Lu Chuanbai buried his head in Xu Qingqing's warm neck, greedily inhaling the fragrance on her body.
"You smell so good. Why does it smell different from the shower gel? Did you spray perfume?"
This fragrance was sweet and mellow, strong yet fresh, overpowering even the scent of roses.
Xu Qingqing raised her hand and gently sniffed her wrist. There was nothing but the rose scent of the shower gel.
"No, I just used the shower gel in the bathroom."
"No, I can smell something else on you."
Lu Chuanbai raised his head, looking at Xu Qingqing with a determined and affectionate gaze. Inspiration struck him.
"Could it be your natural body fragrance? I read in a book that if you truly love someone, you can smell a scent on them that others can't."
Xu Qingqing thought Lu Chuanbai's statement made sense and nodded in agreement. "This theory is quite romantic and seems to fit."
Otherwise, why could Lu Chuanbai always smell a different fragrance on her?
Lu Chuanbai raised his hand and brought his wrist under Xu Qingqing's nose, asking childishly, "What do you think my scent is like?"
Xu Qingqing sniffed carefully. Apart from the cedar - scented perfume that Lu Chuanbai usually liked to use, there was no other smell.
Xu Qingqing glanced at Lu Chuanbai and pretended to smell again.
Indeed, she couldn't smell anything else.
"Just the cedar scent..." Xu Qingqing said hesitantly.
Hearing this, Lu Chuanbai was a bit unhappy. Pouting, he hugged Xu Qingqing tightly again. "Don't you love me enough?"
Hearing how childish Lu Chuanbai was, Xu Qingqing's eyes immediately curved into a smile. She reached out and pushed Lu Chuanbai away. "Well, are you really judging our love based on whether we can smell a special scent?"
"What if I'm the chosen 'Fragrant Concubine' with natural body fragrance and you don't have it?"
Xu Qingqing pouted and looked at Lu Chuanbai.
"Yes, since you're a fairy, why would a big man like me need body fragrance?"
Lu Chuanbai smoothly picked up Xu Qingqing. Taking a long stride, he reached the bed and tossed Xu Qingqing onto it.
"It's time to sleep. Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy."
Xu Qingqing bounced on the soft bed twice and then giggled as she got under the covers.
Lu Chuanbai slowly untied his tie and the buttons of his shirt, then leaned over...
Meanwhile, Wang Chengxiang, who was in a time zone two hours behind, was having a tough time.
It took him a long time to find his way home. His wife and daughter had already finished dinner, and there was only cheese left on the table, which he couldn't get used to.
Hungry, Wang Chengxiang felt desolate. He regretted helping his step - mother in the first place. Instead of getting any benefits, he had gotten himself into this mess.
Just then, the detective hired by Lu Chuanbai found a few street hooligans and paid them to harass Wang Chengxiang's family.
The hooligans stood downstairs of the apartment building, picked up two stones at random, and aimed at Wang Chengxiang's window.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Sitting in the living room, bathed in the moonlight, Wang Chengxiang was startled by the flying glass shards beside him. He instantly jumped up from the sofa.
Wang Chengxiang hid behind the sofa, crouching and peeping out with wide - eyed terror at the broken glass.
Several stones landed near his feet. It was obvious that someone was throwing stones downstairs.
This apartment building was over 30 stories high, but only their window was broken. It must be a deliberate act.
After completing their task, the hooligans downstairs quickly fled before the police arrived.
Chen Zhen and Wang Chuyue, who were sleeping, quickly got out of bed when they heard the noise. They saw the messy living room and the broken glass reflecting the cold moonlight.
Wang Chengxiang, frightened out of his wits, was hiding behind the sofa, his face ashen.
"What on earth is going on! Why was the window broken!"
Wang Chuyue shrieked, her angry gaze fixed on Wang Chengxiang. "Dad, you were the last one to come back. What's the deal with this broken window?"
Chen Zhen beside her also looked at Wang Chengxiang in horror, waiting for his answer. In such cold weather, without the window to block the wind, the cold air rushed in, chilling them to the bone.
Seeing his wife and daughter come out, Wang Chengxiang, who had been on edge, let out a sigh of relief. He scrambled to his feet and explained what had just happened.
"I don't know who suddenly threw stones from downstairs and broke the window. Look, these are the stones they threw in!"
Saying this, Wang Chengxiang picked up the stones near his feet and showed them to his wife and daughter.
"Did you see who threw the stones?"
Wang Chuyue asked impatiently.
She had to support three people's living expenses and had no money to repair the window.
Only then did Wang Chengxiang react. He leaned over the windowsill and looked down.
But by this time, it was too late. The stone - throwers had long since left, and the street downstairs was empty.
"I... I forgot to look..."
Wang Chengxiang looked ugly. With a guilty expression, he turned to look at his wife and daughter, feeling completely at a loss.
Hearing this, Wang Chuyue immediately flew into a rage. She put her hand on her forehead and paced back and forth in the living room, loudly mocking Wang Chengxiang.
"You used to be a hooligan, leading a group of people to collect debts and not even blinking an eye when you beat someone to death!"
"Now, just because someone broke the window, you're hiding like a coward and saying you forgot to look. Are you good for anything!"
Wang Chuyue was so angry that she shouted. She was already exhausted and had to take care of her uneducated parents. She felt the pressure was reaching its peak.
"I have no money to replace the window. If the property management comes looking for someone, let them find you!"
After saying this, Wang Chuyue became a hands - off manager and stormed back to her room.
Chen Zhen also glared at Wang Chengxiang, thinking he was useless. She kept rubbing her arms, which were covered in goosebumps from the cold wind.
"You're the only man in the family. You should do something a man is supposed to do!"
Wang Chengxiang was so overwhelmed by the successive events that he went crazy. He directly reached out and overturned the table in front of him, roaring angrily.
"Fine, it's all my fault! I'll go back to China tomorrow. I don't believe I can't survive without you!"
"I'll just consider that I've raised two ungrateful children for nothing!"
After saying this, Wang Chengxiang stormed back to his room.
Back in China, he still had his good brothers. He could just lower his head and ask for a meal. It would be better than suffering this humiliation here!
The next day, Wang Chengxiang packed his things and prepared to return to China. He sold all his belongings to scrape together enough money for the plane ticket.
Wang Chuyue watched Wang Chengxiang coldly as he was about to leave, showing no intention of stopping him. Although Chen Zhen was anxious, she didn't dare to persuade either of them, for fear of getting involved.
Just as Wang Chengxiang was about to pick up the snake - skin bag to pack his things, Wang Chuyue snatched it away and said coldly,
"I'll still need this bag to pack my luggage in the future. Since Dad is going back to live a prosperous life, I'm sure you won't need a shabby bag."