Chapter 441: The World Within a Book

After circling the island for half a lap, the two returned to the Song family home as night fell.

As soon as he entered the house, Li Heng was pulled away by the two uncles-in-law and Song Yu's uncle to play card games. Since they were his elders and the stakes weren't high, he couldn't refuse and joined in.

Worried that he might feel like an outsider, Song Yu first poured tea for everyone, then went to bathe and freshen up, and finally sat beside him to keep him company.

Unlike the time he played poker with Zhou Shihe and had incredible luck, his luck with cards tonight was poor; no matter how he played, he lost, and no matter what he drew, it was never what he needed. Even when it was obvious he was about to win, he was often intercepted by the person before him.

This didn't happen just once or twice, but many times, until he was so frustrated he ended up laughing at himself.

Damn it all!

Having grown accustomed to the delicacies with the Fudan University big shots, suddenly returning to the "chaff and vegetables" of the past really felt a bit strange.

At some point, Jiang Yue came downstairs and stood behind him, observing his micro-expressions. Seeing that he didn't get angry despite losing repeatedly, nor did he use any foul language or habitual expressions to vent his emotions, she couldn't help but feel a bit more favorably toward him.

It is said that drinking and playing cards are the best ways to discern a person's character, and the fact that this saying has circulated for thousands of years is not without merit.

Whether it was the Song family's eldest uncle-in-law, the second uncle-in-law, or her own brother and husband, if they had a streak of bad luck all night, they would inevitably complain a few times. Yet, Jiang Yue had specifically timed it: Li Heng had been losing for two and a half hours without winning a single hand, and he hadn't uttered a word, nor had his facial expression changed in the slightest.

This situation was noticed not only by Jiang Yue but by all the elders in the room.

Grandmother Song was very satisfied with this and whispered to Chen Laoyezi Song with a smile, "Look, old man, he doesn't show off, he keeps his cool, and he remains calm in the face of favor or humiliation. This is the mark of someone truly capable of great things."

Chen Laoyezi Song took a sip of tea and nodded with a smile, agreeing with his wife to a certain extent.

After losing 11 more hands in a row, Song Yu, sitting beside him, said with a faint smile, "Take a break, let me play a few hands for you."

"Eh, sure." Li Heng happily gave up his seat to her.

After the switch, the atmosphere changed noticeably. How did that saying go? "The enemy can go, and so can I!"

Song Yu's luck was far better than his; not only did she win almost every hand, but she could draw whatever tiles she needed. Just when he thought a major comeback was about to happen, the result was unexpected.

Song Yu could have won many hands, but she didn't; instead, she fed the good tiles she held to the elders, letting the two uncles-in-law and her uncle win.

One or two hands might have been a coincidence, but after several, Jiang Yue, Song Shi, and Sun Manning, who were watching, all realized what was happening, but none of them said a word.

Only Sun Manning, sitting on the left, couldn't help but mutter, "Wow, do all beautiful women have such good luck? Our Song Yu does, and so does Shihe, though Shihe isn't this merciful."

The girl didn't mutter loudly, but Song Yu heard every word. After glancing at Li Heng and Sun Manning from the corner of her eye, she continued to play her tiles with a calm expression.

Hearing this, Li Heng felt like dying. You idiot, no wonder no one wants you; don't you know the rule of "never mention other beautiful women in front of a beautiful woman"?

Damn it all, luckily he and Comrade Shihe were completely innocent, otherwise, he would have been scared to death by her.

After losing many more hands, as it approached midnight, Grandmother Song looked up at the wall clock and said to the table, "It's almost 12 o'clock. Summer nights are short, so let's play one last hand and go to sleep. You can play again tomorrow."

With Grandmother Song having spoken, who present wouldn't give her face? Everyone agreed.

For the last hand, Song Yu changed her previous attitude of humility. After drawing a good hand, she handed it to Li Heng, "You do it, I'll advise you."

Having shared a bed with her for a lifetime in his past life, and with her being the only one by his side when he was struck by lightning, Li Heng was extremely familiar with her and understood that his wife wanted him to win the final hand.

Isn't there a popular saying at the card table: winning the last hand is equivalent to winning the whole day.

This meant that the previous bad luck was washed away, the feng shui had reversed, and from now on, it would be all good luck.

Li Heng happily took the cards, and the two consulted each other. The result was, wow! The last hand was won without any suspense; not only did the red win double, but he also drew the winning tile himself, doubling it again. One hand was pure satisfaction.

Settling the accounts, Li Heng won 8 yuan and 20 cents on this hand.

He casually divided it in half and handed it to Song Yu, "Here, we share what we see."

