(555 success! So far, apart from the extra thousand words, 290,000 words have been updated in 26 days! An earlier promise has been fulfilled, making sure all subscribers get a blue diamond this month! 5-star regular users, 3-star beginners, 2-star advanced... All subscribed brothers now have apprentice fan value, all with blue diamonds! Thanks to all the subscribed friends, I will continue to work hard! (I kind of feel out there, originally above Squad Leader is red diamond, then Elder has purple diamond, is the legendary Alliance Leader yellow diamond?)

Yurong walked into the room without speaking, and Li Yan remained silent as well. His feelings were odd too; this stunning woman in front of him was nominally his wife, yet entering his room, she seemed even more like a guest than an actual guest. He thought she might have something to say, maybe just a word or two, but now that she's in the room, there's a small hope she'll sit down and speak calmly and slowly.

She hadn't changed her clothes yet, wearing the dress with a slight reveal of fragrant shoulders and slender arms—it brought a lot more feminine charm compared to her usual serious cold image. Li Yan, standing behind her, could also feel the inherent sensuality.

"Do you want some water?" Li Yan broke the silence.

Yurong shook her head; she had already finished her tour, hugging her arms somewhat unnaturally in front of her, glancing at him, unsure of how to start.

Li Yan pulled over a chair, motioned for her to sit, and he himself stepped back a few paces, sitting by the bed, making everyone more relaxed and enabling a better conversation.

"Ask whatever you want! You seem mature and steady, you won't be imagining that tonight's mysterious hero is me, will you?" Li Yan noticed she was a bit unusual tonight, perhaps due to being startled, and thus spoke jokingly to guide her to speak.

Yurong was stunned upon hearing. Actually, she'd never considered this question!

Yu Xiaodi certainly might believe Li Yan was that mysterious hero because she had witnessed Li Yan's strong and ruthless side and admired him somewhat as a teenage girl, thinking he was the greatest person in the world! In other words, love makes people blind, sometimes causing them to unconditionally believe he is the best.

Wen Qianyi, however, used clues like timing and skill, piecing together a logical analysis and suspicion that Li Yan was the mysterious hero.

But Yurong was different. In her days with Li Yan, apart from knowing Li Yan was a great driver (which was one reason she could leave first when Li Yan chased out), she hadn't seen his strengths much. She was past the age of blind teenage worship, and certainly didn't have unconditional trust in Li Yan. Besides, because she hadn't been with Li Yan before, she wasn't clear about the timing, and hadn't seen the socks afterward, naturally not combining into a suspicion.

Listening to his words, a ripple arose in her heart—could he be the one who saved everyone tonight?

Unlikely… She hoped not. Although, for everyone, tonight's mysterious person who killed all the terrorists was a heroic lifesaver, he was also a merciless demon! She hoped her man was a hero but didn't want him to be a demon too!

…

Having been silent since coming in, rushing into his room like this, Yurong felt that if she didn't say something, she might be misunderstood by him, so she cleared her throat and said, "I don't imagine anything about you. Whether or not you're tonight's mysterious hero doesn't matter; I'm here to talk about... regarding..."

Seeing her hesitating manner, Li Yan encouraged her with a smile: "Just speak directly! Don't worry about my reaction, I can take it easily, and whatever you struggle to say, I won't feel hurt."

Yurong nodded and then tried to speak, yet still felt unable to say something, awkwardly saying, "Get me a glass of water..." She needed a deep breath to calm down, and being watched by Li Yan only made her feel more uneasy.

Li Yan got up, realized when there's no one else around, there was only one cup in the bedroom, so he had to rinse it out, and then poured half a cup of water, handing it to Yurong.

"Thank you."

Taking the cup, a slight thrill flickered through Yurong's heart; she was very familiar with this cup because there was one in her room too. Seeing it now, she recalled it was supposed to be a couple's cup, yet due to their separation, these couple's cups remained lonely by themselves.

"I wanted to ask you... what's the deal with you and Yu Xiaodi..." Yurong sipped some water, finally asked, seeing Li Yan gaze at her, feeling a bit awkward, quickly shaking her head to explain: "It's not that I want to control your affairs... you have your freedom, but... her mother is a chairman of a major group. So..."

Li Yan nodded, "I understand, her father is Yu Hong, her mother is Chen Mingying, a very strong family background."

After saying a few words, Yurong began to calm down, gradually regaining composure, and proceeded to ask, "Did you... touch her?"

Meet? That definition is too broad! Li Yan broke out in a sweat but could guess what she meant, "If you're referring to having a physical relationship, then no."

