Half an hour later, Xu Xiuwen lay flat, staring at the ceiling.
An Shishi lay in the crook of his arm, her finger lightly drawing circles on his chest. This was one of her usual habits.
“Stop messing around, let me rest for a bit,” Xu Xiuwen said, grabbing her mischievous hand.
An Shishi leaned close to his ear, her breath warm as she asked, “Hubby, it seems like today was faster than usual. Are you... not up to it?”
Being called “fast” was one thing.
But being doubted as “not up to it”?
How could Xu Xiuwen tolerate that?
He was just about to continue when An Shishi suddenly whined, “Hubby, I really can’t anymore. Please let me go.”
Her voice was sweet and teasing.
“Really can’t?”
“Mm-hmm,” An Shishi nodded.
“Fine, then.”
Xu Xiuwen lay back down. He wasn’t so desperate that he’d force her. He had only wanted to scare her a bit just now.
Seeing that he was letting her off the hook, An Shishi leaned in closer again. Whispering into his ear, she teased, “If you really want more, I could think of... another way.”
Another way?
Xu Xiuwen hesitated for a moment before refusing. “Forget it. Let’s just get some sleep.”
An Shishi’s voice was seductive. “Are you sure you don’t want it? I promise you’ll be very satisfied.”
Her words piqued Xu Xiuwen’s curiosity. “What do you mean?”
An Shishi smirked mischievously, then whispered something softly into his ear.
The moment Xu Xiuwen heard it, his breathing quickened. His eyes widened as he stared at her in disbelief. “Are you serious?”
An Shishi nodded.
Xu Xiuwen lowered his voice, worried someone might overhear. “No way. No way... I won’t touch Shui Shui again.”
An Shishi giggled. “Oh? Could you really bear to?”
Xu Xiuwen insisted, “What’s there to not bear? She’s your sister. I shouldn’t have touched her in the first place.”
Hearing this, An Shishi laughed softly. “Don’t worry. Trust me. Shui Shui’s already agreed.”
Xu Xiuwen was stunned. After what had happened earlier, he thought Shui Shui would despise him. But now, hearing this from An Shishi, he was surprised to learn Shui Shui had agreed?
He hesitated, unsure if he should give in to An Shishi’s persuasion. He had already resolved earlier not to go near Shui Shui again.
Yet now, he wavered, torn between his decision and his desires.
An Shishi noticed his hesitation and smiled, giving him a nudge. “Alright, just go. The sooner you’re done, the sooner we can sleep.”
Xu Xiuwen hesitated but eventually sat up. He glanced toward Shui Shui’s direction and asked uneasily, “Then I’ll really go?”
“Go ahead,” An Shishi encouraged.
After thinking for a moment, Xu Xiuwen finally got out of bed. He slipped on his slippers and, in the dark, slowly made his way toward Shui Shui’s bedside.
Earlier, An Shishi had told him.
If he still wanted it, he could go to Shui Shui.
Anything was allowed, but he couldn’t take the final step.
Though the final step was off-limits, just the thought of being able to taste An Shui Shui’s sweetness made Xu Xiuwen unable to hide his excitement.
When he reached the bedside, Xu Xiuwen slowly climbed onto the bed.
The beds in the An family’s house were the old-fashioned wooden kind, wide enough for two people to lie side by side. However, Shui Shui was used to sleeping alone and always slept in the middle.
This left very little space on the outside edge for Xu Xiuwen. He couldn’t lie flat, so he had to lie on his side.
As soon as he got on the bed, he turned to lie on his side and pressed himself against her.
Xu Xiuwen wrapped his arms around Shui Shui from behind.
She didn’t resist at all—she didn’t even move. It was as if she was sound asleep.
But Xu Xiuwen immediately realized she wasn’t.
The moment he held Shui Shui, her hand clenched, and her breathing quickened.
Knowing she was pretending to sleep, Xu Xiuwen felt a wave of relief.
He had been worried that An Shishi might have been lying to him. What if Shui Shui didn’t agree? But now that he saw her pretending, he understood—just as Shishi had said—Shui Shui had agreed to let him be close to her.
Shui Shui’s features were even more refined than Shishi’s, but her figure was slightly slimmer in comparison.
In terms of curves, Shishi had the edge.
Still, Xu Xiuwen wasn’t concerned. Shui Shui’s figure wouldn’t stay slim forever. Once she matured a bit more, she’d undoubtedly be just as stunning, if not more so. After all, Shishi was living proof of that.
He gently turned Shui Shui to face him.
Instead of rushing into anything, he cupped her chin and tilted it slightly upward to find the perfect angle.
Then, he leaned in and kissed her.
Shui Shui’s lips were soft and sweet.
