◎ He never in his wildest dreams imagined that this title could get him a sweet and obedient wife. ◎

Chen Fang tossed the painting onto the bed, then reached to pinch her chin, trying to suppress her laughter. “Tao Xiaoxi, I’ve realized your courage is growing.”

“It’s not my fault. You came back early. I didn’t even have time to hide them. If you came back tomorrow, you wouldn’t have seen them, right?” Tao Xiaoxi defended her reasoning confidently.

Chen Fang couldn’t help but laugh at her response. “So, you’ve hidden a lot of paintings from me?”

Tao Xiaoxi replied, “Secret.”

“A secret between husband and wife isn’t a good thing,” Chen Fang reminded her.

Tao Xiaoxi tilted her head. “I don’t believe you don’t have any secrets from me.”

“You can ask me anything you want to know.”

Tao Xiaoxi looked into his eyes, her finger tracing his thick eyebrows, before finally tugging at his ear.

“I’m not falling for your trick. Don’t think you can exchange your secrets for mine.”

“Seems like your secrets are as many as the paintings you hide.”

Tao Xiaoxi still responded with two words, “Secret.”

Chen Fang’s breath deepened, stopping just above her red lips. “It’s okay, Tao Xiaoxi. You can have many secrets from me, as long as your body is honest with me.”

Tao Xiaoxi pretended to understand, “Oh~~ So, Younger Brother Ah Fang is the type who only wants to sleep together but doesn’t want to talk about feelings.”

Chen Fang immediately bit her lips. “So, you’re planning to go against me today, huh?”

Tao Xiaoxi tried to dodge, but he immediately chased after her, eager and impatient. She held his chin with both hands, securing the space between them and asked, “Do you want to kiss me?”

Chen Fang’s hand hovered over the button of her sleepwear, hesitating between unbuttoning it one by one or ripping it off all at once.

“What do you think?” His voice was hoarse, drowned in desire.

Tao Xiaoxi, still unaware of the danger her sleepwear posed, blinked her long eyelashes at him. “Call me ‘sister,’ and I’ll kiss you.”

…

Chen Fang was confused. “Where did this weird fetish of yours come from? You like this older sister, younger brother thing?”

“I watched a sibling romance drama a few days ago, and I thought the little wolfdog younger brother was pretty cute.”

… What kind of nonsense drama is that? And a little wolfdog younger brother?

Chen Fang sneered, “You think you, a soft bunny, could be the older sister to a little wolfdog?”

Why not? He could underestimate her, but not underestimate a rabbit.

Tao Xiaoxi tilted her head back, her breath gently brushing his lips. As he leaned in, she retreated, teasing him with a taste.

Chen Fang, wanting to give her advice, said, “Tao Xiaoxi, don’t forget how you begged me the night before I left. You’re enjoying yourself now, but don’t come crying later.”

Tao Xiaoxi lightly touched his throbbing Adam’s apple with her tongue. “I won’t cry today. If I do, I’ll call you ‘brother,’ ‘Brother Fang,’ okay?”

Very well, Chen Fang gritted his teeth. Since the rabbit had grown bolder and didn’t even value her life anymore, he wouldn’t hold back on giving her a lesson.

With a rip, her sleepwear was torn open. Tao Xiaoxi was stunned, looking down at her clothes and then at the culprit, her anger flaring. “Are you a bandit?”

Chen Fang let out a slow, mocking laugh. “If I were a bandit, I wouldn’t waste my time discussing this older sister, younger brother nonsense. You’d have been dead countless times by now.”

“Oh, so you’re a quick bandit, huh? It hasn’t been that long, and you’ve already done it several times.”

…

Chen Fang thought maybe she really didn’t want to live anymore. Every move he made was decisive, yet the rabbit seemed to have grown some backbone today. She bit her lower lip tightly, not making a sound.

He had been advancing steadily, just one step away from the final moment, when he suddenly sensed something was off. Probing again, it still felt wrong. He glanced at her, and Tao Xiaoxi, her face flushed, gave him a shy smile. “Surprised? We’ve already been married for a month.”

Surprised didn’t even begin to cover it. Had time passed so quickly? They had already been living together for a month.

Chen Fang tried to suppress the restlessness in his body and the fire coursing through his blood, but he failed.

Tao Xiaoxi, watching the man slumped on her, gently rubbed his short, stubbled hair to comfort him. “Sorry, my aunt came to visit, so we couldn’t enjoy our newlywed time. You’ll have to take care of it yourself.”

She said sorry, but there was no apology on her face. Instead, there was a bit of smugness, as though watching a fire from across the river.

“Tao Xiaoxi, you’re definitely doing this on purpose,” Chen Fang accused.

“I’m not. I originally planned for you to call me sister, and I’d kiss you, then tell you. But you insisted on being stubborn, saying I wasn’t worthy of being your sister.”