Song Yu smiled beautifully, reached out and took only ten cents, and said softly, "Go wash up and get some rest early."

"Okay." Li Heng said, standing up while stuffing the money into his pocket.

At this moment, as luck would have it, Sun Manning blocked his path, "Didn't you say we share what we see? Where's mine?"

Where's yours? Are you dreaming? Just because of the nonsense you said earlier, Li Heng didn't want to give her anything.

However, bad people have their own tricks, and her next sentence made Li Heng obediently hand over the money.

Sun Manning whispered in his ear, in a voice only the two of them could hear, "If you don't give me money to buy candy, I'll spill the beans about all those beauties in Lushan Village."

Li Heng rolled his eyes to the heavens, really wanting to press this idiot to death with one finger. In the end, holding the idea of keeping the peace, he reluctantly took out ten cents and gave it to her.

Sun Manning wasn't so easily dismissed; she snatched away a whole yuan, then turned around and happily walked upstairs arm-in-arm with Song Yu.

There were too many guests in the house, so Li Heng didn't want to take up too much time. Washing up was quick; brushing his teeth, bathing, and washing his underwear all together took barely 12 minutes.

Just as he came out of the washroom, he saw Song Yu, who seemed to be waiting specifically for him.

Li Heng walked over and asked in a low voice, "Weren't you going upstairs? Why did you come back down? Are you worried about me, afraid I'd swim across Dongtinghu in the middle of the night and run away?"

Song Yu smiled, then led him upstairs to the balcony outside, signaling for him to hang up his underwear.

This was her purpose for waiting downstairs; she was afraid he wouldn't know where to hang his clothes.

Li Heng hung up his underwear and noticed that his shirt, trousers, and socks had already been washed clean and were on the clothes rack.

He looked up, "You hand-washed these for me."

"Mm, a reward for you, since you lost so much money tonight." Song Yu smiled with a composed temperament, as if comforting him in this way.

Looking at each other, letting the lake breeze blow for a while, Li Heng lowered his voice and asked, "Did your parents see?"

"They saw," Song Yu said straightforwardly.

"And Grandma and Grandpa?"

"They saw too."

"Then, what about the others?"

Song Yu stared into his eyes without blinking, smiling without a word.

Li Heng grinned, feeling that losing this money was truly worth it; he even wanted to lose more, damn it.

Song Yu saw through his little thoughts and suddenly felt a bit hot-faced. She looked away unobtrusively, raised her scallion-white right hand, tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, and said, "Let's go in."

Li Heng said "Mm" and followed her into the house.

He asked, "Where is Comrade Sun Manning?"

Song Yu said, "In my room."

Li Heng asked, "Are you sleeping together?"

Song Yu replied, "Mm, the rooms in the house are just enough."

Don't look at the old Song family house as just a structure built of mud bricks and wood; it actually had quite a few bedrooms. Perhaps when it was first built, Chen Laoyezi Song had already considered the issue of the whole family coming back to spend the night.

Watching her back, Li Heng was reluctant to part with her, "Go to my room and sit for a while."

Song Yu, walking in front, seemed to feel his ardent gaze and didn't make a sound for a moment.

Seeing this, Li Heng immediately brought out a high-sounding reason, "Maning sitting next to me tonight made me lose a lot of money. Let's ignore her for a while."

Song Yu smiled quietly, stopping between the master bedroom and the second bedroom. Her gaze fell on the master bedroom door for a moment, then on the second bedroom door, appearing hesitant.

Li Heng said, "I can only stay here for two days."

Hearing his words, which carried a hidden meaning, Song Yu paused. After a moment of silence, she moved her feet lightly to the front of the second bedroom door, reached out, pushed it open, and walked in.

Li Heng followed closely. As soon as the door closed, he couldn't help but hug her from behind. Smelling the fresh scent of her shampoo, his heart was suddenly filled, feeling very satisfied.

Song Yu's body was a bit stiff, but she tried her best to calm her mood, letting her body soften. Then, she just stood there motionless, being hugged by him, leaning softly into his arms.

After a while, she broke the silence softly, "I knew it would be like this."

Li Heng asked a question he knew the answer to, "Like what?"

Song Yu slowly closed her eyes, "Every time we meet, you'll find a way to hug me."

To this, Li Heng admitted it straightforwardly, "Yes, otherwise I'd feel empty inside. Only by hugging you every time do I feel that I am still alive. All of this is not an illusion, but truly exists."

Having been reborn, he would occasionally feel dazed, always feeling that everything was too absurd, that everything was so unreal, and he couldn't believe such a lucky thing had happened to him. Often at these times, he couldn't wait to see Song Yu, Xiao Han, or Zijin.

