A faint fresh scent wafted over as a tiny figure ran towards him. He raised his arms high and Xi Xiaye could not reach them. She almost fell down, but luckily she caught his sleeve.

"Give it back to me!"

She frowned at him and her voice sounded angry. She grabbed his shoulder and jumped several times, but still could not reach them.

He was pretty tall himself along with his long limbs. She could not do anything with her height, and she aggravated her injury slightly and felt pain flare up near her wound. In the end, she glared at him as she yanked on his sleeve.

The man raised his left arm high, throwing her a glance as he grinned. He laughed when he saw her nearly exploding. "You shamelessly got such a score but you're ashamed when people see it?"

Xi Xiaye was fed up with him. She glared at him knowing that he would not give it back to her, so she plopped onto the sofa. "Look all you want then..."

Mu Yuchen glanced at her as he flipped through the test papers, sitting down beside her. "These scores are too pathetic to even look at. You can even make mistakes on spelling. Can't you even do well in memorizing?"

"I told you I was always bad at studies. I especially hated things that need memorizing. They wanted us to memorize countless articles and this section was only 5% of the exam. It's such a small portion throughout the three years of high school. Don't you think..."

Xi Xiaye did not finish her sentence because Mu Yuchen's eyes made her feel that at that point in time, he seemed like a strict disciplinary teacher staring at her...

He covered the test papers and looked at her. "Really? That's unexpected."

Xi Xiaye stared at him as she snatched the test papers away. "Super top students like you would never understand people who are never good at studies. Don't you dare mock me about this in the future."

He laughed and put his arm around her shoulder. "What are you thinking about? Have you never heard about the phrase 'pair a top student with a bad student'? Everyone has their advantages and disadvantages. I'll make anyone who mocks my wife suffer!"

Xi Xiaye put on a grin, she laughed, "That's right, being bad at studying doesn't mean a dark future is ahead right? You think..."

She raised her head and looked at him. As she did, she gazed into his deep, dark eyes and could clearly see her reflection from his clear eyes, the hidden stars suddenly appearing so mysterious and distant.

She suddenly realized —

He was really dapper and very gentlemanly. She wanted to use the phrase "very pleasant to look at" to describe his smile, but she had no idea whether if it was appropriate.

"Mu Yuchen, has anyone told you that you're actually quite a beautiful man?"

She was not sure why she said that. However, her words surprised Mu Yuchen.

Was this little woman teasing him?

He laughed delightedly. Being praised by his own woman as "beautiful" was something to be happy about indeed. He raised his large, dry hand and patted her head before leaving a light kiss on her forehead. "Missus, you're really beautiful as well. Okay, go and get washed up. I've prepared the bath for you. Remember to change the dressing for your wound too. I've brought it over and put it on the dressing table. Be careful."

He had not missed her frown caused by the pain from her injury just now and worried for her. He wanted her to stay safe and free from any injuries as she stayed by his side.

He respected her and cared for her all because he wanted to have a decent start with her, especially because they had decades to walk together ahead of them.

Him and her, safe and peaceful until the end of their lives. That would be ideal.

However, could they be like many others? Could they become a family first before possessing feelings of love for each other?

Xi Xiaye was stunned for a moment as she looked at him with a serious yet gentle expression. She thought about it and then said, "Thank you for treating me so well, Mr. Mu."

"You're my wife. Who else should I treat well if not you?" He replied almost instantly before grabbing the test papers in her hands and putting them back onto the bookshelf. She stood up when he turned around, her eyes seeming distracted. She was probably thinking about something else. In response, he opened the bathroom door and looked at her questioningly.

"Go in and take a bath. Get to sleep soon. We have a lot to do tomorrow, alright?"

His gentle tone had a certain degree of firmness to it, so Xi Xiaye stopped her mind from wandering around as she nodded and then slowly walked into the bathroom under his supervision.

...

When she came out of the bathroom, he was already in the bed lying on his side. The light was switched off and only a dim yellow light was left in the room.

She looked at him as she stood beside the bed. Pulling the sheets aside when he did not give her any reaction, she turned off the lights and then slowly got into bed...

After some time, she called his name out, "Mu Yuchen..."

"Mmm?" He replied quietly.

Her eyes hidden in the dark sparkled slightly and her lips hesitated a little. She turned her body around and looked at his back facing her. After thinking for a bit, she turned back again.

Mu Yuchen turned around when he heard behind him. He called out to her and pulled her into his arms when her back faced him. A slightly humid and deep voice reached her. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing... I just wanted to try calling... Mmm!"

Before she could finish, the man's minty kiss came down from above her. His unique scent rushed towards her.

"It's not too much for me to get a good night kiss, is it?"

His voice sounded charismatic as ever and without waiting for her reply, he kissed her rosebud lips once again. At the same time, he carefully sent her the gentleness hidden deep within his heart.

Afterwards, Mu Yuchen thought to himself: he asked for it!

Although he usually had strong self-restraint, he had pulled off such a risky stunt. He took deep breaths as he prevented Xi Xiaye from moving, and then...