After a long day of bustling about, Lin Aiyun was drenched in sweat. Hot water had been kept ready in the pot all along. Zhang Wenhua had come to the bridal chamber early to tell her to go wash up first, then gave her a knowing wink before heading out, calling for Lin Jianzhi to bring the cards—they were getting ready to leave.
Afraid that the newlyweds would feel shy, they had all decided to spend the night at the eldest uncle’s house playing cards, just to give the young couple some private time together.
“…”
There was no need for words—a daughter knew her mother best. Lin Aiyun could read her mind perfectly. Her face flushed as she grabbed her clothes and headed to the bathhouse. For some reason, she found herself lathering up with soap an extra time, sniffing the pleasant fragrance on her skin before nodding in satisfaction. The moment she realized what she was doing, her face burned even hotter.
She quickly rinsed off the suds, dried herself, put on her clothes, and returned the bucket to its place before heading to the kitchen to reheat a fresh pot of water, so Xiao Cheng could wash up as soon as he got back.
When she came out of the kitchen, the house was perfectly quiet. She walked around under the eaves but didn’t spot Xiao Cheng inside—he had probably gone to see them off at the eldest uncle’s house. He shouldn’t be back too soon, so for now, she was alone.
Back in the room, her hair was still damp with moisture. She sat on the edge of the bed and rubbed it vigorously with a towel for a while. With the heat, it was already half-dry before long. She set the towel aside, stepped forward to lock the door gently, and prepared to take off her casual clothes to change into the red pajamas Zhang Wenhua had made for her, for good luck.
But she had barely finished undressing and just pulled on the bottoms when a knock came at the door.
“Who is it?”
“It’s me.” Xiao Cheng’s voice.
Lin Aiyun held the bellyband in her hands, fumbling nervously with the ties in her haste. Afraid of keeping Xiao Cheng waiting, she loosely tied it in a hurry, then threw on the top and buttoned it up, calling out as she went: “Coming, coming.”
She hurried to the door and opened it.
Inside the room, only two red candles were burning, but the dim light was enough to make out each other’s features. Outside the door, Xiao Cheng’s short hair was still damp, droplets of water trickling down—he had clearly just bathed as well. He wore red pajamas identical to Lin Aiyun’s, which made his handsome face look almost enchantingly striking—the description “fair as jade” would not have been an exaggeration.
His features were deep-set, with sharp brows and starry eyes. The moment they met her gaze, a faint, indulgent smile curved at the corners of his lips.
His clothes still carried traces of moisture; the silky fabric clung to his skin, revealing the distinct contours of his muscles. His lean, toned physique was on full display, and the long legs wrapped in his pajama bottoms looked firm and powerful. His slightly heavy breathing made his chest rise and fall.
Languid and casual, he radiated raw sexual tension to the max—utterly irresistible.
No wonder later generations said that a man’s pecs and abs were the best dowry he could bring. Lin Aiyun, faced with this tantalizing sight, nearly pounced on him herself. She barely managed to rein in the increasingly vivid images flooding her mind—but still found herself swallowing unconsciously.
What she didn’t know, however, was that in Xiao Cheng’s eyes, she was the most breathtaking feast for the senses.
From the moment the door opened, every one of his senses was involuntarily captivated by her every movement.
Lin Aiyun had a tall, slender figure—a small face, a narrow waist, and long legs. This high-waisted style suited her perfectly. Especially that exquisite pair of curves, trembling and full, made even more prominent by the cinched waist.
Somehow, she had buttoned her top wrong—one whole row off. Through the gaps, an expanse of fair skin was visible, along with two thin strings trailing down from her slender neck, disappearing past her collarbone into the red collar of her garment.
Her long hair cascaded past her waist. The contrast of black hair and red clothing made her skin look like snow—dazzlingly white. Two faint blushes tinted her cheeks.
Her face was barely the size of a palm, with apricot-shaped eyes like autumn pools, a small straight nose, and pink, tender lips shimmering with a faint, dewy gloss. They looked incredibly kissable.
Thinking this, Xiao Cheng acted on it. He stepped forward, took her hand, and guided it to hook around his neck. Then, with both arms, he lifted her up. She let out a startled gasp and instinctively wrapped her legs around his lean waist.
His lips claimed hers swiftly—there was no gradual seduction from the start. He kissed her fiercely and urgently, his nimble tongue slipping past her teeth, mercilessly conquering every inch of territory.
