Seizing the chance while Long Feiye was brushing aside her hair, Han Yunxi pushed him aside and turned to flee. Long Feiye allowed her to run, but right before she reached shore, he sent up a wall of water that blocked off her escape route.
She turned to glare at him. “Can you be any worse?”
“Yes.” Long Feiye was in such a good mood that he laughed out loud. He lowered his hand and the water splashed back, completely soaking Han Yunxi once again. Her thin clothes clinging to her body were practically transparent, making it impossible to hide her beautiful, private areas. Long Feiye’s scorching gaze had already fixated on her figure!
Actually, he hadn’t wanted to be so naughty and just meant to fool around before earnesting begging her for a girl, but… Such a mist-enshrouded sight gave him nonstop wicked thoughts. He wanted to be bad to the last!
“Han Yunxi, come over here and admit your loss.”
Han Yunxi immediately shook her head. It was clearly he who tricked her, so she wasn’t having any of it! She headed for deeper waters, hoping to hide her body. Otherwise, he’d be able to see right through her! Long Feiye simply watched her without moving a muscle. By the time Han Yunxi was all but submerged underwater except for her head, she resembled a rabbit on guard against Long Feiye. She seemed to have steeled her heart against acknowledging her loss.
Long Feiye laughed. Whenever this woman acted like this, his desire to conquer her increased.
“For the last time, are you admitting your loss or not?” he asked.
“You tricked me”! Han Yunxi complained.
Long Feiye simply dove underwater. Han Yunxi had enough experience to know what was up! She quickly dove down as well to guard against a sneak attack, but it was impossible to see in the dark! The waves above them grew in ferocity, making it impossible to tell what was going on. By the time both figures broke through the water, they were already on the other side of the pool where the deep water lay. Han Yunxi’s clothes had all but disappeared, revealing her jade-like back and nape as well as beautiful collarbones. Long Feiye, however, was still dressed. Whatever bout happened under the water, it was clear that Long Feiye was the winner.
The duo stared at each other, but whatever happened had caused Han Yunxi to freeze in place and stop escaping. Long Feiye only smiled with amusement at her serious–no, long-suffering–expression.
“Still won’t admit your loss?” he asked.
“I just won’t!” Han Yunxi responded instantly.
With a splash, Long Feiye pulled her close until their noses were almost touching, then asked, “Will you admit defeat?”
Han Yunxi turned aside with furrowed brows. It was obvious that Long Feiye had bullied her thoroughly underwater. She sprawled over his shoulder, her body clearing the loser even as her mouth insisted, “You tricked me so I won’t! I refuse!”
Long Feiye’s smile grew gentler. “Xi’er, do you believe me when I say you’ve already lost your chance to admit your loss?”
Just before Long Feiye gave a fierce thrust underwater, Han Yunxi suddenly turned around and pinned him against the shore. He crashed against the rocks, his arms moving to prop him there while exposing his well-built chest. Han Yunxi drew close with a fierce look and challenged, “Do you believe me when I say you’ll be the one admitting defeat today?”
Long Feiye arched a brow at her in silence. Abruptly, Han Yunxi wrapped her arms around his neck and delivered herself to him with face raised. There were no words or actions needed for Long Feiye to reciprocate. After repeated movements, he was powerless to resist. He proactively bent down to kiss her, waiting for her response. As expected, she gave him the best one. No matter how wicked he was, he’d turn docile at a kiss from her and obey all her whims. By the time she let him go, his eyes were filled with nothing but tenderness.
“Xi’er, give me a daughter, won’t you?” he asked.
Han Yunxi burst into giggles. “So you did all this for a daughter!”
“Only once,” Long Feiye murmured back. “The other times are all for your sake.”
One time? The other times? Han Yunxi grew alarmed. Just how many times does he want to do it?
Before she could react, Long Feiye had already picked her up princess style and flew out of the hot springs and back into their rooms… Victor and loser were pointless now, because they had long merged into one being with their bodies. In the middle of the night, a new spring blossomed upon the new year.
Han Yunxi fell into an exhausted slumber during the last hours of the previous year to welcome in the next. Heaven knew the extent of Long Feiye’s endurance! He placed the unconscious Han Yunxi beneath warm, fox-fur covers and cleaned off all the water on her body without missing a single spot. He made sure she was warmly wrapped up and laid her head on his legs while drying out her long hair and combing through the strands. Only then did he carefully tie up the hair. With his head bowed in quiet, concentrated repose, he seemed a completely different man from the domineering figure during the day.
Besides Han Yunxi, there was nobody else who would ever know such a man could be so intimate and gentle after the storm. When Long Feiye finally set Han Yunxi on a pillow and prepared to leave, she suddenly grabbed his hand and murmured, “I lost…I lost…Feiye, I admit my loss…”
Long Feiye chuckled soundlessly with a dazzling smile. He couldn’t help review his own overbearing actions and how they must have overwhelmed her. After his repeated, aggressive attacks, she had already admitted her loss, but now she was repeating it again in her dreams.
