Chapter 44: “If You’re Unwilling, Then I’ll Beg You.”

As soon as the words fell, Si Jin mercilessly raised her hand and slapped the side of Xiao Rong’s face.

Xiao Rong didn’t seem to feel any pain—Si Jin had long been weakened by the kiss.

Still, he pulled back, keeping only his hands on her waist to steady her.

Si Jin glanced at him, her breathing uneven. “Let me turn back.”

Xiao Rong pressed his lips together, clearly unwilling.

Si Jin glared at him again.

Xiao Rong: “Your body is very warm. Are you really not willing?”

Whose body was actually warm?!

Si Jin instantly felt the heat spreading from where he held her waist.

“How can you… act like this regardless of time and place? We’re on horseback.”

Even her scolding words were spoken with embarrassment.

She found it even harder to understand how Xiao Rong could say such things with such a calm and natural expression.

Xiao Rong moved his lips, wearing that same expression again. Combined with the flush that had spread across his cheeks and the corners of his eyes after the prolonged kiss, he looked utterly sensual, blatantly exposing that secret intimacy in broad daylight.

Before he could speak, Si Jin quickly added, “Let me turn back. This… is dangerous.”

Xiao Rong let out an unconcealed, soft sigh.

He said hoarsely, “Sit steady.”

In an instant, Si Jin was lifted by the waist and turned around.

Xiao Rong was strong and steady. With prior mental preparation, she wasn’t the least bit frightened when she turned back—instead, she let out a heavy sigh of relief.

As soon as she relaxed, Xiao Rong embraced her from behind.

His body was still very warm, and their closer contact now trapped almost all that heat in the narrow space between them, forcibly transferring it to the other person.

But Si Jin didn’t struggle, and Xiao Rong, behind her, didn’t continue with his lewd and absurd remarks.

The horse continued forward. The mountain path visibly narrowed, and in less than half an hour, they would no longer be able to ride.

This also meant they were nearing the Scenic View Platform below the mountainside.

Gradually, hikers appeared ahead.

Someone turned around at the sound of hoofbeats, surprised to see the two on horseback.

Si Jin felt the arm around her waist tighten slightly.

At first, she thought Xiao Rong was finally feeling shy about being seen in such intimacy.

But when she turned to look, his expression was indifferent, his gaze fixed ahead. Rather than being ashamed of being seen, he seemed more concerned that Si Jin might try to pull away out of embarrassment.

It seemed any form of distance was unbearable to him.

Si Jin withdrew her gaze, a slight smile curling her lips. She leaned softly against him, having no intention of struggling anyway.

An middle-aged man ahead called out to them, “Young master, madam, you won’t be able to ride further ahead. You’ll have to climb Qing Yun Mountain on foot to reach the summit.”

Xiao Rong cast a cold glance his way and ignored him.

Si Jin smiled warmly and said, “Thank you for the reminder, uncle. My husband and I wanted to enjoy the scenery along the way on horseback. We’ll dismount and climb when we reach the spot.”

The words “my husband” seemed to placate the one on the verge of sulking before he even started. The arm around her waist loosened momentarily.

But soon, as if realizing something, it tightened again.

A woman beside the middle-aged man patted his back. “What do you know? This young couple is flirting all the way—it’s called romance.”

The woman’s voice gradually lowered in the latter half of her sentence, as it was hardly appropriate to speak such words directly in front of the person in question.

But Si Jin still caught a few words, her cheeks warming slightly as she couldn’t resist glancing back at Xiao Rong.

Her turn was subtle, not enough to fully see Xiao Rong’s face.

Yet as her gaze swept past, she still managed to catch the slight upward curve of his lips beneath his typically indifferent expression.

Si Jin turned back around, lowering her gaze as she waited for the horse to pass the group of pedestrians.

The surroundings grew quiet again, the wind whistling through the gaps between the intertwined branches in the forest.

How lovely, Si Jin thought.

It seemed they hadn’t even reached the mountaintop yet, with the same monotonous mountain path still stretching before them, but she already felt a sense of ease and contentment.

Was it because of the bright spring sunlight?

Or was it because riding on horseback spared her from exertion and fatigue?

“Xiao Jin, are you happy?”

Si Jin was taken aback, slowly pulling herself out of her wandering thoughts.

“Your heartbeat is fast.”

Xiao Rong stated calmly, “I can feel that you seem happy.”

Was it that obvious?

Si Jin couldn’t help but raise a hand to her chest.

Her heartbeat was indeed faster than usual, though not as violently pounding as when she was overwhelmed with intense emotions.

“Is it because of me?”

A soft voice came from behind, tinged with caution, his breath drawing closer.