The three of them were his wives, his anchors in this life. Only by seeing them would Li Heng's sense of absurdity disappear, and his heart would settle.

Among the three women, although Zijin had been with him the longest and was the most selfless toward him, the Chen family behind her was like a needle, deeply stuck in his heart.

Every time he saw the Chen family, he would automatically recall many scenes from his past life. Although the Chen family was trying hard to show goodwill in this life, the memories of decades from his past life were already deep in his marrow, impossible to melt away at once, and very difficult to let go of in a short time.

Xiao Han was very, very good; besides being a bit prone to jealousy, she was wholehearted toward him. However, this black-bellied wife was too shrewd. When with her, he had to keep his nerves tense at all times, lest he accidentally say something he shouldn't and let her detect clues.

But Song Yu was different. She was equally smart, but for things that were already settled, she wouldn't always think about nitpicking. Her nature was relatively Buddhist; being with her was the most comfortable and the most relaxing. It was the kind of situation where even if the sky fell outside, he could still sleep soundly.

There was just one thing he still didn't understand.

Or rather, he didn't have a very obvious feeling about it in his past life, but when recalling it in this life, his emotions were relatively stronger, and that was about Mai Sui.

If one were to say that in his past life, Zijin would try every means to prevent Mai Sui from approaching him, and Xiao Han would also use every method, but given Song Yu's indifferent nature, even if she had the intention to stop him, even if she were forced by Zijin and Xiao Han to join forces to do some things, she wouldn't have guarded against it so strictly, right?

It was truly strict guarding!

Not giving him the slightest chance at all.

Every time he appeared in the capital, and it just so happened that Mai Sui was also in the capital at that time, either Zijin would follow him every step of the way, or Song Yu would accompany him the whole time, not giving him any space to meet Mai Sui at all.

Well, he was already very content in his past life, and he hadn't thought about going to see Mai Sui.

It's just that people are more curious the more they are blocked.

And so, one time he accidentally overheard Zijin calling Song Yu to remind her not to lower her guard: saying Mai Sui was simply the reincarnation of Su Daji, too beautiful and too enchanting, and asking Song Yu if she knew why ancient emperors didn't live long?

That time, Song Yu didn't answer Zijin about "why ancient emperors didn't live long," but quietly opened the bedroom door and looked meaningfully at Li Heng, who was eavesdropping outside.

Since then, Li Heng had doubts. Had Mai Sui really grown to the level of a monster after the age of 25?

Had she grown to the point of eating people without spitting out the bones?

To the extent that even Song Yu, the ceiling of the mortal world, believed Zijin and Xiao Han's words: that if he got involved with Mai Sui, he would lose his life in bed?

Well, he hadn't seen Mai Sui after the age of 25, so he couldn't imagine how peerless she was after 25.

And the women never brought their group photos home, which once made him secretly complain, since you don't bring the photos home, why take them in the first place?

Are you that worried about the old master?

Of course, Song Yu hadn't explicitly said he wasn't allowed to see Mai Sui, but under the constant warnings from Xiao Han and Zijin, she still complied with the tacit agreement between the three women, using actions to block any possibility of him meeting Mai Sui.

Perhaps this was heaven's will; he didn't have much interaction with Mai Sui in his past life.

But in this life, whew! He went to Fudan University, and Mai Sui went too. Before the alliance of the three women was formed, she was already incredibly familiar with him. Perhaps this was the reason why Song Yu didn't strictly prevent it as she did in his past life after learning about the ambiguity between him and Mai Sui.

Hugging Song Yu felt like hugging the whole world.

At this moment, his heart was steady, without any distracting thoughts, and his mind was peaceful.

Perhaps knowing his nature, Song Yu didn't resist. After a long time, she turned around in his arms, looked at him, and said, "Rest, we'll go fishing tomorrow morning."

Li Heng asked, "Fishing? Did you set the nets?"

Song Yu nodded, "Grandpa learned that you love fish, so he specifically set the nets at dusk."

Li Heng was quite interested in this, "Then call me tomorrow morning. If you don't come, I'll just lie there and not wake up."

Song Yu said with a faint smile in her eyes, "Okay."

At this point, the two suddenly fell silent, gazing at each other. An indescribable atmosphere arose spontaneously in the bedroom.

Suddenly, Li Heng wanted to lean in to kiss her, but halfway down, he stopped abruptly.

Song Yu didn't dodge, as if she understood his heart, as if she knew clearly that his forced restraint of desire was because he didn't want to profane her.

After looking at each other for a long time, she said softly, "Sleep."

