Chapter 88

This Apple Sister can’t keep anything hidden at all.

At first, he was enchanted by her, sometimes treating her as a sister, sometimes as a wife, too distracted to notice anything wrong.

No matter how she played around, he enjoyed it.

But now, he didn’t enjoy it at all!

Once the arrow is drawn, it’s hard to say it won’t be shot.

It would have been better if she hadn’t touched it from the beginning.

After all, he was used to letting things be as they were.

So, what did it mean to stop halfway?

Xie Yun’s expression wasn’t pretty. The girl was naked, her long slender legs draped over his waist.

Almost.

Sang Yao felt uncomfortable being poked and silently shifted her position.

There was sweat on her forehead.

It was already completely dark outside, and they hadn’t had time to light a lamp in the room, so she couldn’t see Xie Yun’s expression clearly.

But she had a gut feeling that he wasn’t very happy.

And for some reason, she vaguely felt like she wasn’t being fair.

So, she continued to coax him softly, “Just endure it a bit longer, wait until tomorrow.”

Xie Yun ignored her.

He silently wondered why she was starting to act cute again.

It would be better to keep quiet; every word was like a thorn in his heart.

Wait until tomorrow? How could he wait for something like this?

It had only been eleven days since they got married, and the day before yesterday was the first time.

She had no idea how long today felt for him; she couldn’t even touch him with her hand.

The more he thought about it, the more unreasonable it seemed.

After enduring for a while, Xie Yun couldn’t hold back any longer.

He held onto the girl’s slippery waist and whispered, “Are you going to make me suffer like this?”

Sang Yao: “…”

The word “suffer” really didn’t suit Xie Yun, but the tone of complaint and dissatisfaction in his voice was hard for her to ignore.

Sang Yao didn’t think it was a big deal, but apparently, it was for him.

Sang Yao was weak-willed; she hesitated.

But remembering her plan, she couldn’t give up halfway.

Otherwise, she wouldn’t have control, and she wouldn’t be able to verify clearly if Xie Yun really liked her.

She forcefully restrained herself, wanting to distance herself from him again, but he held her too tightly, and she couldn’t succeed.

She felt a bit nervous and couldn’t help but make a show of it, saying, “Why do you keep thinking about this all the time?”

Xie Yun felt quite wronged.

In all honesty, since they got married until now, he had only spent one night with her.

But he didn’t want Sang Yao to dwell on this issue now.

He didn’t let go.

He lifted her, his palms facing upward as he massaged her thighs.

Then, as a second choice, he continued, “Just lie down, don’t move.”

Sang Yao still shook her head, firm in her resolve. “It will chafe.”

She reached out, gently touching Xie Yun’s hair in a soothing manner.

Then, mimicking his tone, she said, “Be good, calm down first.”

Another silence fell between them.

Sang Yao had changed a bit after her trip to the palace, and she knew it was because of Sang Zhu’s teachings.

From the moment she left the palace until now, all her reactions were linked together.

Just a moment ago, she had been shy and even approached him willingly, but now that it was time to get down to business, she was ignoring him.

Xie Yun’s breath was slightly heavy. Despite his intense desire, he still managed to retain some rationality.

So, even now, instead of figuring out how to coax her further, he was more curious about why she was doing this.

Clearly, she was trying to seduce him.

But why? Did she feel he wasn’t enthusiastic enough about her, or did she genuinely believe there was no passion between them?

But Xie Yun knew deep down that he had never been so passionate about anyone in his life.

Ultimately, wasn’t it just because he hadn’t spent enough time with her?

This thought felt somewhat strange because Sang Yao had never expressed such thoughts before.

What was she trying to accomplish?

The more Xie Yun stayed silent, the more anxious Sang Yao became.

She didn’t know if it was difficult for men to endure this, but it should be okay, right? After all, he often faced cold showers during practice.

One more time wouldn’t hurt.

After a while, Xie Yun slowly asked, “Are you really this heartless today?”

She reassured him, “It’s not a big deal, just go take a bath.”

Her words lacked conviction, sounding somewhat resigned.

Sang Yao bit her lip, feeling indecisive again.

But before she could come to a conclusion, Xie Yun helped her sit up, then draped a loose robe over himself and went to light the lamps.

He lit several, instantly illuminating the room, making everything that was blurry just a moment ago clear.

