Xu Liling went with her to the bedroom, grabbed his sleepwear, and headed to the side room. Yingran sat at the vanity, drying her hair.
Her hair was half-dry when Xu Liling returned from his bath.
His long hair hung wet, dripping water that soaked a large patch of his thin sleepwear, faintly revealing the contours of his waist and back.
Yingran got up to let him dry his hair.
Xu Liling sat down, stretched out a long arm, and pulled her onto his lap.
Yingran pushed him. “Your hair’s still wet.”
Her strength couldn’t stop him in the slightest.
Xu Liling buried his face in her neck, touching her long hair. “It’s dry.”
His cool, dripping hair clung to her body, sending a shiver through her.
Yingran shot him a reproachful look but said nothing.
Xu Liling took off his shirt, setting it aside, half-lifting her to straddle his lap.
This scholar was wicked.
Yingran silently cursed him in her mind, playfully pushing and blocking his hands. When he touched her, her hands hovered awkwardly before resting against his chest.
His wet hair clung to her pale skin without barrier, strands like black snakes, cool and slithering across her body with his movements.
The ends of his hair tickled her, making her hum and squirm, trying to brush aside his messy locks. He leaned down, taking advantage of the moment free of annoying hair to kiss her brows, the tip of her nose, and lightly nip her lips, his face gently rubbing against hers.
When he wore his scholar’s robe, he looked frail and delicate.
Xu Qiugui had told her more than once in private to cook more meat to nourish him. Yingran always brushed it off.
She couldn’t tell others that, beneath his clothes, his body was lean, muscular, and powerful, his strength startling her.
Yingran clung to his neck, holding him, both sinking into it and afraid.
Yes, she was a little scared of their intimacy.
For newlyweds, their intimate moments weren’t all that frequent.
It wasn’t that being with him was uncomfortable, but his indulgence and “malice” gave her strange feelings.
When that feeling hit, her mind went blank, her body trembled uncontrollably, completely out of control, as if her soul were being pulled from her body, lost to where she was. It was nothing like what she thought normal intimacy should be.
She feared this loss of control, like trading her soul with a demon for an otherworldly, transcendent experience.
Even afterward, her brain would feel numb for a long time.
But whenever they were intimate, she couldn’t escape that feeling.
Dazedly, Yingran thought, he seems so good-tempered and gentle normally—why can’t he be like that in bed?
As she thought, Xu Liling carried her from the stool to the bed.
She whimpered and nipped lightly at his neck.
He said, “Put some force into it.”
Unable to escape his hold, she cursed inwardly—don’t blame me if I bite too hard—and bit down hard.
The storm outside gradually eased into a steady drizzle.
By dawn, the rain stopped, and the air was clear.
Yingran, barely rested, nestled in Xu Liling’s arms.
Xu Liling gently stroked her smooth back, his voice low and husky, whispering in her ear, “You can keep the cat, but treat them equally.”
Yingran, puzzled, mumbled a sleepy “Hm?”
Xu Liling: “Treat Da Hua the same as Xiao Huang. Otherwise, Xiao Huang will get upset.”
Yingran thought he made sense, nodded with a sticky “Mm,” and slowly drifted into deep sleep.
Xu Liling said no more, stayed with her a bit longer, then got up to head to Jinshui Town.
Good grief.
Yingran was utterly exhausted.
When Xu Liling left, she didn’t wake, eyes closed, but when he leaned down to whisper, “I’m off,” she tilted her face up to lightly peck his lips.
Yingran slept until noon, then warmed up the food Xu Liling had prepared for her, planning to bring Da Hua to eat together.
Remembering Xu Liling’s words about treating them equally,
she thought a two-pet household should indeed be balanced, so she decided to bring Xiao Huang along too.
At the back of the house, she saw Xiao Huang’s cloth nest soaked in muddy water, the dog itself dirty and rushing toward her, whimpering pitifully.
Then she saw Da Hua, sprawled arrogantly in the doghouse, stepping delicately on clean spots and sauntering toward her with cat-like grace: “Is it lunchtime?”
This world had demons and monsters—who knew if this dog might turn into one?
So, with another creature around, Da Hua meowed, using its system skills to convey its meaning to Yingran.
Yingran shot it an exasperated glare and took Xiao Huang to the front yard.
Da Hua followed.
Yingran fed them both, and while rinsing Xiao Huang, she said to Da Hua earnestly, “Don’t bully Xiao Huang anymore. It’s just a dog and can’t handle your attacks.”
Da Hua tilted its head proudly. “Then don’t make it stay with me.”
Yingran: “If I only dote on you, Xiao Huang will be sad.”
Da Hua scoffed, “It’s just a dumb dog.”
