The laptop arrived at 8:00 PM.
It wasn't the sleek, silver vanity project Fu had offered earlier. It was her old machine, a heavy, black workstation with a faint scratch near the hinge and keys that had been worn smooth by years of friction. It looked out of place on the mahogany desk of the Fu estate, like a piece of industrial shrapnel in a museum.
Yue stared at it for a long moment. She didn't move. She didn't breathe.
Fu was across the room, leaning against the doorframe. He had changed into a charcoal sweater, his sleeves pushed up, a glass of water in his hand. He was watching her with a silent, heavy curiosity.
"Is that the one?" he asked, his voice low.
"Yes," Yue said with a smile on her face.
Days went by as she content, always with her laptop.
To anyone watching, Yue was the picture of a subdued, introverted bride. She stayed indoors, curled up on the oversized window seat or tucked into the corner of the bed. She would giggle softly at her screen or scroll with a rhythmic, idle thumb, making it look exactly like she was lost in the colorful world of a Webtoon.
Even the staff whispered about how "sweet" and "simple" she was. Poor Miss Yue, they'd say, so shy she can barely look the Master in the eye, just hiding in her digital stories.
It was half the truth.
Underneath the layer of a romance story about a Duke and a Villainess, a terminal window was humming with the forced decryption of Wei's private cloud. Yue didn't trust people, people were volatile, cruel, and deceptive. But computers? Computers were reliable. If you knew how to talk to them, they never lied.
She had studied Computer Science. And right now, as she navigated the final handshake protocol of Wei's main server, she was the master of that world. Her pale skin was flushed from the heat of the machine, her eyes wide and electric with the thrill of the breach. She didn't look like a girl reading a webtoon.
The master suite was silent, the air heavy with the scent of the rain hitting the terrace outside. Yue was in the center of the massive bed, the laptop resting on her knees. Her pale skin was flushed from the heat of the machine, and she was wearing a silk slip that her mother-in-law had clearly chosen for its "fertility" appeal. To Yue, it was just comfortable. To anyone else, it was a provocation.
She was currently deep in the final handshake protocol of Wei's main server. Her eyes, usually so shy and downcast, were wide and electric with the thrill of the breach. She didn't look like a girl reading a webtoon.
The bathroom door opened.
Yue didn't flinch. She simply tapped a hotkey, and the black-and-green terminal window vanished, replaced instantly by a bright, pastel-colored panel of a webtoon. She let out a small, fake huff of a laugh, as if she were reacting to a clumsy protagonist.
Fu stepped out, a towel slung low around his waist, his chest still damp and steaming from the shower. He stopped, his gaze landing on the girl in the center of his bed.
"Still at it?" he asked, his voice a low, gravelly vibration that seemed to rattle the very frame of the bed.
"He just confessed to her," Yue whispered, her voice small and shy. "I had to see if she'd say yes."
Fu walked closer, the heat radiating off his body like a physical weight. He stopped at the edge of the mattress, looking down at the girl who seemed so innocent, so fragile, and yet... something wasn't clicking.
He had spent seven days watching her. He had felt the raw electricity when she sucked his finger.
"As long as you are happy, Yue," Fu murmured. He sat on the edge of the bed, the mattress dipping under his weight, bringing him dangerously close to her.
Yue's heart hammered a frantic rhythm against her ribs. She kept her gaze on the pastel screen. "They're just... safe. Nothing hurts in a story."
Fu reached out, his hand catching a lock of her long black hair, tucking it behind her ear. His fingers grazed her jaw, and the contact was like a lightning strike.
"Real life can be safe, too," he whispered, his voice dropping into that predatory register.
This is the perfect balance—the "Cat" is still holding back, his discipline warring with his desire, while the "Mouse" remains tucked into her digital world, a mix of genuine introversion and high-stakes secrets.
Chapter 15: The Seventh Night
The room was silent, save for the low hum of the air conditioner and the rustle of silk as Fu moved closer.
Yue didn't move. She couldn't. Her long black hair fanned out over her shoulders, a dark contrast against the pale cream of her silk slip. On her screen, a bright, pastel-colored panel of a webtoon stayed frozen—two characters caught in a dramatic rainstorm. To Fu, it was a harmless, shy girl's escape. To Yue, it was the only thing standing between her and the terminal window still humming in the background.
"Real life can be safe, too," he whispered.
His voice was a low vibration that seemed to travel through the mattress and straight into her bones. He leaned in, the scent of sandalwood and damp skin filling her senses, overwhelming the sterile smell of the electronics.
The line between them, the one they had honored for days, wasn't just thin anymore. It was a wire stretched so tight it was about to snap.
Fu's gaze dropped to her lips, which were still slightly parted in surprise. He looked at her, at the porcelain curve of her jaw and the way her eyes darted back to the screen as if searching for an exit.
I'm tired of the cold showers, Yue. The words were right there, heavy in his throat, a confession that would shatter the careful distance he had maintained.
He watched her for a long, agonizing beat. She looked so small against the vastness of the headboard, her fingers still resting near the trackpad. Fu took a deep, steadying breath, his chest expanding inches from her shoulder. He closed his eyes for a second, forcing the predator back into its cage.
"Go to sleep, Yue," he said, his voice rougher than usual. "It's late."
He didn't wait for her to answer. He pulled back, the heat of his body vanishing as he moved to his side of the bed. He reached for the lamp, and the room plunged into a soft, amber glow.
Yue sat frozen for a moment, her heart drumming a frantic rhythm. She felt the shift in the bed as he settled in, turning his back to her. She looked down at her screen. The Duke in the webtoon was still staring at the heroine.
She wasn't just a girl reading a story. She was a girl who had just dismantled a multi-million dollar encryption layer while her husband was in the shower. She was an introvert who found comfort in digital panels, but she was also the only person in the city who knew exactly how much Wei was about to lose.
Slowly, she closed the laptop. The click sounded deafening in the quiet room.
She slid under the heavy duvet, careful not to cross the invisible line, her back to his. She stared at the moonlight filtering through the heavy curtains of the Fu estate.
And as she closed her eyes, she realized that the safety Fu had promised felt a lot more dangerous than any code she had ever written.