The man had a tall, muscular figure, walking back towards her shamelessly.

Sang Yao blushed, not wanting to look at him.

Xie Yun sat back on the bed.

He sat opposite her, one leg bent, and then reached out, holding her hand.

Sang Yao widened her eyes. “…”

She sat facing him, hugging her knees, then lowered her head again, complaining, “What are you doing…”

Xie Yun’s tone remained unchanged as he coldly said, “Look up.”

Reluctantly, Sang Yao glanced at him.

The man kept his gaze fixed on her face.

Soon, Sang Yao blushed crimson with embarrassment. She clenched her fingers tightly, silently cursing Xie Yun.

She really hadn’t expected this.

She knew Xie Yun was shameless, but she hadn’t expected him to be this shameless.

Whenever she tried to look away, Xie Yun would continue to threaten her.

The last time she felt this embarrassed was on their wedding night when he saw her naked.

Sang Yao had never felt time drag on like this before. After a while, unable to bear it anymore, she felt extremely embarrassed, flopping onto the bed with a thud and covering herself with the blanket.

The room fell silent.

Xie Yun didn’t move.

After a short while, a trembling snow-white arm emerged from the blanket, and she extended a finger, her voice muffled as it came from under the covers.

“… Once.”

The plan failed.

Not only did it fail, but it failed miserably.

It was like losing both the battle and the war.

But it’s okay; one failure doesn’t mean anything. It doesn’t reflect her abilities. They still live under the same roof, and she believes she’ll have plenty of opportunities.

She needs to figure out how to start planning the next move.

Next time, she won’t be soft-hearted towards that hypocritical dog of a man.

But on another note, Sang Yao felt that seducing Xie Yun was too easy.

A few kisses and sweet words were all it took to completely control him.

Not to mention, he couldn’t resist her desires.

She was too soft-hearted.

She had relented just yesterday.

If she hadn’t agreed, Xie Yun wouldn’t have forced her.

In theory, she should have succeeded.

But since this method is too easy, the problem arises: she hasn’t yet learned the intermediate level of seduction.

It’s okay; it’s not a big deal.

She thinks she needs to rethink her strategy.

“Are you awake, Yao Yao?”

Her thoughts were interrupted by Xie Yun speaking to her.

She had actually been awake for a while, but she was still angry and didn’t want to look at him.

Xie Yun had to go to court early in the morning, so he got up very early.

Sang Yao, on the other hand, had slept late last night and was too tired to even lift her arms, so she had no idea when Xie Yun got up in the morning.

Now, he had already returned from court, and she still hadn’t gotten out of bed.

Since Xie Yun came in earlier, Sang Yao had been facing away from him, resolutely refusing to look at him.

It’s all because Xie Yun didn’t listen to her.

After a while, the man in official attire leaned over, seeing that she was awake, and kissed her cheek gently.

He reminded her softly, “I haven’t kissed you good morning yet.”

Sang Yao’s voice was hoarse with anger. “No more kisses!”

Xie Yun’s hand moved down to lightly press on her waist.

He asked, “Is it still sore?”

Xie Yun was actually making rapid progress; each time was better than the last for her.

So now she wasn’t really sore, just a little achy all over.

It should be better by tonight.

But she still pitifully said, “It hurts so much.”

Xie Yun’s technique of pressing her waist wasn’t very skilled.

He asked with concern, “Where does it hurt?”

Xie Yun actually didn’t mean to tease Sang Yao. He genuinely cared about where she was hurting, so he could be more careful next time.

But Sang Yao didn’t see it that way.

Xie Yun became a beast as soon as he took off his clothes and got into bed, but when he wore clothes, he became a hypocrite.

She felt Xie Yun was being deliberate. “Where does it hurt?”

Pushing Xie Yun away, she couldn’t help but accuse him, “You’re not keeping your word!”

She wasn’t wearing much clothing to stay cool. She was half lying on the bed, covering herself with a blanket. As she watched Xie Yun about to speak up, she suddenly noticed a deep red mark on his neck.

There was also an unclear bruise around it.

It was obviously a love bite.

Sang Yao abruptly stopped speaking. She stared at the prominent love bite on Xie Yun’s neck and his solemn dark blue official attire.

She whispered softly, “There’s… on your neck.”

Xie Yun casually brushed it off with his thumb. “Isn’t this your doing?”

