Chapter 5.1

“Daddy, haha, you didn’t spray me!”

Cheng Yu had just finished washing the dishes when she heard waves of joyful shouting and laughter coming from the bathroom.

“No sneaking attacks! Ah!” Yangyang screamed excitedly.

Were the father and son playing with water guns?

During the picnic at noon, the two of them had huddled aside whispering something. Yangyang had even made her daddy pinky promise with her. Cheng Yu was curious about what agreement they had made, but the pair only smiled and said it was a secret.

It wasn’t until Du Lingyun came home from work, and after the family finished dinner, that Yangyang immediately showed an impatient expression, pulling her daddy into the bathroom to take a bath.

So these two boys had agreed to play while washing!

Thinking about it, Cheng Yu could not help but smile.

She had not expected that Du Lingyun, the man who was always so gentle, calm, and composed, could have such a childish side.

She returned to the bedroom. The master bedroom also had an attached bathroom, quite spacious in layout, with a beautiful and exquisite shell-shaped bathtub placed inside.

She ran hot water, sprinkled a few drops of rose essential oil, and leisurely soaked in the bath. When she came out, her hair was slightly damp, and a faint fragrance emanated from her body.

As soon as she stepped out of the room, she bumped straight into a solid chest.

Du Lingyun instinctively wrapped his arm around her waist. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” She rubbed her nose, which hurt a little, then looked up and met his eyes.

Bare-faced and pure, without a trace of worldly makeup, her features were clear and distinct, her skin fair with a rosy glow. In the simplicity, there lingered a subtle, unfamiliar dark fragrance that stirred him.

Like lotus emerging from clear water, naturally adorned without carving.

For some reason, Du Lingyun suddenly recalled these two lines from Li Bai. Although he was a homebody who always buried himself in code and numbers, he had been somewhat literary in high school, written a few modern poems, and read some classical literature.

But this sentimental side of him, he had never let anyone know, not even his own wife.

He thought, she probably did not even know what books were on the bookshelf in his study, right?

He stared at her in a daze, and she was also stunned, her eyes bright and watery like a pool. In them, he could clearly see his own face.

She was looking at him so attentively, as if with complete devotion, her eyes reflecting only his image.

In this moment, his heart inexplicably throbbed. He even forgot to breathe, his breath held in his chest, an indescribable feeling.

Her fair, jade-like cheeks gradually flushed with a touch of pink. Coming back to her senses, she reached out and gently pushed him.

He did not let go. He still held her waist, forcibly restraining the impulse to tighten his arms further and pull her entire body completely into his embrace.

He instinctively felt that such an action would scare her. The current her was like a little cat that had just arrived in a new home. She still needed him, her owner, to patiently coax her before she would truly accept him and rely on him.

So he did not dare to be too bold, yet he was reluctant to release her.

Ambiguity spread boundless in the night. His gaze on her was too deep, vast as the sea. She felt somewhat unable to bear it.

She struggled again. “Du Lingyun.”

She called his name softly, with a hint of helplessness, and perhaps a touch of coquettishness. Hearing it, he felt his heartbeat skip several beats again.

In the past, whenever she called him by his full name, it usually meant she was angry or throwing a tantrum. But this time, her tone was unusually soft and tender, truly like a little kitten extending its tiny paws, meowing a couple of times, yet without any menace, only making one feel it was soft and adorably cute.

He really did not want to let her go.

Unfortunately, an oblivious little fellow came rushing over like a cannonball. “Mommy, story! Tell me a story!”

Little Yangyang wrapped his arms around Cheng Yu’s legs, tilting his small face up, his sparkling eyes looking at the mommy who had recently been very gentle with him.

Du Lingyun sighed inwardly. No matter how reluctant, he could only let go now.

He regretfully stepped back, clenching his empty hand into a fist, and shot his son a mildly annoyed glance. This little dummy, he really wanted to flick that small forehead a few times.

Yangyang did not notice his daddy’s gloomy look at all. He just grinned, showing his tiny teeth, and smiled coquettishly at mommy. “I want to hear the story of ‘Little Bee Looking for Mommy’.”

“Little Bee Looking for Mommy” was an old animated film that Cheng Yu had watched before. It told the story of a little bee who got separated from her family shortly after birth and, after going through countless hardships, finally reunited with her mother. Cheng Yu did not actually remember the details clearly anymore, but that did not stop her from adding her own embellishments and turning it into a long bedtime story.

