Although Yin Qin prepared rooms for Qi Zai and Tan Zhan, Tan Zhan still paid for another set himself.
The kids have made it this far, but they're all exhausted now.
Chuchu clutched the edge of his pillow, looking at the two little ones on the bed. He couldn't help but ask, "Will Big Brother not sleep with us anymore?"
Both Ba Zai and Xiao Jiu looked very serious when they heard this question.
Although they were reluctant to admit it, they had to admit it at this moment: "That's right. Big Brother will be sleeping with the little vixen from now on."
Chirp: "..."
Chiu Chiu looked bewildered: "What little imp?"
Xiao Jiu, who had recently watched a melodramatic family drama, said heavily, "That guy surnamed Xie lured our eldest brother away from us; someone like him is a little vixen."
Chiu Chiu suddenly realized.
Ba Zai, who had watched melodramatic TV dramas with Xiao Jiu, surprisingly agreed with Xiao Jiu's point of view. He said indignantly, "That Xie woman is too good at seducing Big Brother. In TV dramas, stepmothers like her always end up abusing their children."
A stepmother and her child will never have a harmonious relationship, not even for a day.
The atmosphere on the children's side grew increasingly desolate.
Chiu Chiu was so worried she almost couldn't sleep.
It was late at night, in the next room. The eldest brother could stay up even later than the younger ones, and there was still a voice saying, "Pour me a glass of water, I want some."
Yu An's voice was extremely hoarse.
With red eyes, he asked for water, his words coming out in broken sentences. He had barely uttered a few when tears rolled down his cheeks—physiological tears.
Xie Chiyuan liked seeing him like this.
After looking at it for a few seconds, Xie Chiyuan finally looked away.
He got up and went to pour water without even putting on his clothes. He added some dried chrysanthemum flowers to the water, which is meant to clear heat and reduce internal fire.
"Baby, have a couple of sips."
Yu An was helped to sit up. He held the cup, his fingertips trembling slightly. He gulped down the entire cup of water.
After finishing his water, Xie Chiyuan put the cup on the bedside table.
He leaned closer and kissed Yu An's lips: "Want some more water?"
Yu An's throat felt a little better, and he shook his head: "No, I want to sleep."
Xie Chiyuan looked at him without saying anything.
Yu An: "..."
Yu An met his gaze.
In the ensuing silence, Yu An's eyes gradually filled with terror. His voice trembled as he asked incredulously, "Xie Chiyuan, you can't be this beastly, can you?"
"It's this late, and you still don't want me to sleep?!"
When Yu An asked the last question, his voice rose several decibels.
Xie Chiyuan smiled and asked him in return, "Do you really want to sleep?"
Without hesitation, Yu An replied, "Yes, I really want to."
Although he was young, he truly felt that his back was already ruined by all the abuse. The purple handprints on his waist made him feel sorry for himself.
Xie Chiyuan said with some regret, "Alright, let's go to sleep for now."
As Xie Chiyuan spoke, he went to the bathroom. He returned with a damp towel, quickly wiped Yu An clean, and then put him down to sleep.
"Baby."
Yu An was exhausted and sleepy, wishing she could just fall asleep right then and there. But Xie Chiyuan was full of energy and not sleepy at all. He held Yu An tightly and whispered, "I love you so much."
These tender words no longer stirred any emotion in Yu An.
He closed his eyes, completely blocking out Xie Chiyuan.
Xie Chiyuan didn't go too far. After hearing Yu An's breathing, he stopped talking and closed his eyes.
That night.
They slept soundly, while the forum was buzzing with lewd comments.
According to a junior employee at a hospital, Xie Chiyuan took a lot of security products from the hospital during the day. While taking these items, Xie Chiyuan remained calm and composed, clearly demonstrating his experience.
Having taken so many things, it goes without saying what Xie Chiyuan intends to do tonight.
As luck would have it, someone posted a high-resolution close-up photo of Xie Chiyuan at this crucial moment.
Xie Chiyuan wasn't wearing formal attire, only casual clothes. His increasingly handsome face, his incredibly muscular physique, and his strikingly long legs drew the attention of all the female forum members.
"Damn it, it wasn't until this moment that I realized clearly that Xie Chiyuan is someone else's husband!"
"Hehe, Xie Chiyuan will break up with her sooner or later."
The forum's tone shifted from initial envy and blessings for 99 (a nickname for a couple), but somehow, it gradually changed. More and more posts leaned towards waiting for Xie Chiyuan and Yu An to break up.
