HBWMA -Chapter 326 When Will You Grow Up?

Jiang Huashan turned around, pulled back her little pig tail, and plopped down onto the bed.

“Hold out your hand.”

The mattress bounced slightly as Shen Guiling’s body shifted with it. His gaze dimmed instantly, and he slowly extended his hand.

His hand was very beautiful—long fingers with distinct, jade-like knuckles. Even the red burn mark on the back of his hand did nothing to diminish its elegance.

The injury wasn’t serious, nor was there any blistering or signs of infection. Jiang Huashan glanced at it, then used a cotton swab dipped in burn ointment to carefully apply treatment.

During the entire process of applying medicine, neither of them spoke. Shen Guiling just kept watching her.

Jiang Huashan acted as if she didn’t notice, guiding the small cotton swab from the back of his hand to his fingertips, then from fingertips into the gaps between his fingers.

Shen Guiling’s hand trembled slightly.

“Don’t move.” She held his wrist down, her tone impatient.

Uncomfortable, Shen Guiling turned his head away, then secretly looked back at her. Seeing that she was genuinely and seriously applying the medicine, he felt a bit helpless.

At this moment, the burning sensation on the back of his hand had already faded. What felt hot now was somewhere else entirely.

“You…” he cleared his throat. “Didn’t you say you don’t know how to cook?”

Jiang Huashan paused mid-motion and looked up. “I just suddenly wanted to eat steak.”

Originally, she had planned to cook a meal to move Shen Guiling emotionally, but now it had become a joke—so she decided to never mention it again.

“And you? What happened this morning? Why did you break all the eggs in the kitchen? Mo Ran said you’re afraid of fire. If you’re afraid, why were you trying to boil eggs for me?”

Shen Guiling froze. He clearly hadn’t expected her to be so direct. He lowered his head, looked at the burn on his hand, and explained, “I’m not afraid of fire. I just accidentally dropped the eggs.”

“Really?” Jiang Huashan frowned. Had the information been wrong? She stared into his eyes. “You’re really not afraid?”

Shen Guiling nodded. “Really.”

Yao Yongwei’s threat had made him suddenly realize that someone with weaknesses had no right to fear. Right now, Jiang Huashan just wanted a bowl of noodles, and he couldn’t even provide that. With so many people in the future, what right did he have to claim he could win?

So he forcibly separated himself from his past memories—keeping only what he called “weakness” and “fear” behind.

Jiang Huashan tried to find traces of lying in his eyes.

But there were none.

He was very calm.

“……”

What kind of person was this?

He was afraid of fire in the morning, and by afternoon, after going out, he had already overcome it?

“What’s wrong with you?” she asked.

Jiang Huashan wrapped up the cotton swab, tossed it into the medical kit, and stood up. “Nothing. You rest well. I’ll go check whether Mo Ran finished cleaning up.”

She casually stood up and left the room.

The door closed.

Jiang Huashan immediately changed expression and hurried toward the living room.

“Mo assis—”

Before she could finish, there was a click inside the house. The power tripped, the lights went out instantly, and orange light flickered into view.

“Bang—”

At the same time, the main door closed softly.

Mo Ran quickly ran into the elevator, clasping her hands together in prayer. “Miss Jiang, I’m counting on you.”

“……”

Jiang Huashan looked at the glowing room, feeling utterly blown away.

After Shen Guiling left, she had spent the entire morning researching psychology. In the end, she only took three minutes to draft a plan titled “Helping the Little Pitiful Overcome Childhood Trauma.”

Shen Guiling was afraid of firelight, right? Then she would create a romantic, warm firelight memory to soothe his emotional wounds.

To ensure everything went smoothly, she had even shared her rescue plan with Mo Ran. Mo Ran had praised it endlessly, and they had split tasks.

Jiang Huashan would prepare a loving dinner at home, while Mo Ran went out to buy scented candles.

But no one expected Plan A to go wrong—Jiang Huashan nearly burned down the kitchen. Still, it was fine, they had Plan B.

Jiang Huashan had deliberately used “applying medicine” as an excuse to enter the bedroom, just to buy Mo Ran time to set up the scene.

But as they talked, she realized something was off again—Shen Guiling had actually overcome his fear on his own. What kind of mess was this?

So she rushed out to notify Mo Ran to cancel everything.

But it was already too late.

The flickering candlelight cast cross-shaped halos, intersecting like a galaxy in the dark curtain. But Jiang Huashan couldn’t appreciate any of it—her eyes were practically going blind.

What on earth—was Mo Ran a reincarnated octopus? How did she light hundreds of candles in just a few minutes?!

Headache!

Jiang Huashan glanced toward the hallway and quickly ran into the living room to blow them out.

