The sound of the commotion woke Li Caiyi up from her sleep. She stirred around on her bed before prying her eyes open. The first thing she saw was the pitch darkness of her room, but her eyes slowly got accustomed to it.

Crash!!

The loud sound of something crashing onto the ground made her sit up immediately. After fully regaining her wits, she quickly picked up her cardigan and wore it above her nightgown before hurrying outside the room.

The commotion got louder as she marched over. Her eyes widened in shock when she saw Meng Renshu, whose suit was messy and wrinkled, sitting on the floor with his back pressed against the sofa's leg. Beside him, pieces of glass fragments scattered, hinting at the source of the loud sound from earlier.

Around him, a few maids respectfully gave way for Li Caiyi. One of the maids, who looked younger than the rest, gingerly walked over to Li Caiyi and reported the situation.historical

"Madam, the Master came back in a drunken state. We tried to help him to his room, but he refused to move and accidentally made a vase fall down. The Master didn't allow us to come closer, so we neither could help him up nor clean up the shards."

Li Caiyi's expression was grim when she heard that. "Why did nobody inform me about this as soon as you noticed he was in a terrible state?"

"We are very sorry, Madam. We thought we could take care of this without needing to disturb your rest." The maid respectfully bowed to her, but Li Caiyi knew there was no sincerity in that apology.

Everyone in the house knew what kind of relationship Li Caiyi and Meng Renshu had. Every maid in this house would jump at a chance of appealing themselves in front of the Master of the house. For example, 'taking care' of him while he was in the most vulnerable state, while his wife was peacefully sleeping.

Li Caiyi was very unhappy and angry, but she knew that wasn't the important issue right now. She walked carefully toward her husband, and the smell of strong alcohol hit her nose with each step she made.

"Brother Renshu? Are you okay? It's me." Li Caiyi slowly reached out his hand and tapped his shoulder.

The man flinched at the touch before he raised his head. His face was flushed red, and his eyes were unfocused and watery.

Li Caiyi's heart skipped a bit when he grabbed her hand and caressed it gently. He even nudged his head comfortably to her hand, like a puppy asking for attention from his master. She shook her head to snap out of her daze before crouching down before him and touching his forehead.

"Thank goodness you didn't seem to catch a cold. How much did you drink tonight to become so wasted like this?" Li Caiyi cupped his face between her hand and gazed at him sternly. "Can you even hear me right now? Brother Renshu."

Meng Renshu's shaky eyes finally met hers. A wide smile crept up his lips before he pulled her into his embrace and rested his head on her shoulder, catching everyone off guard.

"B-brother Renshu!" Li Caiyi exclaimed in a fluster. Her cheeks heated as the crimson hue on her fair face became more visible with each second. The redness spread all the way to her ears.

"I'm tired. I want to rest." Meng Renshu hoarsely spoke. "Let's go together."

His delirious words rendered Li Caiyi speechless. She didn't know how much of his consciousness remained when he said that, but it still made her heart thump loudly in her chest.

It had been almost a year since they had married, but Meng Renshu had never spent the night together with her. Her mother-in-law was dissatisfied with this and pressed Li Caiyi to be more proactive. However, she didn't know how to talk about this to Meng Renshu, knowing that he still had feelings for her sister.

Although she knew it was strange to think this way because she was his legal wife now, she was reluctant to ask Meng Renshu and possibly made him uncomfortable.

Meng Renshu's head was about to slide off her shoulder, so Li Caiyi had to wrap her arms around him to steady him.

"Umm.." Meng Renshu hummed comfortably as he snuggled closer to her.

Li Caiyi glanced at the maids around, who stared at them with jealousy and frowned. "What are you doing just standing there? Aren't you going to clean up this place?"

Li Caiyi might not be acknowledged as the house's Madam by people sent by Qin Xiangjun here. Still, no one would dare to go against her with Meng Renshu here, albeit he wasn't in a sober state.

"Yes, Madam."

While the maids were working with the shattered glass on the floor, Li Caiyi tried her best to support Meng Renshu in his room. He was very heavy, but Li Caiyi somehow managed to wrap one of his arms around her shoulder and pulled him up. It was hard, so albeit she was reluctant, she still asked one of the maids to help her.

"You there. Help me carry him to his room." Li Caiyi ordered the first maid who talked to her. The maid's expression brightened before she walked over. She didn't even bother to hide her eagerness, making Li Caiyi's frown deepen.

However, when the maid tried to touch Meng Renshu, the man slapped her hand away before slowly blinking his eyes open.

"Don't touch me." He growled as he leaned more toward Li Caiyi, like a very dependent child. The maid looked terribly upset by his rejection, but she could only bite her lips and retreat respectfully.

"Brother Renshu, are you awake? Let's move to your room first, and you can take a rest after that." Li Caiyi spoke softly in a coaxing manner.

Meng Renshu nodded absentmindedly before following Li Caiyi's lead toward his bedroom.

She tried her best to support and maneuver his way to the bed, but he was so heavy that Li Caiyi lost her momentum and fell to the bed with his arm still wrapped around her shoulder.

They toppled together with Meng Renshu's half of body on top of hers.

Li Caiyi gasped when Meng Renshu's half-lidded eyes met hers as they lay down together. Her heart drummed so loudly, especially when he stared at her with that inexplicable gaze.

"I-I should return to my room..." Li Caiyi said awkwardly and tried to get up from the bed, but Meng Renshu unexpectedly held her down, using his arms, and rose to hover above her.

Li Caiyi was entrapped between his hands on both sides of her head, and their face was so close together that they could feel each other's breath.

"B-brother Renshu? Y-you are too drunk!" Li Caiyi yelped in a panic while trying to push him away.

Meng Renshu grabbed her hand and pressed it down above her head with one head while the other one caressed her cheeks gently.

His motion was gentle, yet his eyes staring at her ravenously told her different stories. Li Caiyi was flustered, nervous, and a bit scared, but she still waited for his following action.

"Mine."

That was the only word he uttered before he leaned down and kissed her lips.