Chapter 12 This! I like it very much

“I’m here,” Lan Xubai responded in a restrained voice. He couldn’t control his feelings anymore. Lian Nanshu’s subtle signals—he was certain she was waiting for him to make the first move. She was a woman, after all, and probably too shy to take initiative, so it had to be him.

His warm hand gently touched her, making Lian Nanshu shiver a little—it tickled.

“No—” she barely got the word out before Lan Xubai kissed her.

“Mmm~” She shouldn’t have let him sleep in here, she thought. She had only considered how far he had traveled from the army and how uncomfortable the sofa might be—she hadn’t given herself any time to mentally prepare.

Before she even realized it, her nightdress had slipped off her body. Her soft, breathy moans tugged at Lan Xubai’s heart, stirring him further. He clasped her hands tightly, fingers interlocked, not giving her the chance to speak.

Even Lian Nanshu herself couldn’t believe the sounds she was making. Is that really me?

“Nanshu… I really like this outfit,” he murmured after finally letting her catch her breath. Looking down at the red fabric she was still wearing—it was the dudou—her face flushed with embarrassment. Thankfully, he couldn’t see her expression clearly.

She didn’t even know why she had worn that.

Lan Xubai was breathing heavily, the air thick with the wild scent of lust. Lian Nanshu’s cheeks were burning with shame. She felt sore and lightly hit his shoulder repeatedly. As bodies intertwined, Lian Nanshu felt like the woman who surrendered to the night wasn’t even her. She didn’t feel the slightest resistance—which only emboldened the man to go further.

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The next day.

Lian Nanshu woke up in the bright sunlight, sore all over. She was lying alone, sprawled across the whole bed. The early morning air was a little chilly. When she sat up, she realized Lan Xubai was already gone.

Then she saw the red marks on her body and felt a wave of anger. She could kill him!

“Awake?” Almost as if he could sense she’d gotten up, Lan Xubai opened the door and walked in.

Their eyes met. She was furious.

As she tried to sit up, her sore body made it difficult, so Lan Xubai quickly stepped forward and helped her. Only then did she realize—she wasn’t wearing anything. He had seen everything.

Frantically, she looked for her clothes. Her nightdress was hanging on a chair, clearly put there by him. She yanked the blanket up to cover herself.

Seeing the state she was in—the bruised skin he had marked—Lan Xubai’s face showed a hint of guilt. He stood up to get her something to wear.

“What color do you want to wear today? I’ve already called in sick for you at school,” he said. It was already noon.

“Something loose and comfortable,” she replied.

Lan Xubai brought over a soft, comfortable outfit. Since she had the day off, she could dress casually.

After putting the clothes on the bed, he tactfully left and shut the door behind him. When she finished dressing and came out, he had already prepared a meal.

“Freshen up and eat,” he said. He had even portioned out the rice onto the table.

There were two meat dishes, one vegetable, and a rich chicken soup.

Lian Nanshu sat down after washing up. Then she noticed a red hickey on his neck. Her face flushed again.

Last night, when he had tried to kiss her neck, she’d said, “No! Not there! It’ll leave a mark! I’m a teacher.”

She had pulled away. After all, her position meant a visible hickey would be too embarrassing.

“You made all this?” she asked, looking at the spread on the table—braised pork with scallions, stir-fried shrimp with eggs, and rich chicken broth.

Lan Xubai ladled a bowl of soup for her. “Yeah,” he nodded. “I originally served in the army as a cook.”

“I was drafted, passed the test, and joined the mess hall first,” he added.

That triggered her memory. Liao Meimei’s father was a general. Lan Xubai had initially served under him. The novel mentioned that Lan Xubai had indeed started in the mess hall. Later, because of his strong physique, he was transferred to another command unit for secret missions. He performed so well that he was quickly promoted to company commander.

By the timeline, he should be a regimental commander by now—at least a deputy.

“Really? Then are you still in the mess hall?” she asked, half-curious, half-testing him.

“I was only in the mess hall for three months. After that, I got transferred. Your husband is now a division commander.”

“Cough! Cough!” Lian Nanshu choked on her soup.

Covering her chest, she kept coughing.

In the original novel, he didn’t become a division commander until three years after marrying Liao Meimei.

