“No.”
Xu Jinnian stopped applying the ointment, his gaze falling on Sheng An’s puzzled face as he easily guessed her thoughts: “I just thought you don’t like rigid people.”
Sheng An was taken aback, her confusion turning into disbelief.
Was he trying to change his way of speaking just because he thought she didn’t like rigid people, so they could have more common topics to discuss?
This realization made Sheng An’s heart flutter anxiously: “You…”
She wanted to say he didn’t need to do this, that he should just be his true self and not change easily for others.
But before she could finish her sentence, Xu Jinnian interrupted her.
“An An, I want to make these changes for myself. Don’t feel pressured,” Xu Jinnian’s voice remained as low and pleasant as ever, with the dim yellow light casting a filter-like glow on his face, making him appear even more handsome and almost otherworldly:
“You’re my wife, and we’re going to spend our lives together. I want to understand you more deeply – your thoughts, your preferences, your way of handling things – so we can communicate better and you won’t feel tired being with me.”
Since this was what he wanted, how could it be said that he was doing it for An An and making her feel troubled?
Sheng An stared blankly at Xu Jinnian, momentarily speechless.
Touched? Maybe a little.
Since childhood, no one had ever been willing to go this far for her.
Sheng An’s emotional defenses began to weaken at this moment.
She had already planned to get along well with this man. Since he had taken the first step, why should she hesitate?
After some thought, Sheng An said seriously: “Let our relationship as husband and wife develop naturally. There’s no need for you to force yourself to change.”
Then she quickly added: “Just like how forced melons aren’t sweet. What if your changes make me dislike you? Wouldn’t that be like going for wool and coming back shorn?”
Well, that analogy didn’t seem quite right either.
Never mind, the general idea was clear enough.
Watching his wife scratching her head in confusion, Xu Jinnian couldn’t help but laugh and reached out to pat her head: “Alright, I’ll listen to An An. Let things take their natural course.”
Sheng An breathed a sigh of relief, but just as she was about to move on, she suddenly exclaimed “Ah!” and cried out: “My freshly washed hair! You’ve made it all oily with your touching!”
Xu Jinnian’s hand froze mid-air, unable to continue patting.
Sheng An kept muttering: “Do you know how much work it is to wash such long hair? I hate washing my hair the most!”
Xu Jinnian stepped forward and hugged her, patiently coaxing: “From now on, I’ll wash and dry it for you. I won’t let you lift a finger.”
Sheng An looked at him suspiciously: “Really? Aren’t you afraid people will laugh at you and call you a henpecked husband?”
Xu Jinnian chuckled softly, looking at the stray hairs sticking up on her head and couldn’t resist smoothing them down: “What’s there to laugh about? Being considerate to one’s wife is only natural. Those who laugh at me are the real joke.”
Seeing he had such awareness, Sheng An felt even more convinced that her judgment hadn’t been wrong: “Fine, I’ll leave my hair care to you from now on.”
As she spoke, she touched her head, dissatisfied with her hair quality: “It’s so dry and brittle, like a bunch of straw. It needs proper nurturing.”
In her previous life, Sheng An’s hair had been jet black and glossy. While most people suffered from hair loss, her hair had been thick and dense, so beautiful it could have been in shampoo commercials.
This body was malnourished, so naturally the hair quality couldn’t be good.
Upon hearing Sheng An’s words, Xu Jinnian touched her hair again: “I’ve heard black sesame nourishes hair. I’ll buy some black sesame powder tomorrow.”
Sheng An shook her head: “Black sesame has a strong flavor. I don’t like it.”
Hair quality fundamentally depends on physical health. Maintaining good health is more effective than consuming tons of black sesame powder.
Having been busy all day, Sheng An felt sleepy and pushed away the person named Xu who was clinging to her: “Go study, and go to bed early after you’re done.””
But Xu Jinnian didn’t leave. His lean arms tightened around the person in his embrace as his low voice murmured by her ear: “I’ll sleep with An An tonight.”