Shen Guiling no longer feared fire. These candles were now only proof that she was an idiot.

“Huff, huff, huff—”

“What are you doing?”

Jiang Huashan was blowing out candles on the coffee table when she stiffened slightly. Then she straightened up as if nothing had happened.

“Oh, the power seems to be out. Mo Ran lit candles, but I think there are too many.”

Shen Guiling stood at the hallway entrance, watching her deeply.

The living room was filled with candlelight. Reflections on the glass doors shimmered in orange hues, filling the entire room with light.

She was also light.

Jiang Huashan tugged at her collar; blowing too hard made her a bit dizzy.

“There are too many candles—it’s kind of suffocating. You should talk to Mo Ran later. Don’t waste so much.”

After speaking, she casually glanced at him. “I’m tired. I’m going to sleep.”

She snuffed out the candles on the piano and walked lazily toward the hallway.

As they brushed past each other, her wrist was suddenly grabbed.

She stopped and looked up at him.

Candlelight flickered across the hallway wall. Shen Guiling stood in the light, eyes slightly raised, smiling faintly.

“Didn’t you want steak?”

Jiang Huashan shook off his hand, pulled down her little pig hat, and said unhappily, “I don’t want it anymore!”

She was already fed up.

Shen Guiling pulled her pig tail, dragging her closer, coaxing gently, “I’ll make it.”

“I said I don’t want it!” she snapped, tugging at her pig tail. She didn’t want to face the hundreds of candles in the living room at all.

Shen Guiling’s smile was barely contained. He lowered his voice. “I’ll definitely teach Mo Ran a lesson tomorrow.”

“……”

Jiang Huashan glanced at him sideways.

He knew he shouldn’t be smiling, but he couldn’t help it. His dazzling eyes were like a pool of spring water—too radiant, too reckless.

Why did she dislike his smugness so much?

On impulse, Jiang Huashan suddenly wrapped one arm around his neck, stood on tiptoe, and gave him a light kiss on the cheek.

【Ding—】

Shen Guiling’s eyelashes trembled slightly. The spring water in his eyes was swallowed by darkness.

【Congratulations. Hidden storyline “Heartwarming Arc: Saving the Little Pitiful” has been triggered…】

It worked!

Jiang Huashan froze—what a surprise!

She had always wondered what the threshold for increasing affection points was. Just now, acting on impulse, she had decided to go all in—since Shen Guiling had already misunderstood, she might as well make things worse.

And unexpectedly, she hit the mark.

Genius!

【……Progress: 99.9%】

Her smile froze instantly.

What?

99.9%?????

Why is there a decimal point?!

Before she could react, her chin was suddenly lifted firmly.

Shen Guiling looked down at her with gentle, lingering eyes.

“Why did you kiss me?”

He asked casually, as if what had just happened didn’t matter at all.

But Jiang Huashan knew that was only an illusion—because the warmth and pressure on her chin made it very clear…

He was excited.

The dim light and shadows flickered repeatedly between the two of them, their silhouettes on the floor overlapping in an almost entangled posture.

Being questioned in such a position meant that no matter how she answered, she would be at a disadvantage.

Jiang Huashan lightly rose onto her toes. The arms hanging around his neck subtly shifted direction as she tried to grab Shen Guiling’s wrist, wanting to pull his hand off her—but it didn’t budge at all.

“Shen Guiling, let go.”

Still daring to move? Shen Guiling’s fingers tightened as he lifted her chin, his predatory gaze falling directly on her lips.

“You still haven’t answered me. Why did you kiss me?”

“…”

Jiang Huashan opened her mouth and bit down on the base of his thumb.

Using brute force to act tough, Shen Guiling let her bite without resisting. His thumb slightly curved, casually brushing across the corner of her lips.

At this point, the atmosphere had already crossed the line of ambiguity.

Jiang Huashan couldn’t bring herself to bite harder anymore and stared at him wide-eyed. “Let go first, and I’ll tell you.”

Shen Guiling hesitated for a moment—he didn’t want to let go, but he needed the answer more. “Don’t lie to me.”

She raised her hand solemnly. “I won’t.”

After weighing it for a moment, Shen Guiling finally released her.

“It’s—” It’s your head!

Without any warning at all, Jiang Huashan turned and ran. Shen Guiling had already predicted this move of hers and grabbed the little pig tail on her hood, lifting her straight onto his shoulder.

Suddenly flipped upside down, Jiang Huashan furiously pinched his waist. “Shen Guiling! What are you doing? Put me down!”

Today was just cursed—she never should’ve worn this pig-themed pajamas. Her pig tail had been yanked all night.

Shen Guiling stiffened slightly and then dumped her onto the sofa bed in the living room.

