The Missing Husband Returned (16)

This was the first time Xue Ci had heard of a task with options, all of them unreasonable demands.

He was clearly playing an honest man...

Just seeing those words made his eyelashes tremble uncontrollably. As he wrestled with the decision, he held his lips between his teeth and bit them over and over, only letting go when the flesh turned tender.

At last, he asked reluctantly, [Do I have to choose one of these?]

It wasn't the little ball 11 that answered him, but the AI's indifferent mechanical voice.

[The tasks generated this time are mandatory. A task must be completed within one hour. The countdown begins now. Failure to meet the deadline will result in severe punishment.]

[Completing one task is sufficient. The host may also attempt all three. Points will be awarded for each task completed.]

[I look forward to your performance.]

Xue Ci hated every word the AI said, whether it was "severe punishment" or "look forward to your performance."

He couldn't help feeling that this AI was making things difficult for him on purpose.

Xue Ci hadn't been punished yet, but he never dared take the risk.

As he understood it, punishment was much the same as corporal punishment, and he wasn't very good at enduring pain.

He licked his dry lips, his head buzzing.

With only an hour to spare, he hesitated no longer and opened the panel again.

But... which one should he do?

Every single one was too much.

His stomach felt uncomfortable, and he wanted something hot... If this had been the beginner world, Xue Ci naturally wouldn't have understood what that meant. But in the first world, when he helped Gu Ling through his susceptible period, he really couldn't take it on the first night and told Gu Ling his stomach was uncomfortable. Gu Ling had asked if he needed something hot, and then it had gone on for another whole day.

Naturally, he knew what it meant.

Swallow it all down. Gu Xu had said something like that too.

The third option was to have sweet water... Xue Ci lowered his eyes.

Anyway, I'm going to do something bad.

It's not my fault.

As the sky grew dark, Zhao Ying was the last to finish bathing. After tidying the bathroom, he prepared to wash his and Xue Ci's clothes.

When Xue Ci saw the man taking a basin out of the bedroom, he immediately called him back.

"Husband."

The moment Zhao Ying turned around, a soft little dumpling bumped gently into his arms.

"I'm a little uncomfortable."

Xue Ci guiltily searched for an excuse.

As soon as Zhao Ying heard that Xue Ci was uncomfortable, he put down the basin and anxiously touched his forehead. Only after confirming that his temperature was normal did he relax. "What's wrong? Where does it hurt?"

Xue Ci picked a reason at random. "My legs are sore."

Zhao Ying had Xue Ci sit at the foot of the bed and rolled up his trouser legs, exposing his pale, slender calves.

When he laid a hand on one, it was like sinking into a ball of cotton candy.

"Xiao Ci, is it sore here?" Zhao Ying eased the pressure, but even his gentle touch left a red mark on Xue Ci's skin. He felt sorry for him, yet his breathing grew heavier all the same.

Perhaps because he was about to do something bad, Xue Ci felt unspeakably guilty and didn't hear Zhao Ying's question. His entire calf rested on the man's leg, the delicate, soft flesh of his calf cradled in the man's scorching palm.

His soft pink knee was right in front of the man's face.

The man's hot breath brushed over it, turning the skin pink.

Zhao Ying kept his breathing under control, but his voice had already gone hoarse. "...Xiao Ci?"

Xue Ci gave a distracted "Mm."

Only then did he raise his eyes.

His eyes were a pale gray, and when a mist gathered in them, even their outer corners were alluring, tickling one's heart like a feather. Yet he himself looked completely unaware.

Zhao Ying stared, mesmerized. Heat surged up his back, and his Adam's apple bobbed involuntarily.

"Xiao Ci."

Come to think of it, he hadn't tasted his wife's tongue in days.

He missed it terribly.

Faced with Zhao Ying's unblinking gaze, Xue Ci braced himself. "Husband, do, do you... want some sweet water?"

Zhao Ying was already completely captivated, and when he heard Xue Ci say that, his hands immediately stopped.

Xue Ci's eyes stung, and tears spilled out uncontrollably, leaving his curled eyelashes damp and sticky.

Zhao Ying hadn't kissed anyone in days, and once he started, he was especially forceful, as if he'd found something delicious, nibbling at it again and again in his mouth.

Xue Ci was dizzy, sitting entirely on the man's lap, with something pressing uncomfortably against his stomach.

He felt as though Zhao Ying had taken quite a few mouthfuls of his saliva, but the sound announcing the task's completion still hadn't come.

What's going on?

Wasn't it enough?