Li Heng looked at her affectionately without speaking, and his hands didn't let go, instead hugging her tighter and tighter.

Seeing this, Song Yu didn't urge him again, leaning her upper body slightly forward, adjusting her angle to make it more comfortable for him to hug her.

At this moment, smelling each other's breath and feeling each other's heartbeats, although the two didn't mention it, everything was understood without words.

Time passed second by second, and he didn't know how long had passed.

Until the sound of footsteps on the wooden floor came from the corridor outside, Song Yu gradually came back to her senses and said quietly in his ear, "Mom is here."

Li Heng lowered his voice and asked, "God, you can even recognize this?"

Song Yu smiled, "Maybe it's because I've heard it too much."

The footsteps outside got closer and closer. Unexpectedly, they stopped right outside the bedroom door and didn't go into the room next door.

That impressive? Was she sure Song Yu was in his room? Li Heng was secretly shocked.

For no reason, influenced by the footsteps, he felt that the person in his arms was a little nervous, "Are you afraid?"

Song Yu didn't make a sound this time, but stood up straight, waiting quietly.

She waited for a short while, and Li Heng understood and let go of his hands.

Song Yu calmed her breath for a few seconds, then showed tenderness, "I'm going out, good night."

Li Heng really wanted to say, "Aunt is right outside the door, you're going out like this?", but the words changed to, "Good night."

"Creak."

The wooden door was pulled open. Song Yu passed him and appeared outside the door in a few steps.

Without any surprise, as soon as Song Yu left the room, she ran into her mother, Jiang Yue. Their eyes met, and neither mother nor daughter was in a hurry to speak.

A moment later, Jiang Yue turned and went to the bedroom opposite.

Song Yu thought for a moment and followed her in.

Entering and closing the door, Jiang Yue still looked at her daughter without saying a word. It was hard to describe the emotion in her eyes; it was very complicated.

Song Yu pondered for a while and finally broke the stalemate, "Mom, I care about him very much."

When saying this, she looked away, not looking into her mother's eyes, leaving only a side profile for Jiang Yue.

Although Jiang Yue had guessed it long ago, hearing it with her own ears was still extremely painful, and she almost fainted.

After a long, long stalemate, Jiang Yue suppressed her rising resentment, took two deep breaths, and asked, "Do you know his situation?"

What situation?

It went without saying.

Of course, it referred to the fact that there were other women around Li Heng.

"Mm," Song Yu said.

"Then you...?" Jiang Yue was extremely, extremely puzzled. With anger at its peak, she wanted to scold her, but halfway through, she was at a loss for words.

Having never scolded her daughter from childhood to adulthood, at this moment, she didn't even have the instinct to reprimand her. In the end, she could only close her eyes in pain.

One closed her eyes to suppress her anger, the other turned her side, her eyes drifting into the pitch-black night outside. Time ticked away...

It felt as if century after century was passing.

The mother and daughter, who had never had a red-faced argument, were now in a stalemate for the first time because of an outsider.

After a full 20 minutes, Jiang Yue opened her eyes again. This time, she suppressed all negative emotions and tried to ask calmly, "Tell Mom, will he marry you?"

For her daughter's sake, she could tolerate many things, only asking the most important, most critical, and most fundamental question.

Song Yu seemed to have anticipated all this long ago, saying softly, "If he settles down, I should be a very good wife."

This answer was irrelevant to the question.

It seemed to answer everything, it seemed to answer nothing, and it seemed to have infinite possibilities.

Jiang Yue stared at her daughter like an old monk in meditation. Thousands of thoughts flashed through her mind, leaving it blank.

Footsteps sounded outside again. Song Yu gathered her thoughts and said to her mother, "Li Heng is here. Mom, get some rest early, I'm leaving first."

As the saying goes, blood is thicker than water. Jiang Yue was still pondering the deep meaning of her daughter's words just now. Hearing this, she nodded subconsciously, signaling her to leave first.

Song Yu reached out and pulled the door bolt, walked out the door sideways, closed the door, and then looked up at him with a smile that wasn't quite a smile.

Looking at the worried man outside the door with a smile that wasn't quite a smile.

Their eyes met. Song Yu's eyes were full of smiles, as if teasing: Why, if I had an argument with Mom, did you want to come in and help?

As if teasing again: If I really had an argument with Mom, who would you help? Offend me? Or dare to offend her?

Having spent so many years together in his past life, Li Heng was too familiar with this wife's gaze. He scratched his head in embarrassment, pretended to give a silly laugh, reached out, took her hand, and walked back.

Seeing his embarrassed look, Song Yu smiled and followed him to the other side of the house.

