“Do you like it when I kiss you?”
“I do.”
“How about a hundred kisses a day?”
“Mmph…”
Qiu Xiaoyue could no longer answer. Her mouth was thoroughly occupied.
Qi Sen pried open her teeth with his tongue and delved inside, stirring her mind into a dizzying muddle until she could think of nothing at all.
Suddenly, a pair of strong hands seized her rounded buttocks and lifted her off the floor.
The sensation of weightlessness made Qiu Xiaoyue instinctively wrap her legs around his lean waist.
Their bodies pressed even closer together. Through the thin fabric between them, she could feel the scorching heat radiating from his body.
Qi Sen pinned her firmly against the wall, the tender flesh of her bottom spilling between his fingers.
He buried his head in the crook of her neck, kissing and nibbling his way from her earlobe down to her collarbone.
Qiu Xiaoyue grew weak beneath his kisses. Her head tipped back, her slender neck forming a graceful arc, and involuntary moans escaped her lips.
The world spun. By the time she realized what was happening, she was already lying on the bed.
The moment her back touched the mattress, Qi Sen’s knee slid between her legs, pressing her into the soft blankets.
He was too impatient to undo the buttons. Instead, he grabbed the hem and yanked it up, pulling the shirt over his head.
His exposed pectoral muscles were firm and powerfully built. They contracted and expanded violently with every breath, a thin sheen of sweat covering them and gleaming beneath the light.
He reached over and opened the bedside table, looking for something—
Then he froze.
Qi Sen remembered that he had never brought a woman home before.
How could the house possibly have any of those?
The condoms at the hotel had been provided by room service.
Two voices battled in his mind.
Reason and desire faced each other with drawn swords.
He wanted to do it.
He wanted to very, very badly.
But Qiu Xiaoyue was still young. He didn’t want her to become a mother before she had experienced the beautiful things life had to offer or seen more of the world, trapped in the small confines of a family.
Seeing him suddenly standing there motionless, his expression looking strange as well, Qiu Xiaoyue sat up and leaned toward him, asking worriedly:
“Did you pull a muscle in your back?”
When they had bought pajamas, the sales auntie had specifically warned her, “When you wear this, be careful to protect your boyfriend’s back.”
The auntie had spoken with great solemnity: “Men are all hollow radishes—good-looking but useless, and they snap with a crunch.”
Qi Sen took a deep breath.
Then he decisively rolled Qiu Xiaoyue and the blankets into one bundle and gathered her into his arms.
“Your man isn’t that weak.”
Qiu Xiaoyue poked her head out of the blankets. “Then why did you stop?”
Qi Sen rested his chin on top of her head. “No condoms.”
Qiu Xiaoyue blinked. “We’re already married. Do we still need those things?”
Her question left Qi Sen stunned. He couldn’t help laughing. “You little fool. You’ll get pregnant.”
Qiu Xiaoyue fell silent for a while.
“Uncle, do you want children?”
“Of course I do.” Qi Sen pulled her closer. “Ideally, two—a son and a daughter.”
Qiu Xiaoyue remembered how Grandfather Qi had come to see her two days earlier. His meaning had been clear enough: he wanted to hold a grandson as soon as possible.
The old master was already in his eighties. He had his youngest son late in life and treasured him dearly, so it was understandable that he was anxious.
Everyone in the Qi family treated her well. Shouldn’t she…
“What are you thinking about?”
Qi Sen’s voice interrupted her.
Qiu Xiaoyue came back to herself and forced a smile. “You want children, so if I get pregnant, I’ll have the baby. That works out perfectly.”
“I do want children.” Qi Sen lowered his head to look at her. “But not now.”
“Then when?”
Qi Sen tightened his arms around her and rubbed his chin against the top of her head.
“We have a whole lifetime ahead of us. We can take it slowly.”
Warmth spread through Qiu Xiaoyue’s heart.
How did this man always manage to say exactly what she needed to hear?
As far as she was concerned, she truly wasn’t ready to have children yet.
As far as Qi Sen was concerned, there was no need to rush.
The immediate priority was to have the Steward buy three boxes of little umbrellas.
