Ye Li hadn’t gone to sleep yet.

Having slept too much during the day and not done any heavy labor today, he felt no drowsiness after washing up and climbing onto the kang.

But with no other entertainment, he propped his feet up and pondered whether there were other ways to make money.

Pickled eggs took half a month to turn into cash—far too long.

Hearing Jiang Ji’s voice now caught him off guard.

“What is it?” With those words, he rose from the kang, walked over, slid the bolt back, and opened the door.

At the doorway, Jiang Ji wore his usual expression. “I need to talk to you.”

“Come in,” Ye Li invited him inside.

Just like that morning, one slipped into a slipper and climbed onto the kang, while the other sat down beside it.

Before Ye Li could ask more, Jiang Ji began, “During dinner just now, you mentioned Second Brother rejected your proposal. With Xiao Mai and Ya-ger present, I didn’t feel comfortable prying.”

“Tell me exactly what Second Brother said.”

When he returned from the county town that afternoon, Ye Wen hadn’t left yet.

But Ye Wen hadn’t mentioned the three taels for tuition. It was only during dinner that Ye Li brought it up, asking him to persuade Ye Liang properly tomorrow.

He had nodded in agreement at the time.

Having already accepted Ye Li’s offer to fund his studies, he certainly couldn’t let the Ye family pay again.

The Ye family had supported him this far, to the point where they couldn’t afford proper meals at home, and both brothers’ marriages had been delayed. They had already shown utmost kindness and righteousness.

But he wasn’t close with Ye Li!

Coming to knock on his door late at night required a proper excuse…

Ye Li couldn’t possibly guess the twists and turns in his cheap husband’s mind. Hearing this, he simply assumed Jiang Ji feared he wouldn’t be able to persuade Ye Liang tomorrow, so he roughly repeated what Ye Wen had said.

After listening, Jiang Ji hesitated, instinctively saying, “Second Brother is just worried about you. I’m never home…”

He shut his mouth.

A pang of frustration stung his heart.

That was far too direct…

Sure enough, a smile spread across Ye Li’s face. He raised an eyebrow smugly, “Worried about me?”

“…I was afraid you’d suddenly quit.”

Jiang Ji refused to admit it.

“I’ve changed my ways. Why are you still judging me with that old mindset?”

Ye Li snorted, wrapping her arms around him. “Since you’re here, give me a massage before you leave.”

This hit Jiang Ji’s objective right on the nose.

But he feigned hesitation.

When Ye Li’s expression turned displeased, he beat him to the punch—slipping off his shoes and climbing onto the kang.

His reaction was surprisingly decisive.

Ye Li was quite satisfied. He sprawled out on the kang and instructed him, “Start with my shoulders. Focus on my waist too—my legs are a bit sore as well.”

Jiang Ji didn’t respond.

He crouched beside Ye Li, his large hands gripping his shoulders.

Applying firm pressure with both palms and fingers, Ye Li couldn’t help but hiss.

“Too hard?” he asked immediately.

“It’s fine, just keep going.” Ye Li’s cheeks puckered.

Massage requires firm pressure—how else could tense, sore muscles be worked out?

But understanding one thing didn’t stop him from groaning when the sensation became too intense.

Hearing the groan, Jiang Ji shifted from crouching beside him to kneeling, tugging at the hem of his short tunic.

To prevent Ye Li from groaning again, he deliberately changed the subject: “It hasn’t rained in days. The fields need watering. I’ll have to go water them tomorrow.”

Water the fields?

Ye Li gave a surprised “Huh?” and turned to look at him. “Speaking of which, you’ve been back for three days now. Shouldn’t you be returning to the private school tomorrow?”

Under normal circumstances, the private school only granted a three-day break at the month’s end.

But behind him, Jiang Ji unexpectedly replied, “I’ll return the day after tomorrow.”

“The day after tomorrow? So you took two extra days off?” Ye Li was startled, her head snapping around sharply. “What on earth are you taking such a long break for?”

“…After seeing you beat Xiao Mai and Ya-ger, I took two extra days off to have a proper talk with you.”

He deliberately returned a day early to drive “Ye Li” back to the Ye family.

But he knew the Ye family would surely come to make peace.

Fearing it wouldn’t be resolved within four days, he took two extra days off—returning home a day early and delaying his return to the private school by a day.

“I’ve changed my ways. I get along perfectly with those two now. How about you return to the private school tomorrow? Studying is important.”

Ye Li continued to turn her head as she spoke.

“What about the crops? Will you water them?”

Jiang Ji asked.

“…Or, should I hire someone?” Ye Li tentatively suggested.

Previously, the Ye family would come to help.

But now Ye Liang and Liu Yi were running their business.

The Ye family couldn’t even finish the work on their own fields.

Jiang Dahu’s family had too many fields and not enough laborers; they couldn’t spare anyone right now, either.

“It’s unnecessary. It’s only one day. I won’t take odd jobs anymore. I’ll just work harder during the weekdays,” Jiang Ji said.

This argument was indeed sound.

Besides, the county-level exams were still months away.

Ye Li said nothing more.

Just as Jiang Ji reached his calf, Ye Li rolled over, prompting Jiang Ji to massage his front.

“The front too?” Jiang Ji froze.

“Of course. It’s not like only my back hurts.”

Ye Li looked utterly convinced he was entitled to it.

He hadn’t thought much of it, but then he saw Jiang Ji’s long eyebrows instantly knit together. His gaze swept from Ye Li’s calf all the way up to his chest, his expression clearly troubled.

Ye Li couldn’t help but chuckle.

Recalling how Jiang Ji would return to the private school the day after watering the fields, Ye Li, in a sudden impulse, lifted his foot and nudged it toward Jiang Ji’s groin.

