Chapter 7.1

Her soft, fragrant cherry lips pressed over. Du Lingyun was lost in a daze for a moment, his heart pounding like a drum, his mind completely blank.

When he slightly came back to his senses and wanted to savor it carefully, she hurriedly pulled away in panic, her pink cheeks flushed, her expression shy and embarrassed.

As if afraid to meet his overly bright gaze, she lowered her eyes and murmured in a soft, delicate voice.

“I am sorry. I should not have…”

Before she could finish, he suddenly reached out to cup the back of her neck, lowered his head, and kissed her deeply.

…

“Lanxi…” He called hoarsely in a low voice. “You smell so good.”

He could feel her body tremble intensely, then begin to stiffen.

“What is wrong?” He lifted his eyes and gazed at her in confusion.

She said nothing, just quietly staring at him with her beautiful eyes, misty like smoke over water, faintly shimmering with light.

Something was not right.

He instinctively became alert. That fragrance, different from the her of the past, kept teasing his senses. He suddenly felt awkward.

It really seemed something was off.

An alarm bell rang inexplicably in his mind. He did not know why he felt the timing was wrong, but he just thought it could not be so casual. It was not yet that special, romantic moment.

Du Lingyun took deep breaths, again and again. He lowered his lips to peck his wife’s once more, then held her as they lay down together.

She looked at him in surprise, as if not understanding.

He kissed her forehead, then reached out to tap her playful nose tip. “Let us just do this tonight! I will still hold you while we sleep, hmm?”

She stared blankly at his gentle smiling handsome face. After a while, she nodded. “…Yes.”

She obediently nestled against him, curling up in his arms and falling peacefully asleep.

Only after hearing her even, long breathing did he allow himself a bitter smile.

Alas! Another night of torment. It seemed tomorrow morning he would have to take a cold shower again.

The morning light was gentle.

Cheng Yu lay on her side, gazing in a daze. How could this man look more handsome day by day, moving her heart more each day?

She felt like a lovestruck fool.

From the moment she woke in the early morning, she had been staring at him without stop, unwilling to let her gaze shift away even for a second.

She reached out, gently tracing the air over his brows and eyes, blankly beginning to count his eyelashes. Before, she had thought the heroines in romance novels who did such things were silly. Now she had become silly herself!

One, two, three… His eyelashes were so long and thick! Each one tugged at her heart.

Suddenly, those thick lashes trembled. She quickly held her breath and hurriedly lay back properly before he opened his eyes, pretending she was still asleep.

She could feel the man shift as he sat up, then seem to lean down again, quietly looking at her. His warm breath brushed her facial skin, getting closer and closer, hotter and hotter. Finally, his lips pressed against hers in a gentle peck.

Her heart skipped a chaotic beat.

He suddenly chuckled softly. “Silly, I knew long ago that you were awake.”

Ah! She opened her eyes in panic, meeting his smiling gaze. That faint teasing made her both shy and annoyed, her face instantly flushing red.

“Annoying!” She murmured in coquettish complaint.

He laughed again, leaning in to peck her lips again and again, as if he could not get enough, lingering and entwining for a long time before releasing her.

“Demoness!” He muttered lowly, then flipped out of bed. “I am going to take a shower.”

Cheng Yu smiled secretly in triumph, her heart melting uncontrollably soft. How could this man be so wonderful?

Cheng Yu suddenly jumped out of bed, hugging Du Lingyun tightly from behind, her arms wrapping around his waist, full of attachment.

“What is it?” He asked gently.

She did not answer, standing on tiptoe to kiss the back of his neck.

The two kissed passionately.

“Daddy, Mommy! The weather outside is so nice today. Shall we go out to play?”

Like a bucket of ice water poured over them, both froze instantly. Their minds blanked for two seconds before they suddenly came back to their senses and looked down at the same time.

Yangyang was tilting his innocent little face up, looking at them very guilelessly.

“Daddy, Mommy, what are you doing? Playing kissy? I want to play too.”

Boom! Cheng Yu’s face exploded in red. She could not say a word, hurriedly pushing away the man who was still subconsciously holding her, and fled gracefully into the bathroom.