Si Jin broke into a full smile, her lips curving upward and her eyes crinkling. “We’re almost at the point where the horse can go no further, right? Shall we turn back?”

Si Jin thought that Xiao Rong wouldn’t press further with a “why” in response to her words. Instead, he was likely staring intently at the back of her head, stubbornly waiting for an answer to his previous question.

So without waiting for him to speak, she tugged on the reins and added, “I just want to spend a little more time flirting with you.”

“I’m very happy, happier than reaching the mountaintop.”

This time, Si Jin still didn’t make it to the mountaintop.

She didn’t know if, after this experience, she would ever feel the sudden urge to go mountain climbing again someday. But at least this time, she didn’t return empty-handed like the last.

They returned to Xiao Fu as dusk approached.

Si Jin had been in high spirits throughout the journey.

So much so that when Xiao Rong, after spending ten days at the Ministry of Justice and rushing nonstop to catch up with her, now stood by the bathroom door gazing at her eagerly,

she hesitated for only a moment before stepping toward him.

They were already at Xiao Fu, in Qiu Shui Courtyard.

The servants in the courtyard were not like those on the mountain.

In the vast mansion, there were plenty of places for them to be. The moment the bathroom door closed, the servants in the courtyard vanished in the blink of an eye.

The room was filled with steam, carrying a faint, fresh fragrance.

The man who had entered first had already moved behind the screen, the candlelight casting his tall, straight silhouette onto it.

Amidst the rustling sounds, Xiao Rong pulled open his collar and removed his outer robe, followed by his vest, and finally his inner garment.

Si Jin stood by the door, her gaze trembling slightly.

Her eyes fixed on the shifting shadow on the screen, as if a certain image flashed through her mind.

Broad shoulders, a narrow waist, undulating contours, and taut muscles that revealed a powerful shape with every lift and drop of his arms.

Si Jin had seen it all before, had even touched and kissed it, and had even imitated how Xiao Rong often treated her, tracing her tongue across his chest.

It was not an unfamiliar sight, yet veiled behind a layer of obscuring haze, it evoked an indescribable, elusive feeling.

Not unfamiliar, yet not entirely familiar either.

It felt as if she had seen him somewhere before, yet no related memories surfaced when she searched her mind.

At this moment, Xiao Rong, who had already removed his upper garment but hadn’t seen the person who entered with him follow, paused his movements. His fingers hooked on his waistband, he hesitated for a moment before striding toward the screen and leaning halfway out from the side.

Si Jin was taken aback. The previously blurred silhouette in her vision sharpened into a clearly visible, robust physique, and the thoughts in her mind instantly scattered. She blinked unnaturally, yet her gaze still drifted to the flush that tinged his pale skin, warmed by the steam.

Si Jin stepped forward, enveloping herself in the mist as well. Only after circling around the screen did she notice that the bathtub prepared in the bathroom today was unusually large—clearly not a standard size, almost spacious enough to accommodate three or four people. She had no idea when such a tub had appeared in the residence.

Moreover, Xiao Rong’s bathing routine was always so swift it surprised Si Jin; he would return to the room clean and fresh in no time. So why, before she had even approached, would he inexplicably have the servants prepare this particular tub?

Si Jin glanced up at him. Xiao Rong had already stepped forward without a change in expression, closing the distance between them. “Shall I help you?” he asked, though his fingers were already at the fastening of her waistband.

Si Jin looked up at him. “Did you already decide earlier that you wanted me to bathe with you? What if I hadn’t come?”

“If you hadn’t come, I would have called for you. If you refused, I would have…” Xiao Rong’s words trailed off as he untied the sash of her garment.

The front of Si Jin’s robe loosened, revealing the pinkish-white crossed collar of her inner garment underneath. Steam seeped through the opening, spreading a damp warmth across her chest.

“You would have what?”

Xiao Rong suddenly reached out his arm. Before Si Jin’s robe had fully fallen away, she was pressed against his bare chest, separated only by the thin layer of her inner garment.

Thump, thump—

Whose heartbeat was it, pounding against their chests?

Xiao Rong tightened his arms, holding her firmly against him. His demeanor suggested that if she were unwilling, he would have bound her and brought her here by force.

In the next moment, he untied the sash of her inner garment as well. Today, she wore a sky-blue maiden’s undergarment, its white cloud patterns embroidered just above her chest.

Xiao Rong’s Adam’s apple bobbed heavily, a tingling itch spreading through his fingertips.

Si Jin narrowed her eyes slightly as she watched him. Why did he look as if he wanted to steal something?

Before she could speak, Xiao Rong suddenly lowered his head and kissed the exposed skin of her collarbone. The ties of the undergarment wrapped around her neck, crossed over her collarbone, and draped down her chest. His tongue dampened the delicate tie, and his lips sucked at her skin, leaving a red mark in an instant.

