Waaah, I'm being forced into loving my yandere wife's brain.

Shen Jin paused for a moment, then kissed her even deeper.

His tongue finally slipped inside, not very deep, but just lightly brushing against the junction of his lips and teeth. He paused for a moment when he touched her tongue, then withdrew without entwining with it.

Lin Zhiyao felt like she was suffocating.

It's not the physical suffocation of being kissed, but the suffocation of having all your senses completely taken over by one person.

She could smell the mint on him, feel the warmth of his fingertips against her waist, and hear their intertwined breaths, but her mind was blank, unable to think of anything.

When Shen Jin stepped back, Lin Zhiyao's lips were already a little red. They weren't swollen, but rather a natural, slight flush from being repeatedly pressed against her lips. They were moist and glistened with a thin sheen under the soft light.

Her eyes were red and wet at the corners, and there was a little moisture on her eyelashes, which had seeped out at some point.

She looked like she had been badly bullied, slumped against the sofa cushions, her chest heaving as she gasped for breath.

Her almond-shaped eyes were also misty and dreamy, as if they were filled with water.

Shen Jin looked at her like this, and his gaze darkened.

He raised his hand, his thumb lightly pressing against her lower lip, slowly tracing it from one end to the other, as if checking something, or perhaps simply wanting to touch it.

"Much more relaxed than before." Shen Jin's voice was a little lower than usual, and his speech was slower. Each word seemed to roll out from his throat, low and alluring. "Great."

Lin Zhiyao's ears turned red from the praise.

She couldn't speak, she could only lower her eyes, her eyelashes fluttering a few times, wet like butterfly wings that had just been rained on.

Shen Jin looked at her for two more seconds, then withdrew his hand, stood up, took a step back, and widened the distance between them again.

In that instant, he reverted to his aloof and indifferent movie star persona, as if he wasn't the one who had just kissed that young girl until her eyes were red.

"This time it really is tomorrow," Shen Jin said, his tone returning to its usual calm, a polite smile playing on his lips. "I'll have Xiao Zhou take you home."

Lin Zhiyao slowly sat up straight, tucked her hair behind her ears, and her fingers were still trembling slightly.

She responded with a soft "Mmm," her voice hoarse and nasal, "Teacher Shen, I'll be going now."

After saying that, he stood up, slung his canvas bag over his shoulder, and headed for the door.

Shen Jin looked at her with his water glass in hand, but didn't try to stop her. He only said, "The room code is 2312. Come up by yourself tomorrow."

Lin Zhiyao paused, turned her head and glanced at him.

Shen Jin remained calm and even continued drinking water.

Lin Zhiyao quickly looked away and continued walking out. As she passed Shen Jin, she smelled the mint scent getting stronger. She instinctively paused for a moment, then quickened her pace and fled the suite as if escaping.

Xiao Zhou was already waiting at the door. When he saw Lin Zhiyao come out, he nodded politely and led her towards the elevator.

The elevator was cold as the heating wasn't on. Seeing that she didn't want to talk much, Xiao Zhou considerately avoided further interaction, simply asking for her address before standing aside and pretending to be invisible.

Lin Zhiyao breathed a slight sigh of relief, her tension subsiding. She leaned against the elevator wall, closed her eyes, and waited for a while until the heat on her face subsided somewhat.

Lin Zhiyao raised her hand and touched her lips with her fingertips.

It's still hot.

Does Teacher Shen really not know how to kiss? She's clearly so good at it.

*

As Lin Zhiyao stepped out of the hotel, the night wind rushed towards her, making her shrink her neck in the cold.

Xiao Zhou drove her to the entrance of the old residential area. She thanked him and turned to walk into the narrow alley without streetlights.

When she went upstairs, the motion-activated lights were broken on two floors. She climbed up in the dark, stood at the door for a while, and then took out her key to open the door.

The room was dark and quiet.

Lin Zhiyao put down her canvas bag and gently pushed open the bedroom door. Her mother was lying on her side on the bed, seemingly asleep. Several medicine bottles and a nightlight that was not turned off were on the bedside table.

Lin Zhiyao squatted down and looked at her mother's face.

