201: Chapter 195 Entirely Based on Conscience

"The past life is the past life, this life is this life." He didn't look back. "I have people around me now, as you've seen."

"So I should just step aside?" He Mengyao's voice choked up again.

"I didn't say that." Yu Heng turned around, leaning against the window frame. "But we have to be clear about the situation. We can't remarry, and besides, we're not old enough yet. Plus, I can't just abandon them. What I do, the people around me, my mindset—everything is different from before."

"I can adapt," He Mengyao said.

"Adapt to what?" Yu Heng smirked. "Adapt to me having other women? Or adapt to me finding a place for you?"

He Mengyao didn't say anything; she really hadn't thought that far ahead.

She just instinctively wanted to be near him, to win him back.

"Let's leave it at that for now. We'll talk about the future later and take it one step at a time," Yu Heng checked his phone. "It's past three. Let's go out for a while; we still have dinner and karaoke tonight."

"Can you act normal once we're out?" Yu Heng looked at her. "Stop picking fights with Shen Yueling."

"What if she provokes me?" He Mengyao looked up.

"She won't provoke you first," Yu Heng said. "As long as you restrain yourself."

He Mengyao pursed her lips, which was a silent agreement.

Yu Heng reached out and used his finger to wipe away a trace of a tear she hadn't cleaned from the corner of her eye.

"Go wash your face," he said. "I'll wait for you outside."

Yu Heng pulled open the door and walked out.

In the living room, Shen Yueling and Zhou Mengqi were sitting on the sofa playing on their phones, while Bai Xinran sat on a single chair nearby, quietly looking out the window.

Hearing the door open, all three looked over.

Yu Heng sat down next to Shen Yueling, leaning back naturally with his arm draped over the back of the sofa behind her. "What are you talking about?"

"Nothing." Shen Yueling locked her phone screen and glanced at him sideways. "What took so long?"

"Just a few words." Yu Heng's tone was casual. "Things should be quieter from now on."

—

In the afternoon, they went to sing and eat again, returning to the hotel nearly at eleven.

The five of them stood in the suite's foyer, the atmosphere a bit subtle.

"How are we sleeping?" Shen Yueling spoke first.

Yu Heng hung up his clothes: "I'll sleep in the master bedroom. You guys can divide the remaining two rooms yourselves."

He Mengyao glanced at Yu Heng but said nothing.

Shen Yueling narrowed her eyes, then spoke: "Then I'll sleep in one room with A Ling."

"Then I'll sleep in the other with Teacher He." Zhou Mengqi followed up quickly.

He Mengyao still didn't say anything, which was a silent agreement.

"Alright, everyone sleep early then." After saying that, Yu Heng turned and entered the master bedroom, closing the door.

—

Yu Heng came out after showering and walked to the bed while drying his hair.

Picking up the phone on the nightstand, he saw a WeChat message from Zhou Wanyi: "Mom said today that hiring this maternity matron was quite worth it; she was even praising you."

Yu Heng smiled. The old lady had known he hired a maternity matron for Zhou Wanyi and had called him several times, saying he had money to burn.

Now that the nanny had been there for a while and she was much more relaxed, she realized it was worth it.

He replied: "Yeah, I'm about to sleep here. You should sleep early too."

Putting down the phone, he leaned against the headboard and turned off the light.

Not long after he lay down, the door was pushed open a crack. A bit of light from the hallway nightlight leaked in, silhouetting a figure.

The door was closed behind them, and the room fell back into darkness.

The person stood at the door for two seconds, then slowly walked to the bedside.

One side of the mattress sank slightly.

"Move over a bit." The voice was very low.

Yu Heng recognized it; it was He Mengyao.

He moved to the other side, making room for her.

He Mengyao lifted the covers and slipped in.

Yu Heng reached out and pulled her into his arms, giving her a firm squeeze. "You're too thin right now. It's not as comfortable as holding you before."

"That's the future! Not before," He Mengyao murmured. "I was 120 or 130 pounds by the time we got married. How much do I weigh now? There's a difference of twenty or thirty pounds of meat."

"It's still more comfortable to hold someone with a bit of meat," Yu Heng sighed. "I don't even dare to hug those other girls too hard; I'm afraid I'll snap their waists."

"Who but a weirdo like you can't sleep without throwing a leg over someone?" He Mengyao said, then added, "You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?"

"On purpose with what?"

"'Don't even dare to hug those other girls too hard,'" He Mengyao teased. "Are you showing off to me?"

"I'm certainly not," Yu Heng laughed. "I'm just stating facts."

"The fact is that you're a total rogue now," He Mengyao said. "That time you were drunk, you didn't even do anything with Shen Yueling. Why are you like this now?"

"Huh?" Hearing this, Yu Heng sat up, turned on the light, and stared at her. "Haven't you always said something happened between us?"

"I did that on purpose to give you a lesson to remember," He Mengyao squinted at the stinging light. "A married man getting drunk and letting his childhood friend undress him?"

Yu Heng smirked at that. "You're relentless. It only happened that one time."

"If I hadn't made a fuss, there would've been a second time," He Mengyao huffed.

"But wasn't the camera blocked?" Yu Heng wondered. "How are you so sure nothing happened?"

"From the time you were undressed to the time I got home, it was only ten minutes. When have you ever been that fast?" He Mengyao said. "Besides, Shen Yueling has a boyfriend; she's not that kind of person."

"Haha!" Yu Heng found this amusing and pulled her back into his arms. "She's indeed not that kind of person, and I'm not that fast. Want to reminisce now? I've forgotten what our first time felt like."

"That was my first time," He Mengyao pursed her lips. "But it wasn't yours."

"Alright, it's not like I haven't told you before," Yu Heng stroked her back. "Don't tease me about that kind of thing."

"It's just frustrating," He Mengyao's voice was a bit muffled. "It's been so many twists and turns. When we left the Civil Affairs Bureau, I thought there was a divorce cooling-off period anyway, so I'd cool down and then find you to make up. Who knew you'd end up in the hospital? When you came out of the hospital, my heart was dead. Then I was reborn, and after coming here, I thought I could fix everything. But then you, you bastard, came back too, with a circle of women around you. How did I not see it before? Are you that much of a playboy?"

"That's because I was dating you. Of course I had to be single-minded when dating. And even more so after marriage. Unless you said you agreed to me having other women, how could I possibly do such a thing?"

"So you're saying you're quite principled?"

"Principles are different for everyone. I can only say it all depends on one's conscience."

"So you plan to keep all these women now?"

"If I can keep them all, of course I want to. There are feelings involved; it's not something you can just cut off."

"Do you have enough energy to go around? What if someone doesn't want to follow you anymore in the future?"

"Then there's nothing I can do. How can you keep someone who wants to leave?"

"True... and those who don't want to leave can't be driven away."

"Right? We're all adults, pushing thirty. When it comes to feelings, it all depends on conscience. There's not that much dramatic love and hate."