A shiver of tingling heat ran through Si Jin, both itchy and warm, and she instinctively pushed against him.

Without her noticing, Xiao Rong had already removed her inner garment. He lifted himself slightly and moved to kiss her lips, answering the question she had almost forgotten: “If you refused, I would have begged you.”

Even as he spoke of begging, his tongue insistently pried open her lips and delved inside.

“Is this how you beg someone…?” Si Jin mumbled her protest, yet she didn’t refuse the kiss.

This place was different from horseback. Though it still wasn’t the more conventional bed, Si Jin soon lost herself in the thick haze of warmth. The enclosed environment made her bolder. Unable to resist, she reached out, her fingertips landing on the waistband of Xiao Rong’s trousers.

Her waist suddenly tightened as Xiao Rong encircled her and grasped her hand.

His voice was terribly hoarse: “Let me do it myself today. I’ll serve you.”

The words “serve you” seemed to trigger some mechanism, making Si Jin’s legs go weak. Fortunately, Xiao Rong’s arms were there to catch her.

Her body was lifted horizontally, and Xiao Rong placed Si Jin into the scalding hot bathwater. The crisp sound of splashing water echoed through the room, as if trying to rouse someone from a daze.

But then came even louder water sounds, like tidal waves spreading, carrying splashes that sprinkled her face, wrapping around a scorching body pressing against her.

They had never bathed together in such a large tub before.

Although the single-person bathtub was spacious, fitting two people was still somewhat cramped.

Most of the time, she would be forcibly lifted out of the tub by Xiao Rong, her hands braced against the rim, forced into extremely shameful positions.

That couldn’t really be called bathing.

But now, it didn’t seem to qualify either.

“Alright then.”

Si Jin’s eyelashes were beaded with mist, her vision slightly blurred as she glimpsed the large wet patch on the floor outside the tub where bathwater had splashed.

“Not there.”

Xiao Rong shifted slightly, “Here.”

Si Jin whimpered, swallowing back all the words of protest she had intended to say.

“It hasn’t even been half a month, yet it feels like we’ve grown distant.”

His voice was breathy, spoken as if troubled, yet even the trailing tones carried an excited rasp.

His arm was half exposed above water, half submerged beneath.

The bulging muscle lines were taut, the kind that only appeared when exerting force.

“Don’t be so… rough.”

These words had always been useless – Xiao Rong would act as if he hadn’t heard them.

But this time, he actually lightened his touch.

Si Jin’s eyelashes fluttered, and she froze momentarily.

The man focused on serving her was still kissing along her neck, not seeing her expression.

Si Jin frowned again, squirming restlessly.

The kisses along her neck moved to behind her ear.

The whimpers finally took on a tearful quality. Si Jin gripped Xiao Rong’s taut arm, leaving crescent-shaped marks on his skin.

“You… don’t be like this… so gentle.”

Si Jin’s mind felt muddled, the bath seeming to make her feel stickier rather than cleaner.

When she told him not to be rough, he became gentle; when she told him not to be gentle, he didn’t become rough.

Without needing to think much, she knew he was definitely doing it on purpose.

Si Jin felt indignant, not wanting to give him the satisfaction. She resisted the urge to slap him but also refused to let him cling to her neck.

She reached out to push his face away. As the warmth retreated from her neck, before she could withdraw her hand, her fingers were captured in his mouth.

Why didn’t he just eat her whole? Whenever any part of her body came near his mouth, it would either be sucked or licked, and when passion peaked, he would even bite.

Especially…

“What are you thinking about? Suddenly so much.”

Si Jin curled her fingers, pressing against his tongue to stop his nonsense, her own voice growing more tearful: “You’re always teasing me.”

Xiao Rong sucked on her finger as if to appease her.

“Then later in the room, I’ll let you play with me, alright?”

The tingling sensation spreading from her fingertips made her entire body feel even more indescribable.

She suddenly withdrew her hand again, summoning strength from somewhere as she tried to push herself up from his grasp: “I want to now.”

Xiao Rong’s now-free hands quickly grabbed her waist, holding her in an suspended position as he leaned back against the tub edge, lowering his posture: “How do you want to play?”

“Want to play with my face?” He tilted his head slightly upward, exposing the prominent Adam’s apple on his neck, already making urgent swallowing motions.

Si Jin’s gaze trembled, both hands braced against his shoulders, leaving no way to cover that mouth that had started spouting lewd nonsense again.

“Xiao Jin, sit up here.” He narrowed his eyes slightly, his throat emitting obvious swallowing sounds.

His fingers tightened, gripping her slender waist, effortlessly lifting her up.

He opened his mouth, speaking with muffled voice and breath: “Play here.”