Little Jasmine

Uncle Sang was delighted to see Zayne. "Mr. Zayne, the young lady is waiting for you on the rooftop terrace."

"The terrace?" Zayne looked grim. "Hasn't the temperature dropped these past two days? Why did you let her sit outside in the wind?"

Uncle Sang was suffering in silence. He had tried to persuade her, but the young lady simply wouldn't listen.

Zayne hurried upstairs again. When he reached the terrace, he saw that, fortunately, Xiao Yan had a thick blanket wrapped around her.

She was curled up in an outdoor chair, staring blankly into the distance.

Zayne had just taken a step when he saw Xiao Yan lower her head, grab the fluffy blanket, and wipe her eyes.

On his way over, Zayne had made a special detour to a twenty-four-hour florist and bought a large bouquet of fragrant jasmine.

Holding the bouquet, he walked softly up behind Xiao Yan and stroked her head.

Xiao Yan whipped her head around and saw the enormous bouquet.

She sniffled, then smiled, her voice thick and nasal. "Zayne, you're here!"

Then she opened her arms and snatched the flowers, taking a deep sniff among the blossoms. "Hehe, they smell so good. Thank you, Dr. Zayne!"

"..." Zayne pressed his lips together. "Yan..."

But that form of address felt so awkward that he corrected himself. "Little Jasmine, the night breeze is cold. Let's go back inside to talk, all right?"

Little Jasmine?!

Xiao Yan had still been sad, but she instantly brightened and nodded vigorously. "Yes, yes, yes! Whatever Sweet Pear says... ah!"

Zayne bent down and scooped Xiao Yan into his arms.

Then he actually leaned in and kissed her forehead. "If you're hurting inside, don't force yourself to smile."

He should have taken Xiao Yan back to her own bedroom.

But when they reached the door, he saw two servants working together to change the bedding on the large bed.

And the trash bag from the room had been tied shut and brought out.

Zayne stiffened for several seconds with Xiao Yan in his arms.

Xiao Yan also felt that the scene Zayne had witnessed implied far too much.

"Let's go to the media room and find a movie to watch together."

Zayne chose a very quiet art film.

Once it was projected onto the screen, the two of them sat nestled together.

Xiao Yan could sense Zayne's distraction, and she understood all too well that, with his intelligence, he had probably already guessed what had happened after Caleb arrived.

He simply hadn't started asking yet. Sooner or later, he would.

Another ten minutes or so passed before Zayne suddenly turned his head and said quietly, "He and I are on reasonably good terms. If you need me to, I can ask him to come back."

"No need." Xiao Yan simply linked her arm through Zayne's and rested her head on his shoulder. "He has work tomorrow."

After another brief silence, Zayne sighed. "Can you tell me what sort of role you want to play right now?"

"Just be yourself," Xiao Yan said.

If he were considering things solely from his own perspective, Zayne had to ask one question first. "Did you use protection?"

Xiao Yan's face grew hot, and she gave a slight nod. "Yes."

"Good." Zayne sighed softly again. "Caleb keeps himself clean. I'm not worried about health issues."

Xiao Yan understood. Zayne meant that, before she was ready to welcome a new life, she needed to use proper protection to prevent any accidents.

Otherwise, she would be acting irresponsibly toward both herself and that new life.

Zayne paused the movie with the remote. "Would you like to talk about the problems between you and him?"

Xiao Yan shook her head, not knowing where to begin.

"Then can you tell me why you made such an unusual request the very first time you were alone with him?"

Zayne asked again.

With Caleb's personality, he would certainly never invite a wife-lord with whom he had no emotional foundation to share his bed.

In a society where women were superior to men, it was most likely the wife-lord who had made the request.

It would be no exaggeration to say that Caleb's entire future military career lay in Xiao Yan's hands.

Only by using that to threaten him as his wife-lord could Xiao Yan possibly make Caleb submit to such a thing.

Discussing this with Zayne was still far too difficult for Xiao Yan.

She shook her head again.

"You like him very much." Seeing Xiao Yan's difficulty, Zayne could only make his own guesses. "He..."

"Zayne." Xiao Yan cut him off. She truly did not want to continue this topic.

She turned and looked earnestly into his eyes. "I want love, and I want happiness too. Is that all right?"

Zayne blinked twice. Even in the dim media room, Xiao Yan's small face was still reflected in his eyes.

There was no sated satisfaction on that face after having Caleb.

There was only confusion, helplessness, and faintly discernible humiliation and sadness.

"That is your right." Though Zayne knew he was being somewhat overbearing, he still voiced his thoughts. "But they are all independent individuals too. Their wills may not be yours to control."

"I know you wouldn't approve of this kind of coercion." Emotionally exhausted, Xiao Yan stood. "I know you and Caleb are childhood friends. You have a bond, while I'm an outsider. If you take his side and blame me for exercising my privileges as wife-lord, I have no defense."

Zayne stood as well and reached out to take Xiao Yan's hand.

Xiao Yan stepped aside. "I'm tired. I'm going to bed. Make yourself at home."

With that, she turned and headed for the door.

Zayne stood stunned for several seconds before hurrying after her.

Once she reached the corridor, Xiao Yan was almost running, so Zayne had to jog a few steps too.

After catching up, Zayne circled in front of Xiao Yan and blocked her path. "I'm not taking his side, nor am I blaming you. I certainly don't consider you an outsider, and Caleb and I can hardly be called insiders either."

"Then what exactly do you want?" Xiao Yan stopped, but her brows knitted. "Did you come all this way just to lecture me? To tell me I was wrong?"

"You hurt yourself." Zayne stepped forward, gripped Xiao Yan's shoulders, and lowered his head to look straight at her. "I saw your tears and regret."

"That was the only way I could think of to break through Caleb's psychological defenses!" Xiao Yan finally revealed what she truly felt. "Don't you understand him? Then tell me, what else could I have done?"

Zayne's supposed understanding did not extend to how Caleb behaved within a marriage.

He fell silent again, lowering his eyes in thought.

Gradually, he finally began to understand Xiao Yan's intentions a little.

Unconventional people required unconventional methods.

With Zayne, Xiao Yan was considerate, gentle, and sweet.

With Caleb, she had simply used a different tactic of forceful assault.

The goal... was what she had said: she wanted love and happiness.

"I never wanted to discuss any of this with you. You're one of my husbands too. Discussing Caleb with you is strange to begin with, and it's very unfair to you." Frustrated, Xiao Yan struggled free of Zayne's grip.

She went around Zayne, wanting to return to her bedroom. "I'm sorry you had to see me in such a mess. Whether you're disillusioned or disappointed, I may really not be capable of handling every situation smoothly and satisfying every one of you."

That amounted to indirectly admitting that she had a different approach for each of the five men.

But to Zayne, it carried another meaning.

Not one of the five men took the initiative. Not one would take the initiative to accommodate or please their wife-lord, forcing Xiao Yan to resort to all sorts of methods.

Zayne turned where he stood and called softly in a low voice, "Little Jasmine."

Xiao Yan could not resist that name. Once again, she stopped.

"You've misunderstood me in many ways. I'm neither disillusioned nor disappointed. On the contrary, I think it must be exhausting for you to put so much effort into navigating among the five of us." Zayne walked slowly up behind Xiao Yan. "Also, I was a little shaken, and I'm a little jealous of Caleb."

What did that mean?