Chapter 62: Sweet as Honey

Chapter 62: Sweet, Sweet

The two of them rested at the inn for a while. As the light in the room slowly faded, Yan Fengan pushed open the window and looked outside. The sun had already set, and the last hints of red in the distant sky were gradually disappearing. The lanterns outside the shops below were starting to glow one by one.

Wen Xi walked over to his side and hung the mandarin duck pendant Shen Yun had given him from Yan Fengan's waist.

Yan Fengan looked down at him and said, "Go ahead and put on that lip balm Young Master Lin gave you."

Back at the courtyard, there had been too many people around to use it. But now that he was going out with Yan Fengan, he wanted to try it.

After fastening Yan Fengan's mandarin duck pendant, he sat down before the bronze mirror, unscrewed the lid of the lip balm, dabbed a little onto his fingertip, and lightly smoothed a layer over his lips, watching himself in the mirror.

The lip balm was very sheer, but it still changed the look of his lips quite a bit. Wen Xi had never used anything like this before. Seeing how different his lips looked in the bronze mirror, he glanced at Yan Fengan, a little unsure, and asked, "Does it look strange?"

His lips were naturally a light pink, but with the balm on, they suddenly looked fuller and glossier, looking so luscious and tempting, like he'd just been kissed.

Yan Fengan didn't say anything. He just stood there, quietly watching him, his gaze not as clear and gentle as it usually was.

Wen Xi's cheeks grew hot under that look, a flush of crimson slowly spreading across his smooth, fair face. He couldn't help sneaking a glance at himself in the mirror. Seeing that he really did look different from usual, he dropped his gaze, looking unmistakably shy.

He was naturally quick to blush, and under Yan Fengan's intense, meaningful stare, his cheeks turned even redder than if he'd been wearing rouge. With his peach-colored top on, he gave off a kind of beauty he'd never shown before.

For a moment, Yan Fengan felt like the scholar in one of those old tales, and Wen Xi was a peach blossom spirit who'd just taken human form in the mountains—his eyes holding an innocent, clear purity, while his whole presence gave off a mesmerizing charm that was easy to get lost in.

He wrapped his arms around Wen Xi from behind, nuzzling his cheek first, then pressing a kiss to his pretty face. "It doesn't look strange. It's really pretty. I want to kiss you so bad."

Even though they'd already kissed for a long time, seeing his husband like this made Yan Fengan's heart stir with desire all over again.

Wen Xi wanted to kiss him too, but he'd just put on the lip balm. If they kissed again now, the balm would come off, and if it accidentally got smeared on Yan Fengan's mouth or face, that would be embarrassing.

Wen Xi, cheeks still burning, tried to mimic the way Yan Fengan usually coaxed him and said softly, "How about I kiss you when we get back?"

Yan Fengan let out a low chuckle from behind and gave his earlobe a little nibble. "Alright."

By the time they left the inn, it was completely dark.

Wen Xi's cheeks carried an intoxicating flush, and to anyone who didn't know better, it really did look like he was wearing rouge.

Every festival, the city was lively day and night, with food stalls everywhere and vendors selling all kinds of little trinkets.

When they passed a clay figurine stall, Wen Xi couldn't help slowing down. The stall had all kinds of little clay dolls on display—some were kids holding lotus leaves, some were babies clutching carp, and others were little figures dressed in bright colors. Each one was finely made and plump, looking totally adorable.

The stall owner, seeing a customer, launched into his pitch: "Young master, buy a molehe! Whether you want it for the Qiqiao Festival or just for good luck, it works. These dolls are really effective, and they look nice displayed at home too."

It was Wen Xi's birthday, and all his friends had already given him gifts. Yan Fengan felt that as his husband, he should show his appreciation too. Seeing how much Wen Xi liked them, he told the stall owner, "I'll take those two."

"Sure thing!" The shopkeeper grabbed some red gauze and quickly wrapped the two dolls up, then handed them to Wen Xi. "That'll be five hundred wen total."

