Coming clean with his wife

Gu Shang felt the heart beneath his chest, where the young man leaned against him, give a violent thump, so hard that even his ribs seemed to ache.

Simply hugging him wasn't enough for Ji Mingzhu.

The young man even rubbed his cool, soft, fair cheek against the man's chest, as sweet and docile as a little animal nuzzling its owner.

This unfamiliar, surging emotion left Gu Shang somewhat flustered, though none of it showed on his face.

Ji Mingzhu, playing these little tricks again!

I'd already decided to grant him one reasonable request, and now he's pushing his luck like this!

What does he mean by this? Even if he hugs me, I won't promise him any more favors! People need to know when to stop instead of being so greedy.

A faint blush rose on the man's face, whether from anger or something else. "What are you doing!"

Ji Mingzhu looked utterly bewildered and innocent. "What did I do...?"

Didn't he want me to soothe him? I'm doing a great job.

Gu Shang took a deep breath, the veins at his temples throbbing.

Honestly... what a shameless little spoiled brat!

How did that saying go? "Cry too often, and your tears lose their value." By the same logic, surely these intimate gestures worked the same way.

This spoiled brat really was an amateur.

Usually, those skilled little sparrows who eventually married into wealthy families knew exactly when to stop. They never gave a man a taste of sweetness too easily, only offering the occasional flirtatious hint to reel him in.

But Ji Mingzhu, this spoiled brat, was so foolish. Without even being asked, he willingly handed out kisses and hugs by the handful. Wasn't he afraid that giving too much would make him boring?

The tips of the man's ears were bright red.

Gu Shang suddenly remembered his mother asking over their meal today whether he had ever had a frank conversation with Ji Mingzhu. He should have brought it up right after they married, but somehow Ji Mingzhu had kept him from getting around to it. Now seemed like the right time.

He cleared his throat, concealing the cold glint in his eyes, and abruptly spoke. "Ji Mingzhu, there's something I want to tell you."

Ji Mingzhu lowered his head and rearranged the bowl and chopsticks, answering obediently, "Oh, go ahead."

"This is only a business marriage. You understand that, don't you?" the man asked coldly.

Ji Mingzhu hummed in acknowledgment and nodded.

That much, he knew. His father seemed terrified he might forget and brought it up every day just to make him uncomfortable.

"Before the wedding, we didn't even know what the other looked like, so... we don't have the feelings a normal married couple should have," Gu Shang said.

"And choosing the Ji Family in the end had nothing to do with the Gu Family knowing beforehand that you'd been living away from your family. Although the previous family head arranged this marriage, he had no idea you existed. He simply gathered a group of eminent monks to perform divinations, then instructed me to marry someone from the Ji Family."

The man's voice was calm. "I didn't particularly care about marriage in the first place, so when they insisted, I agreed."

Ji Mingzhu blinked and nodded.

"So what I mean is... you don't need to try to please me. Rather than spouses, we're more like colleagues who can discuss and negotiate things."

"As long as we look like a married couple who treat each other with respect in public, that's enough. I won't force you to do anything you don't want to, so there's no need to suppress your true feelings to... to do what you just did."

The young man had his head lowered. Gu Shang couldn't see his expression and had no idea what he was thinking.

In the silence, the man began to grow increasingly restless.

What was this supposed to mean? Now that everything was out in the open, he couldn't even be bothered to pretend? And here I'd thought Ji Mingzhu knew how to endure things.

He was the one who had wanted to say all this, yet he was also the one who felt uncomfortable afterward.

Logically speaking, this was exactly the effect he wanted. If Ji Mingzhu heard all that and still refused to settle down, it would likely mean he harbored greater ambitions and schemes, further proving that he couldn't be allowed to stay.

So it was a good thing for their relationship to stop here, but...

The patch of abdominal muscle where the young man had sat began to feel uncomfortable, as though ants were crawling over it.

Gu Shang liked peace and quiet, but over the past two days, he had grown used to the young man chattering in his ear, playing dumb and acting sweet. Now that Ji Mingzhu had suddenly settled down, he actually wanted to provoke him into saying something.

At least say whether you agree or not!

Unable to stand it any longer, Gu Shang abruptly raised his hand to the young man's chin and tipped it up slightly, making him meet his eyes.

But the next instant, he was mildly surprised.

There wasn't a trace of any negative emotion on Ji Mingzhu's face. Instead, he was blinking rather blankly, looking adorable.

Gu Shang was bewildered. "You're... not angry?"

Ji Mingzhu shook his head, then nodded, saying gently, "Hubby, I wasn't angry. But if you keep going on about all this stuff, the food won't taste good anymore. It was delicious to begin with. If it stops being delicious, then I'll be angry!"

Honestly, was his husband acting out a storybook? He just kept muttering on and on.

I already knew everything he said! But what did it matter? We hadn't had any foundation of affection before getting married. If my husband had been overly gentle and considerate right from the start, I'd have thought he was frivolous instead.

The way Gu Shang was now was just right. It made Ji Mingzhu feel that he was someone he could entrust himself to, someone who simply still needed a little love and warmth to thaw him out.

But that was fine! A brave kitty wasn't afraid of difficulties!

As the Great Ning Dynasty's foremost ger, Ji Mingzhu had at least that much confidence.

The young man's completely unrelated response momentarily stunned Gu Shang. While he was still bewildered, his phone vibrated, and he picked it up for a glance.

It was a message from Secretary Chen.

Thorough and conscientious, Secretary Chen recounted everything that had just happened in the first-floor lobby to Gu Shang, embellishing nothing and leaving nothing out.

The man's gaze darkened.