After He Muyan left, the mother and son didn’t sit around in the living room for much longer either; after eating the fruit, they took their respective showers and went to sleep.
Lying in bed, Song Li thought to himself that another day had finally passed. He only wished the wedding would come and be done with quickly, so the two of them wouldn’t have to suffer this kind of torture for no good reason.
Late into the night, however, Song Li began having that kind of dream again. It wasn’t as intense as yesterdays, but it was still quite an ordeal, flipping him back and forth like a pancake. When he finally woke up, his whole body was aching all over again.
Song Li couldn’t take it anymore, firmly convinced that there was something wrong with this bed. When he went to wash up, he discovered that it was his right nipple that was swollen today.
It was simply unbelievable! Did bug bites work on a distribution system too?! Two days ago, it was the left one, yesterday it was the right; there were only two to begin with, so where on earth was it going to bite tonight?!
During breakfast, he complained to Mother Song that there must be flea-like bugs in his room whose bites were driving him crazy.
Mother Song looked at him helplessly, not knowing how her darling son had developed such delicate tendencies after staying in her son-in-law’s mansion for just a few months, unable to endure even a minor bug bite.
After a moment’s thought, she told him, “I’ll go out and buy you some insecticide today. But who even gets bug infestations in the dead of winter? I don’t know if it’ll be easy to buy.”
Song Li shoveled a mouthful of rice into his mouth. His chest felt sore and swollen, rubbing uncomfortably against his undershirt; he had no idea what kind of venomous bug could be so potent.
When Mother Song returned from outside in the afternoon, she indeed brought back several bottles of insecticide; including Cockroach Killer and Pest Exterminator, each looking more effective than the last. He picked up a bottle and shook it, intending to spray some in his room after dinner so those damned bugs would be mostly wiped out by bedtime.
It was another late night. Perhaps because he had sprayed the insecticide in advance, Song Li slept exceptionally soundly during the first half of the night. However, because he had drunk an extra bowl of the chicken soup Mother Song stewed at dinner, he couldn’t help waking up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom.
Woken by the sudden urge, he instinctively placed a hand beneath his belly for support, still groggy with sleep as he sat up, his body swaying slightly.
He pressed one hand against the pillow to push himself up, but instead of hitting the pillow, he touched something firm and hot. Song Li initially thought it was a hot water bottle his mom had tucked in for him at night, but after feeling it a few more times, he realized something was off.
Wait, why did this texture feel so much like human muscle?
Song Li was startled awake by his own horrifying realization. Opening his eyes abruptly, he looked down.
By the faint moonlight filtering through the window, he clearly saw a tall, imposing man lying right beside him.
Song Li’s throat tightened in that instant. Out of sheer shock, he was completely unable to utter a sound for a moment, his hands trembling uncontrollably, he even thought he was currently dreaming.
Perhaps because he was trembling so hard, quite a bit of the quilt covering the man was dragged down, exposing half of his shoulder. Murmuring a soft “cold,” the man turned over and wrapped an arm around Song Li’s waist.
This movement allowed Song Li to clearly see the half of his face that was revealed. His heart gave a hard thump, his eyes widening in even greater shock.
“He Muyan?!”
He Muyan was finally woken up by his startled cry. Rubbing his eyes, he let out a yawn, his voice thick with a sleepy nasal tone, “Lili, do you need to use the bathroom? I’ll carry you.”
As he spoke, he sat up to reach out and embrace him without even opening his eyes. He wasn’t fully awake at all; this action was entirely a physical instinct built up over this period. Song Li slapped his hand away, still not having recovered his senses, “Wait, what’s going on? I’m not dreaming, am I? Aren’t you at home? Why are you suddenly at our place again? And… you’re even sleeping in my bed!”
He Muyan seemed extraordinarily sleepy, leaning bonelessly against him as his chin nuzzled softly into his neck crook, “I miss Lili. I couldn’t sleep at all at night without holding you, so of course I came over to find you.”
“Then how did you get in?”
He Muyan reached out a finger to point at the nightstand behind them. A small key lay on top of it, glinting with a cold white silver light under the moonlight, “Mother-in-law gave me a spare key before.”
Song Li: ……
He simply didn’t know how to complain about this. He was supposed to be very angry, but looking at this man snuggled in his embrace like a big dog with a faint circle of dark circles under his eyes, he knew he must have been utterly exhausted these past two days; he was so busy with work during the day and sleeping poorly at night, looking so pitiful. Song Li’s heart couldn’t help softening again.
Reaching out to rub his hair, he said softly: “You didn’t come over during the day today, you must have been exhausted at the company, right?”
