Chapter 38

Chapter 38

Kissing him was an instinctive action from He Wei without any thought.

After thinking it over, she still wanted to do it.

The way the man held a cigarette between his fingers, the slightly narrowed eyes when he smoked, and the movement of his Adam’s apple when he spoke to her—all of it stimulated her senses.

Yan Huai froze for a moment.

He knew He Wei’s personality. That earlier phone call was probably something she made on impulse under the influence of alcohol, so he hadn’t expected her to take the initiative to kiss him.

When Yan Huai came over, he had even been thinking that it would already be enough if she didn’t avoid him when he kissed her.

But it was only for that brief moment—Yan Huai narrowed his eyes slightly, placed a hand on her waist, and applied a bit of force. He Wei was almost completely pulled into his embrace.

The wind in May carried warmth.

The palm on her waist was warm, and through a layer of fabric it seemed to spark a fire.

The temperature in the surrounding air also seemed to be steadily rising.

There was still a faint taste of cigarettes in He Wei’s mouth, lingering from her nose to her throat. Maybe smoking had a delayed effect too—her throat started to itch, and after only a few seconds of pressing her lips against his, she couldn’t help but turn her face away.

Her arms were still wrapped around Yan Huai’s neck, and even when she coughed, her voice was soft and trembling.

Yan Huai steadied her waist. “Don’t smoke next time.”

He Wei nodded absentmindedly.

Next time, even if she begged her, she wouldn’t smoke.

She clearly wasn’t suited for smoking at all—two small puffs were enough to make her cough for five minutes.

More importantly, she hadn’t actually wanted to learn smoking. She had only done it because she was irritated and wanted something else to distract herself.

She hadn’t expected Yan Huai to come over—after that unclear phone call that ended without any answer or resolution.

He Wei’s lips turned slightly bitter. “Yan Huai…”

She hesitated, wondering whether she should bring up again the question she had asked on the phone earlier.

A few seconds later, before she could come to a conclusion, the man suddenly pinched her chin and turned her face gently.

Yan Huai lowered his head. His kiss started from the left side of her face, tender yet urgent, before landing on her lips.

Her earlier kiss had been clumsy and without any technique, but it had easily stirred his interest.

His fingers paused on her chin for a few seconds, then moved downward, resting lightly on the side of her neck.

He kissed deeply and forcefully. The bitter taste in He Wei’s mouth was completely covered by a faint tobacco flavor. She still didn’t know how to breathe properly, but this time she managed to hold on a little longer.

No one knew how much time passed—her lips and tongue were slightly numb, and her breathing became unsteady. Just as she was about to push him away, the system “beeped” at an inappropriate moment.

“Sorry, host… I didn’t mean to in-in-interrupt you! But—but the male lead Yan Chen is approaching you…”

He Wei’s fingers gripping Yan Huai’s shirt stiffened.

The system rarely became this clever: “Host, you and the male lead’s brother haven’t confirmed your relationship yet… if the male lead sees this now, your affection value will drop.”

He Wei also thought of that.

As the system’s voice fell, she already heard footsteps approaching not far away.

The area was quiet with not many people, and she could clearly tell the sound was getting closer and closer.

He Wei didn’t even have time to hesitate anymore. She reached out and pushed Yan Huai slightly away. When she turned her face aside, she even heard the faint sound of their intertwined lips and tongues separating—ambiguous yet distinctly clear.

He Wei’s breathing was unsteady. When she spoke, her voice still trembled slightly: “The question I just asked you, you still haven’t answered me.”

“What question?”

Unlike her, Yan Huai’s voice was steady. Aside from being low and hoarse, there was almost no difference from usual.

He Wei guessed he was experienced at kissing.

Maybe even experienced in bed as well—which was why in her previous life he had so many ways to torment her until she was utterly exhausted.

But now wasn’t the time to think about that.

Suppressing the irritation in her heart, He Wei lowered her voice under Yan Chen’s approaching footsteps: “It’s just, you still…”

Before she could finish, her words were cut off.

Unlike her cautious whisper, Yan Huai didn’t lower his voice at all. He said word by word: “Be my girlfriend, or my wife—choose one?”

He Wei held her breath down.

The footsteps stopped behind Yan Huai.

He Wei heard Yan Chen’s half-joking voice: “Brother, out here so late at night… aren’t you afraid of catching a cold?”

When he went to the restroom earlier, he had seen Yan Huai walking in this direction. When he came back out, he still hadn’t left the smoking area.

From far away just now, Yan Chen had already seen a woman in his brother’s arms—standing in the half-light, kissing with intense emotion and heat.

He saw the woman’s straight, slender legs beneath a short skirt, and his gaze warmed slightly as he couldn’t help but walk over.

Yan Huai lowered his head and glanced at the woman’s face buried in his chest.

He turned his head slightly toward Yan Chen and gave a low “mm,” saying, “She insisted on staying outside.”

He Wei: “……”

Yan Chen let out an “oh.” “Sister-in-law is still shy today?”

