No one paid any mind to what the mother and daughter were discussing in their room. After dinner, Xiao Yunting asked Aunt Zhang to look after the young lady, then followed the old master to the study.
“Grandpa… could you help Yu Wanzhi get a household registration? She can’t get one due to special circumstances—she doesn’t have a registered permanent residence anywhere…” Xiao Yunting struggled to find the right words, hoping to explain without rousing his grandfather’s suspicion.
Xiao Yuzhang frowned deeply, staring at him in disbelief. “What on earth do you mean? She has no registration? You brought someone with no official status into the military compound—and into our home?”
Xiao Yunting pressed his lips together. “I promise you, she is not a bad person. Grandpa, I have never asked you for anything. Please—do this for me, as a favor?”
“This is absurd! What exactly is her situation? Tell me the truth!” He doted on his grandson, yes—but he would never compromise on matters of principle. With tensions running so high, if his rivals learned that an unidentified person had taken up residence in the Xiao household, they would surely seize upon it to stir up trouble…
And then, the Xiao family could be ruined beyond redemption…
Xiao Yunting sighed helplessly. He had no idea whether his grandfather would believe such a fantastical story. But if he did not speak the truth—knowing his grandfather’s temperament—the old man would never agree, and would instead turn the young lady out of the house!
“Grandpa, here is the truth of the matter…”
Yu Wanzhi had no inkling of what the grandfather and grandson had discussed. At that very moment, she was splashing about happily, swimming naked in the stream within her private space.
The room Aunt Zhang had prepared for her had no bathroom, only a large wooden tub. Yu Wanzhi felt she had practically marinated herself during those days on the train—she simply had to soak in the magical waters of that stream.
Once finished, she quickly returned to her room. To make it look convincing, she washed herself quickly in the tub as well. Yet scarcely had she finished and dressed, when Xiao Yunting pushed open the door and walked in.
“Grandpa agreed. In half a month, you’ll have your household registration… Ah—! I’m so sorry! I had no idea you were bathing!”
The young lady stood wrapped in an oversized white shirt, slowly drying her hair with a towel. Mist and steam hung lightly in the air of the small room.
Having bathed twice, her exquisite oval face glowed with a rosy fairness. Beneath her graceful willow-leaf brows, her long, curling eyelashes fluttered gently. Most lovely of all were her almond-shaped eyes, which seemed always brimming with liquid light—bright, clear, and full of charm. She had a delicately chiseled nose, and full, soft lips as tender and alluring as rose petals.
Water droplets from the ends of her hair trailed down her slender, fair neck, slipping beneath the collar of her shirt to vanish into soft, full curves…
Further down, her long, straight legs were fully revealed—slender yet shapely, with a tiny waist and endless legs. Her small, delicate feet were pale and lovely, her toes like glossy little shells. One glance and he felt an overwhelming urge to lean down and kiss them.
She had the face of an angel and the figure of a siren—purity and enchantment woven together in perfect harmony.
As if suddenly realizing what he was seeing, Xiao Yunting spun around at once, his voice rough and strained. “I… I was just so happy I forgot to knock. I apologize…”
Yu Wanzhi saw his embarrassment—and far from feeling flustered herself, she sauntered over to him. Standing on tiptoe, she leaned close to his burning ear and whispered in a soft, honeyed voice, “It’s all right~ It’s not as though I haven’t seen you before. No need to be shy~”
Boom!
At those words, Xiao Yunting froze as though turned to stone on the spot. Then the young lady spoke again—something that made him wish he could vanish right then and there:
“And I also know… that little Yunting gets all perky and cute, doesn’t he?”
Driven half-mad by the girl’s words, the moment he returned to his room, Xiao Yunting marched straight into the bathroom.
Cool water poured down from above, washing over his brows and eyes, tracing the line of his straight nose, and dripping finally onto his firm, well-defined abs.
Her lazy, soft voice echoed endlessly in his ears. Before his eyes kept rising vivid glimpses of her fair, flawless beauty. It felt exactly as though a cat’s tail had brushed lightly against the very center of his heart—sending shivers of tingling sensation sweeping through him.
He raked a hand irritably over his face, scattering water droplets. His phoenix-shaped eyes, dark beneath thick, arched brows, lowered—and whatever he saw there made heat rise through him once more, unbidden.
Damn it.
He cursed under his breath, squeezing his eyes shut in resignation. In the quiet of the night, the sound of his throat bobbing, the rush of falling water, and low, throaty gasps all blended together, echoing and swelling…
Fifty minutes later, Xiao Yunting stepped out of the bathroom looking utterly drained. He collapsed onto his bed and sighed a long, hopeless sigh.
Deep night had fallen. All was silent.
He had expected to fall asleep quickly—and yet he lay there, tossing and turning, eyes wide open as lightbulbs, staring blankly into the darkness.
Ugh.
This is torture… Every time he closed his eyes, that image rose unbidden in his mind…
Minute after minute slipped by. Eventually, the tossing stilled, and the steady rhythm of sleep finally fell over him.
The next morning.
Xiao Yunting woke slowly. Heavy-eyed, he stretched lazily, reached for his watch beneath the pillow—and then jerked upright, scrambling frantically into his clothes. In his haste, he nearly tripped over his own trousers.
Once dressed, he rushed straight to Yu Wanzhi’s room. He knocked repeatedly, but there was no answer. Panicked, he hurried downstairs and seized Aunt Zhang by the arm. “Aunt Zhang—where is she?”
Aunt Zhang winced at the tight grip, yet answered good-naturedly, “Comrade Yu? She left at dawn. When I asked where she was going, she said she’d just wander around a bit.”
Xiao Yunting’s hands clenched into fists, his fingers trembling from the force of his grip. His voice grew tight with alarm. “Did she eat breakfast? Did she say when she’d be back?”
Aunt Zhang shook her head slowly. “She left before I even began preparing breakfast. Nor did she say when she’d return.”
Hearing this, a look of pure panic flashed across Xiao Yunting’s face. He dragged himself back to his room and slumped onto the edge of his bed. It felt as though an invisible hand were clamped tight around his throat—suffocating, terrifying, leaving him sick with worry.
Where on earth could she have gone?
She had not eaten. He had no idea whether she carried any money or ration coupons. She had no letter of introduction, either. In this vast, sprawling capital city… what would become of her if she got lost all alone?