◎ I’m actually kind of looking forward to your next mistake ◎

His face, with its sharp, cold features, was accentuated by his close-cropped haircut. Everything about him exuded an unyielding strength. From his dark brows to his black clothes, he had never intended for words like “soft” to be associated with him.

And yet, here he was, wearing a pink bunny ear headband. It was like seeing a fierce wolf adorned with a delicate pink flower. The contrast was so unexpected, yet somehow bizarrely harmonious. It was even… stunning.

Tao Xiaoxi’s lips curved upward, but she forced herself to straighten them with great effort. Still, it was impossible to completely suppress her amusement.

“Go ahead and laugh,” Chen Fang said through gritted teeth. “Don’t hold it in and end up choking.”

He had been in this pose for who knew how long. He had put on and taken off the bunny ears multiple times, doubting whether he really needed to go this far. If he used this trump card now, what would he do in the future when he needed to appease her again?

But then he thought, if he couldn’t make her happy this time, would she even be willing to talk to him again?

In the end, the bunny ears went back on.

So be it. To coax his wife, he could forgo his pride.

It was just a pair of bunny ears. After all, once they were on his head, he couldn’t see how ridiculous he looked.

“Come here,” Chen Fang said, his firm tone masking his discomfort.

Tao Xiaoxi suppressed her laughter and slowly walked over to the bed. She sat down beside him, deliberately keeping her gaze fixed on his head. She avoided looking at his heaving chest, defined abs, or the lean and taut waistline.

She reached out and pinched one of the long bunny ears. “You look better in this than I do.”

Chen Fang didn’t want to hear any kind of evaluation from her. Grabbing her wrist, he pulled her closer. Their faces were mere inches apart as their breaths intertwined. His dark eyes lingered on her soft, slightly parted lips. Just as he was about to lean in, Tao Xiaoxi leaned back, creating a distance between them. She placed a hand on his shoulder, firmly rejecting his advance.

“I don’t want you to kiss me yet.”

Despite saying that, the person who didn’t want a kiss was gently circling her fingers on his shoulder.

Chen Fang suppressed the rush of heat in his body and hoarsely asked, “What would it take for me to kiss you?”

She said no, but her fingers were teasing him. This little white rabbit seemed determined to wear him down.

Tao Xiaoxi moved back a bit, saying, “I’m still mad at you, and you can’t just think wearing rabbit ears will make everything okay.”

Make everything okay? Should he tell her about the difficult, winding journey of his thoughts? He put on the rabbit ears, but what he really sacrificed was his dignity as a man.

Chen Fang bared his teeth in a cold smile, “Tao Xiaoxi, I’ve never let anything like pink appear on me before.”

“Oh,” Tao Xiaoxi flicked the fluffy rabbit ears, which trembled in the air, “Then you should wear more pink clothes in the future. You look great in pink. Really great,” she emphasized again.

…

Chen Fang suddenly lifted her onto his body, his fierce gaze closing in, his voice deliberate as he called her name, “Tao-Xiao-Xi.”

“Why are you calling me?” Tao Xiaoxi tilted her head, meeting his fierce gaze without fear.

As they got closer, Chen Fang’s ferocity softened, and he slightly lowered his head.

One rabbit ear brushed her neck…

The other swept across the back of her hand…

“Let’s not be angry anymore, okay? It won’t happen again, I promise.”

Tao Xiaoxi was extremely ticklish. The soft touch along her skin brought not just a shiver, but also a laughter she had been holding back.

She couldn’t hold it in any longer, so she giggled and fell into his arms.

Chen Fang finally relaxed. If he hadn’t been able to calm her down, he wouldn’t know what else to do. He rubbed the hair at the back of her neck forcefully, his tone firm, “That’s enough, just laugh for a little bit.”

But Tao Xiaoxi didn’t stop laughing. Every time she almost managed to stop, seeing the long ears swaying on his head made her burst out laughing again.

In the end, Chen Fang rolled over and pinned her down, swallowing her clear, captivating laughter, until both of them were out of breath.

Tao Xiaoxi’s head sank into the soft blanket, her black hair contrasting with the red sheets. Her breathing slowed, her fingers lightly hooked onto the small white ribbon hanging from his apron, tugging it upwards gently. The ribbon arced in the dim light before falling back into the small curve of his tan waist.

This subtle motion sparked even more fire within Chen Fang, and with heavy breaths, he leaned closer.

Tao Xiaoxi turned her head, “Didn’t the doctor say no intense activity?”

The fire in Chen Fang was about to reach his brows. His voice was hoarse as he coaxed her softly, “It won’t be intense.”

Whether it was intense or not… Only the bed knew.

Afterward, Tao Xiaoxi lay on him, her fingers playing with the rabbit ears on his head. When she was done, the headband ended up on hers. Using the last bit of her strength, she yanked it off and waved it in front of his eyes.

“When you were wearing it, were you thinking, ‘This time I wore rabbit ears, what should I do next time?'”

Chen Fang raised an eyebrow.

Tao Xiaoxi touched his eyebrow, “I’ll tell you, I saw a pink rabbit apron online the other day. I’ll buy it for you next time. You can wear it.”

Chen Fang’s temples began to throb again.

Tao Xiaoxi touched his nose bridge, “Look how nice I am. You made me angry, and I’m still telling you how to make it up to me. There’s probably no one in the world with a better heart than me.”

As the moon rose above the treetops, the kind-hearted Tao Xiaoxi slept soundly, while Chen Fang leaned against the bedhead, searching for pink rabbit aprons on his phone.

He felt the path ahead in his life wasn’t quite as… clear.

