New Love No. 1: Have you kissed me enough, President?

Gu Lili paused, then turned to look at him. "Even if time could turn back, I doubt we would've ended up together. Some things are simply fated."

"You've been married to him for quite a while now. Have you fallen in love with him?"

"He's so exceptional… it's hard not to love someone like that."

"And what about him?"

"He doesn't love me."

Gu Xichen sighed, "I thought as much."

"You thought my foot," Gu Lili snapped. "Even you regret not marrying me—do you think he's blind to how rare and remarkable a woman I am? Of course he'll fall in love with me. It's only a matter of time."

Gu Xichen let out a laugh. "Anyone ever tell you how shamelessly you boast?"

"Can't I?"

"Fine, fine, you win."

After dinner, they washed up and laid bedding on the rooftop. Each had their own mosquito net. As they lay under the stars, Gu Lili murmured, "Feels like the old days. Back then, in the summer, Master and I would sleep in the courtyard to cool off."

"Weren't you afraid of snakes?"

"There was realgar scattered in the yard," she replied. "And I made sure to spread some more this morning—nothing to worry about."

"There was a time my father even suspected you and my mother were related. After all, natural-born spirituals are incredibly rare, and you both just happened to be. He even claimed you might be her illegitimate daughter."

Gu Lili scoffed instantly, "What utter nonsense. That's impossible. Master was proud and principled all her life. If I were truly her daughter, she would've never denied me the right to call her 'mother'. Besides, do you not remember why she came to live on Xiliang Mountain? Your father and grandmother drove her out. And now he wants to sling mud at her to cover his own filth? What a despicable man."

"Well said."

Gu Lili chuckled. "You didn't dare say that yourself, did you?"

He folded his arms behind his head, eyes fixed on the sky. "He's still my father. It's not that simple."

"Oh, right. I have to tell you something." She rolled onto her stomach, face turned toward him. "Your ex-girlfriend tried to take her own life in a rental apartment. Her landlord called my husband—turns out the only contact in her phone was Long Yubei."

"And?"

"She survived. He paid her rent, covered her hospital bills, even arranged a six-month lease for her in a low-income community."

"Sounds like he still has feelings for her."

Gu Lili shot him a glare. "Stop sowing discord. That wasn't it at all. That was the last time he'll ever help her. I made sure of it."

Gu Xichen closed his eyes and murmured, "A woman's heart is a deep and treacherous sea. She disgusts me to the core. I bitterly regret ever choosing her over you."

Long Yubei was away on business for four days. When he returned, the sun was just beginning to set, casting a golden glow through the windows. Gu Lili had just stepped out of the shower.

She'd driven back from Xiliang Mountain about half an hour ago, knowing he'd be home today.

Absence, it seemed, truly made the heart grow fonder. The moment he walked through the door, Long Yubei pulled her into a fierce embrace. "Did you miss me?"

"I did."

"I've barely slept these past few nights. I'm burning up from the inside out," he murmured, nuzzling the curve of her neck.

"How badly?"

"You'll know in a moment." With that, he yanked the towel from her body and let it fall to the floor.

"Ah—!" She stood completely bare before him, flustered by his gaze after days apart.

His lips seized hers with force, his embrace tightening around her petite frame like a vice.

His kiss left her breathless. As her head tilted back, Long Yubei's large hand cupped her supple breast, his tongue tracing slow, languid circles around the sensitive edge, drawing her closer, her body instinctively pressing into his.