I was both happy and exhausted, starving as I tangled with Claire until midnight, using up every ounce of strength. My back and waist ached so badly I could barely move.

But hunger eventually forced me awake—I got up to look for food, only to find Claire was nowhere to be seen.

The bed was cold, the living room and bathroom were empty.

I thought she’d gone out to grab a late-night snack and was about to call her—when I heard a noise coming from the study.

Barefoot, I walked over and found the door half-open.

Inside, Claire sat on the desk wearing a sheer nightgown, holding a glass jar, talking to herself as if sleepwalking.

“My relationship with him is purely physical—nothing more complicated. Don’t overthink it or be sad, okay? You know I’d do anything for you, even this.”

“Oh, and good news—you’ll be back soon. Don’t be mad, just give me a little more time, wait for me, okay? I’ve missed you day and night—no one knows how hard this has been.”

“At least you can still stay with me. If we could stay like this forever, you with me, me with you—wouldn’t that be perfect?”

As she spoke, Claire gazed at the jar with deep affection, and the amulet pendant on her chest glowed faintly red.

Whatever was in that jar was wrapped in black cloth, as if it were her most precious treasure. She slowly bent down and kissed the jar, reluctant to pull away.

That same passionate kiss had just been on me hours ago—and I had been foolishly pleased, thinking I was the only one she loved.

But now she could look at a glass jar with such tenderness?

What on earth was inside that jar?

I was about to step in and ask when a sudden clap of thunder outside interrupted me.

Claire startled, quickly hid the jar inside a secret compartment behind the bookshelf, and reset everything, pressing a hidden switch to conceal it again.

To my shock, the hidden switch was right behind our wedding portrait—specifically at the spot where my stomach was in the photo.

Each time she pressed on my “stomach,” the switch triggered—it left me feeling uneasy.

I didn’t dare linger. I hurried back to the bedroom and pretended to sleep.

A few minutes later, Claire returned, climbed into bed as usual, and curled into my arms, kissing my neck with soft moans.

“I love you, I love you, honey, I love you...”

I murmured “I love you too” as if half-asleep, but my mind stayed wide awake until she finally fell asleep.

Only then did I relax enough to drift off.

When I woke the next morning, Claire was gone.

She had left me a text saying she had gone to the clinic early to prepare for Ryan’s dental implants and hadn’t woken me so I could rest.

I had wanted to stay in bed a bit longer—but the memory of last night came flooding back, and I could no longer sit still.

While Claire was gone, I snuck into her study, found the hidden switch, and opened the compartment.

But it was so small—I searched everywhere but couldn’t find the jar I’d seen the night before. I even turned over the entire study and still found nothing.

Had I imagined the whole thing?

But I had really found the switch and opened the compartment!

Or maybe I misread that glass jar?

What on earth was going on?

I couldn’t make sense of it. After pulling myself together, I headed to the dental clinic to take a look.

To my shock, by the time I arrived, Ryan had already had eight teeth extracted and eight “perfect” implants placed.

With blood still at the corners of his mouth, he grinned at me and said it didn’t hurt at all.

I don’t know much about dentistry, but even I knew pulling eight teeth at once was painful and risky. I rushed to ask Claire about it.

“Claire, isn’t this way too fast? Eight teeth all at once? And you placed eight implants immediately afterward? Won’t his gums swell so much he can’t eat? Couldn’t that cause an oral infection—or worse, something intracranial…?”

“It won’t. Don’t worry,” Claire said with a calming smile, offering me her personal guarantee.

“This is a new implant system I’ve developed—fast, safe, convenient, and rock-solid. I’m using premium materials, and the crowns are precision-crafted porcelain. As long as he takes his antibiotics on schedule, he’ll be fine. Within a month, we can complete a full set of perfect teeth.”

“That’s awfully fast. Are you sure it’s okay?”

“Of course. Don’t you trust me? I trained abroad and specialize in this. I know what I’m doing—it’ll work.”

Her confidence left me with nothing else to say—and besides, Ryan didn’t seem uncomfortable.

On the contrary, he was suddenly polite—maybe it was the implants, but even his voice sounded softer, more courteous, more mature.

“Don’t worry, bro. Claire’s technique is great. I didn’t feel a thing. I’m fine.”

“That’s the anesthetic talking. I’m worried when it wears off you won’t be able to eat.”

“It’s fine—call it a cut. I’m about to be an influencer. Gotta manage my physique.”

Hearing that, I stopped hovering. The next day they continued, and in just three days they’d worked through his entire mouth.

Maybe it was the extractions, but in those three days Ryan seemed to transform—sweeter-tongued, almost like a different person entirely.

Over the next month he stopped messing around and threw himself into everything with total focus. He not only unlocked his potential, he suddenly “discovered” other talents—after just a few art classes he could compose and paint oil pieces on his own.

Ryan was thrilled, convinced his natural gifts were finally shining through. I, however, found it strange—how had I never seen such dazzling talent before?

His whole style changed. He spent more and more time with Claire. She not only bought him a car, she gave him a studio, and on his birthday she hosted a banquet—calling in every connection she had and introducing him to everyone.

I attended too, but standing in the crowd, I barely recognized the polished, radiant man as my once-hopeless little brother.

Only when Ryan walked over and greeted me did it click.

“Bro, you look great tonight. Thanks for all these years. Soon you won’t have to worry about me at all. Once I finish promoting Claire’s ‘perfect teeth,’ I’m heading to Paris, France for further study.”

“What? That far? You never mentioned this. So sudden—will Mom be okay with it?”

Ryan’s expression looked pained, but his voice stayed unnaturally cheerful. As soon as he heard his own words, he clapped a hand over his mouth—then bit down hard on his own lip!