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At eleven o'clock at night, in a warmly lit bedroom, Lu Xing found himself facing a potent combination: a 31-year-old beautiful single mother with a gentle soul.
When those three prefixes combined, Lu Xing realized exactly how dire his situation had become.
Auntie Wen was pressed against his back, her soft, lotus-root-like arms wrapped firmly around his waist.
She did not speak; she simply held him.
In that silence, Lu Xing's brain shifted into high gear.
Sometimes, a fragrant, soft boy out in the world has to remember to protect himself, or he will end up in a predicament just like this.
Given Auntie Wen's current state, Lu Xing knew that if he wanted to, he could.
If he had no intention of ever "going ashore" and leaving this life behind, he could have made a move right then without a single shred of psychological burden.
But he was truly sorry.
Auntie Wen, this brother is going ashore!
In an instant, Lu Xing dissected the situation.
Based on his experience, the first step in solving any problem is to look past the surface to the essence, remain people-oriented, and analyze the source.
Was Auntie Wen really drunk?
Not necessarily.
Then why did she want everyone to think she was?
Because she needed a reason to indulge.
Although Lu Xing had not been with her for very long, it had been a full two years. During that time, he had learned exactly how disciplined her life was.
She maintained an unshakable healthy routine, practiced yoga weekly, controlled her diet, and had an entire medical team at her beck and call.
On the surface, she enjoyed every material comfort imaginable.
But that was not the whole story.
Auntie Wen was approaching her thirty-second birthday—the absolute peak of a woman's maturity. Yet, in all the time Lu Xing had known her, he had never seen another man by her side.
No matter how enlightened or civilized a person claims to be, an animal is still an animal. Hormones do not control a person's thoughts all the time, but they only need to succeed once.
Lu Xing lowered his gaze and took hold of the fair, soft hands clasped at his waist.
Auntie Wen was a restrained, tolerant person, and such people often share a common weakness: they are extremely concerned with "face."
She could not accept doing something so indecent while sober, so she chose to drink. Her internal logic probably went something like this:
'Hehe, I am drunk. Whatever the drunk Wen Lingxiu does has nothing to do with the sober Wen Lingxiu!'
The corner of Lu Xing's mouth twitched; he wanted to laugh.
He could feel that she was reluctant to part with him, her emotions a complex, tangled mess.
She could not suppress it anymore, but her pride forced her into this "head in the sand" approach.
Lu Xing found it quite interesting. He had thought she could endure until the end of the contract, but it seemed her patience had run thin.
Thankfully, the situation was still controllable.
He gripped the hands at his waist firmly and pried them open. Turning around, he leaned against the sink and steadily caught her as she tumbled into his arms.
"What is wrong?" he asked with a smile. "Are you feeling uncomfortable?"
Lu Xing did not ask about the hug that perhaps Auntie Wen herself did not know why she had made.
He just gently picked up a makeup remover pad, gently held the Auntie Wen who was like a pool of spring water, and said with some apology.
"It is my fault for being too slow."
"This is fine, too. I will help you remove your makeup. You can lean on me and rest for a while."
Removing makeup takes time. Lu Xing believed that actions define a man, not passing intentions.
Everyone has a moment where they are "possessed by a ghost," and he figured this window of time would be enough for her to sober up.
However, he could not be too cold. Auntie Wen was sensitive about her age. If he rejected her too obviously, she would feel uncomfortable and begin to doubt her own charm.
Therefore, controlling the scale of his response was the key to success.
Lu Xing began to remove her makeup, his movements as gentle as if he were handling a fragile treasure. He kept his gaze focused on her face, a smile playing on his lips as he sighed.
"What a great face."
"What a great face?" Wen Lingxiu finally spoke.
"What kind of adjective is that?"
(TL: THIS IS IMPORTANT! In Chinese, the phrases for "What a great face" and "I am so happy" share a very similar rhythm and lip-shape at the end of the sentence. While the words are different, the vowel shapes require a similar widening of the lips.)
Lu Xing quietly let out a sigh of relief.
Humans are uncontrollable creatures; no countermeasure has a hundred percent success rate. One can only offer the best solution within a reasonable range.
"It means it is too beautiful," he said with a smile.
"As beautiful as a great work of art. To be able to see such a face makes me very happy."
Wen Lingxiu smiled.
The bathroom was filled with a fresh fragrance, the warm yellow light reflecting a soft halo against the walls.
She leaned obediently against his shoulder, her soft, charming eyes filled with a blurry daze and a flood of emotion.
