When Su Lu woke up, she found herself in Bo Jingshen’s arms again.
She had a good sleep, but soon realized the situation and pinched Bo Jingshen’s cheeks, pulling them apart.
Bo Jingshen didn’t open his eyes but murmured in a hoarse voice, cheek gently rubbing against hers as he said softly, "Be good, don’t be naughty."
"Did you sneak into bed?" Su Lu didn’t let go, continuing to pinch his face.
Bo Jingshen still had his eyes closed, but the corners of his mouth curved, "Why call it sneaking? Our son came over at midnight and asked me to come. How can that be sneaking?"
"This little traitor." Su Lu gritted her teeth, "Where’s the little traitor now?"
"Su Zhe just came over and took him for a run," Bo Jingshen said.
Su Lu was startled, "My brother is up this early?"
"It’s not early," Bo Jingshen, eyes closed, held her a bit tighter, "It was already eight o’clock just now... it must be around nine-thirty now."
Su Lu couldn’t help but press her temples and gently rubbed them, "It seems the king is not holding court early today..."
Bo Jingshen chuckled lowly, "Does that mean... I am the Evil Concubine?"
"Yes, let’s go to Qinglu Tower some day and properly suppress your evil charm," Su Lu turned over in his arms and was about to get up but was held tight at the waist, "Aren’t you letting go yet?"
Bo Jingshen held onto her, not letting go, "Let’s be lazy a little longer. Since it’s already a late start, let’s not waste this opportunity."
Su Lu eventually didn’t move, not because of herself but... she thought about how Bo Jingshen was always busy with work and probably really needed these moments of laziness. He wanted to be lazy in bed, and she wanted to indulge him.
Su Lu paused, then lifted her hand and gently touched his hair, "Then you sleep a little longer."
Bo Jingshen chuckled softly, coming close to whisper in her ear, "Can’t sleep now, just want to laze for a while. We can just talk."
"What shall we talk about?" asked Su Lu.
Bo Jingshen thought for a moment, and said, "I called Jing Su last night before going to sleep."
Bo Jingshen then shared about Jing Su and Xiao Caizi’s situation.
"I know," Su Lu nodded.
Bo Jingshen was startled, "You know?"
"Of course, I know. I’ve been in Beijing, and the alliance between the Xiao Family and Song Family is hardly news. Everyone is talking about it, hoping the Xiao daughter won’t turn into another Jing Qiao. But I didn’t know about Jing Su and Xiao Caizi," Su Lu said.
Bo Jingshen ground his teeth gently along her neck, "So you understand now, my heart towards you is clear as day; there’s nothing between Xiao Caizi and me."
"It’s not about whether there is something or not, it’s about your attitude. You used your engagement with her to angry me," Su Lu glanced at him somberly, "If I were engaged to someone..."
"I was wrong, I deserve to die. Don’t imagine such scenarios," Bo Jingshen couldn’t even bear the thought.
Since the topic had arrived here, Su Lu felt somewhat amazed, "That said, Jing Su is quite impressive. He can actually endure?"
"I thought he could handle it too, but it seems I overestimated him. It looks like he can’t. This matter definitely won’t be resolved so easily," Bo Jingshen sighed lightly.
He had thought that since Jing Su was Jing Ce’s son and raised by Jing Ce, inheriting even a third of Jing Ce’s qualities would mean he had the capacity to pick up and let go, as well as endure hardships.
But surprisingly not.
When Shen Xun came over, Bo Jingshen was grinding coffee beans, and the toast had already been made and was arranged on a plate on the table. Su Lu stared at the toasted slices, feeling melancholic, "I miss Xiao Qiao."
When Jing Qiao was around, there was delicious food every day. Su Lu felt she had even gained weight, a feat for her usually hard-to-change physique, all thanks to Jing Qiao’s exceptional care.
"And you were still so reassured letting her go with Song Boyuan yesterday?" Bo Jingshen asked.
Su Lu sighed, "I’m even more convinced now that my guess wasn’t wrong."
"Hmm?" Bo Jingshen poured the ground coffee into a Moka pot and set it on an electric stove to brew slowly, "What guess?"
"Song Boyuan must really love Xiao Qiao. Who wouldn’t love Xiao Qiao?! I love her!" Su Lu exclaimed, "She can do literally everything! Although Jing Ce is no good, he indeed raised an incredibly capable Xiao Qiao."
Jing Qiao’s cooking was super delicious, and her baking was extremely good too, simply mouth-watering. She could play the piano, dance, write, paint, and she knew at least three languages...
And it seemed, she might even have a proficiency in business management.
Su Lu truly missed her, especially after hearing from Bo Jingshen that Jing Xiaoqiao was even a science student!
If it weren’t for Song Boyuan meddling, Su Lu would have loved to keep this sister well-fed and at home forever. When Zhao Xiaole grew up, she wouldn’t have to fret about tutoring him anymore.
Su Lu knew her own talents—painting was okay. Current kindergarten homework involved lots of crafts and such, which aligned well with her expertise, so Zhao Xiaole always did the best.
But that would be the highlight, once Zhao Xiaole entered elementary school and started topics like chicken-rabbit problems, Su Lu would be clueless.
Jing Qiao’s arrival had been a timely rain for Su Lu, and now this timely rain had been taken away by Song Boyuan.
Su Lu was biting into her toast, deep in gloom, when Shen Xun came over.
Seeing Bo Jingshen there, Shen Xun didn’t show any resentment. Shen Xun, how to say it, had a kind of straightforwardness to his character. Once he acknowledged Bo Jingshen’s presence, he wouldn’t continuously oppose him or cause trouble.
However, there were some things he felt wasn’t appropriate to say in front of Bo Jingshen, so he took Su Lu outside.
Bo Jingshen, of course, had no objections to his brother-in-law. He even poured the freshly brewed coffee into a thermos for Su Lu and Shen Xun to take and drink.
Before long, the siblings were sitting in the car parked downstairs, enjoying the air conditioning and sipping the aromatic coffee.
"You have to admit, Bo Jingshen does brew a good coffee," Shen Xun took a sip and smacked his lips in satisfaction.
Su Lu nodded, "Yeah, it’s all those fine wines and coffee that ruined his stomach. Alright, enough about that. What did you want to talk about?"
Su Lu had an inkling about who might be the focus of the conversation, but she didn’t want to make Shen Xun uncomfortable by saying it outright.
But Shen Xun only felt slightly embarrassed, he scratched his head, "How’s Zhe doing? I saw him yesterday and he looked pale and seemed to have lost a lot of weight."
"Why don’t you ask him yourself?" Su Lu said, "Has your relationship with your brother deteriorated to the point where you can’t even talk?"
After a few seconds of silence, Shen Xun spoke softly, "I always let him have his way, I always can, but not this time. This time he needs to realize he’s in the wrong. Otherwise..."