They surrounded me right after the breakup.

The morning light shone into the bedroom through the burgundy velvet curtains.

The morning sun shines directly on the longans on the ground, revealing their dark brown flesh.

Next to it were a few peanuts, half of their shells crushed.

It must have been stepped on by someone when they got out of bed last night.

When Lin Yaoyao opened her eyes, this was the scene she saw.

The red sheet was crumpled up, most of the quilt was on the floor, and the pillow was tilted to the side of the bed.

The red dates on the ground were right in front of her line of sight, round and plump…

Lin Yaoyao blushed instantly as fragmented memories of yesterday surfaced in her mind.

Her mother laid out red sheets, and there were peanuts, longans, and red dates on the bed. Shen Qingning was hiding in the next room.

And then there are those embarrassing details.

Lin Yaoyao turned her head and found that Jiang Han had already woken up and was leaning against the headboard looking at his phone.

The morning light outlined his profile clearly, from his brow bone to the bridge of his nose and then to his jawline.

Lin Yaoyao nuzzled her face against Jiang Han's shoulder, her nostrils filled with his warm and clean scent.

"Honey~"

Her voice was soft and sweet, with a husky quality from just waking up and a lingering echo.

Lin Yaoyao rested her head on Jiang Han's shoulder, her legs, wrapped in black stockings, sticking out from under the covers.

My toes curled up briefly in the cool air before relaxing again.

He said he didn't want Shen Qingning's black stockings, but when he actually put them on, he couldn't escape the "it smells so good" phenomenon.

My husband's eyes lit up!

It's comfortable to wear, I love wearing it, and I'll wear it often from now on!

Last night before going to bed, Shen Qingning knocked on the door, said goodnight through the door panel, and then her footsteps disappeared at the end of the corridor.

Lin Yaoyao felt a mix of emotions she couldn't quite describe.

But now I'm awake, nestled beside Jiang Han.

She suddenly realized that although her mother's arrangement was outrageous, it was undeniably effective.

Jiang Han put down his phone, reached his hand out from under the covers, and placed it against her waist.

The silk nightgown was cool and slippery to the touch, and he slowly moved it upwards along the warm skin.

When you touch a soft spot, tighten your fingers suddenly.

Lin Yaoyao jerked, and the gasp she was about to utter was quickly swallowed back by biting her lip.

"You... so early in the morning!"

"Isn't that the husband you called me?"

Lin Yaoyao buried her face in the pillow, her ear tips turning bright red.

After a while, she finally lifted her head from the pillow, tucked her loose hair behind her ear, and got out of bed.

Barefoot on the carpet, I bent down to pick up the red dates that had rolled to the doorway.

I casually tossed the crushed peanut shells into the small trash can next to my bedside table.

On the dressing table was a fertility supplement package she had brought from Yunqi Mountain Villa.

Folic acid, vitamin D, and DHA—three brown glass bottles are placed side by side in front of the mirror.

She unscrewed the cap of the folic acid bottle and poured it out one by one, swallowing it with the remaining half cup of warm water from last night.

When Shen Qingning pushed the door open and came in, Lin Yaoyao was unscrewing the cap of a vitamin D bottle.

Shen Qingning had already changed her clothes; she was wearing a navy blue shirt dress.

She wore a thin belt around her waist, her hair was tied up, and she wore light makeup.

She was holding a brown glass bottle, the same one Lin Yaoyao had.

"morning!"

Shen Qingning walked to the dressing table and unscrewed the cap of her folic acid bottle.

She picked up the warm water Lin Yaoyao had poured for her, tilted her head back, and swallowed it.

Lin Yaoyao's gaze fell on the bottle in Shen Qingning's hand.

The bottle was exactly the same as hers, but there was an extra small white sticker where the label should have been.

The words "Shen Qingning" were neatly written on it in black marker.

Lin Yaoyao put the vitamin D back into her supply bag.

"My mom even made the labels for you..."

"Mom put it on yesterday." Shen Qingning put the bottle into her bag.

She said she was afraid we'd mix them up, and that since I was just starting to take it, the dosage was different from yours.

Hearing Shen Qingning use the word "Mom" reminded Lin Yaoyao of the times when the two of them used to call each other slutty women.

Life is truly magical…

Now, if someone uses the word "slutty" to describe her, she even takes it as a compliment.

Jiang Han leaned against the headboard, looking at the two women sitting side by side in front of the dressing table.

Their silhouettes drew two distinct lines in the morning light.

One was petite and plump, the other tall and slender.

Jiang Han's gaze lingered on them for a moment, then he picked up his phone and scrolled through his call history.

The phone call Xia Yutong made last night is still in my contact list; the call was very short.

He tapped the screen and called back.

"It's me. What happened last night?"

Xia Yutong's voice came through the receiver, speaking faster than usual.

She recounted in detail the meeting with the Bar Association yesterday afternoon, the wording of the whistleblower letter, and her father's analysis.

Jiang Han didn't speak, his hands clenched into fists under the blanket.

Lin Yaoyao was the first to realize something was wrong.

She turned to look at Jiang Han, whose smile had vanished from his face at some point.

Instead, she wore an expression that was not unfamiliar to her.

The last time I saw this expression was the night Shen Qingning announced her retirement from the entertainment industry.

"What's wrong?" Lin Yaoyao asked.

Jiang Han didn't answer her, but said into the phone:

"I understand. Handle it as needed. Call me anytime if you need my assistance."

He hung up the phone and picked up a cigarette pack from the bedside table.

Shen Qingning and Lin Yaoyao looked at each other, waiting for their men to speak first.

"Jiang Guangyao!" Jiang Han lit a cigarette and took a puff.

"He sent someone to report Xia Guodong."

Shen Qingning's brows furrowed slightly.

She knew who Xia Guodong was: the director of Junhe Law Firm, Xia Yutong's father, and an important ally of Jiang Han.

More importantly, he is in charge of investigating old cases for Jiang Han.

"Business is business. I'll accept whatever competitive tactics he wants to use," Jiang Han said coldly.

"I accept whatever comes at the card table, whether I win or lose."

Jiang Han flicked the cigarette ash into the empty water glass on the bedside table: "But he's playing under the card table now."

"Today I report Xia Guodong, but who will it be tomorrow? Teacher Fang? Dumplings? Everyone who does anything for me!"

Lin Yaoyao took the half-burnt cigarette from his hand and stubbed it out at the bottom of the cup.

Place your hand on the back of his hand.

Shen Qingning stood on the other side of the bed, her voice calm and resolute.

"You tell us how to handle it, and we'll handle it that way."

Shen Qingning stood by the window and pulled the curtains open halfway.

"Jiang Guangyao didn't get the benefit this time, but he'll try other methods next time."

"If the Bar Association route is blocked, he will try another one. He will try every means that can be used."

"Let him try it." Jiang Han stood up and picked up the shirt draped over the back of the chair.

"Every time he makes a move, he's showing us what he's afraid of."

"His actions against Xia Guodong this time show that he fears the law the most."