She was stunned by how much the timeline had changed.

Seeing how clumsy she was, Lan Xubai pulled a chair over to sit beside her. “Slow down. No one’s taking it from you.” He gently patted her back.

But his version of “gentle” nearly knocked her internal organs out of place.

Cough cough— she felt like her brain got knocked loose.

Reaching out to steady herself, she accidentally placed her hand on his chest.

His firm muscles gave her a sense of security.

Lan Xubai, misinterpreting it as flirtation, tried hard to control himself.

“You… you hit me too hard, it hurts,” she said, her face red. Noticing his reaction, she quickly explained.

Lan Xubai immediately apologized, “I’m sorry!”

She pulled her hand back. But when she looked at him again, she noticed that he was observing her, as if trying to figure her out.

Though they hadn’t spent much time together, and they barely knew each other well, technically—they were already husband and wife.

And last night… everything that should’ve happened between a married couple… had already happened.

Between the two of them, there weren’t many words exchanged, and they still didn’t understand each other’s temperament well. What happened last night couldn’t really be blamed on Lan Xubai—it was a signal no man could refuse.

Lian Nanshu hadn’t done it on purpose! After all, she had held the identity of his wife for so many years, so sharing a bed as husband and wife wasn’t something she would resist. It was just that the scene today made her feel truly embarrassed.

Lan Xubai picked up his chopsticks and placed some food into Lian Nanshu’s bowl. “After we eat, if we’re not too busy later, how about we go out and buy a few things together?” He was thinking about how she’d be leaving soon for an out-of-town work trip—it might take a while before she came back. Since they had time these next two days, he wanted to take her home to meet the family.

“Buy what?” she asked curiously.

Lan Xubai replied dotingly, “If you’re free tomorrow, I was thinking we could visit my family in the evening. You’ll be leaving soon, right?”

“I’m not ready yet…” Lian Nanshu thought of the awkwardness from the previous night and still felt nervous.

Lan Xubai looked at her and smiled, “It’s just family you’ll be seeing. You’ve already met my parents and grandpa yesterday. Tomorrow it’ll just be my aunt and second uncle’s family.”

“Alright then!” She realized resistance was futile.

Lan Xubai looked upright and decent, but his thoughts were hard to guess. Lian Nanshu quietly continued eating.

“I boiled some hot water this morning after my run—want to take a bath?” he asked.

As soon as he said that, Lian Nanshu just wanted to find a hole to crawl into. Her face turned bright red again and again.

“Mm-hmm,” she nodded. She had planned to boil some water for a bath after dinner, but he’d already taken care of it.

Lan Xubai watched his shy little wife and thought she looked adorable. Deep down, he figured that since she was so bashful, he’d probably have to be the one to take the initiative in that aspect too.

After dinner, Lan Xubai carried the water to the washroom for her, then did the dishes and cleaned up everything. Around twenty minutes later, Lian Nanshu came out from her bath feeling much more comfortable.

The courtyard door was closed. As soon as she came out, she saw Lan Xubai with his sleeves rolled up, sitting in the courtyard washing the bedsheets. She glanced over and saw he was scrubbing the spot where there was a bloodstain.

At that moment, Lan Xubai looked up at her. “You’re done? Do you have any clothes to wash? Give them to me.”

“N-no…” she said, but in her hands was the clothing from earlier. She looked down and quickly hid it behind her.

When she was bathing, she noticed a tiny bloodstain on her underwear.

In the courtyard, he had already finished washing the clothes from yesterday. The red undergarments were hanging on the line, visible and striking.

Lan Xubai put down the blanket he was washing and walked over to her. Seeing her embarrassment, he said gently, “We’re husband and wife—there’s nothing wrong with me washing your clothes. Give it to me.” He reached behind her for the clothing.

“No~ I’ll wash it myself,” Lian Nanshu said, tightly holding on.

Lan Xubai took it from her anyway. “You go rest. I’ll wash it. I’ll separate it from the others.”

Lian Nanshu didn’t dare look at him. Her heart was pounding, and her breathing grew rapid.

Suddenly, Lan Xubai wrapped his arms around her waist and whispered in her ear, “When you agreed to marry me back then, you weren’t this shy. Why so bashful now?”