Sheng An blinked and looked up uncertainly: “Are you thinking of…”
Xu Jinnian’s eyes darkened, faint tension flickering within them.
A mischievous glint flashed in Sheng An’s eyes as she actively wrapped her arms around his neck, standing on tiptoe to whisper in his ear: “Are you missing your mother’s embrace?”
Xu Jinnian: “…”
When it came to ruining romantic moments, his Niangzi was second to none.
After a speechless moment, Xu Jinnian sighed and decided to clarify:
“An An, I never had a mother, nor have I ever slept peacefully in a mother’s embrace. I can’t miss someone who never existed.”
Sheng An was surprised. Was this man like her, born without a mother?
Reading her thoughts, Xu Jinnian spoke in an even tone: “I’m Father’s adopted child. Biologically, he’s my second uncle.”
The Xu Family was a large clan. By Xu Chenglin’s generation, there were four brothers and two sisters.
Xu Jinnian was originally the third Xu brother’s son, but at birth a fortune-teller declared him a lone star of destruction who would bring death to all relatives around him.
Coincidentally, the Xu Family’s old ox broke its leg and could no longer plow their fields, while Xu Laosi’s five-month-old son suffered a three-day high fever that nearly left him mentally impaired.
The entire Xu Family blamed both incidents on three-day-old Xu Jinnian, believing he had caused them through his cursed fate.
Fearing the so-called lone star destiny, the third Xu brother cruelly abandoned Xu Jinnian in the mountains, intending for wild beasts to devour him as atonement for his sins.
When Xu Chenglin returned home and learned his nephew had been thrown to the beasts, he erupted in fury at the Xu Family. Defying all advice, he ventured alone into the mountains and retrieved Xu Jinnian, whose body was covered with ants.
From then on, wifeless and childless Xu Chenglin gained a son, while Xu Jinnian gained a father who genuinely cherished him.
Since father and son were unwelcome at home, Xu Chenglin simply moved to the city with his son. Their relationship with the other Xu brothers and eldest sister remained strained, with almost no contact over the years.
Only the youngest sister, Xu Cuilian, consistently treated Xu Chenglin as family and dearly loved Xu Jinnian.
Over all these years, neither Xu Chenglin nor Xu Cuilian had been “cursed to death” by Xu Jinnian.
The Xu Family members knew perfectly well that Xu Jinnian wasn’t actually a lone star of destruction, yet none would admit they’d been fools to believe the fortune-teller’s words.
After hearing Xu Jinnian’s troubled origins, Sheng An couldn’t help feeling a pang of heartache for him. Her words came out bluntly:
“No matter what you think, I, Sheng An, acknowledge only one father-in-law. I don’t recognize any of those other Xu Family members, and they can forget about using their seniority to pressure me.”
A bunch of self-serving individuals would never miss any opportunity to benefit themselves—such was human nature.
Xu Jinnian gently touched her puffed-up cheek, a faint smile gracing his handsome face. “Our families haven’t interacted much over the years. They wouldn’t seek unnecessary trouble.”
Sheng An shook her head, wearing an expression that said “you’re too naive”:
“Not now, perhaps. But the day you pass the Cultivated Talent exams, they’ll definitely come crawling to claim connections. If you ever become a Juren, they’d even eat shit while chasing after you to acknowledge kinship.”
Xu Jinnian: “…”
That’s rather disgusting.
Sheng An herself felt nauseated visualizing the scene and quickly gave him a warning:
“Just remember this firmly – in the entire Xu Family, only Father is your real father, and Aunt is your only relative. Everyone else is pure bullshit! If you dare treat bullshit as family, I’ll cut ties with you immediately!”
Xu Jinnian’s face darkened: “An An, don’t use such language!”
Sheng An snorted: “I’m not joking. Interacting with bullshit makes me sick.”
Xu Jinnian didn’t know whether to laugh or cry as he cupped her face and kissed her forehead. “I promise I won’t.”
Satisfied, Sheng An stood on her toes and directly captured his lips.
Forehead kisses are too formal – real married couples should do what married couples do!