In a gap where she could barely catch her breath, Lin Aiyun heard a soft click—the door being locked.
Perhaps freed from worry, Xiao Cheng pressed her against the door panel, one hand cradling her head, the other supporting her waist to keep her from slipping down.
The elastic waistband left a faint red mark on her slender waist.
A wave of shyness washed over her, and she instinctively reached down to tug at her hem—but her hand was covered by his, their fingers intertwining.
Earlier, while toasting the guests, although Xiao Cheng had taken many of the drinks for her, there was still a faint trace of alcohol on his lips. In their frenzied entanglement, the smell of wine grew stronger, and her consciousness began to grow hazy along with it.
Her eyes glistened with a hint of moisture. Still nestled in his arms in the same position, she tentatively kissed his lips in return, a teasing gesture. Xiao Cheng’s breath hitched, and then he kissed her back even deeper.
The room was filled with red-silk-bound chests containing the dowry Zhang Wenhua had prepared for Lin Aiyun, leaving little space to move. The largest open area was by the wall, where the big wooden bed sat.
Noticing her arms were starting to tire—probably sore from holding on too long—Xiao Cheng carried her toward the bed. Meanwhile, his hands and mouth stayed busy. The lips that had been kissing her moments ago now worked on the round buttons, one by one, and under his assault, they quickly surrendered completely.
Her front hung open, revealing the little pink garment he had been longing to see for so long, embroidered with a pair of mandarin ducks playing in the water. From the stitching, he could tell she had embroidered it herself, stitch by stitch—delicate and vivid.
Thinking of what she must have been feeling as she sewed it, Xiao Cheng’s heart raced even faster. By now they had reached the edge of the bed. Her back had barely touched the mattress when he leaned over her, his fingertips lightly tracing, his voice rough and searing as he spoke:
“Aiyun, I love it.”
Lin Aiyun’s long lashes trembled, and her entire body was tinged with a thin layer of pink. She took a deep breath and murmured, “I’m glad you like it.”
No sooner had the words left her mouth than another kiss descended, wiping her mind blank. Unlike before, this time it was exceptionally gentle and lingering—like the calm before a blizzard. Their soft lips intertwined, and she obediently closed her eyes, wanting to make Xiao Cheng happy on their wedding night and give him a beautiful first experience. So without much hesitation, she fumbled her fingers toward him.
She had meant to undo his buttons, but in the darkness, her fingers found his Adam’s apple instead. The moment she touched it, a muffled groan came from above her.
A man’s Adam’s apple was most sensitive. Her eyes flew open to meet a pair of eyes that were also just opening slowly. Xiao Cheng wore a half-smile on his face as he teased in a low voice: “Wife, so eager? I was thinking of taking it slow.”
“Huh?” Lin Aiyun’s face was full of stunned confusion—”What did you just call me?” and “What are you talking about?”
Xiao Cheng, utterly unrepentant, called her several more times: “Wife, wife, wife. Shall we speed things up a little then? I can’t hold back much longer either.”
Why did he say “either”? She was not! She had not!!!
“You want to help me take them off? Then hurry up, wife.”
At this moment, Xiao Cheng was like some kind of male seductress. His usually dark pupils were slightly dilated, as mysterious as the night sky, now gleaming with a bright, shining light as he gazed at her with a wild, adoring passion—raw and undisguised, as if the next second he would ignite into a fireball and consume her entirely.
Just from his gaze alone, Lin Aiyun felt her whole body catch fire. Her fingers moved from his Adam’s apple downward, but perhaps because she was too nervous, she had only undone half the buttons after a long while.
Xiao Cheng, however, seemed determined to leave it all to her. His hands preferred to toy with her earlobes rather than spare one to help her.
Finally, after some time, all the buttons were undone. Lin Aiyun let out a breath of relief—only to see Xiao Cheng lean down, the pajama top slipping loosely off his elbows, revealing a broad expanse of smoothly sculpted, solid chest. His back was wide and muscular, every fiber of muscle brimming with power.
Utterly, completely, no—extremely captivating.
Lin Aiyun sat up and pressed a kiss to his lips, her voice soft: “Didn’t you say you wanted to hurry?”
At that, Xiao Cheng paused, then the smile on his lips deepened, his gaze burning so intensely that even she felt a little embarrassed. So she returned a light laugh—but it wasn’t long before she couldn’t laugh anymore.
His strong arms wrapped around her waist, and like a fish being flipped in a pan, he turned her over with force. Her face sank into the soft pillow, as if plunging into fluffy cotton candy, which carried a faint, pleasant scent.
