"Why are you staring at me instead of sleeping?"

He Lang spoke suddenly, startling Xue Yue.

"Weren’t you asleep?"

He Lang sighed. He knew Xue Yue was angry and wanted to talk to her, but he was afraid she’d bring up last night’s topic, so he’d pretended to be asleep. But Xue Yue’s gaze was so intense it was impossible to ignore. He Lang just couldn’t keep up the act.

Resigned, He Lang reached out and pulled Xue Yue into his arms.

Xue Yue patted his chest, muttering, "What are you doing? Aren’t you still mad at me?"

He Lang held her tighter and nuzzled his chin against the top of her head. He felt a weight lift from his heart and let out a soft sigh.

"I’m not mad at you. I was just afraid you were mad at me."

Xue Yue froze for a moment, then rested her cheek against He Lang’s chest. Breathing in his scent, she felt a sense of peace.

He Lang closed his eyes and continued, "Yue’er, I was already twenty-eight when I met you. You gave my life purpose; you made my heart feel like it had finally found a home. I love you to my very core. Your every word, every action, affects everything about me. Ruanruan and Shiyi are your children, and I love them dearly too. I would rather be hurt myself than let any of you suffer even the slightest harm. That’s why I have to get rid of any factor that could put you in danger. I know that... perhaps we aren’t as important to you as your brother is. But I hope you can understand how I feel."

Xue Yue hugged He Lang tightly, her eyes growing moist.

She shook her head. "He Lang, that’s not it. You and the children are so important to me. I love you all very much, and I would never want to see you get hurt either."

Hearing He Lang’s words made Xue Yue’s heart ache even more. She never knew that this was what he had been thinking all along.

In the past, Xue Xingzhou wasn’t just a brother to Xue Yue; he was more like a combination of her parents and a brother, her ultimate support system.

Because she felt that in this world, only her big brother would accept her unconditionally and always have her back.

After their mother passed away, she had felt thankful more than once that she still had her brother. That was why, when he got injured and needed money for surgery, she had married herself off without a second thought, all to save her brother’s life.

She just never expected that she would end up marrying He Lang, falling in love with him, bearing his children, and having him fill her eyes and her heart.

Xue Yue considered herself very fortunate, for she had both a brother and a lover.

Feeling the dampness on his chest, He Lang opened his eyes. He reached up to touch Xue Yue’s face and felt that it was wet with tears.

His heart tightened. He turned on the light and looked down to see Xue Yue clinging to him, tears streaming endlessly from the corners of her eyes.

He Lang gently pulled her away and wiped at her tears with his hands.

His voice was impossibly soft.

"Yue’er, don’t cry. It’s all my fault. I shouldn’t have said that. You can hit me, you can yell at me, just please don’t cry."

Hearing this only made Xue Yue’s tears flow more fiercely.

He Lang couldn’t wipe them away fast enough. Left with no other choice, he leaned in and pressed his lips to her face.

Kissing her again and again.

Xue Yue opened her eyes and saw He Lang’s face, magnified before her.

She stared at him, dazed.

A moment later, He Lang let her go and pulled back slightly, seeing that she had stopped crying.

He Lang sighed.

"You know I can’t stand it when you cry. Yue’er, are you trying to tear my heart out?"

Xue Yue shook her head and placed a hand over He Lang’s heart.

She said in a low voice, "He Lang, I love you. I don’t think you’re less important than my brother. You’re just different. My brother is my family, but you are my love. I can’t lose either of you. I often feel so content because I have you all."

He Lang looked at Xue Yue, then slowly lowered his gaze. "I understand."

’He Lang knew her bond with her brother was strong, that they had once depended on each other to survive. This was fine, at least it meant he was on a similar level to Xue Xingzhou.’

Xue Yue used her hand to lift his face. "No, you still don’t understand. My big brother and I are two separate individuals. He has his own family. Even if we don’t live in the same city someday, I’ll be happy as long as I know he’s doing well. But you... you’re different. If I were ever separated from you, I’d feel an agony that claws at my heart and lungs. I can’t imagine how I would live without you by my side. I’d feel like I’d lost my direction in life. Just thinking about it makes me feel like even breathing hurts."

He Lang stared at Xue Yue, dazed, an unconcealable tenderness filling his eyes. An indescribable sensation washed over him from head to toe, making his whole body feel weak.

He reached out and gripped Xue Yue’s arm. "Yue’er, can you say what you just said one more time?"

Xue Yue laughed, her whole body shaking with the force of it.

He Lang frowned. "Yue’er—"

Xue Yue threw her arms around He Lang’s neck, pushing him down and pinning him beneath her.

He Lang’s face flushed red. "Yue’er."

Xue Yue lowered her head and sealed his lips with her own.

Then his chin, his forehead, his eyes, his nose, his cheeks.

With every kiss, she would say, "He Lang, I love you."

Then, she moved to his neck.

He Lang’s whole body tensed. This was the first time he had been the passive one.

The sound of rapid breaths and the swaying of the bed added a certain spice to the quiet night.

The next day, Xue Yue slowly opened her eyes, still in a bit of a daze.

She turned her head to look, but the space beside her was empty.

She picked up the watch from her pillow and glanced at the time.

Her eyes flew wide. ’Oh my god, I’m going to be late!’

She quickly sat up.

"Ngh~"

She almost fell back down, her body aching and weak.

’Thinking about last night,’ Xue Yue’s face reddened, ’maybe I should just stick to being the one on the bottom from now on.’

Xue Yue skipped breakfast and rushed to her workplace. Thankfully, she wasn’t late.

Surprisingly, Feng Yujie hadn’t arrived yet.

Zhao Li sized up Xue Yue, a knowing smile in her eyes.

"You’re glowing today. Looks like you had a good ’meal,’ huh?"

Xue Yue blinked, not understanding at first. She was still a bit confused, but when she met Zhao Li’s eyes scanning her up and down, she suddenly got it.

"Sister Zhao, what are you talking about?"

Zhao Li laughed. "Still playing dumb? We’re all women here, we get it. So, what does your man do for a living?"

"He’s in business."

"Oh, so he’s a private entrepreneur? I hear they make a lot more than us salaried workers."

"It’s alright, I guess."

"Oh, don’t be so modest. Do you have any kids?"

"Two."

Zhao Li nodded. "Me too. I think it’s too few. If the government hadn’t rolled out the family planning policy these past few years—especially for us in state-run units, where the requirements are strict—I would’ve had another two."

"Now there’s a fine for having more children. Several thousand yuan! Tsk tsk, we can’t afford to have more."

Xue Yue nodded, her thoughts turning to her brother and Zhang Qian.

’They probably can’t have any more children either.’

’Unlike me. It seems having kids early was a good thing after all.’

Feng Yujie was late today, and she didn’t look to be in a very good mood.

Zhao Li glanced over, then winked at Xue Yue, signaling for her to be careful not to get on Sister Feng’s bad side.