"Cock-a-doodle-doo..."
The resonant crowing of roosters echoed from every corner of Jinling City as the first glimmer of light appeared on the eastern horizon.
Warm, orange rays slowly rose, casting a shimmering golden glow over the land.
It was another new day, and the entire small town awoke from its slumber, brimming with vitality.
Hardworking farmers, relying on the land for their livelihood, took advantage of the lingering darkness to leisurely head to the fields, hoes on their shoulders and old oxen in tow. The owners of breakfast stalls had already begun their busy day, preparing ingredients and arranging tables and chairs, bustling with activity. Children attending private schools reluctantly crawled out of their warm beds under their parents' urging...
Everywhere was a scene of vibrant life.
In the streets and alleys near the Li family's old residence, the chatter of passersby could be heard, along with the occasional barks of stray cats and dogs.
Li Xuan, accustomed to waking early, lazily sat up in bed, stretching his arms and legs, his face blank with confusion.
He maintained his unwavering habit of sleeping naked every night, his frail physique fully exposed. Between his legs, his morning erection stood firm, like a thick, long iron rod emerging from a dark thicket.
At that moment, he seemed as if he had lost his soul, his eyes vacant and misty.
He grabbed the tattered clothes nearby, casually threw them on, and then stretched lazily as he stepped out the door.
"Ah..."
He yawned, lazily stretching his arms and legs, basking in the warm sunlight.
"Only the morning sun in summer feels this comfortable," he muttered to himself.
Suddenly, as if struck by a thought, his eyes lit up with excitement, and he became unusually animated. Slipping into his cloth shoes, he hurried toward the door of the east wing room.
"Mother, I want..."
Just as he eagerly pushed open the door to the east wing room, his voice abruptly cut off.
The sight before him left him speechless, his words stuck in his throat.
Inside the narrow room, on a worn-out double bed, Chu Qingyi and Li Ye, who had returned at some unknown time, were tightly nestled together, both still asleep with gentle smiles on their faces.
Li Xuan stood frozen in place, staring blankly at the scene before him. His mind went completely blank, and for a moment, he didn't know whether to leave or stay.
Gentle rays of light streamed through the window, casting a soft glow over the couple. Chu Qingyi's arm was tightly wrapped around Li Ye's waist, while his arm served as her pillow beneath her head.
Though she was still asleep, a satisfied smile graced her face—a smile Li Xuan had never seen before, not even during their long period of intimate contact. He had never witnessed her looking so enchanting.
For some reason, he found the sight of the two embracing in sleep particularly glaring, even more so than the harsh midday sun.
Snapping back to reality, he felt flustered and unsure of what to do. In his panic, he slammed the door shut and fled outside.
In his haste, one of his already loose shoes fell off as he ran.
The commotion at the door woke the sleeping couple. Rubbing his sleepy eyes, Li Ye glanced outside just in time to see Li Xuan fleeing in disarray.
"Strange, what is Xiao Xuan doing here so early?" he remarked casually.
"Perhaps he came to call me for breakfast," Chu Qingyi quickly replied from beside him.
She had heard the commotion earlier and naturally knew why Li Xuan had come. Li Ye had returned too late last night, so Li Xuan had no idea he was also in her room, which was why he had been startled and fled in a hurry.
However, Li Ye's casual question had also made her heart tense. After all, her improper relationship with Li Xuan absolutely could not be known to him.
Her mind was in turmoil, but she could only feign calm.
"Oh, have you been getting along well with Xiao Xuan lately? If he's done anything wrong, please be patient with him, Qingyi," Li Ye said, completely oblivious to Chu Qingyi's nervousness.
"Not at all. Xiao Xuan has been very good to me, especially his cooking—it suits my taste perfectly," Chu Qingyi replied with a radiant smile.
"That's good," Li Ye yawned, turning to embrace her. "It's still early. Let's sleep a little longer."
Chu Qingyi nodded without a word.
Before long, steady breathing sounded beside her as Li Ye drifted back into sleep.
Chu Qingyi, her drowsiness long gone, lay quietly in his arms, her beautiful eyes fixed on him.
For countless days and nights, she had yearned for Li Ye to lie beside her like this, to truly feel the warmth of his body and the powerful, fiery heartbeat in his chest.
Unfortunately, during that time, such scenes could only appear in her dreams.
Upon waking, only endless night and loneliness kept her company.
Over time, she developed the bad habit of waking up several times every night. Once awake, falling back asleep became a difficult task.
But last night, she had slept soundly.
She gazed at Li Ye, whom she had longed for day and night, now lying beside her—still with those handsome, refined features, that gentle and elegant demeanor, and that familiar scent.
What was different was that his heart no longer belonged solely to her.
His clothes still carried the pleasant, subtle fragrance they always had—not as deliberate as perfumes, but comfortable and inviting, making one want to draw closer.
Yet, while the sleeves of his clothes used to be wrinkled, now they were unusually neat.
