Back at Hongyun Inn, the mood among the group lightened up again.
In the room, the large makeshift bed formed by pushing three small ones together now carried a certain charged atmosphere with a member of the opposite sex present.
"Big Bro, sit tight for a bit — we're going to take a shower." Chen Tingting pushed Bai Li down onto the edge of the bed, then dragged Li Jiaxin and Lin Xiaoshuang into the bathroom with her.
Soon, the sound of rushing water spilled out from behind the bathroom door, along with the girls' laughter and playful bickering.
Bai Li sat on the edge of the bed, listening to those faint, intermittent sounds, and felt his throat go dry.
He looked down and let out a helpless sigh.
They really do trust me completely, huh...
About ten minutes later, the bathroom door swung open.
A warm cloud of body wash and shampoo fragrance billowed out, and then three freshly transformed figures appeared before Bai Li.
Bai Li's gaze froze instantly.
With their makeup off and dressed in sleepwear, they looked like completely different people.
Chen Tingting wore a set of pink coral fleece pajamas, her fiery red hair now damp and draped loosely over her shoulders.
Stripped of the heavy eyeliner and eyeshadow, those eyes of hers — which had always carried a sharp, edgy look — now seemed almost pure and innocent.
Without the mask of makeup, every fine feature of her face was on full display: fair skin, a high nose bridge — she was, unmistakably, a natural beauty.
Li Jiaxin had on an oversized grey T-shirt as a sleep dress, her long, straight legs peeking out beneath it.
Her purple hair, washed clean of its surface dye, had deepened into a rich violet.
There was an innate cool elegance to her brow and eyes — she looked like a model untouched by the mundane world.
But what surprised Bai Li most was Lin Xiaoshuang.
She wore an adorable cartoon bear pajama set, and her blonde hair, now washed clean, turned out to be a genuinely lovely shade of flaxen.
She already looked young, but now without makeup, that tiny palm-sized face of hers was so dewy and soft it looked like it could be pinched into water, and her wide, glistening eyes were like a fawn's — clear and guileless.
Only now did Bai Li realize he had underestimated them all along.
These weren't wild girls at all — they were three top-tier beauties who had been done a disservice by cheap cosmetics and over-the-top styling.
Especially that unpolished youthfulness, that tenderness radiating from the very core of their being — it was something no plastic surgery or beauty filter could ever replicate.
"B-Big Bro, why are you staring at us like that?" Lin Xiaoshuang grew flustered under his gaze, her little face flushing pink as she ducked behind Chen Tingting.
"Ahem." Bai Li snapped back to his senses and looked away with a slightly awkward expression. "Nothing. I just... think you all look pretty good without the makeup."
"Of course we do!" Chen Tingting tossed her hair triumphantly, flicking droplets of water all over Bai Li's face.
"Our natural looks are top-notch! Not like some girls who'd scare you half to death once the makeup comes off."
As she said this, she climbed up onto the large communal bed and lay down against the wall, then patted the empty space beside her:
"Come on, Big Bro, stop spacing out — get up here and go to sleep."
Li Jiaxin quietly climbed up as well, lying down on Chen Tingting's other side.
Finally, Lin Xiaoshuang, cheeks still red, followed suit and climbed up, settling in on the outermost edge.
The three of them lay side by side, all turning to look at Bai Li who was still sitting on the edge of the bed, their eyes full of expectation.
The bed was large, but with three people already on it, only one spot remained — on the very outside.
Bai Li looked at the three young, vibrant bodies before him, each radiating a faint, clean fragrance, and felt his reason being put to a severe test.
He knew full well that all that teasing talk about "useless husbands" and the like was mostly jokes and prodding.
If he actually lost all self-control and pounced on them, they would almost certainly call the police.
All the trust and goodwill he had so carefully built up would likely crumble in an instant.
And then, when the sirens came wailing, this newly begun life of luxury he'd just unlocked would be spent weeping behind iron bars.
He couldn't do it.
Absolutely not.
Bai Li took a deep breath, silently recited the Great Compassion Mantra in his head, then took off his coat and lay down in the outermost spot.
The mattress was firm, and the blanket carried that familiar mix of sunshine and laundry detergent.
He lay flat on his back, body rigid as a plank, doing his best to maintain some distance from Lin Xiaoshuang beside him.
But the bed was just too small.
At six foot two, his feet nearly dangled off the edge when he stretched out.
And his broad shoulders left almost no gap between him and Lin Xiaoshuang.
He could clearly feel the warmth radiating from the girl beside him, and the faint, slightly quickened rhythm of her breathing — a telltale sign of nerves.
In the darkness, the room was terrifyingly quiet, filled only with the uneven breathing of four people.
To his left was the soft and adorable Lin Xiaoshuang, then the cool and aloof Li Jiaxin, and at the far end, the fiery Chen Tingting.
Three young bodies — each a different flavor, yet all equally fresh and full of life — lay right beside him without a shred of guard.
It was nothing short of sweet torture.
Bai Li closed his eyes, feeling like a beggar sitting atop a mountain of gold — it was right there, within reach, and yet he couldn't take a single bite.
He was starting to regret it.
He never should have shown off and come back with them!
Just as he was suffering through this ordeal, fighting desperately against the surging primal force that [Kidney Fortification] had stirred up inside him —
The phone on the pillow suddenly buzzed with a bzzzt, its screen lighting up in the darkness.
A WeChat message had popped up.
[Pretty Qian with the Great Figure~]: Big Bro, you asleep yet?