CHAPTER 68: CHAPTER 68: ONE OVERSIGHT IN A HUNDRED CAUTIONS 6_1

He set her down on the nearby couch and walked out of the room.

She knew she’d annoyed him but didn’t know how to make amends. Besides, she didn’t want to. She just sat dumbfounded on the couch, listening to his heavy footsteps descending the stairs.

She sat there for a long while. Still, no sounds came from downstairs. Wan Donglin must have already left, she thought. By then, her legs were starting to go numb. She slowly got up, and just as she did, she heard footsteps approaching from outside the door.

Wan Donglin came in carrying a small table. On it were two large bowls of sweet dumplings, each with a poached egg. Seeing her surprised expression, he smiled. "What are you staring blankly at? Hurry up and eat."

She held the large bowl, motionless.

He raised his eyebrows. "What’s wrong? Don’t want any sweet dumplings? There’s plenty of food in the fridge, but I don’t know how to cook any of it. This is the simplest. I’m famished too. Hurry, eat up..."

He started eating first, with a hearty appetite, and finished his bowl in no time.

Seeing her just holding her bowl, he urged, "Why aren’t you eating? Do you find my cooking unsatisfactory?"

She quickly lowered her head, her voice soft. "Thank you, Mr. Wan."

He chuckled. "You really shouldn’t thank me."

She was utterly taken aback.

"Three years ago," Wan Donglin continued, "I was madly in love with a supermodel. That Spring Festival, I also paid her a surprise visit, just like this. That night, however, she was in another man’s arms. Yan Xixi, if you hadn’t been in this room tonight, you would never have had the chance to set foot in this house again, not even for a moment."

She felt utterly humiliated. Dealing with him was like walking on eggshells.

She wasn’t preserving her chastity for him; she simply didn’t want to die a horrible death. She reminded herself of the principle: if you accept the benefit, you must endure the consequence. During this period, she would be a docile subject, completely submitting to his rule.

Enduring humiliation and biding her time—hadn’t their ancestors advised this for five thousand years?

She ate every last sweet dumpling in her large bowl. As warmth spread through her stomach, her spirits lifted. Through the faint, swirling steam, Wan Donglin saw a soft blush slowly creep onto her jade-like face. It was just like when they first met. He had been instantly captivated then, thinking her a celestial beauty.

Perhaps she was just too beautiful, which was why his sense of novelty hadn’t faded even now.

Even he was surprised that his interest had lasted this long.

Inside an exquisite box lay a very delicate ring. In the center was a pink diamond, not ostentatiously large, but its quality and the craftsmanship of its setting were both first-rate.

He took her hand and slipped the ring onto her finger. The pink diamond made her slender, snow-white fingers look lustrous and warm.

He praised her effusively, "Xixi, it suits you perfectly. Even the size is right."

She responded reverently, "Thank you, Mr. Wan."

That night, for the first time, he fell asleep holding her.

She was docile, like a little kitten, not fidgeting at all. By dawn, she was still nestled in his arms.

When Wan Donglin woke up, she was still fast asleep, her jet-black hair scattered across his chest.

He glanced at the time. It was almost noon. This was the first time he’d seen her sleep in since they had been together. He carefully turned over and got out of bed, not waking her in the slightest.

As he reached the window, his footsteps halted. The night’s snowstorm had long since stopped, and the world outside was crystal clear.

On the open ground of the terrace garden, two snowmen had weathered the night’s blizzard. Though somewhat damaged, their general outlines were still clearly visible.

The snowman on the left was in the likeness of Yan Xixi’s mother. The one on the right had a circle of withered grass tied around its neck like a tie. That appearance was unmistakably—shockingly—the outline of Huang Xiaojue.

Even someone as cautious as Yan Xixi could slip up, he mused.

He studied them intently for a while, then pushed open the window and stepped out. He lifted his foot, and with just a few swift kicks, the snowman representing Huang Xiaojue collapsed. Soon after, a gust of wind swept through, jumbling the snow into a messy pile, erasing any recognizable trace of it.