Font Size:
Jiang Yining lay on the bed, the sweet scent of milk still lingering faintly in the air, refusing to dissipate.
Her mind kept replaying the moment she kissed He Chi, and the corners of her lips unconsciously curled up.
She had never dared imagine she could one day marry He Chi. The sudden rush of happiness was almost dizzying, and what little reason she had left seemed to melt away in his presence.
Now lying in He Chi’s bed, surrounded by his scent, she couldn’t fall asleep. So she decided to bother Zhang Qiao instead.
Jiang Yining: “Are you asleep?”
Zhang Qiao replied almost instantly: “Nope. What’s wrong, too excited to sleep now that you’re living with He Chi? Or is it that staying in that luxurious apartment has you so overjoyed you’ve lost sleep?”
Zhang Qiao confidently added: “I’m betting on the first one.”
Jiang Yining had just finished reading that message when another one came through:
“Wait—how do you still have the time to text me if you’re lying in the same bed as He Chi?”
She didn’t want to admit that she and He Chi were temporarily sleeping in separate rooms. If Zhang Qiao found out, she’d never hear the end of it.
Jiang Yining: “Going to sleep. Good night!”
On the other end, Zhang Qiao grew increasingly suspicious. She knew Jiang Yining’s routine well. If nothing unusual was going on, she would’ve been fast asleep by 11:30 p.m. at the latest.
Now it was already 1 a.m., and Jiang Yining was still sending messages?
Zhang Qiao: “Don’t tell me… you two are sleeping in separate rooms?”
Jiang Yining: “Asleep. Do not disturb.”
Zhang Qiao: “……”
What a coward!
Jiang Yining had planned to sleep right after replying to Zhang Qiao, but then a text message lit up her screen:
“Jiang Yining, I never expected you to be this cold-hearted. My mom is still your elder. Even if you don’t respect her, now you’re trying to kick your own father out? Aren’t you afraid of getting struck by lightning?”
She had once added Zhao Jiajia on WeChat, but after a falling out, Zhao Jiajia deleted her first.
Later, Zhao Jiajia tried to re-add her, but Jiang Yining ignored it.
She didn’t recognize Zhao Jiajia’s number, but judging from the tone, there was no doubt it was her.
Jiang Yining gave a cold snort and replied: “Idiot.”
Then she immediately blocked the number.
Now completely unable to sleep, she got out of bed and went to the kitchen for a glass of warm water. As she passed the living room, she noticed the bathroom light was on.
She filled her glass and stood there for a while, but He Chi still hadn’t come out. She walked to the bathroom door and heard the sound of running water inside.
She frowned. He had already showered earlier when he came into the master bedroom—why was he showering again so late?
Just as she was about to leave, the bathroom door opened.
“You already showered earlier, didn’t you?” she blurted out.
The sudden voice startled He Chi.
He focused his gaze and saw Jiang Yining in a long white nightgown, her waist-length hair draped over her shoulders, holding a cup of water, her eyes wide and innocent as she looked at him.
Drying his hair with a towel, he tried to come up with an answer. “It’s hot—I wanted to take another shower.”
“Didn’t you turn on the air conditioning?”
She glanced toward the guest bedroom. The door was shut; he’d probably turned it on.
Seeing her serious expression, He Chi chuckled. “Do you really not understand, or are you just pretending…?”
Jiang Yining suddenly froze as she realized what he meant.
He didn’t tease her further and asked, “Why are you still awake? Can’t sleep?”
Feeling awkward, she lifted her cup. “No, I just got up to drink some water. Well, I’ll go back to bed now.”
She looked up at He Chi, her face burning. “You… carry on.”
He Chi: “……”
Without waiting for his response, Jiang Yining fled back to the master bedroom, closed the door behind her, and leaned against it, trying to calm her racing heart.
She muttered to herself, “Jiang Yining, how can you be so stupid?”
Sure enough—staying up late really does fry your brain.
He Chi returned to his room and lay on the bed with one arm behind his head. After a full hour of cold showering, he’d barely managed to tamp down the heat simmering inside.
But when he closed his eyes, all he could think about was that kiss—her fresh, lingering scent still vivid in his mind.
What body wash did she use?
He Chi barely slept all night. The next morning, he got up early and took He Xiaohui to run laps on the residential track for over an hour, letting it burn off energy. They were back home by eight o’clock.
He glanced at the bedroom door—it was still shut.
Another half hour passed, and the master bedroom door remained closed. He remembered buying frozen buns at the supermarket yesterday.
So he went and steamed them, left three in the pot for Jiang Yining, and warmed up a glass of milk for her.
At nine, He Chi received a call from his assistant at work.
“Mr. He, should we delay the ten o’clock meeting?”
“No need. I’ll head in shortly.”
After hanging up, he glanced once more at the bedroom door. Still no sound.
He figured he’d go back to the company first and had the housekeeper come over before leaving.
He Xiaohui followed him around, nibbling at his foot.
Only then did He Chi realize he’d forgotten to feed the dog. He pried his foot out of He Xiaohui’s mouth and said, “I’m going to work. Just wait a little, okay?”
At 10 a.m., Jiang Yining was jolted awake by a call from Teacher Lin.
She checked the time on her phone and immediately snapped awake.
How did she sleep until ten?!
She had woken up earlier to her alarm and decided to snooze for another ten minutes.
Still drowsy, she answered the call. “Lin… Mom.”
After calling her “Teacher Lin” for so long, it felt a little strange to switch.
Hearing her sleepy voice, Lin Shu gently asked, “Yining, are you still in bed?”
“Yes, I overslept.”
“Did I wake you up?”
Jiang Yining lifted the blanket and got out of bed. She’d only fallen asleep around 3 a.m. Despite sleeping in, she still felt groggy.
“No, I was just about to get up anyway.”
Lin Shu frowned. “You must be exhausted. Honestly, He Chi should take better care of you.”
After what happened last night, Jiang Yining was starting to wise up. She had a feeling Lin Shu’s words carried a hidden meaning.
“Mom…”
She wanted to explain, but then thought better of it. They just moved in yesterday—any normal newlyweds living together would naturally… you know.
Lin Shu: “What is it?”
“Nothing. I just wanted to ask if you called for something specific?”
Lin Shu almost forgot the real reason she called. “Right, Yining. The university scheduled me to give a public lecture, and there’ll be teachers from other schools coming to observe.”
“I’ll be quite busy over the next few days, so I thought I’d take you shopping for jewelry once things settle down.”
Jiang Yining wasn’t keen on buying jewelry and wanted to use this chance to politely decline.
But before she could speak, it was as if Lin Shu could already guess her thoughts.
“Yining, we are buying jewelry. It represents your father’s and my love and goodwill toward you.”
“…Alright, Mom. I understand.”
“Okay then, I won’t keep you. Go have some breakfast—and next time, tell He Chi to tone it down a bit. He still needs to take care of you properly.”
Jiang Yining’s face flushed red at that.
After the call ended, her mind flashed back to He Chi sneaking off to shower in the middle of the night.
Whether he “toned it down” or not didn’t matter—he was still using his hands to hold himself back.