February 4, 2024, Beginning of Spring, Sunday.

Yangcheng, Liwan District, Lanxin Garden Community.

Due to the recent continuous drop in temperature, the air was wrapped in an unyielding, damp chill.

A thin layer of condensation clung to the windowpanes, filtering the outside sky into a hazy, soft gray light.

Zhang Yan stood in the center of the living room, folding a scarf in her hands, but her gaze remained fixed on her younger sister.

Chen Shuangshuang was squatting beside a suitcase, stuffing her phone, charging cable, and the recently purchased tablet into her bag.

Her movements were slow and dawdling. She'd put something in, take it out, then put it back in again, as if she desperately wanted to check everything three times over.

Today, she wore a light gray hooded sweatshirt, her hair tied up in a high ponytail, her whole demeanor much more lively than before.

Ever since she followed Zhang Yan to Shen City last time and actually met Su Yu, her admiration for this older sister had practically been written all over her face.

The relationship between the two had also quietly grown much closer.

It was just that the New Year was almost here.

Chen Shuangshuang had to follow her father, Chen Jinlong, back to their hometown and couldn't stay here any longer.

The living room fell quiet again for a while.

Chen Shuangshuang zipped the suitcase up, then unzipped it, stuffed a pack of tissues inside, and zipped it up again.

Seeing her obvious time-wasting behavior, Zhang Yan couldn't help but curve the corners of her mouth.

"Reluctant to leave?"

Chen Shuangshuang's face flushed slightly, her mouth stubborn. "I... I'm just afraid of forgetting something..."

Zhang Yan smiled, helped her straighten the suitcase, and casually re-zipped it properly.

Zhou Hui came out of the bedroom holding a thicker scarf, walked over, and draped it around Chen Shuangshuang's neck.

"Ayan, call a car. It's time to go, to avoid her dad calling to hurry us up again in a bit."

"Mm, okay."

Zhang Yan lowered her head, picked up her phone, and started hailing a ride.

Chen Shuangshuang stood in place, pursing her lips. Her gaze shifted from Zhou Hui to Zhang Yan, then finally couldn't help but sweep around the room.

Although the apartment here was old and the furniture simple, it just felt comfortable.

Even though she had been sleeping on the pull-out sofa bed in the living room these past few days, it felt more like "living at home" than before.

She really, really didn't want to leave.

...

A few minutes later, the ride-hailing car stopped at the building entrance.

The driver got out and opened the trunk.

Zhang Yan bent down and placed the suitcase inside.

Chen Shuangshuang stood to the side with her small backpack, gripping the shoulder straps with both hands, her toes scuffing the ground.

"Mom, Sis, I'm leaving then."

"Mm, be safe on the road. Stay with your dad, don't run off."

"Send me a WeChat when you arrive."

"I know." 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Chen Shuangshuang dawdled her way to the car door, then suddenly turned around and threw her arms around Zhang Yan in a hug.

Zhang Yan swayed back slightly from the impact, instinctively raising her arms to hold her.

"Sis, I'll miss you." Chen Shuangshuang buried her face in the crook of Zhang Yan's neck, her voice muffled.

After saying this, her eyes reddened. She quickly let go, turned, and ducked into the car.

The car window rolled down. She leaned against the window, waving vigorously at Zhang Yan and Zhou Hui.

"I'll come back again after New Year! Don't forget about me!"

"I know." Zhang Yan also waved at her with a smile. "Sit properly now, don't lean your head so far out."

The car slowly started moving.

Chen Shuangshuang's face pressed against the rear window glass, gradually shrinking until it turned the corner and disappeared completely from sight.

Zhou Hui let out a soft sigh and turned to walk back into the building.

Zhang Yan followed behind her, climbing the stairs in silence.

The security door closed again.

The apartment suddenly fell quiet.

Without Chen Shuangshuang's chattering voice, without the sound of her running back and forth, the already small living room now felt oddly empty.

Zhou Hui instinctively reached for the cloth on the table, wanting to wipe the coffee table again.

Zhang Yan stood in place, watching her mother's back. After a few quiet seconds, she suddenly spoke.

"Mom, there's something I want to tell you."

Zhou Hui paused her movements and turned to look at her. "What is it?"

Zhang Yan pursed her lips, mentally weighing her words over and over before finally speaking. "This New Year, I want to go back to Jing County for a while."

Zhou Hui was stunned for a moment, the expression on her face slowly tightening.

"Go back for what? What's there to go back for? Is it... has Zhang Zhiqiang called you again?!"

