...

The three of them soaked in the bathtub for nearly half an hour, adding hot water several times. Finally, they felt completely relaxed, with their skin slightly reddened, before gradually leaving the tub.

The two women wanted to avoid being seen by Li Yan, so they naturally let him leave first. Li Yan didn't hesitate; when he stepped out, he used a towel to cover himself, but during the shower and while drying himself with the bath towel, he didn't bother to hide anything, exposing himself fully in front of them.

Since there were three people in the bathtub, the water level wasn't that high. As soon as he got up and left, the water level quickly dropped, exposing Zhang Yurong and Qiao Huanxuan entirely! In fact, the foam floated on top, and when Li Yan first got in, he displaced most of the foam. Later, the water was changed or added, leaving very little foam, allowing him to see their glistening bodies as they emerged from the water.

Afterward, the three of them had a little something to eat. Qiao Huanxuan made a call home to explain why she wouldn't be returning that night. Zhang Yurong also made a few calls, and then they each retired to their own room, Qiao Huanxuan in one, and the two of them in another.

Li Yan was excited all night, feeling the atmosphere was unusually rare. Compared to her usual conservativeness, Yurong was relatively open tonight. Perhaps he could seize this opportunity to overcome the last hurdle. So as he lay in bed, he gently suggested whether they should continue last night's program.

Unfortunately, Yurong wasn't in the mood for such thoughts. She simply said she was too tired, didn't want to, and wouldn't.

They were indeed exhausted, and with Qiao Huanxuan next door, as well as being in a resort, it wasn't the right time for that, so Li Yan didn't insist, only holding her comfortingly to sleep.

Yurong was very tired, feeling warm and safe in his embrace, yet after turning off the lights, she couldn't fall asleep.

"Do you...really enjoy this?" 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Hearing her sudden inquiry, Li Yan was taken aback. "Of course, being able to hold you as I sleep is pure happiness for me."

"I was asking about...the bath earlier." Yurong sighed quietly. In truth, what she wanted to know was whether he had ever been intimate with Qiao Huanxuan!

Considering their behavior during the bath—both of them seemed normal and restrained. Yet it was this normalcy that felt oddly unnatural. Li Yan, given his character and never having been intimate with her, should have sneaked a few glances at another beautiful woman during such a shared bath.

And Qiao Huanxuan, more so; she avoided eye contact skillfully, seemingly respecting boundaries while trying not to offend. Yet she had been fond of Li Yan for over ten years! Could it really be a Platonic spiritual romance? If that were the case, she should have avoided this scenario, and certainly wouldn't have agreed for Li Yan to join them in the bath.

Thus, their normal behavior and attitude of maintaining distance was seen by Yurong as a tacit guilty conscience. Though lacking experience in such matters, women's intuition is seldom wrong.

Still...it troubled her now, yet it didn't feel right to ask!

If he said yes, then what? Would knowing change anything? Asking him to leave and sleep next door? Would that be actively pushing her husband toward another woman? Yet if he said no, would that eliminate her doubts? And if there were truly nothing, how would he perceive it?

So in the end, she chose to ask a different question.

Her question made Li Yan pause for a moment, but he didn't deny it. "Yes, I really enjoyed it...I really like you, but I can't say I have no feelings for Qiao Huanxuan. Whether I hurt you or her, I'd be taking a share of the pain myself. I don't want to hurt anyone; I just hope we can all be happy."

Yurong bit her lip gently, asking softly, "Have you ever thought about...how we might view this?"

Li Yan chuckled wryly: "I don't need to think to know. Wanting you both to accept being together might only bring happiness to myself, while you both may feel hurt."

"..."

"Regardless, I'm incredibly grateful to you. Tonight, you let me feel the possibility of a dream, even if it wasn't real or was only fleeting." Li Yan didn't explicitly state how far things had gone with Qiao Huanxuan. After the incident with Yu Xiaodi, he realized that saying some things upfront might not be best; leaving things unspoken might be less provocative.

Taking a deep breath, Zhang Yurong spoke softly, "Tonight...I didn't feel hurt. She probably didn't either."

"Really?" Li Yan felt a surge of joy.

Yurong chuckled lightly, "Don't celebrate just yet. Will such settings and encounters happen often?"

Li Yan sighed inwardly; yes, it was this unique situation tonight that allowed them to be free of apprehension. Once they leave, calmness would return. The revolution hasn't succeeded yet!

"The road ahead is long and expansive; I shall continue to seek it!"

Hearing Li Yan's heartfelt expression, Yurong realized he hadn't given up, feeling a bit sour as she thought: "One of life's eight sufferings includes 'unfulfilled desires,' aren't you afraid your bold pursuit will ultimately amount to nothing but emptiness? That would lead to 'parting from loved ones.'

(The eight sufferings: birth, aging, illness, death, parting from loved ones, meeting those one resents, unfulfilled desires, five aggregates scorching.)

Li Yan smiled slightly: "One must always try, right? Attempting might fail; not attempting assures failure. As for the outcome...gaining it, I'm fortunate; not gaining it, it's fate."