Jiang Ji reacted swiftly, grabbing his ankle and demanding sternly, “What are you doing?”

Ye Li blinked innocently. “Tomorrow you’ll be lugging water buckets all day. Will you even have the strength for… ah, I mean, for intimacy?”

“…Never mind whether I have the strength. You’re still in pain right now.”

Jiang Ji was somewhat speechless.

“If you won’t come in, then rub against me from the outside.”

Ye Li said, extending his arms toward him. “By this time, the day after tomorrow, you’ll be at the private school. Come on, come on.”

He protested with his words, but his body remained still, only extending his arms toward Jiang Ji.

He was just testing the waters. If Jiang Ji refused outright, he’d drop it.

After all, his body truly hadn’t recovered.

But Jiang Ji followed his lead, his mind unconsciously conjuring scenes from the dormitory.

Eight people shared one room. The kang was hard.

The classmates beside him…

Never mind. The room smelled awful anyway.

He banished the dormitory from his mind and replaced it with last night’s scene.

Ye Li was soft, white, and beautiful.

Of course, most importantly, Ye Li would now hug Ya-ger and call him “such a good boy.”

He would prepare snacks for the two little ones.

He would be clingy at night, yet scold him during the day for pulling up his pants and acting like he didn’t know him…

Hard to judge.

The current Ye Li was truly hard to judge.

His own behavior wasn’t much better either—already in bed, yet he’d come running back…

He gazed at Ye Li’s face. Though his features looked slightly distorted from this angle, his eyes softened nonetheless.

His furrowed brows relaxed.

He shifted forward twice, leaning down to embrace Ye Li.

Well, if he couldn’t figure it out, he wouldn’t try.

Starting with the body.

“Now that’s more like it.”

Enveloped in that broad embrace, Ye Li felt utterly content. He lifted his legs to wrap them around his husband’s waist.

But the moment he moved, he sensed Jiang Ji’s reaction.

He chuckled softly, his hand drifting downward.

Jiang Ji didn’t stop him. Instead, he held Ye Li as they lay sideways on the kang, his large hand also reaching lower.

After last night, Jiang Ji had gained considerable experience. Soon, Ye Li couldn’t help but squirm gently in his embrace.

Ye Li’s skill was also excellent, making him crave even closer intimacy. He tilted his head back slightly, lowering it to seek Ye Li’s lips.

Ye Li also felt something was missing. The moment his lips touched down, he immediately pressed his own against them.

Their tongues intertwined, their breath mingling between mouth and nose. Now both were satisfied.

They closed their eyes, kissing freely in the dim light.

Though it was only their second night together, they kissed as if they’d done it a thousand times before, moving with perfect harmony.

The temperature rose gradually, yet both remained fully clothed. Soon, they grew hot.

Jiang Ji pulled the quilt over them.

Within moments, beneath the covers, they were kissing again.

This time, with no clothes between them, Ye Li felt dizzy from the heat radiating off Jiang Ji’s body.

He cupped Jiang Ji’s cheeks with both hands, kissing his lips with intense focus.

Everything else, he left entirely to Jiang Ji, allowing his husband to hold them together, letting him rub against him wherever he pleased.

Truth be told, after last night’s experience, this current touch felt unsatisfying.

But his mind hadn’t deserted him; his reason remained intact. He dared not let his husband enter.

Otherwise, he would be the one suffering.

Afterward, he lay lazily on the kang, directing Jiang Ji to fetch a cloth to wipe away the sweat and other traces from his body.

Jiang Ji obeyed promptly, pulling on his robe and stepping down from the kang.

Staring at Jiang Ji’s straight, upright back, he muttered resentfully, “Like scratching an itch through a shoe.”

“…”

Jiang Ji turned to look at him.

Seeing his sullen expression, his brow furrowed, his hand still clenched around the bedsheet as if he intended to vent his frustration on it, Jiang Ji couldn’t help but smile.

Jiang Ji sat down again at the edge of the kang and said, “There’s always tomorrow night.”

Feeling that consolation alone was too dry, he leaned down and kissed Ye Li’s still-damp lips.

The gesture was utterly natural.

So natural that only after the kiss, when Jiang Ji lifted his head slightly and saw Ye Li staring at him with wide eyes, did he belatedly realize:

It was far too intimate.

So intimate it made them seem like a truly devoted married couple.

But they weren’t familiar with each other!

Not at all familiar.

Though uneasy inside, Jiang Ji showed no sign of it. He rose from the kang, said he was going to fetch a cloth, then stepped out the door.

Ye Li didn’t stay shocked for long. After regaining his composure, he smugly curled his toes again.

It was perfectly normal, after all.

He was this wonderful—his cheap husband ought to react just like this!

But that night, Jiang Ji returned to the east room.

When the rooster crowed for the first time the next morning, he rose and pushed the millstone.

After breakfast, he hoisted a water bucket and headed to the fields.

His two acres of inferior land lay quite a distance from the small river.

Two acres wasn’t much, but relying solely on bucket-by-bucket watering, by noon when he returned home, his arms ached so badly he could barely lift them.

But he was used to it.

Farmers scraping a living from the yellow earth all lived this way.

Today, Ye Liang came to collect the goods.

Learning that Jiang Ji needed to water his fields, Ye Liang insisted on joining him after lunch. Jiang Ji seized the chance to dissuade him.

Convinced by Jiang Ji’s words, Ye Liang said he’d go home and discuss it.

With Ye Liang’s help, the work progressed much faster.

By mid-afternoon, the two returned home.

After dinner, he went to the small shed to take a shower.

He deliberately lingered under the water. When he returned to the east room, sure enough, Jiang Mai and Jiang Ya were both asleep.

He went to the west room with peace of mind.