Afterward, Their Casual Conversation-Lu Xueqi Blushed!

The morning sunlight streamed through the window, filling the entire room with light.

The two people in bed were still asleep.

Half the bedding had been kicked aside, revealing their intertwined bodies.

Long hair spilled across the pillow, dark strands tangled together until it was impossible to tell whose was whose.

The air was filled with an intimate warmth—not the deep, heady fragrance of Jin Ping'er, but something lighter, like a bamboo grove after the rain, mixed with the warmth rising from their bodies.

Lu Xueqi was curled up in his arms, her cheek against his chest, her breathing soft and steady.

Her eyelashes cast faint shadows in the morning light, and the corners of her mouth curved slightly, as if she were having a pleasant dream.

Her fingers still rested against his waist, not letting go, as if she were afraid he might slip away even in her sleep.

"Husband..." Lu Xueqi's soft pink lips moved, and she murmured indistinctly, "The slime... is going to be played with until it breaks..."

Lu Jiuyuan opened his eyes.

He looked down at the woman in his arms, at the curve of her lips, and listened to her muddled words. He froze for a moment.

Slime?

His lips slowly curled into a smile, one he could barely hold back.

He remembered that morning at Xiaozhu Peak, when she had lain beside him and his hand had rested somewhere it shouldn't. He had made up a lie about a slime.

Back then, she had blushed and said, "Don't rub it anymore." Her tone had been both embarrassed and annoyed, and he had remembered it for a long time.

He hadn't expected her to remember the word, let alone say it in this context.

Lu Jiuyuan's smile spread from his lips to his eyes, then across his whole face.

He tried and tried to hold it in, but couldn't. He let out a soft laugh, the vibration in his chest passing through to the woman in his arms.

Lu Xueqi's eyelashes fluttered, and she slowly opened her eyes.

The morning light made her squint. Her vision cleared, and she saw his smiling face. She froze for an instant as memories of last night came flooding back: the inn, the room, the way she'd pushed him onto the bed.

She'd straddled him. She'd said, "Today, I'm on top." And then, again and again, over and over.

Red crept up her neck, spreading all the way to her forehead until her face looked as if it might drip blood.

She abruptly lowered her head and buried her face against his chest, refusing to look up.

"How long have you been awake?" Lu Xueqi asked, her voice muffled.

"I just woke up." Lu Jiuyuan's hands wandered over her body as he spoke in a voice so gentle it was almost unbelievable.

"Were you laughing just now?" Lu Xueqi traced circles on his chest with her fingers.

"No."

"You were. I heard you." Her voice was soft and lazy.

Lu Jiuyuan looked down at the head buried against his chest and the tips of her ears, red as could be. He threaded his fingers through her hair and gently rubbed her scalp.

"Were you having a nightmare?" His voice held a trace of amusement.

Lu Xueqi stiffened for an instant. "...No."

"Then you were talking in your sleep."

Lu Xueqi stiffened even more. "...What did I say?"

"You said—" Lu Jiuyuan deliberately drew out the words. "The slime was going to be played with until it broke."

Lu Xueqi jerked her head up from his chest and stared at him, eyes wide.

In the morning light, her face was as red as the sunset over the back hills of Xiaozhu Peak. Her lips parted and closed, then parted again, like a fish hauled onto shore.

Her eyes showed shock, embarrassment, and utter disbelief that she could have said such a thing.

"I didn't," Lu Xueqi protested.

"You did."

"I didn't!"

"You really did."

Lu Xueqi stared at him for several seconds, then grabbed the quilt and pulled it over her head. She curled up beneath it like an ostrich burying its head in the sand.

Her muffled voice came from under the quilt. "Lu Jiuyuan, you bastard."

Laughing, Lu Jiuyuan gathered her and the quilt into his arms.

She struggled twice beneath it, but couldn't get free. Resigned, she curled up against him like a silkworm wrapped in its cocoon.

"Xueqi."

"Don't call me that."

"Xueqi."

"I said, don't call me that."

"My wife."

The quilt went quiet for a moment.

Then it slowly lowered, revealing Lu Xueqi's eyes.

They were red—not from crying, but from embarrassment.

She glared at him. There was embarrassment and annoyance in her gaze, but even more than that, there was a sweetness she couldn't hide, one that came from deep within her.

"Say it again," Lu Xueqi said softly.

"My wife."

Lu Xueqi's eyelashes fluttered, and the corners of her mouth curved up before she pulled the quilt back over her face.

Her voice came from beneath it, as light as a breeze.

"Mm."

Laughing, Lu Jiuyuan pulled down the quilt, cupped her face, and kissed her forehead.

Lu Xueqi didn't turn away. She closed her eyes, her eyelashes trembling softly like two startled butterflies.

"Don't talk in your sleep again." Lu Jiuyuan gently caressed her breasts, his voice tender and indulgent. "Or I'll punish you!"

"You think I want to?" Lu Xueqi opened her eyes and glared at him. "It's all your fault."

"How is it my fault?"

"You..." Lu Xueqi opened her mouth, then closed it again and turned her face away. "Forget it."

Lu Jiuyuan smiled and pulled her closer.

A long while later.

Lu Xueqi pushed herself up from Lu Jiuyuan's arms. Her long hair slipped from her shoulders, shining softly in the morning light.

She reached out and moved the arm he had wrapped around her waist. Her touch was gentle, and she hesitated with the languid reluctance of someone who didn't want to get up but had to.

Sunlight streamed through the window, falling on her bare shoulder, where a few faint red marks from the night before remained.

Lu Xueqi touched them with her fingertips and paused. A faint blush rose on her cheeks.

She turned to the side, intending to find something to wear.

Then she saw the scraps on the floor.

Her moon-white dress had been torn into several pieces and scattered beside the bed like fallen petals.

And there was her undergarment.

The sheer undergarment she'd worn beneath her clothes last night now hung over the edge of the bed. One shoulder strap had snapped, and the fabric had been pulled out of shape.

Lu Xueqi stared at the scraps scattered on the floor, stunned. They were all the handiwork of last night.

He had torn them, and she had played her part too—but mostly, it had been him.

Lu Xueqi bit her soft lip and reached for the outer robe that could still more or less cover her. The instant she stretched out her arm, a weakness spread from her waist through all her limbs. It was like she'd soaked too long in warm water, leaving every muscle limp.

A tingling sensation seeped from the very marrow of her bones, and she couldn't help letting out a soft moan.

It was quiet and brief, soft and sweet, catching her completely by surprise.

Lu Xueqi's face grew even redder, as if it had been scorched by fire. She bit her lip and swallowed the rest of the sound, drawing her arm back and not daring to move again.

Lu Jiuyuan leaned against the headboard and watched her.

The morning light shone from behind her, outlining her figure in a golden-white glow.

Her long hair spilled over her shoulders and waist, like black silk brushed with ink.

From her shoulders to her waist, and from her waist to the faint curve partly hidden beneath her hair, every inch looked as if the Creator had spent a long time sculpting it with care.

Lu Jiuyuan's gaze slid from her shoulder to her waist, then down to the small section of her calf peeking out from beneath the quilt. Then it stopped.