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

Pei Youyi's hair brushed against his chin, and the extremely faint fragrance of magnolia blossoms mixed with the slightly astringent aftertaste of red wine enveloped him.

She closed her eyes.

The sound was as soft as a leaf falling onto a lake in the dead of night, refusing to sink.

Can I hug you?

"I've never been in a relationship before, and I don't even know how to hug."

Does this count?

Gu Yan's finger hovered in the air for a long while.

Countless thoughts flashed through his mind.

Pei Youyi is Pei Yuran's mother, the matriarch of the Pei family, and an elder he has always respected.

She always had a dignified, gentle, calm, and confident demeanor.

At this moment, she was like a weary bird that had finally found its nest, burying her face in his chest, her voice pleading.

He lowered his eyes, slowly put down the water glass in his hand, and raised his arm to very gently wrap his arms around her back.

Her body is very soft.

You could feel the warmth of her skin through that thin trench coat.

Her waist was slimmer than he had imagined; when she was close to him, his arms could encircle most of her waist.

She trembled slightly in his arms.

Then, like a petal that had been blown by the wind for a long time and finally landed, I quietly, slowly, and completely relaxed.

"Gu Yan".

She called his name, her voice coming out muffledly from his chest, lacking its usual dignified and composed rhythm.

"If you're alive, why don't you come looking for me?"

Do you know how sad I am?

"I saw your coffin at Windsor Manor that day, but I stood at the very back of the crowd and didn't go in."

"I'm afraid to go in, because I'm afraid I'll actually believe it if I do."

"After I came back, I locked myself in my room and drank for three whole days."

"Yu Ran was knocking on the door from the outside. She was crying, and I was crying inside too, but I didn't dare to open the door."

"I don't know how to tell her that the person who left was the only person I've ever loved in my life."

She paused abruptly at this point.

Gu Yan felt that the fingers gripping her clothes were trembling slightly.

She looked up at him.

Her eyes were still red, and the tear stains hadn't dried yet.

But a very faint smile appeared at the corner of his mouth.

The smile, illuminated by the tears, appeared exceptionally bright, like the first ray of sunlight piercing through a cloud after a rainy night.

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

"At least I've come to understand my own heart."

"And you."

"You're still alive."

"Nothing could be better than this."

Gu Yan looked down at the woman in his arms who was still crying but trying to smile at him.

He opened his mouth as if to say something, but didn't know where to begin.

Should I say sorry for making you worry, or should I ask why you like me?

His hand loosened slightly.

Pei Youyi sensed it.

She grabbed his hand, pressed that palm, which was much larger than hers, back onto her back, and hugged him even tighter.

The temperature emanating from her body through her trench coat was even higher than before, and the fragrance of magnolia blossoms became even more intense with her body heat, like a jar of aged wine that had been buried for many years finally having its seal lifted.

"Aunt Pei, it's me."

Am I old?

She looked up at him and very lightly tapped his forehead with her fingertip.

A sly glint suddenly flashed in those deep brown eyes that Gu Yan had never seen before on her dignified and gentle face.

"Call me sister, not aunt."

She was too close.

In the dim light, her exquisitely sculpted face was rendered exceptionally soft by the candlelight.

The extremely fine lines at the corners of her eyes did not diminish her beauty; on the contrary, they made her gaze appear even more real and irresistible.

She was wearing a plain white trench coat, underneath which was a moon-white cheongsam.

The cheongsam's cut perfectly hugged her voluptuous figure, and a delicate pearl brooch adorned her neckline, the fabric beneath it rising and falling gently with her breath.

Her waist wasn't extremely thin, but it looked exceptionally harmonious with her voluptuous curves.

The hem of the cheongsam revealed her fair and slender calves, and a silver anklet, faded in color, was tied around her ankle, just like the red rope.

Gu Yan felt her heartbeat getting out of control.

He had seen Pei Youyi in a cheongsam many times, but never like this before.

She leaned against him, the collar of her cheongsam slightly open, revealing a small patch of her fair collarbone and the faint curve below it.

The dignified and gentle temperament she possessed was somewhat diluted by the red wine and tears, replaced by a more real and vibrant quality.

He suppressed the rising heat in his head and tried to make his voice sound steady.

"Sister Youyi."

"That's about supporting the third line of defense in East Asia."

"That one."

She looked up at him again, her deep brown eyes regaining their usual shrewdness and composure.

"It's very troublesome."

"I don't belong to any theater command, so transferring here would involve several complicated procedures, and I would also owe the Middle East theater command several S-level combatants a favor."

"Therefore, I have one small condition."

She pointed very lightly to her lips with her fingertip.

Her lips gleamed faintly in the candlelight, and after drinking red wine, they were even redder than usual.

"Give me a kiss, and I'll say yes."

"Just this once, I will personally guard the pass in the northern suburbs of Kyoto."

Gu Yan was indeed somewhat shocked.

In his memory, Pei Youyi was always that dignified, gentle, intellectual, and proper demeanor.

The matriarch of the Pei family, who would shield him from everyone at the martial arts exam but was afraid of losing her composure if she even glanced at him in private, was now smiling like a young girl who was confidently asking for a kiss on her first date.

Is it because of him?

Was it because he had been dead for three years and then came back to life, or because she had finally removed the worldly shackles that had weighed her down for so long?

He looked at her, who had already closed her eyes and tilted her face up.

Her eyelashes trembled slightly, and her fingers tightened around his shirt.

She was nervous.

The woman, who once single-handedly defended the entire flank of the ancient martial arts SS-rank, was now as nervous as a young girl waiting for her first love's response.

He lowered his head, and a thought suddenly flashed through his mind.

What will happen if that blockhead Pei Yuran finds out?

In the instant he hesitated, Pei Youyi pressed her lips to his.

Her lips were very soft.

It's softer than I expected.

It carries the slightly astringent aftertaste of red wine and the gentle fragrance of magnolia blossoms.

Her eyes were closed, her eyelashes gently brushing against his eyelids, their breaths mingling with his.

Her fingers gripped his shirt so tightly that her knuckles turned white.

But the force with which she kissed him was very, very light.

He could feel her trembling slightly.

He trembled as if he had gathered courage over many years to finally take this initiative.

Then he reached out and placed his hand on her back, returning the kiss.

Gu Yan let out a soft breath, the warmth of the kiss still lingering on her lips.

Pei Youyi stepped slightly away from his embrace, her face still flushed, but her eyes had regained their usual composure.

She lightly wiped the corner of her mouth with her fingertips, then sat up straight on the sofa, her hands folded on her knees, maintaining the dignified posture of the matriarch of the Pei family.

"Anything else you want to ask? Ask it all at once."

She tilted her head to look at him, her deep brown pupils gleaming gently in the candlelight.

Gu Yan was silent for a few seconds before speaking, her voice slightly strained.

"Grandpa... how is he?"