Luo Qingyu gently pushed open the door.
Her eyes immediately fell on Jiang Huai and Bai Li on the bed. The two were leaning against each other, as if it were a cold winter day, and they were relying on each other’s body heat for warmth.
Jiang Huai was already asleep, but Bai Li was not. Hearing the sound of the door opening, she looked towards Luo Qingyu, a tiny hint of guilt in her eyes.
She certainly had no grounds to be proud, and she knew it. Although the Monster Clan of the Western Regions didn’t adhere to so many formalities, she was well aware that Luo Qingyu was Jiang Huai’s fiancée. At this moment, she was lying beside Luo Qingyu’s fiancé, so she deserved to be furious.
Unexpectedly, Luo Qingyu’s eyes were soft. She merely asked in a low voice, “Is Jiang Huai Gege asleep?”
Bai Li nodded very, very lightly.
“Then you sleep first, I’ll come over in a moment.” Luo Qingyu’s voice was gentle. She softly left the door ajar and turned towards the courtyard, where Luo Yueguan was looking up at the moon.
Luo Qingyu sat down opposite Luo Yueguan.
Luo Yueguan lowered her head, and at this moment, a trace of unspeakable guilt flickered in her eyes.
“Did Mother say something unpleasant to Jiang Huai Gege?” Luo Qingyu’s eyes were fixed on Luo Yueguan.
Luo Yueguan’s eyes grew more guilty. She lowered her head slightly and recounted everything she had said to Jiang Huai. After finishing, Luo Yueguan mumbled a little helplessly, “If you think Mother said anything wrong… Mother can apologize to him tomorrow.”
Luo Qingyu was silent for a few seconds. “Does Mother think what she said was right?”
Luo Yueguan couldn’t answer. Subconsciously, she wanted to be stubborn again, “I just thought… to put some pressure on him… otherwise, he’s always entangled in this engagement and never takes things seriously… take Bai Li, for example… her relationship with him doesn’t look like just ordinary friends… he’s about to get married… he ought to have some sense…”
Luo Qingyu was silent for a moment, then gently shook her head. “Mother, what I want is not marriage.”
Luo Yueguan was stunned. She looked at Luo Qingyu in front of her with surprise. Luo Qingyu didn’t show any anger or blame. She just looked at Luo Yueguan gently and said softly, “I cared about that engagement because I understood that Jiang Huai Gege is a responsible person. If he married me, and I was his lawfully wedded wife, he should have considered me the most important person in his heart, no matter what.”
“But if Jiang Huai Gege is pushed too hard, what’s the point of getting married? If his heart isn’t with me, then marriage is just a formality. What I want is not that piece of paper, but Jiang Huai Gege’s heart.”
“That’s why last night I wanted to tempt Jiang Huai Gege to do something. If Jiang Huai Gege did something to me, he would certainly favor me a little more. I can give him what Aunt Chu is unwilling to give. Jiang Huai Gege will gradually understand my feelings. In fact, the reason Jiang Huai Gege is ambiguous with that junior sister named Wanwan, and why his relationship with Bai Li seems overly intimate, is ultimately because he doesn’t like me that much.”
What sounded like cruel words came calmly from Luo Qingyu’s lips.
“At first, I was very upset when I thought about it. But then I suddenly realized that Jiang Huai Gege wasn’t like this from the beginning. He was forced into this by Aunt Chu… In the beginning, Jiang Huai Gege’s favorite was only Aunt Chu. It was Aunt Chu who forced him to like me, otherwise, he would have been devoted to Aunt Chu all along. This seems to be both good and bad for me. If Jiang Huai Gege wasn’t promiscuous, then he would only ever love Aunt Chu in his life. But if he is promiscuous, then in the future, other women might appear by his side…”
“I’ve already made up my mind. No matter how many women appear around Jiang Huai Gege in the future, I will become the one he likes the most. This is much more important than that marriage contract.”
Luo Yueguan suddenly realized that she didn’t seem to understand Luo Qingyu at all, because Luo Qingyu seemed to have figured out many things that she hadn’t, with surprising ease.
“Do you… like Jiang Huai that much?”
“Why wouldn’t I like Jiang Huai Gege?” At this moment, Luo Qingyu’s eyes seemed to sparkle. “When I was at my saddest, it was Jiang Huai Gege who appeared by my side to cheer me up. Mother… you don’t understand. When you like someone, just being by their side, even doing nothing, makes you incredibly happy. I want to be with Jiang Huai Gege forever. I’d even be willing to turn into a puppy and follow Jiang Huai Gege around.”
“Why?” Luo Yueguan didn’t understand.
In the past six hundred years, she had hardly viewed any man with high regard. Or rather, whether men or women, their nature was inherently base and greedy. No one was nobler than another. So-called love was just a lie. No one could abandon their inherent selfishness and desire, only seeking to obtain what they wanted from the other person. Therefore, she never believed in ephemeral love. Who would love another person unconditionally?
“Liking someone is just unreasonable like that,” Luo Qingyu blinked innocently. “So… please, Mother, can you say a few good words for me to Jiang Huai Gege tomorrow when he wakes up?”