She had only told the beginning of the story yesterday, and Yangyang was already so captivated that he refused to go to sleep for a long time. The two of them had agreed to continue tonight.

“Yangyang, Daddy has time today. Let Daddy tell you a story instead!” Du Lingyun suddenly interrupted.

Yangyang was stunned. “But…”

“Mommy is tired. Let her go to bed first. How about Daddy tells you the story of ‘The Three Little Pigs’?”

He had already heard “The Three Little Pigs” several times. Whenever Daddy told stories, it was always the same few old ones.

Yangyang pouted, wanting to protest and say no, but he was naturally obedient. He did not want to make Mommy too tired, nor did he want to discourage Daddy.

“Then it’s happily decided. Let’s go!” Saying that, Du Lingyun took his son’s small hand. He clearly saw the disappointed expression on Yangyang’s face but pretended not to notice.

Yangyang felt wronged. He really preferred listening to Mommy tell stories! Mommy would even change her voice for different characters, while Daddy only read stiffly, word for word from the book.

Seeing his son dragging his feet, drawing circles on the floor with his toes, utterly reluctant to move, Du Lingyun urged him. “Come on!”

“Daddy.” His son called softly, his eyes clearly pleading.

He pretended not to understand. “Daddy rarely has time to tell you a story. Hurry and get into bed.”

Hmph, who told you to rush out and ruin your father’s good moment earlier? This is just a small lesson.

Du Lingyun added in his heart, rather ungentlemanly.

Yangyang, however, had no idea he had offended his father. He only thought Daddy was feeling affectionate and wanted to spend quality time with his son.

Thinking about how Daddy had generously played water guns with him earlier, he should also give Daddy some face and let him perform.

“Okay.” He nodded quite grudgingly.

Cheng Yu could not help but laugh out loud.

She had seen through it long ago. Du Lingyun was just teasing their son. Look at the amused sparkle in his eyes. Only Yangyang, silly and honest as he was, was blankly being toyed with by his old man.

Cheng Yu gave Du Lingyun a coquettish glare and stepped in to uphold justice. “You go warm the milk.”

Leaving those words, she ignored Du Lingyun’s momentary stunned look and directly took Yangyang’s small hand. “Yangyang, we already promised last night. Mommy keeps her word. We’ll continue the little bee story today.”

“Really? Great!” Yangyang cheered, then remembered something and looked apologetically at his dad.

What else could Du Lingyun say? He could only ruffle his son’s hair, obey his wife, and go warm the milk.

Now Yangyang was happy. He snuggled up to Mommy and returned to his own room, climbed onto the bed, burrowed into the blankets, sat properly, and assumed a serious story listening posture.

Cheng Yu smiled and began vividly narrating and acting it out. She told the story for nearly a full hour until Yangyang, having drunk his milk, willingly closed his eyes and fell asleep.

Only after seeing Yangyang soundly asleep did Cheng Yu tuck him in properly, turn on the small night light, and quietly leave.

Passing by the study, the door was tightly closed, with no light seeping out.

Had he already gone to sleep? So early today?

Cheng Yu felt a little puzzled, and somewhat inexplicably wistful. She stood at the study door for a few seconds before turning back to the master bedroom.

The moment she entered, she froze!

The man she thought had gone to sleep in the study was actually in her room, wearing cotton pajamas, sitting on one side of the King Size double bed. His long legs were casually crossed, and he held a book in his hand, reading.

“You, why are you here?” She could not help but stammer.

“I am waiting for you.” He looked up at her and replied calmly, as if she had asked a completely unnecessary question.

Waiting for her to do what? Even if he was waiting for her, he did not need to sit on the bed!

She blinked, suddenly feeling awkward. She did not know where to put her hands and feet, and even her voice got stuck in her throat, unable to come out smoothly.

He raised the book in his hand toward her. “Are you reading this book?”

She was startled and fixed her gaze on it, only then realizing that he was reading a collection of modern poetry.

She felt even more uncomfortable and quickly explained. “I took this from the bookshelf in the study… I forgot to tell you, sorry.”

“It does not matter. You can read any of the books there.” Du Lingyun smiled faintly, then paused. “However, I never knew you were interested in modern poetry.”

In the past, she at most read some popular magazines. Even when she read books, they were about beauty and makeup. He remembered one time when she accidentally saw him reading George R.R. Martin’s “A Song of Ice and Fire” and teased him for having too much time, saying that poetry and novels were just the meaningless groans of literati.

Can a person losing their memory even change their interests?

