When she was not being difficult, she was surprisingly gentle and adorable. In fact, after such a long separation, haven’t I always wanted to hold her like this? It was only today that she was slowly starting to regain some of her usual spirit.

The more they kissed, the more lingering it became.

Gradually, she started to respond. Even though she was sick and her lips were so dry, they were slowly moistened by his kisses.

After a while, he let her go, smiling cheekily, "What do you think? Isn’t this trick super effective? I just discovered it today. If you act so unreasonably again in the future, I’ll ’fix’ you like this."

She was utterly speechless, then said resentfully, "I have a viral cold. If you keep this up, you’ll definitely get infected."

He was unperturbed. "It doesn’t matter if I get infected. I have to go to the hospital with you anyway. At worst, I’ll just get treatment myself."

She wanted to scold him, but the words wouldn’t come out. Deep down, for some strange reason, she felt remarkably at ease.

After all that fuss, she was truly exhausted. Lying in his arms, she quickly fell asleep again.

By then, the sky was already showing the first light of dawn, and Wan Donglin was also extraordinarily weary. He hadn’t slept at all that night. Now, as fatigue washed over him, he quickly fell back to sleep, just like her.

When he woke up and glanced at the time, it was almost ten o’clock.

However, he wasn’t in a hurry to get up because the woman in his arms was still sleeping soundly. It was only then that he got a clear look at her. Her lips were chapped, her eyes were sunken, and she looked utterly haggard.

He sighed inwardly. Two to three months of constant worry, numerous threats, Yang Wei from the Industrial and Commercial Taxation Bureau... even two or three dangerous encounters... It’s no wonder. Forget a single woman; even an ordinary strong man would likely have crumbled under such pressure.

Now, he truly understood that the "test" his mother had spoken of was, in fact, incredibly cruel.

Indeed, life is unpredictable; one can’t expect smooth sailing forever. But if there was even a sliver of hope, who would willingly endure such torment?

The hardships and displacements of the previous few years, then Huang Ma’s coercion, and after getting together with me, she experienced such ordeals... After all that, for her to finally cry out her frustrations today—that already showed incredible resilience.

Truthfully, if she chose another man—even someone like Li Zhen, or just an ordinary person—she might have a peaceful, secure, and prosperous life, perhaps no worse than her current one. But... how could I bear to let her switch? Of course, I won’t allow her to switch. The very thought was intolerable—absolutely not! She’s not allowed to switch!

Forget it, forget it. It’s not like I’m training a special agent or a successor. Why make her suffer so much? If she gets spoiled, then so be it.

As he turned over, about to get up, she turned with him, still gripping his hand tightly. Her leg followed, brazenly draping over his.

Well, well. She used to sleep so formally, but now? Her leg was draped over me all night.

He suddenly felt incredibly happy, especially with this dependency and affection she was gradually developing towards him.

She slowly opened her eyes. Seeing his beaming smile, she rubbed her eyes and mumbled, "You uncouth man..."

Uncouth man... It had been a long time since she’d called me that.

Overjoyed, he sat up and hugged her, "Lazybones! Look, it’s almost ten o’clock."

She was startled. "It’s that late already? Goodness, why didn’t you wake me?"

"You were sleeping so soundly; how could I bear to wake you? It’s all your fault. I never oversleep, but this time, you dragged me down with you."

She looked at him suspiciously. "You clearly just woke up yourself, didn’t you? How is it my fault?"