Someone as careless as him would never tend to his own clothes. The only possibility was that someone had meticulously taken care of them for him.
And since he had been away from home for so long, the identity of this attentive person became crystal clear.
Realizing this, Chu Qingyi quickly stopped her train of thought. If she delved deeper, she might lose control of her emotions.
Her eyes filled with confusion as she stared blankly at Li Ye, so close at hand.
It had to be said, he was still as cautious as ever. There was no trace of another woman on him—not even a scent. Everything was clean and pure, with no hint of unfamiliar fragrance.
Clearly, before entering, he had erased all evidence.
Chu Qingyi didn't know whether to feel relieved or sorrowful about this.
Her delicate, arched brows furrowed slightly, and her exquisite face was clouded with a dense, watery melancholy, as if it could never be dispelled.
Her deep, starry eyes held confusion, sorrow, and a hint of helplessness.
She had thought that Li Ye's betrayal would take root in her heart like a sharp thorn, the stinging pain forever reminding her of the wounds of that day. The bleeding gash would never heal, and her resentment toward Li Ye would never fade.
Yet all of this vanished without a trace the moment she saw him. The previous negative emotions were swept away by the warmth of his embrace.
Undoubtedly, her heart was conflicted. Her long-held pride would not allow her to forgive Li Ye easily, yet her burning passion for him surged like an unstoppable force, pushing her slowly toward him.
As she looked at Li Ye, so close at hand, the tangled emotions within her felt like a vast web woven from countless threads, binding her tightly and leaving her unable to move.
With her heart a whirlwind of feelings and sleep now impossible, she quietly rose and slipped out of the east wing.
Meanwhile, Li Xuan's heart remained in turmoil. Li Ye had been away for many days, and he had grown accustomed to the time alone with Chu Qingyi. Now, with Li Ye suddenly reappearing in their lives, he felt utterly at a loss.
His face shifted through a spectrum of colors—flushing red with shame and anger, paling white with shock, then turning ashen with fury.
In his subconscious, Chu Qingyi had already become his sole possession. He could not allow another man by her side, not even his adoptive father.
The image of Li Ye and Chu Qingyi locked in a tight embrace resurfaced in his mind, stirring up waves of anger and astonishment. His small hands clenched into tight fists.
At this moment, his face was a mask of grief and indignation. An outsider might have mistaken him for Chu Qingyi's rightful husband.
Clearly, he had long forgotten that Li Ye was Chu Qingyi's legitimate husband, while he himself was the one who had intruded into their marriage, committing an act that defied all moral boundaries.
"Didn't Mother say that Father had taken up with another woman outside? Why has he suddenly returned?" he muttered to himself, pacing restlessly back and forth in the room.
"And after doing such a thing, how could Mother still be willing to sleep with him?"
"Could they have already reconciled?"
"What should I do then? Would she abandon me?"
"No, no, that can't be..."
...
He paced like an ant on a hot pan, muttering incessantly under his breath.
He had a thousand questions for Chu Qingyi, yet he felt he lacked the courage to voice a single one.
Just as he was at a loss, a faint sound came from the courtyard.
Following the noise, he looked outside and saw Chu Qingyi sitting alone at the stone table in the yard, lost in thought.
Without a moment's hesitation, he rushed out of the room, charging toward her under her bewildered gaze.
The shoe he had dropped earlier still lay abandoned outside the east wing. Now, Li Xuan wore one tattered cloth shoe while the other foot was bare against the ground.
Years of labor in the fields had left a thin layer of calluses on his soles, so walking barefoot caused him no discomfort.
"Qing... I... I want... you..."
Standing before Chu Qingyi, the impulsive courage that had driven him moments ago evaporated completely. He fidgeted awkwardly, stammering incoherently, unsure of what he was even trying to say.
Chu Qingyi, who had been lost in thought, was startled by Li Xuan's sudden interruption, looking at him in surprise as he babbled incoherently.
After a few moments, she roughly guessed what was on Li Xuan's mind and understood his purpose in coming.
"Are you trying to ask me why, despite Li Ye's actions, I haven't condemned him and instead pretended to know nothing?" Chu Qingyi said calmly.
Hearing this, Li Xuan snapped back to reality and nodded repeatedly.
He didn't know why, but the moment he saw Chu Qingyi, all his impulses surged to the forefront of his mind, driving him to run toward her. Yet when he finally stood before her, he felt deflated, like a balloon losing all its air.
"What happened between him and another woman is no different from what happened between you and me, isn't it? Since both of us have betrayed each other, how can we determine who is right and who is wrong?" Chu Qingyi wore a faint, ambiguous smile, making it impossible to discern her true thoughts.
Her expression was remarkably carefree, as if she were merely an observer of the whole affair.
"But... but he was the one who..." Li Xuan finally managed to gather his thoughts and stammered out a question.
"In fact, you should be grateful to him. If he hadn't done what he did first, I wouldn't have been so angry that I ended up with you..." Chu Qingyi left the last part unsaid, her gaze lingering meaningfully on Li Xuan.
