With the help of that salesgirl Yang Jie, Li Yan bought several sets at once. He did need to change and wash, and since Xiao Xun is Xiao Di's friend, contributing to her sales quota was certainly a good thing.

But she thought Li Yan was Xiao Xun's boyfriend, believing that men give lingerie as gifts to their girlfriends, especially selecting the belly cover style — definitely not for ordinary wear. So she recommended some rather sexy options with the men's mindset in mind.

"Xiao Xun, come over and assist your friend with the billing and packaging!" Yang Jie called Xiao Xun over, then went off to attend to other customers.

"Oh..." Xiao Xun hesitated for a moment, then walked over.

Having seen Li Yan bring different women (all Hai Fu) to book rooms on two occasions at the hotel night shift, she thought he was an experienced player in romance. Later, finding out he was actually her roommate's boyfriend, she naturally didn't have a good impression of him, even hoping Xiao Di would stop associating with him. But now Li Yan was a customer, and the store manager was assigning her to the billing. It seemed he wanted to ensure the sales count towards her quota, making it hard to keep a cold face.

"Giving these to Xiao Di?" As Xiao Xun checked the styles for billing, she blushed slightly looking at the sexy belly covers.

Encountering acquaintances while buying women's lingerie, Li Yan felt quite awkward. He would've preferred the earlier woman to handle everything. Knowing that Xiao Xun would ask this, he noncommittally smiled: "Keep it a secret for now, okay?"

His words were ambiguous, aimed at keeping it a secret, not telling Xiao Di for the moment. For him, it was truly about confidentiality, but to Xiao Xun, it sounded like wanting to surprise Yu Xiao Di.

"Just started working here part-time not long ago, since the sales count towards my quota, I'll keep your secret."

"How many jobs are you juggling? Don't need to attend classes?" Having not worked recently, Li Yan had forgotten what day of the week it was, but thought this Xiao Xun was quite hardworking, working during the day and on night shifts as well.

"Not your business!" Xiao Xun looked at him slightly cautiously, seeming to interpret his casual inquiry as wanting to find her weaknesses to court her with financial means.

"Hmm, not my concern. I'm saying, hurry up!" Li Yan pointed at the lingerie.

The price of the lingerie made Xiao Xun sigh quietly at the unfairness of life, working so hard doing part-time jobs just to earn some living money, accumulate some tuition fees, while Xiao Di didn't need to do anything and enjoyed the best of everything.

However, she was the type of girl who preferred independence, working part-time rather than relying on a wealthy boyfriend.

After completing the purchase, Li Yan quickly left the mall and headed back to the hospital.

In the special care ward, spending money on services was worth it. Apart from some large scale examinations that were done upon entry, routine checks were done right in the ward, eliminating the need to queue.

Upon returning, Li Yan found nurses conducting some examinations, and after they left with their trolley, he went over to sit beside her.

"Is lying on your side like this uncomfortable?"

Yue Yao shook her head slightly, "It's alright."

Then she smiled again, "You're too nervous... I'm not a fragile porcelain doll that will break with a touch. Even though I've never been shot before, I got injured frequently during training. Usually, one just toughs it out and it's fine. Being taken care of like this, it's a bit uncomfortable for me."

"No matter what, you need to recover well."

"Hmm..." Yue Yao responded, then noticed the package he brought back, "What did you buy again? I can't eat much, nor use much, don't waste money."

Li Yan smiled slightly, "You need to wear lingerie, right? I bought these specially for you. Look, these won't touch your wounds..."

Seeing the silk belly cover he took out, Yue Yao's face instantly turned red.

"You... you bought this for me?" Even when buying lingerie for herself, she usually opted for the ordinary, often ordering online. To go out and select such belly covers she hadn't worn, would make her feel quite shy. And now Li Yan, a grown man, actually bought lingerie for her! Moreover, although he is such a rugged man, he thoughtfully considered that regular bras would be inconvenient and opted for this...

Yue Yao's heart was filled with emotions, she even murmured to herself, if she had known she could receive such good care from him, she'd have wished for injuries sooner.

"What's wrong with that? Nowadays, many men buy lingerie for their girlfriends or wives."

Between them, there's no need to say thank you. Looking at him busying around non-stop since she woke up, Yue Yao felt a bit sorry for him and said, "Since you've bought it, I'll wear it... Now take a good rest, you've grown a bit of a beard."

Excluding boys, the growth rate of men's beards is not constant. It grows slowly with regular routines, healthy diet, adequate sleep, good rest, and good mood. However, lack of sleep, staying up late, anxiety, and grief can make the beard grow quickly. Therefore, people appear more haggard during times of pain or after staying up late, not only mentally but also physically.

Li Yan touched his chin and smiled, "I'm already an old man heading into my thirties; it would be strange if I didn't grow a beard."

"Rest on the side. I can't rest assured unless you do. Do you want me to force myself to stay awake?" Yue Yao said helplessly.

Li Yan immediately made a gesture of surrender and lay down on the bed beside her.

