Lahat ng Kabanata ng The Rising Temperature between Me and My “Step-brother”: Kabanata 261 - Kabanata 270

Wendy asked him to wait in the living room. She wanted to wash her face, clear her head completely, and then talk to him properly. She needed a little time to organize her thoughts and a bit of courage to uncover a past she preferred not to dwell on. The cool tile of the bathroom floor seeped through her socks, a grounding sensation against the emotional vertigo. Staring at her reflection—eyes slightly puffy, expression weary—she took a deep, shuddering breath. This was it. The moment to dismantle the walls she’d built, brick by painful brick, and offer the raw, unvarnished truth to the man who had never stopped waiting.Two minutes later, having splashed her face with water, Wendy felt much more clear-headed. She walked into the living room and her eyes immediately fell on the simple white square table, now neatly set with the breakfast Asher had bought. The array was astonishing: steaming soy milk and golden, crispy youtiao, alongside perfectly fried bacon and fluffy scramb

Her chin was held firmly in the man's broad palm. In the next second, a fervent, moist kiss covered her lips, swallowing all her breath and whimpers. Wendy's heart swelled with immense sweetness and happiness. She actively rose onto her tiptoes, responding to this long-overdue kiss with a clumsy yet resolute eagerness, her arms encircling his neck. This kiss was different from all others—it was a seal on a new covenant, laced with the salt of past tears and the dizzying promise of a shared tomorrow. It was a homecoming and a beginning all at once.Gurgle...A clear, loud growl from her stomach chose this most inopportune moment to interrupt their lingering, passionate kiss. The vulgar sound of biology starkly contrasted the soaring romantic atmosphere.Wendy's body stiffened, instantly plummeting from the enchanting atmosphere back to reality, her ears burning red with embarrassment. She looked away sheepishly and muttered in a small voice, "Don't you dare

After the rookie draft in April, the team began integration training in May to help the new blood assimilate quickly. From early June to mid-July, they underwent an intense, grueling training camp—two-a-days in the sweltering heat, playbook immersion, and brutal conditioning drills designed to forge a unit from individuals. Now, at the end of July, the training pace had slowed down somewhat. Especially with the preseason games starting in August, these core starters didn't need to play. This period was mainly for getting into shape, building stamina for the upcoming season, and maintaining their feel for the game. There were no mandatory training sessions on weekends, but disciplined players never completely relaxed. The grind was a religion, and the facility its church."I didn't come yesterday because I had a commercial event I had to attend," Matthew asked curiously. He and Asher were close, so he spoke casually. "What about you? That's not like your style." In his m

"You know, it's not very convenient for me to go to the Chinese supermarket, so I always buy a lot of ingredients and stuff them in the fridge. But my current fridge just can't hold it all, and some things have to be left outside, which makes them spoil easily—" Wendy counted off on her fingers, feeling more and more justified in her reasons for moving as she spoke. She ticked off another finger, adding, “And the water pressure in the shower is terrible half the time; I can never get a good hot bath after a long day at work.”"Alright, alright, stop." Song Keling interrupted her with a laugh, making a "time-out" gesture. "If it were me hearing Asher's reasons—'big villa,' 'short commute,' 'has pets,' 'big fridge'—I would have packed my bags and moved in ages ago. Why wait until today?" She leaned closer to Wendy, lowering her voice. "So what were you hesitating about before? Couldn't bear to leave your roommate? Or... pre-marriage jitters?" David

However, what she hadn't anticipated was that her American colleagues generally placed a high value on personal privacy boundaries. Unless the relationship was particularly close or the other person brought it up themselves, they rarely directly inquired about someone's romantic status. This meant she never found an opportunity to "take the natural segue" and bring it up. She’d even tried dropping subtle hints a few times, like mentioning Asher’s favorite coffee order or a game he’d watched, but no one had picked up on them.Take Mia, for example. She might notice Wendy smiling more and seeming in better spirits, but she would never rashly guess it was because of a relationship, let alone directly ask. In her view, this was Wendy's private matter. Mia had even once mentioned that she preferred not to talk about her own love life at work, saying it kept things "professional and stress-free"—which had only made Wendy more hesitant to bring up Asher.