Mu Ci was slightly taken aback.
Hadn’t he left in anger?
He handed her a glass of warm water. “Take the folic acid first.”
“Oh.”
Mu Ci obediently took the glass and the folic acid, her cool fingertips brushing against his warm hand.
“…”
Why were her hands so cold?
Qin Yan frowned, stood up, and adjusted the air conditioner to a higher temperature.
Mu Ci swallowed the pill and watched silently.
Putting everything else aside, Qin Yan was truly a very considerate and attentive man—though this affection was likely directed at the child in her belly.
After taking the folic acid, Mu Ci reached for the ointment in his hand, but he avoided her.
“I’ll apply it for you.”
Mu Ci silently withdrew her hand. “I can do it myself…”
Qin Yan’s voice lowered slightly. “You don’t need to guard against me like I’m some kind of threat. Every part of you, whether I should’ve seen it or not, I’ve already seen.”
He wasn’t wrong, but saying it so bluntly…
Mu Ci, after all, had only experienced one night of intimacy. Hearing such words, her face uncontrollably grew warm.
She turned her head to the side and lifted her arm. “…Thank you.”
A faint smile appeared in Qin Yan’s eyes as he leisurely pulled out a cotton swab.
Mu Ci held her arm up for a while without any movement, but a cool sensation first touched her neck.
The cotton swab, coated with ointment, glided back and forth along her slender neck. Through the thin skin, a tingling sensation seemed to seep into her veins.
She stiffened slightly.
Qin Yan gazed at the fair, delicate skin so close to him, his Adam’s apple bobbing as his voice grew hoarse. “I’ll apply it from top to bottom.”
Mu Ci silently lowered her arm, trying her best to ignore the tingling sensation.
Unexpectedly, the man leaned closer and gently blew on the area where he had applied the ointment.
Instantly, the coolness intensified, and the tingling sensation doubled.
Mu Ci’s scalp tingled, and her breathing grew uneven.
Qin Yan gently applied the ointment, his peripheral vision catching the faint blush on the girl’s earlobes, deepening his smile.
From her neck to her back, then to her waist, and finally to her legs.
Wherever the ointment went, it was cool, but her skin was warm.
As soon as the ointment was applied, Mu Ci burrowed under the covers, pulling the blanket tightly over herself.
Her voice drifted faintly. “Thank you… I’m going to sleep.”
Qin Yan wrapped the cotton swab in a tissue, threw it into the trash can, and looked at the little lump on the bed, the corners of his lips curling upward.
Suddenly, his smile froze.
He glanced down at the similarly protruding bulge in his suit pants and pressed his tongue against his cheek.
Applying ointment had stirred him up.
At this rate of teasing the girl, he wondered when it would ever end.
He took a deep breath, stood up, tucked the blanket snugly around her, bent down, and whispered, “Goodnight.”
My treasure.
The little lump on the bed shifted slightly, her voice soft and muffled. “…Goodnight.”
Mu Ci admitted she was someone who couldn’t withstand teasing.
But strangely, she enjoyed it.
So, when Qin Yan applied the ointment for her a few more times afterward, she didn’t refuse.
The small bumps on her body completely disappeared by the third day.
Seeing the girl’s skin restored to its porcelain-like smoothness, Qin Yan felt relieved.
Such flawless, pure skin—he wouldn’t allow any marks to remain on it.
Even if marks were to be left, they could only be his.
As usual, he fed the girl her folic acid and remembered something. “Tomorrow afternoon, I’ll take you back to the old house for dinner.”
Mu Ci was caught off guard, her heart skipping a beat. “To meet your parents?”
“Yes,” Qin Yan looked at her, understanding her thoughts, and reassured her. “Don’t be nervous. They’re very kind elders.”
Mu Ci knew they were kind, but… theirs was a marriage of convenience.
She didn’t possess Qin Yan’s ability to spin stories out of thin air.
“How should I describe our relationship? Do they know we’re married?” Better to rehearse their lines first to avoid slipping up.
“They know, but—”
Qin Yan gazed at the young woman’s tense expression and said with utmost seriousness, “Although my parents are easygoing, they’re very traditional people with rather old-fashioned views. So you might need to play along with a little act.”
“What kind of act?” Mu Ci was drawn into his scheme.
Qin Yan couldn’t have been more earnest: “It’s not a difficult act—just act a bit more affectionate.”
Mu Ci understood.
Conservative elders naturally hoped their child’s marriage didn’t begin with an absurd one-night stand, followed by a muddled pregnancy and wedding.
The two needed to present themselves as a loving model couple, full of affection, to put the elders at ease.
Alright then. Since the God of Wealth was being so generous, it was only right to play along with his act.
Having fully prepared herself mentally, Mu Ci arrived at the old mansion the next day, only to be informed by Qin Yan at the last minute that it was his father’s birthday.
Mu Ci froze: “But I didn’t prepare a birthday gift.”
Qin Yan chuckled lightly and pointed at her belly. “Isn’t the best gift right here?”
Mu Ci: “…”
Fine, if that counted as a gift.
Although Qin Yan said this, he had actually prepared a gift on Mu Ci’s behalf.
Looking at the expensive rosewood carved inkstone, Mu Ci couldn’t help but ask, “Does your father enjoy collecting inkstones?”
Qin Yan raised an eyebrow, focusing on another key point: “What did you call him?”
“…” Mu Ci obediently corrected herself: “Does Father enjoy collecting inkstones?”
Qin Yan curled his lip, criticizing his own father without mercy: “He’s fond of calligraphy and painting, but he has no talent. He’s pursued it his whole life without producing any notable works. Now he’s accepted his fate and turned to collecting instead.”
As the two walked toward the antique-style old mansion, servants passed by. Qin Yan would proactively introduce her, saying, “This is the madam.”
Seeing him dive into the role so quickly, Mu Ci also played her part wisely, naturally linking her arm with his, appearing every bit the affectionate newlywed couple.
The deep amusement in Qin Yan’s eyes was impossible to conceal.
“Grandma, you said Uncle got married?!”
Just as they reached the pavilion, a shocked exclamation erupted from under the parasol tree nearby.
Then, Mu Ci heard an all-too-familiar voice once again pose a soul-piercing question:
“What woman has the guts to marry the King of Hell himself?!”