◎A pinch that was neither light nor heavy.◎
She had managed to escape the last time.
This time, Ning Yuxuan was thoroughly pressed down onto the soft bed by the man.
The oxygen at the tip of her nose was stolen by Xie Zhiyan as his lips covered hers.
Ning Yuxuan's strength hadn't fully recovered, and her lips and teeth were easily pried open by the man.
Perhaps mindful of her recently healed waist, Xie Zhiyan kissed her fervently, yet his hands were not rough.
One hand cradled the back of her head to prevent her from accidentally bumping against the headboard, while the other cushioned the small of her back.
Her pajamas had long since slipped up at some point, exposing a fair, gleaming stretch of skin to the air.
The man's palm lingered on her waist without any barrier, scorchingly hot.
Ning Yuxuan was kissed into a daze, unconsciously letting out a soft moan.
Fortunately, she was lying down and didn't have to think about supporting herself.
So she completely gave up, letting Xie Zhiyan have his way.
Only a thin thread of tension remained in her mind, thinking about when she might get a chance to take revenge for the failed "ambush" from before.
Thus, at first, her hands clung to his shoulders, then her nails dug into his back, and later her fingers gradually trailed downward.
During a brief respite from the kissing, Ning Yuxuan used her hands to search for the man's waist.
Having lost half her judgment from being kissed, she didn't succeed immediately.
First, she fumbled haphazardly along his side and back before finally finding Xie Zhiyan's waist.
Her hand lacked much strength, so she pinched down, neither lightly nor heavily.
With her action, the man's back noticeably stiffened for half a second, and a low, muffled gasp escaped him.
Ning Yuxuan thought to herself, her guess was indeed correct; Xie Zhiyan was ticklish around the waist, just like her.
However, her triumph lasted only a few seconds before panic quickly set in.
"Xie Zhiyan, what are you doing! I'm ticklish, don't you dare—"
The last few words trailed off into a distorted tone.
A tingling numbness traveled upward from below, leaving her utterly defenseless, her speech even carrying a tremble.
Ning Yuxuan had always been stubborn with her words, especially in front of this man.
Getting her to say "I'm sorry" to Xie Zhiyan was harder than climbing to the sky, but now she couldn't care about that anymore.
"I was wrong, I shouldn't have ambushed you!" she pleaded, her voice shaking. "Don't be like this..."
Though her words were soft, her body couldn't withstand the intense sensations and instinctively resisted.
She even tried to kick him with her leg, but her legs were weak and limp, the effort turning into a feeble, ineffective attack.
After just two kicks, her legs were easily restrained by the man.
Back and forth, Ning Yuxuan completely lost the strength to continue resisting.
Her head rested on one pillow, and with nowhere else to brace herself, she grabbed another pillow from beside her in her confusion.
She clutched the pillow tightly with both hands, her fingertips sinking into it, just to withstand the waves of electric-like tingling.
At one point, Ning Yuxuan mustered all her strength to look down at Xie Zhiyan, only to find that even now, he was looking up at her.
What was even more infuriating was that while she was forced into a state of disarray, he seemed even more clear-headed than during the kiss moments before.
Xie Zhiyan's eyes were deep and dark. Seeing her gaze, his thumb, moistened by her, paused slightly.
He asked in a hoarse voice, "Do you like this?"
How could Ning Yuxuan possibly admit it? "I don't—"
Even at this point, though her body had lost the ability to resist, her words still refused to comply.
But her body's reaction was nothing if not honest.
She had only uttered two words when Ning Yuxuan, like a fish out of water, sharply drew in a breath.
Her body tensed, her pupils gradually lost focus, and a thin sheen of sweat broke out on her cheeks.
Wave after wave of sensation crashed over her. She bit her lip tightly, closed her eyes, and her nails sank deeper into the pillow.
...
Ning Yuxuan lay on her side hugging the pillow, the blush on her face not yet fully faded.
Her whole body was so soft she barely had the strength to turn over, let alone do anything else.
It was Xie Zhiyan who helped wipe the thin sweat from her cheeks and neck, then cleaned her up bit by bit.
In her dazed state, Ning Yuxuan thought self-mockingly that this time, no imagination was needed; she truly was like a puddle of mud.
Without any extra effort, she closed her eyes and within seconds fell into a deep sleep.
When she woke up, the clock hands pointed between the numbers ten and eleven.
At this hour, Xie Zhiyan should have been up long ago.
Ning Yuxuan wanted to get up too, but the lingering sensations from yesterday seemed to have carried over to today.
Her lower abdomen felt sore, and her legs weren't fully recovered either.
Ning Yuxuan cursed Xie Zhiyan inwardly, struggled to crawl out of bed, and shuffled her way to the bathroom to wash up.
Xie Zhiyan probably heard the noise and came in just as she started squeezing toothpaste.
Ning Yuxuan glanced at him, lacking both the energy and the will to bother accusing him.
She simply squeezed toothpaste onto her toothbrush in silence and began brushing.
Xie Zhiyan didn't mind her deliberate ignoring. His eyes and brows remained gentle. "You're up?"
Ning Yuxuan gave him another sidelong glance, letting her expression convey the message: Obviously, or else who do you think is standing in front of you, a ghost?
Xie Zhiyan asked softly, "The ingredients have been delivered, but I've just started preparing. It'll be a little while before it's ready. Would you like to eat something first, or have lunch directly later?"
This time, Ning Yuxuan didn't even give him a glance, brushing her teeth while staring straight into the mirror.
The man probably understood that she didn't want to say a single word right now.
