Chapter 375: 373
Unable to resist, she simply buried her head in Si Yuhuan’s embrace.
A smile Si Yuhuan could hardly suppress touched his lips. "Alright, everyone’s dismissed. Go get some rest."
After everyone had left, Jian Xi was taken to the bedroom and thrown onto the bed. The man, pulling at his tie, dominantly settled on top of her.
Jian Xi immediately extended her slender leg, the toe of her high heel pointing at his chest. "What do you think you’re doing?" she questioned cautiously.
"What do you think I’m doing?" he asked, emphasizing the word "doing."
Jian Xi’s face flushed instantly. "Si Yuhuan, you can’t!"
"Too late!" Si Yuhuan gave her no chance to resist, pinning her restless small foot beneath him.
He cursed inwardly as he discovered that a part of him, unmoved by any woman before, was now swelling uncontrollably.
She really has me in her grip! This fire... she has to be the one to extinguish it.
"Si Yuhuan, if you dare do this to me, I’ll hate you to death!" Jian Xi cried out in angry frustration, tears unconsciously streaming from the corners of her eyes.
Kisses like raindrops fell on her cheeks. Si Yuhuan tasted the salty tears, trembled, and stopped his movements.
"You should get some rest," he said, then turned and left, looking flustered.
Jian Xi sat on the bed, hugging her arms, unable to process what had happened for a long time. What on earth got into Si Yuhuan to make him suddenly change his mind? she wondered, utterly baffled.
"Damn it! I forgot to ask him what he and Xinxin actually talked about!" She bit her lip, her head drooping in resignation.
It seems there’s no way out but to appease him, she thought.
「The next morning.」
Dressed in loungewear, Si Yuhuan walked downstairs. Jian Xi had already placed a delicious breakfast on the dining table. "Wash your hands and let’s eat," she said.
She was as at ease as if she were in her own home, as if nothing had happened the night before.
Si Yuhuan’s handsome face remained cold, and he said nothing.
Jian Xi, undeterred, continued to ingratiate herself with a smile. "Chinese breakfast, Western breakfast... I’ve prepared both. See which one you prefer? How about almond milk porridge? The weather’s been dry lately; it can help cool you down and is nourishing."
Cool me down? Si Yuhuan raised an eyebrow at her.
Jian Xi promptly handed him the bowl of porridge. "I’ve been making it all morning. You have to at least try it. Who knows, you might like it!"
"Can you make it for a lifetime?" His voice carried a hint of sarcasm.
To save her son, Jian Xi nodded earnestly. "Why not? If you like it, I’ll keep cooking it for you until you’ve had enough!"
A large pot every day would be guaranteed to make him sick in two days. As if he’d drink it for a lifetime!
Surprisingly, the dark mood clouding Si Yuhuan’s handsome face began to lift. He finished the porridge and passed the empty bowl back.
Jian Xi was somewhat taken aback. In her memory, Si Yuhuan never liked such slightly bitter food.
She hurried to serve him another bowl.
Si Yuhuan emptied it again and passed it back.
Jian Xi’s eyes widened. What is he trying to do? Eat himself to death?
Jian Xi couldn’t help but chide him, "You can’t eat it like this; it’ll upset your stomach. No more for you. You can have more tomorrow morning."
"Alright," Si Yuhuan agreed, surprisingly compliant.
He went upstairs to change clothes.
Jian Xi followed closely behind. "Let me help you pick out clothes."
To ingratiate herself thoroughly, she had to be meticulous. She had plenty of experience in this, after all, having been a lovesick woman for so many years!
Si Yuhuan looked at her eager demeanor, his gaze deepening.
Envy was visible on the faces of the servants downstairs.
"The Master and Madam have such a good relationship!"
"I heard they divorced, but it looks like they’re planning to remarry."
"If things go well, we might have a little master by this year!"
The group couldn’t help but cover their mouths, stifling giggles.
Jian Xi hesitated. Should I enter Si Yuhuan’s bedroom? If I go in, I’ll be the one breaking the barrier between us.
Thinking of Xinxin and her son, she gritted her teeth, forced a smile, and went in to start picking out clothes.
The wardrobe was filled with clothes she had chosen for him before. Regardless of style or brand, they were all arranged in complete, matched sets.
Jian Xi froze. She hadn’t expected Si Yuhuan to still keep them, to have moved them back untouched. For a moment, it created an illusion, as if they hadn’t divorced and were still together.
The man came up from behind her, hugged her slender waist tightly, and rested his chin on her neck. "You can consider what I said."
In the silent room, she felt as if she could hear both their heartbeats. Such a provocative sentence could mesmerize any woman.
Jian Xi knew he was determined. He would accept her and wanted to remarry, even if she had borne another man’s child.
Now, for her son’s sake, she couldn’t refuse him. She could only force a smile, turn to face him directly, and say, "I can consider it."
"But there are conditions."
"Name them," he agreed without hesitation, a light flickering in his eyes.
"First, you’re not allowed to touch me casually."
Si Yuhuan frowned, displeased.
Jian Xi bit her lip. "You’re always thinking about *that*. It makes me feel like you have ulterior motives, that you’re not sincere."
So that was it. "Okay, I promise you."
Jian Xi added another condition, "I need personal space and freedom. If you can’t even agree to that, then I definitely won’t consider getting back together with you."
Si Yuhuan gave a pained smile. "You’re making it so I have to agree even if I don’t want to."
Jian Xi lifted her chin.
"Fine, I agree to that too." Si Yuhuan genuinely had a headache now.
Jian Xi turned back around. "One last condition: if things don’t feel right, I can ask to separate at any time."
"Impossible!" Si Yuhuan grabbed her arms and spun her around. His deep, dark eyes fixed intently on her. "Jian Xi, leaving me is impossible."
"That’s a tyrannical clause!" Jian Xi struggled.
The stubbornness in Si Yuhuan’s eyes startled Jian Xi. She didn’t know if it was because he was unwilling to accept he’d fallen for her, or if he truly did love her.
"Who knows, you might get tired of me at any moment and want to leave me," she blurted out unexpectedly.
"Never!" Si Yuhuan retorted, agitated. "I won’t get tired of you unless *you* don’t want *me*."
Jian Xi scoffed. "Stop joking, Si Yuhuan. This isn’t the first time you’ve had enough of me, hated me! Who knows if, in the future, you meet some unobtainable woman, you’ll chase her as desperately as you’re chasing me now. You’re only ever interested in what you can’t have!"
A flicker of sorrow crossed the man’s eyes. After a moment, he sighed. "I’ll make you trust me."
Forget it, Jian Xi thought. You’ll never understand how disappointed I am in you.
She had no masochistic tendencies. She had only just managed to get away from him completely; getting back together would be asking for trouble.
The thought of how easily he attracted other women irritated her.
Even when they were together, living under the same roof, Xinxin had relentlessly tried to seduce him.
"Alright, I’m looking forward to it."
Jian Xi had given him hope, and Si Yuhuan became much more agreeable thereafter.
"Today, I’ll take you to see your son. As for Huang Ying, if nothing unexpected happens, she’ll succeed within three days."
That fast! Jian Xi was somewhat astonished.
As expected, with Si Yuhuan deploying his charms, even Xinxin seemed to get things done much faster.
She was just like a little girl eagerly seeking recognition and reward. Jian Xi could hardly imagine how furious Xinxin would be when she realized all her efforts had been in vain.