"Get up. Darlena and Marian are waiting for their gifts. Relis, Beliac, Valentina, and Aller are all back, and you're still sleeping."
Qi Jie gently nudged Jiang Hai and whispered beside his ear.
Hearing her voice, Jiang Hai groggily opened his eyes and looked around. Sure enough, everyone else was already awake. He was the only one still in bed.
Qi Jie stood beside him in a thin, semi-transparent nightgown. Still half asleep, Jiang Hai instinctively reached out, pulled her into his arms, and buried his face against her, rubbing lazily like a spoiled child.
Qi Jie stiffened, her cheeks flushing red.
"Hey—so early in the morning? Weren't you satisfied last night?" she said, smacking his arm lightly.
Her words instantly cleared the fog in Jiang Hai's head.
Memories of last night rushed back.
After nine o'clock, everyone had gradually dispersed. Instead of cleaning up, they had all followed him straight back to his room.
Not just a few people.
Everyone.
Darlena, Marian, and Taraga had gone back to their own rooms, but Qi Jie, Qi Ya, Feng Yunchen, Ai Xiaoxi, Azalina, Galina, Valerie Shelley, Afra, Dinah, Hilda, Becky, Sheila, O'Shea, Bridget, and Janice had all stayed.
What followed…
Well, history didn't need to be repeated.
Even with Jiang Hai's stamina, it had been exhausting. If each person took twenty minutes, that alone meant five hours. And there had been more than one round—especially with Azalina, who had been shy at first. He had spent a long time coaxing her to relax.
By the time he finally fell asleep, dawn had already broken.
It must have been past five in the morning.
And now Qi Jie was dragging him up again.
"Stop fooling around. Get up!" she said, breaking free and heading out of the room.
Jiang Hai lay there for another ten minutes before finally sitting up. He could always nap later, but this morning couldn't be delayed.
After washing up, he changed into fresh pajamas and pulled a large package from the corner of the wardrobe.
It was stuffed with wrapped gifts.
After all, it was Christmas.
Carrying the bundle downstairs, he found everyone already gathered around the Christmas tree, waiting expectantly. When they saw him appear with the bag, their eyes immediately lit up.
Relis Carter, Belyak, Valentina, and Aller Sara—who had been away on a mission—had returned as well. They had even changed into the villa's spare pajamas and were smiling like children.
Seeing them all waiting for him, Jiang Hai quickened his pace.
"Merry Christmas!" he shouted.
Laughter filled the room.
Even Galina, normally so cold and aloof, was smiling more than usual. Ever since coming to the manor, she had changed without even realizing it.
"Alright, time for presents!"
He sat down and started handing them out.
The first two were for Darlena and Marian. After all, they were his daughters—at least in name, and legally so.
They tore open the boxes immediately.
Inside were platinum bracelets set with tiny diamonds.
They weren't overly extravagant—about fifty thousand dollars each—but they were custom-made. The stones formed their initials: DJ and MJ.
The initials made Jiang Hai cough awkwardly.
One sounded like a DJ booth. The other reminded him of Michael Jordan or Michael Jackson.
Maybe I didn't think this through…
But the girls clearly loved them. They slipped the bracelets on right away, laughing as they hugged him and kissed his cheeks.
Jiang Hai happily accepted the affection.
"Taraga, this one's yours."
She opened her box and froze.
Inside was a Patek Philippe ladies' watch.
All the girls already had one from their Europe trip—except her. She had joined later.
Her eyes immediately reddened.
"Thank you, Jiang…"
She leaned over and kissed him softly before sitting back down, still smiling.
After that, the gifts kept coming.
Qi Jie received a beautiful winter coat.
Qi Ya got a rare cookbook—Tan Family Cuisine—which Jiang Hai had specially sourced from China at great expense.
Afra received a tailored women's suit.
Dinah got a limited-edition handbag.
Hilda and Sheila received mink coats.
Becky got an entire Chanel perfume set.
O'Shea received premium cosmetics.
Bridget got an extravagant manicure kit with gold-foil and diamond tips.
Janice finally received the earrings she'd always wanted.
Azalina's gift was simple but meaningful—a scarf, hat, and sweater made from wool produced by the manor's own sheep.
Valentina, who loved speed, nearly screamed when she saw hers: a Dodge Tomahawk motorcycle—the legendary beast known as the fastest production bike ever built.
Unfortunately, it wasn't street legal.
She could only admire it in secret.
Valerie Shelley received a custom high-performance computer that Jiang Hai had acquired through special connections at Google. It would even control the manor's smart systems.
Relis got a necklace.
Belyak got boots.
Aller received a jeweled music box.
Galina, surprisingly, got an oil painting—something she quietly adored.
After the gifts were done, Jiang Hai received presents too.
Azalina somehow managed to get him an M-8 rifle—an experimental model the U.S. military hadn't even officially adopted yet.
Holding it, Jiang Hai couldn't help grinning.
Back in China, he had often heard people brag about domestic rifles. They weren't bad, sure—but compared to top-tier weapons like the German G36 or the American M4A1, the gap was still obvious.
The difference between "top twenty" and "top three" was enormous.
Still, a good gun was a good gun.
And as a man, he definitely appreciated the gift.
The villa filled with laughter, chatter, and the rustling of wrapping paper.
It felt warm.
Lively.
Like a real home.
(To be continued.)