Chapter 11 At night, tipsy, he is very gentle

Gu Rongqing stood up and lifted her into his arms. The girl in his embrace obediently wrapped her arms around his neck and even reminded him worriedly, “Mmm… my… my shoes…”

“Yes, yes, I’ve got them. Already picked them up,” Gu Rongqing gently assured her, holding her slender waist with one arm and grabbing her little leather shoes with the other as he carried her to their room.

With her arms around his neck and her head resting against his shoulder, Ruan Xiangxiang breathed in the faint, pleasant scent on him. Her fingers absentmindedly traced the side of his neck.

“…Xiangxiang.” The man’s voice was hoarse, as though a fire was about to burst in his chest.

“Husband~” Ruan Xiangxiang gazed at him in a daze, totally unaware of the dangerous atmosphere. Her eyes were misty, as if asking what was wrong.

“Xiangxiang… be good, lie down for now, okay?” Gu Rongqing looked at her adorable drunken expression, especially her rosy lips, and was overwhelmed by the urge to kiss her.

But she was drunk. If he touched her now, it would be taking advantage of her—and his upbringing didn’t allow that.

He gently laid her down on her side, took a deep breath, and tried to suppress the fire inside. He was about to leave to take a cold shower when a soft tug on his fingers stopped him. The sensation that spread from his fingertips felt like a jolt of electricity.

“Husband~ don’t go… stay with me,” Ruan Xiangxiang looked up at him with her misty eyes, pure and pleading. Her mind was spinning, like she was floating in mid-air with no anchor. Seeing that tall figure, she clung to him tightly.

“…Okay. I won’t go.”

Gu Rongqing could no longer hold back. He pulled her into his arms, lowered his head…

Outside, a gentle breeze rustled the trees, moonlight casting soft shadows. Inside the room, low murmurs could be heard. Ruan Xiangxiang felt like she was floating on a fluffy cloud—weightless and soft—the man’s gentleness intoxicating her.

…Morning.

“Ah!” Ruan Xiangxiang’s eyes flew wide open. She yanked back the quilt again to make sure she wasn’t seeing things. But sure enough, she was completely naked under the covers!

She tried hard to recall last night’s events, then glanced at the side of the bed where Gu Rongqing’s shirt lay. She sucked in a breath.

Looks like… she did get eaten?

The only regret was—her memory was hazy and incomplete.

Ugh, how disappointing! Her first time happened while she was drunk? That totally ruined the mood. She couldn’t even see anything clearly! She didn’t even know what his body looked like after undressing. Did he have the eight-pack abs she dreamed of?

Ruan Xiangxiang pouted. All her fault for getting so drunk last night. She’d definitely control herself next time.

Then she noticed it was already bright outside. Voices came from the courtyard—villagers had come by to visit. Gu Rongqing was out there chatting with them.

“Rongqing, how long are you back for this time?”

“You and that girl are officially married now. Are you two going to hold a ceremony?”

“That girl’s had it rough. Her family did her dirty—just took the betrothal gift and dumped her here. But just because her family’s like that doesn’t mean we Gu family folks can act the same. You should at least inform your father.”

Everyone was talking at once. Gu Rongqing smiled and said calmly, “I don’t have many days off this time. I’ll be leaving Monday afternoon. But yes, we’ll definitely hold a ceremony. I’ll talk to Xiangxiang and we’ll set a date. Of course we’ll invite everyone for the banquet.”

“That’s great. I mean, being legally married is one thing, but without a proper ceremony, it feels so cold. The girl married in silence—people will think the Gu family doesn’t value her. A banquet will show we take her seriously, and no one can say otherwise.”

Mother Gu added cheerfully, “Of course we’ll hold a wedding. If my third son had more time off, I would’ve done it this week!”

“Haha, sounds like you really like your new daughter-in-law,” someone teased.

“Of course I do! Just look at how pretty she is!”

The women burst into laughter, chiming in:

“She really is a beauty! That figure, that face—at first, I wasn’t used to her look, but the more you look, the better she gets!”

Ruan Xiangxiang, hearing all this from inside, had originally wanted to get up—but with so many people outside talking about her, she decided against going out and making things awkward.

She sat up to tidy herself a bit first, planning to wait until the old ladies had left before washing up. But as soon as she moved, a sharp pain between her legs made her grimace.

Her face turned red. Judging by that pain… last night must have been intense.

She reached for some clothes and ended up grabbing Gu Rongqing’s jacket. She couldn’t be bothered to dig for her own and just threw it on. Then she slowly sat down in front of the mirror to brush her hair.

After roughly tidying her hair, she had to find her clothes. She decided to wear something Mother Gu had prepared earlier—yesterday’s new clothes hadn’t been washed yet, and she didn’t like wearing unwashed clothes straight from the store.

After that, she looked for her shoes. Her little leather shoes were missing. She vaguely remembered reminding Gu Rongqing to take them last night—had he forgotten?

She finally found one shoe under the bed and the other under the wardrobe. With no choice, she bent down to retrieve them, wincing at the soreness in her body.

Meanwhile, Gu Rongqing had wrapped up chatting outside and used the excuse of checking on his “comrade” to slip away. No one stopped him.

He went to the guest room to check on Lu Hang, who was snoring like thunder—totally dead to the world. On the battlefield, you’d never sleep this soundly, so Gu Rongqing let him be.

Then he went to Ruan Xiangxiang’s room to grab a change of clothes. Along the way, he took off his T-shirt and carried it in his hand. As memories of last night flooded his mind, his throat tightened and his palms grew sweaty.

He pushed open the door—and was immediately blinded by the sight before him.

Warm morning light streamed through the window, bathing her long, fair legs in golden light. The shirt she wore only reached the bottom of her hips, and she was bending over, clearly searching for something. The view was… breathtaking.

He instantly slammed the door shut, heart pounding like it might explode. Images from last night flashed in his mind. His hands were sweating.

“Oh no… you—you came in?” Ruan Xiangxiang turned around, startled. But she’d only thrown on Gu Rongqing’s shirt haphazardly—she hadn’t even buttoned it up. Now that she spun around—

It was game over.

Gu Rongqing strode over and pulled her straight into his arms…