She took a closer look at Yan Beicheng"s face. She just could not imagine that the mature face staring back at her was once young and green, or that he was ever cheeky or naughty.
A part of her wished to turn back time as she wanted to see that young, rebellious Yan Beicheng. Just how many silly things had he done back then?
"Wait a minute," Lin Chu said as she enthusiastically got up from Yan Beicheng"s arms to dig around the drawers. She took out a paper and a pen then wrote down something. Then, she put down her pen and ran over to turn off the light with the paper still in her hand.
Yan Beicheng was startled. He was worried that she would not be able to see in the dark and hurt herself. Thus, he immediately rushed off the bed to stand next to her.
"What are you doing?" Yan Beicheng grabbed Lin Chu by the waist.
"Doing an experiment. I"m curious about this." Lin Chu smiled.
He could clearly see her smile in the dark. A pure, teasing look shone through her smile, making her look lively and slightly mischievous.
Yan Beicheng smiled indulgently at her as he hugged her. "You should have just let me do it."
As he said this, he guided her protectively back to the bed.
The paper was almost stuck to Lin Chu"s eyes when Yan Beicheng pulled it away from her. "Don"t you want to use your eyes anymore?"
"I can"t see which side of the paper I"ve written on," Lin Chu explained.
Yan Beicheng flipped the paper to the other side such that the words were facing him. "This side."
"Can you really see it that clearly? Then read the words on the paper. Don"t miss out a single word when you read it out loud for me." Lin Chu smiled.
Yan Beicheng looked at the paper confidently, but a second later, his smile stiffened as his lips twitched.
"Read it," Lin Chu urged him.
On this rare occasion, Yan Beicheng"s face began to blush. "Ahem!"
Lin Chu poked his knee. "Read it out loud if you can see the words clearly."
Yan Beicheng"s lips twitched again. His left hand was resting thoughtfully against his lips while his dark, soulful eyes could not help but look away. He did not want to look at her as he felt his face burn up even more.
Since Lin Chu had gotten pregnant, she had been up to so many weird things. She had been lively, childish, and quick-witted; all of her traits were on display totally unimpeded.
For a long time, he stayed silent, so Lin Chu used her feet to push him. "Are reading it out loud or not?"
She had never doubted Yan Beicheng, even when she was joking. Thus, she did not question his ability to see in the dark.
Yan Beicheng"s face burned as his eyes turned shyly toward the paper. "I"ll read it, I"ll read it. Lin Chu, you are the love of my life. I will treat you well, pamper you, love you, and protect you in this life, the next life and the life after that. I won"t go West if you ask of me to go East, if you want… pickled cuc.u.mber, I won"t make mixed clear noodles. If you feel like having Ramen, I won"t give you vermicelli…"
Yan Beicheng read as his face simultaneously started turning to a look of confusion. What was exactly was he reading?
After his wife got pregnant, she had developed a penchant for food. Even when making him swear his love for her, she needed to involve food.
"For you, I will work on improving my culinary skills… No matter what you crave for in the middle of the night, I will make them for you with my own hands," Yan Beicheng was starting to regret revealing his secret ability to Lin Chu.
There were two bold lines beneath the words "with my own hands".
She had taken the opportunity to use his night vision ability to trick him into making a promise!
"When we are old and frail, I will still want to hold your hand, and we shall enter our eternal slumber side by side," Yan Beicheng got to the last line when his voice suddenly became quieter. It was now deep and elegant.
When Lin Chu wrote the first half of the paragraph, she had just wanted to play a little trick on him. She wanted to hear Yan Beicheng read it out loud as she wondered what his expression would look like and whether his voice would break from reading these things. She tried hard to repress her laughter while writing it.
However, as she listened to him read it in the room that was bathed in darkness, she could vaguely make out the outline of his face whilst the darkness only served to highlight his deep voice.
It was deep and rich; gentle and reliable as a piece of jade. It felt like it was warming up the dark night as she wrapped herself in his voice. It covered her from head to toe as every cell in her body reacted to his warm voice. There was an indescribable comfort that she got drunk on, a richness in his husky voice that floated melodiously into her ear.
Even though she had written a nauseating declaration of love that she could not even stand to read a second time, it sounded so moving when Yan Beicheng read it out loud. It was as if they were the sweet, gentle words of a lover"s promise.
Lin Chu blushed. She could hardly see the piece of paper she was holding in her hands, much less the words that were written on them.
As she listened to Yan Beicheng, her face went red as her heart began to beat faster. Even if the words were hers, she was happy to hear him read it out loud.
She suddenly felt a warm breath on her nose, and the next thing she knew, her lips were locked in a soft, wet embrace. It was soft and gentle, tender and moist. It felt like they were being brushed against a feather that had been dipped in water. It stirred her deep to the deepest part of her heart and tugged at every string in her body.
There was an increased feeling of anxiousness due to the fact that she could not see anything in the dark. Her other senses were totally dialed up until there was not a single molecule on her skin that was not buzzing with antic.i.p.ation. The darker it was, the sharper her senses became, and the more aware she was of every single one of his movements. She could vaguely hear the friction between their clothes as it rustled between them while her body simultaneously felt lighter, as her clothes had been pulled off her. Their bare skin was now grinding against each other as the fire between them burned furiously, which at the same time, tasted sweet like milk.
