Gu Shang's expression darkened again, turning rather gloomy.
Ji Mingzhu was already used to his husband's habit of putting on a cold face at the slightest provocation, so he wasn't afraid.
Perhaps capable people were all rather moody and unpredictable. But when it came to a volatile temper, who could compare with an emperor whose mind no one could fathom? At palace banquets in the past, Emperor Yongning could be singing and laughing one moment and ordering someone dragged off to be beheaded the next.
Ji Mingzhu thought his husband's temper was already very good compared with Emperor Yongning's.
So Ji Mingzhu paid it no mind and pulled him into the room.
The moment they entered, the young man threw his arms around him and began stripping off his clothes.
His hands moved as quickly as if he were peeling a bamboo shoot.
Gu Shang instantly resembled an innocent maiden whose virtue had nearly been sullied. He hurriedly clutched his collar, which was already wrinkled beyond recognition. "What are you doing? What are you doing!"
Pushed away, Ji Mingzhu raised his head in confusion.
To put on sleepwear, he had to take off his clothes first. Besides, I'm his wife. Isn't helping him change perfectly normal?
Why is my husband so shy?
The young man smiled bashfully and pleaded in a soft, gentle voice, "Darling, do you want to shower first? That's fine too, but I'm getting a little impatient. Satisfy me first, darling?"
Gu Shang: "...?!"
Had he heard that right? What was Ji Mingzhu saying??
He had definitely just said something outrageously suggestive, hadn't he?
The patch of abdominal muscle Ji Mingzhu had sat on began heating up for no reason again, leaving his mouth and throat a little dry as well.
Gu Shang took a step back until he was pressed against the door, his voice tight. "You, you..."
Honestly, absolutely shameless!!!
They had only just talked about this during the day, and now he was showing his true colors again that very evening.
Wasn't he less affectionate with him than with those dear older brothers of his? Why had he suddenly become so dedicated? Was he offering himself up for personal gain?
With that level of commitment, what couldn't Ji Mingzhu succeed at? Even if he attended a course for wealthy wives, he could probably come out on top. Why force himself to do something against his wishes!
Looking thoroughly bewildered, Ji Mingzhu had no choice but to reveal part of the surprise first. "Darling, I'm trying to give you a present. Close your eyes."
Gu Shang: "?"
So he was giving himself to him as a present? Wh-where had he learned all this!
Too...
Contradictory as it sounded, Ji Mingzhu's usual words and behavior bore no resemblance to the street hoodlum described in the rumors. That had led Gu Shang to entertain the worst possibility: Ji Mingzhu might be a covert operative the Ji Family had deliberately raised outside the household.
They could have manufactured the illusion that he was on bad terms with the Ji Family while he continued working for them in secret. Marrying him off to Gu Shang, for instance, might be part of a scheme to steal the Gu Family's secrets.
That wasn't impossible, which was why Gu Shang had asked Secretary Chen to investigate Ji Mingzhu's life.
Though his focus had shifted as he kept reading afterward...
In any case, the young man really did seem well educated.
Only at times like these did Gu Shang feel that he truly was a little hoodlum who had grown up wild!
How could any young gentleman with an elite education have the nerve to utter such lewd words?!
Gu Shang had a great deal of shock and anger bottled up inside, but what came out was a stiff, "No."
The young man glared unhappily at his uncooperative husband and wheedled, "Hurry up. Please, darling, just listen to me this once."
There seemed to be little hooks built into the young man's voice, tugging until half his body went numb.
Gu Shang looked at the ceiling and the floor, anywhere but at Ji Mingzhu.
For no other reason than that the young man's alluring eyes were simply unfair.
When their corners lifted, he looked like a proud, noble little peacock. When he pleaded with him like this, looking so aggrieved, the creases of his eyelids folded together and drooped pitifully, his long lashes lowering with them like delicate flowers unable to bear the weight of morning dew.
It seemed that a single flutter of his lashes would send tears rolling down.
Anyone who looked would soften, but Gu Shang wasn't falling for it.
Seeing that his husband remained unmoved, Ji Mingzhu could only compromise again. Looking utterly resigned to his stubbornness, he said, "Fine, fine. I won't touch you, all right? I'll demonstrate first, but you still have to close your eyes. No peeking!"
Only then did Gu Shang slowly turn his gaze toward his face and finally agree.
Once the man closed his eyes, his other senses grew especially keen.
For instance, he could now sense... damn it, Ji Mingzhu was actually taking off his own clothes!!!
What was this supposed to mean? Since he couldn't strip him, he was stripping himself? Trying to seduce him?
Gu Shang suddenly understood how Wang Chuan had felt when he was punished at noon by having to watch Ji Mingzhu eat lunch: he desperately wanted to escape, but couldn't.
