Upon returning home, Xiang Ri was notably subdued. He did his best to conceal his right hand, which had already been re-bandaged, and came up with reasons to avoid the pressing questions of the two women at home: Why had he returned with An Xiao Niu?
The answer, of course, was that they had "coincidentally crossed paths on the road," a story that Xiang Ri and An Xiao Niu had prearranged. This had been An Xiao Niu's idea, as she feared that Chu Chu might not accept their relationship just yet. Her plan was to conceal it for the time being, letting time nurture their bond, and once their feelings had deepened, revealing it would be easier to accept.
An Xiao Niu's thoughts were simple: she wished to follow in Shi Qing's footsteps. With that previous example as a lesson, she was eager to learn from it.
Neither Chu Chu nor Shi Qing suspected anything untoward. Given their knowledge of a certain friend with peculiar preferences, they assumed that no sparks of romance would ignite between Xiang Ri and An Xiao Niu. Instead, they expected frequent clashes of animosity.
Moreover, seeing the two of them return together brought a sense of relief. As long as Xiang Ri was not entangled with other women, everything could be forgiven.
What they did not know, however, was that the pair, once bitter enemies, had actually become entangled just an hour ago, and in a way they never expected—An Xiao Niu had pursued Xiang Ri.
Xiang Ri, his mind filled with less-than-virtuous plans, was burning with impatience. He longed for the women to retreat to their rooms to sleep so he could sneak into An Xiao Niu's room and exact his "revenge."
But he knew this was impossible. It was only just past 9 PM, and the women were still engrossed in their television show. He could not expect them to obediently retreat to their rooms to sleep, unless, of course, there was an immediate power outage! Alas, this was but a fantasy of his.
Casting a sidelong glance at Chu Chu and Shi Qing, he lamented that they would not be going to bed for at least another couple of hours.
Then he turned his gaze to An Xiao Niu, who, by chance, met his eyes with an expression of innocence and subtle allure. His heart jolted, and he was nearly overcome by the urge to pounce on her. But at that crucial moment, his reason triumphed over his baser instincts, and he refrained from immediately succumbing to temptation.
Instead, he resolved to bide his time, to gather his strength for the "battle" to come. With that, he muttered, "I'm off to shower and sleep," and turned to leave.
"Teacher, why so early?" Shi Qing was puzzled by her teacher's unusual behavior. Normally, he wouldn't retire to his room before 11 or 12.
"Nothing to watch, nothing to eat—it's miserable!" Xiang Ri feigned misery, then turned to look at his disciple directly: "How about you join me in my room tonight, Xiao Qing?"
From the way Chu Chu had spoken, Xiang Ri knew his disciple would never agree. He only said it to provoke her, to tease her for not being as "obedient" as before.
The women in the room understood the double meaning behind his words, and all blushed at once. Shi Qing, who was the direct target of his teasing, grabbed a pillow and hugged it to her chest, ready to hurl it at him. However, considering his status as her "teacher," she held back and merely scolded him lightly: "Teacher, you should go to bed now."
"Sigh, I knew you'd say that. How pitiful! Looks like I'll be sleeping alone tonight..." Xiang Ri feigned disappointment and walked off to his room, retrieving his clothes before heading to the bathroom.
Behind him, Shi Qing's heart raced, her face flushed. Seeing her teacher's dejected demeanor, she almost felt compelled to chase after him and explain herself.
It wasn't that she was unwilling; she just wasn't ready yet. Moreover, she had heard from Chu Chu that a woman's first time could be excruciatingly painful, the kind of pain "as though being torn apart." That description was far more vivid and terrifying than anything she had read, and it made her hesitant to take that step.
Chuchu had not thought too much about it; she simply felt a bit guilty towards Xiang Kui, blaming herself for being so useless and unable to satisfy him.
Anxin's mind was the most conflicted. The word "eat" that the man had said triggered more thoughts in her. When the man came to her room to sleep, would he do something inappropriate to her?