Sang Yao’s expression turned blank, her tone tinged with absurdity. She said, “Didn’t you cover it up when you went to court?”

Xie Yun furrowed his brows. “Why should I cover it up? I’m married. Isn’t it normal to sleep with my wife?”

Sang Yao’s heart skipped a beat. She didn’t know how Xie Yun could say such a thing directly with his face of abstinence.

She stuttered, “Then… did anyone say anything about you?”

“What did they say?”

Sang Yao counted, “There were many things said: frivolous, indulgent, not upholding the proper manners…”

Xie Yun murmured in agreement, then said bluntly, “If someone finds my life too long, they’re welcome to do as they please.”

In fact, although it was a bit regrettable, no one came to ask him about it today.

Not even Yang Wenchuan.

He even took the initiative to talk to Yang Wenchuan today.

He had already prepared his answer, but that guy didn’t ask at all.

He was even very timid, not daring to look.

Sang Yao wasn’t as thick-skinned as Xie Yun. It was well known that Xie Yun only had her by his side. This blatantly told others that it was her doing.

Seeing Sang Yao’s expression, Xie Yun knew what she was thinking. His eyes narrowed slightly, then he said, “Regretting it now? Are you embarrassed to kiss me?”

Sang Yao grimaced.

She said slowly, “This is too embarrassing…”

Xie Yun pinched the girl’s small face, puzzled. “I remember you were married to me openly and properly. We don’t seem to be having an affair, so what’s awkward about it?”

Sang Yao pushed his hand away without continuing. She said, “Turn around, I need to get dressed.”

Xie Yun took the opportunity to kiss her gently before turning around.

He had never had much self-control around Sang Yao.

He was well aware of this.

So he didn’t specifically turn around to watch her dress.

The thin, special fabric dress she wore last night lay pitifully on the floor. Because the fabric was so light and thin, it didn’t seem heavy.

Normally, such a thin dress would be worn with an underskirt of the same color.

But after he had stripped her of everything last night, he had still been fortunate enough to catch a glimpse of it.

Her skin was fair and delicate.

Perfectly hazy.

And bold.

It had a different kind of impact.

Xie Yun picked up the white fabric stained with something, and as the breeze blew, the fabric gently swayed.

His face was stern, as if contemplating something, his gaze quietly falling on the white fabric.

Meanwhile, Sang Yao had finished dressing.

As Xie Yun tidied up the clothes scattered on the bed, Sang Yao suddenly noticed that the little notebook she had placed on the flower stand was missing.

Although it held sad memories, it had been with her for over half a year. She asked, “Xie Yun, where’s the notebook?”

Hearing this address, Xie Yun became displeased again. Before he could answer, Sang Yao approached him and asked, “You didn’t really throw it away, did you?”

Xie Yun remained expressionless. “No.”

“I gave it to you.”

Sang Yao didn’t quite believe it. She hadn’t seen the servant all day yesterday. When she asked Xie Yun, he said the servant was on a mission and couldn’t come back so soon.

She said, “If Jinglian isn’t here, you can say whatever you want.”

Xie Yun looked at her, then suddenly raised his voice, “Jinglian.”

Jinglian’s voice came from outside the door. “Master, what’s your order?”

Xie Yun asked, “Did I give you the notebook?”

Of course not!

This was something that Xie Yun, the scoundrel, couldn’t possibly do.

Jinglian outside the door hesitated for a moment, then reluctantly said, “Master, please forgive me for my forgetfulness. I have returned it to you.”

Sang Yao didn’t doubt it anymore.

It’s good that it’s back where it belongs.

While Sang Yao was grooming herself, Xie Yun briefly left the room.

In the study, wisps of smoke rose from the purple-gold censer.

On the spacious desk, placed in the center, was a small notebook, and both of their gazes fell upon it.

This was the root of everything.

It was the reason why Sang Yao had acted like that yesterday.

Xie Yun sat with his legs crossed on the chair.

Unbeknownst to Sang Yao, he had already read through the entire notebook inside and out.

But he hadn’t found the answer.

Jinglian held his breath and focused, standing in front of the desk.

It had been more than half a year since he had directly faced his master’s treasure for the second time.

He suppressed the unease in his heart.

Xie Yun said quietly, “Tell me about your inspiration for creating it.”