An Sheng held A Mei in his arms, letting her rest her head against his chest. With his slender fingers holding up the storybook, he lowered his eyes and began to read, his voice calm and measured, one word at a time.
When he reached the passage:
“Yan Niang drained her cup of wine, then leaned back against the couch, half-reclining. Her dark hair fell like a cloud to her waist, and her snowy skin showed through her loosened clothes. Her red lips parted slightly, her eyes shimmering with allure. Her voice was as lovely as a nightingale’s:
‘Do you think I’m beautiful, sir?’
“The scholar had never faced such a heady assault on his senses. They say wine gives courage to the timid, and now his eyes were bloodshot, his gaze a burning flame roaming freely over her. His desire was utterly undisguised as he urged, ‘Beautiful! So beautiful!’
“Yan Niang gave a bewitching laugh. ‘Then what are you waiting for, sir?’
“The scholar could bear it no longer. He yanked off his robe in a few swift motions and threw himself at Yan Niang.”
At that point, An Sheng deliberately lowered his head, letting his warm lips brush her ear as he breathed against it. Then he continued, slowly:
“Such a lovely sight: her jade-white body sprawled across the bed, their fragrant bodies entwined, their gasps so startling…”
Before An Sheng could finish, a small hand clapped over his mouth. A Mei’s face was already burning red, and in her embarrassment she simply covered his lips.
“Stop!”
She lifted her head from An Sheng’s arms and met his fathomless gaze. Her cheeks were flushed all over, a deep blush spreading across her fair skin, mingled with an unmistakable sense of shame.
Stammering, she protested, both bashful and flustered, “H-Husband, don’t read anymore. I… I don’t want to listen. It’s far too explicit. It’s embarrassing just hearing it!”
An Sheng’s lips curled upward. He raised his arm and caught the little hand covering his mouth in his palm. His gaze deepened, and he replied in an unhurried voice, “Wasn’t it you who wanted to hear it, my dear? We’ve only just begun. The best part is still to come. Let me keep reading.”
At that, A Mei snatched the book from An Sheng’s hand with her other, unrestrained hand and tucked it against her chest. She glanced up at him shyly. Every word had come from An Sheng’s mouth, yet her husband remained perfectly composed, calm and unruffled. Meanwhile, she…
A Mei quickly lowered her eyes. The heavy awkwardness and embarrassment made her afraid to meet An Sheng’s gaze. Since her husband had called it an erotic book, she knew it must describe the desires between men and women. She had never read anything like it, so of course she’d been curious. But now that she’d heard it for herself, she realized just how bold and brazenly direct it was. A Mei was still young, after all. How could she not be embarrassed?
An Sheng pulled her tighter against him. His large hand roamed back and forth over her soft, slender waist as he gazed steadily at her bashful expression. Deliberately teasing her, he asked, “Are you blushing, my dear?”
A Mei wriggled in his arms and shot him a sidelong glance, trying to defend herself. “N-Not entirely! It’s not as if I’m some little girl who knows nothing. Anyway, I don’t want to listen anymore. It’s awkward having you read it to me like this. Maybe I’ll just sneak a look at it by myself later.”
An Sheng fell silent.
After a while, he reached over and firmly took the book back from her hands.
“Hey! Husband, what are you doing?” A Mei blinked in surprise as the book was snatched away.
An Sheng gave a sudden chuckle, narrowing his eyes as the corners of his mouth slowly curved into a smile.
How to describe that smile? It carried a strange, indefinable hint of danger.
And an unmistakable air of domineering authority.
He asked, word by word, “You want to sneak a look at it by yourself? I won’t allow it.”
Faced with An Sheng’s sudden change in demeanor, A Mei blinked once, then again. She was a little puzzled, but not the least bit afraid. In a soft, playful voice, she asked, “Oh? Why not?”
An Sheng rarely put on a stern face. Now he did, though his smile remained anything but warm. “Because I said so. If you want to read it, then I’ll be the one to read it to you.”
An Sheng’s words were utterly domineering, and he delivered them as if they were the most natural thing in the world.
A Mei stared at him blankly for a long moment. Then she scrunched up her nose, pursed her lips, and twisted the front of his robe between both hands, over and over. In a sweet but indignant voice, she said, “Hmph! All right, then. You’re being mean to A Mei, Husband.”
An Sheng’s brow twitched. He had a vague feeling another headache was coming on.
He could only protest, “When have I ever been mean to you?”
“Just now! You took my book away, and you won’t even let me read it by myself.”
An Sheng fell silent.
Just as he was about to explain, the girl in his arms suddenly lifted her face to his. A bright smile blossomed in her dewy eyes, and she looked utterly sweet and soft.
“But you looked so handsome when you put on that stern face just now. I liked it so much! Husband, Husband, A Mei loves you best.”
An Sheng: …
“Husband, Husband…” A Mei wrapped her arms around his neck and gazed at him obediently, her eyes glistening.
She looked and looked.
Meeting An Sheng’s increasingly dark gaze, A Mei felt as though his eyes were shifting between light and shadow, a whirlpool of boundless emotion pulling her in.
At last, the hand around A Mei’s waist tightened sharply. His other hand cradled the back of her neck, and An Sheng lowered his head and kissed her hard.
…