If he truly wanted to, should she refuse or not? If she refused, she did not want to see the disappointment in his eyes; if she did not, then would she not be completely under his control, following his every desire?
Xiang Ri had no knowledge of the complex thoughts of the women. By the time he came out of the bathroom, it was nearly 9:40. He wished time would pass more quickly, but unfortunately, time seemed to defy him, moving slower than usual.
In the end, Xiang Ri closed his eyes and lay down on the bed, choosing to spend the two maddening hours by drifting into sleep.
The first thing Xiang Ri did when he was awakened by his phone's alarm was to check the phone beside his pillow. Fortunately, it had just passed midnight, so it wasn't too late.
Stepping out of the bedroom, the living room was shrouded in darkness. He guessed that the women must have gone to bed. Nervous, he crept to Anxiao Niu's bedroom door, gently turning the doorknob. With a soft "click," the door opened.
Xiang Ri felt a surge of excitement. Anxiao Niu had kept her word, not standing him up.
Quickly slipping inside, he saw Anxiao Niu casually reclining on the bed, reading a book. When she noticed him, she merely gave him a brief glance before continuing her reading.
Though Anxiao Niu did a good job of hiding her emotions, Xiang Ri could still see the nervousness in her eyes and the trembling of her hands. It seemed that she was even more anxious than he was.
With a light chuckle, Xiang Ri turned without a glance and expertly closed and locked the door before striding toward the bed.
At that moment, Anxin was wearing a silver silk blouse, buttoned only to below her neck, revealing a patch of snowy white skin. Her lower half was obscured by the blanket, so Xiang Ri couldn't see it.
But even so, Miss Anxin's allure was extraordinary. She was positioned perfectly in front of the door, and her posture was undeniably tempting. Under the soft, slightly rosy light, Xiang Ri couldn't help but feel his blood rush.
"Anxin, my darling, I'm here," Xiang Ri cooed, approaching the bed.
Anxin, flustered, avoided his gaze. "You sleep first, I still need to read for a bit."
"How could that be?" Xiang Ri grinned, climbing onto the bed. He leaned in close, inhaling deeply and savoring her scent before solemnly saying, "Wife, you should know, lack of sleep can cause wrinkles. We should sleep early."
As he spoke, he lifted the blanket and slid in beside her.
"You're awful!" Anxin, not expecting him to act on his words, hurriedly pressed the corner of the blanket over her thighs.
Though it was only for an instant, Xiang Ri clearly saw the pale, smooth skin beneath the blanket, and his heart skipped a beat. It seemed that Anxin was only wearing her undergarments.
To confirm his suspicions, Xiang Ri, wearing only a loose pair of checkered shorts, casually brushed his leg against hers. Sure enough, his leg met her smooth thigh.
Anxin, surprised by his actions, reflexively recoiled and scolded, "What are you doing? We agreed no bad behavior. If you keep this up, I won't let you sleep!"
Xiang Ri chuckled sheepishly. "Sorry, I accidentally brushed against you. Really, just an accident…" As he spoke, he began to remove his white tank top.
Anxin, now even more flustered, asked, "What...what are you doing?"
When she saw his upper body, not overly muscular but well-toned, her face turned a deeper shade of red.
With shameless audacity, Xiang Ri explained, "Actually, I prefer sleeping without a shirt."
"Well..." Anxin set her book aside and drew an imaginary line in the middle of the bed. "You can't cross this line!"
"Of course, I won't cross it," Xiang Ri smiled, his expression growing more suggestive. Suddenly, he feigned surprise, looking behind her. "Wife, what's that behind you?"
"What?" Anxin turned without suspicion, but upon seeing that there was nothing there, she immediately realized she had been tricked. As she tried to turn back, she felt herself being pulled and tumbled onto the bed.
In his embrace, Xiang Ri laughed heartily. "Wife, while I can't cross that line, you can."
Anxin shrieked and struggled, "You're awful, I hate you..."
But before she could finish, Xiang Ri silenced her with a kiss, his left hand slipping under her blouse...