If Su Li had known that Shen Cishu used her own clothes to ease her loneliness, she wouldn’t have spent so much money buying those expensive outfits.
She wore those clothes mainly to recreate the situation between Shen Cishu and Bai Huizi’s mother.
After all, judging by their family backgrounds, their mother wouldn’t wear cheap clothes.
And the fact that Bai Huizi used her mother’s clothes to alleviate her loneliness was information Bai Huizi had passed on to her— something not found in the records on Shen Cishu.
Perhaps Shen Cishu never displayed a particularly strong motherly attachment in front of her sister.
Of course, Su Li always maintained respect and understanding toward her clients’ various strange habits.
She sat on the sofa, her gaze directed toward the bathroom.
There, a figure sat at the bathroom door, completely naked, her curves graceful, as if a perfect work of art.
Her skin shimmered softly under the light, like moonlight dancing on a lake’s surface, rippling gently.
Her figure was slender and proportioned, with a slim waist, rounded hips, and long, straight legs.
Her hair was casually draped over her shoulders, and her body occasionally bumped against the bathroom door behind her.
Though the sound wasn’t loud, in the quiet room, Su Li could hear it clearly.
She naturally understood what Shen Cishu was doing with her clothes.
After a long time, Shen Cishu slowly stepped out of the bathroom, her cheeks flushed, eyes darting about like a child caught doing something wrong, lowering her head shyly.
Feeling Su Li’s gaze upon her, she only met Su Li’s eyes for a moment before quickly looking away and then draping the clothes she held over the balcony railing.
Su Li’s gaze naturally followed the movement and looked out the window.
Outside, the scene was shrouded in deep darkness; the night was as black as ink.
The sky was filled with heavy clouds, like countless lead blocks piled up, oppressive enough to make one short of breath.
The wild wind howled past the window, letting out sharp whistles.
Trees bent and twisted under the storm’s rage, their leaves rustling wildly.
Distant buildings appeared faintly in the darkness; their glass windows rattled under the wind’s pounding, as if they might shatter at any moment.
On the street, the glow from the street lamps appeared especially dim in the damp air.
Occasionally, a few cars sped by, their headlights cutting through the darkness like two bright beams before quickly disappearing into the distance.
Pedestrians were nowhere to be seen, and the air was thick with a suffocating heaviness, as if time itself had frozen, waiting for the impending downpour.
It wouldn’t be long before a torrential rain arrived.
When Su Li left, she had naturally checked the weather forecast, and everything she was doing tonight was to stay over at Shen Cishu’s home.
There was some element of risk-taking in it as well.
Although she believed that with her appearance, it would be easy to lower someone’s guard, she still couldn’t be certain that Shen Cishu would allow her to stay the night.
After all, to both of them, they were still strangers who had only met twice.
Although Su Li had learned everything about her future client through the information Bai Huizi gave her, considering Shen Cishu’s personality, the chances of her letting Su Li stay over weren’t high.
Unless—
A flash of lightning tore across the sky, instantly illuminating the outside world like daylight,
Followed by a heavy roll of thunder, as if foretelling a pouring rain about to fall.
Su Li looked outside; the lightning streaked across the sky, lighting the room as brightly as day.
With the accompanying thunder’s rumble, she clearly felt Shen Cishu’s body trembling lightly in her arms.
She seemed to change completely, losing the composed elegance she usually displayed upon meeting someone.
She squatted on the floor, curling her body up, trembling slightly, mumbling softly to herself.
Even the clothes she had just cleaned had fallen to the ground.
All of this was within Su Li’s expectations.
As one of the people closest to Shen Cishu, Bai Huizi naturally knew her weaknesses.
The reason they chose to meet tonight was to use the thunder to push their relationship forward.
Su Li slowly moved toward where Shen Cishu sat, her tone filled with concern.
She ignored the clothes on the floor and instead pulled Shen Cishu gently into her arms.
“Are you alright?”
“Mom.”
Shen Cishu murmured softly, sensing Su Li’s warmth, a sudden inexplicable sense of security washing over her.
Like a drowning person clutching onto a lifeline, she held tightly onto Su Li.
Her trembling body pressed fully against Su Li’s chest, burying her face in her embrace.
Su Li felt the dampness trickling slowly down her neck and gently patted Shen Cishu’s back.
“It’s okay, it’s okay. Don’t be afraid, I’m here.”
She comforted softly, but felt Shen Cishu hugging her closer and closer, and as Shen Cishu moved, Su Li found herself gradually being pushed toward the corner of the room.
“Mom, I’m scared.”
Shen Cishu’s voice was filled with grievance, like a timid, fearful child.
“It’s okay, I’m here. I’ll sing you a song, Little Cishu.”
Su Li could only comfort her while gently stroking her head, imitating the tone of Shen Cishu’s mother and singing a lullaby to soothe her:
“The dark sky hangs low, bright stars follow close~”
“Song of the Insect, song of the insect~”
“Who are you thinking of~”
Su Li could feel Shen Cishu trembling even more noticeably.
This lullaby was also intelligence Bai Huizi had given her.
It was Shen Cishu’s favorite song.
While stroking Shen Cishu’s head, Su Li continued to comfort her.
Although Shen Cishu’s emotions had calmed down not long ago,
The thunder’s roar brought her back to that timid state again.
After a long time…
The thunder gradually subsided.
Shen Cishu’s mood relaxed significantly.
But she still buried her head in Su Li’s arms, unwilling to get up.
Rationality slowly took hold; she realized the person holding her now wasn’t her mother.
Yet she was unwilling to let go of Su Li, unwilling to leave her embrace.
Even knowing this person wasn’t her mother, she wanted to stay in her arms a little longer.
After a long while, Shen Cishu reluctantly rubbed herself against Su Li’s embrace.
Then she stood up, regaining her usual elegant and cold demeanor, her eyes full of caution as she looked at Su Li.
Shen Cishu stood quietly by the window, her figure like a cool white lotus, maintaining a detached distance from the noisy world.
Outside, heavy rain poured down, droplets pounding fiercely on the glass, creating a chaotic, urgent noise.
Her eyes were calm and deep as they stared at Su Li, sitting on the floor with wrinkled clothes from comforting her, and she said warily:
“Who exactly are you?”
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