He Muyan gave a vague “En”, “It was alright. I was busy for half the day, and then my mom came looking for me and lectured me for half the day.”
Song Li: ……
He knew this matter wouldn’t escape Mother He’s sharp eyes!
Picturing him obediently taking a tongue-lashing from Mother He without daring to talk back, Song Li couldn’t help finding it a bit funny, “And you still dared to come?”
He Muyan hummed twice, wrapping his arms around him even tighter, “Who would know at night?”
That was true enough. In the dead of night, who would expect a big boss not to sleep soundly at his own home, but instead sneak into someone else’s house like a thief and steal into his bed, almost scaring him to death?
Speaking of nighttime, however, Song Li couldn’t help recalling what happened the previous two nights. Sorting out the events in his head, a realization suddenly dawned on him as he looked down at the person in his arms.
“Is today your first time coming over to my place?”
He Muyan shook his head, “This is the third day. I slept here the night before last and last night as well.”
As expected! Song Li almost laughed out of sheer anger, reaching out to push him, “What is wrong with you? If you’re coming, just come; why do it so surreptitiously? At least let me know! And let me ask you, did you sneakily mess with me while I was asleep?”
He Muyan blinked, tilting his head up to kiss his ear, “Lili is so good when sleeping, you’re so soft. Whatever I make you do, you don’t scold me, so I just couldn’t help myself…”
Listen to that… was that anything a human would say? Song Li trembled with rage, “You… this behavior of yours is what people call a pervert, do you know that?! No wonder I felt like I was experiencing sleep paralysis every morning when I woke up, and even told my mom that those marks all over me were bug bites. Now that I know the truth, I won’t have the face to see her tomorrow!”
Hearing him say this, the light in He Muyan’s dark pupils gradually cooled down, making him look much more awake than a moment ago, “Lili didn’t know that person at night was me?”
Song Li nodded, feeling thoroughly embarrassed, “You know how deeply I sleep after getting pregnant. If I hadn’t drunk too much chicken soup tonight and been desperate to use the bathroom, I wouldn’t have gotten up at all. When you came the past two nights, I didn’t feel a thing, I just kept thinking I was dreaming, groggy and dazed, with a faceless person turning me over and over. I was even wondering why I was still having such shameless dreams at my age, but I didn’t expect it wasn’t a dream at all!”
After saying this, Song Li found it funny again, but when he looked up at him, he was startled by the gloomy expression on his face, “What’s wrong? Why are you suddenly looking at me like that?”
He Muyan seemed completely wide awake now, sitting up straight to face Song Li directly, “Does Lili mean that you thought you were doing that kind of thing with someone in your dream, and that person wasn’t even me?”
Song Li froze. After he had said so much, this was all he took away from it?!
He was so angry he didn’t even know what to say, reaching out to push him away, “Are you being serious right now? You even have to feel jealous over something like this?”
He Muyan pursed his lips in silence, looking thoroughly sulky, “Lili responded so well, I always thought you were thinking of me at the time…”
Wh… what “responded well”?! How good could it possibly be?! Song Li’s face turned pale and red by turns. Furious and unwilling to pay him any mind, he supported himself on the bed to get up.
He Muyan grabbed his hand, “Where is Babe going?”
Song Li shook him off with force, “To pee! Let go of me.”
He Muyan’s clinginess returned instantly. Wrapping both arms around his waist, he said in a spoiled tone, “Let me carry you.”
The muscles on this man’s arms were extremely firm and powerful, clamping around his waist like an iron vise so that Song Li couldn’t move at all.
He was also genuinely holding it in with great discomfort, looking at him in compromise, “Hurry up then.”
He Muyan uttered a “By your command,” placing one arm around his waist and reaching the other under his knees, lifting him up effortlessly.
After returning from the bathroom, the two lay in bed together again. Song Li was actually still a bit angry; the type where the more he mulled over it, the angrier he got. When the person beside him reached out again to hold him, Song Li slapped his hand away directly.
He Muyan felt somewhat aggrieved, resting his chin on his shoulder, “Babe…”
“Don’t act spoiled with me,” Song Li said crossly. “Do you not feel the slightest need to self-reflect at all?”
He Muyan actually fell silent thoughtfully for a moment, and only after a short while did he speak up, “What is there to self-reflect on by sleeping while holding my own wife at night?”
“He Muyan!”
