Chapter 53: “You Stole a Kiss.”

Si Jin felt that every time she took the initiative to approach Xiao Rong, she would regret it afterward.

Not that she regretted being with him—it wasn’t that serious.

But still…

“Are you done? I… I want to bathe.”

“Don’t move.” Xiao Rong was still buried in the crook of her neck, his voice muffled and hoarse. “I still want more. Give me a moment.”

Si Jin couldn’t help but frown.

What exactly could he possibly be “slowing down” like this?

Just moments ago, he had surrendered instantly, completely spent.

Full and complete, as if to punctuate that secretive and thrilling process with a perfect ending.

But in reality, after Xiao Rong withdrew, he simply held her tightly, refusing to let go.

Si Jin soon felt him pressing against her again, but he didn’t continue. It was already late, and they had to travel early the next day. This wasn’t a convenient place to do anything more.

Xiao Rong had only said he needed a moment to slow down, but it had turned into this.

Yet he had been “slowing down” for quite a while now, with no signs of calming down.

Si Jin unconsciously shifted again, and Xiao Rong pressed his hand against her.

She could feel his breathing grow heavier.

“It’s about to… leak out.”

Hearing this, Xiao Rong loosened his grip slightly but still didn’t let her go.

Si Jin waited in silence for a while longer.

She was certain that this way, he would never calm down. But if he enjoyed tormenting himself like this, she wouldn’t say anything.

Only, she was acutely aware of the sensations—both from Xiao Rong and from within herself.

Suddenly, Si Jin spoke, “What you said before, was it true?”

“About what?”

“The contraceptive medicine you took.”

Si Jin felt the breathing behind her pause for a moment.

Then, Xiao Rong finally replied, “Mm.”

Si Jin blinked. With the sensations in her lower abdomen, she couldn’t help but think about the matter of children.

Back then, she had been afraid of getting pregnant, afraid that she would conceive a child while she had no memories and was trapped in a difficult situation.

Xiao Rong’s words at the time had undoubtedly reassured her.

But now…

“Do you want children?”

Xiao Rong’s voice came abruptly from behind, his tone shifting, sounding heavy and unreadable.

Si Jin belatedly remembered the reason Xiao Rong had given for taking the contraceptive medicine himself after having her use it.

For a moment, she didn’t know how to answer that question.

It wasn’t so much about wanting or not wanting—recently, one thing after another had been happening, and she hadn’t had the mind to think about it.

Now, they had just reconciled, and she had only just confessed her feelings for the first time. They still had to travel to Xiqiu.

“Do you like children?”

Not getting an answer, Xiao Rong pressed again, his voice devoid of warmth. Even the earlier restlessness that had refused to subside was gradually fading.

“They’re alright.” It sounded dismissive, but Si Jin was answering seriously.

She had been the youngest in her family, and by the time she could interact with children, she was still a child herself.

Nowadays, she hadn’t been around many children, but the thought of tiny little ones was undeniably adorable.

When it came to whether she liked them or not, she suddenly thought of Xiao Rong as a child.

What had he been like back then?

Pale skin, small stature.

She had heard he didn’t talk much. Back then, living with his mentally unstable mother, life couldn’t have been easy for him.

Had he felt even a little more relaxed when he was with her?

Would that little face break into a smile when happy? What would it look like when it smiled?

“Mm!” A sudden tight squeeze on her waist abruptly cut off Si Jin’s train of thought, making her gasp in surprise.

“You’re not allowed to like children.”

There was a hint of unreasonable dominance in his tone, as if he were about to scold her.

After holding back for a moment, what came out was a muffled voice: “You just said you liked me.”

The distance that had slightly widened in an attempt to ease the tension was instantly closed by Xiao Rong until there was no gap left.

The lifted skirt allowed their skin to press together, making Si Jin instinctively tense, worried he might get hard again.

“You like me.”

But for now, he showed no signs of getting hard, stubbornly insisting on what mattered to him.

Si Jin turned slightly and gave him a gentle push: “I do like you.”

“I told you it’s about to leak out… stop messing with me.”

“After using that medication for a long time, even if you stop, it might not necessarily restore fertility.”

Si Jin paused in her movements, momentarily stunned.

“Have you been taking medication all along?”

As soon as she asked, Si Jin felt it was a pointless question.

Seeing Xiao Rong’s current state and recalling what he had said before.

He clearly had no desire for children, even to the point of extreme aversion.

They had been very frequent, so naturally he had been taking medication all along.

But it was hard to say whether the duration of medication use during this period could be considered long.

“I don’t want children.”

Si Jin looked at him and softened her tone: “Then we won’t have them.”

It sounded like she was placating him.

But Xiao Rong wasn’t placated at all, instead growing even more tense.

“Didn’t you say you liked children?”

Si Jin shifted slightly; it seemed this conversation was going to drag on.

But she was very uncomfortable right now.

She really couldn’t hold it in any longer.

“Didn’t I say I like you? Are you a child?Xiao Rong’s pupils contracted for a moment, the imposing aura around him freezing briefly, as if he were uncertain where to direct it.

Seizing the opportunity, Si Jin finally broke free from his entanglement, rising from the bed with some awkwardness.

As soon as she stood bent by the bedside, she couldn’t help but mutter: “Why is there so much…”With a slightly complaining tone, she hurried toward the bathroom.”

Just after stepping out of the room, she heard footsteps following behind.

Si Jin didn’t look back, simply releasing the door without closing it.

No sooner had she entered the bathroom than Xiao Rong followed right behind.