Wen Xi had been to the city plenty of times and knew the going rates for this stuff. Five hundred wen for a mud doll was probably on the cheap side—the ones with extra decorations nearby were probably pricier.

Yan Fengan gave the stall owner five qian of silver, and the owner took it with a big grin. "Thanks, sir! Hope all your wishes come true and everything goes smoothly for you both."

Business folks knew that sweet talk made customers happy to part with their money.

Wen Xi took the two clay dolls and looked them over, then said happily, "They're so cute. Thanks, husband."

Yan Fengan looked at his face, so full of happy smiles, feeling like something warm had filled his heart. Some things weren't the right words to say right then, so he just silently promised himself that one day, he'd give Wen Xi even better things.

The two hadn't had dinner yet. After leaving the doll stall, Yan Fengan went to get some sugar pancakes and veggie pancakes.

The sugar pancake was soft and chewy on the outside, with a sweet filling inside, and it had a faint caramelized, toasty flavor.

"So good." Wen Xi took a couple of bites, then held it up to Yan Fengan's lips. "It smells so good. Husband, you should try some."

Yan Fengan wasn't really into sweet pancakes, so he just took a small bite from the edge and nodded. "Yeah, it really is good."

Then he offered his veggie pancake for Wen Xi to try.

One pancake wasn't enough to fill either of them up. After the pancakes, Yan Fengan took Wen Xi on a slow stroll through the night market's food street.

They went from veggie pancakes to crystal jelly, then from crystal jelly to roasted lamb—buying whatever looked good.

For once, they splurged and didn't bother counting how much silver they were spending. They ate as they walked, and at the end, Yan Fengan even got a bowl of chilled lychee syrup to help Wen Xi cut the grease.

After leaving the food street, Wen Xi patted his belly, feeling like he'd gained a whole size. By the time they got to Luoxing Bridge, he'd finally digested a bit.

Luoxing Bridge spanned a long river. On normal days, it was just a plain stone bridge linking the shops on either side of the river, but on Qiqiao Festival night, it became the liveliest spot in town.

When Wen Xi and Yan Fengan arrived, the riverbank was already packed with young women and men. They were holding all kinds of river lanterns, lighting them, and setting them on the water. As they watched the lanterns get nudged toward the middle of the river with bamboo poles, they pressed their hands together and silently made their wishes.

At the stalls along the riverbank, the lanterns for sale were prettier than the last—besides lotus leaf shapes, there were also rabbit and white goose ones.

The rabbit ones cost a bit more, but since Wen Xi liked them, Yan Fengan didn't mind spending the extra.

Once they reached the riverbank, Yan Fengan handed the lit rabbit lantern to Wen Xi: "Today is your birthday. Don't forget to make a wish when you let it go."

"Alright."

In life, people always have a lot of hopes and wishes. On normal days, Wen Xi was always hoping his future would be happy and perfect, but when it came down to actually making a wish, he didn't know what to wish for.

Wen Xi crouched down, set the rabbit lantern on the water, and copied the young men next to him—closing his eyes, pressing his palms together, and silently saying his wish in his heart.

When he opened his eyes, the rabbit lantern carrying his hopes had already drifted into the sea of twinkling lights on the river, packed in with countless other lanterns, impossible to tell apart.

The lanterns floated farther and farther away, their little lights reflecting on the water like stars fallen from the sky.

When Wen Xi stood up, his feet had fallen asleep from crouching. He had to lean on Yan Fengan for a bit before he could stand steady.

On the way back, Wen Xi hooked his finger around Yan Fengan's, excited to share a secret: "I made a wish about you."

"Oh yeah?" Yan Fengan turned to look at him. "Want me to take a guess?"

"No." Wen Xi rarely turned him down. "You're too smart—you'd guess it right away. But even if you do guess it, don't say it, or it won't come true."

Yan Fengan smiled and gently closed his hand around the finger that was hooked around his. "Okay, I won't guess. Don't worry—your wish will come true for sure."

