Chapter 25: Will Fourth Uncle Keep My Secret?

Feeling the person in his arms stir, Li Beitien placed his warm, dry palm against Nan Xing’s forehead. It felt cool and moist, a sign of improvement since she had taken her medicine.

"Then you should get some rest."

Li Beitien’s heart finally settled. He lifted Nan Xing from his arms, laid her on the bed, and pulled the duvet up to cover her.

"Fourth Uncle, are you leaving?" Nan Xing felt incredibly weak. Her small, palm-sized face peeked out from the covers, looking fragile and helpless.

Li Beitien paused, turned back, and said, "I’m not leaving. I’m going to make you something to eat."

"Oh." As if comforted by those words, Nan Xing obediently closed her eyes and burrowed into the warm blankets.

Not long after Li Beitien left, Nan Xing felt a sudden wave of discomfort. Realizing what it was, she quickly threw off the covers, jumped out of bed, and ran to the bathroom. Sure enough, her period had arrived. No wonder her stomach had been hurting so much today. Her cycle was usually regular, and she wondered why it had come early this time. Fortunately, she was prepared; she hurried back to the bedroom and retrieved a sanitary pad from her bag.

In the bathroom, Nan Xing splashed some warm water on her face. When she looked up and caught sight of her breathtaking, peerless beauty in the mirror, her head suddenly buzzed. The heavy makeup she usually wore was gone!

Nan Xing tried to recall what happened, but her memory stopped at the presidential suite at Meise. She remembered the overwhelming heat of desire and how Li Beitien had doused her with the showerhead... That meant her true face had been revealed back then. It also meant that Li Beitien had already seen her real appearance and knew she had been deliberately making herself look ugly. Yet, until now, he hadn't said a word about it.

Realizing this, Nan Xing felt a sense of trepidation. Unsure of what he would do next, she weighed her options and decided it was better to be proactive. As the saying goes, rather than waiting passively, it is better to take the initiative; perhaps that way she could maintain control.

After washing up, she realized there were no clothes for her to wear, so she finally walked into the walk-in closet and chose one of Li Beitien’s shirts.

It gave off a dark, pure-yet-alluring vibe. The shirt fell just low enough to cover her hips, revealing a pair of beautiful, fair, long legs. It still carried his scent, the same one she had experienced at Meise.

When she went downstairs, Li Beitien was busy in the kitchen. The soft lighting above the counter made his stern features look remarkably refined. He wore an ill-fitting apron and was busy dishing steaming noodles into a bowl. A layer of fresh green vegetables topped the noodles, along with a heart-shaped fried egg. She had smelled the aroma from the staircase, and it looked delicious. However, Nan Xing was too preoccupied to have much of an appetite—or perhaps, it was that the man himself was a feast for the eyes.

Li Beitien rolled up his sleeves and cleaned the counter. When he looked up, he saw the girl had come downstairs. Nan Xing was lounging on the living room sofa, her chin resting on her folded arms, watching his every move with captivating, bright eyes. Because she had just showered, her hair hung damply to one side, still dripping. Crystalline water droplets traced a path down her beautiful collarbone, slipping into the empty space of the shirt.

"Why are you down here?" Li Beitien shifted his burning gaze away and placed the egg noodles on a tray, carrying them to the table in front of Nan Xing.

"Didn't you say you'd make me something to eat, Fourth Uncle? I couldn't wait any longer. I'm hungry." Nan Xing pointed to her flat stomach while secretly observing him. She didn't notice anything unusual.

"Don't you have anything you want to ask, Fourth Uncle?" Nan Xing blew on the noodles, testing the waters.

Li Beitien sat down beside her. He waited patiently until she had finished the noodles and drunk the hot broth before his Adam's apple bobbed. "Are you referring to the fact that you’ve been disguising your appearance?"

Nan Xing didn't expect him to be so direct. Her rehearsed lines were rendered useless. She fell silent for a few seconds, then looked at him with watery, pleading eyes. "Will you keep my secret, Fourth Uncle?"

Li Beitien answered with a question of his own, "Do you intend to live like this forever?"

After a long silence, Nan Xing seemed to exhale all her tension and said in a very soft voice, "It’s just a way for me to protect myself. I don’t want to be overly disturbed by the outside world, unless someone appears who can love me to the very depths of my soul."

After she finished, Li Beitien fell silent. Nan Xing followed suit.

Just when Nan Xing thought she wouldn't get a response and prepared to stand up and head upstairs, Li Beitien suddenly leaned in. He reached out and stroked the top of her head, his eyes glowing with a light different from before—warmer and softer. "Alright. Then we’ll talk about it when you want to."

Nan Xing was stunned, staring at him in disbelief. His answer was truly unexpected. Logically, as a member of the Li family, he had no reason to go easy on her. Li Sichen was already unhappy with this engagement; Li Beitien could have easily used this as an excuse to cast off the burden of the Nan family. But he didn't. This proved that Li Beitien wasn't the bloodthirsty, cold, and heartless person others described.

Just as Nan Xing felt moved, Li Beitien’s phone rang. She caught a glimpse of the screen: a WeChat video call from Li Sichen. To avoid unnecessary trouble, Nan Xing stood up and took the empty bowl to the kitchen.

"Fourth Uncle, are you busy tomorrow? I’m being discharged... Wait, Fourth Uncle, why are you at Cuilin Bay?" Cuilin Bay was the residential area where Li Beitien currently lived; Li Sichen had been there once before and remembered it.

"Yes, I came to pick something up." Li Beitien diverted the subject, his dark, inscrutable gaze drifting toward the girl washing dishes at the counter. Nan Xing had pulled her wet hair into a low ponytail and was scrubbing carefully, the small stream of water sliding over her fair, delicate hands. Without makeup, she exuded a gentle, domestic charm.

"Oh," Li Sichen started to continue, but suddenly heard some out-of-place noise and asked in surprise, "Fourth Uncle, what’s that sound? Do you have a cat?"

Li Beitien glanced back at the woman who had accidentally bumped into the cupboard. She pursed her lips at him and made a shushing gesture.

"Just a little stray cat." Li Beitien’s voice was calm, tinged with a hint of amusement.

"So it’s a stray cat." Li Sichen believed him and got to the point. "Fourth Uncle, when you go back to the old mansion tomorrow, could you plead with Grandma for me? Ask her to call off my engagement to the Nan family?"

"I can't stand that arrogant, ugly woman Nan Xing for even one more day. You saw for yourself at the hospital how outrageous she was—she even hurt you."

"Fourth Uncle, even if you don't consider my feelings, you have to think about the next generation of the Li family. How could a woman like Nan Xing deserve to marry into our family?"

After Li Sichen finished his rant, Li Beitien only said one thing: "Solve your own problems. If you aren't happy, go to the Nan family and tell them yourself."

Upon hearing this, Li Sichen knew there was no room for negotiation. He pounded his chest in frustration. "Whatever happens, I will never marry Nan Xing. I’d rather be a bachelor for the rest of my life than live under the same roof as her!"