Before he died, my grandfather forced me to marry the richest man in the capital.

On the second floor of the Ji residence, in Ji Hancheng's room, Tang Junyao finished taking a shower and studied her grandfather's diary repeatedly.

Little Youzi was taken away by Yuan Shu again, leaving only the couple in the room.

Ji Hancheng came out of the bathroom shirtless, with a white towel wrapped around his waist. Water droplets still clung to his chest, spreading down to the towel around his waist, making him look sexy and alluring. The moment Tang Junyao looked up, she saw the man's seductive side.

She swallowed hard, her gaze immediately shifting away from the allure of beauty. Holding up the diary in her hand, she said to Ji Hancheng, "What kind of password do you think it is? I don't know what numbers Grandpa would like. A password with sentimental value, not my birthday, not Grandpa's birthday, and I don't want to ruin it."

She listed a series of concerns and frustrations, curling her legs up and resting her chin on her hand as she pondered.

"If you can't open it, don't try. The notebook is in your hands anyway. Just think of a few more passwords, and you'll be able to open it eventually. There's no rush," Ji Hancheng reassured him.

Upon hearing this, Tang Junyao paused for a moment, but quickly recovered. "Yes, you're right. Anyway, it won't be lost. We'll be able to open it sooner or later. If we really can't open it, we'll have to pry the lock open. Right now, I don't want to destroy anything Grandpa left behind."

Ji Hancheng wasn't in a very good mood today. He just said lightly, "You'd better hurry up and get some sleep. If you're still not asleep when I come back from my study, you know what will happen."

His words were full of threats, and Tang Junyao naturally understood the underlying meaning of those threats. She rolled her eyes at the lazy man standing there and said, "Ji Hancheng, have some decency."

After breaking my fast, I really let loose and did whatever I wanted.

Despite saying that, I immediately lay down, pulled up the covers, and prepared to sleep.

It's really funny how they try to make themselves as inconspicuous as possible.

When Ji Hancheng returned from the study, he looked at the diary on the bedside table with a deep and unfathomable gaze.

Looking at the woman sleeping peacefully on the bed, his thoughts were complicated.

This woman has completely forgotten that he's a lock-picking expert. Didn't he pick the balcony lock when he climbed the wall? She doesn't seem to remember at all. I wonder if she'll remember tomorrow. I have a feeling I can't keep this up for long.

Let's keep it a secret for as long as we can; we'll deal with it when it's too late to hide it anymore.

She sighed deeply, then walked to the bedside, took the diary, gently closed the door, and headed towards the study. The moment the door closed, the person on the bed slowly opened their eyes.

Tang Junyao was naturally observant. Because she was bullied, isolated and ridiculed since childhood, she was particularly sensitive to eyes and words. She would observe things she cared about with great care.

Unless it's something she doesn't want to care about at all, she won't be indifferent to your expression or what it is, because it's none of her business.

At night, Ji Hancheng was always absent-minded, and his eyes would occasionally glance at the diary, with a subtle emotion hidden in his eyes. She noticed it, but didn't expose him. She could vaguely sense that Ji Hancheng was hiding something from her.

She was initially unsure because she didn't know how to unlock the door and didn't want to damage it, so she told Ji Hancheng she didn't know the password. But he clearly knew how to unlock it, yet he told her to try slowly. That was the biggest problem. He was very quick when he opened her balcony door before, but now he hesitated.

After being together for so long, his behavior at night is not a normal reaction.

As expected............

She didn't think much of it. The matter was already settled. Tomorrow she needed to have an open and honest talk with Ji Hancheng. She could accept anything, good or bad. She had accepted the deaths of her mother, her maternal grandparents, and her godmother. What else couldn't she accept now?

In the study, Ji Hancheng quickly opened the diary. The first page contained a monologue, presumably Tang Lao's introverted thoughts: "Before today, I had never done anything to wrong anyone. After today, I made a mistake, a mistake that will haunt me with nightmares. What a terrible mistake it is, one that will never let me sleep peacefully."

The diary has no date; it simply records the old man's daily account of the wrongdoings he made and his feelings of guilt.

"When I saw Yao Yao's sensible smile, I felt a pang of guilt. I knew I had made a mistake, and all I could do was to treat Yao Yao even better and nurture her properly."

"Today, Yao Yao called for her mother in her sleep, and I burst into tears. It's all my fault. I didn't have the heart to be firm and showed favoritism just once. I will live with guilt for the rest of my life."

"Yaoyao came back looking sullen. I knew she had been bullied at school, but the little girl hid her wounds as soon as she got back, not wanting me to know. I could only pretend I didn't know and let Aunt Zhang take care of her. It's all my fault, the sins I've committed."

The diary wasn't updated daily. Instead, whenever something happened to Yao Yao, Old Tang would secretly write a few words. There were no long entries, just a few sentences that recorded not only Yao Yao's good and bad childhood events but also Old Tang's guilt towards Yao Yao.

