Chapter 46

Chapter 46

Xie Licheng saw him running and couldn't help but smile.

He chuckled and called out to Gu Zhangyuan ahead of him, "Why are you running so fast? Be careful, don't go tripping again."

Gu Zhangyuan thought to himself, he was being careful this time, he wasn't going to trip again.

Soon Gu Zhangyuan arrived at the farm. The paths on the farm were better than the ones in the village.

Most of the village roads were still dirt, with only a few paved with stones.

On the farm, Xie Licheng could build things himself. Whether it was the house, the chicken coops, the paths, or the fences, he could gather materials and fix them up. He had paved the farm's paths with stones, so the roads there were much smoother than in the village.

As soon as Xie Licheng returned, he went to the pond to fetch water for a bath. Gu Zhangyuan was too shy to follow him and watch him bathe, so he just wandered around the house alone.

Knowing Gu Zhangyuan was timid and scared of the dark, Xie Licheng lit a few lamps for him before heading out.

A kerosene lamp was burning in the living room, a solar lamp was hanging in the bedroom, and two candles were lit in the kitchen.

Gu Zhangyuan was really curious about the solar lamp, so he reached up and took it off the wall.

He turned it over in his hands, checking it out, but somehow he hit something by accident and the lamp suddenly went out, scaring him half to death.

It was already late, and Gu Zhangyuan hugged the dead lamp, feeling a little scared.

He hesitated, then carried the lamp out of the bedroom.

He decided to go find Xie Licheng and ask if he'd broken it.

When he stepped outside, it wasn't too dark.

There was a moon that night, and the sky was full of stars.

Using the cool, gauzy moonlight, Gu Zhangyuan stumbled around the farm looking for Xie Licheng.

It was only then that he realized how huge Xie Licheng's farm really was.

There were fields, two chicken coops, a pond, and a grove of trees.

Gu Zhangyuan didn't know where Xie Licheng was. As he walked, he almost wandered into the woods by accident, so he stopped and called out softly, "Xie Licheng?"

After calling once, he remembered Xie Licheng was his husband, so he pursed his lips and called again, "Hubby?!"

Xie Licheng, who had just finished showering and was getting dressed, heard him and thought something was wrong.

He only had time to pull on his pants before throwing his shirt over his shoulders and striding over.

When he saw Gu Zhangyuan was fine, he asked, a little helplessly, "What's the matter?"

Hearing his voice, Gu Zhangyuan turned. In the moonlight, he saw Xie Licheng standing not far behind him, his long hair wet, an outer robe draped loosely over him.

Xie Licheng was really tall, with a straight, upright posture. Standing there quietly, he looked like a tall pine tree.

Gu Zhangyuan held up the lamp and said, "This... I accidentally turned it off. I'm afraid I might have broken it."

Hearing this, Xie Licheng walked over and only then noticed the solar lamp in his hands.

Xie Licheng bent down slightly, reached out with his big hand, and gently pressed a button on it. The next moment, it lit up again.

Moonlight and lamplight were still pretty different. Earlier, in the moonlight, Gu Zhangyuan could only make out Xie Licheng's general shape.

Now that the lamp was on, everything brightened, and he could see water still dripping from Xie Licheng's long hair.

A strand of hair lay on his shoulder, and water droplets slid down his shoulder onto his firm chest.

Gu Zhangyuan quickly dropped his gaze, not daring to look anymore.

Xie Licheng didn't notice his embarrassment. He looked down at Gu Zhangyuan with his deep, dark eyes and asked, "You know how to use it now?"

Gu Zhangyuan was stunned for a moment, looking up at him blankly. He'd been too busy looking at other things to pay any attention to the lamp. Now that Xie Licheng asked, he looked a bit dazed and silly.

Seeing this, Xie Licheng didn't mind. He took Gu Zhangyuan's hand and started teaching him how to use it, hand in hand.

His big hand wrapped around Gu Zhangyuan's slender fingers, guiding him to turn the lamp off and back on.

Xie Licheng's palm was really warm. When he held Gu Zhangyuan's hand, Gu Zhangyuan felt his own hand heat up too.

Gu Zhangyuan got it this time. He smiled and tried it himself.

"This is fun."

"If it's fun, then take it and play with it."

Gu Zhangyuan was about to nod, but then asked, confused, "Aren't you coming back with me?"

Xie Licheng: "I'm going to check around the farm. I'll be back in a bit."

