I raised stunning young ladies, but they all wanted to possess me.

Pei Youyi trembled slightly in his arms.

Then I relaxed completely, as if I had finally found a safe harbor after a long wait that seemed to have no end.

"Gu Yan".

"You were clearly alive, why didn't you tell me?"

Do you know how much I've suffered these past three years?

"Every night I can't sleep, so I sit in the chair you used to sit in and look at that red string that looks exactly like yours over and over again."

"The bell rang and rang, I thought it was you coming back, but it was just the wind each time."

Her voice came from his arms, muffled and trembling.

He even choked up a little at the end.

But then she chuckled softly.

"However, it's not entirely without its advantages."

"If you hadn't left, I probably would never have dared to admit that I fell in love with you."

"I will continue to be the dignified and proper matriarch of the Pei family, continue to pretend that you are just Yu Ran's friend, and continue to suppress my heartbeat every time I see you."

"Now that you're alive, I've also seen my own heart clearly."

"That evens things out."

Gu Yan didn't know what to say.

His hand unconsciously loosened its grip slightly.

She sensed it.

She grabbed his wrist and pulled it back onto her shoulder, making him hold her even tighter.

Her strength wasn't great, but it was firm, as if to say, "Don't let go any further."

"Aunt Pei, I..."

Am I old?

She looked up at him, her gentle eyes still moist from her earlier sobs.

Her eyes were serious, even carrying a hint of awkwardness that only she knew.

Call me "sister".

"I don't like it when you call me Aunt Pei."

"I didn't dare let you call me anything else before, but now that you're alive, I don't want to lie to myself anymore."

Gu Yan looked at her stunningly beautiful face, which was so close to hers.

She takes excellent care of herself; her skin is even more delicate than that of many girls in their early twenties.

But the gentleness and confidence unique to mature women in her eyes and brows are gifts from time, not flaws.

She asked him to call her "sister" not because she was unwilling to accept old age, but because she hoped that her feelings for him could be expressed in a different way.

"...Sister Youyi."

Pei Youyi's eyelashes trembled slightly when she heard those three words.

It was like a long-awaited breeze finally brushing past the long-awaited candlelight.

Then she blushed.

It wasn't the blush of a young girl, but rather a pale pink that shone through from the inside out, like porcelain brimming during firing.

She didn't answer, but simply buried her face in his shoulder again and remained quiet for a while.

She has a voluptuous figure.

It wasn't a deliberately maintained slender figure, but rather a natural, mature fullness, with smooth and full lines. Even through his trench coat and shirt, you could feel the curves when you leaned against him.

He felt his cheeks getting hot and his heart beating faster than usual.

The once dignified and impeccably poised matriarch of the Pei family, whose every glance was impeccable, now nestled in his arms, asking him to call her "sister."

He was really struggling to cope with this contrast.

He quickly changed the subject.

"Sister Youyi... what have you thought about regarding supporting the third line of defense in East Asia?"

Pei Youyi lifted her head from his embrace, the blush on her face not yet completely gone.

But her eyes had regained the shrewdness and composure that the matriarch of the Pei family usually possessed.

"This is a troublesome matter."

"I am an ancient martial arts SS-level, the former head of the Pei family. No war zone transfer order can force me to leave Yu Ran's side and go to the capital, thousands of miles away, to guard a pass."

"However, I do have one condition."

She paused.

A very faint glint of cunning flashed in those gentle eyes.

"If Mr. Gu is willing to kiss me, I will say yes."

The candlelight flickered gently on the silver candlestick, casting dappled light and shadow on her delicate profile.

The Pei family matriarch, who used to always carry a cup of hot tea and was impeccably dignified in any situation, was now quietly waiting for his answer.

The pain hidden within this change.

Those drinks I had alone late at night.

Those red ropes I've looked at over and over again.

Those past events that he repeatedly recalled while sitting in his empty chair.

It's deeper than he had previously estimated.

He hesitated for a moment, and the image of Pei Yuran standing in Santorini, placing the sword tassel in front of the coffin flashed through his mind.

But the thought lasted for less than half a second.

Because Pei Youyi had already reached out and cupped his cheeks.

Her palms were warm and delicate, with a gentle strength unique to mature women.

She said Mr. Gu is still the same as before, always thinking too much about others.

She had said that before.

Under the ginkgo tree at the Chen family mansion, in the VIP section of the martial arts examination venue, she always wore a polite and reserved smile when she said these words.

But this time she didn't laugh.

She simply pressed her lips against his.

Gu Yan let out a soft breath.

He wasn't completely unaware of it before.

Back in the Great Xia Dynasty, Pei Youyi treated him far better than an ordinary matriarch of a noble family.

She would shield him from Cecilia and Shen Youwei's confrontation at the martial arts exam site, and under the ginkgo tree, she would say in an extremely gentle tone that Yu Ran was still thinking about him every day at home. She would push every dish in front of him, saying that he was too thin and should eat more.

He always thought it was an elder's affection for a younger generation, an extra care for a child with poor health.

He never imagined that behind those two words lay a feeling she had been deceiving herself for so many years before finally admitting it.

"Mr. Deputy."

"No, Mr. Gu."

When Pei Youyi uttered the title, the corners of her mouth curved slightly, her deep brown pupils reflecting the candlelight and Gu Yan's face, her voice gentle yet firm.

"When I was young, my marriage to Yu Ran's father was an arranged marriage between our families."

"He was a very good person, but I only understood what love was after he left."

"I've never been in a relationship before, and I don't know how to get along with someone I like."

"So, can I accept you?"

Gu Yan's hand holding the water glass froze in mid-air.

His pupils dilated slightly as he subconsciously scanned the empty private room.

There was no one else here besides the two of them.

Pei Youyi called him Mr. Gu.

She was talking about him, not someone else.

His disguise was still intact, but the way those eyes were staring at him was as if they were looking at a truth that had already been confirmed.

She recognized him the moment his pupils contracted at the airport exit.

"That expression really brings back memories."

Pei Youyi chuckled softly, a very light and short laugh, like a string of wind chimes tinkling in the breeze.

"Exactly the same as when you first came to the Pei family."

"Yu Ran pointed her sword at you, and you stood behind the door, too afraid to come out."

As she spoke, she moved her body a few more inches closer to Gu Yan.

The sofas and chairs in the private room are very spacious.

But she sat closer.

That face, which had become more refined and gentle with the passing years, gently nestled into his embrace, her forehead pressed against his chest where his heart was beating.