Chapter 128: Advance Payment and Unexpected Gains

In the spacious foyer, Li Youlan was the only one present. The curtains on the first floor blocked out the afternoon sun, leaving the room somewhat dim despite the wall lamps being on. Directly opposite the entrance stood a large, floor-to-ceiling mirror, nearly twenty square meters in size. It served not only as a dressing mirror but also brightened the hall. Usually, everyone would admire themselves in it before heading out, and Chu Dong was no exception.

Currently, Li Youlan was checking herself in the mirror.

Under normal circumstances, this would be trivial, but the issue was that she was wearing very little. To be precise, she was wrapped in a single white bathrobe, which she had left open, her hands propped up as she twisted from side to side.

Li Youlan’s eyes were naturally large, and they were even wider now. Tan Xue had returned at noon, and they had played badminton for a while; it was said to be the best exercise for a toned physique. They had formed this habit while in England, but had dropped it after returning home due to being too busy. Today, they had remembered it and played a few rounds. Although it was November and not particularly hot, the activity had made them sweat, so they went off to shower separately. Tan Xue had hurried upstairs, leaving Li Youlan to wash downstairs with her change of clothes.

This was partly Chu Dong’s fault. His comments about her "small buns" had made her feel self-conscious. After showering, she found the bathroom mirror too small and fogged up to properly see her figure, so she had just thrown on her robe and run out. She had drawn the curtains, untied the belt, held the robe open with both hands, and stood before the mirror, narcissistically admiring herself while cursing Chu Dong under her breath: "You jerk, which eye sees me as small? This is called firm! Xiaoxue is just a bit more voluptuous, hmph!" Just as she was basking in her own reflection, the door opened. Chu Dong stood there, foolishly holding a flowerpot, his eyes fixed squarely on her in the mirror.

"Ah!" Li Youlan realized the door had opened. A sliver of sunlight spilled in, and Chu Dong’s silhouette appeared in the reflection. She let out a sharp scream, turned, and ran. In her panic, she didn't know where she was going, spinning around the hall and even losing her bathrobe before she finally found the stairs.

Chu Dong, still holding the flowerpot in one hand, was so startled by her jet-engine-like scream that he nearly dropped it. He hadn't intended to look, but the mirror was right there, and the sight was so vivid—the porcelain skin and exquisite figure were the kind that could make anyone lose their composure. Would it not be hypocritical to close his eyes or turn away? As someone who despised hypocrisy above all else, how could Chu Dong let himself be labeled with such a charge?

Hearing the noise, Tan Xue ran out wrapped in a bath towel. One running up the stairs, the other down, they collided at the landing. Li Youlan was so frightened by Chu Dong that she wanted to grab anything to cover herself. Even when she encountered Tan Xue, she didn't register who it was; she simply ripped the towel off Tan Xue, wrapped it around herself, and bolted.

Tan Xue was left standing there shivering and hugging her shoulders, shouting, "Lanlan, have you lost your mind? Why did you snatch my towel?"

Chu Dong changed into his slippers and headed upstairs with the flowerpot. Seeing Tan Xue in that state, he said sympathetically, "Seriously, that girl must be sick."

"Yeah, you scared me to death, I thought something..." Tan Xue began to agree, but then she saw Chu Dong heading up. She covered her eyes with both hands, her scream laced with tears, "Turn around! Turn around! Don't look, don't you dare look!"

How creative. She was completely exposed, yet instead of covering her sensitive areas, she covered her eyes. Was it a case of "out of sight, out of mind"?

Although Chu Dong sometimes had a sharp tongue, he was a gentleman at heart. He turned around as quickly as he could, still facing Tan Xue, and asked, "I've turned around. Is there anything else?"

Tan Xue didn't even answer; she jumped up and ran off. Behind her, Chu Dong couldn't help but click his tongue, "White. Really white."

Some things can be significant or trivial. Today, it wasn't as if Chu Dong had intentionally peeked; he had no such motive. It was just a coincidence. Li Youlan had been too engrossed in admiring herself to hear his car arrive.

As for Tan Xue, that wasn't his fault either; Li Youlan had snatched her towel. He hadn't stripped her; he had merely been a bystander.