“Wait for it.” His voice grew grim.

Tao Xiaoxi wasn’t scared at all, smiling and glancing at his lower half. “I can wait, but are you sure you can wait right now?”

Naturally, he couldn’t. Chen Fang pinned her down, kissed her, then passionately kissed every inch of her before getting off the bed. He picked up the two paintings from the floor, pointed at her, and then went to the bathroom, clearly angry, his face tinged with blue.

Tao Xiaoxi lay on the bed, her smile gradually fading. She stared at the ceiling for five minutes, then hugged the blanket and sat up. Her sleepwear was ruined, so she grabbed the T-shirt he had tossed on the bed. It was already past one, and she wasn’t sure if he had eaten. She was starving and had fallen asleep hungry.

The washing machine in the living room beeped, signaling that the clothes were done. He had a good habit — whenever he came home, he would take a shower and change clothes. The clothes he took off went straight into the washing machine, so she didn’t have to worry about it.

Tao Xiaoxi went to the kitchen first. She was thirsty and, after all the commotion earlier, she was even more so. She drank two large cups of water to quench the dry, burning sensation in her throat and lungs. She opened the fridge and took a look. There was some minced meat sauce the elderly lady had made yesterday and a bit of handmade noodles left over. “I’ll have some fried sauce noodles,” she thought, simple and convenient. She filled a pot with water and set it on the stove, then went to the bathroom to hang the clothes from the washing machine on the balcony.

The weather outside was grim and the forecast said it would snow today. Among all the seasons, Tao Xiaoxi liked winter the most. She always felt that winter had a strong sense of belonging. The cold, freezing world outside, the warm house, the bright yellow lights, and the steaming meals at the table all made her feel attached to life.

After hanging the clothes, Tao Xiaoxi returned to the kitchen, shredded some carrots and cucumbers, and arranged them on a plate. She washed some bean sprouts, planning to blanch them in boiling water later. Then, she went to the bedroom, took a quick look, and saw that he still wasn’t ready. She decided to make a spinach and egg soup.

When Chen Fang came out, Tao Xiaoxi was sitting on the carpet next to the coffee table, eating the snacks he brought back. She had told him to bring something to eat, and he really did bring a bunch of local specialties.

“You’re so slow. My stomach has growled three times already,” Tao Xiaoxi said, popping another bite of cake into her mouth. It was sweet, sticky, and quite tasty.

She was wearing his T-shirt, the neckline crooked, exposing part of her snow-white shoulder with bite marks he had just left there. She looked like a greedy little squirrel with her cheeks puffed out as she chewed. The oversized T-shirt covered her delicate feet, and her toenails were now painted a fresh green, replacing the pale yellow. She seemed to be enjoying herself so much that her toes were moving to the rhythm.

Chen Fang, whose anger had been doused with cold water, now felt the heat rising again.

He warned her, “Tao Xiaoxi, you better not provoke me. Even if your relatives come, if I want to deal with you, I have plenty of ways.”

Tao Xiaoxi felt wrongly accused. She tried to swallow the food in her mouth, “How did I provoke you? I’m just eating my food, sitting as far away from you as possible. Even if I wanted to provoke you, I couldn’t. You should be saying you have no self-control. No, it’s not that you lack self-control, you have absolutely no self-control.”

Chen Fang sat on the couch beside her, pinched her cheek, “If I had self-control in front of you, wouldn’t that be a problem?”

Tao Xiaoxi pulled a tissue to wipe her hands, “If men really want to go astray, self-control has nothing to do with it. You’ll just find any excuse when the time comes.” She stood up. “I’m going to cook the noodles. We’re having fried sauce noodles for lunch.”

Chen Fang grabbed her arm, pulling her onto his lap. “Explain to me what you mean by ‘when the time comes,’ and what exactly do you mean by ‘just find any excuse’?”

Tao Xiaoxi wrapped her arms around his neck, shaking her head back and forth. “I was just chatting. Why are you so sensitive? I wasn’t talking about you.”

Chen Fang stared at the crumbs at the corner of her mouth. “Tao Xiaoxi, you’re acting strange today.”

Tao Xiaoxi instinctively avoided his gaze. “Really?”

“Yes.”

Tao Xiaoxi was about to speak.

Chen Fang brushed aside the stray strands of hair that had fallen over her forehead. “Don’t use the excuse of ‘it’s that time of the month’ to brush me off.”

Wait… was he some kind of mind reader? How did he know exactly what she was thinking?