Xu Xiuwen kissed her gently for a while.
Shui Shui had been pretending to sleep the entire time, but her breathing had become noticeably erratic.
Anyone could tell she wasn’t really asleep.
Even so, Shui Shui stubbornly kept her eyes shut, pretending as best as she could.
Her stubbornness was adorable, and Xu Xiuwen couldn’t help but feel the urge to tease her.
He suddenly stopped and pulled back slightly, ensuring that no part of his body touched hers.
He even held his breath.
In this way, it was as if he had disappeared from the bed entirely.
Shui Shui, though flustered by her brother-in-law’s kiss, felt uneasy when he suddenly stopped and became completely still.
With her eyes closed, she couldn’t see what was happening.
She could only guess—where had her brother-in-law gone?
Had he gone back to her sister’s bed?
Hearing that, An Shui Shui felt both relieved and faintly disappointed. Her emotions were incredibly conflicted.
After hesitating for a few seconds, she finally couldn’t resist and opened her eyes.
She just wanted to see where her brother-in-law had gone.
But as soon as she opened her eyes, her gaze met his.
The room was unlit—no candles, no lamps. The only light came from the moonlight streaming through the window.
By the soft glow of the moon, Shui Shui clearly saw her brother-in-law’s expression, his playful smirk at the corner of his mouth.
She immediately realized she had been tricked.
Quickly, she shut her eyes again, pretending to continue sleeping.
Xu Xiuwen chuckled softly and leaned close to her ear, his warm breath brushing against her skin. “Shui Shui, stop pretending. I know you’re awake.”
Shui Shui kept her eyes tightly shut, refusing to say a word.
“You don’t have to speak. I still know you’re awake.”
Still, she didn’t respond.
Xu Xiuwen thought for a moment and said, “Earlier in the kitchen, I acted too impulsively and scared you. I’m really sorry.”
No reaction.
“Shui Shui, will you forgive me?”
“If you don’t say anything, I’ll take it as you forgiving me.”
Shui Shui had already forgiven Xu Xiuwen long ago, so she remained silent.
Xu Xiuwen continued, “I heard from Shishi that... you agreed. Is that true?”
“If you don’t answer, I’ll take it as a yes.”
He chuckled mischievously, his breath tickling her ear.
Shui Shui seemed to have resolved to keep pretending, even though Xu Xiuwen had clearly caught her awake.
Her stubbornness only made things easier for Xu Xiuwen.
Looking at her shy, adorably flustered expression, a fiery gleam flashed in his eyes.
His actions grew bolder.
Finally, Shui Shui couldn’t keep up the act anymore. She pressed her hands firmly against his to stop him.
Opening her eyes, she looked at him pitifully, pleading, “Please, don’t~~~”
“Be good, Shui Shui. Let go...”
Shui Shui, at a loss, could only turn to her sister for help.
She glanced toward the other bed and called out, “Sister, can you say something?”
By now, An Shishi was, of course, wide awake.
She had known exactly what Xu Xiuwen was up to and couldn’t possibly have fallen asleep.
Though she had been lying with her back to them, pretending to sleep, she couldn’t help but smile at Shui Shui’s plea.
“Don’t be scared, Shui Shui,” she said with a laugh. “He promised me he wouldn’t take your innocence. He just likes you and wants to be close to you. You’ll get used to it.”
Hearing this, Shui Shui felt even more helpless.
She turned her head back toward Xu Xiuwen, her eyes meeting his.
Xu Xiuwen spoke softly, “Shui Shui, I’m leaving tomorrow. I like you. Please, don’t reject me, okay?”
Shui Shui was taken aback. Forgetting her shyness, she asked nervously, “You... you’re leaving?”
“Mm,” he nodded.
An Shui Shui felt incredibly reluctant to see him leave, and her heart suddenly ached.
An Shishi, who had just learned that Xu Xiuwen would be leaving the next day, also turned to look at him, her expression filled with reluctance.
“Can’t you stay a few more days?”
This 𝓬ontent is taken from freeweɓnovel.cѳm.
“I’ve already been here for several days, and there are things I need to handle back there. So I have to leave tomorrow,” Xu Xiuwen replied.
An Shishi had never been one to act spoiled or unreasonable, even though Xu Xiuwen adored her. Hearing that he had to leave, she simply gave him a few reminders.
Xu Xiuwen nodded in agreement and then lowered his gaze to An Shui Shui beneath him.
An Shui Shui looked back at him.
She had been pressing down on the back of his hands with her own, but perhaps because she was overwhelmed by the sudden news of his departure, she unexpectedly let go.
Then, she covered her face with both hands, too shy to meet his eyes.
Seeing this, Xu Xiuwen couldn’t help but chuckle.
