Chapter 23
As yet, Su Jianan and Lu Boyan had not even consummated their marriage. In fact, they had already agreed to a divorce, which would happen in two years’ time.
How on earth were they supposed to have kids?
Also, this topic was… it was practically a test for how thick-faced she was!
Su Jianan’s face turned as red as a poppy and she suddenly grew fidgety. She did not have the courage to look at Tang Yulan and Lu Boyan.
Lu Boyan admired Su Jianan’s facial expressions with interest. "Wasn’t she the one who’d demanded me to take my clothes off the night before we got married? Why is she blushing now?" he thought.
But he could not deny that she looked more like a shy teenager when she was blushing. There was a flicker in her eyes, one that made her look like a deer caught in the headlights. It made him feel that… that he would be facing a total injustice if he did not at least try to tease her.
He pulled Su Jianan into his arms affectionately. "We’ve discussed this before, haven’t we?"
Su Jianan was taken aback. She could not recall ever having that discussion with him about kids. However, the look on Lu Boyan’s face was convincing and left no room for doubt. Shyly, she curled up in Lu Boyan’s embrace. "Did, did we?"
"You’ve forgotten about it so soon?" A tiny smile formed on Lu Boyan’s lips, his eyes filled to the brim with affection. "That time, you even told me you love kids."
Su Jianan said no such thing. Now she could be sure that Lu Boyan was talking nonsense. Then again, calling him out on his nonsense in front of Tang Yulan was impossible. Su Jianan had no choice but to play along, so she chuckled.
If Lu Boyan continued by saying something along the lines of them being ready to have kids, well, she had already thought of an escape plan for that – close both eyes and pretend to be dead.
"But you’re still young and we’re in no hurry," Lu Boyan said all of a sudden. "Mom, Jianan and I have decided to wait for another two years before we start discussing about children."
Su Jianan blinked a few times. She had thought that Lu Boyan was trying to ruin her with his lies. So this was… him letting her off the hook?
She sighed in relief and smiled wanly at Lu Boyan. Tonight, she would have her payback!
Tang Yulan had noticed the intimacy and chemistry between the newlyweds, so she thought that things between them were in harmony and that their feelings were perfectly in sync with each other. Tang Yulan smiled happily. "Jianan, relax. I wasn’t trying to rush you two. If you already have plans, then by all means, do as you had planned! Me? I just want you both to be happy."
Su Jianan felt an overwhelming sense of relief and nodded vigorously.
Something came up in the afternoon and Lu Boyan had to leave. Su Jianan stayed to keep Tang Yulan company.
Since the mother-daughter duo had nothing better to do, and since they both did not have much interest in shopping, they turned on the TV and indulged in soap opera.
Usually, Su Jianan would politely say no to soap operas. But today, as she sat beside Tang Yulan, discussing plots and characters, she was surprised to find that soap operas were not as boring as she had thought.
At dusk, Lu Boyan returned to see Su Jianan and his mother sitting together in close proximity. He had not seen his mother smiling that happily for a very long time.
Su Jianan had rested her form against his mother’s body in a lovely and adorable manner. It was like she was a totally different person from that Little Monster with a habit of showing off her claws and fangs.
After he had changed his shoes, Lu Boyan heard the pair discussing about the attractiveness of the male actors on screen. Both of them were adamant and unyielding in their opinions, but eventually, Su Jianan found herself being on the losing side of the debate.
Amidst her desperation, Su Jianan suddenly had a thought. In a decisive tone, she said, "Who cares which of them is more handsome. None of them are as handsome as our brother Boyan, anyway!"
Su Jianan’s words resonated deeply with Tang Yulan, who nodded her agreement. All of a sudden, Tang Yulan noticed the figure standing at the door. She smiled. "Boyan, you’re home. We were just talking about you."
Lu Boyan was back!!!