…

Fortunately, because the injury didn't hit any vital organs, Yue Yao's physical fitness is excellent. Plus, the hospital's care, treatment, and medication are all top-notch, and a significant amount of transfused blood came from Li Yan. Consequently, Yue Yao's recovery from her injuries was rapid, and two days later, her condition improved greatly.

Yue Yao began to urge Li Yan, who had watched over her for two days and nights, to return home. She was no longer seriously injured, and recovery always takes time, so Li Yan couldn't keep staying here with her.

Having promised her earlier, and now seeing her truly recover well, after advising her to be careful and to seek help from the nurse if needed, Li Yan dragged his luggage out of the hospital.

During these two days, Zheng Yixuan did not come to the hospital again. He was a busy man. If Li Yan had been the one shot, he would naturally have come; Yue Yao, however, had a more distant relationship with him, and since Li Yan was there, Zheng Yixuan didn't need to visit.

Guan Ziyi personally 'followed up' on the case. From the transfer from the police headquarters to the local precinct, he continuously infiltrated to understand the latest situation. Because the deceased was involved externally, died from gunshot wounds, and firearms were found on her, the local police precinct paid significant attention and wanted to investigate to clarify the identity, purpose, and the assassin's identity. However, the Roca 'Rose' was originally an assassin, so naturally, her identity was concealed. Without escalating to higher levels or involving more international criminal police or national intelligence organizations, it was difficult for the local precinct to unearth more information.

With every update, Guan Ziyi kept Li Yan informed, always saying he would continue to follow up. However, according to his speculation, matters would still likely be suppressed and left unresolved. After all, an assassin dying abroad was fate, and there wouldn't be anyone to claim her.

At noon that day, exhausted, Li Yan took a taxi back home. His car, driven by Yue Yao earlier, was still parked at the hospital, so it wasn't convenient to drive it back.

The house was eerily quiet, a space large with few people. In the past few months, since Yue Yao lived here, under the guise of writing and posting novels online on QiDian Chinese Network, she hadn't gone to work. So no matter when Li Yan returned, whether Yurong was home or not, there was always someone at home.

Now it just felt like a desolate, vacant house!

He smiled wryly, headed upstairs to his bedroom. First, he ran hot water into the bathtub, briefly packed his luggage, then lay in the bathtub to let the hot water soak him.

The hot water turned his skin red and eased his whole body into relaxation, subsequently leading to mental relaxation.

From quietly leaving to quietly returning, ten days had passed. During these ten days, he experienced events that many people might never encounter in their lifetime. There were joys, sorrows, happy times with Li Jie, the thrill of killing Si Country agents, and the pain from Yue Yao taking a bullet for him.

Overall, although this rich and varied encounter couldn't be considered smooth sailing, it indeed offered him great physical and mental adjustment! Despite successfully killing more than twenty Si Country agents — as Yue Yao feared — it might somewhat affect his psychological changes. The abrupt change in his relationship with Li Jie meant coming back to face Yurong and others would carry some guilt. All these could have cascading effects, influencing his attitude towards Yurong, potentially causing her to further doubt him.

Meanwhile, Yue Yao's injury made him let go of everything, seeing and putting down everything lightly. But now, upon returning to this quiet home, he seemed to gain a sense of fulfillment!

Yes, although he had lived in this house for less than a year, and often occupied just a small part of it, it had already developed the atmosphere and aura of a home! Whether people feel lively and cheerful, emptily hopeless, sadly despondent, or any other extreme of positive or negative emotions, a home is always a place that can heal us and bring peace.

Li Yan soaked in the hot water, relaxing his body and soul, also wetting a towel to lay on his face, letting almost every bit of his skin be surrounded by warmth.

After a while, the hot water started forming steam, filling the bathroom with a layer of mist.

As Li Yan quietly bathed, he vaguely heard the sound of the door opening from outside. But he didn't think much of it, believing Yurong wasn't home now, and Mrs. Liu, seeing him come back, wouldn't clean the room at this moment. Perhaps he misheard!

However...

Soon after, the sound of the door opening came again. This time, it was the bathroom door!

Li Yan removed the towel and turned his head towards the door, seeing a beautiful silhouette standing at the bathroom entrance amid the hazy steam. A mix of illusion and reality, clear yet blurry.

"You're back?" The beautiful silhouette at the door asked softly, then gracefully moved towards the bathtub.

Of course, it was Yurong's voice. There wouldn't be anyone else. Li Yan just hadn't expected she would come into the bathroom while he was bathing!

(Thanks to the brothers who rewarded yesterday: Unseen Heartfelt, Without Joy Without Love, Living by the Water, Do not dare to leave a name, Feng → Following the Wind Flying, Tian Ling Feng Xiao, kipagod, Stevenjiang, Deng Yun Ting, Shu Zhuo, Cp Pampas, zjun971210, Ajackson, dongmin8061) (To be continued, to know what happens next, please log in to www.qidian.com, more chapters await, support the author, support genuine reading!)

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