Chapter Twenty-Nine: Is This What Falling in Love Feels Like?

“Wife, you looked at me, now I’m no longer pure! What am I going to do? I’m still a virgin bachelor!” Xue Tian’ai feigned a pitiful expression.

Qin Mengxue was at a loss for words. She was sure Xue Tian’ai’s shrill cries were an imitation of herself. Already a little embarrassed, she couldn’t help but grow annoyed. “Stop saying nonsense and hurry up and get dressed. And don’t call me ‘wife’!”

“But, wife, I am dressed. You covered all the important parts for me! Look, I wrapped myself up properly!” Xue Tian’ai stood and shook his waist, wrapped tightly in a bath towel.

“Besides, this is my home, and you’re my wife. I’ve just taken a shower in my own house, in front of my own wife. Not wearing clothes—how is that shameless? Isn’t there any justice left in the world?”

Qin Mengxue’s cheeks flushed from being called “wife” over and over, but she slowly moved her hand away, relieved to see Xue Tian’ai indeed wrapped in a towel. However, upon closer inspection, her expression soured again. The pattern, the motif—if she wasn’t mistaken, that was her bath towel! Her towel, now wrapped around Xue Tian’ai, covering… that area.

“Where did you shower just now?” Qin Mengxue struggled to suppress the anger rising within her.

“Hm? Of course I showered at home.” Xue Tian’ai didn’t notice her agitation, settling casually on the edge of the sofa. After a pause, he added, “I certainly didn’t go to any of those unhealthy bathhouses!”

“I’m asking, did you shower in my bedroom?” Qin Mengxue couldn’t bear his rambling and asked directly.

“Yes, so what?” Xue Tian’ai replied carelessly.

Hearing his answer and seeing his indifferent face, a nameless fury surged within Qin Mengxue. This scoundrel not only entered her bedroom without permission, used her bathroom, but also wrapped her towel around his… that!

“You bastard, I’m going to kill you!” Qin Mengxue leapt from the sofa, charging at Xue Tian’ai with bared teeth and claws.

“Hey, hey, what’s gotten into you? Are you going to eliminate your own husband? Can you be clearer about what you mean?” Xue Tian’ai easily dodged her attack, anxiously asking. What on earth had he done to provoke her?

“You not only went into my room, used my bathroom, but also my towel! I—I’ll fight you to the end!” Qin Mengxue raged.

Xue Tian’ai paused, puzzled—just because of that? “Hey, you’re my wife, what I did isn’t illegal!”

“I’m not your wife! And you’re not allowed to use my towel!”

“Fine, fine, I won’t use it. It’s just a towel, I’ll give it back to you.” With that, Xue Tian’ai swiftly removed the towel wrapped around his waist.

Qin Mengxue was briefly stunned as he handed her the towel. He actually took it off! Now, Xue Tian’ai stood before her, wearing nothing but a pair of boxers.

A flawless male physique was suddenly on display before Qin Mengxue. She had to admit, the man before her possessed every condition to win a woman’s heart.

A handsome, refined face, tall and straight posture, a sculpted body—perfection from head to toe. Except for the scar on his chest, which added a touch of ferocity, everything else was elegant and charming.

Upon closer look, even the scar lent him a wild allure, an intriguing extra appeal.

This man’s appearance matched the fantasy of a prince charming for 99.99% of girls.

Qin Mengxue stared blankly at Xue Tian’ai, her thoughts running wild, her cheeks growing ever more flushed.

“Hey, are you going to take it or not?” Xue Tian’ai had no interest in guessing what was going on in her mind. To him, Qin Mengxue was simply someone capricious—one moment furious, the next absent-minded.

“You’d better keep it wrapped,” she replied, snapping back to reality. The sight of Xue Tian’ai without a towel was too overwhelming for her; it was best he keep it on. She could always use a different one later.

Xue Tian’ai chuckled, his teeth gleaming white. “That’s better. After all, you’re my wife. What’s yours is mine—what’s the difference?”

“Bah! I’ll say it again…”

“Don’t call me wife! I’m not your wife—can’t you say something else? I don’t even have the energy to retort at this point.” Xue Tian’ai cut in quickly.

“Hmph!” Qin Mengxue snorted coldly, then sat back on the sofa, opening her laptop.

Xue Tian’ai trotted over enthusiastically. “Wife, what are you looking at?” He glanced at the screen, but saw nothing as Qin Mengxue quickly turned it off.

“You wouldn’t understand anyway. Why bother looking?” she said irritably.

“I didn’t even see anything. How do you know I wouldn’t understand?” Xue Tian’ai felt underestimated and was a bit annoyed. He had mastered several languages before the age of ten and completed university courses, after all.

“Is it your chat history with your little lover? Don’t want me to see it?” Xue Tian’ai asked suspiciously. Although according to the information handed down from the Xue family, Qin Mengxue was extremely self-respecting and disciplined, it wasn’t impossible, was it?

Even though there was an engagement between them, Xue Tian’ai didn’t fully understand Qin Mengxue as a person.

