Chapter 66

Because one of the lamps went out, the room was somewhat dim, but it was enough for Xie Yun to see clearly the beautiful girl in front of him.

It was Sang Yao in her sober state.

Her lips were indeed prone to swelling. Sang Yao naturally had full lips, similar to her cheeks, carrying a hint of fleshiness. They were plump and moist, and when she felt wronged or angry, she would unconsciously puff up her cheeks, causing her red lips to pout slightly, always with a hint of girlish innocence.

Now, slightly swollen from kissing, it added a touch of charm to her innocence.

“Undress.”

Sang Yao froze again at his words.

She looked into Xie Yun’s calm eyes, then glanced down at her slightly disheveled nightwear.

After kissing, she felt that the subtle distance between herself and Xie Yun seemed to have diminished a bit, to the extent that she hadn’t bothered to tidy herself up until now.

She pinched the sleeve of her garment. Though it was summer, she felt an inexplicable chill creeping over her body. Sang Yao hesitated.

But then she looked at Xie Yun. He was patiently waiting for her, not persuading her, his gaze calm and without any hint of coercion.

If he wanted her, he could have simply taken her. She would have been afraid, but she wouldn’t have refused. Yet he chose to let her adjust first. Compared to pushing and prodding, what did removing a piece of clothing matter?

Sang Yao felt that one reason she didn’t resist Xie Yun so much might be because of his cold demeanor.

In the past, Sang Yao had encountered many people who coveted her body. Their gazes were always sticky, carrying a vulgar undertone, staring at her relentlessly and sometimes saying strange things to her.

But Xie Yun never did. Most of the time, he was restrained, never making Sang Yao feel offended.

Although she was sometimes slow to catch on, she felt she could distinguish between well-intentioned and malicious gazes, such as those of Lu Ting at the beginning. Even if he pretended to be refined, Sang Yao didn’t like the way he looked at her.

But Xie Yun was different. Sang Yao intuitively felt that he was not a bad person.

Looking at him now, his clothes were still neat, even though his collar was slightly open, which only made him appear more lazy and casual. That face of his showed no trace of the fierceness from just moments ago.

His eyes were half-closed, looking at her face without much emotion.

Sang Yao, as she looked at him, felt a bit dissatisfied for some reason. She was dizzy from the kiss, does he really feel nothing?

She sat up straight in front of Xie Yun silently and whispered, “Should I undress now?”

Xie Yun replied faintly, “If you want, you can do it tomorrow.”

If she were to do it tomorrow, she would have to prepare herself mentally again.

It would be better to undress now, after just kissing, than suddenly undressing tomorrow.

She bit her lip and negotiated, “Then… when I undress, can you not look at me?” Xie Yun’s gaze lingered on her for a moment before he said, “Sure, if you want this practice to be meaningless.”

Sang Yao pinched the corner of her clothes. She didn’t want to appear timid, but the trembling of her arms had already betrayed her.

She held her breath, avoiding Xie Yun’s direct gaze. Then, slowly, she raised her hand and untied the thin strap on her waist, freeing herself from the constraint.

The red shirt hung loosely.

The neckline was open wide. The undershirt she wore was brought from the mansion.

Originally, they had prepared one for her here, but she thought the style was inappropriate, so she wore her own.

It was a trial piece of a strapless bra, with a front strap and two crossed ribbons at the back to secure it, light pink in color, reaching down to the navel, with lotus flowers embroidered by herself on the edges.

Compared to the bold nightgown, this undershirt seemed to better match her pure temperament.

The light pink color set off her milky white skin, her waist was slender, and her delicate neck looked particularly fragile.

Because of her small frame, she looked very slim, but she was not bone-thin, with a hint of well-proportioned fleshiness. The strapless bra, being tight, fit snugly against her, revealing a considerable but not exaggerated curve in front.

Xie Yun’s eyes darkened slightly, his lips straight. The air was silent at this moment.

Sang Yao’s shoulders trembled lightly. After a long while, when she didn’t hear Xie Yun speak, she quietly raised her eyes to look at him, only to meet his gaze. His voice was calm, “Continue.”

Sang Yao’s heart was beating fast. He clearly had no reaction, but she felt extremely embarrassed, as if she were naked. But this time, she really wasn’t wearing anything.