Walking all the way, holding her hand all the way, until she was sent to the door of the master bedroom, Li Heng let go.

Song Yu looked at him, wanting to push the door and go in.

Li Heng entrusted her from behind, "Remember to call me to go fishing tomorrow morning, otherwise I really won't wake up."

Song Yu looked back and smiled, "Okay."

The door opened, and she went in.

Li Heng stood still for a while, then went into the second bedroom next door.

"Aiyoyo! A moment of a spring night is worth a thousand gold, are you two lovebirds finally willing to come back?"

Seeing Song Yu come in, Sun Manning, who was lying on the bed counting stars alone, suddenly jumped up and teased.

Song Yu took off her shoes and got on the bed, asking quietly, "Manning, why aren't you asleep yet?"

"I was eavesdropping just now, believe it or not? Hehe, Li Heng is really incompetent, he didn't even keep you overnight." Sun Manning said with a crooked mouth.

Song Yu lay down halfway, leaning against the head of the bed, "He has always respected me."

"Pfft! That's because he really loves you! He doesn't want to make you uncomfortable." Sun Manning thought to herself, if it were another beautiful woman alone with him, the bed next door would have rotted through long ago, maybe even the wooden boards would have been pierced, and they would have fallen to the first floor.

Song Yu said suddenly, "Manning, tell me about Zhou Shihe."

"Ah?"

Sun Manning, who was still full of resentment just a moment ago, withered immediately upon hearing this, knowing she might have caused trouble.

However, a moment later, she felt that Li Heng and Shihe didn't have anything going on anyway, so it didn't seem worth feeling guilty about.

Sun Manning leaned against the head of the bed side-by-side, turned her head and asked, "Why did you think of asking about Zhou Shihe?"

Song Yu thought for a moment and said, "She has a very special temperament."

Actually, it wasn't that she wanted to ask about Zhou Shihe on purpose, but she had received an anonymous letter 4 months ago: telling her to be wary of Zhou Shihe.

Originally, she didn't take this matter to heart, and had almost forgotten about it.

But the mutterings from Maning tonight made her suddenly remember it, so she asked one more question.

Sun Manning asked tentatively, "Are you worried about Li Heng?"

Song Yu looked at her, quiet and silent.

Being stared at like this, Sun Manning felt a powerful aura for no reason, and suddenly couldn't hold on. In the end, she had to explain the basic information about Zhou Shihe in detail, and finally said:

"You can rest assured about this, Li Heng keeps a gentleman's distance whether it's with Shihe or other beauties in our school. If you don't believe me, you can ask Mai Sui."

Sun Manning only knew that her two best girlfriends were involved with Li Heng, but she didn't know that Song Yu and Mai Sui had already basically laid their cards on the table. At this time, in order to ensure the credibility of her words, she swore and pulled Mai Sui out as a guarantee.

Hearing Mai Sui, Song Yu was silent.

At the same time, she felt that she had asked too much. With Xiao Han watching in Shanghai, and Mai Sui inseparable in private, there shouldn't be many chances for other women.

"What's wrong with you?" Seeing her girlfriend not speaking, Sun Manning felt guilty again.

This time it was real guilt.

Because unlike Zhou Shihe, Mai Sui truly had feelings for Li Heng, and they weren't shallow.

She couldn't bear to see Mai Sui being too weak before, and even had the idea of pulling Mai Sui and Song Yu onto the same starting line for fair competition.

But after coming to Dongtinghu, Sun Manning completely extinguished this thought.

First, she suddenly realized that because she had been with Mai Sui for too long and hadn't seen Song Yu for too long, she had become biased without knowing it.

This was unqualified.

Second, Li Heng's look at Song Yu was different; it was different from his look at other women. It was a kind of care that loved to the extreme, loved to the marrow.

Sun Manning realized belatedly that Song Yu's status was not something an ordinary woman could shake.

Song Yu shook her head, took off her watch and put it on the bedside table, lay flat, and said, "It's nothing, let's sleep."

"I can't sleep."

"Why? Not used to the new bed?"

"No, I'm too excited. I like your side so much. Hey, can you take me to the lake tomorrow?"

"Okay, we'll go fishing tomorrow morning, and I'll have Grandpa take you and Li Heng around."

"You're not going?"

"I am."

Lying for a while, Sun Manning crawled up again, "It's thundering, it's going to rain."

Song Yu, who was about to fall asleep, opened her eyes and looked at the flashes of lightning outside the window, "Mm."

Sun Manning really wanted to ask: Li Heng is afraid of thunder, Mai Sui would accompany him in the middle of the night, aren't you going to accompany him?

PS: Updated first, edited later.

(End of chapter)