Chapter 57: Xiqiu (Part 3)

At daybreak, the rain had yet to cease.

It had softened into a drizzling mist, its gentle patter blending into sweet dreams, causing one to stir awake intermittently before drifting back to sleep.

The bedroom door was quietly pushed open from outside, allowing a sliver of sunlight to stretch and spread across the floor.

The light crept along the ground toward the bed like an invisible hand, following the edge of the quilt as if about to caress the beauty sleeping soundly upon it.

With a soft thud—a quiet but swift movement—Xiao Rong closed the door, shutting out the light, and strode directly toward the bed.

His palm replaced the thwarted beam of light, stroking her cascading hair as he drew close to her side once more.

Xiao Rong had not risen particularly early today. Compared to his usual unwavering habit of waking before dawn, he had lingered in bed a while longer with Si Jin in the gentle drizzle.

There were many things to do while lazing in bed, especially when she remained completely unaware.

He played with her hair, twirling and winding it, kissed her lips until they were glistening, and even slipped his tongue inside when they parted unconsciously in her sleep.

The thin nightgown, wrinkled from a night’s rest, had a slightly open collar that revealed pale skin beneath, with no Maiden’s Undergarment in sight.

Yet that area was no longer entirely pale now.

Despite this, Si Jin showed no signs of waking, clearly exhausted from the journey and the energy spent the day before.

Xiao Rong quickly removed his outer robe and lay back down beside her.

Just as he was about to pull her into his embrace, a cooing murmur escaped her in her sleep.

Xiao Rong did not reach out—the figure beneath the covers turned on her own toward the source of warmth.

His heart trembled.

Her hair brushed against his chest.

“No more… I’m so tired…”

Xiao Rong paused, then let out a silent chuckle, his heart racing rapidly in his chest, a smile lingering on his lips that refused to fade.

The person in his arms must have been stirring awake, but after that murmur, there was no further movement for a long while.

Xiao Rong glanced down into his embrace and saw only a dark crown of hair buried motionless against his chest, as if she had fallen asleep again.

But Xiao Rong suddenly leaned down, his lips close to her ear: “Xiao Jin, what did you dream about?”

The body in his arms shivered.

Then, his hand gripped her waist, the rolled-up nightgown allowing his large palm to press directly against her skin without a gap.

But it lingered only for a moment before his hand began to wander upward.

“Don’t… don’t touch. I’m awake, awake.”

Xiao Rong chuckled and withdrew his hand, even pulling down the bunched-up garment to cover her stomach.

“So, what did you dream about?”

Si Jin shifted, lifting her head from Xiao Rong’s embrace.

Her eyes were still hazy with sleep, her cheeks flushed, and her lips temptingly vibrant.

“I dreamed…”

Before she could finish, Xiao Rong lowered his head and captured her lips.

He had only asked casually; one look at her eyes told him what she had dreamed.

Yet her expression—both shy and unreserved—made it hard for him to restrain himself.

Unable to wait for her to fully confess she had dreamed of him, he impatiently claimed her parted lips.

After a lingering, sticky kiss, Si Jin was finally released and could no longer stay in bed, sitting up on the bed.

She noticed that although Xiao Rong had removed his outer robe, he had already changed out of his nightgown underneath, and his hair was neatly combed, though a few strands had become disheveled from their earlier kissing while lying down.

“What time is it?”

“It’s almost noon, the hour of Si is about to pass.”

Si Jin was startled and immediately threw off the covers, intending to get out of bed.

Just as her feet were about to step into her embroidered shoes, Xiao Rong caught both of them.

Her fair feet rested in his large palms, and he naturally picked up the white socks nearby, first putting them on for her.

“There’s no need to rush. I already spoke with our parents earlier this morning.”

Si Jin’s feet instantly tensed, causing the half-on socks to nearly slip off completely: “What did you say?”

Xiao Rong glanced up at her, then calmly looked down again and pulled the sock on properly.

“I told them you’ve been exhausted from the journey, and now that you’re finally with family, you can finally relax. You’d probably sleep in today and wouldn’t be able to wake up early.”

After he finished speaking, Xiao Rong heard a sigh of relief above his head.

He looked up and joked: “What did you think I said?”

Of course she thought he might have blurted out something that would make people headache-inducing.

But even though Si Jin guessed wrong, she didn’t appear embarrassed.

She relaxed her feet, allowing Xiao Rong to finish putting on her socks and then her embroidered shoes.

“In the past when we were together, did you often coax my parents like this?”

Xiao Rong’s movements paused.

Si Jin hadn’t noticed anything unusual yet, thinking he was just recalling.

Until she realized there had been no movement in front of her for a long time, and the nearly fastened embroidered shoe hung loosely from her toes.

“Chongyun?”

Xiao Rong suddenly looked up, his expression somewhat strange, his gaze heavy as he looked at her: “Xiao Jin, do you want me to tell our parents and brother everything?”

Si Jin was stunned for a moment before she realized what he was referring to.

She parted her lips to say something.

But Xiao Rong spoke first: “I kept it from them – when you first left the capital, and later when they went to Xiqiu.”

If Xiao Rong hadn’t brought it up, Si Jin had almost forgotten about that period of time.

Si Jin recalled her family’s attitude yesterday – they really seemed to know nothing about it.

She tilted her head, her gaze falling on Xiao Rong’s currently unreadable expression.

He had already averted his eyes, as if deliberately avoiding her gaze.

But he kept his head raised, allowing her to clearly see his expression.

Si Jin watched as the corners of Xiao Rong’s mouth grew increasingly tense, clearly showing that he had said all he wanted to say, and was now waiting for her to speak so he could accept whatever came next.

Si Jin narrowed her eyes slightly, suddenly kicked off the unfastened embroidered shoe, and with her sock-clad foot, lifted her leg and kicked him squarely in the chest.

