Skadi, My Wife Chapter 22

Texas's ears twitched as she leisurely enjoyed the breeze and listened to Exusiai make all sorts of self-exposing remarks.

As she got more and more worked up, Exusiai suddenly shut her mouth.

She hesitated for quite a while before finally asking, "Does that guy really need a dowry when he gets married?"

"He probably doesn't, but the customs of his hometown might say otherwise."

Rather than mocking Exusiai for exposing herself again, Texas answered matter-of-factly, "Though he's never said where his hometown is, I think you can tell it's in the Yan Nation. Even if it isn't, it's definitely somewhere similar to Yan Nation. Lungmen may be autonomous, but it's still a city of Yan Nation. The customs here are all the same as Yan Nation's. Yan people need a bride price when taking a wife, and a dowry when marrying off a daughter. They can be modest, but they have to be there. You've been in Lungmen this long, and you still didn't know?"

"Ah..."

Exusiai opened her mouth, looking somewhat dejected.

Texas added, "By the way, didn't you say you don't like him? Why do you care about this?"

"Can't I care about a friend?"

Exusiai was still being stubborn. "Skadi is supported by Chen An, and she's poor too, okay? I'm just asking so I can be mentally prepared. If she marries Chen An and needs a dowry but doesn't have the money, I'll have money to lend her so she can make it up."

Texas gave her a meaningful look. "If you like him, you like him. Why do you keep forcing yourself to deny it? Exusiai, if you keep this up, he'll never like you."

"..."

Exusiai's eyes widened as Texas continued, "He'll always see you as a friend."

"...I don't like him. I don't want to steal the person my friend likes."

After a long silence, Exusiai said that.

Her gaze passed through the gaps in the leaves as she stared distantly at the sky, lost in thought. We've clearly known each other for less than a year, so why does it feel like we've known each other our whole lives?

I never even intended to like him at first. How did things end up like this?

If only...

If only I'd met him before Skadi did.

Don't Say Another Word, Drug Him Already (Coldly) (Please Vote)

How had things ended up like this?

When he opened his eyes and found a soft, fragrant, warm orca girl tucked into his arms, with his hand pressed against her chest, surrounded by soft jade and warm fragrance, Chen An couldn't help questioning his life.

He had clearly gone to sleep alone, and Skadi should have been swimming in the pool. How had she ended up in his arms after just one nap, wearing nothing but a swimsuit?

And that wasn't even the worst of it. Her chest was in his hand too... Mm, one hand couldn't even hold it all. The feel was pretty great—pah! Great my ass. Was this the time to be thinking about that?

Cursing inwardly, Chen An continued considering his previous question.

After thinking it over and over, the only possibility Chen An could come up with was that Skadi had sneaked onto his bed while he was asleep and defenseless, then forcibly turned herself into an extra pillow. His anger instantly flared.

"Skadi!"

Pulling his hand away from where Skadi had pressed it against her chest, Chen An pinched her springy cheek and angrily woke her up.

"How many times have I told you? Napping together is fine, but at least put on some clothes! Wear pajamas! If someone sees you sleeping with me in nothing but a swimsuit, what'll happen to my reputation?!"

"Mmph..."

Skadi groggily opened her eyes.

Sleepy orca.jpg.

She tilted her head and stared at Chen An, who looked utterly exasperated, for a few seconds. Then she yawned, opened her arms, hugged him, and pushed him down onto the bed.

That wasn't all. She even lifted one of her long, pale, plump legs and draped it over him.

Rubbing her face against Chen An's chest, she mumbled, "Still sleepy. Let's keep sleeping together, Chen An."

Chen An: "..."

He wanted to push Skadi away, but after seeing her peacefully sleeping face, he hesitated for a long time and couldn't bring himself to do it.

Feeling Skadi's body heat and faint fragrance, he suddenly felt overwhelming grief and indignation.

He had clearly only wanted to be a heartless outsider, a passing traveler. So why was he becoming more and more helpless against this girl?

