spring bite mark

Chapter 140 Coaxing
The bathroom was designed by Yan Changye himself. It was not only spacious and luxurious with a clever layout, but also had excellent sound insulation, which was why he liked to pester Jiang Manman to play in the bathroom from time to time.

Of course, playing with children and playing with one's wife are completely different experiences.

The luxurious bathtub was filled with children's bath toys. Yan Changye casually turned on the music player on the bathtub, and cheerful children's songs filled the bathroom. He found the edge of the bathtub and leaned against it to play mobile games. The two children started a water fight in the bathtub, and water splashed all over Yan Changye from time to time. He had obviously gotten used to it over the years and naturally changed his position to continue playing on his phone.

After playing for about an hour, the two children gradually quieted down, and Yan Changye tossed them bath towels: "Dry yourselves off, your pajamas are in the closet."

"Daddy," Xie Jian said, searching for clothes as he spoke, "Can I and my brother use the dressing room downstairs? We don't have enough room for all our clothes..."

Yan Changye is extremely protective of his private space in front of outsiders. Let alone occupying his dressing room, he will get angry if you linger in his dressing room for even a moment longer.

But she's incredibly generous in front of her own children. Not only generous, but also someone who pays special attention to her appearance and never has too many clothes—something he fully understands and supports.
"There are only two dressing rooms at home, which is not enough. Tomorrow, Daddy will arrange to knock down several empty rooms on the second floor and build one for each of you."

"I also want a vegetable garden." Xie Jian pressed his advantage. "Manman loves eating the vegetables I grow! I want to grow the same vegetable garden as the one in Yushui Bay, and pick vegetables for her to eat every day."

He kept switching between calling her "Manman" and "Mommy," clearly not used to it yet. Yan Changye didn't correct him, and just paused for a moment:
"There's empty space in Villa No. 2, which you can use to grow vegetables. Daddy will also build a playground there for you. When Daddy and Mommy are busy, you can go there and play."

"That sounds great!" Xie Jian exclaimed longingly. "I also want to fish, shrimp, and crabs."

Yan Changye thought for a moment and said, "Alright, turn the swimming pool in Villa No. 2 into a fishpond and throw in two thousand catties of fish, shrimp and crabs for you to fish for fun."

Xie Jianxin was satisfied. After putting on his pajamas, he skipped out to find Jiang Manman.

Yan Changye asked Yan Yu, who was still getting dressed, "Yan Yu, is there anything you want?"

Yan Yu casually said, "I don't care about anything else, I just want to have a little space in the study so I can paint and keep my mother company."

Is this what you call not fighting?
Yan Changye paused for a moment: "Daddy and Mommy are sometimes busy and it's inconvenient for the children to bother them, so I'll set up a professional art studio for you."

Yan Yu remained silent, only lowering his eyes and slowly unzipping his pajamas.

After finishing, he gave a perfunctory "hmm" and left.

When Yan Changye returned to the bedroom, Yan Yu and Xie Jian were already nestled on either side of Jiang Manman, leaving a large, empty space beside them.

Jiang Manman was telling the two a story from a picture book, her voice gentle and melodious. Yan Changye waited until she finished a paragraph before interrupting her:
"Where do I sleep?"

Xie Jian pointed to the empty area. The bedroom bed was huge, and Jiang Manman and the two children took up half of it. The empty space was far away from Jiang Manman, with Xie Jian in between.

"No." Yan Changye refused decisively.

He lay down on the bed, and casually picked up Xie Jian, who had interfered in his relationship with Jiang Manman, and moved him to the edge of the bed, holding him close.

“Let’s redistribute the rooms. My wife and I will sleep in the middle, and you two will each take turns, one on each side, every night.”

Xie Jian opened his mouth in dissatisfaction: "I want to sleep next to Mom."

“If you want to stay in the capital for a long time,” Yan Changye rubbed his little head, his voice gentle yet threatening, “you have to listen to Daddy.”

