Lin Chuan had remained silent, eyes closed like this the whole time.

It wasn't until the next morning that Lin Chuan had barely slept all night, but Fang Yuan on the other hand seemed to have had a rare deep sleep. With Lin Chuan by her side, she let go of all her thoughts, all her defenses, quietly sleeping until the next morning.

In the early morning, sunlight poured in from outside.

Lin Chuan opened his bleary eyes. Not having slept all night, it was only after five in the morning on the next day that he finally closed his eyes and fell into a light slumber. But soon, he was awake again, despite not being fully rested. The glaring sunlight outside penetrated the thin curtains. Fang Yuan was still naked, but a thin blanket was covering her body, and the room had a bit of heat turned on; even without clothes, she wouldn't feel the slightest bit cold.

Fang Yuan slept peacefully and calmly. Her delicate face, lightly made up, her features exquisite, cheeks rosy, eyelashes long and sweeping like little brushes. Extremely beautiful. She slept quietly, akin to a sleeping porcelain doll.

Such a stunning beauty, if it were someone else, they would probably be overjoyed. Unfortunately, Lin Chuan was constantly feeling like he had a fishbone stuck in his throat, unable to swallow or spit it out.

Fang Yuan was sleeping in the crook of his arm, seeming to greatly enjoy the feeling.

Lin Chuan slightly moved to get up, preparing to leave quietly because he was afraid, afraid of the moment when he and Fang Yuan would make eye contact.

Once people are afraid of something, such things often happen.

Just as Lin Chuan was preparing to get up, suddenly, Fang Yuan's eyelashes trembled, and she opened her eyes, looking pitiful and shy.

"Lin Chuan, are you awake?" Fang Yuan said bashfully.

"Yes." Lin Chuan nodded, then said, "I..."

Their eyes met, Fang Yuan shy, while Lin Chuan wore a look of guilt.

"What's wrong?" Fang Yuan smiled at Lin Chuan.

"Nothing... I, I have to go." Lin Chuan hurriedly said.

"Are you in such a hurry?" Fang Yuan smiled, then said, "Why not have breakfast before you go? Besides, don't you want to know who was behind the incident at Haiqing Pool?"

Lin Chuan was about to refuse, but upon hearing the next remark, Lin Chuan immediately stopped in his tracks.

"Okay." Lin Chuan nodded.

Splutter...

Fang Yuan covered her mouth and laughed, saying, "What? Not leaving now?"

"This is to find out the news about Haiqing Pool, isn't it?" Lin Chuan smiled.

Fang Yuan's cheeks were blushing, her skin tender and pinkish, as she stood up naked in front of Lin Chuan, still a bit shy. She wrapped herself in the blanket, then left the room. Lin Chuan also hurriedly dressed himself.

Fang Yuan put on a loose set of home clothes and came back in with a beaming smile: "I'll go cook some dumplings for you."

"Okay." Lin Chuan nodded.

"Toothbrush and towel are in the bathroom." Fang Yuan pointed to the bathroom.

"Thank you." Lin Chuan nodded politely.

Fang Yuan cooked twenty dumplings, also boiled two eggs, and warmed up a pot of milk.

Last night, Lin Chuan had been very energetic, and Fang Yuan had been satisfied. After a night's nourishment, she felt her skin had improved a lot, not only rosy and lustrous but also tender and soft. There's indeed truth to the saying, men are women's natural skin care, use them every night, and you will stay young forever.

With a blushing face, Fang Yuan brought two plates of dumplings to the table, eggs, milk... there was nothing missing.

"Let's eat," Fang Yuan said with a smile.

The smile was warm and sweet, her flowing hair pinned up, secured with a hairpin, revealing her graceful neck, fair and rosy.

Lin Chuan was not the least bit bashful, having been quite active so many times the night before, he was not only tired but also extremely hungry. Fang Yuan herself had only served five dumplings and gave Lin Chuan fifteen. These dumplings were quite large, generally speaking, Fang Yuan would feel stuffed after five, but Lin Chuan ate all fifteen in one go.

"I have some more here." Fang Yuan quickly gave Lin Chuan the remaining three from her own plate as well.

Without reservation, Lin Chuan gobbled up one after another. The three dumplings disappeared in a matter of seconds.

"Eggs!" Fang Yuan hastily pushed the two eggs toward Lin Chuan.

"One for each!" Lin Chuan said with a smile, and then started to peel and eat the eggs.

Fang Yuan peeled her egg too, but after opening it, she stuffed it into Lin Chuan's mouth, her face flushed, saying, "You were tired last night, so eat a little more. Get some nourishment!"

Lin Chuan's face immediately reddened, and he awkwardly said, "Last night... last night..."

"It's okay. I will pretend nothing happened," Fang Yuan said with a slight smile.

"So..." Lin Chuan felt embarrassed.