Yan Huai didn’t answer. He stroked He Wei’s long hair, his expression calm and gentle, voice very low: “Answer me.”

“…Afraid.”

“The previous question.”

Yan Chen was right there, yet he was still waiting so casually for her answer.

He Wei exhaled softly. Her hand gripping his shirt just happened to hide the slightly upturned corner of her lips, and she answered quietly, “Girlfriend.”

Right after she answered, the system reported: “Congratulations to the host for successfully opening the third relationship. During the relationship period, Yan Chen’s affection value will not decrease.”

She asked the system: “What is Yan Chen’s jealousy value now?”

“Four points.”

Still six points away—then she could ‘punish’ Yan Chen once.

The curve of He Wei’s lips deepened. Yan Chen was clearly very curious about his brother’s girlfriend and seemed determined to meet her today. Seeing that Yan Huai didn’t explicitly refuse, he simply started from her instead.

Yan Chen raised the corner of his lips in greeting: “Sister-in-law—”

He Wei turned her face slightly.

The movement wasn’t large, but just enough for Yan Chen to vaguely recognize her.

The smile on Yan Chen’s face gradually froze when he saw her eyes.

The system voice rang out: “Male lead Yan Chen’s jealousy value has increased by 3 points, current value is 7. Please keep up the good work, host!”

Yan Chen blinked hard. “…He-He?”

He couldn’t even believe his own eyes.

He Wei only let him see her for a moment before burying her face back into Yan Huai’s chest.

Yan Chen’s expression turned even worse.

Although he had already broken up with He Wei, in his eyes she had always been something that belonged to him. So now seeing her intimate with another man, he had the illusion that he was the one being cheated on.

The system sounded again, cheerful as ever: “Yan Chen’s jealousy value increased by 2 points, current value is 9.”

Still one point away.

He Wei loosened her grip on Yan Huai’s shirt, letting her hand fall and instead lightly wrapped her arms around his waist. “I want to go home.”

“Tired?”

He Wei nodded.

Yan Chen: “……”

So he was being treated like air now?

The system’s mechanical voice rang again: “Congratulations, host. Yan Chen’s jealousy value has reached 13. He will be punished once soon.”

The corner of He Wei’s lips couldn’t help but lift.

Yan Huai had no intention of paying attention to Yan Chen anymore.

In front of family or outsiders, the two brothers would still put on a polite act, but when no one else was around, sometimes they wouldn’t even bother greeting each other.

Yan Huai touched He Wei’s forehead.

Her breath felt hot today, and she seemed a bit listless. He was worried she might have a fever.

Fortunately, her temperature was normal.

Yan Huai leaned close to her ear and asked softly, “Can you still walk?”

He Wei nodded—but the moment she lifted her foot, she almost tripped on her high heels. Her body tilted, and he caught her, then directly lifted her into his arms.

System: “Yan Chen’s jealousy value increased to 18.”

So it turned out this playboy was actually a vinegar jar.

He Wei turned to glance back. Yan Chen’s lips were pressed tight, his face already turning dark with anger.

She suppressed her smile and turned back, shifting into a more comfortable position as she obediently nestled in Yan Huai’s arms.

Maybe because she had been “punished” so many times before, seeing Yan Chen being the one suffering now gave her an indescribable sense of satisfaction.

Even though she wasn’t deliberately looking at him anymore, being held in Yan Huai’s arms, she could still feel Yan Chen’s resentful gaze.

Back in the corridor, the overhead lights were much brighter. He Wei closed her eyes briefly. She was a little sleepy and also had a headache, but she still remembered the matter of Yan Huai’s blind date today. Frowning, she asked, “Did you go on a blind date today?”

Yan Huai responded without changing his expression, a calm “Mm.”

“And she…”

“She’s not as pretty as you.” Yan Huai lowered his gaze, noticing the faint bluish shadows under He Wei’s eyes. He held the woman in his arms a little tighter. “Sleep. I’ll wake you later.”

He Wei actually fell asleep in his arms.

She slept deeply. When she opened her eyes again, the sky outside was already faintly bright.

The headache after a hangover hit her. He Wei closed her eyes again for a moment.

The system asked softly: “Host, are you awake?”

He Wei replied with a quiet “Mm.”

The system immediately perked up and continued: “Congratulations, host. The male scum lead Yan Chen has successfully been punished once.”

Although He Wei wasn’t fully awake yet, she was still conscious. Half-dazed, she asked, “Can I ask who punished him and how he was punished?”

“He got really drunk last night and was… by a man, he was… that…”

He Wei asked back: “Which ‘that’?”

The naïve system thought she was teasing it and protested unhappily: “Host, please stop pretending you don’t know! I know you understand what I mean!”

He Wei: “……”

There was a few seconds of silence in her ears, and her mind also went blank for a few seconds. When she finally reacted, she was so startled that she shot up from the bed—only to be pulled back down by her arm.

A man’s body pressed tightly against hers, his arm reaching from behind to pull her into his embrace.

“Baby, did you sleep well?”

He Wei froze completely.

Because she miserably realized that this man’s… seemed to be in its morning state of excitement.