Because she was stupidly adorable?

My precious innocence, are you finally leaving me?

And—

This stupid girl was getting more and more out of hand!

By evening.

"Water, water! And that, that too! Give me that too!"

Exusiai ordered Chen An around for water and food while guzzling down drinks and stuffing her face, wolfing everything down like a refugee who hadn't eaten in three days.

Texas looked slightly more presentable than her, but she was starving too.

Why were they like this?

Simple—Chen An and Skadi had spent the entire day lying around inside the house.

Normally, even then, the two of them wouldn't have ended up in such a sorry state.

But Exusiai had made a foolish mistake today.

After waiting for more than an hour, Texas wanted to call Chen An. Exusiai said no, saying they had already waited this long, so it didn't matter if they waited a little longer.

Another hour passed, and Texas wanted to call Chen An again. Exusiai said no again, saying they had waited this long already and couldn't let it go to waste. They had to wait for Chen An to come out on his own, so they could give him a surprise and a scare.

And so, back and forth, dragging things out, the two of them had actually hidden in the tree from morning until evening.

It would've been fine if they were out on a mission, since they would have brought rations and water. But this time, they weren't on a mission, and neither of them had anything to eat or drink.

They wanted to go find food and water, but they were afraid Chen An would spot them at just the wrong moment. So while the two idiots hid in the tree all day, they went hungry and thirsty all day too.

If Chen An's intuition hadn't suddenly stirred, prompting him to kick Skadi—who had hugged him like a body pillow for most of the day and still wasn't satisfied—off the bed and run outside to take a look, they might have stayed hidden in that tree until tomorrow and passed out from hunger.

As he handed Exusiai and Texas food and water, Chen An learned what had happened from Texas and said with a mixture of laughter and exasperation, "Couldn't you have called me before coming over? You had to sneak around, and after you got here, you couldn't get in but still didn't call me. You had to wait for me to open the door myself before showing up. What were you two thinking?"

Texas didn't want to talk. Right now, she only wanted to eat and drink her fill, recover a little, then beat Exusiai up.

Exusiai cursed loudly, "You've got some nerve saying that! An entire day! Texas and I hid in that tree for an entire day! The pool in your yard is huge, the water's so clear, and there's a garden outside. How did you and Skadi stay inside the house all day without coming out to play? If Texas hadn't said your scent was in the villa and you had to be home, I would've thought you and Skadi weren't even here!"

Chen An looked at Texas in surprise. "My scent? Texas, your nose is that sensitive? Why have I never heard you mention it before?"

Texas's ears twitched as she calmly replied, "Lupo have sharp senses of smell. It's nothing special."

"That's bullshit! When I lose something at home and ask you to find it, you always say you can't smell it and can't find it. I think you're just—Ow! Texas, why did you suddenly hit me?"

A vicious elbow strike shut Exusiai up for blurting out the truth. Texas calmly picked up a tissue and wiped her mouth.

"I'm full. Thanks for the meal."

Then she stiffly changed the subject.

Something was off.

Texas's awkward attempt to change the subject made Chen An notice something unusual.

He narrowed his eyes at her. When he noticed that she didn't dare meet his gaze, immediately turning her face away with twitching ears and a swishing tail the moment their eyes met, he became even more certain something was wrong with Texas.

Texas was normally very composed. If their eyes happened to meet, she would usually nod or smile. But now she turned away and didn't dare look at him. That was clearly the behavior of someone with a guilty conscience.

Her ears and tail too—normally, they only moved when her emotions fluctuated, especially her ears.

Now both her ears and tail were moving. She definitely had something to hide!

She couldn't smell anything when Exusiai lost something at home, yet in this villa she could smell him from so far away. Texas...

Chen An let out a long sigh, patted Texas on the shoulder, and said earnestly, "Don't hide it from me like this if you want my clothes in the future. Just tell me directly. I won't get angry because you told the truth."

Texas: "...?"

Um, was Chen An's discovery different from what she was trying to hide?