One box for the house, one for the car, and one for the office.
The next morning.
When Qiu Xiaoyue woke up, Qi Sen was awake as well.
They were both early risers and had no habit of lingering in bed.
After washing up, they went downstairs to find breakfast already laid out.
The Steward stood waiting at the dining room entrance with three servants. They all bowed in unison.
“Good morning, Young Master. Good morning, Young Madam.”
Qi Sen had spent five years abroad, and his breakfast had remained unchanged for ages: bread and coffee.
Qiu Xiaoyue frowned as she looked at his cup of pitch-black coffee.
She had tried coffee once before. Yang Zhaodi had made her some instant coffee and said she drank it every day. Qiu Xiaoyue had taken one sip, burst into tears on the spot, and hugged Yang Zhaodi, sobbing in sympathy.
“What kind of miserable life have you been living out there?”
Now she looked at Qi Sen’s cup. His coffee was even darker than Yang Zhaodi’s.
She gazed at him with a troubled expression. “Have you been living too well and decided to find yourself a little suffering?”
Looking at her worried little face, Qi Sen’s heart softened.
My wife is worried about me.
I want to kiss her.
He leaned over and smacked a kiss onto her rosy lips.
Qiu Xiaoyue froze.
The servants froze, too.
The Steward’s inner monologue:
“I have never seen the Young Master behave so recklessly. He’s finally come around. My heart is comforted.”
The Maid’s inner monologue:
“Where did my self-disciplined, proper, women-avoiding Young Master go?! My snowy mountain peak, my moon in the heavens—oh no, his perfect image has collapsed!”
The chef’s inner monologue:
“The Young Master’s body is going to be drained sooner or later… It’s all right, he has me! I’ll protect the Young Master’s stamina. Seahorse, deer antler velvet, bull-strength tonic—bring it all on! Let’s go!”
Qiu Xiaoyue was both embarrassed and flustered. She glared at him. “Everyone’s here!”
Qi Sen remained perfectly calm. “I’m fulfilling my marital duties.”
“Kissing before a meal?” Qiu Xiaoyue asked bluntly.
“It’s a dining ritual.” Qi Sen didn’t so much as blink. “Before taking their seats, a married couple performs the kissing ritual to show care and concern for each other.”
“Do we have to kiss before every meal?”
Qi Sen nodded. “Morning, noon, and night. Just like washing your hands before eating.”
Qiu Xiaoyue was dubious. “Why have I never heard of that? You aren’t lying to me, are you?”
Qi Sen maintained an unruffled expression. “It’s an old Jing City tradition. It’s perfectly normal that you’ve never heard of it. Isn’t that right, Steward?”
The Steward smiled against his conscience. “The Young Master is absolutely right.”
Qiu Xiaoyue believed him.
The Steward had always treated her so well. He definitely wouldn’t lie to her.
She committed this “ritual” to memory and picked up her glass of milk.
Her phone suddenly vibrated.
Qiu Xiaoyue jumped, her hand trembling and spilling milk all over herself.
A servant hurriedly brought over a towel, but Qiu Xiaoyue waved it off. “I’ll wipe it off in the bathroom.”
In the heat of summer, she couldn’t leave the sticky milk clinging to her body.
Before standing up, she glanced at her phone.
A text message from an unfamiliar number read:
“Junior Xiaoyue, this is Senior Fang. Military training is coming up, so I’m sending you a list of necessities for reference. This is my cell number. Please save it.”
How did he know my phone number?
Qiu Xiaoyue thought about it. She had filled out her personal information on the day she registered, so he had probably gotten it from there.
She replied, “Thank you, Senior,” set down her phone, and went into the bathroom.
Her phone hadn’t locked, and the screen was still lit.
Qi Sen’s gaze swept over it, and the words “Fang Xiaohang” caught his eye.
His eyes narrowed.
Inside the bathroom.
Qiu Xiaoyue turned on the faucet. Suddenly, a hand reached out from behind her—its knuckles sharply defined—and shut off the water.
Before she could turn around, she had already been lifted into the air and seated on the marble counter.