“Alright.” Disregarding his resistance now, He Muyan forcefully pulled him into his arms, smoothing his feathers bit by bit, “I know doing this was wrong, and I scared you. But if you and the child aren’t by my side at night, I really end up suffering from insomnia. If I didn’t sneak over in the middle of the night to hold you two for a bit, I wouldn’t even get four hours of sleep a day. If this kept going, I probably would’ve collapsed before we even made it to the wedding.”
This man always had a whole barrage of logic. Song Li couldn’t win the argument against him yet didn’t want to let his anger dissipate so easily either. Shifting uncomfortably in his embrace, he accidentally bumped against that spot on his chest again.
The pain made him knit his brows, letting out a soft cry.
He Muyan immediately looked at him in concern, “What’s wrong?”
He was fine until he asked, but now Song Li’s irritation flared right back up. Reaching out to touch the right side of his chest, “Isn’t it all because of you? How many times have I told you not to keep messing with that area? My two spots have been so sensitive lately that I can’t even stand touching them myself, yet you made it so swollen for me that even the slight friction from my clothes hurts like crazy.”
The moment he heard this, He Muyan immediately understood what was happening. He withdrew his hand and carefully began unbuttoning his pajamas. By the light of the small nightlamp at the bedside, he clearly saw those two poor little things that had been tormented so miserably.
The right side was even more swollen than the left, it was bright red. From being exposed to the cold air, they resembled red plum blossoms trembling in the freezing winter wind, looking exceedingly pitiful.
He Muyan touched it with a fingertip, making Song Li instantly grunt in pain and slap his hand away.
“Don’t touch it anymore.”
He Muyan buttoned his clothes back up for him, “When I was doing it back then, you seemed to quite like it, so I didn’t think too much of it. How did it swell up this big? Could there be some issue? Why don’t we have Dr. Wu take a look tomorrow?”
“Let’s just forget it.” Song Li shook his head, “What would the doctor think of me if I went to them and talked about something like this? I can’t afford to lose face like that.”
He Muyan pulled him back into his embrace, letting him rest his head on his arm, “Stop talking, just let me hold you.”
Leaning against his chest, Song Li was finally able to quiet down after making a fuss for so long.
“The day after tomorrow is the wedding. Why is it that as it gets closer, I feel less and less of anything instead?”
He Muyan nodded, “I feel the same way. I just want these few days to hurry up and pass, it’s too unbearable.”
Song Li found it amusing, “Don’t we see each other every day anyway?”
He Muyan kissed his hair, “It’s not the same.”
Hearing his deep voice, Song Li agreed; well, it really was not quite the same. The two of them were perfectly legitimate together, yet somehow it made the situation feel as though they were secretly having an affair.
He Muyan seemed genuinely exhausted, his breathing growing heavy before long.
Song Li raised his head to ask him, “Until what time are you staying today? It’s already past two in the morning now.”
“I’m leaving at five.”
Song Li nodded. That meant there were less than three hours left.
Tightening his arms slightly, He Muyan added, “I’ll come pick you up early in the morning the day after tomorrow. It might be a bit tiring, so you must get plenty of rest. If you feel tired, you must speak up and not hold it in.”
“Okay.”
“Did you like the suit you tried on last time? Do we need to change it for another one?”
“No need.” Song Li shook his head, “I felt quite comfortable wearing it, and my belly wasn’t that noticeable either. I sent you photos afterwards, did you think it looked good?”
The two of them hadn’t gone to try on suits together. He Muyan was flying out to another province for a meeting at the time, and since time was very tight on this end, Song Li had gone to try them on himself with Xue Sang accompanying him. He tried on three suits in total, each priced to make Xue Sang’s head spin higher than the last.
In the end, they picked one that both of them were satisfied with. The price wasn’t the most expensive among the three, but it suited Song Li best.
That day, Xue Sang had rarely shown approval for He Muyan, making an exception to praise him with a couple of words.
Song Li felt that he was simply conquered by the price of that wedding attire.
How superficial.
“It looked beautiful,” He Muyan’s deep, raspy voice brought his attention back as he leaned close to his ear and whispered softly, “Do you know what I felt the first moment I saw it?”
Song Li looked up at him with a bit of curiosity, “What?”
He Muyan lifted his chin, deep, dark desires surging in his jet-black pupils, “I wanted to tear it off you, but at the same time, I wanted to make love with you while you were wearing it.”
Song Li’s face flushed hot. Not daring to look any further into the intensity in those eyes, he buried his whole face into his chest, muttering softly, “You talk as if you’ve never torn it off before.”
He Muyan chuckled softly in a low voice, his large hand caressing his hair, “Enough talking, go to sleep quickly.”