Su Jianan turned her head abruptly as if she had been struck by a thunderbolt. Indeed, Lu Boyan was standing not too far away, staring at her. He seemed to be smiling, yet at the same, that expression did not seem like a smile at all…
Why was it that her entire self-image would be destroyed every time she was in the presence of Lu Boyan? That time at the bar, her lies and nonsense had been overheard by him. This time he had overheard her at home too. Could she not have a break for once?
Su Jianan felt a need to cry, though the tears would
Lu Boyan knew how thin-skinned she was. Out of the kindness of his heart, he decided not to make her life difficult. Slowly, he made his way into the living room and sat down. Then, he refilled Tang Yulan’s teacup.
Tang Yulan took a sip of her tea before she leaned back comfortably against the couch. "Our Jianan is actually quite cute. Usually she acts bold and mature, but that’s just a guise."
Lu Boyan smiled. He knew better than anyone else that Su Jianan was only a ‘Paper Monster’.
"I’ve already had someone prepare your room for you. It’s rare that you aren’t busy, so you should rest early tonight." Tang Yulan stood up. "I’ll go check the dinner preparations in the kitchen."
Tonight?
Lu Boyan’s lips slowly curled into a smile. He would really like see Su Jianan’s reactions tonight.
Dinner was a lot milder than lunch. Su Jianan ate just enough to ward off her hunger before setting her chopsticks down. It just so happened that Luo Xiaoxi’s call came in, so she excused herself to the garden to take the call.
"F**k, those people are blood-thirsty!" said Luo Xiaoxi nervously. "It hasn’t even been two days, and yet they’ve already found out your surname and that you’re a medical examiner at the police station! At this rate, all your personal information will be exposed by tomorrow! Han Ruoxi’s retarded fans would come knocking on your door soon! Oh, also, this fiasco is already up on Weibo!"
"It’s on Weibo?" Su Jianan frowned. "I need to call my brother."
Su Jianan hung up the phone. But before she could finish dialing Su Yicheng’s number, Lu Boyan’s voice sounded behind her. "There’s no need to go to your brother."
Su Jianan looked at Lu Boyan with suspicion. "Wait, you know what this is about? Oh, don’t tell me you’ve been checking out that gossip forum too…"
As if Lu Boyan had that much free time on his hands. "Shen Yuechuan has dealt with that forum thread already. So you don’t have to worry about your personal details being exposed."
Su Jianan trusted Lu Boyan’s competence, so she smiled in gratitude. "Thank you."
"We’re legally married. Whether it’s out of emotion or obligation, I will protect you." Lu Boyan approached her, all the while staring deeply into Su Jianan’s eyes. "Also, if you run into trouble again in the future, I’m the first person you should think of, not your brother."
There was something in his eyes right then. A profound depth and a penetrating sharpness. It was as if those eyes had some kind of mind-blowing magical power. Su Jianan felt as if she would sink into darkness if she stared into his eyes for just a few seconds longer.
Su Jianan swallowed. "I understand. But I don’t think there’d be any more problems in the future. I’ll try not to trouble you." There was a pause, after which she said, "Please don’t say anything about this to mother. I don’t want her to worry."
They were on the same page about keeping Tang Yulan in the dark. When they re-entered the house, their faces gave no indication of what just happened. Naturally, Tang Yulan did not suspect anything.
At nine o’clock, Tang Yulan, who was used to sleeping early, retired to her room. Su Jianan decided to call it an early night too. "Which room will I be sleeping in?"
Lu Boyan led Su Jianan to the second floor and opened the door to the master bedroom. "Here."
The room was spacious and was lit with warm, yellow lights. It felt very vintage. Well, it was not Su Jianan’s usual taste, though she would not say no to an opportunity to experience something like this. Tang Yulan had even meticulously laid out her sleepwear and toiletries.
A nice soak in a bathtub, and then a good night’s sleep.
All of a sudden, Su Jianan felt that something was amiss. Why was Lu Boyan still in the room, and also…
"Lu… Lu Boyan…" She hugged the pajamas to her body, her voice had come out a little shaky. "Why are you taking off your clothes?"
"To take a bath," Lu Boyan said matter-of-factly.