That was the only reason Xue Ci could think of.

Should we do it again? But my mouth is so sore.

Xue Ci sniffled. After being kissed for more than ten minutes, the edges of his lips were red from being nibbled, his cheek was red where the man's nose had bumped it, and his chin was wet.

Even so, he could only clutch the man's clothes pitifully and offer up his thoroughly tender lips.

"Can we kiss again?"

...Zhao Ying simply couldn't resist that.

Another ten-odd minutes passed.

Xue Ci felt as if his mouth was about to be kissed raw, but the system notification for completing the task still hadn't sounded.

There were about thirty minutes left until the deadline.

How strange... Wasn't sweet water saliva?

They had already kissed so deeply.

His lips hurt from being sucked, and Xue Ci parted them slightly.

The inside of his mouth was a little dark, as if it had been vigorously licked by a beast's rough tongue.

He leaned weakly against his husband, feeling the other man's forceful heartbeat, and gradually found the strength to think-the system voice wasn't answering, 11 was gone, and the noisy fragments were gone too.

Thinking of the fragments, Xue Ci suddenly remembered something.

-[Then why doesn't baby sit on his face and let him drink some sweet water?]

Xue Ci froze, his confused eyes widening into circles.

Could sweet water mean...

Xue Ci wasn't necessarily right, but time was running out, and if he failed, he would face severe punishment.

After struggling with himself for a while, he gave in.

Pressing against the man's chest, Xue Ci put a little distance between them.

Zhao Ying was breathing heavily, his eyes fixed on him, looking frightening enough to eat him alive.

Xue Ci braced himself and forced down his embarrassment. "Lately, it seems like you haven't wanted to be intimate with me."

Hearing the disappointment in Xue Ci's voice, Zhao Ying immediately said, "How could I not want to? I can't get enough of you, Xiao Ci."

He hadn't dared do it lately, partly because he'd found his desires growing stronger and stronger, and feared he might hurt his little wife if they did it. The other reason was that Lu Xiunan also lived there, and the house wasn't soundproof. His possessiveness made him unwilling to let another man hear Xue Ci's voice.

But clearly, Xue Ci had misunderstood him.

Afraid he was angry, Zhao Ying was considering how to explain when Xue Ci spoke again.

"Then we can't just kiss."

Xue Ci's voice was very unnatural when he lied. Unfortunately, the man across from him was an honest man who was already utterly bewitched and still rock hard. All he could do now was swallow, stare eagerly at his wife, and hope his wife would give him a little more to eat.

Soon, Zhao Ying saw Xue Ci beckon him closer.

Gulp-

The sound of Zhao Ying swallowing echoed through the room.

He was going to go further with his wife.

He held Xue Ci in his arms, and his scorching palm made Xue Ci flinch.

His little wife brought his soft, moist lips close to his ear, his breath fragrant as orchids.

When Zhao Ying heard what Xue Ci said, his eyelids twitched violently.

"Do you want sweet water from somewhere else?"

The fragrance in the air wafted toward him from every direction, enveloping all of Zhao Ying.

Lying flat near the head of the bed, his body went rigid, tingling as though an electric current had passed through it.

His heart pounded fiercely.

He had never seen Xue Ci... from this angle before.

Zhao Ying's face flushed red, and his body was as hot as lava. He was terribly afraid of melting the little snowball on top of him.

He could barely breathe. "X-Xiao Ci... m-maybe..."

"No."

With little time left, Xue Ci refused to listen to any request that would interfere with the task. Something pressed uncomfortably against his lower back, and he frowned slightly. "You're not allowed to move."

Zhao Ying held himself back until the veins stood out all over his body, but when his little wife said that, he didn't dare move a muscle.

He watched as his little wife inched closer to him.

The process was unusually long, and unusually torturous.

Zhao Ying held back until his eyes turned scarlet, his gaze changing from its initial shock to intense possessiveness.

Perhaps because he had never done anything like this before, Xue Ci's movements were clumsy and cautious. Halfway over, he seemed to run out of strength and simply rested all his weight on him.

...He was going to steal Zhao Ying's very soul.

Zhao Ying closed his eyes, afraid that if he looked for another moment, he would get up, pin Xue Ci against the wall, and make him cry without holding back.

He didn't know how much time passed.

To Zhao Ying, it felt like enduring a whole century.

His whole body was drenched in sweat, which got onto Xue Ci as well. Xue Ci seemed to dislike the sticky feeling, and frowned as he made an unreasonable demand. "Stop sweating."