She was crazy.
She felt that she was crazy.
Everyone said she was gentle and proper, that she was kind and soft. Only Wen Lingxiu herself knew in her heart.
Ever since that great fire, her desire for control had reached its peak.
The closer a person was, the more she worried that they would suddenly stab her in the back.
But she had already told Lu Xing through the mouths of others countless times that the surveillance facilities here had long been dismantled.
Facing Lu Xing, she had already tried her best to restrain her desire for control.
But just the night before last, there was an urgent call that needed to be dealt with.
So she had gone to the study to work, wearing a nightgown and Lu Xing's coat.
But when she was buttoning up the coat, she had felt something hard in her pocket.
It was a ring.
No big diamond, no intricate decorations, just a simple ring.
But Wen Lingxiu looked at the style of that ring...
It was a couple's ring.
In Lu Xing's coat pocket, a couple's ring was found?
This fact made it difficult for her to describe her feelings at that time.
Was it anger? Bitterness? Sadness?
She could not say.
Wen Lingxiu only felt that her years of cultivation had all been in vain.
Her emotions could still be so easily stirred by Lu Xing's person and Lu Xing's affairs.
'So useless.'
Wen Lingxiu did not sleep at all for the rest of the night. Even though she knew that there would be countless work the next day, she still could not help but let her thoughts run wild.
Who gave it to Lu Xing, or who did Lu Xing give it to?
Have they already reached the stage of wearing couple's rings?
Is it that Little Goldie, or is there a new girl?
Countless thoughts flashed through Wen Lingxiu's mind, but she could not ask Lu Xing directly.
Because she was afraid of breaking the current relationship.
She could only put the ring back where it was.
The moment Wen Lingxiu put it back, she laughed.
She felt like a weak wife who had caught her husband cheating but still had to endure it.
But Lu Xing was not her husband, and she was not Lu Xing's wife.
Last night.
She had given Lu Xing a ring with a big, big diamond and intricate patterns, a thousand times more expensive than that couple's ring.
Lu Xing had thanked her immensely.
But she was still not happy.
Because from her observation, Lu Xing had put the ring in his bag.
A ring on the body and a ring in the bag.
Can the level of importance be the same?
Wen Lingxiu had never found herself to be so childish before.
She was actually competing over this kind of thing.
She was already at this age.
Why did she still care about this kind of thing?
Did she not already make up her mind to let Lu Xing go?
But she could not control it.
The moment she closed her eyes, the image of "Little Goldie" kissing Lu Xing burned behind her eyelids.
The moment she opened them, she was haunted by the sight of a faceless girl sliding a ring onto his finger.
Wen Lingxiu was frustrated.
Last night, she had stared at the ceiling until dawn again, her mind replaying the process of her getting along with Lu Xing these two years.
At the end of last year, she had thought of giving Lu Xing a few days of annual leave to go home and visit his family.
But at that time, Lu Xing had said that he wanted to spend the New Year with Nannan.
Wen Lingxiu had agreed.
On New Year's Eve, the entire city of Haicheng became lively.
She, Lu Xing, and Nannan were huddled together under a huge blanket, sitting on the carpet by the floor-to-ceiling window, watching the fireworks.
The moment the bell rang at midnight, the sky was filled with fireworks.
As she was watching the fireworks, she suddenly turned her head and bumped right into Lu Xing's gaze.
So coincidental?
She was watching the fireworks, and Lu Xing was watching her.
The fireworks that day were so beautiful.
The fireworks lit up the entire sky.
She saw Lu Xing's eyes were bright, and he said with a smiling face.
"Happy New Year!"
Then he had whispered four more words.
At that time, the sound of the fireworks was too loud.
She had not heard clearly, and she had forgotten to ask.
What on earth was that sentence?
Wen Lingxiu had never remembered.
Wait.
Wen Lingxiu suddenly froze.
What did Lu Xing praise her for just now?
Thinking of the shape of Lu Xing's mouth just now, and comparing it with the four words he had not finished saying at that time...
Wen Lingxiu's heart trembled.
She remembered.
She remembered!
Under the fireworks that filled the entire sky, what Lu Xing had said at that time was...
"Happy New Year, I am so happy."
"..."
"Alright, the makeup is off!"
Lu Xing's cheerful voice sounded by her ear.
The warm yellow light in the bathroom shone on her face.
Wen Lingxiu finally understood one thing in a daze.
Good news: She had won the prize.
Bad news: The redemption window has expired.
...
...