“Xue Tian’ai, don’t talk nonsense!” Qin Mengxue’s face darkened, icy chills emanating from her body. What kind of joke was this? A lover? Did she seem like the type?

“That’s good, that’s good. I wouldn’t want a field of green grass on my head!” Xue Tian’ai breathed a long sigh of relief, patting his chest.

“Hmph! To think that on the first night meeting your fiancée, you didn’t come home because of a prostitute. So you actually care about this, huh?” Qin Mengxue snorted, recalling their first phone call—the lascivious voice on the other end—and taunted him.

“Hm? What prostitute?” Xue Tian’ai was taken aback. Aside from being accosted by a tipsy lady, nothing like that had happened. Given his identity as the legendary assassin Phantom Butterfly, would he even need to pay for such things?

Back then, a royal princess from country Y had offered him a hundred million pounds for one night together, but Xue Tian’ai had refused. Not because he didn’t want to sleep with her—she was beautiful, golden-haired and blue-eyed—but he felt that if he really did, the consequences would be troublesome and difficult to explain, so it was better to decline.

“Didn’t you call me from some club that day?”

“Yes, I was at a club, but that has nothing to do with prostitutes!”

“Liar! I heard it myself… I heard those… lewd sounds.” Qin Mengxue’s voice grew quieter as she spoke, lowering her head.

“What sounds?” Xue Tian’ai tried to recall that day. Suddenly, the image of a seductive figure in a fiery red cheongsam appeared in his mind. Sister Hong, the hostess of the Midnight Auction. She had indeed teased him on the phone at that moment. Damn, Qin Mengxue really had heard it—he couldn’t help but be exasperated.

“Honestly, I wasn’t with a prostitute. Do you believe me?”

“Do I look like an idiot?” Qin Mengxue pointed at her delicate nose.

“But I really wasn’t doing anything like that!” Xue Tian’ai protested silently.

“Then what were you doing? You said you were at a club—what good things do men do at clubs?” Qin Mengxue raised an eyebrow, clearly skeptical.

“Wife, I think you owe all clubs an apology. Why do clubs mean that to you? Such negative thinking!” Xue Tian’ai was speechless at her perspective.

“So what were you doing? Don’t tell me you went to a club just to drink tea!”

“Boohoo, I’m so wronged. I spent so much money for you at that club, and you still doubt me!” Xue Tian’ai pretended to be pitiful, covering his eyes.

“For me? I bet you spent it on other women.” Qin Mengxue watched Xue Tian’ai’s fake crying and couldn’t help but think Hollywood had lost out—his acting was so real. But she remained unconvinced.

“Really, if I’m lying, I’m a puppy!” “Come on, be a good boy, bark for grandpa!”

“Damn, you really don’t believe me!” Xue Tian’ai pouted unhappily.

“Do you think I’d believe anything you say after hearing that?” Qin Mengxue paused, then continued, “Let’s suppose you’re telling the truth. What did you spend money on for me? I don’t know anything about it.”

“I just haven’t found the right moment to give it to you. Open the drawer in your coffee table—that’s the gift I prepared for our meeting.”

That morning, Xue Tian’ai had placed the Tears of the Blue Ocean ring in the drawer, hoping to present it later, when the atmosphere was right. But under Qin Mengxue’s relentless questioning, his plan was foiled.

“Hmm? Really?” Qin Mengxue, half skeptical, opened the drawer.

Inside, a beautifully crafted jade box lay quietly. Its joints were adorned with exquisite wood, giving it an air of elegance.

“What is this?” Qin Mengxue couldn’t help but admire the box—it was indeed refined and lovely.

“Open it and you’ll see,” Xue Tian’ai smiled.

Qin Mengxue nodded lightly, her delicate hands slowly reaching for the box. For some reason, her hand trembled as she touched it.

This seemed to be the first time she was unpacking a gift from a peer of the opposite sex. As a favored daughter of heaven, Qin Mengxue had received countless gifts and confessions, but she had never accepted any of them. What was happening to her? Had she perhaps begun to accept this barely clothed fiancé?

The box was slowly opened, and in the next moment, a stunning pale blue gemstone appeared before her eyes!

Qin Mengxue was stunned. In all her life, she’d never seen such a beautiful gem! The pale blue stone shimmered under the soft light, dazzling like fireworks. Set in a platinum ring, it radiated absolute luxury without a hint of vulgarity. Its beauty seemed to transcend the ordinary, rich and brilliant beyond compare.

“This… is this real?” Qin Mengxue stammered, unable to find words to praise the ring.

“Would it be fake?” Xue Tian’ai wished he could pry open her mind and see what she was thinking. Could a fake ring look like this?

“No, no, that’s not what I meant. Is this ring really for me?” Qin Mengxue quickly clarified.

“You’re my wife. If not for you, who else would I give it to?” Xue Tian’ai said gently.

Upon hearing his words, Qin Mengxue felt her heart suddenly tremble and then race, her cheeks growing warm.

Oh my, what was happening to her? What was this feeling? Qin Mengxue didn’t know, but it was the first time in her twenty-three years she’d ever felt like this.

Was this the feeling of falling in love?