”Am I still awake?” he murmured, a little dazed.
Jiang Ying Yue couldn’t help but chuckle. She pinched his hand.
He hissed. The sharp pain immediately proved that this was all real. She didn’t hold back at all in pinching him. It hurt!
”Oh, sorry. I didn’t control my strength.” She rubbed the part of his hand that she just pinched.
”It’s fine.”
”I’ll control my strength next time,” she said.
”There’s a next time?”
She gave him a shy smile. “Maybe.” She paused for a few seconds before asking, “So…are we considered…together now?”
”Huh?” His brain took a few seconds to load before he came back to his senses. “Yes! Of course!” He laughed in delight. “We’re together now!”
”Y-yehan….”
He grinned while rubbing and squeezing her hand. It was calloused and a little rough, but for him, it was the most beautiful hand that he had ever held.
”Yes, that’s right. You should call me Yehan now, Ying Yue.”
Then he raised her hand and gave it a light kiss. His grin became wider after seeing her flushing even brighter.
”Ying Yue, thank you for accepting me. I’ll do my best to show that you made the right decision in choosing me.”
”Okay, Yehan.”
He leaned closer towards her. “May I kiss you?”
Her face right now was as red as a baboon’s butt but she still nodded. Without waiting for his next move, she already grabbed his face and kissed him on the lips.
His arms immediately wrapped around her as he opened his mouth and deepened the kiss.
Jiang Ying Yue felt the familiar stirrings of desire in her lower belly. She hung on to him and tried to intensify the kiss but he was in complete control of it. Before she knew it, she was already following his rhythm—slow but very thorough.
This was the first time that she had been kissed so meticulously like this. Lin Yehan was like a master explorer, taking his time to find her sweet spots and learning which techniques she liked best.
There was a steadiness in the man that assured her. Just based on his performance right now, he wasn’t the kind to blow her mind from intensity right from the start. He seemed to prefer to take the slow but steady route.
Soft and gentle in the beginning and then gradually building up the intensity. The feeling that he gave her was more like a trickling stream rather than a raging waterfall.
At first, it felt like a stream flowing slowly but surely into a river that became bigger and faster the more he worked his magic on her. Then finally, she found herself plummeting down a waterfall that appeared out of nowhere, catching her off guard.
When she returned to her senses, she realized that she somehow moved from the ottoman bench on to Lin Yehan’s lap. She stared at him in a daze. There was a slight taste of brandy on her tongue from his kiss.
”Ying Yue,” he whispered before gently rubbing their lips together.
She sighed from the tender pleasure. It felt so nice, relaxing and hot all at the same time.
”You’re drunk,” she murmured. “What if you forget about all this tomorrow?”
He chuckled and rubbed her lower back. “Something so wonderful like this, how could I forget?”
###
The next morning, Lin Yehan woke up with a throbbing headache. He was in an unfamiliar room and an unfamiliar bed, but when he inhaled, he smelled a familiar scent.
From now on, he wanted to smell this scent every time he woke up in the morning. He smiled but winced when his head began hurting like a bitch again.
The door open a crack. Jiang Ying Yue poked half of her head through the door and peeked inside. When she saw that he was already up, she entered while pushing a small cart.
”Good morning, Yehan.”
”Good morning, Ying Yue.” He waited for her to arrive by the bed—her bed.
”I brought you some hangover soup. The butler also prepared fresh clothes and toiletries for you.”
He pulled her to sit on the edge of the bed beside him before giving her cheek a quick peck. Satisfaction filled him at seeing the tips of her ears turn red.
”Don’t get too close to me,” she said and pulled away from him a little. “I just finished my morning training routine so I’m sweaty.”
”I like you sweaty,” he teased.
She turned red all over.
He chuckled and then winced.
”Headache?” She took the bowl of hangover soup and handed it to him. “Drink this first. I’ll take a quick shower. You can go after I finish.”
He hummed his agreement and took a few sips of the rich soup. “Have you eaten breakfast yet?”
”Yes but I already burned most of it from my morning training routine. I’ll eat again with you later.”
”Okay.”
He focused on finishing the soup while listening to the sounds of her showering in the ensuite bathroom. The smile stayed on his face almost the entire time. He felt so happy that he almost couldn’t believe that they were actually together now. If not for his painful headache, then he would doubt that this was reality.
