<h4>Chapter 549: Chapter 548 Silent Love (8)</h4>


    As their eyes met and their breaths entangled in such an intimate and poignant moment, Ling Chuxia was so frightened that she immediately sprang up from the bed. Her mind went nk, and she started to blurt out an exnation, "I... I, I don’t know how I ended up sleeping here!"


    There was still a touch ofnguidness in Shi Che’s deep, dark eyes from just having woken up. Yet, within a second, they became serious. He too sat up without saying a word, his dark eyes fixed steadily on Ling Chuxia.


    His gaze made Ling Chuxia’s hair stand on end, and she couldn’t help but swallow hard, continuing her exnation, "I, I slept on the sofast night, really! I didn’t sleep on the bed!"


    Yes, indeed, she had slept on the sofa, and she hadn’t gotten up in the night. So how did she end up in bed? Could it be...


    Ling Chuxia suddenly looked up at Shi Che, her eyes narrowing slightly, "Could it be you...?"


    She didn’t finish her sentence when Shi Che’s lips curved up in a slight smile, his handsome face breaking into a devilishly charming grin, but his voice was indifferent, "All I remember is thatst night, someone took the initiative to kiss me."


    "...!" All the words in Ling Chuxia’s throat, all her suspicions, were instantly suppressed by his statement.


    His words meant that he was dead drunk afterward. How could he possibly have held her?


    It was over. It seemed like she herself, in a dazed and half-asleep state, must have unconsciously climbed into bed, and eveny so close to him... It was probably just a subconscious act after falling asleep.


    Caught red-handed by Shi Che, how was she supposed to exin herself now?


    Ling Chuxia bit her lower lip in annoyance, yet she still retorted with a stiff neck, "I... I didn’t kiss you on purpose, that, that was an ident."


    Shi Che’s dark eyeszily swept over her, his lips turning up mischievously, "Kissing me was an ident, so what about getting into my bed? Did you identally climb in as well?"


    Now Ling Chuxia really had noeback. She just feigned death, muttering vaguely, "You, you, you’re still drunk, still dreaming, none of this is real, it’s not real!"


    Ling Chuxia managed to squeeze out these words, then quickly slipped out of bed, rushed into the bathroom, and mmed the door shut.


    Listening to her evasive words, the smile at the corner of Shi Che’s lips grew wider as heughed silently.


    -


    In the days that followed, a subtle change developed inexplicably between the two of them. Ling Chuxia couldn’t quite put it into words, but she felt that Shi Che had be much gentler. He no longer spoke to her with cold harshness, nor did he deliberately make things difficult for her, and asionally, she would catch a glimpse of his soft smile.


    She didn’t know why he had suddenly changed, but this new version of him allowed her heart to gradually settle. No more trembling with trepidation, no more cringing in fear.


    Moreover, sometimes, when she sneaked looks at him, even when he did nothing, said nothing, her heart felt as if a flower could bloom within.


    When she had agreed to Shi Che’s ten-day agreement, she thought those days would be excruciatingly long. But now, these ten days seemed like a gift from the heavens, a wonderful gift, so beautiful that... she even started to fear their swift passage.


    Yet, as afraid as she was, time passed just like that, and seven days had blinked by.


    Tonight, Shi Che had arranged a dinner with a client, and he had booked the entire restaurant. Ling Chuxia couldn’t understand why. It was a business meeting, not a date, so why book the entire establishment? But since Shi Che said to book it, she had no choice but to follow through.