Zhao Ying merely apologized in a subdued voice.

Even more hot sweat broke out.

Soon, he couldn't breathe, and his view was blocked.

Something soft seemed to brush against his cheek, and his prominent nose seemed to press against something too.

Every breath was filled with fragrance.

This is...

Zhao Ying finally understood what Xue Ci had meant by taking their relationship a step further.

He was going crazy.

His alluring little wife was driving him crazy.

The man had little experience with this sort of thing, yet it was as if he instinctively knew what to do next.

It was like tasting a jar of honey mixed with sweet milk.

Xue Ci whimpered for quite a while before he finally heard the notification that the task was complete.

He sniffled and wrapped himself tightly in a thin blanket, like a little zongzi.

With barely any strength left, he retreated to the other side of the bed.

When Zhao Ying tried to touch him, he shrank away.

"I don't want any more. It's uncomfortable."

He was very much like a scumbag who kicked someone away after using them.

But taking the initiative to do those things had left Xue Ci terribly embarrassed, and he was also very uncomfortable. He covered his head and didn't make a sound.

Zhao Ying was evidently still unsatisfied. If he hadn't slapped himself, he would have thought everything that had just happened was a dream.

Xue Ci refused to pay him any attention. Perhaps he had gone too far just now.

"Xiao Ci..."

"Wife..."

"Baby..."

He called him those names over and over until Xue Ci grew annoyed and reluctantly showed a pair of eyes.

Only to meet Zhao Ying's gaze directly.

A wave of embarrassment washed over him.

The little cat hid again.

Though he was warning him, his voice was soft and nasal. "Don't look at me..."

My wife is so cute even when he's angry. Zhao Ying even thought that if Xue Ci angrily slapped him now, all he would worry about was whether Xue Ci's fingers hurt, and he would lick them better bit by bit.

But he must have been uncomfortable.

Xue Ci had kept begging him just now, saying his tongue was too rough and his hands had too many calluses, and that it was very uncomfortable.

Zhao Ying didn't understand.

He had seen Xue Ci's expression, his cheeks pink and his face on the verge of tears, as if a very sore spot were being massaged.

The sheets and pillowcases had gotten wet, and apart from saying sorry, Zhao Ying didn't know how to comfort him.

He knew Xue Ci liked to be clean. "Wife, do you want to bathe now? I'll heat some water for you."

This time, Xue Ci was willing to answer him. His muffled, damp voice came from beneath the blanket. "...Mm."

Like a big dog wagging its tail after receiving a reward, Zhao Ying immediately left the bedroom to heat water.

Lu Xiunan was sitting in the main room. When he saw him come out, he gave him a brief glance. "It's so late. What's the matter?"

"...It's too hot. I'm heating some water for a bath." Zhao Ying wasn't used to lying, and his tone was very stiff.

"Is that so?"

Lu Xiunan seemed to believe him and asked no more questions.

But his lips twisted into a sneer.

He had never believed the rumors about telepathy between twins, but just a few dozen minutes ago, he had felt his heart pounding violently, along with... excitement.

The feeling drove him out of bed and out of his room.

The light was clearly on in the other room, and the occasional quiet sob came from inside.

What were they doing? Was the husband asking his little wife for it? Was Xue Ci doing his best to satisfy his husband too?

Had he let his husband touch him?

Irritation and hostility filled Lu Xiunan's face, yet his excitement refused to subside.

The bedroom lock had been changed, and the curtains were tightly drawn. All he could hear was the suggestive, continuous sound of water.

His mind in a daze, Lu Xiunan sat upright in the main room until Zhao Ying finally appeared.

From the damp marks on the bridge of Zhao Ying's nose and the pressure marks on the lower half of his face, Lu Xiunan could vaguely guess what they had done.

His expression was unreadable, but he put on a kindly air. "Is your room that hot? Then isn't my little sister-in-law pretty hot too? Does he need a bath as well? Want me to help?"

Thinking of how Xue Ci looked, Zhao Ying politely declined. "He's very shy around strangers. I can manage on my own."

"He's shy around outsiders, but I feel like my little sister-in-law and I have gotten closer lately." Even so, Lu Xiunan didn't press the matter after saying that. "But my little sister-in-law only needs you. I'm going back to my room."

He suppressed his jealousy and, after returning to his room, deliberately left the door open a crack.

Light shone through, shifting back and forth as the person outside moved around.

He heard Zhao Ying carry Xue Ci out, soothing him all the while, before taking him into the bathroom.

Lu Xiunan barely slept all night.

