◎ Where should he tidy her up? ◎

The air had been quiet for about a minute, or maybe longer.

He had to say something to break the silence, but what should he say…

Saying it’s his first time… is not a bad excuse…

Even though he’s inexperienced, there’s no way it should have been this bad. It’s practically embarrassing enough to ruin the reputation of his family for generations…

Since he couldn’t speak, he decided to act. The easiest way to erase the shame was to prove himself next time with a strong action.

Tao Xiaoxi looked at him, burying his head in her chest. She gently ran her hand through his short hair, hesitating before asking, “Don’t you need to… take it slow?”

What answered her was a fiercer action.

“I… really hurt, can we wait a little longer or… maybe continue tomorrow night?” Tao Xiaoxi spoke softly, trying to negotiate.

He had failed once earlier. If they rushed again and it was like the first time, or even worse, she was afraid he wouldn’t be able to hold his dignity.

The person on top of her stopped moving and looked up at her. Tao Xiaoxi had tears welling up in her eyes, her lips slightly trembling. With a pitiful tone, she said, “It really hurts.”

Seeing her like this, Chen Fang, who was already on edge, felt his anger intensify. His body burned with a fierce heat, as though his hair was about to catch fire.

Tao Xiaoxi could feel the change in him. Her tears stopped, and her lips were no longer trembling. She had been too dazed before, feeling nothing but pain. Now, she truly realized what it meant to face a powerful force.

Chen Fang wiped the corner of her eye with his hand. Compared to her little smugness when she told him, “First time’s awkward, second time gets better,” during their kiss, he now felt the clear difference in her awkwardness and stiffness. Moreover, he had sensed resistance earlier. He regretted giving her such a painful first time.

He pulled away from her.

Without the pressure and the burning heat pressing on her, Tao Xiaoxi sighed in relief. Though she had considered his pride, if they had gone for another round of pain, she feared she wouldn’t be able to bear it.

However, she soon inhaled deeply and quickly kicked him and said, “Don’t look.”

“I’ll get a hot towel. It should feel better,” Chen Fang said, getting up and pulling on his pants.

Where should he put it…

Tao Xiaoxi wrapped herself tightly in the blanket from head to toe, hiding her face. He was too much… she just wanted to sleep now. Let him do whatever he wanted with the towel.

At first, she pretended to sleep, but later, she felt ashamed and furious. Eventually, she was so exhausted from the day that she fell into a deep sleep. After all, she had been up since 4 a.m. and was completely drained.

Tao Xiaoxi slept soundly, while Chen Fang hardly slept the rest of the night. He replayed the events of their first time in his mind repeatedly, only to be interrupted by the restless person beside him. She tossed and turned, and he ended up taking three cold showers in the middle of winter.

Now that she was asleep, he couldn’t move her. He decided that tomorrow morning, he would make up for everything, wash away the embarrassment, and fix everything. With this thought, he finally closed his eyes when dawn began to break.

Tao Xiaoxi woke up late in the morning, still a little confused. She saw the unfamiliar chandelier above her. For a moment, she couldn’t remember where she was, but when she saw someone about to fall off the bed, she remembered. She had gotten married yesterday, and today was the first day after the wedding.

She didn’t sleep still. Just how restless was she? Jiang Youlin had slept in the same bed with her a few times, and she had kicked her out of bed several times. She even had a skill of switching from one end of the bed to the other while sleeping. Her mom always joked that she must have been a clock in her past life, which is why she spun around in circles while sleeping.

Perhaps it was because the bed was big, or maybe because he was too heavy, or perhaps because she was in a new environment, subconsciously, she had restrained herself. So she thought she didn’t sleep too wildly. Otherwise, he would likely be under the bed by now, not on top. This was her self-reassurance.

She didn’t bother with him, leaving him half-dangling from the bed. She was afraid if she touched him, he would fall off, and then she’d be blamed, even though she was in the right.

A good night’s sleep made Tao Xiaoxi feel completely restored. She was no longer exhausted and felt no discomfort, probably because… she had been treated with the towel.

Just thinking about that scene made her blush with embarrassment. The worst part was that after she fell asleep, he had even dressed her. She had been so deep in sleep that she didn’t notice. Tao Xiaoxi didn’t want to know how he had dressed her. She quickly escaped the scene, as far away as possible.

Outside, the rare winter sun was shining. She opened the balcony window halfway to let in some fresh air. Down in the yard, an elderly woman was drying blankets.

Tao Xiaoxi leaned out and greeted the old woman, “Grandma!”

Yan Qiufang looked up and smiled, her eyes crinkling, “Ah! You’re awake? Are you hungry?”

Tao Xiaoxi nodded, “I’m starving.”