Lin Chu suddenly remembered something and as Yan Beicheng was pecking at her lips, so she suddenly spoke up, "It doesn"t matter to you if when say we turn off the lights, does it? You can still see everything clearly."
"Yeah," Yan Beicheng replied lazily. He was not paying attention to her question, so his casual reply annoyed Lin Chu so much that she gritted her teeth.
She clenched her hands into fists and hit him in the waist out of annoyance.
Yan Beicheng quickly grabbed her hands and gave it a pinch. He said pitifully, "Don"t hit me, you"ll destroy my kidney."
Lin Chu, "…"
What was she going to do with this shameless man?
"Why didn"t you tell me this before?" Lin Chu asked.
This spoiled the mood for Yan Beicheng, but he still replied honestly, "I"ve had this ability since I was young, so it"s like eating and drinking to me. There"s really nothing special about it. It"s second nature to me, like everyone else who just takes their vision for granted. This was why I never really thought much about it and didn"t mention it to you. I was only reminded about this ability after you mentioned that thing earlier, which is why I only came around to explaining it to you now.
Yan Beicheng did not even want to mention Lu Zhenghang"s name as it felt like it dirtied his mouth. Calling Lu Zhenghang "that thing" was good enough for him.
Lin Chu accepted this reasoning. It was something that he had gotten used to since he was young, so he had long considered it to be a normal part of himself, which explained why it never seemed important enough for him to mention.
As she was thinking of this, she heard Yan Beicheng continue, "I can"t believe you can still get distracted while we"re supposed to be intimate. Just wait until these three months are over. I"ll really let you have it then."
As he said this, he moved below Lin Chu"s waist. After this, Lin Chu was no longer capable of saying another word.
Lin Chu was wide awake even though she desperately wanted to drift off to sleep. Her uneasiness was making it difficult for her to rest.
Even though Yan Beicheng was not that worried about the matter, which made her feel secure, she was still curious to know how he planned to handle this.
As she lazily laid on him just like before, Yan Beicheng rubbed her back with one hand whilst using the other to hold onto her hand, pinching her soft fingers gently one by one. He looked at each of her fingers with care.
The lights in the room were still off and they were in complete darkness, but this did not bother Yan Beicheng at all. He could see her fingers very clearly; they looked fair and almost translucent, like a piece of jade. He pressed her fingers against his lips as he kissed them whilst the thought of her hands intoxicated him, making him unable to let them go as he continued kissing them.
Meanwhile, his kisses ignited the flames of pa.s.sion throughout Lin Chu"s body. "About Lu…"
She paused with thought. Lin Chu did not really want to say his name out loud, "About that… that thing, what you planning to do now?"
Yan Beicheng pinched her fingers as he played with them while using the slender fingers on his other hand to tap at the back of her hand as if it were a piano. "I"ll be finis.h.i.+ng up some work in the office tomorrow, then I"ll leave for T City the day after."
Lin Chu did not understand what the Lu Zhenghang situation had to do with T City.
If they really wanted to investigate the matter, they should start in Ning City.
Yan Beicheng explained, "The Lanshan Inst.i.tution is in T City and this is, after all, a family scandal. I"m not worried that Wen Ren will say something about it, but it will give me an idea of how serious the matter is if I speak to him face to face."
Wen Ren may not be the sharpest person around, but he still had a fierce sense of loyalty and was very professional.
"After all, this isn"t my industry. I can"t just do something shady and train a group of mercenaries like the Lanshan inst.i.tution. If I want to get an outsider to investigate Lu Zhenghang, then Wen Ren is the best candidate for the job. He may be a little rough around the edges, but he"ll definitely get the job done," Yan Beicheng explained as he lowered his head to look at Lin Chu.
Lin Chu may not have been able to see him, but she could definitely feel his gaze. She became more awake as she allowed him to continue fiddling with her fingers.
"How much do you know about the Lanshan Inst.i.tution?" Yan Beicheng"s eyes were about to close as his slender finger fiddled with Lin Chu"s hair whilst simultaneously drawing imaginary circles on her smooth back. She was like a big, comfortable… cat.
At least, Lin Chu felt this way.
"All I know is that the Wen family lives in the Lanshan Inst.i.tution, which is common knowledge. Tourists visiting T City might not be able to go up Mount Lanshan, but they would still look up at the Wen family house from the foot of the mountain. Moyan once went outstation to T City, and she did the same thing as well. She said she could clearly see the houses, which looked tiny at that distance, from the foot of the mountain. She said they looked mysterious," replied Lin Chu.
Xu Moyan had also said, "They looked like they were meditating to become deities."
This was something Lin Chu dared not mention.
Yan Beicheng smiled as he said, "The view from their house is really beautiful. I"ll bring you along the day after and we"ll treat it as a vacation."
Lin Chu was intrigued. This was not a place that just anyone could visit. It was not exactly a normal holiday destination.
It was like the capital of a country, whereby tourists could look at them from afar, but could never enter. No one would give up the opportunity to go inside.