Her hands were on the bed, with Xie Yun’s sleeve underneath them. She instinctively clutched his sleeve, her knuckles turning red, her eyes filled with tears due to nervousness.

She raised her hand again to reach for the thin strap behind her.

But when she lowered her head, her movements froze again.

She saw that area that had always made her feel dissatisfied, because it was a bit large and soft, and the edge of the undershirt even lightly sank in.

She kind of regrets not starting to lose weight earlier.

She’s never been quite satisfied with herself because she’s a bit different from others.

Though nobody has mocked her, sometimes there are some strange glances.

Normally, it wouldn’t bother her if she were the only one to notice, but now that Xie Yun might see, she suddenly feels uneasy. Would he dislike her for being a little overweight?

Sang Yao quietly raised her hand to block her lower face, then tried to justify herself: “…I really don’t eat much normally.”

“Maybe I was just born… a bit chubby.”

Xie Yun gently raised his hand, pinching her wrist and guiding it down. His tone was no different from usual, slowly saying, “Who says you’re fat?”

His gaze shifted from her body to her face, serious. “You’re very beautiful,” he said, regardless.

Sang Yao, her wrist held by him, stiffened as she looked at him.

Her face was hot, feeling like it was about to burst into flames, bubbles popping in her heart, as if she was going to explode.

She tightly pressed her lips together, couldn’t stand it after a while, then skillfully turned around, quickly pulling the blanket over herself, nestling by Xie Yun’s side like a shy quail.

Because her movements were too fast, Xie Yun’s hand was also dragged under the blanket by her. She let out a breath, relieving herself under the cover for a while, then lifted the blanket again.

Her bare shoulder was exposed, she adjusted the blanket, fingers pressing against Xie Yun’s leg, then rested her head on his waist.

Xie Yun’s body stiffened for a moment, but Sang Yao didn’t notice. She lay on him, due to the action, an area she didn’t like was unintentionally pressed against his side.

Sang Yao looked up at him pitifully, then whispered, “I’m going to take off in the blanket, can you sneak a peek?” She gestured with a finger, “Just a peek, we’ll save the rest for tomorrow.”

Xie Yun remained silent. She was lying on his hip, hand on his leg, he couldn’t speak up.

Xie Yun has always had exceptional self-control, but now it seems that his reason can no longer control him. Sang Yao shifted her body again, wanting to get closer, but Xie Yun frowned and held her shoulder. Sang Yao felt that something was wrong with the way she was lying on him, so she dared not move and asked softly, “What’s wrong?”

Her suggestion was actually pointless. This practice could end now, even if he regretted wanting to consummate the marriage, let alone just a peek, a whole night would be fine.

After a while, just as Sang Yao was about to ask again, Xie Yun suddenly pushed her away without saying a word, got up straight, and walked past the screen into the greenhouse.

Sang Yao sat up, her hair messy, feeling bewildered in bed alone.

A long time passed before Xie Yun came out. Sang Yao had already dressed and lay in bed, nestling in, almost falling asleep.

When Xie Yun got back into bed, it was even later at night, and Sang Yao was lying there with her eyes open, looking at him.

Not entirely satisfied, she asked, “Did you take another bath?”

Xie Yun grunted, and Sang Yao shifted towards him, asking, “Why?”

Xie Yun: “Do you really want to know?”

Sang Yao nodded.

Xie Yun said, “I’ll tell you after you take off one more thing.”

Sang Yao pursed her lips and moved away a bit. What else was there to take off now? He had missed his chance. Sang Yao snorted and said, “I’m not practicing early.”

She added, “Let’s talk about it tomorrow!”

Xie Yun didn’t reply, just blew out another lamp. The room fell into a dim light, and Sang Yao lay on her side next to Xie Yun, with an arm’s length between them.

Sang Yao liked to sleep on her side, curling up slightly, while Xie Yun wasn’t as obedient in his sleeping position. Because the room was dim, Sang Yao couldn’t tell if he had his eyes closed.

Lying like this, she could only see his silhouette.

This was the first time Sang Yao had shared a bed with someone, let alone with Xie Yun.

She didn’t know how to describe this strange feeling. Actually, before the wedding, she was really afraid of those poking and prodding actions for a long time. Tonight, it didn’t happen directly, which made her very grateful.

