“Sister-in-law.” Xuan Zhaoران knelt on the bed, leaned forward, and hugged Yan Yunning’s arm where she stood at the edge of the bed.

“Sister-in-law, big sister isn’t home — and I can’t talk to Mom about this. Sister-in-law, were you nervous to the point of your hands and feet going stiff too?”

Yan Yunning pinched her temple. “No.”

At the time, she had already wanted to have a child with Xuan Yanyu. She had been completely ready long before that — how could she have been nervous to the point of her hands and feet going stiff?

Xuan Zhaoران touched her lips, and her entire ears turned red. “I couldn’t quite breathe.”

Yan Yunning pressed her hand to her forehead. She pointed to her own vivid lips. “You mean this?”

“Right.” Xuan Zhaoران pursed her lips a few times, her eyes wide and round. “Sister-in-law, what were you… thinking of?”

Yan Yunning cleared her throat twice. “The same as you. I wasn’t thinking of anything else.”

Xuan Zhaoران bit her lip, her cheeks burning fiercely. “Sister-in-law, you… how could you… think such wild thoughts?”

Yan Yunning’s eyes held a touch of teasing amusement. “Sweetheart, next time express yourself more clearly, and sister-in-law won’t get the wrong idea.”

Xuan Zhaoран blinked.

“Good girl.” Yan Yunning ruffled her hair. “Any more questions? If not, I’m going to find your brother.”

Xuan Zhaoران asked out of genuine curiosity, “Sister-in-law, what is it you like about my brother? Besides his good looks…”

Before Xuan Zhaoران could finish, Yan Yunning smiled and cut in, “I like exactly that — that your brother is good-looking.”

“Sister-in-law, that’s a bit shallow.”

Yan Yunning pinched the tip of her nose. “Ranran, do you think the company has changed at all since your brother took over from Dad?”

Xuan Zhaoران narrowed her eyes and thought for a moment. “Does getting bigger dividends count?”

“So why do you think your same shareholding earns bigger dividends now?”

Xuan Zhaoران said without missing a beat, “Because the company’s performance has improved.”

“So the company is more profitable than before — whose doing is that?”

“My brother’s.”

Yan Yunning smiled gently. “I also love your brother for his exceptional ability. We’ve been married six years, and your brother has given me every free moment of his time.”

“Whenever I need him, I make one phone call, say one sentence — and even if he’s in the middle of something extremely important, he’ll appear by my side.”

“Birthdays, anniversaries, and everything in between — carefully chosen gifts, thoughtfully arranged surprises. Your brother, aside from his love of playing the jealous one, is wonderful in every way.”

Xuan Zhaoран teased with a laugh, “Sister-in-law, my brother playing the jealous one is also because he loves you — because he loves you so much, he pays special attention to other men.”

Yan Yunning’s eyes curved with a smile. “Exactly — so you see, your brother was already wonderful. How could I not love him?”

“Sister-in-law, you entered the company not long after giving birth to Xiaoxiao — was that because you wanted to help ease my brother’s burden?”

Yan Yunning lowered her eyes and stroked the wedding ring on her ring finger, and said with meaningful depth, “Ranran, I can rely on him — but I cannot only rely on him.”

For a woman, no matter how good her husband was, no matter how much he loved her, she must not give up or go without a career. She could act spoiled toward Xuan Yanyu, but she had to stand shoulder to shoulder with him.

Xuan Zhaoران’s eyes stirred gently. “Sister-in-law, I think I understand now.”

On the premise that love could not be guaranteed to last forever, she had to leave herself a way out.

Take her brother and sister-in-law as an example — sister-in-law now managed the entertainment subsidiary under the company umbrella, and she also held a significant share of the company’s stock.

If it were her, she would have chosen to stay at home, after all there were dividends to collect either way.

But sister-in-law had not chosen to stay home. She had gone to the company instead. Sister-in-law was across-the-board clear on all the company’s big and small affairs.

To put it plainly — if her brother were to separate from sister-in-law right now. Setting aside the idea of separation entirely, if it were an amicable split, sister-in-law might not do anything. But if her brother ever betrayed sister-in-law — as long as sister-in-law wanted to act, even with her brother’s exceptional ability, maintaining the situation would surely leave him scrambling in chaos for quite some time.