"No." Zhang Yan lowered her head, her fingers unconsciously twisting together. "It's just... I feel some things need to be said clearly sooner or later. We can't keep dragging it on, keep hiding forever."

Zhou Hui looked at her daughter, deep worry and heartache rising in her eyes.

"Over there... your dad's side of the family... they definitely won't let you have any peace." After a long silence, she gritted her teeth and said in a low voice, "How about... I go back with you."

Zhang Yan quickly shook her head. "No need, I'll go back by myself. Your health has only just stabilized with great difficulty. It's too tiring for you to travel back and forth with me in the middle of winter."

After saying this, her long eyelashes fluttered slightly, her cheeks flushed a faint red, and she added in a soft voice, "Tang Song will also be going back."

Hearing that name, Zhou Hui's previously tense shoulders instantly relaxed.

"That's good, that's good! With him there, I can rest easy."

Neither mother nor daughter spoke again.

It was as if they were both immersed in their own emotions.

After quite a while, Zhang Yan asked softly, "What about you for New Year then?"

Zhou Hui smiled, trying her best to make her tone sound light.

"I'll just spend it here. I've already spoken with the community center. Working the New Year shift counts for extra subsidy, it's really good, I can earn a bit more money."

Zhang Yan nodded with pursed lips, looking at her mother.

Zhou Hui's complexion was much better than before.

Her face had filled out, her lips were no longer perpetually dry, cracked, and pale as they used to be. Her whole person exuded an air of settled, stable vitality.

It was just that the white hairs at her temples seemed to have increased by a few strands.

She knew her mother wasn't just doing it for that bit of extra shift money.

She simply had nowhere she wanted to go back to.

For her mother, Jing County had always been a nightmare.

From Yangcheng to Jing County, over a thousand kilometers.

Back then, Zhou Hui had married from so far away into that remote, unfamiliar little village in Yan Province, married to that man named Zhang Zhiqiang.

That man, in his youth, had indeed seemed somewhat promising for a while.

He was smooth-talking, bold, went to work in the south early on, and even earned some money. That's how he managed to sweet-talk Zhou Hui, a southern girl, back to his hometown to be his wife.

In Zhang Yan's very, very early memories.

Her father always wore fashionable leather jackets, his hair slicked with gel, a cigarette pinched between his fingers.

The phrases constantly on his lips were all things like "I know a big boss outside," "There's a way into this business now," "I'll make big money soon."

Back then, he always seemed just one step away from turning his fortunes around.

But the reality was, his ambitions outstripped his abilities. His income was meager, yet he spent money like water. He was always surrounded by a group of so-called "brothers from the streets."

Drinking, gambling, boasting, and occasionally hanging out in those shady hair salons.

Zhou Hui managed the household alone, farming, doing handicrafts, struggling to raise Zhang Yan, all while enduring the gossip and sidelong glances from those around them.

Back then, Zhang Yan was still young and didn't understand why her mother was always secretly crying alone.

She only knew that life at home grew harder and harder with each passing year.

When she grew up, she learned that her father never really had a proper job.

More often than not, he just drove for people, ran errands, did odd jobs, mixing around with a bunch of so-called "small-time bosses" like a lackey, borrowing others' pomp to put on a brave front.

So the family could never save any money, and even ended up buried in a pile of bad debts.

Later, her father had an affair. That woman came directly to their door, and all pretense was torn away.

Arguments, heartbreak, and then divorce.

From then on, Zhou Hui never went back.

And after her father remarried and the stepmother entered the household.

That home no longer had a place for Zhang Yan.

Especially after the stepmother gave birth to a younger brother, she became more like an old piece of furniture to be conveniently disposed of, sent off to her aunt's house.

Thus began her days of living under someone else's roof.

Later, she graduated from university and, after much difficulty, gained a small foothold in the Imperial Capital. Her father showed up again, asking her to return to Jing County for an arranged marriage.

Saying he knew the son of some boss's family, the family conditions were very good, the person was good too, wealthy and influential.

Actually, Zhang Yan had a pretty good idea.

The so-called "boss's son" was the child of the owner of the small glass factory her father, Zhang Zhiqiang, worked for.

Because she was good-looking, a proper university graduate, and a quiet, obedient person, the other side had this idea.

So, her father hoped she would settle the marriage while she was still young.

Not only could he get a hefty bride price, but he could also climb the social ladder through this connection.

These were things her aunt told her privately over the phone.