Outside the door came the man’s rich, hearty laughter. She hatefully slapped the door once, but the corners of her lips curved into a clear, sweet smile.

At the breakfast table, the atmosphere was strange.

Yangyang focused on eating his jam SpongeBob toast and drinking his fresh sweet milk, while his daddy and mommy, though each drinking coffee and eating toasted bread, had their eyes collide from time to time. Yet whenever one looked, the other dodged, like two elementary school students sulking.

She was still shy!

Du Lingyun sighed inwardly, looking at his wife with her red face and flickering bright eyes, not daring to look at him more than a glance. He truly found it cute and helpless.

But it did not seem like she was angry. It was more like some kind of coquettishness, making his whole heart as a grown man go soft. He really wanted to hug her right now and shower her with tender love.

“Ahem!” Du Lingyun cleared his throat twice, patted Yangyang, deciding to start with his son to ease the atmosphere.

“Yangyang, Daddy has to work today and cannot take you out to play. In a couple of days, Daddy will take a few days off and bring you and Mommy on an overseas trip, okay?”

Though speaking to his son, Du Lingyun’s gaze drifted toward Cheng Yu.

“Overseas trip? Great, great!” Yangyang clapped excitedly. “Yangyang wants to go, and Mommy too.”

Seeing the child so openly happy, Cheng Yu also felt joyful, but pretended to be proud and gave the child’s daddy a sideways glance.

“Are you sure you can take leave? You are so busy.”

“Of course I can. Even an iron machine needs rest, not to mention I have more than ten days of special leave. The company will not deny it.” Du Lingyun promised earnestly. “Where do you want to go?”

Cheng Yu did not answer, turning to ask Yangyang. “Let Yangyang decide! Where do you want to go play?”

Yangyang’s eyes sparkled immediately as he declared. “Yangyang wants to go to Disney Park. Disney Park has Harry Potter!”

“Ahem! Harry Potter is at Universal Studios, not Disney Park.” Cheng Yu kindly reminded.

Yangyang was stunned. “Is that also an amusement park?”

“Yes, sort of.”

“As long as it is, I want to go.”

Du Lingyun raised an eyebrow. “You say go and we go? Do you really know who Harry Potter is?”

“Yes, yes. Mommy told me,” Yangyang nodded vigorously. “Mommy said I cannot understand the Harry Potter storybooks yet. I have to wait until I grow a little bigger.”

“I think you will have to grow a lot bigger to understand Harry Potter.” Du Lingyun deliberately teased his son.

“No way!” Yangyang refused to accept it. “Mommy said Yangyang is very smart and will soon learn many words and understand many books.”

“Sure, sure.” Du Lingyun did not give his son face.

“Daddy!” Yangyang was furious and turned to complain to Mommy. “Mommy, look, Daddy is so bad!”

This child pouting was really cute!

“Yes, Daddy is bad. We will ignore him.” Cheng Yu could not help reaching out to pinch his soft, chubby cheeks, then kissed him several times in a row.

For a moment, Du Lingyun really wished he was the chubby flesh on his son’s face so he could have intimate contact with his wife’s jade hand and fragrant lips.

The family was happily enjoying the moment when a sudden phone ring interrupted them. Du Lingyun answered the call. After a while, his face changed dramatically.

Cheng Yu sensed something wrong and asked softly beside him, “What happened?”

“My mom was admitted to the hospital!”

After receiving the hospital notification call, Du Lingyun immediately asked for leave from the company. Cheng Yu quickly packed luggage for the family of three, took Yangyang’s hand, and got into Du Lingyun’s car together.

On the way, Du Lingyun explained to her that he grew up in the countryside in the south when he was young. The family made a living by farming. It was not until university that he came north alone to study. Shortly after his marriage, his father passed away due to illness. He had originally wanted to bring his mother to Taipei, but the elderly woman firmly refused.

“My mom said she was used to living in the countryside. The neighbors there all know each other and can look after one another. There is no need to come and disturb us, and moreover…”

Du Lingyun did not continue, but Cheng Yu could guess that it was probably because Jian Lanxi had not wanted to live with her mother-in-law before, so he, as the son, had not insisted further.

She looked at the man’s worried, furrowed expression and could not help feeling heartbroken for him.