Back at the hot springs hotel, Wu Songtao exchanged pleasantries before leaving. Li Yan returned to the room on his own, still carrying the room key, indicating that the two of them had at least not checked out yet. It was not even eleven, so they were probably only just getting up.

Due to a whole day of interaction and Li Yan accompanying them to the hot springs, they felt very familiar with him, as if they had known him for a long time like close friends.

The two analyzed for a long time, but still couldn't pinpoint what exactly about Li Yan was the most attractive. However, the more they discussed and analyzed, the more fascinating he seemed.

At the time, it was just idle talk. In the morning, because he wasn't around, they quietly played games, not expecting him to return at that moment, which ultimately led to the current outcome.

Their imperfect Yun Country language conveyed these meanings, taking quite a bit of time, leaving Li Yan somewhat touched and emotional. But for him, they were merely passing travelers! Although it wasn't a one-night end, given they were from different countries, they couldn't possibly develop anything long-term. His current situation didn't allow for deepening relationships with them, and they would soon return to Beihai Country in a few days. This was just a transient romance, the kind that's cherished for having existed, rather than anything lasting.

Regardless of the time spent, Li Yan adhered to one principle: to ensure they had as many joyful and beautiful memories as possible, and to protect them from harm.

...

Matsushima Kui came to accompany Shinohara Mirai, who wanted to understand the situation of the people overindulged by her mother, to better grasp what her mother's life might have been like. These past two days offered deeper insights, though hard to articulate for now. Yet, she became more curious about Li Yan and more understanding of him. Her attention shifted, wanting to understand Yun Country people through knowing Li Yan.

For the next few days, they didn't return to S City. Instead, they explored G City's culinary delights, tasted authentic "Yun Country cuisine," visited night markets, explored old streets with local characteristics, admired new urban landscapes, and even went to amusement parks.

Letting go to purely enjoy such days is always joyful. But happiness fades fast, and joyful times always end sooner or later.

By Saturday, not having returned, Zhang Yurong couldn't take it anymore! She thought that, despite daily interactions, two foreign girls with completely different lifestyles and experiences shouldn't spark any romance with Li Yan. However, his disappearance for several days without any communication left her unable to bear it.

She didn't want Li Yan to think she was jealous, so she refrained from urging him and merely inquired with Wen Qianyi. Wen Qianyi had no news of Li Yan either, guessing he was so enthralled and stated indifferently that, after all, it was Zhang's special approval that allowed it. "Wasn't it you who let him take leave to accompany the guests?"

Helpless, come Saturday, Zhang Yurong formally called Li Yan, citing his two-week absence from accompanying her to visit parents' homes as a reason to officially notify him that his holiday was over! Even if the girls didn't leave, the time of accompanying had to end, and it was time to return home.

Li Yan wasn't overwhelmed with joy. Although spending time with them was indeed relaxed and joyful, allowing him to indulge in youth, it was like men carousing outside—after the indulgence, there's always a yearning for home.

He began to miss home as well!

Home, for Li Yan, had three meanings. One was his old home, where his parents and childhood memories resided, which had become vague after so many years of absence; the second was a haven constructed with a group of brothers and friends—it's not fixed in place, yet always surfaces in his mind, the home at his heart; the third...was the new home he shared with Zhang Yurong, working at Paradise Group by day and returning to the villa at night.

This third home had been established for nearly half a year. Initially, it felt highly awkward, as if he had become an actor. At Zhang Tianyi's house, he acted as an expressive stage actor; returning to the villa, they became silent film actors, each lost for words.

Since he regarded it as home, and a woman who was his "wife" resided there, even though Li Yan drank and dined outside, he never got excessively drunk. He'd only engage in half-night escapades, dragging his fatigued body back home by the middle of the night. Over time, it became a habit—the only way to feel secure.

The exception was caused by another woman: Wen Qianyi, who was usually fiery and invincible but relied only on a kitten at home. That night, upon witnessing her helpless and lonely side, and after her opening up, Li Yan stayed the night at her place.

Perhaps, once you cross the threshold for the first time, the second time becomes easier. The second exception was due to another woman: Hai Fu, who usually enveloped herself in multiple layers, her colleagues, even her siblings, had forgotten her real self. Upon her brother's return to the right path and familial reconciliation, she got drunk, slightly indulging herself, revealing her true nature, and unleashing emotions suppressed for years.

With Yue Yao's companionship, Li Yan felt at ease staying out overnight. Yet, it was merely a few days and two nights out previously, caused by the mission and his engagement with Hai Fu. Now, he hadn't been back for several nights consecutively.

For the first time, missing seeing Zhang Yurong, the cold wife whose presence often felt absent, he found his heart unknownly longing for her, for that empty home, for the woman who was ice-cold, yet started to worry for him, smile for him, and care for him.

This led Li Yan to unexpectedly discover a hidden aspect of his heart: he hadn't realized how important this wife had become to him, how inseparable she had grown. Perhaps she and it (home) have genuinely started to form a haven. Even if the outside world dazzled, once the glamour faded, he would miss the peace belonging to her and it!

So upon receiving Zhang Yurong's cold reminder call, he calmly replied, "Wife, I'll be home soon."

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