After saying that, he instinctively reached out with his other hand to put his arm around his wife.

Jiang Manman slapped his hand away: "Aren't you annoying, always fighting and snatching things from the two children?"

“Madam, children are meant to stabilize our marriage, not to compete with me for my affections.” Yan Changye’s tone became more serious. “This is my bottom line for tolerating them sleeping in the same room as you.” Jiang Manman turned her back to him, hugged Yan Yu, and instantly didn’t want to talk to him anymore.

Seeing that she was no longer making a fuss, Yan Changye pressed Xie Jian's head into his arms and turned off the light.

The room was dark and quiet, but soon the soft breathing of two children could be heard.

Jiang Manman woke up in the middle of the night because she was hot.

Yan Changye had somehow slipped into her bed. His hot breath made her gasp. She reached out to push him away, but the touch was firm and smooth. She realized that he had already taken off all his clothes.

"Yan Changye!" Jiang Manman's voice was extremely low, both ashamed and annoyed, "Yan Yu and Xie Jian are here!"

“I’ve put them next door. I’ll bring them over when I’m done,” Yan Changye said confidently. “Normally, they sleep very soundly and can sleep through the night. I’ve also locked the door from the inside, so don’t worry, Madam.”

Jiang Manman stopped him from undressing her: "Yan Changye, I don't want to tonight."

"Still angry with your husband?" Yan Changye bit her lip playfully, his voice seductive and coaxing, "Madam, I haven't touched you for three days. Let's do it a couple more times tonight, until you're satisfied."

Jiang Manman was extremely annoyed: "Yan Changye, I still haven't recovered from what happened these past two days. How can you act like nothing happened and still have the mind to think about this kind of thing?"

She was genuinely rejecting it.

Yan Changye was incredibly perceptive; he knew that if this matter wasn't discussed openly, his marital life would likely be in jeopardy.

He stopped what he was doing, temporarily putting aside his romantic thoughts, and pretended to be serious as he held her in his arms, gently defending himself: "Madam, to be honest, I'm not at ease about this either."

"Did not see it."

“It was my overconfidence that led me to decide to raise the child in the port city. When Madam found out, I was actually quite nervous and guilty.” Yan Changye observed her expression. “But actually, even if Ning Xinyue hadn’t come out to cause trouble, I was planning to be honest with Madam.”

Jiang Manman glanced at him and said, "You're all talk and no action, I don't believe you."

"Really, I've already made plans." Yan Changye's peach blossom eyes flickered slightly. "A few months ago, I tried to get Xie Jian to get close to you. Otherwise, how do you think Xie Yunxi's WeChat suddenly appeared on your phone?"

Jiang Manman understood after a moment's thought: "You added it?"

"Otherwise what?" Yan Changye retorted, then added, "The money Yan Yu invested in the Hong Kong National Style Exhibition was also approved by me. I wanted him to see you."

Jiang Manman's expression softened slightly: "What about Xie Yunxi? It's one thing to keep it from the child, but to keep it from the marriage as well. Yan Changye and Xie Yunxi, one is a carefree and unrestrained woman, the other is decisive and ruthless. I never dreamed they would be the same person."

"Madam, just answer me. Regardless of whether the child is still alive or whether the fact that Xie Yunxi was the one you slept with back then has been a blow to you?"

Jiang Manman was stunned.

She was silent for a long while: "I'm angry that you concealed it, but these two facts, undeniably, make me feel incredibly fortunate. Fortunate that I didn't get entangled with Xie Yuheng, fortunate that I didn't have a child out of wedlock, fortunate that the children are still alive..."

"Since I've brought you more relief than anything else," Yan Changye subtly shifted the subject, his tone incredibly gentle, "my merits naturally outweigh my faults, so why hold onto the small mistake I made by concealing it? My wife, please don't be angry, considering how difficult it has been for me to be a father all these years, and how much I've had to travel back and forth between Hong Kong and the capital, okay?"

(End of this chapter)