"Uncle, that was really unkind of you!"
He had waited so long to tell her—he had practically seen everything!
"Hm?" Lu Jingyuan raised an eyebrow, his slightly teasing tone unexpectedly pleasant. "Are you blaming me for not helping you button it up?"
Ruan Xingchen immediately covered her chest with both hands, looking wary. "You perverted uncle! If you keep teasing a minor, I'm really going to call the police!"
She suddenly remembered their first meeting—hadn't he told her to take off her clothes back then too? He had even shamelessly touched her chest.
Clearly, she should never have let her guard down around a man like him!
Lu Jingyuan curved his lips slightly, then suddenly looked toward another direction.
"The power's out."
As soon as he said it, a flash of lightning lit up the sky outside, followed by a deafening clap of thunder.
Ruan Xingchen's face turned pale, and she instinctively curled up.
Lu Jingyuan frowned. "Afraid of thunder?"
"Of course not!" she shot back immediately. "I've lived alone for years—if I were scared of something like this, I wouldn't have survived. Don't underestimate me, Uncle."
Lu Jingyuan let out a soft chuckle. Walking to the floor-to-ceiling window, he closed it, leaving just a small gap for ventilation.
His dark eyes lingered on the storm outside for a long moment before he said quietly,
"Stay here tonight."
Ruan Xingchen blinked. "Then what about you?"
The apartment was large, with many rooms—but only one bed in the master bedroom.
He couldn't possibly make her, a delicate girl, sleep on the sofa… but he himself probably wouldn't either.
Lu Jingyuan didn't answer. Instead, he turned slightly and said calmly,
"I'm hungry."
He had originally planned to have lunch with Wei Yuanxiao. But when he passed that restaurant earlier, he had caught sight of Ruan Xingchen through the window—and seeing her being bullied, his legs had moved on their own.
In the end, he solved her problem—but forgot to solve his own hunger.
Ruan Xingchen paused, vaguely guessing the situation, and suddenly felt a bit guilty.
She quickly got up from the sofa and headed toward the kitchen. "I think there are still some ingredients in the fridge—and noodles in the cabinet. I'll make you some noodles."
Lu Jingyuan watched her figure quietly, saying nothing.
Because of the power outage and the storm outside, the kitchen was dimly lit—but still visible enough.
Ruan Xingchen tied on an apron and began preparing the ingredients.
Meanwhile, in the living room, Lu Jingyuan stood by the window, looking out at the rain. His phone suddenly vibrated in his pocket.
He took it out. It was a message from Wei Yuanxiao.
Black Sesame Tangyuan: "The little girl's stuff is with me. I'll bring it over tomorrow. In advance—wish you a sleepless night, brother hahaha!"
Lu Jingyuan frowned.
Just as he was about to put the phone away, it rang.
He glanced at the caller ID and answered.
"Uncle, have you seen Ruan Luoli? I've called her several times, but she didn't pick up."
"Wait." Lu Jingyuan said only one word before striding into the kitchen and handing the phone to Ruan Xingchen. "Call."
Seeing it was Lu Xiaobai, Ruan Xingchen quickly washed her hands, wiped them on her apron, and took the phone.
"Hello, Xiaobai."
Lu Jingyuan glanced at her, then turned and left the kitchen.
Hearing her voice, Lu Xiaobai finally let out a sigh of relief, but immediately started scolding:
"Ruan Luoli, why weren't you answering your phone? Do you know how worried I was?!"
"Sorry…" Ruan Xingchen pouted, then told her everything that had happened at the restaurant.
After hearing it all, Lu Xiaobai grew even angrier.
"Ruan Luoli, are you stupid? You went out and still got bullied!"
The rain outside was loud, so Ruan Xingchen switched to speaker mode and placed the phone on the counter while continuing to cook.
"How was I supposed to know I'd be this unlucky…"
"I think you are stupid!" Lu Xiaobai snapped again, then suddenly realized something. "So you're at my uncle's place now?"
"Yeah. Uncle didn't eat lunch, so I'm making him noodles."
There was a brief silence on the other end.
"…Is my uncle beside you right now?"
Ruan Xingchen looked around. "Not at the moment."
"Okay… But you lost your keys, right? Where are you sleeping tonight?"
"Here."
"What the—Ruan Luoli, are you an idiot?! You're staying at my uncle's place overnight—aren't you afraid he'll bully you? I'm telling you, don't be fooled by how proper he looks. Gentlemen are just patient wolves!"
Lu Jingyuan had just come out of the bathroom and walked to the kitchen doorway—right in time to hear that sentence. His expression immediately darkened.
This Lu Xiaobai…
"If he bullies me…" Ruan Xingchen thought seriously for a moment.
Unconsciously, her mind replayed the scene earlier—when he had pinned her against the wall after she came out of the shower.
Annoyed, she blurted out:
"Then I'll take advantage of him first!"
The kitchen instantly echoed with Lu Xiaobai's shocked scream:
"What?!"
Almost at the same moment—
Something dark and unreadable slowly flickered in Lu Jingyuan's eyes.