The winter night was chilly, and a warm candlelight cast a hazy glow on Yun Yiyi’s face, as smooth as white jade, adding a touch of warmth to the dark and cold room.
Yun Yiyi’s face still bore her usual inscrutable smile, making it impossible for Ye Anping to read her thoughts.
*Splash…*
It seemed the window wasn’t shut tightly and had been blown open by the breeze.
Ye Anping glanced at it, walked over, and closed the window that the wind had opened, securing the latch.
At this moment, Yun Yiyi finally spoke, calling out:
“Young Master Ye…”
“Mm.”
Yun Yiyi tapped the table with some anger, frowning as she reprimanded him:
“Do you know how worried I was when I couldn’t find you in the room? I asked several Yun Manor guards, and not one of them saw you leave. I thought something had happened to you. If you had returned even a moment later, I would have had them sound the morning bell and gathered all the peak disciples to look for you.”
Ye Anping, admitting fault, quickly cupped his hands and bowed his head, apologizing:
“I apologize for making Eldest Miss Yun worry. It was truly my fault. I promise it won’t happen again.”
Seeing Ye Anping’s sincere apology, Yun Yiyi’s anxious heart finally settled. Then, she tilted her head and noticed a mulberry leaf clinging to the corner of Ye Anping’s clothes.
In the Sword Sect, mulberry trees were only planted in Central Peak and Xi Ri Peak. Ye Anping’s junior sister, following Yun Xi, had come here, saying things like “I want to marry Senior Brother, I don’t want Senior Brother to marry into the wife’s family.”
It was highly likely, then, that Ye Anping had gone to see his junior sister.
Yun Yiyi wasn’t unable to understand Ye Anping meeting his junior sister behind her back, after all, they were childhood sweethearts and had spent a long time together.
But she was still quite upset. Ye Anping should have told her beforehand, even just leaving a note saying he was going out would have been sufficient.
She hadn’t been joking earlier; she had almost ordered the morning bell to be rung.
However, despite being upset, acting out unreasonably wasn’t good, and couples needed to be considerate of each other to last.
Yun Yiyi also wanted Ye Anping to know that she wasn’t a petty girl who threw tantrums, but a gentle, generous, and understanding one.
So, she stood up, walked to Ye Anping, and reached out to help him dust off his clothes and remove the leaf. At the same time, she whispered a gentle reminder:
“If you go out again, at least tell me, okay? Do you not see me as your fiancée? In a few months, after we get married, my whole being will be yours. Why don’t you trust me like this? Really… Remember, you can tell me anything on your mind. If you think I’ve done something wrong, just tell me directly. If you don’t tell me, I won’t be able to change.”
“Eldest Miss Yun is right.” Ye Anping wore a wry smile and looked at the moonlight reflecting on the paper window, then suggested, “It’s so late. I’ll escort you back to your room, you can still get some sleep. Won’t you have many chores to attend to tomorrow?”
Yun Yiyi closed her left eye and looked at him reproachfully:
“Are you in such a hurry to send me away?”
“It’s not that I’m trying to send you away, I’m just worried you won’t get enough rest…”
“Humph…” Yun Yiyi chuckled, shook her head, and began to unbutton Ye Anping’s outer garment, then said as if joking, “Alright, your fiancée will help you change. I have to watch over you tonight, or you’ll run off again.”
?
Ye Anping blinked in surprise and glanced at his bed, only then noticing a cotton pillow had been added to it.
It seemed Yun Yiyi had planned to stay the night here, the pillow already prepared.
“Eldest Miss Yun, this isn’t appropriate. I haven’t even officially joined the Yun family yet.”
—Hmph, you fake stiff, your expression is still calm even now. You must be dying to carry me to bed and strip me naked, right now?
—It’s okay! Hurry and carry me to bed! Hurry and strip me!
—I came here to throw myself into your trap!
Yun Yiyi thought this internally, but her expression remained calm. After a moment’s thought, she decided on a coy approach:
“It’s alright. If Young Master Ye truly feels it’s inappropriate, then we can just sleep in reverse, can’t we?”
Without waiting for Ye Anping’s response, Yun Yiyi took off his outer coat and hung it on a nearby rack. Then, she walked to the bedside, placed the pillow she had brought at the other end of the bed, sat down, kicked off her embroidered shoes, and lay down.