“Then hurry down. Grandma made some food. I was afraid you’d wake up hungry,” the elderly woman said fondly. She liked girls like Tao Xiaoxi—unpretentious and able to express her needs freely.

She then asked, “Where’s Chen Fang?”

Tao Xiaoxi whispered, “He’s still sleeping.”

Yan Qiufang’s smile was filled with ambiguous understanding. “Then don’t worry about him, let him sleep. Xiaoxi, come down quickly.”

Tao Xiaoxi knew that the old lady had misunderstood, but it was better this way. At least it was better than her knowing that her grandson wasn’t doing too well, right?

The old lady had prepared a big breakfast, with sandwiches and milk, as well as small buns, fried dough sticks, and chicken soup with dumplings. It was clear they were homemade.

“Grandma, you’re amazing! When did you get up? You’ve already made so much in the morning,” Tao Xiaoxi said sincerely.

Yan Qiufang smiled. “It’s nothing special. It’s all quite simple. It’ll be done soon. Come, sit down and eat. Aren’t you hungry?”

“Have you eaten?”

“I’ve eaten,” the old lady said, bringing over a bowl of red date and lotus seed porridge. “Have some of this porridge.”

“Grandma, this is too much. I feel like I can’t finish it.”

This bowl of porridge was so full that even if she were starving, it was impossible to finish.

“It’s fine. Eat as much as you can. If you can’t finish it, we’ll leave the rest for Chen Fang to eat.”

…Let Chen Fang eat her leftovers?

So far, only her dad had eaten her leftovers, and even her mom would complain about it. She couldn’t imagine Chen Fang eating her leftovers. Tao Xiaoxi struggled, but in the end, she managed to finish the entire bowl.

“Do you want more?” Yan Qiufang asked as she saw her scraping the bowl clean. She got up to serve more.

Tao Xiaoxi quickly shook her head. “I’m full. Look, my stomach is almost as big as a watermelon. I really can’t eat anymore. I think I’ve gained three pounds from this meal.”

Yan Qiufang said, “That’s not possible. You both exercise a lot now, and you burn off more energy. Eating more is fine. Newlyweds need to make sure to eat well.”

…

At first, Tao Xiaoxi wanted to say she rarely exercised and preferred not to move when possible, but she automatically kept quiet. The exercise the old lady was talking about wasn’t the kind of exercise she had in mind.

And even if it was that kind of exercise, it wouldn’t burn off much, so she decided to eat less next time.

Fortunately, her phone rang, or she wouldn’t have known how to respond to the old lady’s comments.

However, she didn’t know how to handle what Jiang Youlin was going to say on the other end of the phone, so she just hung up.

Jiang Youlin’s message quickly popped up: “Why did you hang up on me?”

Tao Xiaoxi replied, “I’m having breakfast with Grandma.”

“Oh, then text me, how’s the top of the Four Great Knights doing?!”

“Well… he’s really impressive,” Tao Xiaoxi replied vaguely, trying to avoid further discussion.

“How impressive is ‘impressive’? I’m waiting for the details, tell me, tell me!”

Uh… Having a curious friend wasn’t always a good thing. Tao Xiaoxi didn’t know what “really impressive” meant, but suddenly, a term from the internet came to her mind.

“Once an hour, and can turn into the ‘Seven Times a Night’ kind of impressive.” Tao Xiaoxi was determined to uphold her new husband’s title as the top of the Four Great Knights.

Jiang Youlin almost went crazy. “No way, seriously? An hour each time and seven times a night!!! Are you even alive right now?!”

“Otherwise, am I a ghost talking to you?”

“Tao Xiaoxi, as your longtime sister, I’m asking you a serious favor. Please ask Chen Fang who’s second in the Four Great Knights. If he’s still single, I’ll go find him myself.”

…

Tao Xiaoxi suddenly wondered who gave the Four Great Knights their title. If it was given to them by themselves, that would be really silly.

As for who gave the title, Chen Fang didn’t know. He didn’t even realize he was one of them at first. It was Zhao Yijiang who told him. At the time, he just thought it was a bit of fun. Boys with excess hormones in their youth always liked to make a big deal out of things.

What Chen Fang didn’t know was that Tao Xiaoxi had already known about the title. When he woke up, the other pillow was already empty. His sleep hadn’t been restful; he felt as though he wasn’t in bed, but on the edge of a cliff.

The house was very quiet, and no one was around. Even downstairs at the old lady’s house, there was no one. There was food left on the table for him. Maybe both of them had gone out. Chen Fang took out his phone and was about to call the old lady. He paused and kept scrolling, eventually dialing a different number.

After a while, the call was finally answered, and the noise on the other end was quite loud. “Hello, Chen Fang, you’re awake?”

