Heartbeat - Chapter 34

“Alright, it’s almost midnight. Here’s the air conditioning quilt for you, and I’ll take the blanket. Let’s get into bed and go to sleep,” Shen Xun said, tossing a pink air conditioning quilt to Su Jianyue.

Su Jianyue’s eyes lit up at the sight of her favorite color. She glanced uncertainly at Shen Xun and asked, “Sister, can I really sleep in the bed?”

“Absolutely, no question about it. I can’t let my Little Puppy sleep on the floor and catch a cold, can I?” Shen Xun ruffled Su Jianyue’s hair with a smile.

“You’re the best, Sister!” Su Jianyue replied sweetly. With her sister here, she wasn’t afraid of ghosts anymore!

Su Jianyue neatly placed her pillow on the right side of the bed, then obediently climbed in with her quilt.

Seeing the Little Puppy settled in, Shen Xun lay down beside her and switched off the main room light.

Turning to Su Jianyue, Shen Xun asked, “Can I turn off the bedside lamp? Are you still scared?”

“Sister, please don’t turn it off yet,” Su Jianyue pleaded. Even with her sister here, she would still be afraid in the dark.

Shen Xun chuckled softly. “Alright, let’s sleep like this for now.”

“Mmm-hmm!” Su Jianyue nodded in agreement.

With someone she felt safe with by her side, Su Jianyue fell asleep almost immediately after lying down.

Shen Xun, still awake, waited until Su Jianyue’s breathing had settled into a steady rhythm, indicating she was asleep, before turning off the bedside lamp.

With all the lights off, they could both fall into a deeper sleep. Soon, Shen Xun drifted off as well.

While Su Jianyue and Shen Xun slept soundly, the Live Stream viewers were going wild.

At night, the personal cameramen assigned to each guest returned to their rooms to rest. The cameras in the guests’ rooms were covered before they went to sleep, but the fixed cameras in the hallways and villa lobby remained operational, broadcasting 24/7. However, few viewers bothered to watch these streams late at night—even gossip-hungry netizens needed their sleep.

Still, a handful of die-hard fans remained glued to the hallway stream. The moment Su Jianyue was caught on camera, pillow in hand, heading to Shen Xun’s room, the few viewers in the chat exploded. Bullet comments flooded the screen:

Wait, am I seeing things? Did Su Jianyue just go to Shen Xun’s room with a pillow?

Guys, is this real? Is this really happening? Is this actually happening?!

Ahhh! When did they get together? I need all the details! Please? Yes!

Oh my god! My shipping pair actually came true! Ahhh! I’m posting this to the Super Topic right now! No one’s sleeping tonight!

They’re seriously perfect for each other, in every way! Waaah! My Xun Yue CP is real!

The video clip quickly spread to the Super Topic. Many night owls were still awake past midnight, and when they saw the clip, CP fans swarmed in. The Live Stream’s viewership skyrocketed, and curious onlookers also tuned in for the drama.

Weibo exploded. The top trending searches were all about Shen Xun and Su Jianyue:

#My Xun Yue CP is real!

#Su Jianyue goes to Shen Xun’s room late at night

#Heartbeat Emergency: Pairing success confirmed early?

#Shen Xun and Su Jianyue are together!

The trending topics went viral almost instantly. Mo Yuxin, who had already fallen asleep, was woken up by a call from her secretary in the middle of the night. She was furious.

However, her secretary had never called her at such an hour before, so it must be an emergency.

Su Yubing, also awakened by the noise, asked groggily, “Who is it? Calling this late?”

Mo Yuxin gently patted Su Yubing’s back, soothingly saying, “It’s my secretary. Probably something urgent. I’ll take the call on the balcony. You go back to sleep.”

Su Yubing switched on the bedside lamp and looked at Mo Yuxin. “I’m already awake. Just take the call here.”

“Alright,” Mo Yuxin said, answering the phone.

“President Mo, have you seen today’s trending topics?” the secretary asked excitedly.

Mo Yuxin was already getting annoyed. “Don’t tell me you’re calling me in the middle of the night just to tell me about trending topics.”

Sensing Mo Yuxin’s displeasure, the secretary quickly explained, “Boss, it seems your daughter and Shen Xun are together. The cameras in the corridor of their show captured Xiao Yueliang going to Shen Xun’s room last night and staying there until now.”

“What?” Mo Yuxin was stunned. My daughter, who usually only cares about eating and drinking, is actually with Shen Xun?

“Alright, I understand,” Mo Yuxin said, hanging up. She still looked dazed as she turned to Su Yubing.

Su Yubing asked, “What’s wrong? Is something serious happening?”

“My secretary said Xiao Yueliang and Xunxun seem to be together. They apparently slept in the same room last night,” Mo Yuxin replied.

Su Yubing sat up, a hint of disbelief in her voice. “Really? Xiao Yueliang isn’t even interested in romance. How could she understand something like that?”

“I don’t know. Let’s check Weibo,” Mo Yuxin said, pulling out her phone and opening the app. She and Su Yubing leaned in to look at the screen together.

The top post under the trending topic featured a video. In it, Su Jianyue obediently hugged a pillow as she went to Shen Xun’s room. Shen Xun opened the door, and after a brief exchange, she let Su Jianyue in. After that, Su Jianyue never left Shen Xun’s room.

“Judging by the video, they slept together,” Su Yubing analyzed, “but I’m sure it was just sleeping. I know my daughter.”

Mo Yuxin nodded in agreement. “Probably watched a scary movie at night. Our little Yueliang must have gotten scared and went to her sister.”

Su Yubing nodded again. “That makes sense.”

Having figured it out, Mo Yuxin and Su Yubing relaxed and went back to sleep. Knowing their daughters well, they were confident nothing would happen between the two girls, so they felt relatively at ease.