The next morning, Chen Fang woke up early. The person in his arms was still sleeping soundly, her rosy lips slightly parted, breathing so lightly it was almost imperceptible. Her skin, fair and translucent, was as soft as it looked. Chen Fang leaned down and gently kissed the corner of her lips, then her cheek.

He carefully withdrew the arm she was using as a pillow, and her eyelids fluttered. Perhaps she was disturbed from her dream. She made a small, dissatisfied sound, almost like a kitten.

Thinking she was about to wake up, Chen Fang stopped. But she simply turned over, moved her head away from his arm, and fell back into deep sleep.

Chen Fang looked at her profile and silently smiled. She looked obedient while asleep. How come, though, when it was late at night, she turned into a little fighter? Her fists were on his chest, and her little feet kicked at his thighs. Despite her small limbs, her strength wasn’t small. He had to hold her tightly to avoid being unintentionally hurt.

The longer he lived with her, the more he noticed her contradictions. She looked pure and harmless, but in reality, she had a thousand tricks up her sleeve.

He had a feeling that before long, he would be totally under her thumb, and he would willingly let it happen.

Chen Fang went out and down to the first floor, where he was stopped by the old lady.

“Have you had breakfast?” Yan Qiufang asked.

Chen Fang nodded, “I already ate.”

Yan Qiufang usually didn’t worry about their breakfast. The younger generation’s wake-up times were irregular, while she woke up early due to needing less sleep. If she made breakfast early, she might have ended up forcing them to get up. She preferred that they could get up when they wanted and make their own breakfast. She had already prepared buns and wontons in the fridge, and it only took them a few minutes to heat up.

“What’s wrong?” Chen Fang noticed his grandmother was looking at him strangely.

Yan Qiufang glanced at her grandson, “I don’t know why, but something feels off. Xiaoxi wouldn’t have complained about you calling her short. Did you do something else to make her mad?”

Hmm… The women in the Chen family are very perceptive. Chen Fang scratched his eyebrow with his finger.

As soon as Yan Qiufang saw his expression, she knew her guess was right. She slapped him lightly on the back, “What have you done wrong? Xiaoxi is not the type to get angry over trivial things. You didn’t do anything behind my back, did you? Chen Fang, if you dare do that, just pack up and leave this house. Never come back.”

The old lady was nearly eighty, and when she hit someone, it was not gentle.

“Would your grandson be the type to mess around? Our Chen family doesn’t have such genes,” Chen Fang reassured the old lady. “It’s definitely not what you think, but I did make a mistake. Don’t worry, I’ve already apologized and made things right.”

The old lady slapped him again, “That’s because Xiaoxi has a good heart.”

Chen Fang thought to himself, yes, your granddaughter-in-law is definitely the kindest person in the world.

Yan Qiufang nearly grabbed her grandson’s ear. “Don’t think that just because you make up for things once, it’s all over. Listen to me, women might forgive you once, maybe even twice, but if you mess up a third time, let’s see if she still trusts you. By then, you’ll regret it, and there won’t be any remedy.”

Chen Fang bent his waist slightly and received another slap. “Got it, I definitely won’t make her mad again. She’s too good of a wife.”

Yan Qiufang glared at him. “Alright, go now. I don’t want to see you. All you know is how to make people angry.”

As the most annoying person in the family, Chen Fang left early to earn money.

Tao Xiaoxi woke up when the sun was already high. She moved her sore body, trying to get up from the warm bed, but it was too comfortable, and she didn’t want to leave. She slowly reached for her phone on the bedside table, looked at the time, and immediately sat up straight.

She had an appointment to install surveillance cameras in her shop this morning. Although the cameras weren’t urgently needed, she felt a little uneasy. It wasn’t about anything else, but she wanted to get the one at the shop entrance installed first. Whether it was her being overly cautious or not, it was better to be safe than sorry. If nothing happened, it was fine, but if something did, at least there would be evidence.

She had arranged with the technician to come at 10 AM, and it was already almost 9:30.

She had gotten up too quickly, and her body, already aching, responded by pulling her waist and thigh muscles. She let out a soft hiss, furrowing her brows. That wild man had completely ignored the doctor’s advice and had said it wouldn’t be intense. Now her head was spinning like a yellow soup.

Tao Xiaoxi closed her eyes, leaning back against the bed, trying to ease the pain. The more she thought about it, the angrier she became. She grabbed the pillow beside her and, unable to hit anyone, she at least punched the pillow a few times to release her frustration. As she grabbed it, she felt something hard inside. She opened her eyes.

If she had to describe it, it looked like a drawing.

It was clearly drawn by someone who was not very skilled. The rabbit was recognizable by its long ears. In front of the rabbit, there was a wolf kneeling with one front paw on the ground. She knew it was a wolf because there were bold characters beside it: “This is not a dog, it’s a wolf.”

At the bottom, there was a line written in flowing handwriting: “Wife, I truly know I was wrong.”

Tao Xiaoxi gently shook the paper in her hand.

He was really good at this.

She took the drawing to the living room and grabbed some watercolor pens on the coffee table, adding a few more strokes to it.

Just as Chen Fang was about to leave for the restaurant, his phone buzzed.

He opened it, and his eyes widened.

It was the drawing he made this morning. However, now the wolf had a rabbit-shaped apron, and she had carefully colored it in. She had even paid attention to the details, painting each part of the apron.

He thought the pink on the bunny headband was already too much, but it seemed there was an even brighter pink than that.

Right below the drawing, there was a message:
“What should I do? I’m actually kind of looking forward to your next mistake.”

Chen Fang: …

He swore he would never let that pink thing appear on him.He vowed that he would never make another mistake again.