Her breath hitched when he nipped softly at her skin, his teeth grazing with the unmistakable intent to leave another mark. His mouth hovered, heat searing against her, when...
Knock.
The door swung open.
"Zihan...oh."
Li Yan stepped into the room, her voice breaking the spell.
Zihan released Guo Min instantly, retreating with a calmness that contrasted sharply with the hunger still etched in his eyes. He straightened, smoothing the cuff of his shirt as if nothing had happened.
Meanwhile, Guo Min stumbled back a step, cheeks blazing scarlet. Her fingers instinctively flew to her neck, shielding the place where his lips had lingered.
Li Yan, however, was all smiles. Her gaze flicked knowingly between the two, and she clapped her hands in delight. "Well, I suppose I should start expecting my grandchild soon."
The words made Guo Min flush so deeply she wished the ground would swallow her whole.
Zihan only gave a subtle smile, unbothered, and leaned to press a soft kiss against Guo Min's temple before dropping another on his mother's cheek. "I'll leave you two to it, then. I have work."
With that, he strode out, leaving Guo Min staring after him, her pulse still racing, while Li Yan's amusement filled the room. Teasingly, she raised her brow at Guo Min, who instantly looked away, fumbling with the hem of her skirt.
---
Yang Mansion.
Yang Yuze glared across the table, his chopsticks tapping against the bowl as if punctuating his irritation. "Zihan is already getting married. Be fast and do so too, you brat. I don't trust your so-called skills, I should train my grandson and granddaughter before I die."
Yufan leaned back in his chair, expression flat but his tone sharp. "Seriously, Dad? You're not even that old. Spending too many years in the military must have scrambled your brains, old man."
"How dare you...!" Yuze barked, snatching up his spoon and flinging it at him.
Yufan tilted his head slightly, letting the spoon clatter harmlessly against the chair beside him. His lips curved in a mocking smirk.
"Stop it, you two."
Both men froze as Wen Yiting stepped in, her presence alone enough to cool the air. Her gaze was steady, her voice calm but brooking no argument. "The food will get cold."
Yuze grumbled under his breath, but picked his chopsticks back up. Yufan gave a faint chuckle, leaning forward to finally take a bite, though the glint in his eyes made it clear he wasn't done teasing his father.
"But let's be honest, Yufan." Wen Yiting's voice was softer, a quiet plea beneath her calm tone. "Your father is right. You are my only child. I want to see you get married and watch your children grow before I d..."
"Okay, okay." Yufan cut in quickly, rising from the table before she could finish the word. His voice was clipped, but not harsh. "I'll try."
He left his half-eaten food behind, pushing back his chair with the kind of finality that made silence fall across the dining room. Without waiting for his father's next lecture, he grabbed his jacket and headed toward the door.
Moments later, his car pulled smoothly out of the Yang estate, the driver steering them toward the military headquarters, Yufan's second home, a place the men called the Command Center.
Back at Zhu villa. (Noon).
Guo Min was already worn out by the endless stream of dresses she had been forced to try on. Every lace, bead, and embroidered hem had started to blur together in her mind. Her lovely mother-in-law wouldn't take no for an answer, insisting she slip into 'just one more.'
Finally, Guo Min slumped into the couch, her shoulders sagging as though she had been in a battlefield rather than a fitting room. She reached for the glass of iced tea the maids had brought earlier, savoring the coolness against her parched throat.
"I know you're tired, dear," Li Yan said, her voice practically sparkling with excitement, "but marriage is a once-in-a-lifetime event. We have to make sure every detail is very perfect."
"…Okay, auntie," Guo Min murmured, too drained to argue.
Li Yan's brows shot up, mock offense glinting in her eyes. "No, no. Not 'auntie.' It's mom from now on. You must start using that title."
Guo Min sighed, a little helpless, but the corner of her lips tugged upward. "…Okay, mom."
Li Yan clapped her hands, pleased, her entire face lighting up. "Much better!" She leaned closer and lowered her voice conspiratorially. "And if my son ever upsets you, you come straight to me, hm? I'll deal with him."
Guo Min let out a small laugh, the tension in her shoulders easing for the first time that day. Maybe, just maybe, having Li Yan as her mother-in-law wouldn't be so bad after all, she is so better than her stepmother at least.
The day went by with Guo Min finally settling for an embroidered dress.
Paradise Celeste.
Yufan sank into the leather couch, his body heavy, but it wasn't exhaustion that weighed on him, it was guilt. For the first time in his life, he wished Zihan would arrive before Wu Xiang. If Zihan were here, his quiet presence would soak up the tension like a sponge. Without him… Yufan knew the air between him and Xiang would suffocate.
But fate wasn't on his side. The door creaked open, and Wu Xiang stepped in, his usual composed expression. Yufan's stomach knotted, and he silently cursed.
"Guess it's just the two of us today," Xiang said evenly, walking in with his usual deliberate calm and happy smile. "Zihan might not show up, he just got engaged, after all."
Yufan exhaled slowly, his shoulders collapsing against the couch. "…Hey."
The single word hung awkwardly in the air. Wu Xiang's brow arched in surprise. Never in all their years had the three of them wasted time on unnecessary pleasantries. The fact that Yufan offered one now made Xiang pause, his sharp eyes narrowing slightly as though peeling back the layers.
"'Hey?'" Xiang repeated, his lips twitching faintly, though not quite into a smile. "Since when do you bother with small talk, Commander General?"
Yufan forced a short, dry chuckle, masking the storm brewing inside him. "What, I can't change?"
"Change," Xiang said, settling into the chair opposite him, his gaze steady, a smile tugging at his lips. "Or are you just hiding something?"
The words slid out casually, but they pierced sharper than any accusation.
Yufan swallowed hard, his fists curling on his knees. Of the three of them, Zihan was the cold one, ice in his veins, unreadable. Yufan was the opposite, his expressions shifting with the mood of the room, it's controlled, smiled meet his smile, polite meets his, he redirects your expressions. But Xiang… Xiang was something else entirely. His smiles were never careless, they were weapons, masks, and strategies. Sometimes wide, sometimes faint, sometimes just the ghost of a smirk, but always controlled.
And now, faced with that smile, subtle, knowing, patient, Yufan, the Commander General himself, felt the ground tilt under him. Especially because the crime that gnawed at his chest was one that touched Xiang's bloodline.
"I'm just feeling hungry," Yufan muttered, waving the question off, his voice deliberately flat.
Xiang leaned back, the small smirk on his lips deepening just slightly. "Okay," he said lightly. "When you're ready to talk, I'll be here. Let's order something."
Yufan forced a short laugh, but inside he was cursing. Ready to talk? He knew he wouldn't be ready to talk, at least not anytime soon.