The diary also describes how Mr. Tang nurtured Yao Yao. Every time he saw Yao Yao's progress, Mr. Tang felt both gratified and guilty. Originally, she didn't need to hide in the shadows to make herself outstanding; she could have been pampered and grown up.

The last entry in the diary was the old man's last writing, with the date: the morning of the day he passed away two years ago. He wrote: "The three things I've done in my life are the hardest to talk about. Giving birth to this beast is the thing I regret most in my life. Covering up his crimes is the worst thing I've ever done, and the thing I feel most guilty about. Demanding that Mr. Ji fulfill his promise is the most despicable thing I've ever done. May all the retribution come upon me. I hope that after I'm gone, my Yao Yao can live a happy and peaceful life, cherished by everyone."

Only at this moment did Ji Hancheng truly understand the main reason why Old Tang had threatened his grandfather to force him to marry Yao Yao. After reading all the diaries, it was already around 4 a.m. He regretfully pinched his brow, his head slightly aching.

If only he had listened to his grandfather and hadn't been so awful.

The feeling of regret intensified, attacking every cell in his body. His thoughts were immersed in the contents of the diary, every line of which was etched into his mind and could not be forgotten. At the same time, he learned about everything that had happened to Yao Yao from childhood to adulthood.

He pinched his brow for a while, his face turning as black as the bottom of a pot, his eyes growing increasingly dark. He exhaled, reached out and closed the diary, covering it heavily with one hand as if he never wanted to open it again, and pressed the combination lock again.

Memories were once again locked away by a simple combination lock.

After closing the diary, he didn't go back to the bedroom immediately. It was the first time he didn't want to go back and sleep with his wife, afraid that he wouldn't be able to hide his emotions and they would be seen through.

After sitting quietly in the study for an hour or so, I got up, exhausted. I glanced at the diary on the table, clenched my fist, picked it up, and strode towards the master bedroom.

Pushing open the door to the master bedroom, he found Tang Junyao already asleep, sleeping peacefully. Standing at the door, looking at the person on the bed, he felt a tightness in his chest, along with frustration, and his grip on the diary tightened even more.

He walked to the bedside, put the diary back in its original place, lifted the quilt and gently lay down, habitually reaching out to hug Tang Junyao's waist and pull her into his arms.

Perhaps sensing a sense of security and dependence, Tang Junyao naturally turned over to face Ji Hancheng, her eyes still closed. Whether she was dreaming or awake, she murmured, "You're back?"

Ji Hancheng held her tightly, his embrace growing ever tighter, and said apologetically, "Wife... go to sleep."

Tang Junyao replied softly, "Mm."

Ji Hancheng tenderly kissed Tang Junyao's forehead and held her tightly in his arms again as they slept.

At 6:30 in the morning, Tang Junyao woke up. The completely closed curtains prevented any light from getting in. In the dim environment, the flashing green light of the router seemed out of place. She looked up slightly and all she could see was Ji Hancheng's handsome features, impeccably handsome.

Even with the light from the router, she could still make out the man's alluring face. However, his face looked exhausted in the early morning, indicating that he hadn't slept well the night before. She turned slightly and glanced at the diary on the bedside table, probably because of it.

The perceptive man had already realized the woman in his arms was awake from the slightest movement. With his eyes closed, he held her tighter, one hand under her head as she slept, the other slowly caressing her beautiful back. His deep, husky voice sounded in her ear, "Awake so early?"

Tang Junyao reached out to trace his slightly tired features, noticing the bruises under his eyes. Her voice softened, tinged with heartache, "Hancheng, I'm not as fragile as you think. You don't need to hide it from me. Maybe I can accept it?"

The premonition was bad, but even if it was bad, she had to accept it. Tang Junyao was not one to run away from things. Running away would never solve anything. Even if you pretended not to think about it, the matter would always take root in your heart and would be exposed sooner or later. It was better to take the first step and try to solve it.

Although she didn't know what was going on, her intuition told her it wasn't good news. Otherwise, why would he have dark circles under his eyes and look so tired? He must have stayed up all night reading his diary. This kind of lock should be a piece of cake for him.

Upon hearing this, the man in the bed hugged her even tighter, resting his chin on the top of Tang Junyao's head, as if making a decision.

Tang Junyao wasn't in a hurry. She waited patiently, and time passed by, second by second.

After a long silence, Ji Hancheng's voice slowly came from above, "Okay, before you watch, promise me a few things."

Ji Hancheng made a request; he was terrified that she would secretly hide away and be heartbroken.

The person in his arms nodded.

"First, I'll watch it with you. Second, if you're unhappy and want to cry, consider my shoulder first. Don't hide away and cry in secret. You have a husband; you're not alone."

"You've already watched it once, right? I can agree to watch the rest, but not the first one. Can I watch it all by myself?"

After a moment of silence, I finally relented and gave her some space, "Okay."