Chapter 5.1

Late at night, Qi Feifei tossed and turned, unable to sleep. She opened the window, the night outside was hazy, and the sound of water could faintly be heard from somewhere.

She didn’t find it strange, speculating where the crisp sound was coming from. After a moment, she suddenly remembered that there was a swimming pool in the backyard of this three-story house, roughly half the size of a standard one.

The swimming pool was specially excavated by Xin Dad. After retiring, he didn’t have any particular hobbies, the only thing he insisted on was swimming every morning to exercise and maintain his health.

But it was already so late. The two elderly people who were accustomed to going to bed early had already retired. Who else would go swimming? Could it be… him?

Thinking of the man who still nominally bore the title of her husband, Qi Feifei’s heart became unsettled again. These days, she always felt restless because of him.

Lost in thought, she absentmindedly put on a long-sleeved shirt over her cotton pajamas and, wearing slippers, quietly made her way to the backyard.

The moonlight was clear, shimmering on the surface of the swimming pool, and sure enough, Xin Zhihuan was swimming gracefully in the water like an agile fish.

He was swimming freestyle, swift and decisive, without any unnecessary movements, rhythmic and poetic.

The following parts of the text will be scrambled to prevent theft from aggregators and unauthorized epub making. Please support our translators by reading on secondlifetranslations (dot) com. If you are currently on the site and and you are seeing this, please clear your cache.

Fbl pvsse cu vbl rssz, oyvnbkdt bkx pokx. Tkp casdgl cseu aspl yde qlzz kd vbl xssdzktbv, yde lhlau vkxl bl vwadle bkp blye vs calyvbl, pbl qlzv yp kq bkp calyvb oyp clkdt lmbyzle sdvs bla blyav, oyax, valxczkdt, xyjkdt bla qllz qzwpvlale.

Fbl zlkpwalzu alnyzzle y zsdt vkxl yts obld bl bye oydvle vs vlynb bla bso vs pokx. Jwv clkdt yqayke sq oyvla, pbl nswzed’v shlansxl bla qlya kd vbl oyvla. Gqvla zlyadkdt qsa y obkzl, pbl nswze sdzu qzsyv alzwnvydvzu, yde bl bye vs tkhl wr okvb y pxkzl.

“Wsatlv kv, yduoyu, kq usw lhla easod, R’zz cl alprsdpkczl qsa pyhkdt usw.”

Rq pbl olal vs easod, oswze bl nsxl vs pyhl bla?

Pke bl jdso vbyv kd vblpl pkm ulyap, pbl bye clld sd vbl cakdj sq easodkdt plhlayz vkxlp, cwv vblal oyp ds sdl vs pyhl bla, ds sdl…

Mbkdjkdt ycswv kv, Ck Wlkqlk pweeldzu qlzv calyvbzlpp, bla vbasyv qlzv zkjl kv oyp pvwnj okvb yd szkhl, pswa yde ckvvla, bla lulp yzps qlzv y ckv eau.

Ekvb y przypb, Dkd Hbkbwyd zlyrle swv sq vbl oyvla, pvayktbvldle bkp cseu, yde pbssj bkp olv byka.

Fbl tygle yv bkx, dsv lhld alyzkgkdt pbl oyp pxkzkdt.

He saw her standing by the pool, stunned, for a moment, before he hoarsely spoke up, “When did you come?”

“It’s been a while.” She replied softly. “You seem to be enjoying your swim.”

“It’s not bad.” He climbed out of the pool, his tall and slender figure fully revealed in front of her.

This is bad. Qi Feifei almost had the urge to turn her head away. She found herself unable to look at his half-naked body in just swim trunks, only casting a fleeting glance, her cheeks feeling flushed.

Fortunately, he quickly wrapped a towel around his wet body, drying his hair while casually sitting on a reclining chair by the pool. “Seeing the envious look on your face, you still haven’t learned how to swim?”

She shrugged, neither confirming nor denying, squatting down, running her hand back and forth over the cold water.

He silently watched her childish movements for a while before he couldn’t help but ask, “What did Mom say to you?”

“What did Dad say to you?”

The two of them asked similar questions simultaneously, and as their words fell, they couldn’t help but smile at each other.

“What else could they say?” Xin Zhihuan put down the towel and reached up to casually tousle his half-dried hair. “Just scolding me for being unfilial, always making him angry.”

“Is it just that?” She asked softly.

“Of course, they said some other things too.”

“What other things?”

“Just—” He paused.

Seeing his embarrassed expression, she could also guess what the father and son had probably talked about.

“I suppose what Dad said to you should be similar to what Mom said to me,” she said lightly, with a hint of self-deprecation in her tone.

He was silent for two seconds, sighed, and smiled bitterly. “Old folks are like that, always thinking about impossible things.”

Impossible? Qi Feifei was taken aback, looking at Xin Zhihuan’s clear-cut face, his expression clearly showed his helplessness.

Yes, indeed, it’s impossible.

A silent melancholy spread in her chest, tasting the flavor of it, she quietly turned her gaze away, staring at the shimmering ripples on the water’s surface.

Xin Zhihuan gazed at her back, feeling inexplicably that her silhouette looked fragile and lonely, her crouched figure resembling a helpless little girl.

What’s wrong with her? It shouldn’t be like this…

She was now a powerful woman who owned two well-known restaurants and was about to open her third. When he saw her being interviewed by magazine reporters, her graceful and composed demeanor left a deep impression on him.

Could it be…

He raised an eyebrow, feeling mischievous, and walked towards her, squatting down beside her. “Hey, woman, are you still afraid of water?”

“No.” She replied softly.

“Really not afraid?” His big hand held her chin, forcing her to look at him. “Tell the truth, deep down you’re still afraid, right?”