Suddenly she stopped envying her brother. She envied sister-in-law again — so beautiful, and so clear-eyed.

Yan Yunning looked suspiciously at Xuan Zhaoران’s sparkling eyes. “Get some rest — I’m heading out.”

“Sister-in-law.” Xuan Zhaoران grabbed hold of her arm, her voice soft and sweet. “Sister-in-law, stay a little longer — I still want to talk to you.”

“Alright.” Yan Yunning freed her arm, smiled gently, and said, “Whatever you want to talk about, call me tomorrow, or come to the office and I’ll chat with you there.”

“Fine.” Xuan Zhaoران waved her off. “Sister-in-law, go back to your room — or in a moment my brother will come to claim you.”

“Good night.” Yan Yunning turned off the light for her, pulled the door shut, and jogged back to the master bedroom, closing the door and turning the lock.

“Husband.” Yan Yunning flopped onto the bed, pressed her cheek against Xuan Yanyu’s cheek, and said in a soft, sweet voice, “What did Dad and Mom say about Ranran and Jiang Xian — what’s their take?”

Xuan Yanyu put down his phone, hooked her around the waist, and held her in his arms. He pressed his chin affectionately to the top of her head and pulled the covers over the two of them. “No objections.”

Yan Yunning draped her long legs over his long legs, her tone carrying a smile. “So they agreed, then?”

“Mm.” The man pinched a strand of Yan Yunning’s long wavy hair and held it to the tip of his nose for a light inhale. “Wife, what made you want to change your hair colour?”

Yan Yunning flipped over and propped herself on top of him, smiling lazily. “Does it look good?”

Xuan Yanyu’s dark pupils held nothing but Yan Yunning’s beautiful face. He gently pinched her chin, and his lips descended.

The temperature inside the bedroom gradually rose. Xuan Yanyu pressed one hand around Yan Yunning’s wrists while his other hand settled at her waist. His lips moved to her eyes, her cheeks, the tip of her nose, her chin.

“Buzz buzz.” With a vibration, in the next second, a melodious video call ringtone sounded.

Yan Yunning’s breath trembled. “Husband — the… the phone.”

The man’s throat rolled. His voice was extremely low and husky. “Ignore it.”

“Mm~” Yan Yunning’s delicate brow furrowed slightly. “What if… it’s something important?”

“It won’t be. If it were important they’d call by voice.” Xuan Yanyu let out a soft, labored breath, reached to the edge of the bed until his hand found the phone, and pressed the power button to turn it off. The intrusive ringtone vanished in an instant.

——

Two hours later, Yan Yunning, freshly showered, nestled in Xuan Yanyu’s arms, her eyes lazily closed, listening to him and Xie Yan’s mundane conversation.

“Yuer-bro, what were you up to? I called so many times and you didn’t pick up once.”

Xuan Yanyu raised an eyebrow. “Something the matter?”

Xie Yan on the other end of the video tilted his head back and drank a glass of red wine. “Missing my wife.”

Yan Yunning: “?”

Xuan Yanyu’s lip twitched. “You miss your wife — so why are you calling me??”

Xie Yan made a couple of clicking sounds with his tongue. “I didn’t want to disturb my wife’s rest.”

“You didn’t want to disturb your wife’s rest?” Xuan Yanyu said languidly. “But you’re not afraid of disturbing mine?”

Xie Yan held a cigarette between his fingers, smoke drifting around his face, and said with a teasing smile through the haze, “Yuer-bro, it’s only eleven o’clock — resting this early?”

The man’s lips curved. “Can I be in the same situation as you with your wife not by your side?”

Xie Yan: “……”

After Xuan Yanyu hung up the video call, Yan Yunning asked in a soft, sleepy voice, “Where’s his wife?”

Xuan Yanyu kissed the top of her hair. “She took the children to her maternal grandmother’s house for a couple of days. He couldn’t get away from work, so he didn’t go with them.”

Yan Yunning circled both arms around the man’s waist and gave a languid “Oh.”