The Leng Family.
Leng Ling'er lay sprawled on the sofa like a salted fish, occasionally letting out strange goose-like laughter at the funny scenes on TV.
It seemed that the heart-to-heart conversation between the sisters had made Leng Ling'er's behavior even more unrestrained.
Leng Qingqiu sat on the edge of the sofa, her face clearly unhappy.
Why?
Well, because... Gu Yan hadn't prepared her any dessert after dinner.
"Sorry, Qingqiu, having sweets at night is a disaster."
"You don't want to gain weight, do you?"
Gu Yan crouched beside Leng Qingqiu's legs, a basin of hot water in front of him.
He reached out and gently massaged her calves while earnestly explaining.
Of course, he couldn't say such things out loud.
So Leng Qingqiu tilted her chin up proudly, refusing to speak.
But...
As Gu Yan's massage became more and more soothing, her expression gradually softened.
Just as she lightly bit her lip, Gu Yan said, "Alright, Qingqiu, today's massage will be a bit shorter because I have something to do later."
"Come on, soak your feet in the water."
Looking at the jade-like feet before him, Gu Yan felt a stir in his heart but knew the consequences of acting on impulse.
So he behaved properly, not allowing any inappropriate thoughts.
On Leng Qingqiu's side, the touch of Gu Yan's large hands sent ripples through her heart.
But this feeling quickly faded because, surprisingly, Gu Yan had restrained himself this time and didn't do anything strange.
For some reason, Leng Qingqiu felt a pang of disappointment.
As soon as this thought crossed her mind, she shook her head vigorously.
No, no, no! If she thought that way, wouldn't she be a pervert too??
It was all Gu Yan's fault for always doing strange things.
She had become so strange because of him!
Suddenly, she became angry and snapped at Gu Yan, "What are you going to do? What could the young master of the Gu Family possibly have to do?"
"Well... all sorts of things," Gu Yan replied, coughing awkwardly as he thought about what he had to do later.
Huh? Why did it feel like Leng Qingqiu was suddenly angry?
"Hmph!"
"Busy, huh? No one's busier than you!"
Leng Qingqiu's delicate feet gently swirled in the water. She didn't understand why she felt this way.
Perhaps... it was because she felt irritated and unhappy hearing that Gu Yan was leaving?
No way! Absolutely not!
Gu Yan quickly caught on.
Oh, I see! My wife doesn't want me to leave!
But there was no helping it! Besides spending time with Qingqiu, he had other small matters to attend to!
So!
Summoning his courage, Gu Yan reached out and—splash!—grabbed her fair, delicate foot in the water!
"Ah!"
Leng Qingqiu, caught off guard by the sudden touch on such a sensitive spot, immediately lost her composure.
Her body went soft, her cheeks flushed red, and she struggled to pull her leg back, gritting her teeth as she scolded, "You... you jerk! What are you doing?!"
Gu Yan ignored her protests and continued his mischief. "What am I doing? Qingqiu, is that any way to talk to your husband? Huh?"
"Ahahaha!! Wuwuwu... stop it, please!!"
Thanks to his special technique, Leng Qingqiu alternated between laughter and tears.
Gu Yan showed no mercy as he played with his "prize," threatening, "Say you're sorry. Apologize to your husband and say you were wrong."
"Stupid Gu Yan... wuwuwu..."
"Say you're sorry! Now!"
Leng Qingqiu's pride naturally resisted, but...
She tightly gripped the sofa cushion.
But... why...
"I'm... I'm sorry..."
"I was wrong..."
Leng Qingqiu said weakly, her voice soft and breathless as she collapsed onto the sofa, panting lightly.
Her expression was dazed.
For a moment, Gu Yan was stunned.
Thump! Thump!
His heart raced, and his mind was in chaos.
This version of Qingqiu... was simply too adorable!
He looked at her delicate feet and blurted out without thinking, "Qingqiu... can I...?"
"......"
"No!!"
Leng Qingqiu, who had been lost in the afterglow of the moment, was suddenly brought back to reality by Gu Yan's words.
After spending so much time with him, she could predict his every move.
He was definitely about to say something outrageous! So she cut him off immediately!
Hearing this, Gu Yan looked disappointed. He cleaned up the mess and then slunk away, chased out by Leng Qingqiu.
Leng Qingqiu, meanwhile, sat on the sofa, both angry and embarrassed.
As she recalled what had just happened, the corners of her mouth curled up slightly.
Hmm, for some reason, her mood had suddenly improved.
