Beijing International Airport.
A Boeing passenger plane landed in the night.
Martin stepped out of the airport wearing sunglasses and a mask, followed by Gordon.
He hadn't informed anyone of his arrival, wanting to surprise a certain girl.
"Gordon, go check into a hotel," Martin commanded domineeringly as they left the airport.
Gordon reluctantly accepted the order.
At the entrance of the courtyard house, Martin got out of the taxi. Gordon reminded him, "Be careful!"
Of course, this kind of "careful" wasn't about safety!
Martin chuckled. As if he needed to be told!
He wasn't planning on having a child this young.
Taking out his keys, he unlocked the gate to the courtyard house.
Martin didn't turn on the lights, feeling his way through the darkness to the bedroom. He vaguely saw someone under the covers on the bed, and a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.
In no time, he stripped off his extra layers and slipped under the covers from the foot of the bed.
The girl's unique scent—uh, a faint foot odor—wafted over. As he moved further up, it turned into the fresh fragrance of skincare products. [GOR: ?]
The girl under the covers seemed to sense something and instinctively shifted, turning from lying on her back to lying on her stomach, unconsciously changing her position.
Martin moved to the front of the bed, wrapping his arms around the girl.
Then... the girl woke up, making muffled sounds as if trying to speak.
But with Martin's weight on her and her mouth pressed into the soft pillow, she couldn't get a word out.
"It's me, Nini. Martin. Did you miss me?"
The muffled sounds grew louder.
But soon, they turned into soft moans.
After a "100,000-word omitted" operation, Martin fell into a deep sleep.
The girl couldn't sleep. She wanted to wake Martin up and say something, but she didn't know what to say, and she was also a little scared!
She wanted to sneak out of bed, but her body was completely drained of strength—she couldn't even move a finger!
After a while, the girl also fell asleep from exhaustion.
In the darkness, a smile played on Martin's lips.
Morning light filtered through the gaps in the curtains.
The girl woke up, first feeling disoriented, then her expression changed dramatically as she tried to get out of bed.
But she realized she was somehow nestled in Martin's embrace, his arm tightly wrapped around her, making it impossible to break free.
After carefully struggling a few times, she gave up and cautiously lifted her head to look at Martin's face.
It turned out Martin had already woken up, his piercing blue eyes staring right at her!
"Stop screaming, my ears are going to burst!"
"I-I-I didn't mean to! Nini went off to film, so she let me sleep in her room—"
The girl's voice was abruptly cut off. She stared at Martin with wide, innocent eyes. "Y-you... you knew? Last night? You knew it was me?"
"I didn't know at first," Martin said, stretching lazily before pulling her back into his arms. "But halfway through, when I kissed you, I realized something was off. Your lips feel different from Nini's."
Hearing Martin mention the kiss, the girl blushed. She had been a little too eager at the time!
But that wasn't her fault—it was the hormones!
Martin continued, "But by then, the arrow was already in flight. No, it had already hit the target. There was no turning back, so... I'm the one who should apologize."
Martin wore an apologetic expression.
"Then... what do we do now? What about Nini?" the girl asked nervously.
"Well, you're my woman now, and Nini will be too. I won't give up on either of you."
"Huh?" The girl was stunned!
But then she thought about it. Asking Nini to give up? She couldn't live with that. But asking herself to give up? That felt like too big a loss!
She had kept her "treasure" for over twenty years, only for this scoundrel to steal it. Letting it go as if nothing happened was infuriating!
Then she heard Martin say, "I have many women in America. It's not a problem. I'll be honest with Nini, and I won't hide anything from you."
"It's not a problem?" The girl's eyes widened even more.
"Not a problem!" Martin tightened his embrace, his gaze drifting downward. The girl suddenly felt a little dizzy, a seed sprouting in her heart as she murmured, "Mmm, not a problem."
Then, another battle ensued.
Zeng Ni returned three days later.
As soon as she entered the courtyard, she caught the aroma of food and smiled.
"Did Hu Jing know I was coming back? She even prepared dinner?!"
She hurried to the kitchen and saw a tall figure wearing an apron, busy cooking.
"Martin, is that you?"
Zeng Ni's voice trembled with excitement.
The figure turned around, revealing a face so handsome it could make anyone swoon. He smiled at Zeng Ni.
Suddenly, Zeng Ni remembered a line from a Gu Long novel: In this world, no one can resist Jiang Lang's smile!
Step by step, she walked up to Martin and gently hugged him from behind.
"Why did you take so long to come?"
Her tone was a mix of reproach and coquetry!
Martin chuckled and patted Zeng Ni's hand. "I'm cooking. Go set the table with Hu Jing. We're having a welcome dinner for you today."
Zeng Ni gasped, suddenly remembering Hu Jing was also staying here. She said sheepishly, "Martin, I didn't ask for your permission before bringing a friend to stay. You're not mad, are you?"
Martin laughed. "Of course not. Your friends are my friends. We're all family!"
Zeng Ni smiled happily. Martin took the opportunity to water the "seed of affection" in Zeng Ni's heart, lest the dinner table turn into a battlefield.
"Hey, Jingjing, I'm back! Have you met Martin? When did he get here?"
Zeng Ni cheerfully greeted her best friend in the dining room, completely missing the odd look on Hu Jing's face.
"Uh, yeah, Martin got here two days ago. We've met. He's... very enthusiastic!"
Enthusiastic? He's been holding me every night!!!
Zeng Ni still hadn't noticed her friend's unease and kept chattering away.
Hu Jing was distracted, already picturing the scene of Nini crying and slapping her. Should I run away, or should I hug her and cry together?!
"Dinner's ready. Let's eat!"
Martin had prepared a feast.
Zeng Ni's eyes widened as she looked at the table full of delicious, mouth-watering dishes. She praised sincerely, "Martin, you're amazing!!!"
Martin grinned. "I'm amazing in many ways."
Zeng Ni blushed and said, "You're so bad!"
She couldn't help but sneak a glance at Hu Jing.
Thankfully, Jingjing didn't seem to catch on, but why does she look so out of it?
Finally, Zeng Ni noticed something was wrong.