"Hm? How did you get in here?"

Mu Yuli turned from the steaming bath, her frown melting into confusion when she saw Jiang Fan.

"Your mom thought I looked too tense and told me to shower. For the record, I had no idea that maid would bring me straight to you. I figured a place this big would have multiple bathrooms."

Jiang Fan’s expression darkened—not entirely faked. Though intimate, they weren’t some saccharine couple clinging together every second. One schemed in shadows; the other’s moods shifted like storm clouds.

Reading no resistance in her stance, he strode toward the showerhead to rinse his hair first.

"Oh? So *Mom* sent you..." Mu Yuli pivoted, resting her arms on the pool’s edge. Her eyes narrowed slightly as she murmured, voice laced with implication.

Jiang Fan ignored her. He knew she revered Mu Huaishi—and any answer would force a comparison between them. Even a smooth "She’s family, after all" wouldn’t satisfy her.

She wanted him as a puppet obeying only her. No woman—not even her mother—could rank above her. Yet if he ever became that hollow doll? She’d discard him without hesitation.

Once, he’d played the doting boyfriend flawlessly. She grew bored within months. That was the only time she’d sent him to his death before the half-year mark.

"I’ll ask you this," she said when he stayed silent, a dangerous smile curling her lips. "If Mom and I fell into water together, who would you save? Five seconds to decide."

Jiang Fan didn’t hesitate. "Your mom, obviously. Might wipe my debt clean if I ‘accidentally’ fumble. Pity you swim like a fish. I’d love to see you flailing for me."

He flashed her a vicious grin over his shoulder—utterly sincere. In his own twisted way, it *was* truth.

"Is that so..." Mu Yuli dipped her head, a trace of a smile ghosting across her lips. She rose from the water, bare feet padding toward him across the tiles. "Seems I’ve been too gentle. Time you remembered your place..."

Just like last night in the hospital shower, she pressed against his back, arms circling his shoulders. Her fingers traced idle patterns on his chest while her breath carried whispered threats like arcane blades against his ear. Jiang Fan’s skin prickled with goosebumps.

"Oh? Planning to do it *here*? Forgot your mom’s waiting outside?"

He held her leash: before Mu Huaishi, she’d always leash her temper.

Predictably, her hands and voice stilled.

He’d *had* to choose Mu Huaishi. Picking Mu Yuli would’ve branded him a flatterer. A stray cat that licks your fingers on command loses its thrill.

"Wait for tonight," she said flatly, releasing him. She loomed over him, eyes icy. "Let’s see if you’re still this bold then."

With that, she left.

Jiang Fan exhaled as her footsteps faded. Not reckless—but her pressure was real. He’d braced for fresh teeth marks on his neck.

*Tonight... She won’t try to drain me dry, will she?*

A chill slithered down his spine.

Mu Yuli rarely used violence unless furious. But her other methods of making him suffer? Far worse.

"Enough. Fear nothing—least of all women!"

Shaking it off, he hurried through his shower. No keeping them waiting.

———

Jiang Fan emerged freshly dressed to find mother and daughter laughing warmly in the living room. Before Mu Huaishi, Mu Yuli was unnervingly docile—like any ordinary, well-behaved high schooler.

No wonder. They were carved from the same mold. Though her daughter was grown, Mu Huaishi looked barely twenty-four: porcelain skin untouched by time, only her gentle grace setting her apart from Mu Yuli’s sharp edges.

*Plenty of her suitors eyed this mother-in-law too...*

All, inevitably, dealt with by Mu Yuli.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Auntie."

Caught staring a beat too long, Jiang Fan stepped forward.

The room’s warmth dimmed. Mu Huaishi beamed, gesturing for him to sit. Mu Yuli wore perfect innocence—as if the bathroom never happened. She wouldn’t risk her mother’s disapproval.

Jiang Fan obeyed, settling beside Mu Huaishi. A searing glare pinned him for a split second. *Hers, obviously.*

Matching pajamas draped all three—a deliberate touch. Mu Huaishi truly saw him as family. Her daughter had never brought a boy home before.

"We were sharing little Yuli’s childhood embarrassments," Mu Huaishi said, tapping a photo album on her lap. Her eyes glowed with nostalgia. "Look, Xiao Fan—this is her at five, after she skinned her nose. So vain! She kept covering the lens, shouting ‘No photos!’"

"Mom! Why tell him this?!" Mu Yuli snapped, then whirled on Jiang Fan. "Don’t you *dare* look!"

He blinked innocently—*I didn’t ask for this!*—but Mu Huaishi cut in first, scolding gently:

"Yuli, stop bullying Xiao Fan. I’ll tell these stories to your *children* someday. Will you threaten them too?"

Mu Yuli fell silent, mouth working soundlessly. She shot Jiang Fan a *You’re dead later* glare.

Jiang Fan’s chest tightened at Mu Huaishi’s words.

*Their child...*

In that life, he’d never even seen the baby’s face. Had she cared for their child well? He’d never know.