He changed his approach. "Then should I get you a small piece of coconut bread first, to tide you over?"
Ning Yuxuan remained unmoved.
Xie Zhiyan knew that no objection meant agreement.
So he stopped asking her. Instead, he picked up a strand of hair stuck to her cheek and tucked it behind her ear so it wouldn't get toothpaste on it.
Then he left the bathroom to her alone.
After brushing her teeth and washing her face, Ning Yuxuan came out of the bathroom to see Xie Zhiyan approaching with a small piece of bread.
"You should be able to have the feast you wanted before twelve," Xie Zhiyan said. "This is the bread you said tasted good when we went to the convenience store together."
Ning Yuxuan took it.
Xie Zhiyan: "Shall I make you a cup of coffee too?"
Ning Yuxuan blinked, thought for two seconds, and nodded.
Xie Zhiyan suddenly smiled.
Just as Ning Yuxuan was wondering why, a kiss was pressed to the corner of her mouth.
Xie Zhiyan smiled at her. "You're not planning to stay silent all day today and play a game of charades with me, are you?"
Ning Yuxuan finally spoke her first words of the day, her tone not very pleasant. "What game? I'm angry with you!"
Angry that last night, even though she had resisted, he still refused to let her off.
In the end, it was less like she fell asleep and more like she passed out from exhaustion.
Xie Zhiyan's brow moved slightly. "You slept for over ten hours, and you're still not over it?"
Ning Yuxuan glared at him. "You should ask my legs why they're still sore after over ten hours!"
Then she pointed at her collarbone and chest, continuing sarcastically, "And what about all these messy marks? Why haven't they faded after over ten hours?"
While brushing her teeth, she had seemed focused and ignored Xie Zhiyan, but in reality, she had been observing herself in the mirror the whole time.
The pajama pants she wore at the beginning last night had gotten dirty. Before sleeping, Xie Zhiyan had changed her into a new nightgown.
The nightgown's neckline was low, leaving the skin at her chest completely exposed.
The red mark on her collarbone was still there, and even more infuriatingly, several new marks had appeared below it that weren't there before.
She didn't know if it was because of his promise to "not leave marks in obvious places," but Xie Zhiyan had deliberately avoided areas like her collarbone and neck, places that couldn't be covered by ordinary clothing.
However, in other places, the man hadn't held back his strength at all. Kiss marks, deep and shallow, were scattered all over her chest, starkly visible against her fair skin.
Just one glance was enough to instantly bring back memories of yesterday's wild escapades.
There were probably marks on her body too; she hadn't had a chance to check yet.
And Xie Zhiyan actually had the nerve to ask her, "Does your waist still hurt?"
Ning Yuxuan: "..."
"My waist is fine," she said. "It doesn't hurt."
Even though she was listing the man's crimes, she was being factual and wouldn't make things up.
Xie Zhiyan looked at her thoughtfully.
Under his gaze, Ning Yuxuan's mind flashed back to what he had done to her yesterday.
Her body grew a bit feverish again.
Ning Yuxuan remembered the nearly empty box in the nightstand drawer.
In the process of emptying that box, they had also tried some new things.
But experiences like the two times yesterday were new to her.
Ning Yuxuan's face felt tight, but she still forced herself to meet his gaze. "Why are you looking at me like that? What indecent thoughts are you having now?"
Xie Zhiyan's brow lifted slightly, his expression unreadable. "I was thinking about whether doing it like that last night was better for your waist."
Ning Yuxuan blurted out, "Of course it was better for you!"
He didn't have to exert much effort, after all.
As for herself...
Ning Yuxuan snorted. "It made no difference to me. It was just discomfort in a different place."
Xie Zhiyan: "That's good too."
Ning Yuxuan didn't quite follow his logic. "What's good about that?"
Xie Zhiyan's tone was casual. "So you won't worry about me too much."
Ning Yuxuan: "..."
It took her two seconds to finally catch on.
He was referring to what she said yesterday about his waist possibly giving him trouble in the future.
Once she understood, she was immediately so angry she laughed. "Xie Zhiyan! How can you be so petty? You've held onto one offhand comment I made last night until now, and you deliberately got back at me for it!"
Xie Zhiyan replied calmly, "I haven't forgotten what you said, but I didn't deliberately get back at you either."
Ning Yuxuan: "How can you say that? That last time before sleep yesterday, wasn't that your premeditated revenge?"
Xie Zhiyan countered with composure, "Weren't you comfortable last night?"
Ning Yuxuan: "..."
She was left speechless. He then had the audacity to press further, adding, "If it was comfortable, it can't be called revenge."
Ning Yuxuan completely lost her composure and swung a fist at him.
That's enough!
She didn't know how this man, who usually appeared so proper and dignified in public, could say these things now with such a straight face.
She was going to expose him!
Xie Zhiyan took the punch without changing his expression, then even smiled and reminded her, "Careful, don't drop the bread."
Ning Yuxuan finally understood what it meant to punch cotton.
She gave up. Looking at the last bite of bread in her hand, she stuffed it into her mouth and swallowed it whole.
Then she spoke fiercely, "Why are you still standing there watching me? Go make my coffee, then go back to the kitchen and finish cooking. Go now! I want to eat braised prawns by noon!"
After a pause, Ning Yuxuan added, "I'm still not completely over my anger. You have to satisfy me completely today!"
Seeing her fierce demeanor, Xie Zhiyan raised an eyebrow, a smile curling at the corner of his lips.
"As you wish." His fingertip brushed the corner of her mouth, removing a crumb of bread. "My dear wife."