"But... but this isn't your fault. If we must assign blame, then it's our son who is at fault." Seeing her indifferent demeanor, Li Xuan felt an inexplicable panic.
Her reaction was too calm—unnaturally calm for an ordinary person. At the very least, any other woman in the world, upon learning of her husband's infidelity and her own entanglement with her son, would not have remained as composed as she was.
"Yes, you are the one at fault," Chu Qingyi picked up his words and continued.
This left Li Xuan speechless, his next words stuck in his throat. He had only been trying to be polite, never expecting her to actually take him up on it.
"I... this... no..." Li Xuan, his thoughts thrown into disarray once more, began stammering again.
"Enough. You don't need to worry about this anymore. Just pretend you know nothing, keep yourself in check, and make sure you don't slip up while Li Ye is staying at home." Chu Qingyi frowned slightly, deeply annoyed by Li Xuan's lack of backbone.
Hearing her nearly commanding tone, even though Li Xuan's questions remained unanswered, he didn't dare linger any longer. He could only nod repeatedly in agreement before slipping away as quickly as possible.
Only after Li Xuan had completely disappeared from her sight did the calm facade on her face vanish, replaced by the confusion she had felt earlier.
In truth, she had no idea how to face Li Ye now—at the very least, she wasn't as carefree as she had made herself out to be when speaking to Li Xuan.
The reason she had put on an indifferent front was simply to keep Li Xuan from guessing her true thoughts. If he had seen through her, his impulsiveness might have led him to do something unpredictable.
So, when facing Li Xuan, she had no choice but to feign confidence, ensuring he wouldn't grow suspicious.
During this period, she needed to keep Li Ye in a constant state of guilt toward her. To achieve this, the necessary step was to first stabilize Li Xuan, because if the latter were to show any signs, Li Ye would inevitably notice. If he were to discover that she had engaged in such an absurd affair with his son, the consequences would be unimaginable.
So, the moment Li Xuan rushed up to her, someone as clever as her naturally guessed his true intentions and immediately devised a countermeasure, responding to him with an air of calm indifference.
Fortunately, Li Xuan was dull-witted. Had he scrutinized carefully, he would have noticed the loopholes in her words.
"Ah..." she sighed deeply, her brows furrowed with worry.
"I haven't slept this well in a long time."
Just as Chu Qingyi was lost in thought, Li Ye emerged from the room, yawning and stretching, his eyes still heavy with sleep.
Seeing Chu Qingyi sitting in the courtyard, a blissful smile spread across his face.
The morning sunlight was warm and bright, gently illuminating her as if draping her in a layer of golden radiance.
Her breathtaking beauty, enough to make heaven and earth pale in comparison, appeared even more sacred and noble under the caress of the sunlight, making her look as beautiful as a fairy from the Jade Pond.
"Awake?" she said softly, a gentle smile gracing her face.
The sight before him left Li Ye utterly captivated. His eyes fixed on Chu Qingyi, unable to look away even for a moment.
During his time away from home, he had grown accustomed to Xu Ruanyao's enchanting allure and seductive charm, her every gesture exuding a bewitching quality that could stir the most primal desires deep within him.
After so long, now gazing at Chu Qingyi, who was as pure and cold as a snow lotus on a high mountain, as sacred as the purest existence in this world, her every smile and frown completely conquered his aesthetic sensibilities.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Chu Qingyi tilted her head to look at him, her eyes sparkling with life.
"It's just because my Qingyi is too beautiful. In terms of looks, no woman in this world can compare to my Qingyi." Li Ye chuckled sheepishly, scratching his head before striding over to her with his long legs.
"Oh? Really?" she asked with a teasing smile.
"Of course it's true. Why would I lie to you? Qingyi is absolutely the most beautiful woman in the world." Li Ye declared earnestly, pulling her into his arms.
"Then have you ever... been tempted by other women while you were away?" Chu Qingyi said calmly.
As soon as the words left her mouth, she could feel Li Ye's body stiffen instantly, and the arm holding her grew noticeably tense.
She looked up at Li Ye. Although his expression remained calm, she could see the turmoil in his heart from the slight twitch at the corner of his mouth.
"H-how could I? With such a stunning beauty like you by my side, how could I have eyes for anyone else? Besides, none of them could ever compare to you." Li Ye's gaze drifted, avoiding direct eye contact with her.
"That's good. Look how scared you are—I was just joking." An inscrutable smile appeared on Chu Qingyi's face, her eyes as deep and unfathomable as water.
Li Ye secretly breathed a sigh of relief, feeling both relieved and curious as to why she would ask such a question.
He gazed into her bright eyes and for the first time felt they were so profound, as if possessing a certain magic that could see through people's hearts. Once he fell deep into them, all his thoughts would be known to her.
Feeling guilty, he quickly averted his gaze, not daring to look at her any longer.
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