“Stop pretending!”

She scolded playfully. Though she held back her strength, she still managed to kick the unsuspecting man backward, causing him to land sitting on the floor.

Xiao Rong’s eyes widened in surprise, the solemn expression from moments ago completely vanished, replaced only by confusion. With his hands braced behind him, he now looked up at Si Jin from below.

Si Jin had originally intended to put on a stern face and scold him, but seeing him like this, she couldn’t help but break into a smile.

She laughed and nudged his chest again with her toes: “How many times have you used this trick on me? Did you really think you could fool me with it again?”

Xiao Rong unconsciously lowered his gaze, his eyes falling on her sock-clad foot, then following the line upward along her raised leg where her pants had ridden up, revealing a pale section of ankle.

He rolled his throat, his gaze unwavering as he replied: “I’m not lying to you. I promised I wouldn’t deceive you again.”

“Then are you truly willing to confess this matter to my parents and older brother?”

The matter wasn’t particularly major, yet not entirely trivial either.

Upon first hearing it, knowing this matter would inevitably cause panic and anger just as she had initially experienced. Even if her family didn’t immediately demand Xiao Rong divorce her, they would surely develop considerable resentment and aversion towards him.

How things would develop afterward remained uncertain, but the situation definitely wouldn’t calm down quickly. Given Xiao Rong’s temperament – how he had been sulky for quite some time just because she saw her family yesterday and temporarily neglected him – why would he voluntarily bring up such a matter?

But Xiao Rong didn’t hesitate, quickly responding: “If you don’t wish to hide it from your family, I’ll naturally tell them everything in complete detail.”

His voice lowered as he added: “I’ll follow your lead in everything.”

Si Jin paused mid-step, somewhat surprised.

Xiao Rong’s words sounded genuine this time.

Had she misunderstood him?

Subconsciously, she began to withdraw her foot.

Just as she made the movement, Xiao Rong – who had been sitting leaning backward on the floor – suddenly leaned forward and grabbed her ankle.

“Ah!” Si Jin exclaimed in surprise, caught off guard.

The force on her ankle lifted her leg, and as the man before her suddenly stood up, she found herself leaning backward.

Then, she was pressed back onto the bed by Xiao Rong once more.

“So should we tell your parents about this matter or not?”

Si Jin vaguely sensed something unusual, but the feeling of being physically restrained kept her from overthinking it. She answered him first: “No, I never planned to tell them. This was always just between you and me. Since it’s all in the past, telling them would only give them unnecessary worry.”

As soon as the words left her mouth, Si Jin heard a soft “mwah” sound by her ear.

Xiao Rong tilted his head and kissed her cheek, his voice even carrying a slight uplift at the end: “Alright, as you wish. Then we won’t tell them.”

Si Jin fell silent for a moment before suddenly realizing something. She pushed against Xiao Rong’s chest with her hand, shoving him off her.

Xiao Rong stumbled again, though this time he didn’t fall. Leaning backward briefly, he finally stabilized himself by kneeling on one knee on the bed.

Si Jin frowned and scolded him: “You were pretending after all, weren’t you?”

Xiao Rong blinked: “No.”

“Still won’t admit it.”

“Truly not.” He leaned forward slightly, reaching for her ankle again. “If you decided to tell them, I wouldn’t hide anything.”

Having secured hold of her ankle, he changed his tone: “However, I know Xiao Jin would side with me now.”

She knew it – he definitely had ulterior motives in mind.

“I’m not siding with you! I already said it’s because I don’t want to worry my parents.”

Xiao Rong placed her foot against his chest: “As long as there’s even a little bit of consideration for me, I’m satisfied.”

“If you’re still upset, why don’t you kick me a couple more times to vent your anger?”

Si Jin tensed her toes, feeling both annoyed and amused simultaneously.

She had never seen someone so shamelessly fishing for rewards.

She struggled momentarily to shake him off, finally sitting up: “Stop fooling around. It’s getting late, we need to hurry to my parents’ place. Any later and people will laugh at us.”

Xiao Rong reluctantly leaned in to kiss her once more before squatting down and quickly helping her put on her shoes.

After Si Jin finished tidying up in the room, she prepared to leave the bedroom with Xiao Rong.

It should be nearly time for the midday meal by now. Having been apart from her family for so long, she thought they must have prepared something special for today.

Si Jin didn’t delay any longer and stepped forward to open the door.

As she lifted her gaze, a familiar color caught her eye through the misty drizzle.

Her eyes froze for a moment before she exclaimed in panic, “You hung them there? How could you hang them in such a place? What if someone sees them? How embarrassing!”

Xiao Rong, who had been following behind her, was taken aback by her sudden scolding.

It wasn’t until he turned and saw her peach-blossom pink maiden’s undergarment and drawers fluttering on a conspicuously placed pole under the eaves—sheltered from the rain in the courtyard—that he understood.

His mouth opened slightly, clearly wanting to defend himself but finding no words to explain.

Yesterday, just before Si Jin drifted off to sleep, she had told him that he didn’t need to wash her maiden’s undergarment and drawers for her that night, as the servants in the residence would take care of it.

Whether Si Jin had heard Xiao Rong’s muttered remark—”I won’t let anyone else touch them”—remained unclear, but in the end, it was Xiao Rong who personally washed them.

However, being new to this place, he didn’t know where to hang them to dry. To keep them from getting wet in the rain, he had simply hung them there in plain sight.

And just now, after spending a long while intimately with Si Jin in the room,

he had completely forgotten about them.

Xiao Rong’s expression tightened. He strode forward, dashed into the rain, and in a few steps reached the eaves. He reached up and took down the still slightly damp garments, tucking them naturally into his own robe.

“I’ll put them away now. No one will see them.”