When Zhang Yan was very young, she always thought her aunt was a very sharp-tongued, unkind person who wasn't very good to her.

Living at her aunt's house, eating meals meant watching her uncle's mood.

If something happened, she was always the first to get scolded.

If she had a conflict with her cousin, her aunt always sided with her own biological son.

But later, as she grew up, she gradually came to understand her aunt.

Her aunt's family was also living a tight, difficult life. Letting her niece live there, giving her a small partitioned room of her own, providing her with food and clothing...

Behind the scenes, her aunt had no idea how many times she was scolded by her uncle, how many cold stares and pressures she endured from her in-laws.

Her aunt's strictness towards her was actually a form of protection, an effort to shelter her.

If she were really driven back to her original home, who knew how her stepmother would treat her. Whether she could even attend high school was an unknown.

In the blink of an eye, it had been many years since she last went back.

This trip to Jing County would also be a chance to see her aunt and properly thank her.

She wondered how the peach tree she planted in the corner of the yard back when she lived at her aunt's house was doing now. Whether it was growing well, whether its fruit was sweet.

Modu, Tang Entertainment.

The lights in the recording studio were soft.

Su Yu wore a loose gray cashmere sweater, her long hair casually pinned up with a pencil at the back, stray strands falling by her cheeks.

She wore professional monitoring headphones, eyes closed, fingertips lightly tapping the edge of the mixing console in rhythm, her expression focused as she listened to the just-recorded vocal track.

A long time passed before she slowly opened her eyes.

"Stop."

She took off her headphones, pressed the talkback button, and looked through the soundproof glass at the production team outside.

"The handling here in section C is still not right. The latter half of the chorus, the emotion needs to be lifted a bit more. It can't be too full, but it also can't be held back. It needs that feeling... of wanting to shout, yet not daring to truly shout it out."

The producer beside her quickly nodded, lowering his head to jot notes frantically on the score.

Facing Su Yu in work mode, no one in the entire Chinese music industry dared question her professionalism.

Su Yu leaned back, her gaze falling on the printed lyrics on the mixing console, a faint curve appearing at the corner of her lips.

This song suited her taste far too well.

Every line felt like it grew from her own heart.

No.

More accurately, it grew from another girl's long, damp youth.

It just so happened that she understood that flavor too.

*Knock, knock—*

The recording studio door was gently tapped twice.

Her personal assistant, Cheng Xiaoxi, pushed the door open and handed her a cup of warm throat-soothing tea.

"Sister Yu, have a drink of water and rest for a bit. You've been holed up in the booth for almost six hours."

"Mm." Su Yu took the thermos cup and took a small sip, her voice carrying a relaxed weariness. "The arrangement for this song finally feels right. After grinding for so long, it was worth it."

She lightly brushed aside the stray hair at her temple, her expression lazy as she asked, "How are the arrangements for the trip to Jing County coming along?"

"Almost done." Cheng Xiaoxi flipped open her memo, reporting in a steady tone. "Jing County is, after all, a small county town with limited facilities. The best local option is only a four-star hotel. To ensure your absolute privacy and safety, I've had the security team go ahead and reserve the top three floors of that hotel."

Su Yu gave a slight nod.

"Also," Cheng Xiaoxi continued, "I just got off the phone with Wen Ruan's assistant, Wang Dandan, and aligned her schedule. Wen Ruan won't return to the country until February 8th, the day before New Year's Eve. She'll first return to Yancheng to have the New Year's Eve dinner with her parents, then go to Jing County to meet you on the afternoon of the first day of the New Year."

"First day of the New Year..." Su Yu murmured, her fingertips lightly tapping the armrest of her chair. "I see. Reply to her and say it's fine."

A moment of quiet passed.

Su Yu suddenly raised her hand. "Give me my phone."

Cheng Xiaoxi hurriedly handed over the private phone.

Su Yu took it, lowered her head, opened her contacts, and dialed a number.

The phone rang a few times before it was answered.

"Hello, Yanyan, good afternoon." Her voice instantly softened, carrying a very natural hint of laughter. "Have you eaten?"

"It's nothing else, just wanted to let you know, I've received your lyrics."

She lowered her head, fingertips lightly fiddling with the corner of the lyric book.

"They're very good, truly very good. I've been almost impatiently revising the music these past two days. I'm already in the recording studio now."

She lifted her eyes, looking through the soundproof glass at the production team busy adjusting equipment, her voice carrying a light, genuinely happy lilt.

"The demo should be ready roughly next week. Before the New Year, I'd like to invite you over for the final round of confirmation and revisions."