Meanwhile, Shen Tian and Lu Ningwan had also heard the news and were watching the same video.

Shen Tian grew anxious. She turned to Lu Ningwan and asked, “Do you think Xiao Yueliang would bully Xunxun?”

Though Lu Ningwan was also slightly worried about her daughter, she reassured Shen Tian, “It should be fine. Xunxun has always been sensible. Even if she and Xiao Yueliang like each other, they wouldn’t do anything inappropriate on the show.”

“That’s true. Xunxun has always been reliable,” Shen Tian said, finally feeling a bit relieved.

“Yes, it’s hard to believe they’ve grown up so fast,” Lu Ningwan mused. “But them being together is a good thing. Xiao Yueliang is so sweet and knows how to handle things. Our families know each other well, so it’s not a bad match at all.”

“Exactly. We’ve practically watched Xiao Yueliang grow up. If they really end up together, we can rest easy,” Shen Tian agreed. She was very fond of Su Jianyue, who was always so charming and brought laughter to their home whenever she visited.

“Hmm, we should tell Mom and the others about this. It’ll make them happy too,” Lu Ningwan suggested after a moment’s thought.

“They’re still on vacation overseas, aren’t they? They said they won’t be back until the end of the year,” Shen Tian replied, her voice tinged with envy.

Lu Ningwan smiled reassuringly. “It won’t be long now. Once Xunxun takes over the company, we can finally travel and relax like Mom and Dad do.”

“That sounds wonderful!”

After chatting for a while longer, the two drifted off to sleep. Trusting their daughter completely and having faith in Su Jianyue’s character, Shen Xun and Lu Ningwan weren’t overly concerned.

While the families slept soundly, netizens were in a frenzy. Their eyes were wide as saucers, some even staying up all night just to see when Su Jianyue would emerge from Shen Xun’s room.

Director Cheng Fei, meanwhile, was beaming with delight. Their show had been airing for only a few days, but its popularity was soaring. The only snag was 30 Days of Wilderness Survival, a rival program that kept dominating the trending topics, making Cheng Fei anxious.

But before he could even hire social media influencers or buy promotional slots, Shen Xun and Su Jianyue single-handedly propelled their show to the top of the trending charts. The top few trending topics were all related to their program.

In his hotel room, Cheng Fei’s grin nearly split his face. The ten million yuan they’d spent on securing Shen Xun and Su Jianyue had been worth every penny. They’d saved a fortune on marketing costs—these two stars alone kept their show trending every few days.

Su Jianyue, sound asleep and smelling sweetly, remained completely unaware of the online frenzy. Many netizens had stayed up all night, eagerly waiting for her to appear.

She slept soundly until 8 a.m. When she finally opened her eyes, Su Jianyue felt disoriented.

This doesn’t look like my room, she thought. Glancing to the side, she remembered that she had been afraid of ghosts the previous night and had come to sleep with her sister, clutching her pillow.

Sensing movement beside her, Shen Xun also opened her eyes. Seeing Little Puppy already sitting up, Shen Xun beckoned Su Jianyue over.

Su Jianyue obediently scooted closer. Shen Xun reached out to ruffle her hair and pinch her cheek. “Such a good Little Puppy,” she murmured.

“Hehe, Sister, can I wash up here? Will you come back to my room with me later so I can change?” Su Jianyue asked, tugging playfully on Shen Xun’s wrist.

Shen Xun chuckled, looking at Su Jianyue. “Still scared even in broad daylight? It was just a movie, you know. All fake.”

“N-no, I’m not scared,” Su Jianyue stammered, feeling a little guilty. “I just… don’t want to be alone.”

Shen Xun chuckled at the Little Puppy’s stubbornness and nodded in agreement. “Alright, go wash up first.”

“Mm-hmm, Sister, do you have a disposable toothbrush?”

“Yes, it’s in the drawer under the sink. Help yourself.” Shen Xun got out of bed and began tidying the messy sheets while waiting for Su Jianyue to finish washing up.

About fifteen minutes later, Su Jianyue emerged from Shen Xun’s bathroom. “Sister, you can go now. I’ll wait here for you.”

Looking at the clingy Little Puppy, Shen Xun smiled helplessly. She went to the bathroom to wash up, put on makeup, and change her clothes.

Once she was ready, Shen Xun put on her personal microphone and removed the cover from the room’s camera.

“Good morning, everyone! It’s almost time to head downstairs. It’s already eight o’clock,” Shen Xun greeted the camera with a cheerful wave, then opened the door and went to Su Jianyue’s room.

After returning to her room, Su Jianyue changed her clothes, put on her personal microphone, and removed the cover from her own camera.

Shen Xunhai leaned in to wave at the camera in Su Jianyue’s room.

Meanwhile, the live stream’s bullet comments were filled with mournful cries:

Seriously? I stayed up all night, how could you two sleep so soundly?

Judging by their complexion, they must have slept like babies. Not a hint of dark circles.

Aaaah! Who understands? I stayed up all night watching the live stream just for the drama!

Same here! Now I’m sitting at my desk with two massive dark circles, nodding off.

What exactly were you two doing in the room last night? Mommy wants to know! No lying to Mommy!

Exactly! No keeping secrets from us!

Completely unaware of the chaos that had unfolded online the previous night, Su Jianyue and Shen Xunhai played around with the camera for a while before heading downstairs together.

Yan Huan and Xu Yidi were already waiting on the first floor. The guests, without their phones, remained oblivious to the online frenzy, but the staff were fully aware of the situation.

When the two protagonists of last night’s trending topics appeared, Yan Huan and Xu Yidi exchanged a meaningful glance, then quickly separated to begin filming for the day.