"Right, the incident at Haiqing Pool was actually done by Thirteen Grand Protectors." Fang Yuan smiled as she looked at Lin Chuan.

"Ah?" Lin Chuan was surprised and asked, "How come it was him?"

"Hmm." Fang Yuan nodded, saying, "Under Thirteen Grand Protectors, there is a henchman named Fan Gu, and it was he who personally set the fire. So, you just need to find Fan Gu to clear up the whole matter."

"Thirteen Grand Protectors?!" Lin Chuan narrowed his eyes.

"The thing is, it sounds simple when talked about, but it's complicated when thought of." Fang Yuan revealed a wise smile, saying, "Thirteen Grand Protectors did this to frame the Northeast Tiger. Moreover, it's unlikely that anyone would think it was his doing. It's just unfortunate that Fan Gu is a regular at Night Color Bar. This guy blabbers nonsense whenever he's drunk."

"I see." Lin Chuan said with a cold smile, "Actually, after I talked to Northeast Tiger the night before yesterday, I had guessed that this incident was probably the work of Thirteen Grand Protectors. However, I had no concrete evidence, so…"

"Find Fan Gu, and everything will become clear, and you will also find what you're looking for." Fang Yuan said with an open smile.

"Hmm, I owe you big time this round!" Lin Chuan nodded.

"It's nothing!" Fang Yuan said with a smile: "It's just a fluke, and besides, it was no trouble at all."

"It was a great help nonetheless." Lin Chuan smiled and said, "Without you, I would have been searching for a needle in the ocean; who knows when I would have found any evidence!"

"Then… consider last night's happening as your way of thanking me." Fang Yuan bit her red lips.

Lin Chuan's face turned red again.

"I didn't expect you to blush too." Fang Yuan immediately burst into laughter, her smile beaming radiantly.

"I… I have to go." Lin Chuan said embarrassingly, "See you next time."

"Alright. I'll see you out!" Fang Yuan nodded.

"No… no need, I can walk myself." Lin Chuan picked up his coat from the chair and hurriedly walked out.

Thud...

He had just taken a few steps when his feet tripped over themselves, and he nearly stumbled.

"Lin Chuan, am I that frightening to you? Why are you running so fast?" Fang Yuan asked with feigned annoyance.

"I'm off!" Lin Chuan quickly pulled open the door and darted out.

Watching Lin Chuan's anxious departure, Fang Yuan couldn't help but laugh. This guy Lin Chuan could be quite adorable at times. Deep inside, Fang Yuan felt a sense of reluctance; alas, if it weren't for the organization's orders, she might never have approached Lin Chuan. Had she not approached Lin Chuan, she may never have discovered that such an outstanding man existed in this world. It's just too bad that this man would never truly belong to her.

It was not just because she was someone who could not be exposed to the light. More so because she was dirty, with a dirty heart, a dirty identity… everything dirty about her.

Fang Yuan hung her head low, standing upstairs, gazing through the floor-to-ceiling windows of the living room at Lin Chuan's gradually disappearing figure.

"Sigh..." Fang Yuan couldn't help but sigh.

Lin Chuan would not belong to her, even though she had been intimate with him, even though her body and heart already belonged to him. Yet, what Lin Chuan left her with, aside from some milky substance during moments of passion, was nothing else. All he left on her was the emotional release and the repressed pain in his heart.

Fang Yuan never gets drunk; last night was all an act. During her frenzy with Lin Chuan, she achieved a true physical and emotional connection with him. Therefore, she could feel the deep-seated pain in Lin Chuan's heart, the psychological trauma left from being a warrior on the battlefield, commonly referred to as combat stress.

It turns out that Lin Chuan, who looks sunny and handsome on the outside, also has such darkness inside him. It's truly unbelievable. Normally, warriors who suffer from combat stress seldom have a good end. American soldiers who served in Afghanistan and returned to the United States, even those who underwent psychological treatment and intervention, a significant portion of them still ended up in self-degradation or even suicide.

Combat stress is a psychological illness, a terminal psychological condition. It is ranked among the three major psychological disorders in the world, along with depression and even autism.

............

Haiqing Pool was a mess. Although it had been cleaned up thoroughly for a day, it was still impossible to hide the traces scorched by the fire.

Black liquid was everywhere.

That wooden staircase had completely turned into a lump of charcoal. Walking on it, there was a feeling of instability, as though it could collapse at any moment. Fortunately, the key parts of this wooden staircase were still solid, with no sense of falling apart.

A few underlings were clearing the scene, with lots of rubbish being transported out.

"Damn it, this is infuriating." One of the underlings said angrily: "With this mess, our losses are huge."

"That's right." Another one complained: "We're definitely going to get less bonus at the end of the year."

"If I catch the bastard who started this fire, I'll skin him alive!"

A group of people were shouting inside, each one louder than the last. Zhou Kai and his men, however, were busy working quietly.

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