Seeing the strange look in his eyes, Cheng Yu was stunned for a moment. Could it be that Jian Lanxi never read books like this? “I was just bored and flipping through it casually.”

“I saw you reading it quite seriously. You even marked it with colored tabs.” He casually flipped it open, and several pages inside had tabs stuck on them.

That was actually her reading habit. For passages that particularly touched her or that she wanted to reread carefully, she would always stick a tab and make a note.

“I…” She faltered, not knowing how to explain. This was Cheng Yu’s habit, clearly not Jian Lanxi’s, otherwise he would not be so surprised.

But he did not press further. Instead, he put the book back on the bedside table and patted the other side of the bed. “Time to sleep!”

“Ah?” She stood frozen in place.

He acted as if he did not understand her shock at all, his smile still so gentle and refined. “You do not want to sleep yet? True, it is only a little past ten. Or should we chat for a while first?”

No, chatting was not the point at all. The point was…

“You are sleeping here tonight?” Her voice almost cracked.

“Mm-hmm.”

“Really sleeping here?”

“Is that not allowed?” He asked calmly in return.

“No, it is not that…” He was Jian Lanxi’s husband, of course he had the right to share a room with his wife. “I, I just…”

“Just what?”

“I, I…”

“You are not thinking of making me sleep in the study, are you?” His smile faded, and he actually looked a little dim and lonely.

She became even more flustered. She indeed had no right to treat him that way, but…

Du Lingyun quietly observed her. Seeing her cheeks flush red, her hands secretly twisting the hem of her clothes, clearly in a state of nervous unease, his chest suddenly tightened, and a ripple stirred within him.

The more shy she was, the more he wanted to tease her.

He would never tell her that, for the past two or three years, they as husband and wife had always slept in separate rooms.

“Before, I slept in the study because you had just come back from the hospital and your body had not fully recovered. Now you are already better…” He did not continue, but the tail of his words already carried enough suggestion.

She remained silent.

“Come here.” He reached out his hand toward her.

She did not move an inch.

“If you do not come over, I will come catch you.” His tone carried a threat.

She startled and had no choice but to slowly shuffle over step by step, climbing onto the bed from the other side, her movements careful and cautious.

He watched her with a smile, gazing at her quiet and obedient actions like a little cat. As soon as she sat down properly, he stretched his arms and pulled her sideways into his embrace.

“Ah!” She let out a soft cry, half of her face unguardedly pressing against the opening of his pajama top.

A rich masculine scent immediately rushed into her nose. Her face flushed and her heart raced. She hurriedly tried to pull back, but his arm tightened, pressing her back again.

“Lie still.” A concise command.

She froze.

“Be good. I will not do anything to you.”

Why did he sound so much like a big bad wolf coaxing an innocent little white rabbit?

Cheng Yu felt both startled and shy. “This… is not comfortable.” She protested in a small voice.

“Then how about this?” He helped her slightly adjust her position, allowing her to lie more naturally in his arms. “Is this more comfortable?” He asked in a low voice.

Why was his tone so intimate?

Cheng Yu’s heart was in complete chaos. She really did not know how to respond. In truth, she did not dislike him holding her like this. She even felt a trace of indescribable sweetness because of it.

She liked his scent, liked the gentle low murmur of his voice when he spoke to her, liked the way his embrace was strong yet carried an unconscious indulgence and pampering.

Such an intimate and happy moment belonged only to lovers, to husband and wife. Yet it seemed she had never experienced it before.

She really wanted to indulge herself and just stay like this forever, but…

“Du Lingyun.” She murmured his name.

“Do not be afraid.” He reached out and stroked her soft, shiny black hair again and again. “I just want to hold you like this.”

So he understood her worries. Cheng Yu felt relieved, yet could not help feeling a little guilty. Forcing a man to control himself was somewhat difficult for him, especially since the two of them were husband and wife.

He lowered his head and kissed the top of her hair. “Shall we turn off the light and sleep?”

“Okay.” She nodded lightly.

He reached out and turned off the light, leaving only a small night light. The hazy, dim glow added even more romantic charm.

“You were very beautiful tonight.” Hidden in the faint darkness, he grew bolder and spoke his heart. “You reminded me of lotus flowers.”

“Lotus?”

“Like lotus emerging from clear water, naturally adorned without carving.” His low voice was like a strand of cello music drifting from afar in the deep night.

“Li Bai’s poem?” She asked in surprise.

“You know it?” He was also surprised.

For a moment, neither spoke. They quietly savored this tender warmth.