"Boom!" A sound went off in Su Jianan’s head. It was as if something had exploded inside her brain. Her eyes grew impossibly large. "You’re sleeping in this room?!"
"If we sleep in separate rooms here-" Lu Boyan lips curled up, "then we’d be exposed, Mrs. Lu."
Su Jianan stood in stupor, tears streaked down her face in an instant.
"I already gave you a hint just now." From Lu Buoyan’s demeanor, he clearly thought he was blameless in this.
"I didn’t understand the hint!" Su Jianan stared at him in bitter resentment. "Why didn’t you just say it!"
"My bad." Lu Boyan ruffled the Little Monster’s hair. "I overestimated your intelligence. It won’t happen again."
After he had said those words, he grabbed his bathrobe and walked into the bathroom calmly. Su Jianan sat on the bed, hugging her pajamas, shedding quiet tears.
Lu Boyan came out of the bathroom ten minutes later. Instinctively, Su Jianan glanced towards him. But what she saw nearly gave her a nosebleed.
The bathrobe hugged Lu Buoyan’s body loosely, leaving his sexy collarbone and muscular chest completely bare. It was a sight capable of bringing to mind one’s wildest fantasies. His short hair was damp and peppered with water droplets. Although a little tousled from his attempt at drying it, his hair did not seem disheveled or unkempt like what would usually happen to a normal man’s hair. Instead, that tousled look had added a wild and carefree quality to his handsome appearance, enough to make anyone’s heart race. At that moment, Su Jianan could not deny that this man was born devilishly attractive.
She had to sleep in the same room with this man for an entire night.
All of a sudden, Su Jianan felt she needed more air. Her pulse and her breathing had gone off rhythm. She averted her gaze, utterly refusing to give Lu Boyan another glance. She slipped into the bathroom with her pajamas in hand.
In the bathroom, the steam from Lu Boyan’s bath lingered in the wide space. When she thought of the fact that it had been him standing right here just a few moments ago, completely naked, she… Argh! What the heck was she thinking!!
Su Jianan virtually had to go through the entire bath with a red-face and a racing pulse.
Su Jianan’s bath had dragged on for nearly an hour. When she was done, she grabbed her pajamas, preparing to put them on. She nearly fainted – the sleepwear Tang Yulan had prepared for her was too… sexy. It was thin, short, and had a deep V neckline!
But she realized that wearing the pajamas was still better than walking around without a single stitch on, so she donned pajamas in tears. She opened the door to a gap-width and saw Lu Boyan sitting calmly on the couch, reading.
She, on the other hand, found it impossible to stay calm. "Lu Boyan, can you grab my jacket for me?"
Lu Boyan glanced at the woman whose figure remained hidden behind the door. An unnatural glint flashed across his eyes, almost like he had figured something out. Still, he acted as if nothing had happened and handed Su Jianan her jacket.
Su Jianan’s jacket was a long windbreaker. After putting on the jacket, she felt so much more secure. She stepped out of the bathroom, pulled open the wardrobe and began searching.
While she searched, her long and lean legs were on blatant display. In the light, her lustrous skin gleamed like suet jade. All of a sudden, Lu Boyan’s throat went dry. He tore his gaze away. "What are you looking for?"
"Some blankets and pillows," Su Jianan said. "One of us has to sleep on the floor tonight." Otherwise, nobody would be sleeping a wink!
"You can stop looking. There’s only one blanket."
Su Jianan’s scalp tingled. She turned around. "What do you mean?"
A tiny smile formed on Lu Boyan’s lips. "Us, sleeping together in the same bed. That’s what I mean," he said calmly.
Su Jianan’s legs turned to jelly. "I don’t think that’s a good idea?"
"That’s the only option." Lu Boyan lay down on the bed. "Of course, you can also choose to stay awake for the whole night."
At the sight of Lu Boyan closing his eyes, Su Jianan suddenly felt like she was trapped all alone in a hopeless and helpless situation.
Staying up for the whole night was out of the question. But sharing a bed with Lu Boyan… nothing would happen, right?