Kissing with tongues seemed okay too. Her acceptance of Xie Yun seemed to be higher than she had imagined.

Dad used to say that Xie Yun had a very keen and precise judgment about everything, so when he said she was very beautiful, it must be true.

Xie Yun rarely praised people. She kept staring at Xie Yun’s silhouette in the dark, and then couldn’t help but move a little closer to him.

Just a little bit.

But this little bit was quickly noticed by Xie Yun. He reached out his arm to embrace her, easily pulling her to his side, and then said in the dark, “Don’t peek at me.”

Sang Yao leaned against his shoulder and whispered, “Who’s peeking at you?”

After a pause, she added, “Is hugging also part of the practice?”

Xie Yun said, “What do you think?”

Sang Yao couldn’t say, but she thought it should be.

She recalled the response Xie Yun taught her when they kissed, and then, without any guidance, she reached out her hand to embrace him, getting close to him.

He looked cold, but his body was much warmer than hers. Sang Yao’s hand carefully landed on the muscles in front of his waist, and then she said, “I can apply this elsewhere too.”

Xie Yun softly grunted in agreement, praising, “Keep it up.”

At least in Sang Yao’s eyes, this was a praise. She quietly curved her lips and then closed her eyes.

She used to avoid mentioning the marriage, but now, sleeping in the same bed with someone didn’t seem so bad.

As the long night turned blue, the moon fell from the branches, and Sang Yao soon fell asleep. She had a confusing dream, but when she woke up, she couldn’t remember it.

When she opened her eyes, the sun was just rising, the bright morning glow surging and dazzling on the horizon, several brilliant rays of light shining through the window cracks. It was almost bright outside.

Sang Yao lay on the bed as usual, resting for a while. After a while, she felt something was wrong. It seemed like she was lying on someone. Memories rushed back, and she realized she got married yesterday.

With Xie Yun.

Sang Yao quickly woke up, unlike the relatively proper sleeping position last night, now her whole body was in Xie Yun’s arms, her legs draped over his, and even half of her body was on him.

Sang Yao raised her eyes and saw an impeccable face. Xie Yun didn’t know when he had already woken up and was quietly looking at her.

She silently withdrew her leg from Xie Yun’s body, tentatively asking, “How did I end up sleeping on you?” Xie Yun asked without any guilt, “Was it me who actively hugged you up here?”

Sang Yao fell silent for a moment, then moved back a bit and said, “Did I crush you? I’m sorry, I might not have been very honest.” In fact, she usually didn’t toss and turn in her sleep, but today, she didn’t know what happened, it was really embarrassing.

As she moved back, Sang Yao suddenly remembered something and quickly sat up, saying, “Quick, quick, quick! Serve tea!”

Xie Yun embraced her and said, “It’s still early.”

Sang Yao asked, “Really?”

Xie Yun grunted, sat up, and pulled back the covers, saying, “You can sleep a little longer.”

Sang Yao couldn’t sleep anymore. She got out of bed with him and was about to ask why Xie Yun didn’t go to court today when she lifted her eyes and saw the man’s naked back.

He was bending over the small table, picking up his clothes.

Sang Yao was immediately startled and looked away. After a while, she silently moved her gaze back.

She was already married, what was wrong with taking a peek?

Xie Yun always dressed neatly, his clothes were always dark wide-sleeved robes, and because of his tall and straight figure, he was the model of a civil servant, giving a sense of elegance and slimness.

But now, without his clothes on, Sang Yao realized that was not entirely true. He seemed like he could really go hunting with her.

His shoulders were broad, exuding strength, his back muscles were solid, his waist was slim, and his lines were very smooth. What caught her eye the most was the bold and sharp tattoo on his lower back.

Sang Yao couldn’t see it all, as a small part was tucked into his pants. When she tried to identify it, he had already put on his clothes. Unexpectedly, Xie Yun had turned around.

He looked at her and said, “What are you looking at?”

Sang Yao avoided his gaze, busying herself with putting on her shoes, feeling guilty as she said, “I wasn’t peeking at you.”

Xie Yun had already walked slowly to her, fastening his belt, and handed her the copper coins that were placed on the low table yesterday. Then, he looked down at her and whispered, “Don’t be impatient, I’ll let you see.”