Xu Lai silently placed the insulated container on the table and gently walked up behind his wife, watching her deal with the mountain of documents.

He couldn't help but feel a pang of heartache as he patted her on the shoulder.

"Who's there!?"

Ruan Tang was startled.

Upon turning her head and seeing it was Xu Lai, she sighed in relief. "Why are you here? You scared me to death."

"Ruan Lan told me you were on a date with a man," Xu Lai said, holding up his hands. "I got jealous, so I brought some food over to investigate."

Ruan Tang was speechless.

She shot Xu Lai a look. "You're never serious."

Xu Lai smiled and opened the food container for Ruan Tang. "Here, it's still warm. Come and eat."

"I can't."

Ruan Tang massaged her temples, her head aching. "There's an important meeting tomorrow, and I still have more than a dozen contracts to review."

Without a word, Xu Lai opened all the insulated containers.

Ruan Tang sniffed the tempting aroma filling the office and quietly swallowed. She couldn't help but feel a little annoyed.

That damn Xu Lai. Doesn't he know how busy I am? How dare he tempt me with delicious food! I, Ruan Tang, have a will of iron. I won't... I won't refuse. Wasting food is shameful!

Ruan Tang put down the contract and sat on the sofa to feast.

"Where's your secretary?" Xu Lai asked casually.

"Her mother was in a car accident, so she went back to her hometown to take care of her. Fortunately, it was just a fracture. She'll be back in a few days," Ruan Tang said with methodical slowness. "Xu Lai, pour me something to drink."

Xu Lai snapped his fingers, and a row of paper cups appeared in front of Ruan Tang, filled with liquids of different colors.

"Coffee, hot water, cool water, Coke, Sprite, Mirinda… which one do you want?"

"..."

A dark line seemed to appear on Ruan Tang's forehead. "Plain water is fine."

As she drank from the cup of plain water, she muttered, "Your magic tricks are impressive, just a little flashy."

Xu Lai smiled.

After Ruan Tang finished eating, Xu Lai said, "Lie down. Your husband is in a good mood today, so I'll give you a massage."

"You are not my husband!"

"Fine, fine. Then I'll give my wife a massage, how about that?" Xu Lai said helplessly.

Ruan Tang fell silent.

Xu Lai massaged her temples and shoulders with just the right amount of pressure, and she closed her eyes in comfort.

"Just five minutes, okay? Wake me up in five minutes."

"All right."

Before five minutes were up, the exhausted Ruan Tang had fallen fast asleep.

Xu Lai sat down on the sofa and began to handle her work.

Although the Heavenly Court's work was now handled by the First Divine General, Taotie, Xu Lai had always been hands-on in the past. His eyes scanned ten lines at a glance. In just ten minutes, he finished reviewing the contracts, then teleported back to their room in Haitang Court with Ruan Tang in his arms.

After covering his wife with a blanket, Xu Lai went downstairs.

He saw Ruan Lan, who had previously fled to her room, playing video games with Xu Yiyi.

"Having fun?" Xu Lai asked with a grin.

"It's all right."

After speaking, Ruan Lan stiffly turned her head. "Brother-in-law? How are you back so soon? Where's my sister?"

"She's sleeping upstairs."

Xu Lai smiled. "Now, tell me all about your sister's date."

Ruan Lan knew she couldn't hide it any longer. With a pained expression, she said, "Brother-in-law, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to lie to you."

As she spoke, she looked at Xu Lai with teary eyes, appearing helpless, weak, and pitiful.

In truth, Ran Lan felt she had no other choice. She absolutely had to defeat Xiao Yu, or she would be completely humiliated. So, upon learning that her older sister had to work overtime, Ruan Lan had decided to play a little trick on Xu Lai.

Xu Lai didn't press the matter, instead saying nonchalantly, "Come to my room tonight. I'll teach you..."

Before he could finish, Ruan Lan stared at him in shock. "Brother-in-law, you can't!"

Xu Lai finally finished his sentence. "...to play chess."

Ruan Lan breathed a sigh of relief. "You should have said so! You scared me to death. I could never do anything to wrong my sister."

Xu Lai turned and walked away. "Then I'm not teaching you anymore."

"Don't be like that, brother-in-law!"

Like a starving wolf pouncing on its prey, Ruan Lan threw herself at Xu Lai's leg and clung to it, letting him drag her for a good three or four meters.

To avoid being pestered any longer, Xu Lai tossed a chess manual to his sister-in-law and went back to his room to rest with his daughter.

"Brother-in-law, don't forget to bring my sister to the competition tomorrow!"

Clutching her newfound treasure, Ruan Lan yelled this after him before taking the chess manual to the Go club, where she spent the entire night studying it with Lu An and the other members.

「The next day.」

Ruan Tang woke up to find herself at home. A wave of panic washed over her. Oh no, this is bad.

She rushed to the bathroom to wash up and change before heading downstairs.

When she saw Xu Lai in the kitchen making breakfast, Ruan Tang chided, "Why did you bring me home? I still had contracts to—"

"I already took care of them for you."

"What?" Ruan Tang was stunned.

Xu Lai pressed down a stray lock of his wife's hair that was sticking up, but it popped right back into place as soon as he moved his hand.

He couldn't help but laugh. "Go take a relaxing bath first. You can go to work after you've had breakfast."

Ruan Tang asked doubtfully, "You really took care of them?"

"When have I ever lied to you?" Xu Lai countered.

Ruan Tang had no retort.

Aside from disappearing without a word five years ago, Xu Lai had indeed been reliable in all other matters. Still, she remained worried.

This was a major international deal.

If the contract was signed, the company stood to make a profit of at least thirty million—in US dollars. It was also a crucial step for the company's expansion into the international market.

"Mommy."

Xu Yiyi blinked her big eyes. "Auntie has a Go competition this afternoon. Can we go watch?"

Ruan Tang calculated the time and nodded with a small smile. "Okay."

"Yay!"

Since it was the weekend, Xu Yiyi went directly to Dongli University with Xu Lai after breakfast.

Of course, the Sea Demon, Beibei, was with them. She hung from Xu Yiyi's shoulder like a living ornament, pouting from time to time. "Five thousand years have passed, and human civilization has developed so slowly. It's nothing compared to the world beneath the sea."

"There's a civilization underwater?" Xu Yiyi asked curiously.

"Of course," Beibei said casually. "Not to mention the distant Atlantis Empire, the East Sea region alone has seven Sea Cities and one Demon King. And that's not even counting the South Sea, with its innumerable Sea Demons."

"Wow."

Xu Yiyi's eyes widened.

"Yiyi," Beibei whispered, "if you want to visit a Sea City, I can sneak you in. Humans are forbidden, but... I have my connections!"

Xu Yiyi snuck a glance at Xu Lai.

She whispered back, "I want to go, but can Qian Xiao come with us? He loves the sea more than anything."

Tsk. Why do we have to bring that silly human boy along? Beibei grumbled to herself. Despite her thoughts, she squinted her eyes into a friendly-looking smile. "Of course, of course."

Xu Lai already felt a pang of pity for Qian Xiao. With Beibei's unruly personality, she's definitely planning to pull some nasty prank on Qian Xiao under the sea... He wasn't wrong; that was exactly what Beibei was thinking.

I'd better follow them when the time comes, Xu Lai thought to himself.

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