Seeing that things were going wrong, the administrator simply started deleting posts.
But the more posts were deleted, the more new posts appeared. It seemed that the people whose posts were deleted were rebelling and started cursing: "Is the administrator Yu An's dog? We didn't curse him, we just said a couple of things like he's not good enough for Xie Chiyuan. What, we can't even hear that?"
Upon seeing the new post, the administrator immediately banned the account.
The forum erupted in a frenzy until almost dawn.
Unfortunately, the people involved were completely unaware of all this. They remained calm and continued living their peaceful lives.
This long night will eventually pass.
The next morning, still sleepy, Qiuqiu came knocking on the door again, carrying gifts. He stood at the door and called out cautiously, "Big brother, are you awake?"
The door was closed, and the older brother was still asleep.
Xie Chiyuan, on the other hand, was more patient with Qiuqiu. After hearing that it was Qiuqiu knocking on the door, he surprisingly threw on some clothes and came to open the door for him.
"Chirp chirp, what's wrong?"
Xie Chiyuan opened the door a crack, leaning against the doorframe with one hand and pressing his temple with the other. He hadn't woken up properly since he'd only gone to bed late at night.
Chiu Chiu looked up at him expectantly: "I came to give my older brother a gift. We went out and played again yesterday, and I bought him a gift."
He added after saying that, "I even bought it for you."
Xie Chiyuan chuckled, his annoyance at being disturbed so early in the morning completely dissipating. He pinched Qiuqiu's cheek, his voice full of laughter: "Why is our Qiuqiu so well-behaved? What did you buy for us?"
Chuchu gave him the box containing the gift.
Xie Chiyuan took the box and said patiently, "Thank you, Qiuqiu. But your older brother hasn't woken up yet. I'll show it to him when he wakes up, okay?"
Chirp nodded.
Soon, Xie Chiyuan sent Qiuqiu away.
Xie Chiyuan stared at his figure until he went to find the other children, then he looked away.
He went back to bed and opened the gift box.
Inside the box was a pair of couple's bracelets, made of imperial green jade, visibly valuable. Needless to say, it was their wealthy seventh son who paid for such high-quality items.
Xie Chiyuan had vaguely heard that this kind of jade was very good for one's health.
He felt a little strange wearing the jade himself. But in order to match Yu An, he had no choice but to give the bracelet to her wrist.
The other bracelet was worn on Yu An's wrist.
Yu An's skin was very fair, and the imperial green jade accentuated his wrist, making Xie Chiyuan unable to look away.
He thought for a moment, then took another picture with his phone.
He enjoys taking photos of Yu An and recording their heartwarming moments.
After the photos were taken, Xie Chiyuan stayed with him and continued sleeping.
The children outside were all unhappy to see that Chiu Chiu hadn't seen their eldest brother. Seventh Child, however, frowned, showing more experience.
But he didn't say what was on his mind.
A while later...
Yu An and Xie Chiyuan hadn't come out yet when Yin Qin's people arrived. Yin Qin had made an appointment with Yu An yesterday, asking him to bring the kids out for lunch.
It was almost noon, so naturally someone would come to invite us ahead of time.
After listening to what the other person said, Xiao Jiu spoke up: "My older brother is still sleeping and he can't go out. Let's go with you, please don't call me older brother anymore."
"Sure."
The young man who came to invite us said with a smile, "Then let's go together."
The kids didn't bring their eldest brother; they went to see Yin Qin together.
Chiu Chiu didn't really want to go, but if he was the only one who didn't go, he would seem very out of place among the other children. Having no other choice, he could only hold Seven's hand and follow at the very back.
Not long after the children set off, Yu An woke up.
He was woken up by hunger.
Xie Chiyuan heard his stomach rumbling and, as soon as he opened his eyes, he nudged his neck closer: "Baby, time to eat."
Yu An: "..."
Having a husband who has a food supply makes meals so convenient.
Under Xie Chiyuan's coaxing, Yu An no longer restrained herself and ate a hearty meal.
After finishing his meal, he licked his lips and slowly came to his senses.
What time is it?
11:47.
After Xie Chiyuan announced the time, Yu An got up without even thinking. He frowned and complained, "Why didn't you wake me up earlier? We got up way too late."
It was almost noon before they finally got out of bed. After getting up, they still had to get ready before going out.
“I’ve already made an appointment with your dad to bring the kids to show him.”
"Don't worry, the babies have already gone over there."