Lin Aiyun winced in pain, her brows furrowing as her hands gripped the red wedding quilt tightly.
She buried her face in the pillow. Xiao Cheng caught her hand and laced their fingers together in his favorite way—ten fingers intertwined. Then he changed his mind, flipped her back over, and the moment they were face to face, he finally had her completely.
His fingertip traced her lips, stopping her from biting them.
But that hand had just been… For a moment, Lin Aiyun’s expression was complicated, and her mind grew even more muddled.
“Wife, I want to look at you. Don’t bite your lip—bite me instead.”
“Wife, if you’re uncomfortable, tell me.”
“Wife, do you like this? Hm?”
“…”
For most of the night, it seemed Xiao Cheng kept talking in her ear, trying to ease her nervousness and her tense body. But eventually, the tone of his words shifted in an uncontrollable direction, and she was so embarrassed she couldn’t help but slap him twice.
But what could she do? After being slapped, he only seemed more excited.
The air grew thin. Sweat from his forehead trickled down his nose to his lips, then dripped into her curves, soon disappearing without a trace. Witnessing this, Lin Aiyun’s gaze darkened, and her grip on his back tightened.
She was lifted and repositioned, her hands braced against his sharply defined V-line, which stood out even more with his exertion. Pushed past her limits, she bit her lip and tilted her head back. Her hair, which had been tied up once but had come loose again at some point, brushed against his skin with every movement. The ticklish sensation, however, was nothing compared to the sight of her flushed little face.
Xiao Cheng’s grip on her waist tightened—he had no intention of letting her go.
Her muffled, hesitant whimpers echoed through half the night, finally ceasing only as the sky began to lighten.
Though utterly exhausted, Lin Aiyun couldn’t fall asleep. After a moment’s hesitation, she couldn’t help but slap the person beside her on the face, her voice dry and helpless: “Xiao Cheng, get the hell out of me.”
“No. Last night you were calling me ‘darling husband,’ and now it’s straight to my full name? After I served you so well, and I still can’t get a good look from my wife? Truly, once you’re in the door, you’re not valued anymore.”
As he spoke, he pressed closer to her, sinking in deeper at the same time.
“…” Who exactly was serving whom? And where did he learn to talk like such a pitiful little tea expert?
“Wife, sleep. Just sleep.” Seeing she didn’t respond, Xiao Cheng switched tactics, gently patting her back as if coaxing a child.
Lin Aiyun reached out and shoved him, rolling her eyes in exasperation. “How am I supposed to sleep like this?”
“But it can’t bear to leave you.”
“!” Lin Aiyun’s eyes flew open as she stared at him in disbelief. How could Xiao Cheng say something so shameless with a completely straight face? This was absolutely—outrageous!
The two bickered for a while longer, until finally Xiao Cheng obediently pulled out.
After a whole night of exertion, he showed no signs of fatigue whatsoever. Instead, he was full of energy. Taking advantage of the fact that no one else had returned home yet, he pulled on a pair of pants, went to the kitchen, and brought back a basin of warm water. He carefully cleaned her up, inside and out, leaving no spot untouched. He even thoughtfully applied some medicine, changed the bedsheet, and only then placed his dear wife back on the bed.
Considering the heat, he didn’t cover her with a quilt, just laid a towel over her navel.
After tidying up all the mess in the room, Xiao Cheng climbed onto the bed, pulled his sweet-smelling wife into his arms, and planned to catch a little nap.
·
When Lin Aiyun woke up again, the sun was already setting in the west. She opened her eyes groggily to find herself alone in the room. The mosquito net had been lowered, and the enclosed space still held a lingering, unfaded scent.
She felt a dull ache—young lads had no sense of restraint, and with no experience, it was inevitable.
She tried to lift her legs and took a while to adjust to the pulling pain and soreness before slowly sitting up. It dawned on her belatedly that that scoundrel Xiao Cheng hadn’t put a single stitch of clothing on her! Thankfully, there was a towel draped over her waist.
Everywhere was dotted with marks, like red flowers blooming on a spring meadow—absolutely unbearable to look at.
There were two bruises on her hip bones, left by his vice-like grip, and also on her knees—from kneeling…
Best not to mention it.
But it seemed Xiao Cheng had wiped her down and applied medicine, so at least he had some conscience left.