Naturally, he looked rather unwell the next day. He couldn't even be bothered to pretend, and as soon as Zhao Ying left, he cornered Xue Ci and questioned him.

"What did you do with your husband last night?"

"Did you give it to him?"

The jealousy in the man's voice made Xue Ci shrink back, his cheeks turning pink with shame and indignation. "...You, you were peeking again?"

Just as I thought.

Lu Xiunan's eyelids twitched. His expression turned sinister, and he could barely conceal the jealousy in his voice. "You promised me too. You said you'd let me kiss you and give me all of that."

Wh-what was he talking about...

Xue Ci didn't answer. "I have to go pull weeds."

He had just tried to slip through a gap when he was scooped up around the waist.

Like a cat picked up by the scruff of its neck, he struggled with all four limbs, but he couldn't break free from that powerful grip.

"What are you doing?" Xue Ci was getting a little cross.

His whole body had been lifted off the ground. His toes pointed downward, but he still couldn't reach the floor, so naturally he was unhappy.

Lu Xiunan moved closer.

He let Xue Ci rest his feet on top of his own.

It was an intimate gesture, but Xue Ci had no idea the man was taking advantage of him, and his attention was soon diverted by what Lu Xiunan said.

"You sat on his face and let him lick you, didn't you?"

The crude words stunned Xue Ci. Then his neck and ears instantly turned bright red, and his eyes grew misty with shame.

It was as though he had captivated his husband so completely with that same expression last night that the man had lost his soul.

Lu Xiunan stared intently at him.

Xue Ci was easy to read. Even if he refused to say what they had done last night, Lu Xiunan was sure he could trick it out of him.

"You didn't give it to him last night, did you?"

"Otherwise, you wouldn't be able to get up today."

"No man would do it with you just once."

This was getting stranger and stranger. The remarks, which were practically sexual harassment, made Xue Ci very unhappy. "Let go of me, now."

Lu Xiunan put him down.

He seemed unwilling to let the conversation end there. All morning, while Zhao Ying was away, he followed Xue Ci wherever he went, occasionally hinting that if Xue Ci was uncomfortable, he could find a man who was very knowledgeable in theory and knew what he was doing.

Xue Ci: "?"

He was shocked by what Lu Xiunan said. "I really love my husband. Don't lead me astray."

Afraid Xue Ci would misunderstand, Lu Xiunan immediately explained, "I'm still a virgin."

"I've never been in a relationship."

"Apart from almost doing it with you, I've never done anything else."

"But I know a lot about it."

"If it were me, I definitely wouldn't make the other person uncomfortable."

He was eager to show Xue Ci how clean he was and how service-minded he could be.

Xue Ci pressed his lips together, so embarrassed that he could barely hold his little shovel. He didn't know what to say, so he gave a dry "Mm" and waited for his husband to return.

*

Zhao Ying took on a lot of carpentry jobs and also worked as a temporary laborer at a factory.

One or two of the workers knew him well. They knew his biological parents from the city had found him, and they all urged him to go live a better life there.

"Why don't you just take your spouse with you? When a young person has a chance to go to the city, they should take it."

"Right, why stay here and work so hard for your money?"

"But you have a twin brother, don't you? He's staying at your place now? You two really do look alike."

Zhao Ying was a man of few words, occasionally giving a brief reply.

He didn't have many thoughts about his future life. He just wanted to live a good life with Xue Ci.

Wherever Xue Ci wanted to go, he would go too.

But earning more money was certainly necessary.

They needed to pay off Xue Ci's family's debts and buy things for the house. He had also thought about letting Xue Ci continue his education.

Zhao Ying stopped working and headed home.

Normally, he would have stayed a little overtime to finish the job before going back, but after becoming more intimate with Xue Ci, he was a little impatient.

He had just changed out of his work clothes and was walking toward the workshop door when he ran into Zhou Qize.

School had recently started for Zhou Qize. Although he had few classes in his senior year, he still needed to go to campus to report in.

The trip had kept him away for several days, causing him to miss a lot of news.

After Zhao Ying left, the workers filled Zhou Qize in on all the gossip over dinner.

Zhou Qize had long known that Zhao Ying had a twin brother. After all, Xue Ci had told him himself, and had even mistaken the brother for his husband.

But why was this twin brother living in Xue Ci's house?

Were the three of them living together now?

Did Zhao Ying know that Xue Ci had once mistaken his brother for his husband? Or had they already been honest with each other and agreed to live together?

If Xue Ci accepted both of them, what difference would it make to add me...

