Li Mengyao held Ye Yun tightly, her body pressed close. Perhaps sensing the concern in his eyes, she managed a smile.
"Besides," she continued, "I'm not one to sit idle. If you made me shop like those wealthy wives every day, I doubt I'd last even a single day. Don't worry about it. I'll go make you a bowl of noodles to warm your stomach."
Her smile was pure and beautiful. Ye Yun could clearly feel the deep affection radiating from her. In his eyes, this was the true meaning of his rebirth.
In terms of wealth and status, he was nowhere near his past life. But in terms of happiness, his past life couldn't even compare. This was the life he truly desired. The richer and more influential one became, the more one could understand a certain feeling: the loneliness of the peak.
Ye Yun cherished the present deeply. Perhaps it was because he had lost everything that he now understood the value of what he had, and the importance of his wife and daughter. No matter what, he had to protect this family.
Watching his wife carefully descend the stairs to cook, a warm current surged through Ye Yun's heart. Overwhelmed with emotion, he pulled Li Mengyao into an even tighter embrace. Breathing in the faint scent of her hair, Ye Yun felt a flutter of desire. He held her tighter, whispering softly into her ear, "Wife, I love you, I love you! In this life, you are the one I love the most!"
Li Mengyao felt like laughing, thinking Ye Yun was in a playful mood. "Alright, alright, I know what you want, but you're still recovering. Listen to the doctor, and one day..." She stopped, feeling the warmth below. She looked up in disbelief. In the darkness, only Ye Yun's eyes, bright as the moon, were clearly visible. And in them, a fiery passion burned.
"You... you!" Li Mengyao’s eyes were wide with incredulity.
"Wife, I'm all better!" Ye Yun's eyes were filled with desire. The side effects of the Gan Cao medicine should have worn off by now. Perhaps the intense emotions had fully healed him. A man who had lived over forty years without truly experiencing a woman's desire – at this moment, Ye Yun knew. As his body recovered, his heart pounded as if it would leap from his chest.
Seeing the burning desire in Ye Yun's eyes, Li Mengyao blushed deeply. Did she not desire him as well? When she learned that Ye Yun might lose his ability to become a man due to her groin kick, she had nearly broken down. How many nights had she wept into her hands, filled with regret and fear? Now, as she felt his hands making their way down her body, Li Mengyao felt a jolt of electricity run through her. In the past, she might have found this repulsive. Even if Ye Yun had been forceful, she would have been like a zombie, going through the motions. But now, she not only didn't resist but found herself enjoying it. Her breathing grew heavier.
Just then...
"Daddy, Mommy, what are you doing?" a childish voice called out.
Li Mengyao trembled and instinctively pulled away from Ye Yun, turning towards the sound. She saw Ke Ke emerge from her room, her eyes half-closed, rubbing them sleepily. Instantly, a blush spread across Li Mengyao's face, reaching all the way to her ears.
"Ke Ke, weren't you asleep? Why did you come out?"
"Mommy, I need to pee! Take me to the toilet!"
"Oh, okay, Mommy will take you." With a face like a burning ember, Li Mengyao quickly led Ke Ke to the bathroom.
Left alone, Ye Yun's face was a picture of disappointment. What a way to ruin the moment!
"Mommy, why aren't you sleeping? If you don't tuck me in, I can't sleep," Ke Ke said, hugging Li Mengyao's leg after coming out of the bathroom.
"Okay, Mommy will sleep with you," Li Mengyao replied. She knew Ke Ke wouldn't sleep without her. This, however, left Ye Yun's face completely contorted in a frown.
"Mengyao... meeting..." Ye Yun felt his body about to explode. He only managed to utter four words before Li Mengyao bit her lip. Ye Yun yearned for her, but didn't she feel the same? Women in their thirties and forties were said to be full of passion. She couldn't remember the last time she had truly enjoyed intimacy. Her own desires were likely no less than Ye Yun's. However, being shy, she couldn't say anything bold. As she led Ke Ke into the room, she whispered almost inaudibly, "Another day..." Her ears and neck were flushed red.
Another day? Ye Yun felt like crying. He almost wanted to shout, "Just put Ke Ke to sleep first, you never used to do this before!" But he swallowed the words. He suppressed his surging desires with a helpless grunt. As Li Mengyao reached the doorway, she added, "She's getting old enough. In a few days, she can try sleeping by herself." Without waiting for Ye Yun's reaction, Li Mengyao quickly took Ke Ke into the room as if fleeing.
She hadn't mentioned a name or specified who she was talking about, but Ye Yun knew exactly who she meant. What could he say? "Don't worry, baby, we'll have marital relations in a few days?" What good was that? Tonight... what on earth was he going to do?
In the bathroom, the cold water sprayed directly on him did little to extinguish Ye Yun's burning desire, only slightly suppressing it. Lying in bed, Ye Yun couldn't sleep. Bored, he opened his WeChat and started scrolling through his Moments. After a few posts, one caught his eye. It was from Wang Wenwen, with a picture of herself climbing a mountain, fist raised in encouragement. The caption read: "Where there's a will, there's a way. Don't give up!"
What did she mean? Ye Yun's eyebrows rose. She had just invited him to her birthday party yesterday, and he had refused. Now, she posted this? It made him suspect something. "Forget it, I'm probably overthinking. As a big star, she must have many admirers. As long as I keep my distance, she'll eventually give up." Ye Yun shook his head, pushing away any unlikely thoughts. He felt that Wang Wenwen's interest in him was probably just a fleeting novelty. Perhaps once he made his attitude clear and gradually distanced himself, she would move on.
At that moment, a red dot appeared on his Moments feed. So late, and someone was posting? Curious, Ye Yun refreshed the page. This post was from Pan Shubing, and it was a link! A connection to apply for the 2013 Jinling Higher Vocational College Nursing Department Class Reunion! Seeing this, Ye Yun was taken aback again. Class of '13? Wasn't that Li Mengyao's graduation year? Almost simultaneously, Ye Yun's WeChat showed a friend request. The name was "Smiling at Life," and the avatar was a simple landscape. However, the remark made Ye Yun's eyelids twitch. "Ye Yun? I'm Wang Yongsuo, do you remember me?"