Chapter 27: You Must Hide Well, Don’t Be Exposed

Chapter 27: Chapter 27: You Must Hide Well, Don’t Be Exposed

Jiang Wanyi’s playful complaint was full of feminine charm.

"Let’s keep our relationships separate."

"But at this rate, I think she might really say ’dada’ first."

Jiang Wanyi had noticed long ago. Mili really liked Chen Yuan, so it was indeed possible she would learn to say "dada" first.

"What a sense of accomplishment."

In truth, being called that by little Mili didn’t really stir any emotions in Chen Yuan; he just found it a bit amusing. Now, if it were Song Jianye, he’d probably be thrilled.

’This kid is already 210 months old and still can’t say ’dada’. One-star review!’

Watching the baby, neither of them was in a hurry.

A faint fragrance filled the room. Time flowed as slowly as a snail, weighed down by its heavy shell, inching its way up a verdant leaf.

Their attention was focused on the baby, watching her with a sense of contentment.

Jiang Wanyi’s gaze was gentle. At this very moment, she believed she was happy and was absolutely certain of it.

’Little Mili is a gift from the heavens, and Chen Yuan is my compensation.’

The events of the afternoon surfaced once again in Jiang Wanyi’s mind.

Only a few hours had passed since it happened, yet it had replayed in her mind countless times.

Especially the moment at the end, when he pulled her behind him. In that instant, she and the baby were so well-protected by him.

’Feels like our roles are reversing...’

Jiang Wanyi thought to herself.

She knew she wasn’t a good-tempered person. If it had been her parents or anyone else with her instead of Chen Yuan, she would have likely been the one to go up and argue with them, maybe even getting into a huge fight.

But with Chen Yuan there, it was different. He had stood up for Mili and protected her, so she had to be the good-tempered one and help him keep his anger in check.

If she had lost her temper then too, a fight would have surely broken out.

’It seems that from now on, no matter what happens, as long as I’m with him, I’ll have to be the good-tempered one.’

PFFT—

Jiang Wanyi let out a laugh unconsciously.

Huh?

Chen Yuan looked at her. Their eyes met, and Jiang Wanyi immediately wiped the smile off her face, a hint of embarrassment in her expression.

"Did you think of something happy?"

"Look how well she’s playing by herself, kicking her little legs. It’s so amusing to watch..." Jiang Wanyi said, making up an excuse.

"It is pretty amusing."

Chen Yuan’s attention returned to the baby, and he didn’t think much of it.

She tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, trying to hide her guilt.

She couldn’t help but laugh because she remembered what Chen Yuan had said.

"There are always things more important than going bankrupt, like someone bullying your wife and child."

Even though she and Mili had no real relationship with him, in that moment, he had protected them without a second thought...

"WAAAH WAAAH WAAAH..."

Without any warning, little Mili started crying. Jiang Wanyi tried to soothe her, but it was no use. Then Chen Yuan took over. The crying subsided a little, but it didn’t stop.

Her diaper was fresh; it wasn’t wet or soiled.

"Everything was fine, why is she crying now? And she can’t be hungry..."

"I was right. She got scared this afternoon, so she’s crying tonight."

"What do we do now?" Jiang Wanyi was a little panicked.

"There’s no easy fix. We just have to comfort her. She’ll probably go to sleep very late."

"Okay."

Just as Chen Yuan predicted, the baby was frightened. She couldn’t sleep soundly through the night, waking up and crying every half hour or so.

Even with Chen Yuan’s 100% affinity, it still took a while to coax her.

Jiang Wanyi didn’t sleep either, waking up every time she heard the baby cry. This continued until after two in the morning.

Chen Yuan didn’t get up early the next morning. He slept until after nine, only to be woken by little Mili’s crying.

He glanced at the time. It was so late; the baby must be hungry.

He picked up the baby and saw Jiang Wanyi sleeping beside him.

But they had slept safely, without enacting a scene from *A Passionate Night with the Alluring Young Wife*.

She had stayed up all night, napping when she could and getting up whenever the baby cried.

For the feeding after 2 a.m., she hadn’t used formula. Jiang Wanyi had breastfed her, and her bra was unclasped.

They were round and full, as firm as a young girl’s. It wasn’t that childbirth had rejuvenated her, but that it was time to release the "inventory."

Gently...

Chen Yuan nudged Jiang Wanyi. She shot up in bed as if she’d been zapped with electricity, her hair a mess.

"The baby’s hungry."

"Oh, oh..."

Jiang Wanyi instinctively went to lift her shirt, revealing her fair stomach and a tiny bit of a tummy pooch.

’This state she’s in...’

’The power’s on, but the CPU hasn’t booted up yet.’

"Hey, wait a second, I’m still here..."

Jiang Wanyi suddenly became wide awake. A blush, like the rising tide, slowly crept up her face...

Leaving the bedroom, Chen Yuan went to the bathroom to wash up.

A while later, Jiang Wanyi came out holding the baby.

"Watch her for a bit. I’m going to wash my face."

"Okay."

She handed the baby to Chen Yuan and went to wash up. Then she went to the kitchen to make breakfast. After they ate, Chen Yuan left.

The next few days passed peacefully, and the National Day holiday week was coming to an end.