Not wanting to waste any more time, he prepared to get closer to An Shui Shui.
But just then, he suddenly heard a strange sound coming from the back door of the main house.
The An family’s back door was an old-fashioned wooden double door, about the width of a single bed, secured with a wooden latch.
The sound Xu Xiuwen heard was the latch being lifted and dropping to the ground.
Then came the sound of footsteps.
Xu Xiuwen immediately tensed and frowned. “There’s a thief!” he said in a low voice to the two sisters.
An Shishi and An Shui Shui both froze in shock.
An Shishi quickly sat up, intending to turn on the light.
But Xu Xiuwen stopped her.
“Don’t alert them!”
An Shishi asked nervously, “Why would a thief come to our house?”
Xu Xiuwen shook his head.
“How would I know? Maybe it’s just an amateur thief.”
At that moment, An Shui Shui suddenly thought of something. “Could it be Dad?”
Her words reminded An Shishi of how their father had occasionally returned home late at night in the past.
She immediately felt reassured and said to Xu Xiuwen, “It’s not a thief; it’s probably my dad.”
Seeing that both sisters seemed convinced, Xu Xiuwen reluctantly believed it too.
But he couldn’t help feeling exasperated.
This was his first visit to An Shishi’s home as a son-in-law.
Yet, throughout his stay, he hadn’t seen An Shishi’s father even once.
Now, on the last night before he was set to leave, her father suddenly decided to come home—at midnight, no less.
He couldn’t help but think sarcastically: Why does it feel like he’s sneaking in like a thief himself?
An Shishi turned on the light and quickly got dressed.
As she got out of bed and headed toward the door, she told Xu Xiuwen, “You stay here; there’s no need for you to come out. I’ll go check if it’s my dad.”
“Isn’t that rude? I should at least say hello.”
“It’s fine. You can greet him tomorrow.”
With that, An Shishi stepped out of the room.
She walked to the corner and turned on the lights in the main hall.
The room lit up.
She saw her father, whom she hadn’t seen in a long time.
Father An had just re-latched the back door.
When he turned around, he saw his eldest daughter standing at the doorway to her room.
Father An paused for a moment.
An Shishi coldly asked, “Why are you coming back at this hour?”
Hearing this, Father An looked displeased and retorted, “Since when do I need you to question when I come home?”
An Shishi pursed her lips, clearly unhappy.
“Where’s Mom?”
“At this time of night, where else would she be? She’s sleeping in her room, of course.”
“Then it’s none of your business. Go back to your room,” he said, dismissing her with a few curt words before turning and heading toward the room where Liu Ruo was staying.
An Shishi only turned off the light and returned to her room after seeing him enter his.
When she walked back inside, she said plainly, “It was my dad.”
Xu Xiuwen, still concerned, asked, “Are you sure I shouldn’t go out and greet him?”
An Shishi shook her head. “No need. There’s no point in greeting him.”
Even An Shui Shui chimed in, “Brother-in-law, you really don’t need to go out.”
Xu Xiuwen had already heard from An Shishi about her father’s violent tendencies and how he had a habit of hitting people.
Although An Shishi and An Shui Shui had been relatively fortunate, thanks to their mother’s protection, they still hadn’t escaped unscathed.
Slaps across the face or smacks on the hands—such instances had occurred numerous times over the years.
However, as they grew older, An Shishi had learned to resist her father. Coupled with the fact that he was rarely home these days, the physical abuse had subsided.
Now that An Shishi had left the village and been exposed to the broader world, even meeting the mayor of Jinling through Xu Xiuwen, her perspective had broadened.
She knew that men like her father, who bullied their own family, were often the most incompetent.
Because of this, she no longer feared him much.
An Shui Shui, on the other hand, was younger and hadn’t experienced the outside world yet. The shadows her father had cast in her childhood still made her wary of him.
The room fell into a heavy silence.
Sensing the sisters’ mood, Xu Xiuwen attempted to lighten it with a couple of jokes.
Under normal circumstances, An Shishi would’ve laughed, even if it was just to humor him.
But now, she couldn’t bring herself to smile.
An Shui Shui, lost in her own thoughts, didn’t seem to hear the jokes at all.
Xu Xiuwen sighed in resignation, but an idea suddenly struck him. He asked, as though speaking to the air, “Shishi, Shui Shui, would you like to hear me sing?”
The sisters were both taken aback.
Once they processed what he said, An Shui Shui immediately nodded eagerly.
Ever since she’d heard from her sister about her brother-in-law’s singing talents during his freshman year of college, she’d been looking forward to hearing him sing someday.
An Shishi hesitated for a moment but quickly realized Xu Xiuwen’s intention was to lift their spirits.