“Mm, did you go out?” Chen Fang absentmindedly scratched his eyebrow, feeling a little awkward hearing her voice after what had happened last night.

“Yes, I’m at the supermarket with Grandma.”

“Should I come pick you up?”

“No need. We didn’t buy much. It’s just a walk. Don’t you need to go to the office?”

Chen Fang had originally planned to take a few days off to accompany her, especially since it was their honeymoon, and he was worried she might feel uncomfortable since she had just moved in. But it seemed like she didn’t need him and was doing fine on her own.

After almost an hour of breakfast, the two hadn’t returned. He walked around the house and then took his car keys to head to the office.

Tao Xiaoxi and the old lady had decided on the spur of the moment to visit the supermarket. The old lady asked what she wanted for lunch, and after some thought, Tao Xiaoxi decided to cook for the old lady and let her try her cooking. She didn’t know many dishes, but she could still make a meal for two.

Chen Fang’s phone was buzzing nonstop, with messages joking and teasing about his new married life, but none of them were serious.

Among all the noise, the person who should have messaged him didn’t say a word. In the past, the old lady would remind him to eat during lunch, but now with his wife, she didn’t bother.

At lunchtime, Chen Fang ate a bit in the canteen and then drove to the construction site. He didn’t know what was going on that day, but the roads were particularly jammed, and he ended up stuck next to a bus stop. While waiting, he wondered whether he should call her to ask how she was having lunch.

He glanced up at the advertisement on the bus stop sign: “Men experiencing unspeakable pain, come to XX Men’s Health Hospital. We’ll end your suffering and give you a satisfying night.”

….

He remembered that this wasn’t the advertisement before. When was it changed, and what are these messy slogans?

Chen Fang pressed the accelerator and followed the car in front of him.

Foreman Wang Feng was surprised when he saw him. “You’re a newlyweds, yet you’re not at home with your wife. How come you have time to come here?”

Chen Fang took the cigarette he offered and put it in his mouth. “I’m not a child, I don’t need to be with her all the time.”

Wang Feng was puzzled. “Isn’t sister-in-law upset?”

“Upset about what?”

“When I first got married, my wife almost tied me to her pants leg. She wanted me with her for everything. If I left for even a bit, she’d get unhappy. I, a rough man, couldn’t help but think of a saying, ‘Honey in the oil.’ Brother, let me tell you, don’t always focus on working and making money. This period after you get married is the best. You need to spend more time with your wife and enjoy these sweet days. In three to five years, or even less, once a woman has a child, we have to take a back seat. At that point, you won’t even need to try to spend time with her.” Wang Feng, as a man who had been through this, shared his post-marriage experience with the groom.

Chen Fang took a deep drag of his cigarette, thinking, your experience may not apply to me.

Wang Feng didn’t notice the frustration in Chen Fang’s smoking and continued his advice. “Also, during this time, you should eat more chives, lamb, and seafood. My brother’s family sells beef, so I’ll get you some cow whips. Let me tell you, don’t think you’re young and don’t need this. You burn a lot of energy now, so you need to replenish. Trust me, my eldest child was conceived after I ate cow whips that night. It was a passionate night, and cow whips are definitely good for you.”

Chen Fang couldn’t take a drag without coughing, and he regretted coming here.

After leaving the construction site, the car was almost at the company. He switched routes and turned back home. The old lady should be playing mahjong by now. He went straight to the second floor, where it was quiet. In the living room, he saw someone asleep on the couch, holding a tablet.

He pulled the nearby blanket over her and slowly took the tablet from her hands.

The screen lit up as he turned off the display, and Chen Fang squinted his eyes. His phone rang, and his hand, trembling with veins, was about to hang up, but he accidentally answered instead.

Zhao Yijiang shouted loudly from the other end, “Brother Fang, I heard you went from the Four Great Kings to the Seven Times Wolf in one night!”

“Huh?” Chen Fang was focused on the screen, not really paying attention to what Zhao Yijiang was saying.

The entire search history was about what to take for male kidney deficiency and premature ejaculation… What caught his attention, though, was a note on the coffee table that she had written. It showed her dedication as a good student, written neatly and carefully.

The last line of the note was emphasized in bold… cow whips…

Chen Fang clenched his teeth, coldly laughing.

Where should he start dealing with her? Should he throw her on the bed now? He couldn’t hold back any longer.

Zhao Yijiang thought Chen Fang was laughing at him. Knowing that Chen Fang hated these random titles, he hurriedly explained, “It wasn’t me who said it. It was your wife who said it. She said you’re the Seven Times Wolf, and each time lasts an hour. Brother Fang, you’re making us men proud. We’re all proud of you in our class!!”

Chen Fang: …