Song Li blinked a few times, feeling a wave of sleepiness overcome him as well. Opening his mouth, he let out a yawn, “Let’s sleep then, you still have to leave early tomorrow morning…”
When he woke up the next morning, He Muyan had indeed already left. Song Li sat on the bed for a moment to gather his thoughts, feeling thoroughly lazy.
After getting dressed, he walked out to wash up, only to find Mother Song and Father Song gathered around the table in the living room, animatedly discussing something as they exchanged one remark after another.
Song Li walked over out of curiosity as well, “Dad, when did you get back? What are you two looking at?”
Both of them turned their heads together, and Mother Song happily waved at him, “Xiao Li, come here quickly! Come over and take a look at what wonderful gifts your in-laws sent us.”
Song Li took a glance; it turned out to be two sets of new clothes and jewelry. Mother Song’s outfit was a red qipao, not a garishly bright crimson, but its exquisite fabric and fine craftsmanship were immediately apparent at a glance. The threads woven into it were real gold, and the embroidery was entirely done by hand. Based on his current understanding of how lavishly the He family spent money, this qipao was worth at least six figures.
The jewelry box beside it was also fully stocked, featuring what looked like agate earrings and a necklace that complemented the style of the qipao perfectly; an aura of understated luxury. Just looking at them, one could easily imagine that the person wearing them must be an incomparably elegant beauty.
By comparison, Father Song’s suit was not nearly as striking or flashy. It was a classic, conventional style that could never go wrong, but it came from a renowned brand and was paired with a designer watch, a necktie, and a pair of finely crafted black leather shoes.
Mother Song said from the side, “Someone suddenly delivered these items to our door first thing in the morning. When we asked, we found out your mother-in-law had them prepared. She’s really being far too polite! Even though we’ve never seen this brand before, just looking at the fabric and craftsmanship tells you it definitely wasn’t cheap. How can we feel comfortable accepting all this?”
Song Li hadn’t expected Mother He to be so thoughtful. Seeing Mother Song’s somewhat conflicted expression, he smiled and said, “Since they’ve already sent them over, there’s no sense in returning them. Dad, Mom, why don’t you try them on in a bit and show me? My mom has kept her figure so well, you’ll definitely look stunning in this qipao.”
Being praised so much that she could hardly stop smiling, Mother Song carefully picked up the qipao and lovingly ran her hand over the fabric, “Then… should I go inside and try it on right now?”
Song Li nodded, “Go ahead! I’ll take photos of you to post on WeChat Moments in a bit, making you outshine every single one of your friends in your group chats.”
“Alright, alright, wait for me a moment!”
Mother Song carried the clothes into the room in high spirits, but Father Song remained standing in place, motionless.
Song Li looked at him, “Dad, aren’t you going to try on your clothes?”
Father Song shook his head before walking over to sit on the sofa. He habitually pulled out a cigarette to light it, but glancing at Song Li’s belly, he stuffed the cigarette back into his pocket.
“Xiao Li, sit down. Dad wants to have a chat with you.”
Song Li glanced at him and walked over to sit opposite him. In his memory, he rarely chatted with his dad in such a serious manner. The relationship between father and son couldn’t be called distant, but it certainly couldn’t be described as close either.
Father Song loosened the tie around his neck and wiped the forehead behind his brow. Song Li noticed that without realizing it, the hair on his forehead seemed to be getting sparser and sparser.
He remembered that his grandfather had also started going bald around this age. Thinking about it that way, could he turn out like this in the future too?
Visualizing the mental image of himself going bald in his fifties, Song Li couldn’t help letting out a chuckle.
Father Song asked him, “What are you laughing at?”
After asking, he looked down at himself and smiled too, “Oh, my suit is quite wrinkled indeed. I just got off the plane after all and haven’t had time to change yet.”
Song Li hurriedly shook his head, returning to a serious expression, “I wasn’t laughing at you. Dad, what did you want to talk to me about?”
“Oh, that. It’s nothing much, really.” Father Song placed both hands on his thighs, took a deep look at him, and let out a long sigh, “I was just thinking, the child I spent half my life raising to adulthood is being taken away by another family just like a daughter. Thinking about it, I really can’t bear to part with you.”
Song Li had never heard him talk like this before and didn’t know how to respond for a moment.
Father Song seemed deeply sentimental, yet his voice remained resolute and strong, “Xiao Li, there are some words I’ve never said to you, but you must understand the principle yourself. Even though you are the one marrying into their family, in your bones you are still a proper, proud man. Do not belittle yourself just because of this. The He family possesses immense wealth and influence, far beyond our reach, but if you ever suffer any grievance over there, your mother and I will fight with these two old bones of ours to stand up for you. First and foremost, you are Song Li, the son of Song Guozhong, and a stalwart man standing tall; only second to that are you the male daughter-in-law of the He family. Keep this firmly etched in your mind.”