Chen An indignantly said, "I told you, Skadi's habit of always rubbing against me is outrageous, but she never listens. Every chance she gets, she rubs against my clothes. And now, Texas can smell my scent from this far away. Skadi is seriously too much!"

Texas: "..."

Texas's mouth twitched, and she helplessly rubbed her forehead.

No wonder Exusiai always got so angry she wanted to smash things whenever she gave Skadi advice. This guy really was beyond saving.

Exusiai looked at Chen An, who was still complaining nonsense, then at Texas, whose face was full of dark lines. Suddenly, she couldn't help bursting into laughter.

Idiot Texas, now you know my pain, right?

Learn from those who came before you. Unless you really dare to drug him, you're going to suffer plenty in the future!

Ch'en Would Want to Hit Someone After Hearing This (Please Vote)

After work.

Hoshiguma and Ch'en met up at their usual spot for drinks.

Bitter wine went down the throat, pain filled the heart. Gulp, gulp, gulp, gulp, gulp, gulp, gulp.

At the very start, Hoshiguma downed a huge glass of ice-cold beer in one go. She heavily set the glass down, let out a long sigh, and looked melancholy.

Ch'en raised an eyebrow and put down her own glass. "Have you run into some trouble lately? You seem like you've had a lot on your mind these past few days."

First that char siu cat had been in a bad mood, then when her mood improved, this one started acting up too. It was like they had planned it together. What was going on?

"What troubles could I have? I've just been thinking about something."

Hoshiguma rested her cheek on one hand and stared blankly at the wall. "Old Chen, what do you think it feels like to fall in love? To like someone?"

"?!"

Ch'en was startled and almost blurted out, "You're in love?!"

"Who would dare date me? You know how the people at the department see me. They're practically calling me big brother already."

"Then why are you asking that?"

"Can't I just ask?"

Hoshiguma rolled her eyes, though her tone remained full of melancholy. "We're this old and haven't even dated once. If we don't start taking this seriously, we'll turn into old maids."

Old maids?!

Ch'en's brows shot up. "If you want to go into heat, talk about yourself. Don't drag me into it. I'm only in my early twenties. I'm still far from being an old maid!"

Young, beautiful, and in her prime—anyone who called her an old maid deserved a beating!

"That's right. Other people get married and have children before they're even twenty, while you're only in your early twenties, Old Chen. How could you possibly count as an old maid?"

Hoshiguma slowly said things that made Ch'en increasingly furious. Then she drank half her glass and asked with interest, "Speaking of which, didn't you complain last time that your aunt wanted you to go on blind dates? How did that turn out?"

Hoshiguma really knew which sore spot to press.

Ch'en had already been in a bad mood, and hearing that made her want to hit someone even more.

"What outcome could there be?"

Ch'en replied irritably, "You know what kind of people my aunt finds for me. They're either rich young masters or noble heirs. They seem fine at first, but once they hear I'm with the Lungmen Guard Department, every single one of them gets too scared to speak. They look like they want to turn around and run. What outcome could there be?"

"That sounds pretty pitiful."

Hoshiguma wasn't gloating. She simply sympathized with Ch'en. Then she suddenly thought of something and subconsciously asked, "If you don't like those rich young masters, what if Chen An went on a blind date with you instead? How would you feel? He wouldn't be scared just because you're a Lungmen Guard Department officer, would he?"

More than unafraid, Hoshiguma felt that if Chen An and Ch'en had more chances to see each other, Ch'en might be wearing that aggrieved little-wife expression every day—the kind where she had been bullied but had no way to deal with it and could only sulk by herself.

"That guy..."

Ch'en froze for a moment, lifted her glass, took a few sips, and said nothing.

Hoshiguma continued, "I remember you said your aunt intended to set you and Chen An up on a blind date. She brought it up more than once or twice, and seemed especially invested in it. That's why she hasn't pushed you to date other people much lately. What do you think?"

"What do you mean, what do I think? I don't think anything."