The man had just finished brushing his teeth, his lips and breath carrying a refreshing minty scent.
Tang Wu looked at his handsome, cold, and elegant face, her heart fluttering wildly.
She didn't refuse his kiss and even responded to him boldly.
The man's large hand reached for her collarbone. When the zipper of her suit was pulled down, Tang Wu stopped his movements.
"It's early in the morning, you can't."
The man turned off the stove. His tall and handsome body trapped her between his chest and the kitchen counter.
He looked down at her, his thin reddish lips very close to hers, their noses almost touching. "Why not?"
The breath from his words was warm yet crisp, brushing against her heart like a soft feather.
"We need to eat breakfast..."
The man kissed her lips again. "No rush."
Before Tang Wu could say anything else, the man had already picked her up in his arms and left the kitchen.
Walking into the living room, he placed her on the sofa.
While kissing her, he reached out to unbutton his shirt.
"Let's go back to the bedroom!"
The man had no intention of returning to the bedroom. After undoing the top few buttons of his shirt, his well-defined chest was exposed, and Tang Wu could faintly see his sculpted abdominal muscles.
She admitted that, at this moment, she was bewitched by him again.
After their lingering intimacy, Tang Wu leaned against the sofa, her bright and beautiful small face still carrying a lingering blush.
She hadn't expected that a man who looked so ascetic and aloof on the outside would be so unrestrained once he had a taste of intimacy.
If this continued, she was going to be drained dry by him.
"Si Yanli, you weren't like this before." She picked up a throw pillow and threw it at him.
Perhaps because he had slept so well last night, he was particularly energetic and clearly not fully satisfied.
If he hadn't seen that she was already weak and exhausted, he might have squeezed her dry one more time.
The man leaned over, his long, well-defined fingers gently tucking the damp hair by her cheek behind her ear.
"I can only blame you for being too charming."
Tang Wu gave him a speechless, reproachful glare. "Stop saying things like that, it's so cheesy."
A shallow smile curved on Si Yanli's lips. "Can you still walk?"
Tang Wu didn't say anything, and he made a gesture to reach out and carry her.
Tang Wu quickly waved her hands. "I'm not that fragile yet."
After eating breakfast together, they didn't immediately return to the city. Instead, they went to a vineyard together.
After picking the grapes, they went together to the nearest town on the outskirts to sell them.
Si Yanli was relatively reserved, but Tang Wu was bright and beautiful, and she shouted out to attract customers.
Before long, she attracted quite a few people to buy their grapes.
Si Yanli stood to the side, watching Tang Wu chat confidently with the customers, and the corners of his lips unconsciously curled into a smile.
After selling out the grapes, Tang Wu waved three red banknotes in front of Si Yanli's eyes. "We made a whole three hundred yuan today. What do you want to eat tonight? I'll treat you to a big meal in town."
Si Yanli had never had an experience like this before.
Although three hundred yuan was insignificant to him, it inexplicably gave him a sense of happiness and pride.
After all, it was earned by his wife through her own abilities.
Tang Wu took Si Yanli to the largest restaurant in town.
For Si Yanli, who was used to frequenting high-end restaurants, this was undoubtedly a different experience and feeling.
The ordinary hustle and bustle of daily life was the most soothing to a mortal's heart.
After eating, the two of them held hands and strolled along the streets.
When they returned to the villa at night, they began their lingering intimacy once again.
Si Yanli and Tang Wu stayed at the suburban villa for three consecutive days.
It wasn't until the director urged Tang Wu again to go back and film the workplace variety show that Tang Wu finally pulled Si Yanli along to leave.
Si Yanli's phone had been turned off for several days. After turning it on, many messages and missed calls flooded in.
To his surprise, none of them were mocking or questioning him.
They were all positive, comforting, and encouraging.
Si Yanli remembered how his whole body was trembling when he saw that video online.
His rationality had spiraled out of control, and he had been on the verge of a complete breakdown.
He had shrunk himself back into that black abyss, thinking he would never be able to walk out of it again.
However, just when he was in despair, Tang Wu came over.
She stayed with him for three days, saving him from the abyss bit by bit.
And his family, silently working behind the scenes, handled all the negative public opinion for him.
What right did he have to continue degenerating and being decadent?
Tang Wu drove Si Yanli back to the Si family's old residence.
The Si family didn't say anything; they each gave Si Yanli a hug one by one, and then, in front of Tang Wu, expressed their deep gratitude to her.
After staying at the Si family home for an hour, Tang Wu and Si Yanli returned to the Translation Institute.
Their relationship had heated up at the suburban villa.
But they were still in the process of getting to know each other, and neither of them talked about how they would get along in the future.
Tang Wu felt it was best to just let nature take its course.
Time passed quickly, and another month went by.
The workplace variety show at the Translation Institute was only about half a month away from wrapping up filming.
On this day, after getting off work, Tang Wu received an unexpected phone call.
It was actually from Cheng Huai'an.
Cheng Huai'an was Tang Wu's ex-boyfriend, who was later stolen away by her half-sister, Tang Shiyan.
The two of them had gone abroad together.
Cheng Huai'an had returned to Ye City and wanted to invite Tang Wu out for dinner.
Tang Wu refused without even thinking about it.
Since they had already broken up, there was no need to meet again.
She had always had a good sense of boundaries.
Furthermore, she didn't have much affection left for Cheng Huai'an anyway.
But Cheng Huai'an's next sentence piqued her curiosity.
"Wuwu, I know you resent me for betraying you back then, but I was also bewitched by your sister. It was only after we went abroad that I realized she deliberately pursued and seduced me just because she wanted to steal what was yours. At the end of the day, it was my own lack of self-control. Wuwu, since we separated, I've always felt very guilty. I know you care about your grandmother the most. A while ago, when Tang Shiyan was drunk, I managed to get some information out of her and found out about your grandmother!"
"If you want to know, come out and meet me."
Her grandmother was Tang Wu's weak spot, and also her closest relative in this world.
"Alright. Where are we meeting? Send me the location."
After ending the call with Cheng Huai'an, Tang Wu received an internal call from Si Yanli.
"Tonight, I'm having a get-together with Huo Zhixu and a few friends. They asked me to bring my wife along. Will you come with me?"
Tang Wu's long eyelashes fluttered.
If it were any other time, she would definitely go with him.
After all, this was the first time he had taken the initiative to offer to introduce her to his friends.
It also showed that he was slowly developing different feelings for her.
But—
"I can't tonight, I have other things to do."
Si Yanli was silent for a moment before asking in a clear, smooth voice, "What kind of things?"
Tang Wu's beautiful eyes shifted slightly. "Zhiwan has a bit of an issue on her end. She asked me to go over and keep her company tonight. I already promised her first, so it wouldn't be good to back out."
Si Yanli didn't make things difficult for Tang Wu. "Alright then."
...
That night.
Inside a high-end clubhouse in Ye City.
After Si Yanli, Huo Zhixu, and a few friends had a few drinks, Huo Zhixu suddenly pointed at a pair of silhouettes outside the private room's floor-to-ceiling windows. "Holy shit, Lao Yan, didn't you say Beauty Tang didn't have time and had to keep her best friend company? Her best friend is a guy?"
