Shen Zhilie was so embarrassed that he decided not to explain himself further. He turned around and walked back to his room.

  He saw Ye Qianqian sitting still with a serious expression on her blushing face. He cleared his throat and muttered, “I told you we shouldn’t live here anymore. It was embarrassing.”


  Ye Qianqian raised an eyebrow. “Who’s the one to blame now?”


  Shen Zhilie replied sheepishly, “I’m to blame.”
……

  Shen Zhilie finally left for work. Meanwhile, Shen Luo’an was flustered.

  His body, which had not been satisfied for a long time, was now extremely tense.

  He had some thoughts over the past three years.

  Yet, those thoughts had never bothered him as strongly as they had today.

  He turned to look at Shen Manting, still feeling tense.

  Shen Manting so thin she was nearly all flesh and bones.

  Moreover……

  He couldn’t do it.

  She would hate him.

  Shen Luo’an took a long, deep breath and walked back to his room.

  Shen Manting was blushing. She trailed behind him when she saw him head back to their room.

  Little Moon was crouching on the ground, playing with a model airplane and blissfully ignorant of what had happened among the adults.

  Shen Manting called out, “Honey.”


  “Hmm?” Shen Luo’an was already feeling restless. Her presence intensified the wild thoughts running through his mind.

  He felt a fire surge through him. The burning desire that he had managed to tame for a long time was now easily aroused at the mere sight and scent of her.

  Yet, looking at her innocent face, he could only stifle his desire.

  He forced himself to calm down, then looked at her and asked, “What’s the matter?”


  “I think Zhilie and Qianqian are happy together. They seem to delight in each other’s company every day,” Shen Manting stared at him with a glint in her eyes and said, “I think they really look like a married couple.”


  Shen Luo’an read between the lines and seemed to have understood what she was trying to imply.

  He glanced at her and asked, “What do you think of us?”


  Shen Manting looked at him and replied softly, “I think we behave less like a married couple than they do. I always feel something is missing in our relationship.”


  Shen Manting took a step forward. “That’s why I resolved to be a loving, dutiful wife, but I still think something is missing.”


  Shen Manting kept advancing toward him as she spoke.

  Shen Luo’an hastily retreated from her, staring at her anxiously. His body grew tenser.

  Shen Manting’s fair complexion was accentuated by the rosy blush on her cheeks. She looked particularly charming.

  She looked so captivating that he wanted to have his way with her that very instant.

  Shen Luo’an’s throat tightened. He glanced away and said stiffly, “Don’t worry too much. We’re fine the way we are.”


  “No, I just think that something is missing from our relationship,” Shen Manting insisted. She was usually quite docile, but today she was unusually stubborn and persistent on this particular matter. “I believe you’ve noticed, haven’t you?”


  Shen Manting took a step closer. “I’m sure you know why Zhilie and Qianqian are free to tease each other so intimately, but not us. Why don’t you ever play with me the way they do with each other?”


  Shen Luo’an backed away from her and evaded her gaze.

  He walked to the door and said, “We’re not children anymore. Play is not for us. Both of them are still children at heart. We’re grownups, so we shouldn’t compare ourselves to them.”


  Shen Luo’an noticed that Shen Manting’s eyes had reddened when he finished his sentence.

  She seemed to be suddenly overwhelmed by sorrow. Tears were soon flooding her eyes and streaming down her cheeks.

  “Zhilie plays with Qianqian because he loves her. You don’t play with me because you don’t like me, do you?” Shen Manting sobbed. “You don’t like me at all, do you?”


  Her forthrightness silenced Shen Luo’an.