“How could that be?” She denied, pouting and averting her gaze. “Didn’t I learn to float? And in these six years when you were away, I’ve improved my swimming skills a bit.”

“Have you really improved? Let’s see.” With that, he didn’t give her any chance to refute, a mischievous glint flashed in his starry eyes, and his big hand pushed lightning-fast.

She fell into the pool with a splash.

“Come on!” He shouted from the shore. “Let me see how good your swimming skills are now?”

She struggled in the water, flailing, screaming, her hands waving wildly.

What’s going on? Xin Zhihuan’s face turned pale in an instant. Seeing her like this, she clearly didn’t know how to swim at all!

“Feifei, don’t panic, you’re in shallow water now, just stand up, you can touch the ground, try it, quickly!” he encouraged anxiously.

But she seemed to completely ignore his words, still struggling in the water.

He hesitated no longer, jumped into the water, swam to her side, grabbed her, and helped her stand on the pool bottom together.

“Look, it’s very shallow here, you can touch the ground, right? I didn’t lie to you.” He held her waist with both hands, making sure she stood as steadily as he did, then smiled jokingly.

She didn’t answer, her head hung low.

Scared, huh?

He chuckled, reaching out to pat her face. “Are you okay? Feifei, I was just joking, you’re not angry, are you? You—”

His words, still hanging in the air, suddenly drifted away with the wind. He stared at her in shock, staring at her slowly lifting, exquisite face.

Her face was covered with water droplets, her ink-black hair soaked, sticking to her cheeks. Her bright eyes were slightly red, shimmering with light, unable to distinguish whether it was water or tears, but that faint brilliance made her face look like a lotus flower emerging from water, charming and tempting.

She gazed at him, her every word entangling his heart. “In the future, don’t make jokes like this with me again, you know I’m very afraid, right?”

She was very afraid.

So, were those tears? Was she crying?

His chest tightened, vaguely painful.

“I’m sorry.” He apologized in a choked voice, reaching out to touch her face.

But she refused his touch, stubbornly turned her face away, pushed him away, and tried to walk back to the poolside. He suddenly grabbed her wrist, not letting her leave.

“What are you doing?” She snapped angrily.

He didn’t speak, pulling her back into his arms, her soaked pajamas pressed tightly against her soft body, outlining her curvaceous figure. In the moonlight, it even had a semi-transparent effect.

“I said I’m sorry.” He emphasized again, his voice strangely hoarse.

“I heard you.” She snorted softly, turning around to leave again. But this time, he pulled her back again, holding her tighter, her ample bosom pressing against his solid chest.

This posture was too ambiguous, only now did she realize, she was in a state of revealing curves, and he was looking at her with an indistinct desire in his eyes.

Her cheeks flushed again, her heart pounding like a runaway wild horse, wildly galloping. “What do you want… let me go.”

Instead of letting go, he leaned closer to her, his handsome face lowering, blowing hot breath on her cool face.

Was he going to kiss her again?

Just as this thought crossed her mind, his lips arrogantly kissed down, branding from her eyebrows, skimming over her delicate nose, brushing against her cheeks, then, capturing her most sensitive earlobe.

“Did you just… cry?” He gently asked by her ear, teasing her into a tangled mess of emotions.

“I… didn’t cry.” She pressed her hands against his arms, trying to push him away, but strangely couldn’t muster any strength, her whole body feeling numb and weak.

“Liar, did I scare you into tears?” He murmured. “I apologize to you.”

“I said I didn’t cry.” She firmly denied. “I swore to myself, I won’t cry again in the future.”

At her words, he shook slightly, tilting his head up slightly, staring at her with surprise. “You made that kind of vow? Why?”

She froze, regretting blurting out her inner thoughts impulsively, her lashes lowering. “It’s nothing, just let me go quickly, what we’re doing… isn’t appropriate.”

“Why isn’t it appropriate?” He looked at her shy face, feeling a fiery passion rising in his chest, wanting only to tease her. “After all, we’re still husband and wife.”

“Just in name.” She protested softly. “We’re almost divorced.”

“We haven’t divorced yet.” He corrected her. “So, we’re still husband and wife.”

“Xin Zhihuan, stop kidding around, did you drink too much with Dad tonight? Every time you drink too much, you do things you shouldn’t.” 

“I only had two glasses of sorghum liquor.”

“Sorghum liquor has a high alcohol content.”

“My tolerance isn’t that bad, and this has nothing to do with drinking.”

“What does it have to do with then?”

It had to do with what he truly wanted in his heart.

Whether catalyzed by alcohol or not, whether he was dazed or sober, he had this desire, to get close to her, to embrace her, to deeply, deeply, kiss her…

At this thought, he could no longer restrain the boiling passion within him, leaning down, he captured her soft, petal-like lips.

He delicately licked, sucked, and cherished them, his big hands roaming over her beautiful back, exerting a little force to bring her closer to him, their lower bodies entwined underwater.

She felt his desire, both panicked and embarrassed, her rational mind told her to resist, but her emotions were intoxicated by his dense kisses, unable to move.

Sensing her surrender, he lovingly caressed her all over, claiming every inch of her skin, then carried this sexy mermaid out of the pool…

“Who’s out there?” Xin Dad’s irritable roar suddenly descended, clearly annoyed at being awakened in the middle of the night for no reason.

Oh my God! Feifei was stunned, her rationality instantly returning, looking at Xin Zhihuan, then at herself, unable to suppress her shame, she covered her curvaceous chest with her hands and stumbled back into the house.

“Who is it?” Xin Dad didn’t get a response, so he opened the window and continued to roar at the backyard.

“It’s me!” Xin Zhihuan could only shout helplessly.

Stupid old man, he’s really going to get himself killed with anger!

Fuming, he clenched his fists and smashed the rippling surface of the water.