"Hmm? You're going back to your hometown? To Jing County?"

She didn't speak, just listened quietly, the smile in the corners of her eyes slowly melting into a wider one.

"Okay, I understand. Since the flight tickets are already booked, of course I can't have you traveling back and forth."

"Let's do this. Next Wednesday, I'll fly over. I'll go to Jing County to find you."

"Alright, don't say that. It's settled then. For our song, I can't very well let the music wait for people, can I?"

After chatting a few more sentences, she hung up the phone.

The recording studio returned to quiet.

Cheng Xiaoxi stood to the side, her expression one of surprise. "Sister Yu, should I change the itinerary now?"

"Change it." Su Yu handed the phone back to her. "Go to Jing County next Wednesday."

"Ah... Okay!"

Cheng Xiaoxi quickly nodded, lowering her head to re-record the arrangements.

As if suddenly remembering something, Su Yu looked up. "One more thing."

"Please go ahead."

"Help me look into the specific situation of Zhang Yan's family, the more detailed the better." She paused. "Ask Ms. Ouyang's Secretary Chen directly. She's definitely already investigated it inside out."

"Okay, noted."

Cheng Xiaoxi acknowledged and turned to quickly leave and make arrangements.

The recording studio regained its quiet.

Su Yu sat there, lowering her head to look at the lyrics on the table, a layer of playful amusement slowly rising in her eyes.

Of course, she wasn't intentionally trying to make trouble for Jin Meixiao.

Originally, according to the plan, she was going to wait peacefully until after the New Year to go join the fun in Jing County.

It's just...

The timing was just too perfect.

As a musician seriously making a song, how could she let sacred music wait for the long Spring Festival holiday?

So, she was forced to go before the holiday, to go to Jing County early for inspiration.

After all, that was where all the stories in this song began.

Only five days until New Year.

If nothing unexpected happened, Jin Meixiao should already be preparing to return to the country.

A pity, it seems the "restriction" between you and Tang Song hasn't been completely lifted yet?

In the end, at most, you'll just get him all covered in saliva.

Maybe later, I'll have to be the one to help him cool down.

And that Ms. Ouyang, far away in the Mediterranean.

An undisturbed world for two, drifting on the sea for two days and two nights, must have been quite enjoyable, right?

Heh.

Wishing you a good pregnancy.

()

....

Monaco time, 6:30 AM.

Mediterranean Sea, international waters.

After two days and two nights of sailing, the [Floating Dream] completed an elegant arc in the boundless azure, steadily cleaving through the morning mist, slowly making its way back towards the Port of Hercules.

The engine's vibration was so slight it was almost negligible, leaving only the gentle white noise of waves lapping against the hull in one's ears.

4F, Owner's Deck Master Bedroom.

The sky hadn't truly brightened yet.

The heavy curtains only allowed a sliver of gray-blue morning light to seep in, immersing the entire bedroom in an ambiguous, quiet haze.

Tang Song awoke from a deep sleep. The powerful restorative effect of the [male-god halo] left him, even after two days and two nights of high-intensity physical exertion, brimming with vitality from head to toe, not a trace of fatigue in sight.

He didn't get up immediately, just tilted his head, gazing quietly in the faint morning light at the woman sleeping beside him.

Ouyang Xianyue lay with her back to him, sleeping on her side.

She was sleeping deeply.

The soft, thin quilt had slipped halfway down to her waist, revealing one smooth, rounded shoulder and a large expanse of snow-white back, delicate as fine suet.

Her thick, raven-black hair fanned out across the pillow, a few strands clinging to the side of her neck.

Time seemed to have left only the most mellow charm upon her, taking away none of her moving grace.

Even lying defenselessly on her side like this, the curves of her waist, back, and the contours outlined by the bedding still possessed a mature, voluptuous beauty that was impossible to look away from.

It was a kind of innate femininity, carved into the bones, requiring no embellishment.

Tang Song shifted slightly forward, stretched out an arm, and drew her entire body into his embrace from behind.

They fit together seamlessly.

He lowered his head, buried it in her hair that carried a faint, sweet fragrance, and took a satisfying breath.

"Mmm..."

Her long eyelashes fluttered slightly. Those narrow, beautiful phoenix eyes slowly opened.

She didn't turn around immediately, just allowed him to hold her like this from behind.

"Awake?"

"Mm." Tang Song whispered close to her ear. "Madam, we're returning to port today."

Ouyang Xianyue was quiet for a moment, her consciousness gradually returning.