Strangers couldn't get into his farm, but small animals could.

Before, when he was a bachelor living here, he didn't care about the little critters that came in. But now that he had a fair, soft wife at home, he was worried those little things might scare him.

If he scared him to tears, and he cried saying he wouldn't come here anymore, that would be a real headache.

Everyone wanted a soft, fragrant wife at home, someone you could pick up anytime to smell, kiss, and hold.

Xie Licheng was just a regular guy. He loved beauty, and his favorite type was a beauty with a bit of a temper, like Gu Zhangyuan.

"How about I come with you?"

"No need. You should go rest. You've been exhausted today too."

Gu Zhangyuan shot him a dissatisfied look, but still pursed his lips and turned to go back.

Watching his lonely figure walk away, Xie Licheng felt like he might have upset him.

He thought for a moment, then decided to skip the patrol after all.

Forget it, he could patrol later.

Since Gu Zhangyuan rarely came here, he should focus on his beautiful wife first.

With that thought, Xie Licheng strode forward and quickly caught up with Gu Zhangyuan.

Gu Zhangyuan heard his footsteps, and his eyes flickered beneath his long lashes. Then, as if by accident, he stumbled.

He pitched forward, but didn't actually fall, because a big hand caught him.

Gu Zhangyuan's waist was slender and soft. With a gentle scoop of his big hand, Xie Licheng could easily grab it.

Xie Licheng scolded, "What kind of stunningly dumb little pig are you? You can trip over your own feet just carrying a lamp?"

Gu Zhangyuan felt guilty and kept his mouth shut.

Xie Licheng thought about how delicate he was, so he just sighed, slung the man over his shoulder, and strode off toward home with him.

Gu Zhangyuan was uncomfortable being carried like that, and he muttered discontentedly, "This is uncomfortable. You might as well just carry me."

Xie Licheng called him high-maintenance, but he still switched to carrying him in his arms.

The two of them made it back to the bedroom, and as soon as Xie Licheng entered, he dumped the man onto the bed. He was in a hurry to dry his hair—wet hair plastered to his back was the worst.

Gu Zhangyuan was genuinely startled when he got tossed, but once he landed on the bed, he realized Xie Licheng's bed was super soft.

Xie Licheng also knew his bed was soft, which was why he tossed him so carelessly.

Xie Licheng might've been a bit rough around the edges, but he sure knew how to live the good life.

In his past life, when the apocalypse hit, he'd spent a whole month hunting down a comfy big bed. In the end, he found a super comfy mattress and traded food for a bunch of fancy new blankets.

But sleeping on a soft bed all the time wasn't great for your back. To keep his lower back from giving out, he'd later built another house.

That house was right next door, and now it was used for storage—basically a giant warehouse.

Only when Xie Licheng got tired of this bedroom would he occasionally crash over there for a day or two.

Gu Zhangyuan landed on the super soft bed and took a while to scramble out from under the covers.

He was still in his daytime clothes—he never wore his outer layers to bed.

Even though it was Xie Licheng's bed, he wasn't about to lie down in his outer clothes.

Plus, he hadn't bathed yet.

Gu Zhangyuan climbed off the bed and looked down to strip off his outer clothes.

Then he saw Xie Licheng walk in with a bath towel, and his hands froze mid-unbutton.

Gu Zhangyuan said, "From now on... could you have Xuan Cui or Yuan Qiao come in? I'm used to having someone help me wash up, do my hair, and get dressed."

Xie Licheng roughly dried his hair and chucked the bath towel aside when he heard that.

He said, "I'll take care of you."

Gu Zhangyuan smiled and asked, "Do you even know how to take care of someone?"

"I do."

He didn't know how to serve a master, but he sure knew how to serve his wife.

Gu Zhangyuan was pretty curious. He wanted to see just how Xie Licheng would take care of him.

Xie Licheng was no proper servant—even his whole criminal slave identity was obviously fake. How could a guy like that know how to wait on anyone?

"Then I want a bath, with hot water."

Xie Licheng nodded and said, "Alright, I'll go heat up some water for you."

Watching Xie Licheng about to turn and leave, and remembering how hard he'd worked today, Gu Zhangyuan couldn't bring himself to make him do chores.

He quickly said, "No need to heat up water. I'll just wipe myself down with cold water."

He ran cold anyway, and he hadn't done much today, so he hadn't worked up a sweat.