During this time, Chen Yuan and Song Jianye went to the driving school for the preliminary test for Subject One.

They took it three times in total. Song Jianye scored above 95 every time. Chen Yuan got a 94, a 92, and an 89, but the driving school still scheduled him for the official Subject One exam on the 12th.

Chen Yuan was quite satisfied with these scores. He had only casually studied and still managed to score so high on the preliminary tests, which was already excellent.

This was probably related to his improved comprehension and memory.

On the evening of the 7th, students who had gone home for the holiday returned to campus one after another, and the athletic field was unusually lively.

Chen Yuan and his dorm mates were playing basketball on the court. They won three consecutive games before losing to a fourth group because their teammates ran out of stamina.

Interestingly, Li Dongyang was in that fourth group.

"Boss, why do I get the feeling that sophomore is targeting you?"

The speaker was the second-oldest in the dorm, Liu Shiyu—the guy who strongly advocated for burial.

"You mean Li Dongyang?"

"You know him?"

"Don’t know him personally, but I know who he is."

"When he was on defense just now, his moves were pretty dirty. It was like he was playing for his life against you."

Liu Shiyu said while sipping water, "We won the second game, but when the fourth group came on, he was like a mad dog."

"Don’t worry about him. We’ll just win the next one."

Although Li Dongyang was in the school’s literature and arts department, he was a decent basketball player. His footwork was just a little slow.

"Holy shit, Boss, look at that girl! It’s Song Jianye!"

Following the direction Liu Shiyu was pointing, Chen Yuan saw Song Jianye standing nearby with Cao Mengyu beside her.

"You know her too?"

"Are your information channels a bit slow? She’s our university’s campus belle. Though there’s also Fang Youning, who’s also gorgeous. It’s too hard to choose."

"And why are you, a mere spectator, getting so worked up about it?"

"Hey, I’m a man with high standards, okay? I even sank a super long-range three-pointer. I wonder if she saw it," Liu Shiyu said.

Chen Yuan sipped his water, realizing that Li Dongyang was a very calculating guy.

As soon as he saw Song Jianye arrive, he started playing defense like his life depended on it, hogging the ball and never passing even when teammates were wide open. He even tried to imitate one of Paul George’s show-off moments.

But his attempt was so forced, not smooth at all.

It was just like a fake rich kid going to a department store and telling the sales associate to take down every single piece of clothing for him to see.

Being the head of the arts department was a waste of his talent. He should be selling underwear.

"Tired, so tired. I’m done, taking a break."

After the fifth game, the players on the court didn’t continue.

He checked the time. It was past six, and he hadn’t eaten dinner yet. He could ask Song Jianye to eat with him.

"Come on, let’s play a game."

Just as Chen Yuan was packing up to leave, Li Dongyang walked over, bouncing a basketball and doing continuous between-the-legs dribbles.

The setting sun was sinking below the distant horizon, positioned perfectly at his crotch, making it look like it was glowing.

’This pose definitely has some flair.’

Liu Shiyu glanced at Chen Yuan.

"Boss, go for it."

Chen Yuan stood up and dusted off his pants. ’This scheming bastard seems to be addicted to showing off.’

"Alright, let’s play one game. First to seven points. Let’s make it quick."

They went to the center of the court. Li Dongyang got the ball first, with Chen Yuan on defense.

Nearby, Cao Yumeng tugged on Song Jianye’s arm.

"Nian Nian, they’re going one-on-one! Quick, cheer for Chen Yuan!"

"I’m too shy to shout," Song Jianye said quietly.

"Look at them. Don’t they look like lions on the savannah, fighting to win mating rights?"

"That guy is so annoying. I think Chen Yuan is better than him," Song Jianye muttered.

"Why do you say that?"

"I just feel it. No reason," Song Jianye said in a small voice.

At the center of the court, after checking the ball, it was back in Li Dongyang’s hands. He stood in place, dribbling between his legs, looking for an opening.

"Can you hurry it up? We’re going to dinner in a bit."

"Who are you eating with?"

"Who else? Song Jianye, of course."

Li Dongyang’s expression froze. And in that exact moment, his hand felt empty—Chen Yuan had stolen the ball.

"Nice one!" Liu Shiyu shouted from the sidelines.

When Li Dongyang snapped out of it, he realized he’d been tricked.

"He got the ball!" Song Jianye whispered beside her.

"Gently, gently! You’re going to break my arm," Cao Yumeng said.

"What have you two been up to on the sly these past few days? I’ve never seen you so interested in anything before."

"We haven’t done anything! We just signed up for driving school together."

"What?! You two signed up for driving school together? And you didn’t even go with us!"

"It was Uncle Zhang’s idea."

"Has it already reached the ’meeting the parents’ stage?"

"No, no, don’t say that! We’re just taking the driving test together, nothing else."

"At the university stage, that’s more than enough. Marriage and kids are for after graduation," Cao Yumeng said.

"But you have to hide it well. Things like changing the water cooler bottle or breaking an apple with your bare hands—you can’t ever let him know about that stuff. Guys like girls who are delicate."

Song Jianye didn’t say anything, her mind filled with thoughts of what had happened over the past few days.

’I think I’ve hidden it pretty well...’