Yun Yiyi turned on her side. Her collar, slightly pulled open by the pressure of her “little watermelon,” revealed her snow-white collarbone. She narrowed her eyes and smiled, tucking a strand of golden hair that had fallen onto her cheek behind her ear. Seeing Ye Anping still standing there motionless, she said:
“Are you waiting for me to warm the bed for you before you get on?”
“… …”
Ye Anping felt a little helpless. Seeing her like this, she likely wouldn’t leave. So, he walked to the bedside and sat down, taking off his shoes and socks. He pulled up the covers and was momentarily stunned by the sight of Yun Yiyi’s two small, flawless jade feet and bare legs placed beside his pillow. However, he still lay down and covered himself with the quilt.
“Rest early…”
However, before he could finish speaking, Ye Anping suddenly felt Yun Yiyi’s hand touch the top of his foot. For a moment, he almost kicked her in the face.
Yun Yiyi’s voice came from the other end of the bed:
“Young Master Ye’s feet are cold.”
“You just came back from outside…”
?!!!
Something warm pressed against the instep of Ye Anping’s right foot, startling him into silence.
Ye Anping quickly pulled back the quilt and looked down. He saw that Yun Yiyi was now gently resting her cheek on the instep of his foot, like a slave who had been defiled by him but could no longer leave him.
A scene flashed through Ye Anping’s mind: He sat on an extravagant throne, with countless officials below him. Yun Yiyi, however, sat by his feet, obsequiously hugging his leg and telling others that she belonged to Ye Anping…
Ye Anping instantly felt that Yun Yiyi had awakened his male desire to conquer. His head felt a little hot, but fortunately, the Feng Yu Die was present, preventing his rationality from being completely overwhelmed.
Seeing Ye Anping pull back the quilt to look, Yun Yiyi also became a little shy, blushing as she said:
“Isn’t it normal for a fiancée to warm her fiancé’s cold feet?”
Normal?… Ye Anping hesitated for a moment, then asked:
“…Eldest Miss Yun, doesn’t that bother you?”
“Young Master Ye doesn’t have foot ailments, and they’re perfectly clean. What’s there to be bothered by?”
“… …”
“Ah…” Seeing Ye Anping fall silent, Yun Yiyi felt a bit awkward and said softly, “I hope Young Master Ye doesn’t mind, but does this action displease you?”
“… …”
Yun Yiyi paused, then drew her body in, moving her face away from his foot and cupping his feet with her hands instead, bashfully saying:
“Is this… more acceptable?”
Ye Anping held his breath and replied somewhat unnaturally, “Eldest Miss Yun, I’m somewhat overwhelmed. You are a noble lady, how can you do such things? Moreover, I am marrying into the Yun family; I am a son-in-law by marriage. According to etiquette, if we were to warm feet like this, it should be me warming your feet with my face.”
“Ah…”
Hearing this, Yun Yiyi fell silent for a moment, then quickly replied:
“Young Master Ye, you don’t need to worry about marrying into the family. Perhaps to the Sword Sect elders, and to the Yun family, you are the Yun family’s son-in-law, but to me, you are my future husband. And I am doing this because I want to. Young Master Ye, you don’t need to consider my feelings… If you like it, perhaps being stricter with me in private… isn’t out of the question…”
Be stricter?
Could the refined Eldest Miss of the Sword Sect be a bit of a perverted “masochist” in private?!
Ye Anping was momentarily speechless. Although he had sensed before that Yun Yiyi was a little different from the Eldest Miss he had imagined, he truly hadn’t expected it to be like this.
“Eldest Miss Yun…”
“Ah…” Seeing Ye Anping furrow his brow, Yun Yiyi was suddenly startled and withdrew her hands, cautiously asking, “Have I displeased you, Young Master Ye?”
Her tone was as if she were about to cry.
Ye Anping was silent for a moment, then replied:
“Eldest Miss Yun, it’s not displeasure, just a little surprise. I never expected that beneath your pure and elegant appearance…”
“This… everyone probably has some strange quirks to some extent. Radiance and dishevelment aren’t mutually exclusive within the same person.” Yun Yiyi looked away and said softly, “I also have aspects that I’ve never shown anyone… People usually think of me as a refined woman, but in reality, I have some strange desires… such as…”
“I understand.”
“You understand? Then…” Yun Yiyi paused and asked, “May I ask, does Young Master Ye have any strange desires?”
… …