Tao Xiaoxi rested her chin on his shoulder and stared at the pattern on the pillow, speaking casually, like she was making small talk, “Well… I was watching this drama about a May-December romance. There was this guy who had a girlfriend, but he liked another girl. That girl also had a boyfriend. One day, he found out that the girl he liked broke up with her boyfriend, and someone told him that she had secretly liked him too. He hesitated between his girlfriend and the girl he liked for a long time. In the end, he chose his girlfriend. I was wondering if that’s a good ending. I think when problems arise in a relationship, it’s not just about physical betrayal. Sometimes, hesitation is also a kind of betrayal. Once someone hesitates, they’ve already made up their mind; it’s just that they’re too bound by morals to admit it.”

Zhao Yijiang often complained to Chen Fang that women’s empathy was too strong. Whether watching dramas, movies, or reading novels, whenever a man did something bad, women would always imagine themselves in that situation, repeatedly asking what he would do in the same circumstances.

At that time, Chen Fang thought Zhao Yijiang was being overly nagging, always bringing up his own relationship issues. He wasn’t interested in hearing about it, but now that he thought about it, Zhao Yijiang was actually showing off. He had a wife, and Chen Fang was still single.

Chen Fang really enjoyed this moment. On this gloomy winter afternoon, Tao Xiaoxi lazily nestled in his arms, chatting about the drama she watched and her little thoughts. Even though his language skills had never been excellent, he knew a simple word to describe the feeling—this was what people meant by “peaceful times.”

He lifted her face from his shoulder. “You want to ask what I would do if I were that guy, don’t you?”

Was that what she wanted to ask? Not really. She was just talking about a TV show. Tao Xiaoxi fiddled with his jaw with her fingers, feeling its firmness.

Jiang Youlin once said that Chen Fang had a face that could handle relationships effortlessly. It was strange that he hadn’t had a girlfriend all these years. There had to be someone in his heart.

It couldn’t be Huang Zhenzhu. His gaze toward her was colder than towards a stranger.

Tao Xiaoxi wanted to ask, “Have you ever liked someone?” but she felt asking was pointless. Men always had ways to dodge questions they didn’t want to answer. Even if she took a step back, it wouldn’t matter. If he had, it was normal. After all, they weren’t teenagers. She had always thought it didn’t matter. Who didn’t have an ex? She had even joked about it before. But now, there was a certain unease in her heart.

Tao Xiaoxi opened her mouth and bit his chin. She originally intended to apply more force but ended up softening it at the last moment. It wasn’t really a bite; it felt more like a kiss.

Chen Fang felt a slight itch in his heart as her teeth grazed him. He wanted to catch her lips, but her finger pressed against the corner of his mouth. Her expression was unusually serious. “What I want to say is that I don’t accept betrayal, physically or mentally. I can’t accept being deceived either. If one day you start feeling hesitant like that guy, or if you begin comparing me to others—wondering why I’m not as understanding, why I’m not as capable, cheerful, or graceful—Chen Fang, if you ever start thinking even a little like that, I want to know. I won’t let you feel conflicted.”

Chen Fang looked at her small, tense face, and he wanted to ask what she meant by “won’t let him feel conflicted,” but he knew asking would only make him angry. He also realized that her feelings and thoughts were more delicate than he imagined. She could come up with so many concerns from just watching a TV show.

He replied seriously, “Tao Xiaoxi, I’m not the kind of person who would just settle for someone when I reach a certain age or because of pressure from elders. I’m not the type who looks at what’s in the bowl while thinking about what’s in the pot. So, there’s no hesitation or comparison like you’re talking about.”

“Oh.” Tao Xiaoxi realized she had turned their conversation far too serious. She tried to get off his lap.

Chen Fang tightened his hold on her waist, stopping her from moving. “Oh what? Do you understand what I mean?”

The idea of liking someone felt too cheesy to him. He knew that from the moment he first saw her, the thought of spending the rest of his life with her seemed like something worth looking forward to.

Tao Xiaoxi rubbed her face against his shoulder like a lazy cat, her voice muffled but soft, “I understand a little bit.”

How much did she understand with just a little? Since they were already on this topic, Chen Fang decided to make things clearer. But as he reached out to touch her ear, noticing its red hue, he wondered if blood would drip out. He changed his mind and instead asked, “What about you, Tao Xiaoxi? Lao Zhou said I was one of the top young talents who fought my way to the door of the Tao family. Why did you agree to marry me?”

He wouldn’t admit it, but he had been curious about this for a while. He was just casually asking since the topic came up.

Tao Xiaoxi looked at him. “Do you want to know?”

Chen Fang gave a nonchalant nod. It didn’t matter whether she answered or not, “If you want to tell me.”

“I thought… being the top of the Four Great Knights should be pretty good, right?”

Chen Fang froze for a moment because he wasn’t sure if she understood what Four Great Knights meant.

The next second, Tao Xiaoxi answered the question in his mind, “You thought only men liked girls with good figures?”

Chen Fang: …

He never in his wildest dreams imagined that this title could get him a sweet and obedient wife.