Even the floor beneath his feet seemed to heat up, leaving him restless. He wanted to turn around and leave, but didn't dare open his eyes, afraid he might see something he shouldn't and get cornered into taking responsibility.
The seconds and minutes ticked by. Feeling as though he were being roasted over a fire, Gu Shang finally couldn't stand it anymore. "What are you doing? Are you done yet?"
The young man's slightly flustered voice reached his ears. "Wait, wait a second. Oh, I'm almost done... done! All right, darling, open your eyes."
Gu Shang silently resolved that if he opened his eyes and saw anything he shouldn't, he would turn around and leave.
The man slowly opened his eyes, only to find the young man dressed in a dark red robe.
Dark red suited Ji Mingzhu just as well as the scent of roses did. It made his already fair skin glow with a luminous sheen, radiant as a divine being. With his black hair, red lips, and skin whiter than snow, the dark red brocade looked incomparably sumptuous on him.
The cut of the red robe was also very distinctive, with a touch of antique elegance that somehow matched the Chinese-style decor of the Gu Residence perfectly.
In all honesty, Gu Shang thought the young man's outfit looked ten thousand times better than the exorbitantly priced luxury-brand clothes he had seen at fashion shows.
The visual impact was so overwhelming that Gu Shang took three seconds to recover his voice.
The man had barely uttered a word before his throat tightened, forcing him to awkwardly clear it before trying again. "You... is this what you went out to buy this afternoon?"
Gu Shang had seen the payment notification on his phone that afternoon, but... the amount had clearly been very small. How could that little money buy clothes of such fine quality?
As though he had received an enormous compliment, the young man grinned and moved closer, taking his hand and placing it on himself. "Feel it. Where could you buy fabric this good?"
Gu Shang lowered his eyes. His hand was touching Ji Mingzhu's waist.
A place he had held before.
On the night Ji Mingzhu had sat on him, he had measured it with his hands. It really could fit between them... soft yet supple, like a tender green willow branch, so easy to touch and never want to let go.
He felt it as instructed. It really was excellent fabric, cool and silky. "Not bad."
Ji Mingzhu flashed him a smug smile, clearly hoping for praise. "Darling, I made this myself! It's a wedding present I made for us, not something I bought. I'd already finished it before we got married."
"I should have given it to you yesterday, but we were up so late messing around that I forgot. There's a set for you too, here. Put it on and see if it fits. If it doesn't, I'll alter it."
The young man's eyes held nothing but pure delight. Gu Shang studied him for a long time without finding a single flaw.
If this was acting too, then Ji Mingzhu's talent as an actor was simply extraordinary.
An almost irrepressible impulse slammed against his heart. Gu Shang stopped holding it back, reached out with his large hand, and pulled the young man into his arms.
He had already decided that if Ji Mingzhu wanted to act, he would play along.
Now that Ji Mingzhu had delivered himself into his arms, he couldn't blame him for enjoying it.
He held a soft, sweet-smelling beauty in his arms, one who was looking up at him so eagerly and behaving so well.
Gu Shang suddenly understood what went through the minds of people obsessed with cuddling cats. This really did make it easy to succumb to cute aggression.
The man's voice was low and husky, threaded with a barely perceptible hint of mischief. "Since you're being so good, why don't I give you a present too?"
Sure enough, the young man tilted his head up expectantly. His soft lips opened and closed, revealing and concealing his pearly white teeth. "Wow, what is it?"
My husband is giving me something!
See, affection really can be cultivated!
As long as I'm good to my husband, he'll feel it!
The man's lips curved into a smile. "My wife is still so young. This is the perfect time to learn. Playing around every day won't help you improve yourself. I've already signed you up for a required course for wealthy wives. You can go and sit in."
That was right. He intended to be the undisputed champion of repaying kindness with cruelty, to let Ji Mingzhu know that these little favors and clever attempts to please him couldn't move him in the slightest.
Ji Mingzhu: 0.0
At last, a trace of a satisfied smile appeared on Gu Shang's face.
Ha! Finally, it was Ji Mingzhu's turn to be speechless!
He knew it. Whether they were big kids or little kids, none of them liked studying.
Having just tasted the pleasure of someone wheedling sweetly with him, the man now found himself inexplicably hooked.
Fine, fine. If Ji Mingzhu really doesn't want to go, and he acts cute enough when he begs me, it's not as though I couldn't agree to cancel the course... Gu Shang thought.
But Ji Mingzhu was only... only feeling shy!
Aaaaaah, what had his husband just called him? Waaaah, his husband had done that on purpose, the scoundrel!
How could he launch a surprise attack like that...
He'd made his heart skip a beat, waaah.
Before you continue