Yurong paused, "That's good. If you're just playing around, I advise you not to provoke her. For a girl with such a family background, to start and end carelessly has serious consequences... Even if I were to use Paradise Group's leverage, I wouldn't be able to protect you."

It was Li Yan's turn to be stunned!

When Zhang Yurong asked about his relationship with Yu Xiao Di, he felt somewhat at a loss. He always felt that without a normal marital life with Zhang Yurong, just going out to have fun didn't count as betrayal or infidelity. But with Yu Xiao Di, although they hadn't done that, emotions had already developed!

However, he hadn't expected that Zhang Yurong cared about this issue not because he was pursuing young girls elsewhere, but because of Yu Xiao Di's background, which made her feel pressured. She was afraid that playing too much would lead to a situation where she couldn't protect him!

Li Yan had never thought of needing a woman to protect him, but clearly, in Zhang Yurong's eyes, when faced with big problems, she felt he would need her protection. And despite not having deep emotions or a consummated marriage, when faced with pressure from high officials and major groups, she still chose to leverage the group to protect him!

Though it was still a groundless issue, purely hypothetical, given Zhang Yurong's character and status, Li Yan knew she wasn't just saying nice things but expressing her true thoughts... A part of his heart softened; a woman willing to give everything to protect you, even if not out of love but out of responsibility or morality, at least treats you as a vital and indispensable part of her life!

Generally speaking, sweet love, after marriage, doesn't always remain passionate and romantic but gradually transforms into a sense of responsibility and familial love within the marriage. Obviously, between him and Zhang Yurong, even though they skipped the initial love stage, they've now cultivated a sense of marital bond.

...

Seeing Li Yan not speaking, Zhang Yurong thought he was unwilling. She felt a bit disappointed and sighed, "I know you're a normal, mature man, and you resent that I can't give you what you need, so you look for excitement outside... After these days of interaction, it can be considered a trial marriage. I... decide... I'm willing to carry on with you!"

Saying this took a lot of courage from her, and after saying it, she felt as if all her strength had been drained.

What surprised her was that she thought this decision would be a sorrowful one, but upon saying it, she realized there was no sorrow, but instead a firm sense of grounding as if she had been suspended and finally set down! Naturally, he wasn't the perfect dream candidate, but she was past the age of fantasies. In the long run, as her mother said, he's an ordinary man, but also a man suitable for her. Perhaps, they could truly complement each other.

Li Yan's eyes widened, incredulous at Zhang Yurong's words. This implied... she was willing to be a true wife in name and substance? Oh heavens, had she been provoked by Yu Xiao Di?

He walked over and crouched in front of Zhang Yurong.

"If others intend to harm me, you would risk leveraging Paradise Group to protect me... Wife, just for those words, I will always consider you my wife! No matter what our future holds, as long as I draw breath, I will always protect you and not let anyone bully you!"

Li Yan's softly spoken but firm words instantly brought down the tense barriers in Zhang Yurong's heart. It was the first time he had spoken such sweet words to her, and although reason told her that 'forever' is an abstract word and often just a lie, as a woman, hearing such vows, she couldn't help but feel slightly moved.

"You just said you decided to be with me; I'm grateful, but I disagree..."

"Why?" Zhang Yurong thought he had always been waiting for this day. She didn't expect that when she agreed, he would disagree! She was surprised and a bit angry, thinking Li Yan was intentionally mocking her!

However, Li Yan's eyes didn't hold the emotion she expected. He sincerely said, "Why accommodate me? Accommodating temporary, but you can't accommodate a lifetime. Being forced together due to accommodation won't be happy. It's better for us to maintain our current state... Actually, you're just provoked..."

"Impossible! Yu Xiao Di doesn't provoke me, this is a decision carefully thought about!" Zhang Yurong calmly said.

Li Yan took her hand, placing his other hand on top, patting the back of her hand: "I'm referring to what happened tonight. Watching so many people die before your eyes and thinking you nearly died yourself, anyone would be shocked. Those boys' reactions prove it all. Although you were calm on the scene, your heart was still affected. You realized life's uncertainty and thought you might die unexpectedly someday, so you didn't hope to wait any longer. Feeling disheartened, you didn't find it difficult to accept being with me after all."

Listening to his explanation, Zhang Yurong was left speechless.

"Wait for me to truly love you, to pursue you, so one day you deeply fall in love with me and can't live without me. That decision will be truly meaningful for both you and me!"

(Five updates across three consecutive days! Weakly asking brothers for a monthly pass.) (To be continued, for more details on how things unfold, please log into www.qidian.com, more chapters available, support the author, support legitimate reading!)

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