Chapter 12: A Quilt

Chen Dazhuang and Hu Peng were kicked out by Zhan Zeye. He watched Tang Qiyue, whose eyes were curved into crescents as she smiled, looking exceptionally dazzling under the night sky.

"Damn it, she's like a succubus!"

Zhan Zeye muttered to himself. He didn't continue watching; he knew that if he looked any longer, his willpower would waver.

Tang Qiyue didn't hear Zhan Zeye's muttering. She followed him back into the room, and both of them were stunned when they saw the bright red bedding on the bed.

During the day, they hadn't thought about this issue, but now that it was time to sleep, the problem became apparent.

Zhan Zeye glanced at Tang Qiyue. As a man, he naturally couldn't show any awkwardness, so he turned around, picked up a washbasin, and went out to freshen up.

Mother Zhan heard the commotion and followed him out. She stood by Zhan Zeye’s side, watching him brush his teeth.

"Son, Mother knows you weren't happy about getting married, but now that she's here, you mustn't bully her, you hear me?"

Mother Zhan’s worry wasn't unfounded; knowing her youngest son’s temperament, he was truly capable of causing trouble.

Zhan Zeye spat out the foam.

"Mother, who would dare to bully her?"

He couldn't help but think of Chen Dazhuang and Hu Peng’s words, and he was left speechless. He figured that from now on, everyone would probably treat Tang Qiyue like an ancestor to be worshipped.

Mother Zhan didn't know the reason behind this and thought her son was being sarcastic. She slapped Zhan Zeye on the back. "Speak properly! I went out to ask around today. Your wife is a pitiful girl. Don't let that 'young lady' reputation fool you; she hasn't had an easy life!"

During the day, Mother Zhan had been annoyed about the bride being swapped. While Zhan Zeye and Tang Qiyue were busy in the room, she hadn't been idle; she had gone out to visit neighbors. Since they all lived in the same city—even if not in the same district—if one was determined to find out, they could learn about Tang Qiyue’s family situation.

The Tang family was a well-to-do household, making them easy to inquire about. Mother Zhan had learned about Mother Tang’s character and the life Tang Qiyue and her mother had led.

To put it nicely, they had a shop to maintain their livelihood, but in reality, it was a divorced woman raising a child. Living on a shoestring budget was one thing, but the crucial part was that on the day Tang Qiyue got married, Mother Tang had gone out of town to source goods.

That was why Mother Tang hadn't appeared at all.

It was said that Mother Tang loved to drink and would ignore everything once intoxicated, leaving Tang Qiyue, a young girl, to support the family.

"Tomorrow, when you take your wife back to visit her family, remember to stop by your mother-in-law’s place. I reckon she should be back by then!"

Mother Zhan reminded him. She had prepared two sets of gifts for the visit and said everything that needed to be said.

Zhan Zeye was impatient with these matters. He planned to have a good talk with Father Tang the next day; if he dared to cheat him, he should be prepared to be dealt with.

He nodded perfunctorily. After finally sending Mother Zhan back to her room, Zhan Zeye draped a towel over his shoulder and returned to his room with the washbasin. He placed the basin on the stand, grabbed the towel from his shoulder to wipe his face, and only then did he see that Tang Qiyue had already changed her clothes and gotten into bed.

Under the dim light, with the bright red wedding quilt embroidered with mandarin ducks, Tang Qiyue, her face as delicate as a peach blossom, tilted her head to tidy her dark, lustrous hair. When she inadvertently looked up, she looked like a succubus stealing souls.

Zhan Zeye froze in place. Fortunately, he only lost his focus for a moment; he averted his gaze the second Tang Qiyue looked over, gritted his back teeth hard, and cursed under his breath with a profanity only he understood.

"Aren't you going to wash up?"

Zhan Zeye asked in a cold voice. Tang Qiyue noticed his expression was off and thought he was disgusted by her lack of cleanliness.

"I've already washed. There was water stored in the room!"

She pointed to another basin stand next to the one Zhan Zeye used. The basin, toothbrush, and towel on it were still damp; clearly, while he was out talking to his mother, Tang Qiyue had already finished washing.

Zhan Zeye wasn't the type to mistreat himself. This was his room, there was only one bed, and he was injured; he had no intention of playing the saint and sleeping on the floor.

He walked to the bedside, glanced at the red quilt, and then at Tang Qiyue, who had moved to the inside.

Afraid he would get angry, Tang Qiyue hurriedly explained, "This is the only quilt my family provided as a dowry. Your original bedding was taken away by Mother!"

It wasn't that she wanted to share a quilt with Zhan Zeye; she simply had no other choice.

Zhan Zeye clicked his tongue, stripped off his clothes, lifted the quilt, and lay down.

Even though Tang Qiyue had anticipated this result, lying in the same quilt with an unfamiliar man still made her extremely nervous.

She lay down stiffly.

The pull-cord for the light bulb was originally by the door, but last night, considering the convenience of turning off the light before sleep, Tang Qiyue had tied an extra string to it and extended it to the head of the bed.

The string was tied to the outer bedpost. If she wanted to pull it to turn off the light, she would have to lean out, which would inevitably mean bumping into Zhan Zeye.

But if she slept with the light on, she really wouldn't be able to sleep.

Zhan Zeye watched Tang Qiyue squirming back and forth under the quilt. He was already having trouble sleeping, and now, it was even worse.

"Are you trying to make up for last night's wedding night?"

Out of the blue, Zhan Zeye turned over, meeting Tang Qiyue’s gaze. The distance between them was no more than a fist’s width, and the hot air they exhaled could be felt on each other's faces.

Tang Qiyue’s face turned red instantly under the quilt. She wanted to shake her head, but the pillow restricted her, so she hurriedly reached out and waved her hands urgently. "No, I just want to turn off the light!"

As a young woman, even though she had experienced the apocalypse—an era where people were very open about relations between men and women—she still couldn't face this topic calmly.

However, because of her urgent movements, the tie-front pajamas she was wearing loosened, and the fair skin beneath her neck was exposed directly to Zhan Zeye’s sight under the orange light.

He was at an age full of vigor. Although he had said plenty of lewd things to those rough men and had certainly bragged, now that such a succubus was in his bed, Zhan Zeye realized he had overestimated his body's reaction.

If it weren't for the stinging pain from his wound, he might have lost control right then and there.

He reached out and grabbed the string!

*Click!*

With the crisp sound of the switch, the light in the room vanished instantly, and the field of vision was replaced by darkness.

Zhan Zeye let out a silent breath, trying to calm the image of that fairness lingering on his retinas, but the more he tried to forget, the clearer it became.

That patch of fairness seemed to be etched into his mind like magic, making him unable to help but drown in it.

Just as he was about to give in, he suddenly felt a finger poke his chest.

The darkness bred not only fear but also desire.

Out of reflex, Zhan Zeye instinctively grabbed the mischievous finger, pulled her close, and pinned her down so she couldn't move a muscle. "Behave!"

Tang Qiyue never expected this to happen. Held in Zhan Zeye’s arms, her mind went blank; she didn't understand how she had been flipped around and embraced in an instant.

The stern reprimand in her ear made her struggle in shame and anger, which resulted in a crisp sound.