At the start, I had to choose one of four options, and I immediately picked the Brahmin from the cou

The next morning, Zhou Yanhuai's long-established biological clock forcibly woke him up.

The throbbing pain from the hangover made Zhou Yanhuai feel dizzy. He frowned, rubbed his temples which felt like they were about to explode, and slowly opened his eyes.

What came into view was not the cold, empty room of the past, but Li Baibing's peaceful sleeping face so close to hers.

In that instant, the flame of protectiveness in Zhou Yanhuai's heart was completely ignited.

For the first time, he understood what it felt like to love someone. For the past eighteen years, he had lived like a puppet on strings inside a transparent glass jar.

The track the old man set for him was smooth and safe, but it was also so suffocating that it was hard to breathe.

He thought he would live his life step by step, taking the civil service exam, getting married, and wearing a hypocritical mask in this world of fame and fortune until he grew old.

But now, looking at the girl in front of him who seemed fragile even in her sleep, he suddenly felt that real flesh and blood had finally grown inside his body, which was tightly bound by rules.

He gently propped himself up, moving slowly, afraid of waking the person in his arms.

The hangover headache still throbbed in his temples, but instead of turning over and going back to sleep as usual, he leaned against the headboard, looking down at Li Baibing's face buried in his shoulder for a long time.

He recalled that last night by the campfire, Li Xiao asked him what he could use to protect her.

He couldn't answer at the time, and felt a rush of blood to his head. He wanted to tear his heart out and show it to everyone, to let them know how deep his love for Li Baibing was.

But now, in the quiet of the early morning in a room where only her even breathing could be heard, he began to seriously consider the question.

Perhaps his movements were too vigorous, because Li Baibing stirred in his arms, her eyelashes fluttering slightly, and then she slowly opened her eyes.

She saw Zhou Yanhuai looking down at her. She was stunned for a moment, then her lips curved into a sleepy smile. Her voice was soft and had the hoarseness that comes with just waking up.

"You're awake? Does your head hurt? You drank a lot last night..."

Zhou Yanhuai shook his head, looking at the woman who, even after just waking up, was still thinking about him, and he felt an unprecedented happiness.

"Bai Bing, I've been thinking about this all night. Give me a little more time, not too long. Once I'm established, I'll come back for you. Then you won't have to worry about anything, you won't have to be afraid of anything. I mean what I say."

She stared at him blankly, her eyes behind her glasses suddenly misting over with tears. Then she nodded gently, buried herself back into his chest, and said nothing more.

Zhou Yanhuai hugged her even tighter, resting his chin on the top of her head. Smelling the faint rose scent on Li Baibing, he felt something taking root and sprouting in his chest.

The silence in the room lasted only a moment. Zhou Yanhuai took a deep breath, suppressing the boiling tenderness in his chest along with his ambition for the future.

For the next three days, this top-tier luxury villa, hidden halfway up the mountain, became their secluded haven from the world.

Here, Zhou Yanhuai set aside the complicated family rules in the county town and temporarily let go of the tension in the southern part of the city. It was as if Zhou Yanhuai wanted to make up for the youth that had been suppressed and bound for the past eighteen years in just a few days.

In this place where there were no spies from the Zhou family patriarch, he completely shed his rigid and outdated pretense and wholeheartedly immersed himself in what he believed to be a soul connection.

During the day, this sprawling estate became their playground where they could squander their time.

Zhou Yanhuai would accompany Li Baibing to enjoy afternoon tea flown in from the air in the temperature-controlled glass conservatory, or they would snuggle side by side on the leather sofa in the private cinema to watch slow-paced European art films.

No matter how dry his macroeconomic theories were, or how idealistic they were that the privileged kids in the industry used to scoff at, Li Baibing could always catch him off guard with remarkable precision. She would always look at him with the clearest, most adoring gaze, offering unique insights that he considered a kindred spirit.

When Zheng Hao occasionally walked by with his arm around a blonde woman, he couldn't help but make a few sarcastic remarks, but Zhou Yanhuai would always defend him without hesitation.

Li Xiao, on the other hand, remained a detached observer, quietly watching this young master from a prestigious family, bound by rules for eighteen years, willingly sink deeper and deeper into this gentle trap called true love.

He didn't stop him; he believed Li Baibing was a smart man who knew what he should and shouldn't do.

In this isolated environment, Zhou Yanhua tore apart the last shred of self-discipline and propriety, and in one almost out-of-control moment of indulgence, completely surrendered his true feelings.

In those three days of extreme indulgence, the pedantic test-taker had completely died, replaced by a man with burning ambition and predatory desire to rightfully marry the girl in his arms.

By the morning of the fourth day, this blissful, dreamlike retreat had finally come to an end.

On the morning of the fourth day, before the mountain mist had fully dissipated, the shuttle bus silently pulled up outside the bamboo gate of Tingquan Residence. Li Xiao, wearing a dark gray trench coat, leaned against the door, holding a cup of hot tea freshly brewed by the butler, watching Zhou Yanhuai and Li Baibing emerge from the villa one after the other. Zhou Yanhuai's eyes still bore the bloodshot rims of a sleepless night, but he appeared remarkably energetic.

He shed the languid feeling of indulging in a gentle embrace from the previous days and put on his slightly stiff polo shirt again.

This time, however, his eyes revealed a fierce determination, as if he had nothing to lose.

He stopped in front of the shuttle bus, turned around, and without any hesitation, hugged Li Baibing tightly in front of Li Xiao, something he would never have dared to do before.

"wait for me."