A delicate beauty takes a place in a marriage, while a cold, rough man seduces her every night.

Qingyan dawdled in her room for a long time, choosing clothes.

In the end, I chose a comfortable pair of trousers and a fitted turtleneck knit top, which perfectly covered up the marks on my body.

Several small wooden toys were displayed on the wooden table in the main room, all of which Xiao Jingye made for Duoduo by hand in his spare time.

The door creaked open.

Duoduo was playing with a small wooden boat when she heard the noise and immediately turned around.

"Sister-in-law!" The little girl ran over in her little cloth shoes, looked up at Qiao Qingyan with a smile.

She wanted to go into her sister-in-law's room to play in the morning, but her brother stopped her outside, saying that she could only go after her sister-in-law got up.

Qingyan glanced at the empty courtyard, then gently pinched her soft cheek: "Where did Mom go?"

"Mom went to Chun Ya's house."

"oh."

Qingyan casually gathered her loose long hair, pulled off the thin rubber band on her wrist, and hastily tied her hair into a bunch.

The little girl, with sharp eyes, seemed to have noticed something and pointed to a small red mark below her ear, asking, "Sister-in-law, did you get bitten by a big cockroach?"

As Qingyan's fingertips traced the area, a sudden image flashed through her mind: the man's heavy breathing and the scene of him holding onto that small patch of tender flesh behind her ear in the last second.

Her ears burned, and she quickly let her hair down again, laughing awkwardly, "Yes, I got bitten by a stinky cockroach."

The little girl picked up a small wooden mallet from the table and swung it in the air: "If you see it again, Duoduo will kill it for you!"

Qingyan couldn't help but chuckle: "Okay."

The autumn sun was shining brightly outside, neither too hot nor too cold. The warm sunlight filled the entire yard, creating a comfortable and pleasant atmosphere.

She first added water to Fu Bao's chipped old bowl, then gently ruffled the puppy's fluffy fur before turning to wash up.

Just as she was brushing her teeth, Duoduo ran out of the kitchen with an egg in her hand and handed it to her: "Sister-in-law, Mom left breakfast for you."

Qingyan rinsed the foam from her mouth, wiped her face with a towel, and went into the kitchen. There was a bowl of porridge, a plate of hot dishes, and a golden cornbread in the pot.

Qingyan felt a warmth in her heart and carried all the food to the small table in the courtyard.

She went back and forth several times, and wherever she went, Duoduo and Fubao followed.

Duoduo was still clutching the egg in her hand, and she handed it to Qingyan like a treasure. Qingyan took it, peeled off the shell, and then handed the egg back to the little girl.

She shook her head, lifted her clothes to show her sister-in-law her round belly: "Duoduo is full."

Qingyan pulled down her clothes and said, "Duoduo is all grown up now. You can't just lift up her clothes like that anymore, understand?"

Duoduo playfully stuck out her tongue, her adorable smiling eyes crinkling: "Brother Li Jun said the same thing to me."

Qingyan: "..."

Not long after, Zeng Yumei returned from outside.

Qingyan was squatting by the well washing dishes when she heard footsteps. She looked up, her cheeks flushed slightly, and shyly called out, "Mom."

She had been lying in her room all day yesterday, and her mother-in-law must know what happened last night. Now that she was facing her mother-in-law directly, she couldn't help but feel embarrassed and awkward.

Zeng Yumei, however, made no mention of yesterday. With a beaming smile, she quickly walked to Chun Ya's side and exclaimed, "Chun Ya's family is about to have a great celebration!"

Qingyan rinsed the water off the bowl, straightened up, and asked, "What happy occasion?"

"Zhijie's parents and Chunya's parents sat together all morning discussing that the two children can't wait any longer and they have to get married this year." Zeng Yumei sighed, "They've been wasting so much time, and they're not young anymore. They should have settled down and started a family long ago."

Qingyan smiled and replied, "It is indeed a great thing."

Having spent so much time together, she had come to realize that Chun Ya did have feelings for Zhi Jie. The two of them bickered and argued all the time, like a pair of bickering lovers.

Perhaps, like her former self, Chun Ya was somewhat slow to realize her own feelings at first.

Before we knew it, it was noon.

Smoke rose from every chimney, and the aroma of food filled the air.

Xiao Jingye rode his motorcycle back from the city, covered in dust.

