In the evening, Zhao Huanxi returned from his classes and went straight to Yin Furen’s Jiaxiang House.

Yin Furen, Zhao Jiazhen, and Xu Nian’an were chatting about something and laughing heartily together. Seeing this, Zhao Huanxi felt delighted and asked, “What are you talking about so happily?”

Yin Furen, beaming with joy, said, “Huanxi, we received a letter from Ah Xiu today, saying that the essay you wrote has been approved by the scholars of Canglan Academy. You can take the entrance examination at Canglan Academy on the 20th day of the Second Month. Look, they’ve even sent your exam admission ticket.”

Zhao Huanxi took the admission ticket, which resembled an invitation card. On the cover were the four powerful characters “Canglan Academy” (or 苍澜书院), and inside were his name, the exam date, location, and his seat number.

After glancing at it, he suddenly realised something and said to Yin Furen, “But isn’t 20th of Second Month Mom’s birthday?”

Yin Furen waved her hand dismissively and replied, “It’s not a milestone birthday, so it doesn’t matter whether we celebrate it or not. Naturally, your exam is more important.”

Zhao Huanxi glanced at Xu Nian’an. Xu Nian’an, knowing he was still thinking about performing Ou Lian Guan for her, smiled and said, “Doing well in your exam will be the best birthday gift for Mother. Isn’t that right, Mother?”

Yin Furen laughed and said, “Exactly.”

Zhao Huanxi could only reply, “Alright then.”

After dinner, Yin Furen didn’t keep the young couple for long and soon sent them back.

As usual, Zhao Huanxi went to practise swordsmanship with Guogong Yé for an hour. When he returned, he bathed and asked Xu Nian’an to fetch him some ointment.

“What happened?” Xu Nian’an asked while searching for the ointment.

“Zufu taught me the Zhao family’s reverse blade technique today. He called it a secret skill of our family. It’s so hard to master. Fortunately, we used wooden swords. If we’d used real ones, I’d have stabbed myself to death before killing the enemy.” Zhao Huanxi said as he unfastened his inner clothing, revealing the bruised and reddened area on his ribs.

Xu Nian’an glanced over and noticed that in just half a year, Zhao Huanxi’s previously slender and delicate upper body from last summer had developed noticeable muscle definition. While not overly pronounced, it was clear at a glance.

Feeling a bit flustered, she turned her face to the side and handed him the ointment. “You can apply it yourself.”

Zhao Huanxi looked up at her words and saw that Xu Nian’an had turned her face away, her cheeks and ears tinted an alluring shade of pink. Feeling a stir in his heart, he said, “You apply it for me.”

“It’s on your ribs. You can reach it yourself,” she replied.

“I can’t see it. You help me.”

Hearing his insistence, Xu Nian’an turned back to shove the ointment into his hand, but before she could, he grabbed her hand and pulled her onto his lap.

“Dong Jiejie, why is your face so red? Are you shy? Didn’t you say I’m still just a young boy? Are you embarrassed in front of a child?” Zhao Huanxi, with his inner clothing open, held her in his arms and teased her with a playful grin.

“Stop messing around,” Xu Nian’an said, trying to get off his lap.

“Dong Jiejie, it hurts so much. Can you help me apply the ointment? Please? I’m begging you.” Zhao Huanxi rested his chin on her shoulder, looking at her with wide, pitiful eyes.

Whenever he acted spoiled like this, Xu Nian’an had no way to deal with him. This was, perhaps, the downside of having married someone younger.

“Alright, I’ll help you apply it, but stop clinging to me. Sit properly,” Xu Nian’an said, straightening her expression.

Zhao Huanxi obediently sat up straight and lifted his inner clothing, revealing the bruised and reddened area on his right ribs.

Xu Nian’an dipped her fingertip into the ointment and began applying it as she asked, “How many times did you get hit to bruise such a large area? Does it hurt?”

“I practised a hundred or so times and probably hit myself twenty or thirty times. But when you apply the ointment, it doesn’t hurt. If I do it myself, it’ll hurt like hell,” Zhao Huanxi replied.

