He looked like someone who believed in “confess and be treated leniently; resist and be punished severely,” which made Jiang Yu feel a twinge of guilt.
Her eyes darted around as she made up an excuse to muddle through. “What could I be doing? Of course I went to pick flowers to make rouge.”
Xiao Lingzhou glanced at the tiny basket on the ground—one that could barely hold a single jar of wine—and voiced his doubt. “You went deep into the mountains to pick flowers with such a small basket?”
She was most afraid of snakes and insects.
On ordinary days, she only gathered seasonal flowers in the woods near the foot of the mountain and rarely ventured deep inside.
Facing his burning gaze, Jiang Yu explained without blushing or faltering. “All the flowers down the mountain were picked clean, so I thought I’d try my luck higher up. A small basket is more convenient—what, is that not allowed?”
Xiao Lingzhou said nothing, which meant he accepted her explanation.
He found some dry branches and propped them up to hang her dress to dry.
Then he took off all his own wet clothes and set them to dry together with hers.
Wrapped tightly in the oversized outer robe, Jiang Yu sneezed several times in a row.
She thought to herself that having her upper body bare was really uncomfortable.
Sniffling, she looked up—and her pupils instantly dilated.
Xiao Lingzhou was bare-chested, earnestly holding her pale lavender undergarment close to the fire to dry it.
In the firelight, his exposed, cool white skin glowed faintly, his muscles clear and evenly proportioned.
A full chest, well-defined abs.
Every line of muscle looked as if it had been meticulously carved, flowing smoothly yet powerfully from his chest down to his lower abdomen.
Even the raindrops sliding down from his chest seemed to add an inexplicable, invisible allure.
A man as handsome as an immortal.
Bare-chested.
Holding a woman’s pale lavender undergarment.
No matter how you looked at it, the scene was indecently suggestive.
Jiang Yu felt her face burn. “What are you doing?”
Although they had been married for half a year, and had done the most intimate things countless times, seeing her personal undergarment held so openly in his hands while he himself was bare made her feel inexplicably ashamed.
She stepped forward to snatch it back. “I—I’ll do it myself…”
Xiao Lingzhou leaned slightly to the left, and she ended up falling sideways straight into his arms.
“Careful!”
Afraid she would get burned by the fire, he instinctively reached out, slipping his arm through hers and pulling her into his embrace.
Unexpectedly, the softness at her chest landed squarely in his palm.
…
The air fell silent for a few breaths.
Both of them froze for a moment, their ears flushing red to different degrees.
Blushing, Jiang Yu tried to get up, but he pressed her down and smoothly shifted positions, letting her lie comfortably across his thighs.
“Don’t move…”
The man’s clear yet husky voice sounded above her head, and Jiang Yu’s body tensed instantly.
With one hand gripping her slender waist and the other cradling the back of her head, Xiao Lingzhou confined her in his arms and lowered his head, capturing her slightly parted red lips with unerring precision.
As their lips met, the faint medicinal scent on him, mixed with a pleasant woody fragrance, flooded her senses.
Her hand instinctively clenched his arm, feeling his scorching body heat burn through the thin fabric into her palm.
As the kiss deepened, the medicinal scent grew stronger— like dew-soaked spring tea crushed on the tongue, slightly bitter yet sweet on the finish.
And when the deep woody fragrance enveloped her, it was like ancient trees heavy with dampness before a storm, trapping her in a net woven of his breath, leaving her unable to move.
His eyelashes trembled lightly, brushing her cheek with restrained tenderness.
Jiang Yu heard her own chaotic heartbeat pounding so loudly it hurt her eardrums.
In a daze, she could no longer tell whether it was the warmth on her lips spreading—or the spreading warmth igniting her entire body.
Thirsty.
Hot.
Countless nights of entanglement had awakened the most primal desires in both their bodies.
“Qingqing…”
Dissatisfied with mere kissing, Xiao Lingzhou’s well-defined hand slowly slid down from her snowy neck, slipped into her open collar, and grasped that soft shoulder whose gentle curve spread diagonally beneath his palm…
Inside the hut, the firewood crackled.
Outside, the rain pattered, masking the breathless sounds that made one blush.
Just as the two were lost in their kisses, the crude door creaked open, and a dark shadow darted inside.
Xiao Lingzhou’s expression sharpened. Reacting instantly, he wrapped Jiang Yu—whose springtime allure was spilling free—tightly in his arms to shield her.
“Who’s there?”
“Woof…”
Seeing that it was Jiang Mo, covered head to toe in black mud, his expression relaxed.
When it stuck out its tongue and tried to approach them, his face cooled. “Don’t come over. Get out and wash yourself clean before coming back.”
“Woof, woof…”
The dog, having finally found its owners only to be chased away, left pitifully.
Interrupted by a dog in the middle of their intimacy, Jiang Yu, still nestled against Xiao Lingzhou’s chest, didn’t forget to give his abs a couple of hard squeezes.
“It’s pouring rain outside—where do you expect it to wash itself clean?”
Xiao Lingzhou kissed the corner of her lips and picked up the pale lavender undergarment lying by her side. “It’s not stupid. It knows how to get itself clean.”
“Oh.” Their posture was far too intimate—and dangerous. Feeling the searing heat at her waist, Jiang Yu tried to get up, only for him to hook her waist and press her back into his arms.
“Where are you going?” He nibbled at her ear, his breath brushing her neck.
Her body trembled slightly. Lowering her head, she swallowed. “I—I’ll go sit over there.”
“Cold?” He ignored her words and asked softly, his face close to hers.
A cold draft slipped in through the cracks. She shivered but didn’t answer.
“If you’re cold, then sit properly. I’ll hold you—it’ll be warmer.” As he spoke, he gathered her still-cool hands into his palms.
Enclosed entirely in his embrace, the chill gradually faded from Jiang Yu’s body. But when she moved even a little, a sudden pain flared at her waist, making her knit her delicate brows.
Noticing something was wrong, Xiao Lingzhou wrapped an arm around her shoulders and asked with concern, “What’s wrong?”
“My waist hurts a bit.” Just now, with adrenaline surging, she had completely forgotten that she’d banged her waist against a rock.