After placing the empty bowl back on the cart, he opened the curtains, letting the bright sunlight flood in the bedroom. He started stretching his half-naked body while studying the room’s interior.
The overall style was quite masculine—strong, bold textures with minimal decorations. It suited Jiang Ying Yue perfectly.
Last night, he followed Jiang Ying Yue to her bedroom where they continued to make out. Yes, he slept on her bed but nothing more happened between the two of them besides kissing and some touching over their clothing.
She had the intention of consummating their relationship but he managed to calm her down. Although he wasn’t completely drunk last night, he still didn’t want their first time to be influenced by alcohol in any way. He preferred to be alert when he made love with Jiang Ying Yue for the first time.
Neither of them were virgins but that didn’t mean that he should be careless in his treatment of her. On the contrary, he was determined to become the best and the most considerate lover that she ever had in her entire life.
Jiang Ying Yue finished showering and putting on clothes in ten minutes. Lin Yehan was very impressed. Her discipline was comparable to soldiers. Even a former professional athlete like him couldn’t compare to her.
He gave her a quick hug and another rather chaste kiss on the cheek before taking a shower next.
Afterwards, the two of them headed straight to the playroom where Little Jun was playing with Popcorn and his puppy, Gravy.
”Mommi! Anko Han!”
The little guy jumped into his mother’s waiting arms. Lin Yehan made a “come here” gesture with his arms and was pleasantly surprised when Little Jun reached over to him. He carried the child and enjoyed the feeling.
Together, they headed to the dining area. Popcorn and Gravy followed by their heels.
When they arrived at the dining area, they saw almost everyone except for Grandpa Lu who apparently went out to visit some of his old friends again.
”Yo, good morning,” Yu Mo greeted. He looked haggard with listless eyes and dark circles.
Then his eyes widened and almost bulged out of his head when he saw the interlaced hands of Lin Yehan and Jiang Ying Yue.
”Whoa! Holy Moly! What am I seeing?! Is this for real?! Am I dreaming?! Someone pinch me—OUCH!!! Ice Cream, you brat! I said pinch me, not punch me! Dammit! I think you also scratched me. Is it bleeding?”
The fat, grey cat landed on the floor after punching her Uncle Mo with agility and gracefulness that defied her size. She threw him a disgusted glare before hopping on top of a display table near her twin baby brothers and cousins but far away from the annoying puppies on the floor.
”Third Bro, look at what your eldest did to me!” Yu Mo complained while holding his face where Ice Cream punched him.
Jin Liwei raised an eyebrow. “You were being too loud. Ice Cream didn’t want you scaring the babies.”
”And so she attacked me?!”
”Not attacked, just warned you,” Jin Liwei corrected.
Lu Zihao sneered at Yu Mo. “You’re a Systema practitioner and yet you can’t even win against a cat? How shameful!”
Long Jinjing giggled.
”My daughter is so mighty,” Iris said in a tone filled with pride.
”Baby Ice Cream’s cat punch just now is one of the bestest I’ve ever seen!” Dom exclaimed. “So fast and clean! Ehehe. I should’ve recorded it on video!”
”Meow~” Ice Cream’s disdainful expression turned adorable after her mommy and Uncle Dom (a.k.a. Slave #1) praised her.
Yu Mo couldn’t accept that nobody was sympathizing with him even for a bit. “You’re all bullying me!”
Lin Yehan and Jiang Ying Yue took this time to settle in their seats. It was Lin Yehan who put Little Jun in his high seat, looking so much like a dad. Their actions caught everybody’s attention again, especially Yu Mo.
”Eldest Bro, is Jiang Ying Yue the special lady that you’ve been pursuing?” Yu Mo asked.
”Yes.” Lin Yehan had no intention of denying it. In fact, he was very proud of it.
Yu Mo looked around the table. Nobody looked surprised. Only him.
”You all knew about them?”
Just looking at their expressions alone was enough to answer his question. He glanced at his happy eldest brother, the blushing Jiang Ying Yue, and the clueless Little Jun.
”Cool! Congrats, Eldest Bro! You too, Jiang Ying Yue! So tell me, when’s the wedding?”
