Chapter 0063: Arising from Affection, Stopped by Propriety
Once this point clicked, Li Bin's mindset immediately shifted.
Looking at Qiao Shanshan's message, Li Bin just casually replied with a light touch: Just woke up. You're up so early? I couldn't sleep last night...
After that, Li Bin didn't offer any further explanation. He simply turned off his phone, got up, and washed up.
After he was done, Li Bin turned his phone back on for a quick look.
Qiao Shanshan: Are you a pig? Waking up so late? What did you do last night?
Qiao Shanshan: Don't you have to work?
Qiao Shanshan: Why are you ignoring me again?
Qiao Shanshan: Are you not going to work today?
Qiao Shanshan: Hey! Say something? Where are you?
Seeing the messages Qiao Shanshan sent one after another, Li Bin smiled smugly and casually replied: I'm a freelancer. I usually have a lot of free time, no need to work.
Qiao Shanshan: What do you do? That's so free?
Seeing Qiao Shanshan reply immediately, Li Bin wasn't in a hurry to respond. Instead, he turned off his phone again and pressed his ear to Wen Ting's door to eavesdrop for a moment.
Wen Ting's shoes were still in the stairwell, so she probably hadn't gone out yet. However, there was no sound from her room. He guessed the young lady had drunk too much last night and was still asleep.
Li Bin checked the time; it was already 11 AM, almost lunchtime. He knocked on the door and asked, "Wen Ting, are you up? Let's go eat."
Li Bin was eager to see Wen Ting's condition and her closeness to him.
"You go ahead, I don't want to eat!" came Wen Ting's disgusted voice through the door.
Li Bin scratched his head, a little embarrassed. Wen Ting's attitude toward him was still so awful!
Just then, Wen Lan heard the commotion and came up from the second floor.
"Brother-in-law, you're finally awake! If you'd slept any longer, the lunch I personally made would have gotten cold!"
Wen Lan walked over to Li Bin with a smile, gave a strange look at Wen Ting's door, and asked curiously, "Brother-in-law, is Wen Ting still not up?"
"You personally made lunch?" Li Bin looked at Wen Lan in disbelief. In his memory, this was absolutely the first time Wen Lan had ever cooked a meal.
"Mm-hmm! What's wrong? Is there a problem? I made it especially for you!" Wen Lan said proudly, pushing Li Bin. "Hurry down and taste my cooking!"
Li Bin instantly felt a wave of warmth and happiness in his heart.
Wen Lan had put on a little light makeup today and was wearing the new dress he had bought for her yesterday, making her look even more charming and moving.
Remembering how Wen Lan had kissed him last night, Li Bin grew bolder.
He suddenly reached out and pulled Wen Lan into his arms, gazing deeply at her charming, blushing face, and kissed her passionately.
"Brother-in-law! Don't push your luck!" But unexpectedly, Wen Lan this time directly put her index finger to Li Bin's lips. Her soft, slender body twisted nimbly, and she easily dodged his embrace.
"Brother-in-law, don't forget, you're my brother-in-law! We can't do anything that would be disloyal to my sister! Even if you like me, you have to control your feelings from now on! There's a saying: 'Arising from affection, stopped by propriety!' The two of us must both restrain ourselves from now on! If you keep this up, I'll have to start avoiding you!" Wen Lan said to Li Bin in a serious, soft reminder, her tone playful yet stern.
Li Bin immediately understood Wen Lan's meaning.
Wen Lan actually had feelings for him too, and she was attracted to him as well!
But because of their relationship as brother-in-law and sister-in-law. Getting too intimate would violate ethics and morality!
Therefore, Wen Lan didn't want to do something disloyal to her sister, something that would destroy this family.
In the end, she chose to keep her distance from Li Bin, turning her feelings into the familial affection between siblings.
The so-called "arising from affection, stopped by propriety"!
The moment Wen Lan kissed him yesterday might have been her last intimate act, the moment she decided to seal away her feelings for him for good.
Once he understood this, Li Bin's heart immediately sank with disappointment.
The feeling of being torn between hope and fear was like a knife twisting in his heart, even more painful than the secret crush he had on the school beauty back in high school!
Li Bin was naturally unwilling to be such a gentleman.
But now, Li Bin understood that in this situation, he absolutely could not be impatient!
The more critical the moment, the more he had to wait, to wait for a special opportunity!
An opportunity for Wen Lan to let go of ethics and morality, to cast aside shame and guilt, and to act on a single, reckless impulse!
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