Back at the inn, Yan Fengan asked the attendant for hot water, and the two of them never left the room again.

At some point, the noise from outside faded away, and the streets and alleys went unusually quiet.

Yan Fengan covered Wen Xi's mouth from behind with his hand, with only the occasional low gasp slipping through his fingers. Trembling, he arched his neck, his hands clawing at the bedpost without thinking, then reaching back to grab the arm covering his mouth, and obediently sticking out his tongue to lick Yan Fengan's palm.

Yan Fengan slowly loosened his grip, then slowly slid two fingers into Wen Xi's wet, parted lips, occasionally toying with his tongue and rubbing against his lips.

Hearing Wen Xi whimper and mumble something unclear, Yan Fengan leaned in and bit his ear. "What's wrong?"

His movements were rough, but his voice was as gentle as ever, as if he were genuinely worried about him.

As he spoke, his breath hit Wen Xi's ear, making him flinch, his whole body trembling along with it.

Yan Fengan paused mid-motion, his head nuzzling into Wen Xi's neck for a moment before he muttered in a muffled voice, "You're so wicked!"

Honestly, who was the bad one here? Thinking of what they'd just done, Wen Xi couldn't very well argue, so he just clung to Yan Fengan's arm and murmured softly, "Husband, my legs are so sore."

Yan Fengan let out a low chuckle, his arms slowly loosening. Seeing that he didn't seem to be holding him back anymore, Wen Xi slowly turned around, wrapping his arms around Yan Fengan's neck, but he couldn't quite meet his eyes.

Yan Fengan carried him back to the bed, nuzzling his nose against Wen Xi's, then caught the tip of his tongue as he stuck it out playfully and gave it a gentle suck.

Watching Wen Xi's darting gaze, he couldn't help but laugh: "You weren't shy kissing me a minute ago, but now you're all embarrassed?"

Wen Xi was, in fact, pretty embarrassed. From Yan Fengan's cheeks, to his chin, then his throat and chest—they were all covered in the lip marks he'd left, each one bright red, and just looking at them made his heart pound and his face burn with embarrassment.

He couldn't believe he'd been so bold.

But this was his husband, right? So of course he could kiss him anywhere, any way he wanted. A little lip rouge was nothing; if he weren't worried about others seeing, he'd have sucked hickeys into him that wouldn't wash off.

Seeing that dreamy look in his eyes, Yan Fengan felt all the blood rush south, wanting to eat Wen Xi up whole.

He pressed deeper into Wen Xi's soft, wet heat, putting on a gruff voice: "Don't you dare cry later."

Worried he didn't sound stern enough, he nibbled Wen Xi's lower lip and muttered, "I won't stop even if you cry."

That said, Yan Fengan didn't end up going overboard. Even though he'd gone without for so long and really missed this soft, warm place, he still cared for Wen Xi too much.

The water for washing up had gone cold by then, but it was hot out, so it didn't matter much.

He didn't use the inn's cloth, instead taking out the handkerchief Wen Xi had sewn for him, wetting it to wipe the tear stains from Wen Xi's face first, then cleaning up all the mess on his body.

Only after getting Wen Xi back to his usual clean, fresh self did he wipe himself off.

He'd sweated a lot, and the lip rouge on his body had smeared everywhere. Yan Fengan used the bronze mirror to wipe off all the lip marks Wen Xi had left—if any marks were left, he'd be the one embarrassed tomorrow.

Yan Fengan couldn't bring himself to throw away the handkerchief Wen Xi had given him, but in its current state, he couldn't exactly use it like he usually did.

Well, he'd wash it out first and let it dry tomorrow.

Wen Xi's body was soft and clingy. After Yan Fengan wiped him clean, he was completely limp.

Yan Fengan climbed back into bed and pulled Wen Xi into his arms. Even in the middle of summer, the young couple didn't mind the heat—just lying pressed together like this, doing nothing, made them feel comfortable and at ease.