“Silly fool!” Long Feiye bent down to kiss her and was almost tempted to nip her awake, but held back in the last second. He had no idea how much adoration was flowing from his eyes in this instant, just as how he would never know exactly how deeply he loved! This woman!
He placed her hands within the covers and gently kissed her lips before sitting up. Judging from past experience, Han Yunxi wouldn’t wake until noon tomorrow at the earliest. He couldn’t sleep because he needed to wait for Rui’er to return. Although he said Gu Qishao could look after him as a lesson to the child and man both, he didn’t want Rui’er to be frightened for an entire night. At most, this was only to be a lesson and nothing more.
Long Feiye changed his clothes, put on a fox-fur robe, and left the tea pavilion and Narcissus Courtyard to find Rui’er in person. Xu Donglin saw his master emerge and immediately revealed himself. “Master, His Highness Crown Prince is in the Serene Sunlight Courtyard. This subordinate just returned and saw that he fell asleep in Gu Qishao’s arms, not the bed.”
Long Feiye’s face immediately fell as he grew unhappy. Gu Qishao, that annoying man. He’s still holding onto Rui’er after he fell asleep? He walked with wide strides to Serene Sunlight Courtyard, only to heard the sounds of crying soon afterwards.
It was Rui’er! Although he knew his son was prone to fuss, Long Feiye still felt a surge of panic and used his lightness techniques to find his son. The cries grew louder as he approached until Long Feiye was knitting his brows. Soon enough, he saw a lost Gu Qishao holding a bawling Rui’er and running towards him.
“Long Feiye, quick! Look at Rui’er, what’s wrong with him?”
“I can’t coax him no matter how I try. He was fine before, not afraid of me at all!”
Gu Qishao had just about lost his mind. Rui’er was clearly fast asleep, but he suddenly woke up and started crying as soon as he saw his face, demanding for his parents. He tried to comfort the child but in vain, so he ended up carrying him to find Long Feiye and the rest. If it wasn’t for his grip, Rui’er would have broken free of his arms by now. Even now, Rui’er began to wail, “Wahhhh…mother, father….mother, father…”
Seeing his face covered in tears as he struggled and sobbed, Long Feiye’s heart ached and almost ran forward to take the boy himself.
But he didn’t. He stood in place and told Chu Xifeng, “Go find Zhao mama, quickly!”
Even now, the wailing Rui’er had no idea his father was right there. He thrashed about before suddenly biting down on Gu Qishao’s hand. He only had six teeth in total, so it must have been painful, but Gu Qishao was too panicked to notice anything.
He hollered at Long Feiye, “What are you spacing out for? Take him away!”
“Put him down!” Long Feiye said coldly.
Gu Qishao refused. Rui’er was already acting out like this, so how could he set him down? Moreover, the ground was covered in snow, so the boy would end up rolling about in the cold instead. He strode forward and tried to give Long Feiye the boy, but the man backed away in response. Even on a good day, Rui’er cried whenever he picked him up, to say nothing of now? It wasn’t that Long Feiye didn’t want to hold his son, but that he couldn’t.
Gu Qishao pushed Rui’er towards Long Feiye, who immediately retreated. At this point, Rui’er had noticed his father was here as well. He looked at the man with teary eyes before bursting into stronger sobs.
“Long Feiye, what are you doing? Even strict fathers don’t act like this. Look at how young he is!” the clueless Gu Qishao only felt infuriated. Seeing that Rui’er had noticed his father, he set the boy down and coaxed, “Rui’er, go look for your father! Go on! If he dares to reject you, godfather will take you away right now. We’ll go so far away, we’ll never come back!”
Little Rui’er didn’t topple into the snow when he hit the floor, but stood in place and formed his hands into fists on his sides. His red eyes looked at Long Feiye pitifully.
“Father…wahhh…father!”
“Father…” The more he looked, the more he cried until he was practically melting into a puddle. Nobody knew how much Long Feiye’s heart pained at this instant.
He was always helpless before his son.
At last, even Gu Qishao felt puzzled. Just what was wrong with the child? He was crying for his father, so shouldn’t he be throwing himself into Long Feiye’s arms?
Why is Rui’er just standing there?
Why do Long Feiye’s eyes look so helpless and pitiful?
Abruptly, Long Feiye yelled at the shadow guards, “Where’s Xu Donglin? If Zhao mama doesn’t show up this instant, Zhen will cripple him!”
Just as he fnished, Rui’er suddenly ran towards him and hugged his legs. “Father…father…pick, pick me up!”
Long Feiye froze.
It had almost been one year, but this was the first time his son sought him out willingly and asked to be picked up.
