The next day.
Warm sunlight streamed through the window frame, illuminating the room.
The girl's eyelashes fluttered slightly. Tossing and turning in her sleep, she rolled over and bumped into a firm, muscular chest.
The man let out an unexpected muffled groan. His rough palm brushed across her delicate, fair shoulder, rubbing it gently. With eyes still closed, he lowered his head and placed a soft kiss on her forehead.
An Ruo slowly blinked her eyes open, only to find herself lying on top of the man, clinging to him like an octopus. She snapped awake instantly.
"Awake?" The man leaned down and kissed the corner of her lips, his voice carrying that特有的 morning hoarseness. "Morning."
Remembering the night's indulgence—right on this very bed—An Ruo's cheeks flushed crimson in an instant.
"What time is it?"
Her voice was soft, like a kitten begging for affection.
The man's long arm circled her slender waist. "Seven-thirty."
"I have class at nine."
"No rush. I'll have Han Chong drive you later."
The two lingered in bed, whispering and nuzzling for a while, before finally getting up to wash up and head downstairs for breakfast.
Breakfast was, as always, abundant and nutritious.
An Ruo's body felt a bit off. After being tossed around all night, her energy was depleted, and she was ravenously hungry now.
The man took a sip of coffee and asked softly, "How's your brother's injury?"
"Pretty serious, but luckily none of the wounds are life-threatening."
Thankfully, they got him to the hospital in time; otherwise, she didn't know if it might have been fatal.
"Bring him to the villa. You won't feel at ease with him staying outside alone."
An Ruo bit into her sandwich, momentarily stunned by his words. She looked up at him deeply.
"What's wrong?"
"Xiao Che staying here... it might be a bit inconvenient..."
The man stared at her, then suddenly flashed a wicked grin. "It would indeed be inconvenient."
An Ruo was taken aback, then suddenly realized what he meant. She lowered her voice in a coquettish protest. "That's not what I meant..."
"Oh?" Shen Xiaoxing deliberately teased her, a hint of amusement in his deep, dark eyes. "Then Mrs. Shen, why don't you tell me exactly what you think I meant?"
"..."
An Ruo bit her lip slightly. "You and Xiao Che have never met. He doesn't know the rules or boundaries. I'm afraid he might offend you if he comes."
After all, An Che was her family. Moving in so abruptly would invite gossip. She didn't care about that, but she didn't know how the man would feel...
"He's your brother, and my brother-in-law. We're family."
We're family.
Those words etched themselves deeply into An Ruo's mind, warming her heart. For the first time, besides Grandma An and An Che, she felt a sense of belonging elsewhere.
"Family should live together."
An Ruo pressed her lips together. "Are you really okay with him moving in?"
"We're husband and wife. It's our duty to take care of him together."
The two siblings had relied on each other since childhood. If marrying him meant they had to be separated, leaving her constantly worrying in silence, it was better to have him move in so they could look out for each other.
Besides, now that he had openly broken Shen Tingfeng's leg, the second branch of the family was surely nursing a grudge. He needed to ensure the safety of both siblings.
This was the best thing An Ruo had heard all morning—no, all year. In the past, she had always been the one taking care of An Che. They had endured countless scornful looks from others along the way, fortunate that Grandma An hadn't abandoned them and was willing to take them in. But since she passed away, they had become targets of various interests. Now, suddenly, there was someone who treated them as family, who would help take care of her brother.
An Ruo was deeply moved. She felt incredibly lucky that she hadn't loved the wrong person. Shen Xiaoxing... he was truly a good man.
After the meal, the man called Han Chong over and instructed, "For the next few days, you're responsible for protecting her from the shadows. Make sure no one from the second branch gets near her."
"And what about you, young master?"
The man raised an eyebrow. "Do you think they can hurt me with my abilities?"
That was true...
Originally, Shen Xiaoxing had wanted Ye Feng to secretly protect the girl, but considering his fierce appearance and lack of sharp wits, he decided to have Han Chong handle it for now.
...
At the Blue Garden.
Huo Jinyan leaned back, a few buttons of his black shirt undone, revealing his muscular chest. A heavily made-up, sexy beauty nestled in his arms.
The woman laughed as she fed him a grape. "Master Huo, ah, open wide..."
Huo Jinyan lowered his head and kissed the corner of her mouth, drawing a series of playful giggles from her.
"Master Huo, is the grape sweet?"
"Not as sweet as you."
The woman playfully pushed against his chest. "You're so annoying."
In a dim corner of the private room, a man sat with his legs crossed, leaning against the sofa. A laptop sat in front of him, and even in this noisy environment, he remained calm and focused on work.
Huo Jinyan glanced at him and scoffed. "Hey, buddy, we finally get a chance to go out. Can't you put work aside for once?"
Gu Zhao's hands didn't stop moving. Huo Jinyan swirled his glass and took a sip of whiskey. "We're here to have fun, not to handle business."
"You guys enjoy yourselves. Don't mind me."
Huo Jinyan clicked his tongue. "I get that A-Xing is busy now that he's back in his position at the Shen Corporation, always coming and going like a phantom. But why are you this busy too?"
After he said this, the other man went silent again.
Huo Jinyan leaned down and whispered a few words into the ear of the beauty in his arms. She giggled, planted a kiss on his cheek, and got up to leave the private room.
He raised an eyebrow with a smirk. He was determined to get to you.
Soon, the door to the private room opened again, and several scantily clad, sexy beauties entered. Huo Jinyan snapped his fingers and tilted his chin, signaling that their target was the man in the corner.
The beauties grew even more excited. Gu Zhao was practically half-owner of the Blue Garden, and they all dreamed of climbing the social ladder to become "Mrs. Gu." They'd never had the chance before, but with Huo Jinyan backing them now, they scrambled over—
"President Gu, you're here to relax, so stop working~"
"Yeah, President Gu, I'll play dice with you..."
"President Gu, have a drink. This was just airlifted from France a couple of days ago. Try it..."
Five or six women chattered away, their voices driving Gu Zhao nearly crazy.
The usually good-tempered man furrowed his brow slightly and said gently, "Thank you, but I don't need any service. You can go about your business."
"President Gu, is it because I'm not pretty enough? You won't even look at me. I'm so sad."
"..."
"President Gu, let me feed you some fruit..."
"President Gu, if you don't like that, I'll feed you wine with my mouth."
Huo Jinyan half-leaned against the sofa, sipping his wine, watching the swarm of women surround Gu Zhao, who was frantically trying to push them away.
The private room door opened again. Sheng Nanzhou, dressed in a black trench coat, walked in and immediately saw the steamy scene. He whistled in appreciation.
"Playing it this wild?" He laughed as he sat down, picking up a glass of wine from the table and taking a sip.
Huo Jinyan draped his arm over the sofa armrest. "Take a closer look."
Sheng Nanzhou craned his neck to see the man trapped in the crowd of women. He almost spat out his wine.
"Damn, isn't that my brother?"
Since when did his brother get so wild? Wasn't he supposed to be celibate!?
"He's been holding it in for over twenty years. Time to give him a taste."
Sheng Nanzhou raised an eyebrow dismissively. "It's useless. My brother doesn't fall for this."
"These beauties have real skills. You think they can't seduce him?"
Sheng Nanzhou wasn't convinced. He shook his head and said, "My brother, here," he pointed to his chest, "has a true love hidden away."