Leng Ling'er, who had been watching from the side, was dumbfounded.
Sis... why do you look so happy?
Noticing Leng Ling'er's gaze, Leng Qingqiu immediately put on a stern face and said coldly, "Ling'er, it's time for you to go to bed."
"Yes!"
Leng Ling'er's instincts kicked in, and she immediately turned off the TV and fell silent.
In her heart, she wanted to cry. Brother-in-law, look at your wife!!
She's only tough with me!!
......
......
Apartment 11-501, Chunshan Community.
"I've already told you I won't give you any more money! Xiao Tian, can't you be a bit more responsible?!"
"Gu Yan? Don't bring him up again! I won't help you ask him for money!"
Shen Wan'er, exhausted after a long day, angrily hung up the phone.
Her eyes were filled with weariness.
Why was everyone like this?
Her parents didn't understand her, her relatives mocked her, and her younger brother was immature.
Everyone blamed her for breaking things off with Gu Yan.
They didn't understand, they didn't know—she had been focused on her career back then, not on romance.
And Gu Yan hadn't shown anything that particularly attracted her.
The fact that she hadn't outright rejected him was already being considerate.
But... but why was Gu Yan so outstanding now... and so... captivating.
Shen Wan'er's mind wandered back to Gu Yan's appearance at the banquet.
She thought about how he had stood up for Leng Ling'er, offending half of the influential people in Jianghai.
And how he had ended up marrying her former idol... Leng Qingqiu...
All these thoughts swirled in her mind, filling her with... deep regret.
But regret was pointless now. Ever since that day when she had mustered the courage to offer him her first time, only to be rejected...
She had realized... Gu Yan... truly didn't love her anymore.
Returning to the Chunshan Community, this was another property she had purchased.
The Shen Family wasn't particularly large, but the internal scheming rivaled that of any major family.
It was exhausting, so tiring. Shen Wan'er had wanted to become a strong, independent woman and lead the Shen Family onto the global stage.
But... her family's lack of understanding made her incredibly frustrated.
Now that her company was on the right track, thanks to Xiao Lin's prescription, she believed it would soon make its mark on the world!
Taking the elevator to the 501st floor, Shen Wan'er pushed open the door.
She noticed it wasn't locked, and the lights were on.
She paused for a moment, then remembered.
There was someone else in the house—Xiao Lin.
Taking a deep breath, she realized this was the first time she was sharing a living space with a man.
Was this what people called cohabitation?
But Xiao Lin was just her bodyguard. The gap in their status was too wide for anything more.
Oh, right, he had mentioned going to visit a patient earlier.
Had he finished? He hadn't come to work today and hadn't even asked for leave.
And here she had formally promoted him to her personal bodyguard.
Following the light into the living room, Shen Wan'er called out, "Xiao Lin, Xiao Lin, are you here?"
"Xiao..."
Her voice trailed off.
There, curled up on the sofa, was Xiao Lin.
He looked as if he had suffered a great shock—pale, his eyes wide with terror, muttering repeatedly, "It wasn't me... it wasn't me... I didn't kill anyone... I didn't kill anyone..."
Shen Wan'er froze for a moment, then rushed over. "Xiao Lin? Xiao Lin, what's wrong?"
Hearing Shen Wan'er's voice, Xiao Lin finally reacted. He looked up at her as she approached.
He cried, "Wan'er... Wan'er..."
Shen Wan'er looked at the weeping Xiao Lin, and her heart suddenly trembled.
Why? Why did she feel such a deep ache for Xiao Lin at this moment?
Was it because he had always appeared so strong before, and seeing him like this now made her unbearably sad?
Unable to hold back, she stepped forward and gently embraced Xiao Lin, letting his head rest against her chest. She patted him softly and said, "It's okay, it's okay. What's wrong? What happened?"
Feeling the warmth, Xiao Lin's emotions gradually stabilized. "Wan'er..."
However,
Neither of them knew.
At this very moment, their scene was being displayed on a hidden surveillance screen somewhere else.
The footage appeared as if it had been zoomed in from a great distance.
In a residential building that had been converted into a monitoring room,
Gu Yan sat in front of a massive screen.
On the screen, the tender moment between Xiao Lin and Shen Wan'er was playing out.
He nodded in satisfaction.
Good, the relationship between these two was gradually heating up, and everything was proceeding according to plan.
His subordinates had also disguised themselves and infiltrated the neighborhood, keeping a close watch on every move Xiao Lin and Shen Wan'er made.
Now, all that was left was to wait for the story to unfold.