Chapter 9: Bed Curtains, Candlelight, Shadows
Qingyan widened his eyes, almost doubting his ears.
However, Qiu Henian had already closed the door, trapping the heat of the room inside. Once again, he held Qingyan’s arm and led him towards the bed in the room.
Qingyan was seated on the bed by Qiu Henian, who raised his hand to lower one side of the bed curtains. Before lowering the other side, he paused suddenly, looking at the young lad who was staring back at him in bewilderment.
He seemed to have realized something, remained silent for two seconds, then spoke softly, “Do… do you mind?”
Qingyan hurriedly shook his head, “No, not at all.”
Seeing Qiu Henian still hesitating, he quickly leaned back against the bedpost and said, “Go wash up quickly. If the water cools down, I’ll be tired and could use a rest.”
Only then did Qiu Henian lower the other side of the bed curtains. The inside of the bed suddenly dimmed, though not completely dark, as the light from the oil lamp outside filtered through the curtains.
Moreover…
Qingyan turned his head to look outside the bed curtains. The lamp’s light cast shadows of movements from outside onto the curtains.
As clothes were removed one by one, Qiu Henian’s figure looked too good. That ambiguous feeling was more suggestive than exposure under bright light.
Qingyan couldn’t help but gulp involuntarily.
On their wedding night, with the lamp out and the curtains drawn, he hadn’t seen anything at all. Combined with his excessive nervousness and pain, his memories were confused and blurry.
Moreover, apart from that night, even when Qiu Henian slept, he was relatively neat in his attire. Before Qingyan could see anything, he had already blown out the oil lamp.
During the day, wearing a robe, Qingyan could tell that Qiu Henian had an exceptionally good figure, comparable to the supermodels he had seen on television before, and now…
After glancing several times, Qingyan quickly turned his head and faced the inside of the bed, feeling his nose itching.
Clearly, he hadn’t seen anything specific.
Besides, it was just a bath.
He had been to bathhouses before.
Yet he felt extremely embarrassed to peek through the bed curtains, even finding it more stimulating than watching those films from before.
Maybe because this person was his husband, and he had the right to pull aside his robe and come on at any time. As for why they could still treat each other with respect, it was only because of his husband’s kindness.
Qingyan didn’t know what Qiu Henian was specifically thinking. He couldn’t ask, and didn’t dare to ask, afraid that if there wasn’t any thought, he would be driven to think of something.
He could only drag it on like this day by day. How long could it be dragged on, he himself couldn’t say, but if Qiu Henian really couldn’t wait, that’s how it had to be.
Outside the bed tent, there was an occasional sound of water, which was not noisy at all.
Qingyan was confused and before he knew it, cranky thoughts quickly consumed all his brain cells.
But before he could fully sleep, he was shaken, and a pair of big hands grabbed his shoulders and pulled him up from the bed, “Don’t sleep yet, your hair is still wet, and you will have a headache tomorrow.”
After finishing a page and turning it, Qiu Henian turned to look at him and suddenly asked, “Do you really like this book?”
Qingyan looked up at him and nodded, “The places described in here, I wish I could see them with my own eyes.”
At his words, Qiu Henian looked at him silently for a while, without moving his gaze for a long time.
Qingyan knew he had fallen into some kind of thought, so he didn’t disturb him and just waited quietly.
After a while, Qiu Henian spoke again, “The next provincial examination will be in two years. If you want, I can support you to continue your studies. You can take the examination then.”
At his words, Qingyan trembled slightly all over and bowed his head.
He couldn’t take the provincial examination. Even if he mastered all the characters, practiced well, and learned everything he needed to, he wouldn’t go.
Qingyan was very clear about what he wanted. He wouldn’t waste time on things he wasn’t interested in.
But Qiu Henian didn’t know these things and hadn’t thought about what would happen if Qingyan passed the examination. If Qingyan climbed up step by step and became a scholar or even an official, would he still come back to this poor family? He might end up busy for several years without gaining anything.
Qingyan’s money wasn’t earned by his own hard work; it came from winning the lottery, and he would feel so upset when he’s deceived for money and feelings, let alone the money that Qiu Henian had worked so hard for.
This person was too good, so good that it was unimaginable.
But there was a hint of bitterness in his heart. In Qingyan’s mind, Qiu Henian had gone to the guillotine for the original owner, even though this incident hadn’t actually happened, and Qingyan hadn’t cared about it.
He had decided to live with him wholeheartedly because of his sincerity and dedication. But the better Qiu Henian treated him, the more he couldn’t help wanting more.
Perhaps no matter who Qiu Henian married, he would give such unreserved devotion to them.
Thinking of this, Qingyan felt extremely uncomfortable.
He tossed and turned on the bed unconsciously, until a rough and warm hand grabbed his hand.
Qingyan froze suddenly.
The curtains were drawn, and the moonlight couldn’t enter the room, making it very dark.
The man lying beside him propped himself up and leaned over.
Qingyan watched the dark figure approach, silent and wordless, the clean smell of soap from the other’s body wafting into his nose. He could feel the warmth of the other’s body on his skin. All the wild thoughts in his mind were immediately put aside.
When the man was above him, Qingyan’s breath almost stopped, and his heart beat rapidly.
“Gulp.”
Unable to resist, he swallowed hard and, at the same time, the tall figure reached out, pulled the blanket that had been covering Qingyan when he rolled over, and covered him tightly again.
After that… the man lay back down and said softly, “It’s late, go to sleep.”
After saying this, he made no other movements. After a while, his breathing gradually became calm and even, obviously falling asleep.
Qingyan, on the other hand, stared blankly into the darkness, looking at a certain point in space, feeling like his heart was in turmoil.
Just now, he clearly felt that his body had “reacted”. It was also just now that he realized clearly that he was lusting after his husband’s body.
Although it really hurt when it happened, the man’s body was too good. Once the scars healed, he wanted to try again.
In fact, when he was taking a bath before going to bed, he thought he couldn’t escape today, and he was prepared to endure it tonight to please the man.
But… nothing happened.
The faint worry and hidden expectations in Qingyan’s heart all fell through.
Perhaps it was because he had been busy during the day, the man beside him slept deeply, but Qingyan bit the corner of the blanket, feeling like crying.
Because Qingyan thought of a possibility.
They had been married for several days, and he belonged to the age when blood and energy should clearly be vigorous, but they only did it once during their wedding night.
Clearly, he smelled so good after washing up today, and the atmosphere was right, but the man didn’t show any intention in that regard at all.
Could it be… that the person who had a bad experience that night wasn’t just himself?
While he was disgusted with the other party being tough and causing him a lot of pain, was the other party also very dissatisfied with his performance?
“Ah ah ah ah ah!”
Qingyan’s mood suddenly became very bad, so bad that he couldn’t sleep even though it was late at night!
Spoiler for the Next Chapter:
He smiled with bright eyes, filled with joy and reliance, brighter than the sun that had yet to set outside.