Xu Nian’an gave him a soft glare with her sparkling eyes, withdrew her hand, and said, “Done.”

“My back needs some too,” Zhao Huanxi said as he shrugged his inner clothing down to his elbows, revealing his collarbones and shoulders, which were still youthful but no longer so slender.

“Your back is injured too? Let me see,” Xu Nian’an said, attempting to get up.

But Zhao Huanxi held her tightly, refusing to let go. “You can see just fine like this,” he said.

“How can I see like this?”

He tilted his face to the side and leaned his shoulder forward, allowing her to examine the injury on his back.

Xu Nian’an slowly moved closer, attempting to peer over his shoulder to check his wound.

The closer she got, the more she felt the vibrant warmth radiating from him. When his collarbone was just inches from her eyes, Xu Nian’an felt as if her cheeks were being seared by the heat.

At that moment, she felt his warm breath against the side of her face. Unbeknownst to her, he had turned his head and was now gazing closely at her profile.

“Dong Jiejie,” he called softly, his voice low and slightly husky with a hint of tenderness.

Xu Nian’an gripped the small porcelain jar of ointment tightly, her lips dry and her lashes trembling as she lowered her gaze.

He raised an arm and pulled her into an embrace. Forced to fall against his chest, Xu Nian’an instinctively looked up, only for him to press a kiss to her lips.

The room fell into silence, leaving only the sounds of their mingled breaths, short and long, as their lips intertwined passionately.

After a deep kiss, Zhao Huanxi pulled back slightly, panting. He gazed at her, her lashes lowered, a radiant flush spreading from beneath her fair, clear skin. Her full lips, now vividly red and glistening, were slightly parted as she caught her breath.

Zhao Huanxi’s head spun as he held her tightly, she pleaded, “Dong Jiejie, can we become a real husband and wife?”

Xu Nian’an gently placed her hand against his chest and said, “You’re injured.”

“I don’t feel any pain.”

“You—”

“You’re not allowed to say I’m too young! You’re so small yourself, how can you call me young?” Zhao Huanxi pressed his forehead against hers, speaking in a wounded tone. “I feel awful.”

Seeing him like this, Xu Nian’an hesitated, unable to bear rejecting him. She thought: Since I’ve already decided to accept him, does it really matter whether it’s this year or the next?

With this thought, she lifted her arms, wrapped them around his neck, and kissed his lips, which were still more vividly red than usual from their earlier kiss.

Zhao Huanxi froze for a moment before quickly responding. Returning her kiss with fervour, he scooped her up in his arms and carried her toward the bed.

Their shoes fell one by one, scattered on and beneath the footstool. The bed curtains draped down, and within the bedding, the two nestled close, flushed cheeks pressed together, their black hair intertwined.

In the heat of the moment, as she prepared to give herself to him, Xu Nian’an couldn’t help but feel a little nervous. Uncertain, she kept her eyes open, gazing at Zhao Huanxi.

He was so strikingly handsome, but now, overcome by passion and desire, the innocence and candour that usually defined his features had given way to an intoxicating allure. His clear, spring-water-like eyes brimmed with longing as they gazed at her, so much so that she felt as though even her bones were melting under his gaze.

If I’m going to give myself to him, so be it, Xu Nian’an thought. After all, I truly like him, and we’re husband and wife. Even if he’s still young, it’s not really something shameful, is it?

He was clumsily inexperienced. Even as she lay in his arms, beneath him, he didn’t dare touch her recklessly. Instead, he pressed his forehead gently against hers, hesitatingly fumbling with the ties of her undergarments.

Xu Nian’an wrapped her arms around his neck, overwhelmed by shyness and unsure of what to do. She tried to distract herself by thinking of something else, but her thoughts kept slipping away. In the end, she could only suppress her embarrassment and let him continue.

Amidst the rustling, her undergarment was pushed out from the edge of the blanket.

Zhao Huanxi gazed at her delicate, flower-like features, her fragrance warm and intoxicating, filling his senses. His mind felt completely blank, as if he were floating among the clouds or trapped in a dream.