He parked his motorcycle, strode into the yard, and the first thing he did was look for his wife.

Stacks of cash and various tickets were piled up on the edge of the kang (a heated brick bed) in the bedroom. Qiao Qingyan was sitting on the side, head down, intently counting the money.

Every penny Xiao Jingye earns outside is handed over to her.

The weight of money in her hands actually gave Qingyan a greater sense of responsibility for managing the household.

When I was single, I spent money as I pleased when I had plenty of it.

Now that she has so much savings, she is very careful with her money and doesn't want to spend a single penny recklessly.

She was so engrossed in counting that she didn't notice the figure at the door.

Xiao Jingye leaned against the doorframe and watched her quietly for a long while before raising his hand to gently knock on the door: "Have you finished counting, little rich girl?"

Qingyan looked up, her eyes clear and soft, a hint of shyness in them: "You're back."

"Hmm." Xiao Jingye took out a small, rectangular box from his briefcase and handed it to him. "This is a fountain pen I brought for you."

The little box was quite exquisite, with a black exterior edged with gold trim, making it look very expensive.

Qingyan reached out and took it, gently lifting the lid of the box. A silver-white fountain pen was embedded in the groove.

The pen body is rounded and smooth, elegant and exquisite, covered with a delicate cool-toned luster.

This is a well-known brand of fountain pen on the market, usually only used by cadres in government agencies, and the price of a single pen is almost equivalent to more than half a month's salary for her.

She gently stroked the pen with her fingertips, closed the box, and looked up at him: "Xiao Jingye, can we return it?"

Xiao Jingye raised an eyebrow slightly: "What, you don't like it?"

"No, it's too expensive." Qingyan couldn't bear to scold him, but she couldn't help feeling bad about the money.

He worked tirelessly from dawn till dusk, going up mountains and down to the countryside to deal with local products, and he had to outwit and outmaneuver various customers. He worked hard every day, and every penny he earned was hard-earned.

"I just asked you to buy me a regular fountain pen, something that costs three or five yuan, why buy something so expensive?" Qingyan tried to keep her tone gentle.

"It's not expensive," Xiao Jingye explained calmly. "Not expensive at all."

"Don't try to fool me. I buy stationery all the time, so I know what I'm talking about." Qingyan pursed her lips and held up her pen case. "This pen has a commemorative inscription on the bottom. It's a limited edition, and it costs at least twenty yuan."

Seeing that his wife was not easily fooled, Xiao Jingye simply stepped forward, pulled her into his arms, and coaxed her:

"So what if it's 20 yuan? My wife is a teacher, so she has to use a good fountain pen."

The supply and marketing cooperative in the city had a wide variety of fountain pens. At first, the salesperson only recommended the basic Hero brand fountain pen to him, which cost a few yuan each, but Xiao Jingye didn't like it.

He always felt that those fountain pens were not good enough for his wife. His wife was a teacher, with such beautiful, white, and soft hands; she deserved better fountain pens.

His eyes quickly spotted the more upscale silver-white fountain pen in the glass case, and he asked the other person to take it out for a closer look.

The salesperson asked if it was a gift and enthusiastically introduced the pen, saying it came in a gift box, was of good quality, had a smooth ink flow, a substantial feel in the hand, and was very durable.

Xiao Jingye didn't hesitate and paid the bill in just two minutes.

Seeing Qingyan's gloomy expression, he took her soft, fair hand and kissed it.

"Honey, I just want to give you the best of everything."

The warm breath fell on Qingyan's skin, making it both itchy and warm.

"Don't buy such expensive things next time," Qingyan muttered softly, her tightly furrowed brows relaxing slightly.

Xiao Jingye did not respond. Instead, he pulled the curtain behind them closed, leaned down, and kissed them.

Duoduo was playing in the main room, Zeng Yumei was cooking in the kitchen, and the bedroom door was not closed.

After their most intimate physical contact, the two became even more inseparable.

He held the back of her neck, his cool lips pressing against hers, sucking her rosy lips.

As soon as Qingyan was kissed by him, her body went limp involuntarily.

When you unconsciously open your teeth, the soft tip of your tongue is curled up.

The air grew thin, and the sounds of ambiguous smacking and swallowing filled the air.

Qingyan's cheeks flushed slightly, and she couldn't help but think:

How can his tongue be so flexible?