This is a dog-eat-dog era.

The weak may not even know how they were devoured, perhaps just asleep for a moment, only to be mercilessly exploited by the strong to drain their remaining value.

Aoyama Xiu Xin woke up with this sentiment.

"Are you awake?" Ueda Hanon, who was deep in her work, seemed to sense something and slightly lifted her head to look at him, showing a tender smile and speaking in an unclear voice.

She didn't adhere to the rule of silence during meals.

Aoyama Xiu Xin propped himself up with his hands on the bedsheet, leaned back against the headboard, and slowly swept his gaze over Ueda Hanon's fair and rosy cheeks, her black lustrous hair, the smooth white curve of her back, and the full round moon-like form, saying, "Young people these days have no respect for martial virtue; it's all stealth sucking!"

Ueda Hanon blurted out, tossing back her hair and crawling forward two steps, directly throwing herself into Aoyama Xiu Xin's arms, "I just wanted to wake you up."

Their eyes met, ablaze with desire.

A big fight seemed imminent.

"Thump thump thump!" Just then, someone knocked on the room door, followed by a child's tender voice coming through the wood, "Mom, why aren't you up yet?"

It was like a bucket of cold water had been poured over them, making Aoyama Xiu Xin and Ueda Hanon's eyes regain their clarity.

"You go ahead and wait for mommy, I'll be right there to have breakfast with you," Ueda Hanon called back, then showed Aoyama Xiu Xin a helpless expression.

Aoyama Xiu Xin smiled, patted her cheek, and said, "Go on, don't let the child wait too long."

Consider it an early desensitization training; after all, his son was about to be born, and he guessed there would be many more times when little rascals would interrupt their married life.

"Alas," sighed Ueda Hanon.

Reluctantly, she got out of bed to wash up in the bathroom.

Aoyama Xiu Xin was quicker, so after grooming, he went downstairs first.

The child was sitting at the dining chair, eyes locked on the sumptuous breakfast, drooling, occasionally wiping her lips, her tiny feet joyously kicking, thinking it was her mom when she heard the footsteps, but she turned her cheerful head only to find it was Aoyama Xiu Xin.

She paused, puzzled, and asked, "Uncle Xiu Xin, what are you doing in my house, and coming down from upstairs?"

Since Aoyama Xiu Xin often came to play with Ueda Hanon, he was already familiar with the child.

She had just lost her father, and Aoyama Xiu Xin's presence just happened to fill the void she needed.

"Uncle came here before you woke up, just talking about some work matters with your mom," Aoyama Xiu Xin deceived the naive child.

The child's little brain wasn't yet capable of suspecting anything and nodded in realization, then innocently said, "Uncle Xiu Xin, can you comfort mom? She's very sad."

"What happened?" Aoyama Xiu Xin raised his eyebrows.

Could there be something he didn't know about?

The child pursed her lips and said, "Since dad passed away, she's been very sad, often hiding and crying secretly, and I heard it again last night."

Aoyama Xiu Xin breathed a sigh of relief; he thought Ueda Hanon might be hiding some worries from him.

"Aiko! Why aren't you sleeping at night instead of eavesdropping at my door!" Ueda Hanon, who had just come downstairs, was somewhat embarrassed and angrily scolded.

Aiko instantly shrank back like a quail, her round eyes darting around.

"Come on, Aiko is just concerned about you," Aoyama Xiu Xin consoled her, then continued to deceive the unaware child, "Aiko is such a good girl; uncle accepts your request and will properly console your mom."

"Mhm mhm mhm," Aiko bobbed her head like a pecking chicken and then asked, "Can we start eating now?"

"Eat, eat, eat, that's all you think about," Ueda Hanon glared at her and said, "Go ahead."

"Yay! Then I'll dig in!" Aiko was overjoyed, happily grabbing her little spoon to eat heartily, occasionally smearing her face with grease as the nanny attended her with a cloth, constantly wiping her.

Very cute, a big eater, and very sensible — these were Aoyama Xiu Xin's deepest impressions of Aiko.

After the meal, the nanny took Aiko to school, and Ueda Hanon, holding her coffee, walked into the living room, sat down, and upon seeing the newspaper on the coffee table exclaimed in surprise, "I didn't expect you actually solved another big case last night."

So that's why Aoyama Xiu Xin came looking for her in the middle of the night — it turns out he was too lazy to go home after handling a case.

"A stroke of luck, so I just gave a little help," Aoyama Xiu Xin replied reservedly, downing his cup of coffee, "I have to go now, see you another day."

He casually took the newspaper off the table.

"Wham bam, thank you ma'am, kind of feels like you treat me like a hooker. Can't we have a real emotional conversation?" Ueda Hanon pouted unhappily.

"Don't flatter yourself, hookers still make money, whereas you end up spending," Aoyama Xiu Xin retorted, then said, "Besides, there's no love between us, just an affair. The exchange in an affair is limited to the bed, not beyond it."

Ueda Hanon took a deep breath to calm herself and waved her hand, "Just get lost."

Although she understood that there wasn't any real emotion between her and Aoyama Xiu Xin, it was infuriating that this scoundrel couldn't even bother to lie to make her feel good.

"Just kidding," Aoyama Xiu Xin walked over and embraced her, speaking tenderly, "To me, this place is a harbor, and I am a ship drifting in the vast ocean. When I feel tired, I come to this port for rest. That's why I came looking for you last night after finishing a case; here, both my spirit and body find solace."

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