Every word from Father Song struck heavily against Song Li’s heart, ringing loud and clear. He had never expected that his father, who usually immersed himself only in academics and playing chess, had actually been paying attention to him all along, silently protecting and loving his only son in his own unique way.
The more Song Li looked at him, the more overwhelmed with emotion he felt, unable to stop his eyes from turning red.
Father Song scolded him, “I just told you to be a man, so why are your eyes turning red already?”
Song Li raised his hand to wipe the corner of his eyes, saying from the bottom of his heart, “Dad, thank you.”
Father Song looked at him and let out a sigh, “When I came back earlier, I ran into Xiao He.”
Song Li froze, the deep emotion filling his heart instantly giving way to a sudden surge of shock, and he hurriedly explained in a panic, “Dad, actually he didn’t…”
“I haven’t finished speaking yet, what are you in a rush for?” Father Song glared at him. For whatever reason, he couldn’t keep a straight face and broke into a laugh, “That kid… I have no idea where he got the nerve, but he actually came up and pulled me straight into a full embrace! He rambled on about thanking your mom and me for bringing you into this world, he was so emotional that his eyes were even redder than a rabbit’s are right now. Good grief, I’ve interacted with him quite a few times, and every time I saw him, he was as calm and mature as could be. Only after today did I finally realize he’s just a twenty-five or twenty-six-year-old kid after all.”
Looking at the smile on his face, Song Li found it a bit hard to picture the scene of He Muyan with red eyes telling Father Song those things.
Father Song reached out to pat his shoulder, “Xiao He is a good kid. I can tell his eyes and heart are entirely filled with you. Your mother and I can rest easy by entrusting you to him.”
Song Li looked into his eyes and seemed to spot the glistening reflection of tears within them as well. Father Song didn’t dare let him stare for too long, turning his face away unnaturally, getting up, and letting out a cough, “I’ll go check why your mom hasn’t finished changing her clothes yet. She refused to accept her age at her time of life and still insisted on wearing some qipao.”
Watching his back as he walked away hurriedly as if making an escape, Song Li knew he was definitely embarrassed as well.
Leaning on the sofa with a smile, he looked down at his belly, his voice carrying a subtle tremble, “Child, isn’t your maternal grandfather so adorable?”
A solemn church, pure white doves, and countless pairs of eyes beneath the stage gazing up at them with heartfelt blessings. After reading his vows following the priest, He Muyan lifted Song Li’s veil and kissed him deeply.
Song Li’s eyes seemed to blur with tears time and time again. Out of the corner of his eye, he vaguely saw Xue Sang standing below the stage, crying and shouting at the top of his lungs, “Song Li! You better be happy! Be happy for the rest of your life! Song Li! Song Li! Don’t take this damn He Muyan in your next life, I’ll marry you in our next life!!”
He laughed through his tears, his voice hoarse beyond words as Ye Yi held him tightly in his arms beside him.
The newlyweds on stage were exchanging rings; He Muyan had finally bound his baby securely. Even without anyone egging them on, he still cupped Song Li’s face and kissed him with intense devotion again. Song Li closed his eyes and reached up to wrap his arms around his neck.
“It’s too late,” Amidst the waves of cheers from the audience below, He Muyan nibbled on Song Li’s red, swollen lips, saying raspy voiced.
Opening his hazy eyes, Song Li let out a soft, gentle “Hmm?”
He Muyan caressed his ring before raising it to his lips to kiss it, “Lili’s next life has already been bound by me too. Xue Sang doesn’t stand a chance.”
Song Li hadn’t expected him to actually take those words to heart, looking at him while laughing through his tears.
“Shouldn’t you ask whether I’m actually willing to be bound by you for two lifetimes first?”
He Muyan wrapped an arm around his waist, narrowing his eyes as he said fiercely, “My word is final.”
This time, Song Li took the initiative to kiss him with tears slowly falling as he closed his eyes.
His husband was so bossy, and he loved it so much.
The author has something to say:
Would you guys consider reading the chapters about raising the baby?
![The Return of The Lord God[quick wear]](https://i2.wp.com/knoxt.space/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/007S8ZIlly1ghl04hyuxyj30hs0owwgu.jpg?resize=85,105 "The Return of The Lord God[quick wear]")
Reeka On WTA Chapter 73