Chapter 358: Whispers in the Villa

The sound of the door closing woke Lily from her deep sleep. She groggily opened her eyes.

“Hmm? What was that noise, Zheng Ran? I thought I heard you heading out.”

Seeing her full of questions, Lin Zheng Ran explained, “It wasn’t me going out—it’s my parents who came back. They just popped into my room and saw you.”

“Your parents? Your dad…” She caught on, her face turning bright red as she stammered, “Uncle and Aunt are back?! And they saw me like that in your bed?!”

Soon after, Lily jumped out of bed in a panic, threw on her clothes, and dashed to the kitchen to help Lin Xiao Li with cooking.

She said with an awkward smile, “Aunt, let me help you with the vegetables.”

Lin Xiao Li glanced at Lily, feeling a bit awkward herself. Now that Zheng Ran was grown and had a girlfriend, she realized she couldn’t surprise him in his room anymore. “Sure, Lily. When did you and Zheng Ran get back?”

As Lily washed the vegetables, she replied, “We got back this afternoon. There was a little issue at my place, so Zheng Ran came with me to check it out.”

“An issue?”

“Don’t worry, Aunt, it’s all sorted out.”

“Oh, that’s good.” Lin Xiao Li finished speaking and glanced through the kitchen glass door at her son on the sofa. She quietly asked Lily, “Lily, you and Zheng Ran—well, make sure you two take precautions. Don’t be too careless.”

Lily’s face flushed red, and her hands fumbled with the vegetables as she said, “I-I understand, Aunt.”

“So, did you take measures just now?”

“Ah? I, um…” Truth be told, they hadn’t, and neither had they during that trip, but Lily clearly remembered asking Lin Zheng Ran the first time if it was okay.

He had said yes—he knew medicine and had ways to prevent pregnancy, and even methods to increase the chances if they wanted later.

Lily didn’t know what those methods were; it sounded mysterious, and she hadn’t taken any pills afterward, but since Zheng Ran said it, she trusted it was real.

She just needed to believe him.

Sensing the awkward atmosphere in the kitchen, Lin Xiao Li changed the topic. “Lily, you’re not heading back tonight, right? I’ll grab an extra pillow for you.”

Lily looked at Lin Xiao Li. “I haven’t asked Zheng Ran yet. We might go back.”

From the living room, Lin Zheng Ran called out, “Since we’re eating here, we might as well stay. I plan to check out Uncle Jiang’s factory again tomorrow morning before we leave.”

Hearing Zheng Ran’s words, Lily felt thrilled. Staying overnight meant…

She laughed and said, “Staying over? Then Zheng Ran, give Heqing and the others a call so they don’t worry.”

“Yeah, I’m on it.”

Lin Zheng Ran looked at his phone and dialed Heqing’s number. She picked up right away on the other end.

Her voice was sweet and soft: “Hello? Lin Zheng Ran?”

Lin Zheng Ran: “Heqing, are Wen Wen and Jingshi with you?”

“Everyone’s here. Is everything okay with Lily? We’re all a bit worried.”

“Nothing major. Just a small issue at the factory here. I plan to check it out tomorrow morning, so Lily and I are staying overnight. You three go ahead and eat without us.”

Heqing paused before saying, “So, when will you and Lily be back tomorrow?”

“Around nine in the morning.”

Heqing perked up: “Okay! We’ll wait for you and Lily to have breakfast then.”

From the phone, Little Fox and Jiang Jingshi’s voices chimed in: “Brother Zheng Ran, be safe when you come back in the morning.” “Zheng, just handle things there—we’ve got it covered here.”

“Got it.”

The call ended, and Lin Ying Jun, sitting on the sofa, looked at his son with his multiple partners and said with a strange expression, “Those girls seem to get along really well.”

“We’ve all known each other for a long time.” Lin Zheng Ran answered with a smile.

[Miss Jiang’s parents are minor leaders in the underworld. During a mission, they were abandoned by their original leader, who fled with gold, silver, and jewels. The organization nearly disbanded due to distrust, but you stepped in upon hearing the news and resolved the incident.]

[Jiang’s father and mother hold you in high regard, and you discovered their organization makes weapons that suit you perfectly. So, you had them craft weapons specifically for you and the Empress in the Imperial City. Through this adventure, your spiritual energy level has increased.]

[Your current spiritual energy level is eighty-one.]

That evening, the four of them enjoyed a cheerful family dinner. Afterward, Lin Xiao Li brought out a new pillow and placed it in Lin Zheng Ran’s bedroom.

It wasn’t too late; they chatted, watched some TV, and then the house lights went out.

Lily and Lin Zheng Ran returned to the bedroom and closed the door.

They locked eyes, and Lily suddenly exclaimed, crouching down and holding her head: “Getting caught by Aunt doing that with you is so embarrassing!”

“You’re a bit slow on that, aren’t you? They just saw you sleeping anyway—no big deal.”

Lily looked up, embarrassed and annoyed: “No difference at all! I was all clean and everything—who wouldn’t figure out what we were up to?”

Lin Zheng Ran patted her head and then got into bed.

Without dwelling on it, he said, “Lily, even though you wear pajamas when you’re at the villa with the others, I can tell you’re not used to it at home. So, no need to change tonight—just get some good sleep.”

“Ah.” She stuttered, “How did you know? I don’t remember telling you that.”

“I could see it. Let’s skip the pajamas tonight and rest up.”

Lily thought for a moment, stood up, and climbed into bed, pulling back the covers and slipping under them.

She stared at Lin Zheng Ran.

After a while, she reached out and placed her hand on his thigh, saying, “Who wants to sleep? I want you…”

“But my parents are in the next room—the walls aren’t soundproof.”

Lily shyly looked away: “Then just cover my mouth. I’ll try to stay quiet.”

He laughed and teased, “Silly Lily.”

Lily pursed her lips and shot back, “Silly Zheng Ran!”

They gazed at each other and laughed, their bodies drawing closer until they kissed.

That night, in the next room, Lin Xiao Li and Lin Ying Jun lay in bed in unusual silence.

Though there weren’t any loud noises from their son’s room, they couldn’t help but wonder.

Lin Xiao Li stared at the ceiling, embarrassed: “Dear, why do you think Zheng Ran and Lily went to bed so early? And there’s been no sound from their room since.”

Lin Ying Jun: “Didn’t he say he has things to do tomorrow?”

Lin Xiao Li eyed her husband and whispered, “Do you really believe that? Do you think they’re… you know, doing something? Lily’s face looked a bit flushed when she went in.”

Lin Ying Jun smirked, though he had his suspicions: “Who knows? But young people like that—skipping straight to sleep would be weird. Back when I first stayed over at your place, we didn’t exactly…”

Lin Xiao Li quickly covered her husband’s mouth in a panic: “Keep it down! How can you say that? My parents mentioned they vaguely heard us once—it kept them up half the night! They were even afraid to use the restroom in case the door woke us.”

With his mouth covered, Lin Ying Jun mumbled incoherently, making Lin Xiao Li chuckle uncontrollably.