Xie Youci felt he must have owed her in a past life.
Last night, she had taken liberties with him, and this morning she refused to acknowledge it. Yet, he still had to serve this young lady, preparing fine clothes and delicious food for her, letting her sleep in the red phoenix brocade bed.
He glanced at Chi Yang from the corner of his eye.
But she tilted her face up, her eyes curved into crescents, showing not a hint of guilt after taking advantage of him.
Xie Youci was furious inside, as if gritting his teeth. “Take a bath first, then come downstairs for a meal.”
Chi Yang tilted her head. “Hubby is so good~”
Xie Youci: “…”
His heart, shamelessly, began to itch again. Damn it.
Chi Yang went to take a bath.
Xie Youci went downstairs to prepare lunch for her.
…
In the bathroom, steam filled the air.
Through the frosted glass door, the faint silhouette of Chi Yang’s graceful figure could be seen.
Her wet hair cascaded over her fragrant shoulders and snow-white skin.
Water streamed down from above.
As if seizing the chance to flirt intimately with her, it kissed every inch of her skin, flowing slowly.
The door was pushed open.
Steam infused with the scent of flowers rushed out, instantly filling the cool-toned bedroom.
Chi Yang emerged beautifully from her bath.
Her fair, jade-like feet stepped onto the soft woolen carpet, as if wrapped in clouds bathed in sunlight.
She walked out of the bathroom, drying her damp hair.
Humming a cheerful tune.
It was as if the events of last night had nothing to do with her, forgotten without a trace after a blackout. Only Xie Youci remained troubled and restless over it.
“Knock, knock, knock—”
Just then, a knocking sound suddenly echoed.
Chi Yang looked up while rubbing her hair and saw Xie Youci leaning lazily against the wall, tapping on her door.
His cool, unrestrained gaze drifted downward to meet Chi Yang’s sparkling eyes.
A girl fresh from the bath is always at her most delicate and translucent moment. Her fair cheeks were still flushed with steam, her long, damp eyelashes clustered into small clumps. No matter how she looked at someone, there was an unintentional, alluring charm in her gaze.
Xie Youci: “…”
He suppressed his restless heart, pretending to be aloof as he shifted his gaze away, avoiding looking at her.
But Chi Yang’s honeyed voice nearly hooked into his heart again. “Is lunch ready?”
Xie Youci’s Adam’s apple bobbed.
He suddenly, inexplicably, recalled last night’s kiss. Chi Yang’s lips had been warm and soft, brushing against his skin like a passing cloud—just as gentle as she was now, fresh from her bath.
“Xie Youci!”
But the next second, Chi Yang’s flustered voice abruptly interrupted his drifting thoughts.
Xie Youci snapped back to attention and glanced over.
His gaze happened to fall on Chi Yang’s ill-fitting bathrobe.
She had been leaning to the side while drying her hair, causing the collar to loosen and reveal a fair expanse of skin.
Chi Yang was completely unaware. She looked at him with a hint of reproach. “Did you hear what I said?”
Xie Youci pursed his lips and shifted his gaze away again.
He raised a hand to rub his burning ear, his tone lazy. “I heard you. Fix your clothes, then come downstairs to eat.”
Chi Yang: ?
She didn’t have time to notice Xie Youci’s reddened ears, puzzled about what was wrong with her clothes. She only glanced down before hurriedly pulling her robe closed.
Then, stomping her foot in frustration at Xie Youci’s retreating figure, she exclaimed, “Ah! You pervert!”
Xie Youci ignored her accusation.
He only snorted inwardly.
Who was the real pervert last night, anyway?Chi Yang eventually changed her clothes after all. After all, Xie Youci was a man, and even though they were legally married, she wasn’t ready to take the relationship to a physical level yet.
When she came downstairs.
Xie Youci was sitting casually in the dining room, dressed in a high-quality pure black shirt and trousers, looking wild and unrestrained. He would have seemed effortlessly cool, if not for the bite mark on his chin.
Chi Yang’s gaze lingered for a moment.
She took a closer look at the bite mark, admiring it briefly. “Who bit you? It’s actually quite artistic.”
Xie Youci: “…”
He lifted his eyelids to glance at her, humming softly but not answering her question.
Chi Yang wasn’t particularly interested in the bite mark either.
Thinking about it, she could probably guess—it was likely that idiot Xue Rang, who had drunkenly lunged at him and bitten him last night.
So, she began to enjoy her lunch.
Glutinous rice ribs, lemon chicken wings, tiger skin chili peppers, pan-fried tofu, eggplant rolls, old duck soup…
It had to be said.
Although Xie Youci could be a bit of a jerk, he actually had some taste when it came to food. Everything was exactly what she liked, and the seasoning was just right.
But Xie Youci didn’t have much of an appetite.
He picked at his rice grain by grain with his chopsticks, like a chick pecking at seeds, his gaze constantly lingering on Chi Yang.
Didn’t she have anything she wanted to say?
Didn’t she want to take responsibility or admit fault for her shameless behavior last night?
Or did she really not remember anything at all?
Then why had she kissed him?
Was it just drunken mischief, or had she secretly had a crush on him all along?
“Xie Youci.” Chi Yang suddenly called his name.
Xie Youci looked up almost instantly, his nerves tensing. “Speak.”
He thought Chi Yang was finally going to talk about last night.
He responded quickly.
But to his surprise, Chi Yang just picked up a piece of glutinous rice rib. “Did you make these dishes yourself, or did you order takeout?”
Xie Youci: “…”
“Takeout,” he replied, narrowing his eyes as he watched her, as if scrutinizing or testing her. “Is that all you wanted to ask?”
“What else would there be?” she asked, puzzled.
Xie Youci fell silent.
He couldn’t quite describe the feeling in his heart. In short, this sense of being left hanging without an answer made him feel somewhat unwilling and irritable.
So Xie Youci looked up again, studying Chi Yang’s expression once more. Chi Yang felt a bit unnerved by his stare and finally couldn’t take it anymore, putting down her chopsticks. “Xie Youci.”
“Can you eat your meal without staring at me all the time?”
Chi Yang crossed her arms, annoyed. “What’s wrong? Are you secretly in love with me or something?”
Xie Youci: “…………”
He almost immediately let out a light scoff, his tone dripping with sarcasm. “Who’s secretly in love with whom?”
“Chi Erer, don’t you dare turn the tables on me.”
Chi Yang: ?
What did he mean by turning the tables? She wasn’t secretly in love with him. Could idioms be used so casually?
Chi Yang felt like Xie Youci was being sarcastic and weird today.
But for the sake of the delicious meal, she couldn’t be bothered to argue with him, so she lowered her head and continued eating seriously.
But Xie Youci was already full of anger.
He still kept glancing at Chi Yang from time to time, as if trying to find something in her expression, but he couldn’t detect even the slightest hint of anything.
When it came to last night’s events.
It seemed like he was the only one playing mind games with Chi Yang, while this heartless woman gave him no feedback at all.From then on, whenever Xie Youci had free time, he would start pondering: Does Chi Yang secretly have a crush on me?
But the truth proved—
The idea of a secret crush was indeed just Xie Youci overthinking things.
Because Chi Yang had no intention of living there at all, and Xie Youci, who had been taken advantage of twice, began spending his nights alone in an empty room just a few days after their marriage.
Their married life appeared exceptionally calm, as if neither wanted to provoke the other.
But in the scorching summer of the capital city, the sun blazed fiercely.
The locust tree-lined avenue on Chang’an Street was shaded by lush greenery, with sunlight filtering through the overlapping branches and leaves, accompanied by the noisy chirping of cicadas, creating a bright and intense atmosphere at noon.