His lips were warm and soft, carrying a faint scent of cedar, like a ray of winter sunshine gently melting the frost in her heart.
In the dream, Pei Cheng was endlessly tender; his fingers brushed gently across her cheek, his eyes filled with indulgence and affection.
Xu Huan smiled in her dream—smiled so sweetly, so contentedly.
The next day.
Xu Huan jolted awake from her dream, her chest heaving violently, her cheeks burning fiercely.
She reached out to touch her lips, as if she could still feel the warmth of that kiss from her dream.
The dream had been too real, real enough to make Xu Huan's heart race with panic.
In the dream, Pei Cheng stood right in front of her, his slender fingers gently cupping her face.
His eyelashes were long, casting a shadow beneath his eyes, and his gaze was so tender it seemed it could melt into water.
He slowly leaned in, his warm breath brushing against her cheek, and then...
Xu Huan shook her head violently and buried her face in the pillow.
It was too humiliating; how could she have such a dream?
And the subject of it was Pei Cheng, the temporary boyfriend she had bought with money.
A sudden knock came from outside the door, and the man's low, melodious voice held a hint of just-woken-up huskiness, "Are you awake?"
Hearing Pei Cheng's voice made Xu Huan's heart accelerate all over again.
She bit her lip shyly and replied, "I'm awake."
"I'm coming in to wash up. Is that convenient?"
Pei Cheng asked with gentlemanly courtesy.
Xu Huan instinctively glanced down at herself, and seeing nothing improper about her attire, she said, "It's fine. The door isn't locked, come on in."
Pei Cheng hadn't expected Xu Huan to leave the door unlocked.
Silently sighing at her lack of situational awareness, he raised a hand, pushed the door open, and walked in.
As Pei Cheng entered, the light streaming in from outside struck his tall, straight frame, wrapping him in a distinct K-drama atmosphere.
In the light, his profile was sharp, his nose high and straight, and his thin lips pressed into a slight line, carrying an air of cool detachment.
When her gaze landed on the man's thin lips—lips that made one instantly want to kiss them—Xu Huan uncontrollably recalled the scene from her dream where he had kissed her with such tender, lingering affection.
Her cheeks instantly burned red.
Pei Cheng walked into the bathroom and closed the door.
Xu Huan heard the sound of the faucet turning on, along with the faint rustle of him washing up.
She sat on the bed, her heart still beating frighteningly fast.
The bathroom door suddenly opened, and Pei Cheng walked out.
His hair was still somewhat damp, droplets of water sliding from the tips of his strands and tracing down his sharply defined jawline.
Xu Huan's gaze involuntarily followed a droplet, watching it slide all the way down to his Adam's apple.
Suddenly feeling her mouth go dry, she quickly looked away.
"Why are your cheeks so red?" Pei Cheng asked abruptly, a hint of concern in his voice. "Did you catch a chill staying outside too long last night?"
Xu Huan's heart tightened, and she instinctively touched her face. "N-no..."
She stammered, feeling her ears begin to burn again.
Seeing Xu Huan's cheeks grow even redder, Pei Cheng frowned slightly and walked over to the bed.
He still carried the fresh scent of mint toothpaste mixed with a faint hint of aftershave, making Xu Huan feel even more flustered.
"You don't look like you're okay." He suddenly leaned down and reached out to touch her forehead.
Xu Huan shrank back abruptly, but he caught her by the shoulder and held her in place.
"Don't move."
His voice was low and melodic, carrying an unquestionable firmness.
His hand was very warm, its temperature radiating through her thin pajamas.
Xu Huan froze in place, feeling as though her heart was about to leap out of her chest.
She suddenly remembered how, in her dream, his hand had done the exact same thing, gently cupping her face...
"A bit warm." Pei Cheng withdrew his hand, his frown deepening. "Get up, I'm taking you to the hospital to get checked out."
"No need!" Xu Huan practically shouted, then immediately felt her reaction was too extreme and lowered her head. "I-I'm fine, I probably just didn't sleep well last night..."
Seeing that Xu Huan deeply detested the idea of going to the hospital, Pei Cheng did not insist on taking her.
His phone suddenly rang.
Pei Cheng turned to answer the call.
Watching the man's mountain-like, upright figure, Xu Huan's heart hammered like a drum.
As soon as Pei Cheng finished the call, he went downstairs without a word.
Before long, however, he came back up.
When he returned, he was carrying a bag.
"I bought these toiletries for you. I've ordered breakfast; go wash up and come down to eat."
"Okay." Xu Huan took a deep breath, telling herself not to be so jumpy.
Pei Cheng handed the toiletries to Xu Huan and went back downstairs.
Once the man had descended, Xu Huan took the toiletries he had given her and hurried into the bathroom to freshen up.
Upon reaching the ground floor, Xu Huan immediately spotted the breakfast set out on the coffee table next to the cashier counter.
Sunlight poured through the floor-to-ceiling windows onto the coffee table, casting a soft halo over the exquisite tableware.
On the table sat two bowls of steaming pork and health-conscious congee, garnished with emerald-green scallion bits and pale-yellow ginger shreds. Beside them was a bamboo steamer of translucent xiao long bao, their wrappers so thin the plump fillings were nearly visible.
There was also a plate of golden, crispy youtiao and a neatly sliced fruit platter.
Seeing Xu Huan come down, Pei Cheng set down his coffee mug and beckoned to her. "I didn't know what you liked to eat, so I just ordered casually. If you don't like any of it, I'll order something else."
Almost as soon as Pei Cheng finished speaking, Xu Huan eagerly chimed in, "I like it. There's no need to order anything else."
Compared to the past when she had nothing but plain congee swallowed dry without any side dishes, the breakfast Pei Cheng had ordered practically amounted to a feast of rare delicacies for Xu Huan.
How could she possibly not like it?
As if to prove how much she truly enjoyed it, Xu Huan walked briskly over to the coffee table and sat down.
She carefully picked up the bowl of pork congee Pei Cheng had portioned out for her beforehand, scooped a spoonful, blew gently on it a few times near her lips, and then popped it into her mouth.
The warm congee slipped into her mouth, and the savory flavor of the pork blossomed alongside the refreshing aroma of the ginger on her tongue.
Xu Huan's eyes lit up instantly. "This is so good."
To Pei Cheng, who had grown up eating meals prepared by five-star chefs, this breakfast was merely edible and hardly worthy of being called delicious.
Yet seeing Xu Huan acting as if she had tasted some supreme delicacy, with such pure contentment, he couldn't help being affected. The corners of his lips curved upward, and a trace of a smile appeared in his eyes.
"As long as you like it." Pei Cheng picked up his own bowl of congee and took a leisurely sip.
It was clearly a very ordinary breakfast, but whether because of the added company today or not, Pei Cheng suddenly felt that today's congee was actually quite good.
Pei Cheng did not like to talk while eating.
And Xu Huan didn't dare to.
She had walked on thin ice in her foster parents' home; her foster father was extremely patriarchal, and as a girl, she hadn't even qualified to sit at the dinner table, let alone chat happily with others during a meal.
After returning to the Xu Family, feeling completely out of place in that household, she had lived in quiet apprehension, not daring to speak casually for fear of making a fool of herself and being looked down upon.
The two of them ate in silence, exchanging no further words.