"Hiss… hey, what are you two doing again…?"
Jiang Hai opened his eyes groggily. A strange, indescribable sensation was coming from certain… equally indescribable places. Confused, he looked down and saw two figures busily moving under the blanket.
Noticing that he was awake, the two women who had clearly been taking the initiative lifted their heads, smoothed their hair, and smiled at him.
"You've been gone for days," Feng Yunchen said teasingly. "Can't we use you a little more?"
As she spoke, Ai Xiaoxi, who had been waiting nearby, smoothly switched positions with her.
"But we didn't sleep until almost dawn last night," Jiang Hai groaned, slapping his forehead. "It's only seven in the morning! Don't you two ever need beauty sleep?"
"We've been sleeping all day while you were away," Feng Yunchen replied with a laugh, lightly patting his stomach. "Now that you're finally back, of course we have to make up for lost time. Otherwise we'd be bored to death."
"My goodness… you girls are really…"
Jiang Hai rubbed his temples helplessly. Then he reached out instinctively—only to realize the person who should have been lying beside him was gone.
"Where's Xiaoya?"
"Downstairs cooking breakfast," Feng Yunchen answered. Then she glanced back at Ai Xiaoxi. "Hmm? Is it ready?"
"Mm, ready. Hurry up—I want my turn too," Ai Xiaoxi said with a grin.
The next second, the "battle" resumed.
An hour later.
"Phew… thank goodness I'm not an ordinary person. Otherwise I'd have been drained dry long ago…"
Jiang Hai shuffled out of the bedroom in his pajamas, shaking his head helplessly.
People were strange creatures. When there were no women around, you wanted company. But when there were too many… it became a different kind of trouble.
Last night had been anything but peaceful.
As the lady of the house, Qi Jie had naturally monopolized most of his time these past few days. But Qi Ya, Ai Xiaoxi, and Feng Yunchen had clearly missed him terribly. Afra and the others had politely stepped back, yet even so, Jiang Hai had gone to his room at five in the afternoon and hadn't come out until after one in the morning.
Six hours of sleep later, round two had already begun.
If not for his exceptional physique, he might truly have collapsed.
"Oh? You're already up? I thought you'd be stuck in bed all day. Looks like they went easy on you."
Qi Jie stepped out of her room in pajamas, stretching lazily. Seeing his tired expression, she couldn't help teasing him. She even reached out and mischievously brushed against his waist.
"You have no idea how strong my body is," Jiang Hai shot back, swatting her hand away and lightly patting her hip. "Also, Robbins Garcia will be here soon. Go put some real clothes on."
There was no helping it—Qi Jie's "pajamas" were practically nonexistent.
A completely sheer silk robe.
Nothing underneath.
Everything visible.
Jiang Hai had no idea when this strange fashion trend had started, but the girls' sleepwear had become thinner and thinner. What used to be occasional teasing had now escalated into near nudity.
It wasn't just Qi Jie, either. Even the usually conservative Qi Ya had started dressing the same way.
Afra and the others at least wore crop tops. Valerie Shelley was even worse—walking around topless with only sheer high-waisted pants.
It was honestly testing Jiang Hai's self-control every single day.
"Oh… fine," Qi Jie muttered, pouting. "By the way, why is he coming over?"
"Christmas is almost here. We need to prepare for the year-end stuff."
Jiang Hai headed downstairs.
The living room was already lively.
Some girls were helping in the kitchen, some watching TV, some playing on their computers, others feeding the fish tank. Everyone wore loose, alluring sleepwear that left very little to the imagination.
Tarak was crouched in front of the aquarium, staring intensely at the large golden arowana inside, as if contemplating life. Her "pajamas" were barely better than underwear.
Seeing this, Jiang Hai walked over and lightly smacked her hip.
"Go put something on."
She wrinkled her nose at him, ignored the order, and skipped away.
Jiang Hai could only sigh.
His authority at home was clearly declining.
Even Evelyn and Marian, his two nominal daughters, were only marginally better—wearing nightgowns that weren't transparent, but still revealing enough to make things awkward from certain angles.
"Ahem," Jiang Hai coughed. "Robbins Garcia and the others will be here soon. Everyone go change!"
Reluctantly, the girls headed upstairs.
They liked dressing freely—but only for Jiang Hai. Strangers were out of the question.
He walked into the kitchen.
Qi Ya was naturally the head chef. Afra and Janis assisted her, and even the usually aloof Galina had taken an interest in cooking.
"You're up," Qi Ya said with a gentle smile. "Breakfast will be ready soon."
Jiang Hai stepped behind her, wrapped his arms around her waist, and rested his chin on her shoulder, breathing in the faint scent of her hair.
Honestly, among everyone, Qi Ya and Ai Xiaoxi were the ones he felt closest to.
"No rush," he murmured. "But after cooking, go change. Guests are coming."
Qi Ya nodded and quickened her pace.
Soon, breakfast was ready. After everyone changed clothes, they gathered around the table to eat. Even the pets—Little Yellow, Little White, Fangya, and Chiu Chiu—had their own meals.
At around nine o'clock, just as they finished eating, the doorbell rang.
Robbins Garcia stepped in with a gust of cold wind.
"Boss, it's so warm inside!" he said with a grin.
Looking at him, Jiang Hai couldn't help smiling.
Thinking back to when he had first arrived—Robbins had treated him like a clueless rookie, even secretly hoping Jiang Hai wouldn't mess up the ranch.
Now, three short years later, everything had changed.
Money. People. Confidence.
Robbins was practically a different person.
Time really did fly.
(To be continued.)