This was the impression Lin Chu had of the Lanshan Inst.i.tute.
"Won"t I be disturbing your business?" Lin Chu lifted her head to ask.
"No, you won"t. I"ll be speaking to Wen Ren, and it"ll be a short conversation, so it won"t take up much time. We"ll take the opportunity to get some rest and have a mini holiday. The view from Mount Lanshan is really nice.," Yan Beicheng said.
Yan Beicheng actually preferred for Lin Chu to rest at home and not go to work. All she"d be doing was facing the computer all day long, and he did not really like that. Her job at Lin Yi would not be compromised anyway as it would still be there for her after she gave birth. She would be welcome to go back to it at any time.
However, Lin Chu did not want to stay home and do nothing, so she said, "Even though my salary is not that much, but I like the feeling of being able to earn my own keep. The amount I earn isn"t important, the most important thing is that I feel independent. I don"t want to be a complete parasite. You already handle my salary and investments, so I don"t just want to feel like all I"m good for is spending your money. Thus, I"ll just save my money to buy you presents. At the very least, I will be able to gift you presents with my own hard-earned money. I"d feel happier that way."
Yan Beicheng was convinced by the last sentence. He liked it that Lin Chu bought presents for him with her own money. It did not matter if it was cheap or expensive, the most important thing to him was the thought.
However, this did not stop Yan Beicheng from attempting to create opportunities for Lin Chu to apply for leave and rest at home. This made Lin Chu feel bad for Wei Zilin.
Lin Yi was a renowned company that many would kill to join. However, because of Yan Beicheng"s obstinate att.i.tude, she had turned into an unreliable employee who desperately clung to the position but did not give her all at work. It felt like she was always goofing off.
This was why Lin Chu insisted on not taking any day offs as long as she was feeling healthy.
On the other hand, Yan Beicheng wanted to take this opportunity to visit T City and convince Lin Chu to get some rest. It would not bother him much if she followed him to T City as it would be much better than facing the computer every day.
However, despite her sense of responsibility, Lin Chu was curious about the Lanshan inst.i.tute and wanted to immediately know of any updates concerning the situation. Otherwise, she could not stop worrying.
Thus, Lin Chu nodded in agreement.
Yan Beicheng lowered his head to give her a kiss on the lips. Then, he suddenly got out of bed to turn the lights on.
Lin Chu was startled and quickly hid under the covers. They may have been married for quite a while, but she was still not used to bearing it all in front of him.
On the other hand, Yan Beicheng did not seem to care about his nudity. He proudly walked around whilst fully nude before casually putting on a pair of pants and a s.h.i.+rt. Even then, he did not b.u.t.ton it up.
"Give me a minute, I"m going to the study for a while," Yan Beicheng said.
Lin Chu nodded. She wondered what he was planning to do in the study at this hour, but did not ask. She guessed that it had something to do with Lu Zhenghang.
Yan Beicheng turned around to see Lin Chu dive back under the covers such that only her head could be seen peeking out. Her inkjet hair was spread all over the pillows the rosy cheeks and sweat on her face remained as proof of him servicing her previously. It was a healthy red that looked great on her snow-white skin.
Yan Beicheng was captivated by the view in front of him.
He gulped a few times before lowering his head to plant his lips onto hers. He just could not resist her.
Lin Chu immediately responded to his pa.s.sionate kiss in kind; at this point, it had become second nature for her.
It was a long time before Yan Beicheng finally let go of her. He mumbled something about not going to the study anymore as he wanted to accompany Lin Chu to sleep.
Lin Chu poked at him sheepishly, "Go do whatever you have. Just come back quickly after you"re done."
Every time he was about to leave, he just had to turn back and kiss her or nuzzle her. Whenever he wanted to leave, he has always delayed himself for at least half an hour because of this intimacy.
Lin Chu did not know what to say to him. She was speechless about his actions, yet at the same time felt that it was really sweet.
Her arms came out of the covers to poke him, thus exposing her white, tender shoulders. Her exquisite collar bones, which looked as if they had been sculpted from the finest marble, tempted and seduced him.
Yan Beicheng swallowed again. He could not help but plant his lips on her collarbones before kissing it from one end to the other. He kissed them again and again, until Lin Chu finally pushed him away, causing him to let go of her.
Yan Beicheng licked his lips and said huskily, "I"ll be back soon."
Lin Chu did not reply as she watched Yan Beicheng leave the bedroom with her big eyes. This caused Yan Beicheng to hesitate when he caught sight of the look in her eyes.
They took the meaning of death do us apart to the extreme, such that refused to leave each other"s company even whilst in the villa. He made it seem like the world would end the moment he left her.
Lin Chu figured that Yan Beicheng would be busy in the study for quite a while. Thus, she quickly slipped into the bathroom to take a shower.
Yan Beicheng went to the study and pulled out a cardboard box from below the cupboard. The box was clean, making it apparent that it had been frequently cleaned. The box was taped shut with duct tape and had not been opened since Yan Huaiyuan"s pa.s.sing. Inside were some things that he had left behind which Old Lady Yan had kept here with great pain.