Wen Xi ran his hand over Yan Fengan's cheek, remembering he still had something important to say, and said softly, "Big brother and sister-in-law are expecting another kid."

Yan Fengan stroked his smooth back: "Adding to the family is a good thing. Maybe second brother and the rest will have another one too."

Worried Wen Xi might feel pressured, he added, "You're still young. If you got pregnant now, I couldn't be with you every day. You'd be sad, and I'd worry—that's no good. No need to rush into having kids."

"I'm not rushing." Wen Xi shared his own thoughts as well. "We finally managed to sell our embroidery in the city. I want to make more money first."

When you're poor, you just want to earn enough to put food on the table. But once you actually have money, you realize it's good for way more than that.

If he hadn't saved up some money, he and Yan Fengan wouldn't have dared to spend so freely today.

In most country folks' eyes, raising a kid just meant feeding them and keeping them from starving. But Wen Xi didn't want that for his and Yan Fengan's kid.

Seeing that he seemed to have a plan, Yan Fengan's fingers wandered lower, whether seriously or on purpose: "Then I won't come inside you anymore."

Wen Xi didn't answer, just bumped him gently with his head.

The next day, the two slept in until the sun was high. Yan Fengan had two days off this month, so he wasn't in a rush to get to the academy.

He gave the inn's waiter a few coppers and asked him to find a carriage. He planned to take Wen Xi home first, then come back by carriage himself.

Wen Xi dressed more brightly now, no longer shrinking into the background—he looked beautiful with a kind of charm you couldn't quite put into words.

The carriage drivers weren't like servants in rich households who were bound by contract. For such a long trip, Yan Fengan would rather tire himself out than let Wen Xi go home alone.

The round trip was truly exhausting, and Wen Xi's heart ached for him, but he also knew Yan Fengan made sense. Besides, getting to spend more time with Yan Fengan made him happy as well.

When the two arrived home together, Chen Lanfang was a little surprised. After hearing Yan Fengan explain, she said, "Next time Xiaoxi goes into town to deliver goods or whatever, we'll make sure someone goes with him."

Yan Fengan nodded. The carriage was still waiting outside, so he couldn't stay and chat with the family.

He just went back to his room to grab a fresh handkerchief before leaving. Wen Xi tugged his sleeve: "Wait."

He slipped a few bits of silver into Yan Fengan's pouch: "You paid for everything yesterday. Spending that much, how are you gonna get by at the academy? Take some more."

The two never turned down each other's kindness. Yan Fengan accepted it, kissed his cheek, and soon enough, he was on the carriage heading back.

After seeing him off, Wen Xi closed the courtyard gate and turned around to hear Li Wan say, "Xiaoxi, come here quick—try on this outfit Mother made for you."

"Why new clothes again?"

Wen Xi was about to say he had enough clothes when Chen Lanfang cut in: "Isn't it your birthday? I didn't know what else to get you, so I made you an outfit. There are shoes too—try them on later."

Ever since Yan Fengan had quietly asked her last time he was home, Chen Lanfang had remembered Wen Xi's birthday.

Women her age didn't go in for fancy gifts; she figured a new set of clothes and shoes would do for a birthday celebration.

"Mother and Third Brother kept it too well hidden—they should've told us earlier so we could've prepared something." He Jin complained as he took out a hairpin. "Sister-in-law and I bought this together. Even though your birthday's already passed, we still wanted to wish you a happy birthday."

He'd already been moved to tears yesterday, and now his family was warming his heart again. In the past, Wen Xi might've blushed and not known what to say.

But now he'd learned to cling to Chen Lanfang and He Jin's arms and be all cute: "Thanks, Mother, thanks Sister-in-law and Brother Jin."

He looked so sweet and lovable like that. Chen Lanfang patted his hand: "Your second brother just went out to buy meat, and your big brother killed a chicken. Tonight we'll make something good—consider it your birthday celebration."

Wen Xi happily said yes.

Author's Note:

Thanks to the sweetie who threw the grenade—you spent too much!