This time, Luo Yueguan didn’t hesitate. She nodded gently. “Okay.”
“Then I’ll go and sleep with Jiang Huai Gege? Mother, you should sleep early too.” Luo Qingyu stood up, her steps light.
Luo Yueguan watched her retreating back and suddenly felt an indescribable sense of defeat.
She seemed to have never truly understood her daughter, nor herself. She always lived so conflicted, struggling again and again, only to trap herself time and again.
***
Luo Qingyu tiptoed into the room.
Bai Li looked slightly uneasy. Luo Qingyu approached the bedside and winked at her. “Can I sleep with Bai Li Jiejie?”
“Of course…”
So, Luo Qingyu carefully climbed onto the bed and lay down beside Bai Li.
At this moment, three people were lying under the same quilt. Jiang Huai was still fast asleep. When Luo Qingyu entered, Bai Li had stopped hugging Jiang Huai. She was now squeezed in the middle, feeling a bit flustered.
“Bai Li Jiejie smells so good.” Luo Qingyu snuggled against Bai Li, her voice soft and sweet. “Can I hug Bai Li Jiejie to sleep?”
“Yes… then I’ll hug you too?”
“Okay, okay.” Luo Qingyu turned over, and Bai Li’s legs hooked around hers again. The two girls were face to face, and Luo Qingyu’s eyes were soft. “Is Bai Li Jiejie ready to sleep?”
“Not particularly sleepy yet.”
“Then can you tell me more stories about you and Jiang Huai Gege in the Secret Realm?”
“Okay.”
The two girls chatted like this until very late, until Luo Qingyu’s eyelids began to droop. Burying her face in Bai Li’s chest, she mumbled drowsily, “Goodnight, Bai Li Jiejie.”
***
When the first rays of the morning sun fell on his face, Jiang Huai groggily opened his eyes. He pushed back the quilt and sat up. Looking down, he was suddenly stunned.
Because both Bai Li and Luo Qingyu were lying beside him.
The two girls were wearing bathrobes. The loose sashes of the bathrobes were undone, revealing a large expanse of white, tender skin on the chest. Bai Li’s snow-white, smooth lower abdomen rose and fell slightly with her breathing, her cute navel exposed. As for Luo Qingyu, her bathrobe was even more revealing, with her full mounds exposed for the most part. He hastily grabbed the quilt and covered both of them, trying to recall what had happened last night.
He vaguely remembered Luo Yueguan saying a lot of things that made him want to escape quickly. But how could the two girls be in his bed now?
Jiang Huai cautiously began to dress. However, this slight commotion still caused Bai Li, who had always been a light sleeper, to open her eyes. She looked at Jiang Huai. “You’re awake.”
Then, Luo Qingyu also woke up. She sat up and rubbed her eyes. The quilt Jiang Huai had just placed over her slipped down. She looked at Jiang Huai and smiled. “Jiang Huai Gege is awake. Are you feeling unwell anywhere?”
“No, why are you here?”
“After bathing last night, I saw Jiang Huai Gege sleeping here. I asked Bai Li Jiejie if I could sleep with you, and Bai Li Jiejie said yes, so I slept here too,” Luo Qingyu replied innocently.
“Is that so…”
Jiang Huai felt a little guilty, but he saw no blame in Luo Qingyu’s eyes. Luo Qingyu’s fingertips lightly grasped the bathrobe and unfastened it. Then she took out her underwear and began to put it on. After she was dressed, Luo Qingyu turned to Jiang Huai. Jiang Huai gently tied the straps at the back of her neck.
Then, Bai Li also began to dress as if no one else was there. She also turned her back to Jiang Huai. Jiang Huai hesitated for a moment and then, with trembling little hands, buttoned Bai Li’s clothes.
Strange, why wasn’t Luo Qingyu angry?
Logically, Luo Qingyu should have been angry. But it seemed that after seeing Bai Li, apart from asserting her claim, Luo Qingyu was gentle towards Bai Li, truly playing the role of a well-behaved younger sister. Jiang Huai was somewhat bewildered. Luo Qingyu got up, opened the wardrobe, found a light purple Hanfu and put it on. Most of the Hanfu’s fabric was designed like light gauze, faintly revealing her collarbone and her snow-white long legs beneath the skirt hem.
Bai Li, on the other hand, put on the sleeveless black qipao, which perfectly accentuated her slender and delicate figure. Her snow-white thighs, exposed by the slit in the qipao, were warm and clean.
In Luo Qingyu’s room were also the clothes Jiang Huai had sent her before. She took out a pair of transparent, ultra-thin, over-the-knee white silk stockings from the cabinet. Then she shifted her body, and her tender, white toes lightly poked Jiang Huai’s chest. Looking at him in a spoiled, ingratiating manner, she said, “Jiang Huai Gege, help me put on my socks, okay?”
The girl’s snow-white little feet were slender and petite, with a beautiful arch curve. Faint blue veins showed through her snow-white inst