After sitting on the bed for a while, Lin Aiyun figured that by this time everyone had probably already finished dinner, which made her face burn even more with embarrassment. She hesitated for a moment—she didn’t really want to go out, because she wasn’t ready to face the others’ teasing—but her stomach was growling.
Just as she was wrestling with the dilemma, the door opened from outside. Lin Aiyun instinctively looked for a blanket to cover her naked body, glanced around, and quickly scrambled to the foot of the bed to wrap herself in the wedding quilt.
Her sudden movement startled Xiao Cheng, who had just entered. Realizing what she was doing, he quickly locked the door, carried a steaming bowl of noodles to the table, and then lifted the mosquito net.
“Come here, let me see if you’re feeling any better.”
Seeing it was Xiao Cheng, Lin Aiyun breathed a sigh of relief. But at his words, she blinked in confusion. “See what?”
“What else could it be?” Xiao Cheng sat on the edge of the bed, dressed in a shirt and black trousers, and beckoned her over. His handsome face was quite alluring.
But he hadn’t worn such formal clothes for a long time—why did he pull them out today? She thought about it for a moment and then immediately realized: she had scratched his neck last night, and only a collared shirt could barely hide the marks.
Actually, it wasn’t just his neck—there were also his chest, abs, back…
Come to think of it, she was no different from Xiao Cheng, who was so fond of leaving hickeys. At that thought, Lin Aiyun nearly choked on her own saliva.
“What are you thinking about? Come here.” Xiao Cheng’s gaze was tender as water, as if it could melt her. “Let me take a look, apply some more medicine, and then you can eat.”
She had been sleeping so soundly that he hadn’t wanted to disturb her. So he had gone out early to serve tea to Zhang Wenhua and Lin Jianzhi. Normally, this was a morning tea served to the groom’s family, but since they were at the bride’s home and he had no parents, he figured they were all his parents now—no difference. So he served it to them.
When they saw him offering tea alone, Zhang Wenhua had offered to wake Lin Aiyun, but he stopped her, and no one knocked on her door all day.
Lin Aiyun had slept through the entire day. Worried she might be hungry, and knowing she probably wouldn’t have much appetite right after waking up, Xiao Cheng had asked Zhang Wenhua to make a bowl of noodles to bring over. He figured he could get at least a few bites into her, and then she could sleep again. As it happened, he walked in just in time to see her sitting on the bed in a daze.
“No need to look. I’m fine.” Lin Aiyun clutched the quilt tightly over her chest and absolutely refused to show him. Xiao Cheng had no choice but to give up, thinking he’d let her eat first and then try again later. For now, he let her be.
He brought over the bowl of noodles, picked up a chopstickful, and blew on it carefully until it was cool before feeding it to her. Lin Aiyun didn’t refuse. The moment she caught the aroma, she forgot all about brushing her teeth and took a big bite.
The broth was made with lard and meat stock—rich and savory. The noodles were kneaded from white flour, soft yet wonderfully chewy. As she ate, Lin Aiyun felt it was one of the most delicious things in the world.
On top was a fried egg and some minced meat—simply heavenly.
She finished the entire bowl with great satisfaction, and even Xiao Cheng seemed much more agreeable in her eyes.
After he put the bowl away and came back, he took off his shoes and knelt with one knee on the edge of the bed. Lin Aiyun thought he wanted to sleep a little longer too, so she obligingly rolled inward. But then he caught her ankle and gently pressed it forward, folding her legs.
Her two slender, pale legs formed a bridge.
“Don’t move, wife. Let me see.”
“Xiao Cheng, are you some kind of pervert?”
She kicked at him with her foot, but the next second she was overpowered by force. Before long, she simply gave up, even actively letting him look all he wanted.
“It’s still swollen. Let me apply some more medicine.”
Without changing his expression, Xiao Cheng got up to wipe his hands with a wet towel, then returned with a tube of ointment and carefully applied it to her sore spots. As his fingertip moved over the area, she couldn’t help but tremble. When he looked up at her, she averted her gaze awkwardly.
“All done.”
A light slap landed on her rounded backside, signaling the end of the application. Lin Aiyun glared at him, her face flushed. Xiao Cheng smiled, the corners of his mouth lifting—he absolutely adored her when she was all ruffled like this.
In a daze, he remembered his dreams from before, in which she had been exactly the same.
Suddenly, he thought—perhaps those dreams were actually a glimpse of what the future would truly hold.
Just thinking of the two of them growing old together, Xiao Cheng’s brows curved, and he grinned like a complete fool.
Leave a Reply