"Is there anything good on TV?" Jiang Hai asked, his eyes slightly dull. Qi Li slowly approached, wiped the water droplets from her hair, and climbed onto the bed without a care. From Jiang Hai's perspective, she sat there with her legs crossed, staring at the distant TV.
At that moment, Jiang Hai couldn't help but notice Qi Li's figure clearly—her chest and the forested view beyond—but she seemed completely unaware.
"Well, it doesn't look like it," Jiang Hai admitted. To be honest, he had no real interest in watching TV; he just kept it on out of boredom, not knowing what else to do.
"If there's nothing good, then let's go to bed," Qi Li said. Hearing that, she propped up her head, tilted it, and chuckled softly. Jiang Hai nodded in agreement.
"Come lie down next to me," Qi Li patted the spot beside her and invited him.
"Forget it. I'll just sleep on the sofa tonight," Jiang Hai replied abruptly. He pushed his glasses up gently and took a deep breath, trying to calm himself.
"Why the sofa? Are you afraid I'll eat you?" Qi Li teased suddenly, making Jiang Hai speechless. "You're not cute at all. You're my husband, you know that, right?"
"And besides," she added after a pause, lowering her voice, "if my mother found out you slept on the sofa, wouldn't we get exposed?"
Jiang Hai frowned slightly, confused. He wasn't sure how Qi Li's mother would find out if he slept on the sofa. Still, he didn't dwell on it. Without much thought, he turned off the TV and lay down on the edge of the big bed, fully clothed.
Qi Li turned off the lights and pulled a large quilt over both of them. Jiang Hai heard a faint rustling, then felt her presence behind him—her hands moving slowly along his body. The absence of fabric friction told him Qi Li wasn't even wearing her simple pajamas.
"Do you sleep with your clothes on?" Qi Li whispered, resting her head against his ear and wrapping her arms around him from behind. Jiang Hai was at a loss for words.
"I heard sleeping without clothes is good for your health. But before, when I lived alone, I was scared—if something happened, there'd be nowhere to run. Now that you're here, I want to try," Qi Li murmured softly.
"Are you really ready?" Jiang Hai asked quietly. Honestly, if any woman threw herself at him like this, he'd have acted without hesitation. But Qi Li was different. He forced himself to calm down, took a deep breath, and replied, "What's there to prepare for? You're my wife, and I'm your husband. Isn't this just normal?"
Hearing this, Qi Li tightened her embrace, sensing hesitation in his voice.
"To be honest," Jiang Hai began carefully, "your family did me a favor when I needed it most. I'll never deny that. If they ever ask for help, I'll do what I can. And I admit, I had a good impression of you."
Feeling Qi Li's subtle movements behind him, Jiang Hai paused before continuing, "But if we could live together like a normal couple, maybe things wouldn't have turned out like this. Although… to be honest, I couldn't catch your eye back then."
Jiang Hai sighed. He knew exactly where he stood in Qi Li's eyes. Over a year ago, he wasn't handsome, came from a poor family, had no prospects, and couldn't even speak well. Any ordinary woman would have been better off marrying someone else. Yet, he had married Qi Li—heaven's darling.
No matter who looked at it, they were an unlikely pair.
Like Cinderella marrying a prince, this was more like a scoundrel marrying the princess—a harsh reality.
"But now things are different," Jiang Hai whispered. "I don't know why you like me, but I'm sure it's not for my money or my family. It's for me, as a person. If you still have a place for me in your heart, then… maybe we can start over."
Qi Li suddenly hugged him tightly and said seriously, "Some things have already happened. We can't just start over like nothing happened. You know what I mean. Feng Yunchen and Ai Xiaoxi aren't the only ones. There are others… like Afra. I can't give them any status, but I can't just leave them behind and start fresh with you. You might call me greedy or a scumbag—and maybe I am—but I don't know what I'm holding on to inside."
This was the first time Jiang Hai had laid all his cards on the table with Qi Li. He wasn't willing to give up those women, which complicated their chance at a serious relationship.
If Qi Li and Jiang Hai had tried to be together more than a year ago, he might have overcome it. Back then, he could have devoted himself fully to her, resisting temptations because he was a man with a wife. But now, with Qi Li almost nonexistent in his life, he found himself indulging his desires.
Some women he could leave behind, others he couldn't.
Because if he treated only one woman well and abandoned the others, in their eyes he'd be a betrayer. Jiang Hai wasn't ready to lose them all—that was his biggest problem.
"This…" Jiang Hai's words caused Qi Li's grip on his hand to loosen slightly.
She wanted to reconcile, to be with him again, and to give herself to him tonight.
But she had to face the truth Jiang Hai laid out. He had more than one woman in his life. This was not just about mistresses or affairs. In his heart, those women might mean more than she did.
If she wanted to start over with him, she had to accept all of that.
Unless she was just playing with him, which she wasn't sure about. Like Ai Xiaoxi, who had always positioned herself as Jiang Hai's legal wife.
It seemed that if she returned, all those snakes, insects, rats, and ants would scatter.
But now, those creatures had infiltrated this family, and Jiang Hai was entangled with them.
Looking for equality and balance between man and woman seemed too idealistic.
"Think it over carefully. This is about defining what we are. I'll leave it to you to decide—whether we stay as we are, become friends, or go further. It's all up to you."
Feeling Qi Li's hesitation behind him, Jiang Hai gently patted her hand, then sat up and moved to the sofa to lie down. This time, Qi Li didn't pull him back. She knew she had to think things through clearly. Jiang Hai wouldn't touch her without certainty—it was a promise to himself and a form of protection for her.
Lying on the sofa, Jiang Hai suddenly felt like a saint.
He didn't like this saintly role, maybe because of his past relationships, or because he was still interested in Qi Li. He didn't want to act impulsively under these complicated circumstances.
Qi Li was different from Afra and the others, who only wanted to be with Jiang Hai.
She was different from Feng Yunchen, who made it clear from day one that she would be Jiang Hai's lover.
She was different from Prawalton and Selena Gomez, who were more like friends.
None of them had marriage in mind, nor did Jiang Hai make any promises to them.
The only one similar to Qi Li was Ai Xiaoxi, but she had started by selling herself, just as Jiang Hai once did for money. Their feelings developed later.
The story between Jiang Hai and Qi Li was far more complicated than it seemed. The bond between them ran deep.
After one last glance at Qi Li lying on the bed, Jiang Hai took a deep breath and fell asleep on the sofa.
To be continued.