“If you can’t sleep with Ruobing, then you can sleep here, and I’ll go to the living room.”
Jiang Lai looked calmly at her sister-in-law, who was pressing her down, and spoke of a solution as if nothing was wrong. If she really let her sister-in-law mess around like this, how would she be able to explain herself to the other two people in the house tomorrow morning?
Especially her own daughter. If her daughter found out that she was sharing a bed with Chi Yingyu, her precious little girl’s heart would definitely suffer a major blow.
Jiang Lai absolutely could not let them find out. No matter what was said tonight, she could never allow herself to be alone in a room with Chi Yingyu.
“It’s so late now, and the living room doesn’t have air conditioning—it’s so cold. If you sleep in the living room, you’ll catch a cold easily. Besides, the bed is big enough, so how could I let you sleep on the sofa, brother-in-law? What’s wrong with us sleeping together?”
Chi Yingyu was already wearing pajamas. She spread the blanket she had just snatched over herself and lay down on Jiang Lai’s bed, watching her brother-in-law still sitting on the bed hesitantly.
Her voice softened at this moment, her tone full of grievance and sadness. “Is brother-in-law really so unwilling to lie together with me?”
“This isn’t about whether I want to or not…”
“We’ve clearly been able to lie together before, in my room, haven’t we? Back then, Leyi was there too. Brother-in-law, what are you so worried about?”
Jiang Lai was at a loss under the gaze of her sister-in-law’s teary, aggrieved eyes. She looked like she was about to cry, but Jiang Lai could sense a certain coercion behind that expression. It was exactly the same as before.
Whenever someone important to her showed a sad face, Jiang Lai’s heart would instinctively soften.
That moment of weakness allowed Chi Yingyu to seize her opportunity. In an instant, she threw the blanket open and wrapped both herself and Jiang Lai in a tight embrace.
Pressed beneath her, Jiang Lai could feel nothing but darkness, Chi Yingyu’s weight and warmth on her body. Pulled under the blanket, Jiang Lai could clearly sense the heat from her sister-in-law, and her breath brushing against her skin.
If they were only lying together and doing nothing, Jiang Lai could accept it, as long as Chi Yingyu didn’t try to cross the line.
But how could Chi Yingyu not push her luck?
This time, Chi Yingyu used even more force than before, holding her tighter than ever, almost suffocating her, and making Jiang Lai feel a deep sense of threat.
Chi Yingyu clasped her arms tightly behind Jiang Lai, as if she would never let go for the rest of her life.
“Jiang Lai… why is it that only I can’t…?”
Chi Yingyu’s breath tickled Jiang Lai’s neck, making it itch terribly. Moreover, Chi Yingyu was wearing thin pajamas, and although it couldn’t be seen on the outside, she wasn’t wearing underwear underneath. With only a single layer of fabric between them, Jiang Lai’s cheeks started to burn.
And it wasn’t just Chi Yingyu. Jiang Lai herself hadn’t been wearing underwear to bed for a few days now. At first, she had, but after sleeping like that a few nights, the discomfort was unbearable—sometimes she’d wake up with red marks on her skin, so she simply stopped wearing any.
Clearly… clearly… it should have been Chi Yingyu who was on guard, afraid of what Jiang Lai might do, not the other way around. Why was the situation the complete opposite?
Chi Yingyu clung to the softness of Jiang Lai’s body almost greedily. Unlike before, when her body had been firm and resolute, now her brother-in-law was soft everywhere, and hugging her felt very comfortable.
If Chi Yingyu was satisfied just with hugging, Jiang Lai could accept it. But right now, her hands were growing more and more bold in Jiang Lai’s continued forbearance. Her hands slipped from Jiang Lai’s waist, becoming even more reckless, and she even tried to pull down her pajama pants.
“That’s enough!”
Sensing how far her sister-in-law was going, Jiang Lai’s rare patience was finally exhausted. She took a deep breath and forcefully pushed Chi Yingyu off her.
“Have I been too easy on you lately?”
Jiang Lai hadn’t wanted to get angry. When it was just the two of them, it was fine to spoil her a little—after all, nobody would see. She’d only stayed in her sister-in-law’s room for a while before returning to her own. But now, her daughter was in the house, and Xu Ruobing was there, too.
Xu Ruobing didn’t know their true relationship, but her own daughter—if she saw her father and aunt lying together in disarray, what would she think of them?
Jiang Lai’s voice turned stern. She looked down at her pajama top, which Chi Yingyu had half unbuttoned, her face flushed as she tightly clutched at her clothes.
“Yingyu… do you have to treat me like this?”
Jiang Lai’s voice trembled with a sob. “Why… I’ve really tried my best to forget everything that happened before. Why do you keep destroying my trust in you over and over again?”
Jiang Lai really hadn’t wanted to say these things. Why did Chi Yingyu keep forcing her? She couldn’t hold back her tears anymore.
Having just been pushed away, Chi Yingyu curled up alone under the covers, her momentum vanishing in an instant. She lay there quietly, like she knew she’d done wrong, and said nothing.
Seeing this, Jiang Lai worried she might have been too harsh, but if she didn’t show her anger, wouldn’t Chi Yingyu just keep pushing her further?
No matter what, they absolutely couldn’t—and could never—be together, and they definitely couldn’t cross that final line.
“You are the most important, the most important family member to me. I love you very, very much, but I’ve said it so many times, it’s impossible for the two of us—really impossible. At least, in my heart, I can never cross that line.”
Jiang Lai turned her face away in discomfort, not daring to look at her sister-in-law again. She had watched Chi Yingyu grow up, from a mischievous little girl to the charming woman she was now—she’d seen it all.
Jiang Lai just felt so wretched, like she couldn’t breathe. If she could, she wouldn’t want their relationship to end up so awkward—if it ever came to the point where there was nothing left of their dignity.
“I’m sorry, but my heart hurts so much, too…”
Chi Yingyu clutched her chest, eyes brimming with tears, her voice choked. “Jiang Lai, you understand the affection I’ve hidden for more than ten years. For all those years, I’ve always been by your side. Do I not even qualify to be your substitute in your heart?”