Then she let out a soft "Mm."

Her voice carried a trace of barely perceptible wistfulness. "It is time to go back."

Tang Song lowered his head, nuzzled the side of her neck with his nose, and chuckled softly. "Sounds like you're very reluctant?"

Ouyang Xianyue didn't deny it immediately, just slightly lowered her eyes. "These two days... felt like a dream."

The most absurd, the most indulgent dream she had ever had in her life.

"A spring dream?"

Tang Song's hand slowly began to move, his tone full of mischievous teasing.

Ouyang Xianyue's cheeks warmed. She raised her hand and pressed it over the back of his hand.

The action wasn't forceful. Rather than stopping him, it was more like a coy, permissive resistance.

"Madam truly surprised me. More passionate than I imagined, and even better at... being a tease, especially..."

"Sir already won thoroughly enough last night." Her voice was slightly hoarse, carrying a hint of flustered, embarrassed annoyance. "First thing in the morning, and you still have to bully me with such words?"

"Bully? I'm just stating facts."

Ouyang Xianyue pursed her lips, the heat on her face slowly spreading down her neck.

"You... you've become more and more wicked lately."

"I thought Madam would like that." Tang Song's hand continued its descent. "After all, last night, you liked it very much, and said many heartfelt things."

Ouyang Xianyue's breathing hitched, as if remembering something. She closed her eyes.

"You... don't..."

"What? Is it because we're leaving international waters, returning to reality, that you've suddenly become reserved?"

"No." Ouyang Xianyue gently bit her lip, slightly tilting her chin up, her phoenix eyes half-lidded. "It's just... the sky is almost bright."

Tang Song glanced up at the window, then looked back at her.

"It's still early. The sea hasn't even woken up yet."

Ouyang Xianyue bit her lip and didn't speak again, just released the hand that was pressing against the back of his.

Tang Song reached out and gently lifted the thin quilt covering them.

In the morning light, the noble lady's full silhouette was exposed to the air.

She curled her body slightly, knees half-bent, calves crossed.

The line of her waist dipped softly inward, while the curve of her hips rose plumply, like a pipa lute polished by both time and the essence of spring.

Not ostentatious, yet captivating at a single glance.

Tang Song leaned closer and embraced this pipa.

"Madam, I have always respected your literary talent. Could you compose another poem?"

Ouyang Xianyue's breathing grew rapid, her phoenix eyes shimmering with watery light, her voluptuousness seeping into her very bones.

She looked at the man above her, her lips parting slightly, her orchid-like breath brushing against his ear.

"Alright..."

*To the Tune of 'Immortal by the River' - Returning Voyage*

Sea mist floats spring into dawn's light, a boat in hazy misted waters.

The pipa half-hidden, intent just unfurled.

By the strings, spring's message; beneath fingertips, old warmth's fragrance.

Returning, cease asking of tides' rise and fall, for now, let heartfelt matters be deeply concealed.

How many times wind and dew have traded for the setting sun.

Today the tide recedes, the person at the water's very heart.

...

Sea and sky gradually brightened.

The outline of the Port of Hercules gradually emerged in the daylight.

Shoreline, buildings, berths, the undulating mountains in the distance, like a painting slowly being unveiled.

*Ding!* The system screen automatically appeared before Tang Song's eyes.

The background images rapidly switched amidst flowing, colorful light.

The private jet in the night sky high above, the sea route shrouded in morning mist, the shimmering ripples of the temperature-controlled pool, the lingering intimacy of the semi-open-air sofa area, the deep kiss in the Starlight Lounge, the surrender in the owner's master bedroom...

All the images finally converged into the same figure—

That noble lady who step by step lost her composure, lost her restraint, and ultimately sank completely into desire and affection.

Immediately after, lines of text leaped out:

[Special Desire Dungeon — String Moon Drifting, Cleared]

[Evaluating results...]

[Player (Tang Song) evaluation: SSS (Perfect)]

[You did not rush to demand an outcome. Instead, utilizing emotional guidance, you successfully shattered the "structure of rationality" that Ouyang Xianyue had long maintained. You accurately identified her genuine desires, long suppressed beneath the shell of "duty, order, family, autonomy." ... Your understanding of high-level female psychological structures, power-based emotional dynamics, and boundaries in high-status intimacy has significantly deepened.]

[You have gained "Charm +1"]

[You have gained "Comprehension +1, Stamina +1, Agility +1"]

[You have obtained the 「Swimming Mastery Skill」]