Da Hua was already staying by force, and now it was bullying the dog she’d raised for two years, a dog that had once chased off a demon for her. Yingran wasn’t pleased.
Done talking to Da Hua, she went to the back to pick up Xiao Huang’s doghouse to wash it.
As soon as she left, Da Hua glared at Xiao Huang, swiping a paw at it.
Xiao Huang, having learned from experience, knew that paw wasn’t ordinary and dodged like lightning.
No longer looking pitiful, it bared its teeth, growling like a fierce beast.
Da Hua understood its meaning: If you’re so tough, don’t use weird tricks—just fight fair.
Da Hua was stunned. Could this dog actually be a spirit? Its eyes narrowed, and with a “meow,” it pounced.
Yingran returned to the front yard with the doghouse, only to see a cat and dog fighting chaotically, cat and dog fur flying everywhere.
The yard, which Xu Liling kept spotless every day, was a complete mess.
It had rained last night, and the ground wasn’t fully dry. The bedsheets Xu Liling had washed that morning were knocked to the ground, and the clothesline was broken.
“Enough!”
Yingran scolded angrily.
Da Hua and Xiao Huang flinched but held onto each other, neither willing to let go first, growling threats.
Yingran stepped forward, grabbed them by the scruff, separated them, and shooed them toward the door. “Go! Both of you, out!”
Da Hua and Xiao Huang looked at her pleadingly.
Yingran took a deep breath, unable to stay too harsh. “Go play outside and stop fighting. If you fight again, I won’t keep you!”
Da Hua and Xiao Huang glared at each other, then bolted into the forest.
Whether they fought again, Yingran didn’t know.
Looking at the wrecked yard, she sighed helplessly and started cleaning up.
Xu Liling came back early that day.
When he returned, Yingran had just finished tidying the yard. A pile of dirty things still needed washing.
Seeing Xu Liling, she felt like a child caught misbehaving, nervous. “Why are you back so early today?”
Xu Liling surveyed the yard. “Too tired. Took leave from the boss.”
Tired? That’s your own fault.
Yingran thought this but said, concerned, “Then go rest in the house.”
Xu Liling glanced pointedly at the pile of dirty things. “You’re cleaning this up alone?”
She was the one who wanted to keep the cat and dog—what else could she do but clean up?
Not only did she have to clean, but she worried Xu Liling was being sarcastic. “Yeah. Those two aren’t used to playing together yet. It should get better in a few days.”
Xu Liling chuckled lightly, making her feel guilty.
But he didn’t say more on it, grabbed the dirty laundry and such to wash by the river, and told Yingran, “Leave the bedsheets, blankets, and clothes there. I’ll boil water to wash them when I’m back. You go rest.”
Yingran’s heart softened. She stepped forward, hugged his waist, and acted coy.
She knew he didn’t like many things, not even Xiao Huang, who had brought them together.
She always thought scholars were probably like that.
Her father was the same, with a ton of odd rules—no one could do this, no one could do that.
But Xu Liling was different from her father. Even if he didn’t like something, he’d let her try, let her have her way.
Whenever she tried and realized it was a mistake, coming back exhausted and whiny, he’d be patient and help her fix things.
Yingran stood on her toes; he lowered his head.
She nuzzled his chin with her nose, then kissed the tip of it.
He had no beard, always clean-shaven, not even a hint of stubble.
Xu Liling let her nuzzle for a bit. “I’m going to wash things. There’s a lot to do when I’m back, so we’ll talk then.”
“Okay.”
Yingran nodded, let him go, and watched him leave.
Though he told her to rest, she couldn’t just do nothing. How long would it take if Xu Liling did everything alone?
She went to the kitchen to wash the vegetables for dinner.
Xiao Huang secretly followed Xu Liling.
It was panicking, afraid Xu Liling might kill it for upsetting its mistress.
From last night until now, it hadn’t gotten any meat bones and didn’t dare ask.
Watching Xu Liling wash the laundry basket by the river, it lingered, then crawled forward, whimpering to tattle.
“That rotten cat bosses the mistress around and wouldn’t let her bring me to the front yard, so I fought it.”
“That rotten cat is just awful.”
Xu Liling glanced at it.
Xiao Huang trembled with fear.
His river-wet hand, cold and damp, slowly rose and patted its head.
“Good dog.”
Xiao Huang shivered, confused.
On second thought, it didn’t fully understand but got the gist:
Today’s fiasco, which made both it and the rotten cat annoy the mistress, was his scheme.
He didn’t like that rotten cat.
But… it made sense that he didn’t like the rotten cat.
Xiao Huang always felt that, except for the mistress, he didn’t like anything.
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