However, the matter wasn't so simple. After much deliberation, Tan Xue and Li Youlan concluded that Chu Dong had committed several offenses:

1. By failing to call out or ring the doorbell before entering, he proved he had an intention to see things he shouldn't.
2. By failing to immediately close his eyes and leave the room upon seeing Li Youlan, it could be determined that he had an extreme craving for the female body and should be classified as a threat.
3. By failing to praise Tan Xue immediately after the incident, he demonstrated a severe aesthetic deficiency, and his intelligence should be subject to further observation.
4. He had held onto the flowerpot throughout the entire ordeal, showing a lack of decisiveness and an inability to prioritize, meaning his trustworthiness had dropped significantly.
5. After committing such crimes, he hadn't even attempted to flee, which was a clear challenge to their authority and required strict punishment.

Based on these findings, Tan Xue and Li Youlan decided that Chu Dong, as the primary culprit, would face a public trial and the harshest of punishments that evening.

Chu Dong set down the flamingo flower and lay down. His body couldn't handle too much back-and-forth today, and he was tired from walking, so he soon fell asleep.

Little Yu'er had returned home, this time by taxi. She couldn't wait to see her heroic brother-in-law. How had he managed to find the original source of the rumors and get her to come forward to clear Teacher Xiao's name? Little Yu'er had even considered that if she didn't hug him until he was bruised and battered, she wouldn't be doing justice to such a clever and great brother-in-law. Instead, she arrived home to find her two sisters discussing how to punish him.

"Are you serious?" Little Yu'er put down her backpack, clearly dissatisfied with their behavior. After hearing the details, she raised an objection: "Sister Lanlan, did brother-in-law ask to see your 'buns'? You wanted someone to look, and if they didn't, they'd be an idiot, wouldn't they? Even if I were him, Sister Lanlan is so beautiful, I'd be doing a disservice to my eyes if I didn't look. And you, older sister, are you just bored? Why are you afraid of him looking? If you don't let him look, are you going to let me look? It’s not like a few years makes a difference. Besides, Mom said you slept in the same bed as him for years when you were little, and you used to cry like a river when they tried to take you home. Now look at you, acting all shy."

With her sharp tongue, Little Yu'er dismantled their burning desire for revenge point by point.

Tan Xue and Li Youlan looked at each other, then stared at the incessantly chattering Little Yu'er. "What kind of medicine did he feed you to make you take his side?"

"I'm just siding with reason, not people. If brother-in-law had fed me medicine, I’d be fighting you right now instead of reasoning with you. Think about it: he saw you, so that's just an 'early withdrawal.' Haven't credit cards been used for years? And for Sister Lanlan, to him, it was just an accidental bonus—he was just at the right place at the right time." Little Yu'er looked exhausted and sat down, pouting, "Reasoning takes too much energy. It’s so late and there’s no food—are you trying to starve the future of the nation?"

"Go find your Superman, Zorro, or Spider-Man brother-in-law and let that all-powerful guy solve your problems," Tan Xue retorted, feeling embarrassed by her sister's words. "We’re just the villains who hurt flowers and frame good people. Keep away from us so we don't stain your pure lily-like innocence. We can't take that responsibility."

"Since that's how you both feel, it would be shameless of me to stay," Little Yu'er said, putting her backpack back on and waving at them with a look of regret. "I'll go order dinner. I have the number. As for how to order... well, my sister said even an idiot could do it, hehe." Before a teddy bear could be thrown at her, Little Yu'er ran out.

Chu Dong was sleeping soundly; the more tired he was, the better he slept. He was always quiet, but now he was even snoring slightly.

Little Yu'er saw he was deeply asleep and didn't disturb him. She quietly closed the door and went to the living room to order dinner.

Tan Xue and Li Youlan felt deflated after Little Yu'er's intervention. They lay on the bed, unwilling to move or speak for a long time.

"He didn't force you to let him look, did he?" Tan Xue suddenly asked Li Youlan.

"He wouldn't dare. Even if he's your husband, I wouldn't give him any slack. Anyone who disrespects me will find themselves powerless forever," Li Youlan said with an air of authority, her proud face looking like a leopard ready to strike.

"Then should we just let it go?" Tan Xue asked listlessly, resting her chin on her hand, almost falling asleep.

"He saw everything, and you're just going to let it go?" Li Youlan couldn't believe that the person who had been so aggressive just moments ago was now giving up.

"What else can we do? Didn't you hear Yu'er? Mine was an 'early withdrawal,' and yours was an 'accidental bonus.' If we really pick a fight, do you think we'll come out on top?" Tan Xue rolled over and lay spread-eagled on the bed, calling on God to punish Chu Dong.

Li Youlan, feeling that getting justice was hopeless, was even more depressed. She thought about how Chu Dong had even pretended to sleepwalk to take advantage of her, but she bit her tongue and didn't say it. Feeling miserable, she pulled the quilt over her head. "I want to duel him..."