Chapter 3: Marriage

For a long time, there was no sound. Feeling as if a gaze was staring intently at her, Tang Xiaoxi tried to open one eye to see if he had woken up, only to collide abruptly with those deep, spirited eyes. "Are you hungry?"

"No!" Just as Tang Xiaoxi finished speaking, her stomach let out a growl. She opened her eyes and gave him an embarrassed smile. Suddenly, she remembered something. Why was this handsome man's voice exactly the same as Ouyang Mo's voice from last night—magnetic and pleasant to the ear?

She sat up in a start, only to find herself completely naked. She hurriedly hid back under the covers, and in this back-and-forth movement, her bare body rubbed against his.

Her face immediately flushed a large area. She blinked her eyes, staring shyly elsewhere. She asked, "Why did your face change?"

Ouyang Mo's eyes froze for a moment, then he stared at her with a rather jubilant expression. "You can see my true face?"

"True face?" Tang Xiaoxi's eyes suddenly widened. She shifted her gaze to his face, only to be "electrified" again by those sparking eyes. After a long while, she regained her senses. "You mean this face is your real appearance? You aren't forty, but in your twenties?"

Ouyang Mo was also quite surprised that this little woman could actually see his true face. He gave a soft hum and reached out to wrap his arm around her slender waist. "Since you are the first woman who can see my true face, then I must marry you into my family!"

"Ah!" She was utterly astonished. He wanted to marry her just because of that! "Um, we are just in a transaction, there's no need to get serious!" To tell the truth, she was only fifteen now and had never thought about getting married so early. Besides, she had heard that this incredibly handsome man already had eight wives; if she entered the household, wouldn't she just become the ninth concubine? It was simply too chaotic!

Ouyang Mo looked at her with a smile, saying nothing. This gaze made Tang Xiaoxi feel flustered. Her eyes darted around. "Um... turn around, I need to get up and put on clothes!"

He continued to gaze at her quietly until she gave him an uncomfortable push. Only then did he give an "mm" and obediently turn around. Strange, she had clearly been seen naked by him last night, yet she wasn't feeling shy now!

Tang Xiaoxi quickly dressed herself and threw out a sentence: "Don't forget about my grandfather's matter!" Then she prepared to run.

"Wait!" Ouyang Mo called out to her. From his voice, it sounded as if he had already sat up; she was too scared to look back.

"Is there something else?" Tang Xiaoxi stood stiffly at the door, her back to him.

Ouyang Mo walked to her side, took out a jade pendant, and handed it to her. "This is my jade pendant. Take it, and you can enter and leave the Ouyang Grand Estate freely!"

Such a good thing! Tang Xiaoxi glanced at the pendant and found it extremely translucent, like a pool of frozen water. Her eyes instantly lit up, and without thinking, she took it. "Since you've given it to me, don't ask for it back!" Like a money-grubber, she stuffed the jade pendant into her bosom and looked back at him with a beaming smile.

As soon as her gaze shifted back, she was once again greatly stimulated. A man over 1.8 meters tall, with a magnificent build, thick pectoral muscles, and a bronze complexion, looking wild, unrestrained, wicked, and sexy!

That single glance immediately made her heart throb. To think such an incomparably handsome man actually existed in this world—he was like a Prince Charming from a fantasy, someone who shouldn't be able to exist in the real world. A head of thick, jet-black hair cascaded over his shoulders, and beneath a pair of thick, dark sword-shaped eyebrows were a pair of slender, deep peach-blossom eyes, full of light that would make anyone sink into them upon a single look. His high, straight nose and moderately thick red lips were currently wearing a dizzying smile.

Feeling her heart accelerate, she hurriedly averted her eyes from his seductive body. Ignoring the fact that he was standing naked at the door, she threw open the door and hurried out.

She ran straight back to the Tang Grand Estate, slipping in through the back door. Just as she returned to her own courtyard, she saw Xiang'er approaching with panda eyes. "Miss, you're finally back. Xiang'er was scared to death!"

"I'm back, aren't I! It's fine, it's fine!" She patted Xiang'er's back as she walked into her private chamber. "Is my mother awake?"

"Madam woke up long ago!" Xiang'er hurried outside to fetch a basin of water for the Miss to wash her face.

Tang Xiaoxi washed her face and changed back into her girl's attire. Just as she was preparing to go pay her respects to her mother, someone knocked on the courtyard door.

Xiang'er jogged to open the gate. It was a servant from the manor reporting that the Master requested her presence.

Tang Xiaoxi and her mother went together to where the Head of the Family and the Matriarch resided. Along the way, Tang Xiaoxi's mother, Du Linian, held her daughter's hand tightly, repeatedly instructing her: "In a moment, no matter what your Eldest Aunt says, you must not talk back again!"

Tang Xiaoxi pouted. Not wanting her mother to worry about her, she could only nod in agreement.

Entering the ancestral hall, the Tang family head, Tang Youmeng, sat in a chair with a somewhat unpleasant expression.

"Master!" Du Linian tugged at her daughter's sleeve, prompting her to greet the Head of the Family.

Tang Xiaoxi disliked her biological father very much, just as he did not like her. She looked up to see her father with a dark face, looking at her coldly. She had clearly just promised her mother not to cause trouble, but for some reason, seeing her biological father dislike her so much made her feel uncomfortable.

Du Linian had clearly sensed the change in her daughter's emotions and tugged her sleeve again, whispering, "You just promised Mother!"

"Father, good morning!" Tang Xiaoxi curled her lips and managed a forced smile. Then she turned her gaze to the Matriarch sitting beside the Head of the Family. "Eldest Aunt, hello!"

Tang Youmeng's expression did not improve because of his daughter's greeting; instead, it grew even colder. "You are no longer a child. Your Eldest Aunt and I have arranged a marriage for you. In a few days, you shall marry into that family!"