“If you don’t explain today, don’t even think about sleeping.”

Explain how? Was she supposed to tell him that because he had casually given her a 99% “overpowered love package,” she’d accidentally fallen into a trap like a fool chasing freebies?

No way.

Jiang Huashan gave up completely, hugging a pillow and playing dead on the spot.

Not opening her mouth—what, could he torture a confession out of her?

“…”

Shen Guiling was almost amused by her rogue behavior. How was she this capable? In one night she’d managed to throw him into boiling oil three times emotionally.

After a moment of silence, he leaned down. One knee pressed against the edge of the soft couch, both hands braced on either side of her body. The sofa sank under their combined weight.

Jiang Huashan kept her eyes closed, looking serene.

Shen Guiling said calmly, “I forgot to tell you—people who are asleep don’t curl their feet.”

Jiang Huashan’s eyes snapped open.

Shen Guiling continued, “Your arches last night were practically bent into a C-shape.”

“…”

Her mentality exploded on the spot.

He was exposing her!

So he knew she was pretending to sleep!

How underhanded!

Jiang Huashan glared at him so hard her eyes looked like they were about to shimmer with tears.

Shen Guiling enjoyed her reaction very much, smiling slightly as he teased her. “Why were you pretending to sleep?”

“…”

“Because you were nervous?”

“…”

He gave a tactical smile and leaned closer. “Why were you nervous?”

“…”

The candlelight flickered, shadows passing across their faces. The air suddenly filled with an indescribably strange tension.

Knowing she wouldn’t answer, he lowered his gaze, the firelight illuminating the undisguised hint in his eyes. “Why did you kiss me? Why—”

Jiang Huashan suddenly shot up, wrapped her arms around his neck, and kissed the other side of his face again.

Another strike! She didn’t believe it!

“…”

Shen Guiling’s questioning stopped abruptly.

【Ding—】

【Congratulations, hidden storyline “Heart-Fluttering Arc: Saving the Little Waif” has been triggered…】

Jiang Huashan’s heart jumped into her throat.

【…progress: 99.99%】

“…”

Pfft. Dead.

At that moment, the silence between them was deafening.

A still frame of silence lasted three seconds, broken only by the stubborn flicker of the candle.

Then, both of them moved at the same time.

“Ah!” Jiang Huashan roared in fury, grabbing a pillow and smashing it straight at his face as she sprang up to run.

99.99%???????

Was that even a normal “likability value” for a human being?!

Shen Guiling tilted his head to dodge the pillow, then grabbed her pig tail the moment she jumped, dragging her back into his arms.

Jiang Huashan twisted around and hugged him in a sudden burst of strength, bouncing up and headbutting his chin.

Shen Guiling inhaled sharply in pain, catching her waist—and smacked her backside.

“!”

He actually hit her there?!

Jiang Huashan was instantly furious. She lifted her leg and kicked toward his groin.

“?”

Shen Guiling’s brow twitched. He immediately pinned her down—but in the chaos, his face landed into a soft mass. He didn’t react in time and instinctively grabbed it.

His hand was long and strong, veins faintly visible beneath pale skin. The force was obvious.

“Mm…”

The struggling little fish suddenly went quiet.

“….”

Shen Guiling’s mind short-circuited. After a few blank seconds, he finally remembered he was supposed to be gentlemanly and reluctantly loosened his grip.

He should explain.

Looking at her flushed face—whether from anger or embarrassment—the apology on his lips suddenly turned into:

“…So soft.”

Jiang Huashan’s eyes widened in disbelief.

“You’re the soft one! You’re the softest!”

Shen Guiling froze slightly, then looked down at himself. In an instant, he understood her implication.

A moment later, he laughed out loud, eyes curved with bright, spring-like amusement.

Jiang Huashan raised a brow and slowly sat up.

Was this turtle getting perverted? Was he enjoying being insulted now?

Shen Guiling reached out and patted her head gently, his voice soft and indulgent.

“Jiang Huashan, when are you going to grow up? I’m getting a little impatient.”

“…Gross,” she muttered, pretending not to understand, hopping off the sofa edge.

But after that interruption, Shen Guiling didn’t seem to care anymore about why she had kissed him.

Ding dong—

Suddenly, the doorbell rang.

Jiang Huashan’s eyes lit up. Mo Ran had finally done something reliable for once. She dashed toward the door like she was being rescued.

Shen Guiling lowered his head to adjust his collar. “You’d better not open that door now.”

Yeah right. Only an idiot would listen to you.

Barefoot, Jiang Huashan quickly flung the door open.

“Assistant Mo, come collect the candl—”

A cold gust of wind blew through the corridor.

The young man lifted his eyes, revealing a noble and strikingly refined face.

“…Assistant Mo?”