The thought made Zhou Qize's breath grow hot.

*

On his way home, Zhao Ying bought liangpi, then added shredded cucumber and tofu strips, mixed a sauce, sprinkled crushed peanuts over it, and tossed it all together. The aroma filled the house and wafted outside.

Xue Ci seemed to love liangpi, and his appetite was much better than usual.

Zhao Ying came home early that evening, so they went to rest early too.

After their baths, they lay down before the sky had gone completely dark.

Xue Ci had slept all afternoon and certainly wouldn't be able to fall asleep if he lay down now, but Zhao Ying did physical labor every day. He worked hard and needed rest.

He tried not to move around and closed his eyes, pretending to sleep.

But within minutes, someone suddenly embraced him from behind.

So hot...

Xue Ci's first thought was that Zhao Ying was very hot.

"Xiao Ci."

The man's voice was low and husky. He pulled Xue Ci tightly into his arms and nuzzled his snowy-white nape like a large dog.

"Wife... I want it."

Xue Ci's body shrank back.

The tall, taciturn rough man had never met anyone as sweet and fragrant as Xue Ci. The thought of his wife's sweet water had left him aching for it all day.

Now that they were lying in bed together, he couldn't sleep at all.

His mind was full of images of his wife's tearful little face.

Xue Ci pretended not to hear, but Zhao Ying kept pestering him.

He begged and begged until Xue Ci grew embarrassed.

"I'll get very tired. If it goes on too long, my waist gets really sore."

Zhao Ying held him even tighter. His scorching breath made Xue Ci want to break free, but their strength was on entirely different levels.

"You don't have to sit like you did last night, wife. Just lie on the bed and leave the rest to me."

Perhaps the bedroom made men bolder. His urgent, nervous tone made the taciturn, honest man seem possessed by a sex fiend.

Finally, after getting Xue Ci's consent, he tasted the sweet water once again.

Actually, eating sweet water was far from enough for Zhao Ying. He longed for even closer contact with Xue Ci, but he knew his little wife was very shy and couldn't do so much all at once.

Xue Ci was like a ball of snow, melting all over and soaking the sheets with fragrant little trickles.

Xue Ci was in a daze as he was carried back and forth. Heating water, mixing it, bathing, changing clothes... Zhao Ying seemed to enjoy helping him with these things.

Fresh from his bath, he still had a peachy pink flush on his face, and his whole body was like a freshly peeled egg.

Zhao Ying was changing the sheets. Usually deft with his hands, he kept getting distracted today because Xue Ci, curled up in the chair, really was...

Zhao Ying leaned over and kissed the corner of his lips.

Xue Ci's mouth was still swollen, and he gave a soft little whimper.

"Xiao Ci, you're so beautiful."

Xue Ci barely had the strength to urge him on. "...I want to sleep."

Zhao Ying didn't dare delay any longer and quickly changed the sheets and blanket. Xue Ci wouldn't let him carry him and ran barefoot to the bed himself.

He hadn't been sleepy before, but after Zhao Ying had put him through several hours of it, he fell asleep as soon as his head touched the pillow.

Zhao Ying put the clothes Xue Ci had changed out of in a basin. He was just about to wash them when he saw Lu Xiunan standing outside at the tap.

"Brother, are you going to wash clothes?"

"...Mm, Xue Ci's."

"Is my little sister-in-law asleep?"

"He just fell asleep."

"You're away during the day and home at night. Shouldn't you spend more time with my little sister-in-law?" In the darkness, Lu Xiunan's expression was hard to make out. "Leave the clothes here. I'll wash them while I'm at it."

Of course, Zhao Ying wouldn't let Lu Xiunan wash the clothes, but he had a point.

He should be with Xue Ci now, rubbing his waist and so on.

"Just wash your own." Zhao Ying put the basin under the table. "I'll get up early and wash them tomorrow."

Lu Xiunan said, "All right."

Zhao Ying quickly went into the bedroom and put out the light.

Expression blank, Lu Xiunan entered the main room and walked over to the table.

He bent down and picked up the basin.

He took out a very small piece of white fabric.

Half of it was wet.

Lu Xiunan pressed his face against it and took a deep breath.

The tip of his nose soon grew damp too.

It smells so fucking good.

It was as though Xue Ci had sat on his face like that too, letting him eat his sweet water.

Author's note:

Happy Lunar New Year's Eve, everyone!!! Baby Xue Ci is handing out lucky money to everyone! Please leave your cat-paw prints [cat paw] [cat paw] [cat paw]~