“Be careful not to catch a cold. You should change your clothes in a bit…”
“Is it because this outfit isn’t pretty enough, or not sexy enough?”
“Neither.”
Jiang Lai turned around and glanced at the beautiful, sexy nightgown Chi Yingyu was wearing. His heart, which should have remained calm, suddenly began to throb violently. “It’s very pretty, very beautiful, but it’s not allowed.”
Before he could finish his sentence, Jiang Lai used the quilt, still warm with his own body heat, to wrap Chi Yingyu up tightly.
Jiang Lai was unwilling to let himself indulge too much in Chi Yingyu’s beauty. If his final line of defense crumbled, how could he face his wife in the future? He wasn’t using the past as a shield; he simply couldn’t accept all of this yet, nor could he truly let go of his emotions. Chi Yingyu could afford to be ignorant or reckless, but Jiang Lai could not—at least not now. He could not cross that boundary so easily.
Watching Jiang Lai get up to wash up, Chi Yingyu knew her brother-in-law was just being shy. Although their progress lately had been lightning-fast and she had easily obtained things she once only dared to dream of, she felt a sense of triumph. She thought that if Xu Ruobing were to appear before her now, she could look at her with pride.
Whether in terms of physical intimacy or emotional importance, Chi Yingyu no longer felt inferior. She would never give up her brother-in-law for anyone, not even her own sister.
After Jiang Lai left the bedroom, Chi Yingyu didn’t rush out to cling to him immediately. Instead, she stayed under the covers, savoring the lingering warmth and scent he had left behind.
Sometimes she felt she had become too “spoiled” lately. In the past, a bedsheet smelling of him would have been a sacred treasure, but now it felt a bit plain. If she craved his scent, she could just go over and bury her face in him; if she wanted his warmth, she could simply wrap her arms around his waist. Everything she had now was beyond her wildest imagination, yet her heart was like a black hole—it only wanted more and more.
After soaking in the warmth of the quilt, she rummaged through Jiang Lai’s wardrobe to find something suitable to wear, knowing he couldn’t handle her dressing too provocatively.
I wonder, she thought, exactly how I should seduce him to make him take the initiative to undress me?
Once changed, Chi Yingyu walked out of the room. Seeing Jiang Lai washing up in the bathroom, she went straight to him, hugged his waist from behind, and leaned in to sniff the fragrance at the nape of his neck, taking a deep, greedy breath.
Jiang Lai was already used to this. He gave her a simple glance to confirm she had changed clothes and then retracted his gaze. Although the shirt she wore belonged to him, she had at least followed his request.
Jiang Lai was about to tell her she was being very “good”—and good children deserve rewards—but before he could speak, the phone charging on the living room table began to ring.
Before he could move, Chi Yingyu dashed over like a puppy eager to show off, bringing the phone to him.
The number on the screen was unsaved, but the moment Jiang Lai saw the digits, he froze. It was Si Yina’s number. He didn’t know why this person was calling him again. His instinct was to hang up and block her, but there was still a “promise” between them.
The frozen, fearful look on Jiang Lai’s face did not escape Chi Yingyu. She could only think of one person who could make her brother-in-law look so terrified.
“Is it Si Yina?”
Looking at the anxious Chi Yingyu, Jiang Lai chose not to hide it this time. He truthfully explained what had happened between him and Si Yina and the promise they had made.
“This is outrageous!”
Chi Yingyu wanted to curse out loud on the spot, but she restrained her image in front of Jiang Lai. Even so, the urge to kill was evident in her eyes. “Give me the phone. I’m going to scold her.”
Despite her efforts to stay calm, her eyes burned with uncontrollable rage.
Jiang Lai didn’t want to answer. He wanted nothing to do with that woman ever again. But remembering their fallout on the resort island, he bit his lip and ultimately chose to pick up. He couldn’t guarantee what Si Yina might do behind his back if he ignored her. She was a time bomb that could detonate at any moment.
Jiang Lai gently squeezed Chi Yingyu’s hand to calm her down, and only after soothing his sister-in-law did he answer the call.
The moment the call connected, Si Yina’s raspy voice came through from the other end.
“Jiang Lai, do you miss me?”
Faced with such pleasantries, Jiang Lai responded coldly, “I don’t miss you. Why are you calling now?”
“To ask you out, of course. Don’t we have two meetings left in our agreement? I want to use them now.”
“Agreement? You still care about the agreement? If you respected our agreement, would you have done what you did before? I will never meet you again. You were the first to violate everything between us. Consider the agreement void. Don’t harass us ever again.”
Jiang Lai expected his words to make her angry, but the reaction from the other end was much colder than he imagined—as if she had already anticipated his answer.
“It’s okay. If the agreement is void, it’s void. But you’re still going to see me.”
“Why?”
Jiang Lai found her confidence baffling, but a deep sense of unease began to stir in his gut. Why was she so certain?
While Jiang Lai was wondering what leverage she had, a notification popped up. He opened a photo sent via a chat app. In the image was a very familiar silhouette of a back. Even though it was taken from a distance, he could clearly identify his own daughter in the photo.
The moment he saw the picture, Jiang Lai roared at the phone, “What exactly do you want?!”