He was eager to act, to do something. Though he had secretly read a few romance novels, his thoughts now were a muddled mess, unable to recall what he was supposed to do. Overwhelmed by both nervousness and excitement, something entirely unexpected happened.

Xu Nian’an noticed that he had suddenly frozen and wasn’t moving. Curious, she opened her eyes to look at him.

Flushing with embarrassment, Zhao Huanxi covered her eyes with his hand, clearly mortified. After a moment of tense stillness, he abruptly ducked under the blanket.

Xu Nian’an: “….…”

Zhao Huanxi didn’t dare look at Xu Nian’an’s face. He buried himself under the blanket and stayed completely still, wishing he could just disappear and never come out.

Xu Nian’an, still clueless about what had happened, noticed that he had been motionless under the blanket for quite some time. Worried that something might be wrong with him, she reached into the blanket, gently nudged his head, and called out hoarsely, “Sanlang?”

What she saw next left her puzzled. The person under the blanket silently kept retreating, inching all the way to the foot of the bed before curling up into a ball and staying there, unmoving.

What’s going on?

With most of the blanket pulled away by him, Xu Nian’an was left exposed. She hurriedly sat up, put her undergarments back on, and went to check on Zhao Huanxi.

How did things turn out like this?

When she tried to lift the blanket, he clutched it tightly, refusing to let her uncover him.

Looking at him curled up under the blanket, Xu Nian’an asked in confusion, “What’s wrong with you?”

He stayed silent.

Xu Nian’an replayed the events in her mind. She thought she had cooperated well enough and hadn’t done anything to upset him, so what on earth had happened?

“What’s the matter? Are you uncomfortable? Upset? If that’s the case, we won’t do this again next time,” Xu Nian’an said gently.

Zhao Huanxi slowly peeled the blanket back, revealing a face damp with sweat and tears, strands of long hair clinging to his cheeks. His reddened eyes and flushed cheeks were equally striking.

The moment he opened his mouth, his voice caught in a sob, and large teardrops streamed down uncontrollably.

“Dong Jiejie, I… I can’t,” he choked out before burying his face back in the blanket and bursting into tears.

Xu Nian’an: “……”

Can’t? In what way can’t?

For the first time, Xu Nian’an found herself utterly at a loss over a problem he faced. She had no experience to guide or comfort him in this matter.

After crying his heart out, Zhao Huanxi sniffled and got up to change into fresh undergarments, too embarrassed to speak to Xu Nian’an again.

Without exchanging any further words, the two quietly blew out the lamp and went to sleep without saying anything.

The next morning, Zhao Huanxi showed up at the small garden with heavy dark circles under his eyes, looking as wilted as an eggplant hit by frost.

Master Qu and Zhao Huanrong both noticed his poor state and asked what had happened, but he said nothing, silently finishing his martial arts practice before returning to Shenhui Courtyard.

Seeing him so listless and distracted, Xu Nian’an grew increasingly anxious. Apart from other things, she worried that Yin Furen might notice something was off, which would be difficult to explain. After all, it wouldn’t make sense to have been “married” for over six months only to discover now that he was “not capable”.

Though she didn’t understand what exactly was wrong, she resolved to cheer him up somehow.

During breakfast, after dismissing the maids, she placed a piece of thousand-layer cake on Zhao Huanxi’s plate and said, “Don’t be so upset. Even if you’re not capable right now, it must be because you’re still young. It’s not due to any other kind of issue.”

Zhao Huanxi looked up at her. His phoenix eyes, usually bright and lively, were dim with doubt. “Really?”

“Of course it’s true. If you don’t believe me, you can ask Qian Ming,” Xu Nian’an thought to herself that with Qian Ming’s wisdom and experience, he’d surely find a solution for Zhao Huanxi.

Zhao Huanxi, still dispirited, started eating his breakfast.

Once the meal was over, Xu Nian’an helped him tidy his sash and, hooking her arms around his neck, kissed his cheek. With a radiant smile, she said, “Good Sanlang, don’t be upset anymore. Even if you truly aren’t capable, I will still like you all the same.”