He was only in his forties, but he looked ten years older. Most of his hair had fallen out, revealing a bluish-gray scalp. His cheeks were sunken, his cheekbones were high, his eye sockets were deep, and his lips were dry and chapped.

The veins on the back of his hand, visible under the blanket, were bulging, and his skin was as thin as paper.

Lin Zhiyao felt a lump in her throat, but she held it back.

She remembered how her mother used to squat by her bedside and watch her sleep when she was little.

Back then, my mother was very young, with long, black hair. She could play the piano and spoke softly. She was the gentlest and most beautiful person I had ever met.

After her father passed away, her mother raised her alone, working during the day and doing part-time jobs at night, saving every penny to support her education, and never touched a piano again.

Lin Zhiyao sniffed softly, took the medicine out of the bag, and placed the bottles one by one on the bedside table.

The mother stirred, groggily opened her eyes, saw it was her, and said in a hoarse voice, "You're back?"

"Okay." Lin Zhiyao lowered her voice. "Mom, I bought the medicine. Remember to take it tomorrow."

Her mother tried to sit up, supporting herself with her hands, so Lin Zhiyao quickly helped her and put a pillow behind her back.

"Have you eaten?" the mother asked.

"I ate it. It was the crew's boxed lunch, and it was pretty good."

Lin Zhiyao smiled and pulled the blanket up a little.

Her mother looked at her, a glimmer of light in her cloudy eyes, and asked, "Are you tired today?"

"Not tired."

Lin Zhiyao held her mother's hand.

Those hands were rough and thin, with prominent knuckles, completely different from the slender fingers that flew across the black and white piano keys in her memory.

Lin Zhiyao almost burst into tears just looking at it.

"Mom, the doctor called me today and said you're recovering well. Your test results are steadily decreasing, and as long as you continue to manage them, there's a great chance you'll recover completely."

She finished speaking in one breath, her voice trembling slightly, but the corners of her mouth remained turned up.

The mother paused for a moment, and her eyes slowly reddened.

Lin Zhiyao pressed her mother's hand against her face and rubbed it affectionately. "Mom, you will get better."

"I spoke to our director today, and he said I did a good job and that I can work for him from now on. I've found a good job, and I'll be able to earn money in the future, so you can focus on getting better."

Besides her internship, she also takes on many photo editing projects from fan site administrators, which bring in a decent income. Although covering cancer treatment and various living expenses is still financially challenging, at least she's not driven to the brink of despair.

The mother's lips trembled a few times, but she couldn't say a word, and tears streamed down her cheeks.

Lin Zhiyao also cried, but she was smiling. Even as the tears fell, the corners of her mouth were still turned up. "Really, Mom, don't worry about the money. I've already inquired. Medical insurance can cover most of it, and I'll figure out the rest."

Her mother reached out and touched her head, the touch so gentle it was as if she were afraid of breaking her, her eyes filled with heartache. "Yaoyao, it's Mom who's a burden to you."

"No." Lin Zhiyao shook her head, her eyes filled with tears. "You're not a burden to me at all."

The mother didn't say anything more, but simply pulled her into her arms and held her like she did when she was a child.

Lin Zhiyao buried her face in her mother's shoulder, smelling the familiar scent of laundry detergent mixed with a hint of medicine.

She closed her eyes.

The living room lights were off, but a sliver of light from distant high-rise buildings shone through the window, casting a blurry white line on the floor.

Lin Zhiyao suddenly remembered the warm yellow lights in the hotel suite, the exquisite food boxes on the coffee table, and Shen Jin leaning back on the sofa drinking sparkling water.

They were like living in two different worlds.

Lin Zhiyao took a deep breath, clearing those images from her mind. She raised her head, wiped her face with her sleeve, and smiled at her mother.

"Mom, let me get you a glass of water."

After my mother took her medicine and fell asleep.

Lin Zhiyao tidied up quickly and lay down on the bed.

But she tossed and turned, unable to sleep.

As soon as Lin Zhiyao closed her eyes, Shen Jin's face appeared in her mind.

His low, hoarse voice emerged, along with the warmth of his lips and hands against mine, and the firmness of his warm hands holding the back of my head.

Lin Zhiyao's face was burning. She buried herself in the blanket and silently told herself several times not to think about it anymore before she could barely suppress those blush-inducing thoughts.