Shen Xiaoxing held her hand back and pressed the call bell with her. "Going to sleep without drying your hair—that's a bad habit."
Soon, a servant knocked on the door.
"Master, Mistress, what are your orders?"
"Bring up a hairdryer."
"Yes, sir."
The moment the servant entered, the man took the towel she was using to dry her hair and covered her long, shapely legs.
When the hairdryer arrived, An Ruo wanted to get up and dry her hair, but the man was quicker. He plugged it in, clearly intending to dry it for her.
"Is there anything wrong with a husband drying his wife's hair?"
An Ruo was held in his arms, obediently letting him dry her long hair. His movements were gentle. If it weren't for the tension in her muscles from sitting on his lap, she might have fallen asleep against his chest.
After more than ten minutes, the sound of the hairdryer stopped. An Ruo snapped back to reality, her hair warm from the heat.
The man got into bed. An Ruo remembered she had messed up the clothes in the wardrobe earlier while looking for something, so she tidied them up before sleeping.
While hanging the clothes, she accidentally dropped a shirt. Bending down to pick it up, she noticed a red string poking out of the pocket.
She pulled it out. At the end of the red string was a gold lock.
Why would there be something like this in a man's clothes?
An Ruo frowned. The gold lock was of decent quality, and she noticed the other side was engraved with the character "Xing."
Was this Shen Xiaoxing's gold lock?
She finished organizing the clothes and came out holding the gold lock necklace.
"Is this yours?"
The man glanced at her, then his gaze instantly locked onto the gold lock in her hand. His dark eyes were filled with deep confusion. "Where did you find this?"
An Ruo could tell he cared a lot about this gold lock. She walked over lightly. "I found it in the pocket of that striped shirt. It has the character 'Xing' engraved on it, so I thought it must be yours."
She handed the gold lock to him. The man took it and examined it carefully, his thumb gently stroking the side with the engraved character, as if afraid of damaging it.
A gold lock, also called a longevity lock, is usually given to newborns, symbolizing a wish for the child to be clever and live a long life.
Could this be a gold lock he wore as a child?
An Ruo lifted the brocade quilt and got into bed. Seeing the man staring blankly at the gold lock in his hand, she tilted her head and smiled. "Mr. Shen, it's getting late. Should we get some rest?"
The man glanced at her, nodded slightly, put away the gold lock, and lay down.
An Ruo's heart pounded. She waited for over ten seconds, but the man didn't pull her into his arms as he usually did. Ever since he took the gold lock, he had been lost in thought, frowning.
He didn't say anything, and An Ruo felt too embarrassed to ask.
In the silent night, a faint sigh from the girl broke the stillness.
The man turned over and, as always, reached out to pull her into his arms. He gently inhaled her faint fragrance, resting his chin on the top of her head.
His voice was low. "This gold lock necklace was given to me by my mother when I was very young."
An Ruo's shimmering eyes lifted slightly. In the dim light of the wall lamp, she could barely make out his cold, handsome profile.
But his dark eyes were deep, and she couldn't tell what emotions were hidden within.
"I'm not the legitimate eldest grandson of the Shen family. Maybe I'm not even an illegitimate child." In the darkness, the man's deep voice was low, his tone light, as if trying to sound casual. "It's just that back then, the eldest son of the Shen family had a one-night stand with my mother, and that's how I came to be."
"..."
An Ruo listened in a daze as he recounted his background.
Even though she had heard before that he wasn't born to the main branch of the Shen family and knew his life had been rough, hearing it from his own words still made her heart tremble.
"My mother was also a Shen." The man took a deep breath. "She came from a poor background. When she was young, she owed debts and was sold to an entertainment venue to entertain people. That's where she met the eldest son of the Shen family. I don't know what she was thinking at the time, but she secretly gave birth to me without telling anyone. After that, my most vivid memory is of her taking me wandering from place to place..."
"This gold lock necklace is the only thing she left me."
These few words sounded like he was narrating someone else's life, but An Ruo could feel the immense courage it took for him to say them.
He never mentioned his birth mother in front of her. If it weren't for this gold lock, he would have kept this story to himself, after all... it was the scar he least wanted others to see.
An Ruo's heart ached. She grabbed his pajamas, her fingers digging in hard, holding back the sourness in her chest.
No wonder he stared at the gold lock with such a heavy expression. He was missing his mother.
"After the New Year, will you take me to see her?"
As soon as she said it, she felt the man's arms around her tighten slowly, as if afraid she would leave after hearing his shameful past.
"She... is no longer here."
An Ruo's heart skipped a beat. She had imagined countless possibilities, but never that her future mother-in-law only existed in his memories.
"Then..." Her voice was a little hoarse as she forced down the bitterness. "Take me to see her."
This time, the man was silent for several minutes. When he spoke again, his voice was slightly choked, whether from crying or difficulty breathing, she couldn't tell. He coughed hoarsely. "I can't take you to see her."
An Ruo had a bad feeling. "Why?"
"Because... I don't even know where her body is buried."
Forgive him for lying.
An Ruo frowned slightly. How could he not know where his own mother was buried?
After all, he had some influence now. Finding his mother's remains shouldn't be difficult.
Her mind was a mess. She didn't know what had happened to this man when he was young, but she wanted to know everything about him.
An Ruo hesitated, wondering if she should continue asking. Suddenly, the man stroked her face. In the faint light of the wall lamp, he curled his lips into a wicked smile.
"Mrs. Shen, let's end tonight's chat here." His hot hand rubbed her lower abdomen, his scorching breath brushing against her ear as he panted slightly. "Seeing you in my clothes earlier was really sexy. Now I can't get those wicked thoughts out of my head. What if I can't sleep tonight?"
The sudden shift in tone caught An Ruo off guard. Her face burned, and the sadness from before was completely gone.
How could this man not stay serious for even three seconds? His mind was full of nothing but filth!
"Then... I'm sleepy. I want to sleep."
Her face flushed red as she turned her back to him.
But the man had no intention of letting her off. His dangerous hand reached around from behind, firmly wrapping around her softness...
An Ruo felt even more embarrassed. She pressed down on his restless hand and whispered, "Stop it. I'm really tired."
"Mrs. Shen, considering I just honestly told you about my unfortunate background, can you show some mercy and comfort me?"
Thinking about his childhood memories, An Ruo bit her lip weakly and eventually gave in, letting him do as he pleased.
At the height of passion, the man leaned down to kiss her sweat-beaded forehead, his voice full of affection and tenderness. "Ruo Ruo, promise me you'll never leave me, okay?"
An Ruo opened her dazed eyes, staring blurrily at the handsome face before her, her lips slightly parted.
"Whatever you want, I'll give you everything I have, even my life."
To this day, Shen Xiaoxing finally realized how much he loved the girl beneath him. Perhaps from the first time he had her, he had already decided to treat her well for the rest of his life. He would never love anyone else.