At five in the morning, the sky outside was just beginning to lighten. Faint morning light slipped through a gap in the curtains, casting a pale strip across the room.
Chen Shi'an remained seated in meditation. He had not slept all night, yet he still opened his eyes punctually at five.
He lowered his head slightly, his gaze falling on the woman in his arms.
At some point, Li Wanyin had curled entirely into his embrace, her cheek resting snugly against his waist and abdomen. Her breathing was long and even, and she was sound asleep.
One arm was wrapped tightly around his waist, while her other hand unconsciously clutched a small fold of his clothing. Her whole body radiated an utterly unguarded ease.
Chen Shi'an tried to look away, but his peripheral vision refused to cooperate, tugging his attention back to the woman in his arms.
Her thin pajamas could hardly conceal her mature, graceful figure.
The hem lay softly over her fair, jade-like skin, failing entirely to cover her long, shapely thighs.
Li Wanyin was sleeping sweetly, but Chen Shi'an was suffering.
Chen Shi'an gazed at the sleeping Sister Wanyin in his arms with complicated eyes. Her unguarded allure, mingled with each soft breath curling around his arm, left him as unable to move as though he were bound in chains.
He had meant to gently shift her away a little, but his hands refused to obey. Instead, he instinctively held her tighter.
In her sleep, she seemed to feel even safer and hugged him harder in turn. Back and forth it went, becoming a vicious cycle.
They always said the Dao followed nature, and these feelings were only human. All that mattered was controlling oneself as suited the time, place, and propriety.
But Chen Shi'an discovered, to