Chapter 23
Yuli was turned over and pressed into his embrace, but she still refused to open her eyes to look at him.
“Are you angry?” Xie Yao asked in a hoarse voice, holding her earlobe between his lips.
Yuli wanted to say she wasn’t angry. How could she dare to be?
“Weren’t you the one who invited me?” he chuckled.
Wasn’t it because I was afraid you would wake me up in the middle of the night? Yuli was now genuinely a little angry.
She shrank back, not cooperating with him. With just a little force, he parted her legs.
Her nightgown had not yet been removed, but she was already soaked. She began to suspect that Xie Yao was a frequent visitor to brothels; otherwise, how could he be so skilled after only being with her twice?
The room was brightly lit again. Xie Yao had lifted the bed curtains and had not let them down. Every strand of her hair, every bead of sweat was clearly visible.
Yuli thought for a moment. This little quirk of his was really no big deal. It was she who had made a fuss because of the influence of the original plot.
She cast aside her coyness, let go of her defenses, and let Xie Yao do as he pleased.
As he proceeded to the next step, she took the initiative to open her eyes and look at him.
She was very smart. She knew what he wanted and watched him possess her without blinking.
Whatever he wanted, she would indulge him. How could this not be considered love?
Xie Yao seemed to smile. The light and shadow on his face flickered, his eyes now bright, now dark, dulling some of his sharpness.
Yuli thought he should be satisfied, so she looked away and didn’t look at him again.
Xie Yao bent down to hold her, kissing her eyes and her lips, feeling her subtle reactions.
Yuli panted and hummed softly, her watery eyes like silk. Gradually, he felt it was not enough. He wanted to hear her louder, but he still couldn’t tell if she was feeling pleasure or pain, so he could only test her reactions for the time being.
Yuli only felt that Xie Yao was in high spirits tonight. She was so sleepy she almost fell asleep, but was woken up by him twice.
In the end, when he carried her to wash, she fell asleep in his arms.
*
The autumn rain pattered down, spattering on the green camellia leaves, giving them a glossy sheen.
Under the eaves, the rain formed threads, hitting the edge of the celadon fish tank. The ripples from the raindrops spread in circles on the water’s surface. The fan-tailed goldfish inside swam slowly, as if at ease.
Yuli and Xiyun, holding oil-paper umbrellas, came in through the hanging flower gate, laughing and playing. Just now, Yuli had accidentally slipped and fallen on her bottom. Xiyun had held it in for a long time and was only now laughing.
Half a month had passed, and the landscaping of the Xie Residence was complete. Yuli went out to inspect it every day, to see which tree had grown a few more leaves and which blade of grass had turned a few more leaves yellow.
Today, with the autumn rain, the scenery in the residence was very fresh, and she couldn’t help but look at it for a while longer.
“Did you hurt yourself? Do you need some medicine?”
Yuli was changing her clothes behind the screen, and Xiyun asked from outside.
“It’s nothing, it’ll be fine in a while,” Yuli replied.
“These trees and grass, how can they grow so fast? Besides, there are gardeners in the courtyard taking care of them all the time. The Mistress should stop going to look at them every day,” Xiyun advised.
Behind the screen, Yuli couldn’t see where she had fallen, but she felt it was a little painful.
She wiped herself and changed into clean clothes.
“Anyway, there’s nothing to do. I’ll just treat it as a stroll.”
Xiyun: “If the Mistress wants to see, let’s go out. I heard that there are many beautiful gardens in the capital. There’s a Biyou Garden, which is famous all over the world. Everyone who comes to the capital will go there.”
Yuli was quiet for a moment. “Forget it. I don’t like to go out.”
Xiyun felt something was not right but didn’t press the issue.
After changing her clothes, Yuli came out and sat inside the door, enjoying the rain.
Besides the camellia and the fish tank, there was also an eight-foot-high rockery in the courtyard, modeled after Mount Hua. It looked different from every angle, but looking at it every day became boring. The camellia tree was still the same as when it was planted.
Tending a garden could not be rushed. Yuli was not impatient; she was just bored from being cooped up for so long.
She had resigned and was lying flat, with no worries about her livelihood. Her wishes of having a cat and planting flowers had all come true. She had nothing to be dissatisfied with.
But people are always greedy.
After being cooped up for so long, she began to want the things she had longed for in her past life.
But she only dared to think about it. The recent days had been quite peaceful. Xie Yao was also very gentle with her, and his emotions were stable. He would occasionally indulge at night but always took her feelings into account. She didn’t want to ask for trouble.
The autumn rain fell all day. Yuli went to meet Xie Yao with an umbrella. After just a few steps, he noticed that she was walking abnormally.
Yuli honestly said that she had fallen while walking around the courtyard.
Xie Yao knew that she was bored every day and liked to wander around the residence, even in the rain.
He didn’t say anything, but stepped out from under the umbrella and half-squatted in front of Yuli. “Get on.”
He wanted to carry her on his back. Yuli felt it was a bit of an overreaction and didn’t want to get on.
Xie Yao hummed, not allowing her to refuse. Yuli lay on his back and let him carry her back to Mingyue Residence.
Actually, the fall was not serious. It wouldn’t hurt if she didn’t press on it. But Xie Yao saw that she was restless while eating and ordered someone to bring medicine. Before going to bed, he had her lie on the bed, wanting to massage it for her.
They had been in a position where Yuli was lying on her stomach before, but this was different from when they were doing that. Yuli was very shy and buried her face in the quilt.
Xie Yao pulled down her trousers and indeed saw a large bruise on her right side.
Xie Yao knelt on either side of her legs, his knees apart, and scooped up some ointment with his fingers to apply to her skin.
The cool ointment made Yuli shiver.
She was buried in the quilt, and Xie Yao couldn’t see her face.
He gently spread the ointment for her and massaged it with the palm of his hand. Soon, the area grew warm.
Yuli lay quietly, not moving or making a sound, but Xie Yao could hear her disordered breathing.
“Does it hurt?”
“It’s alright,” Yuli replied, her voice hoarse.
Xie Yao’s Adam’s apple moved slightly. He suddenly lifted her up and placed a thick pillow under her.
Yuli let out a cry of surprise.
“Raise it higher, so I can see clearly.”
Xie Yao’s voice was dark and deep, as if it were not that simple. But she was injured and couldn’t be touched or pressed. He had always been considerate of her and wouldn’t mess around at this time.
Yuli lay back down. “Mm. It’s not that serious. Hurry up.”
Xie Yao was silent. His palm pressed against her again, massaging gently.
…