Besides, he didn't plan on consummating the marriage with Xie Licheng tonight anyway, so skipping a bath was no big deal.

Xie Licheng still went ahead and heated up some hot water for him. Knowing how delicate Gu Zhangyuan was, how much he loved pretty, fine things, he even went out of his way to find him a pink basin.

While Xie Licheng was heating the water, Gu Zhangyuan slowly peeled off his outer clothes and let down his long black hair. By the time Xie Licheng came back with the hot water, he was ready.

The moment Xie Licheng walked in, he saw a stunning beauty with loose hair in the bedroom and froze for a second.

He realized his wife was genuinely gorgeous—an absolute showstopper.

Xie Licheng brought the hot water over, and Gu Zhangyuan glanced around the bedroom, then waved a hand and said, "This is where we sleep. I can't be wiping myself down in here."

Xie Licheng nodded and led him to another room.

Since he'd said he'd take care of Gu Zhangyuan, he didn't leave even when they got to the other room.

Gu Zhangyuan shot him a glare with those pretty eyes of his.

Xie Licheng, shameless as they come, said, "Didn't you say you wanted me to take care of you?"

Gu Zhangyuan's ears went red when he heard that. He said, "Never mind. I'm just wiping myself down. I don't need you to take care of me."

Xie Licheng smiled and walked out, saying to him, "Then I'll go find you some clean clothes."

Gu Zhangyuan gave a soft "mm" and was about to shut the door to wipe himself down.

Then he noticed how dark the room was, and the fear from earlier came creeping back.

He thought, *if it's this dark in here, what if there are rats, snakes, or bugs...*

No, no... better to keep the door open.

After all... after all, he was Xie Licheng's husband, so it didn't matter if Xie Licheng saw him.

For this pampered young gentleman, he'd rather let Xie Licheng see him naked than share a room with rats or whatever.

He took off his clothes one by one, leaving only a thin, sheer undergarment.

He was too embarrassed to take everything off, so he just loosened his clothes a bit and used a damp towel to wipe himself underneath.

The towel was prepared by Xie Licheng, brand new.

The towel was also a soft pink color, clearly specially chosen for him.

Under the dim yellow light, Gu Zhangyuan gave himself a thorough wipe-down, then planned to soak his feet comfortably in another basin.

Then, just as he rolled up his pant legs to soak his feet, Xie Licheng returned with clean clothes.

The door wasn't closed, so Xie Licheng assumed Gu Zhangyuan didn't mind him coming in, and he walked in openly. Gu Zhangyuan quickly glanced at himself and tried to carefully button up his loosened collar again.

Seeing this, Xie Licheng walked over, set down the clothes, and said, "Why bother buttoning it? Aren't you going to change into clean clothes later?"

Gu Zhangyuan heard his words and looked up at him with a dissatisfied glare.

Xie Licheng saw him still glaring—fierce, and quite bold.

He crouched down in front of Gu Zhangyuan and began to help him wash his feet.

At that, Gu Zhangyuan quickly said, "I can wash them myself."

Xie Licheng snickered, grabbed his foot, and held it tight in his palm.

"Back when you were at the Gu house, when you called me to your room, were you trying to get in my pants?"

With his foot trapped in Xie Licheng's grip, Gu Zhangyuan's earlier arrogance vanished.

His eyes got a little red, not from fear, but from embarrassment.

He stayed silent, unwilling to answer such a silly question.

Seeing this, Xie Licheng rubbed the calluses on his palm against the bottom of Gu Zhangyuan's foot. Gu Zhangyuan was extremely ticklish and, flustered, lifted his foot to kick him.

But with one foot caught and the other raised to kick, he nearly toppled backward off the small stool. Xie Licheng quickly reached out and pulled him into his arms.

Now that he was in his arms, he wouldn't fall, right?

With Gu Zhangyuan in his arms, Xie Licheng kept asking.

"So you didn't sleep with me back then 'cause you thought I was too skinny?"

Gu Zhangyuan sat on Xie Licheng's lap, one arm resting on his shoulder.

Since the buttons on his collar weren't all fastened, any movement made the collar spread open.

He felt that from this angle, Xie Licheng could definitely see inside his clothes.

So instead of answering Xie Licheng's question, he hurriedly used his other hand to press down on his collar.

Xie Licheng hadn't noticed at first, but seeing this gesture, he looked over.

Xie Licheng said, "What are you hiding? Let me see."