Chapter 596: Chapter 596: Planning to Spend the Night Here?
Song Baiyan turned at the sound.
The glass door was half open, with the girl holding a pillow, wearing pajamas, her mid-length hair washed and blow-dried, draped over her shoulders. Behind her, the moonlight was pouring in, pure and clear.
Then, Tang Li put the pillow on the bed, picked up the remote control to turn on the air conditioner, closed the glass door, and kicked off her slippers as she climbed onto the bed.
A series of movements were as smooth as drifting clouds and flowing water.
She grabbed the blanket and covered herself, lying down in a modest pose: “Considering we haven’t seen each other for a while, we desperately need emotional communication.”
As she spoke, she seemed to remember something, and assured: “Just plain chatting.”
“Aren’t you afraid of the Wong Family discovering you running over here like this?”
“They didn’t install cameras on the balcony.”
Tang Li turned her head: “As long as you don’t tell and I don’t tell, no one will know.”
Song Baiyan couldn’t help but smile, reaching out to press his cigarette into the ashtray on the bedside table: “Did you choose to live next door just for the convenience of coming over at night?”
Tang Li didn’t respond, simply staring at the cigarette before saying: “Smoking is harmful to your health.”
“I don’t smoke often—occasionally it’s fine.” Song Baiyan sat at the edge of the bed, his warm gaze lingering on her small face: “Planning to stay the night?”
“That depends on how long we chat.”
Tang Li curled herself up in the thin blanket: “If it gets too late, I might just fall asleep here.”
Song Baiyan asked: “What do you plan to talk about?”
“…Let me think.” Sensing the man’s indulgence towards her in his words, Tang Li hatched little schemes, wrapping herself up in the blanket like a giant silkworm pupa and moved closer: “Aren’t you getting into bed? Wouldn’t it be tiring to sit and chat like this?”
Unlike Tang Li, who came to Shangbu with a change of clothes, Song Baiyan’s stay at the Wong Family seemed more impromptu, as he didn’t ask Ji Ming to send clothes over in the middle of the night. Thus, for the night, he borrowed one of Wong Yangming’s pajamas. With the Wong Family’s conditions, the house certainly kept brand-new clothes prepared.
The black silk pajamas on Song Baiyan didn’t make him look old; rather, they accentuated a restrained maturity, lacking the impetuousness of young men. Catching Tang Li’s eye, they made her all the more eager to rely on him.
Tang Li lifted the cover and sat beside him.
She placed her hands on her knees: “Let’s just chat like this.”
After speaking, she turned to look at Song Baiyan next to her. Under the warm yellow light, the man’s sharp features seemed much softer, and the silk fabric of the pajamas was skin-friendly, highlighting the firmness of his chest and shoulders—strong but not the exaggerated musculature.
Tang Li hadn’t forgotten what happened that night in the hotel in London.
Even though she wanted to touch, she held back, only beginning to speak: “Let’s talk about your glory years in the military first.”
The Glory Years…
Those words succeeded in eliciting a laugh from Song Baiyan.
“It seems that in your eyes, I really am old.”
The words carried a faint sigh.
“Not old.” Tang Li immediately denied, with assertive certainty, wanting her counterpart to believe: “You’re just right. I like you at this age.”
The amusement in Song Baiyan’s eyes turned warm, and his large hand grasped hers, his slightly rough fingertips gently caressing her knuckles: “At my age, I am of the same generation as your father, still not old?”
Tang Li said: “I will stay with you and slowly grow old together.”
Song Baiyan did not continue the conversation.
However, the warmth from the man’s palm let Tang Li feel the depth of his affection: “If we don’t talk about the military, we can talk about your life in the military academy. I’m just a bit curious.”
“Do you want to know about my past?”
Tang Li nodded: “As an exchange, I’ll also tell you a secret.”