He explained in a low voice: “I’ll help you wash.”

Well, it was his doing, so naturally he should clean it up.

It really had leaked out, trickling down her inner thigh, milky white against pale skin.

Si Jin’s brow twitched, and she immediately ordered: “Close your eyes.”

Xiao Rong had been staring intently; hearing this, he looked up pitifully at Si Jin.

Si Jin avoided his gaze: “Close your eyes.”

Xiao Rong remained silent for a moment before finally uttering an “Mm” and closing his eyes.

With his eyes closed and unable to see, his groping movements increased.

Si Jin endured it for a while: “Stop touching randomly.”

“I can’t see.”

He actually found an excuse for it.

After the sound of splashing water, Si Jin still let Xiao Rong fumble around as he cleaned off the stickiness for her.

Si Jin returned to the room first, while Xiao Rong lingered in the bathroom a bit longer.

When Xiao Rong came to bed and embraced her from behind, he brought a chill with him.

Si Jin turned around and hugged him, not saying much but wanting to warm him up a little.

Drowsiness had already set in; Si Jin’s eyelids drooped and slowly closed.

The steady rhythm of Xiao Rong’s heartbeat filled her ears, his scent enveloping her senses.

“If I truly can’t regain fertility after stopping the medication, will you abandon me?”

Si Jin, nearly asleep, was pulled back to awareness by the soft whisper nearby.

She slightly narrowed her eyes, still unwilling to open them fully, and murmured drowsily: “Didn’t we just agree we don’t need children?”

“But you want them.”

Si Jin nuzzled against his chest, finding a comfortable position.

Truthfully, the most comfortable position would be turning away and having him hold her from behind.

Yet she thought it better to remain embracing him like this for now.

“I never really considered wanting or not wanting them. But since you don’t, and having children isn’t a one-person decision—we’re married, I respect your feelings.”

Lulled by drowsiness, Si Jin’s voice was soft and gentle, yet her tone carried sincerity.

Xiao Rong fell silent upon hearing this, his mood still evidently heavy.

Si Jin intended to say more, but exhaustion overwhelmed her, and she soon drifted toward sleep in the lingering silence.

Just as her thoughts began to wander, a cool, moist sensation seemed to brush against her lips.

Xiao Rong lowered his head, gently pecking her lips—once, then again—content even without response.

The next day, Si Jin awoke at the first light of dawn.

As her eyes opened to faint illumination, Xiao Rong’s sleeping face filled her immediate view.

She still lay in the same position as when she’d fallen asleep in his arms the night before, held tightly against him as always.

Her heart fluttered momentarily.

The feeling she’d had last night watching him with closed eyes seemed to resurface, yet it felt different now.

The daylight sharpened her vision, casting a soft halo of morning light around his handsome features.

Her fingers and lips moved almost instinctively.

Finally, yielding to her body’s impulse, she tilted her head upward and pressed her lips to his.

A tender contact.

Xiao Rong’s eyes suddenly opened, hazy with lingering sleep, his voice hoarse as he accused: “You stole a kiss.”

Si Jin started, her heart pounding heavily against her ribs.

After calming herself, she retorted defiantly: “Can’t I kiss you?”

“The soundproofing here is poor.”

Si Jin: “…”

Kissing him wasn’t an invitation for more.

Had he been dreaming something strange, to say such things upon waking?

Choosing not to engage further, Si Jin pushed herself up and out of his embrace.

“Won’t you sleep a bit longer?”

Si Jin glanced back: “Are you still tired?”

Xiao Rong had only just fallen asleep.

Last night, her repeated whispers of affection had exhausted his body, yet left his spirit wildly exhilarated, preventing sleep.

Mindful of the guest room’s poor soundproofing, he’d done nothing beyond kissing her.

He’d even entertained hopes that seeing his restrained suffering the next day might soften her heart.

Perhaps enough to agree to intimacy in the carriage.

Si Jin’s tone turned stern: “If you’re not sleeping, get up. If you want to sleep, close your eyes.”

She increasingly felt her thoughts weren’t poorly concealed from Xiao Rong—he simply understood her too well.

Just as she now instantly discerned what he was thinking.

Understanding him, yet not comprehending his logic.

He worried about the guest room’s poor soundproofing, yet fantasized about carriages and horseback—wouldn’t those be even less private?

Xiao Rong shifted to sit up, clearly abandoning sleep.

But as he settled beside her, he murmured softly near her ear: “Because it’s thrilling—I’ve never tried it before.”

Si Jin’s eyes widened in astonishment as she turned her head to look at him in surprise.

Xiao Rong actually avoided her gaze and began searching for clothing.

It was as if his words carried no particular meaning—merely answering the confusion evident on her face.

Si Jin quietly watched his retreating back for a moment.

After straightening his own inner garment, Xiao Rong picked up Si Jin’s clothes and turned back.

He knelt on one knee on the bed: “Let me help you dress.”

Si Jin didn’t refuse, allowing him to take her hand and raise her arm as he always did.

He leaned forward, his breath brushing against Si Jin’s neck.

Si Jin shrank back with a ticklish sensation, and he obediently withdrew slightly.

The rustling sounds of dressing occasionally echoed in the room.

Until Xiao Rong slipped her outer garment on, lowering his gaze to carefully tie the sash at her waist.

A delicate bow took shape at her side.

Just as Xiao Rong was about to withdraw his hand,

Si Jin took a deep breath and suddenly reached out to press his wrist.

“If we encounter… secluded paths along the journey today… then… well.”