Chapter 47

 Bao Ning leisurely sat on the bed, her left arm around Ah Huang, her right hand holding a book. Every few words she read, she glanced up at Pei Yuan, who was busily sweeping the floor with his buttocks sticking out.

He was clearly just going through the motions, dragging the chair legs on the ground, making a harsh scraping noise here and there.

Unable to bear it, Bao Ning spoke up, "Slow down a bit, how can you sweep up anything like this?"

"There was nothing to sweep in the first place." Pei Yuan threw the broom down, frustrated. "I really don't know why you're so insistent on cleaning. The floor is so shiny it's reflecting light, yet you insist on sweeping!"

"Why not?" Bao Ning pointed under his feet. "There's a hair right there."

Pei Yuan lowered his head skeptically, nudged with his toe, and indeed saw a long hair. He picked it up, held it up to the light, and then turned to Bao Ning, "It's yours."

"Let's bet on it, you should just do your job properly, no need to be so reluctant."

She patted Ah Huang's backside. "Right, Ah Huang?"

Ah Huang barked in agreement. Pei Yuan, annoyed, poked its nose, "Stupid dog, you better recognize the situation. Tonight, I'm the one serving you. If you misbehave, I'll throw you out."

Ah Huang arched its back and barked at him again. Pei Yuan sighed and picked up the broom, intending to swat its backside with the wooden stick, but Bao Ning glared at him and stopped him, "Just get on with your work!"

Pei Yuan knew he couldn't escape and moved the chair aside, carefully sweeping around.

He called it careful, but it was really just a less obvious attempt to deceive. He pretended to sweep for about a quarter of an hour, then gathered the dirt into the dustpan and threw it out.

Watching him walk away, Bao Ning hugged Ah Huang and giggled secretly.

When Pei Yuan returned, she immediately looked away, casually flipping a page in her book as if she hadn't been spying on him earlier, and casually said, "You've worked hard."

"Don't pretend with me, you think I don't know what you're up to?" Pei Yuan chuckled, leaning against the door and knocking on the doorframe with his knuckles. "What else needs to be done? Tell me quickly, I'm eager now."

"We're all hungry, so go cook." Bao Ning replied.

Pei Yuan's smile froze. "I thought you were just kidding earlier."

"What?" Bao Ning asked.

"I'll do it, but are you daring enough to eat it?" Pei Yuan raised his eyebrows and gestured with his hand. "Do you really want to eat what I cook?"

Bao Ning smiled brightly. "Only if it's you cooking. I won't eat it if someone else does."

"I must have done something terribly wrong to owe you." Pei Yuan gritted his teeth. "Last time I cooked, you were afraid I'd ruin your cutting board and wouldn't let me do anything."

"This time, even if you ruin the cutting board, it's not mine, it's someone else's. You just have to compensate them. I felt bad because I didn't want your money." Bao Ning shifted position, lying on her stomach on the bed with her legs crossed, smiling playfully. "Go on, or I'll use a little whip on you."

Pei Yuan raised his chin and asked, "Where did you get a little whip?"

Bao Ning grabbed Ah Huang's furry tail. "This is it."

Feeling unusually lively today, Bao Ning released Ah Huang's tail and began to play with her own hair. "I also have a little braid—"

"You little troublemaker." Pei Yuan chuckled and scolded her, walking over to pinch her nose and shake it gently. "Are you trying to make things difficult for your good brother?"

"Don't try to flatter yourself."

Bao Ning sat up, her expression serious, imitating Pei Yuan's cold demeanor from yesterday in the study, repeating his words, "What are you doing here for no reason?"

Pei Yuan hesitated. "Am I that annoying?"

Bao Ning snorted coldly, furrowing her brows. "The study is off-limits without permission, especially for women. Didn't you know?"

Pei Yuan's face showed a hint of embarrassment. He asked suspiciously, "Am I really that disliked?"

"You're a hundred times more disliked than the way I imitated just now." Bao Ning tugged on Little Lamb's tail. "Wouldn't you agree?"

Little Lamb bleated.

Pei Yuan's lips twitched. "You've got a loyal entourage."

Bao Ning smiled with her eyes half-closed, rubbing Ah Huang's head with her chin. "Our little entourage at home is great—obedient and unlike a certain man, a sour-faced big monkey."

Pei Yuan pointed to his own nose. "Did you call me a monkey?"

"Who knows?" Bao Ning playfully shrugged, closing her eyes comfortably. With the golden command token in her hand today, she wasn't afraid of Pei Yuan not listening to her. She could say whatever she wanted and see him sulking, which made her very happy.

The sour-faced monkey silently swallowed his pride and sat down beside Bao Ning, trying to negotiate with her, "The things you mentioned are too difficult—vegetarian buns and crystal shrimp dumplings. By the time I make them, it'll be daylight."

Bao Ning glanced at him with half-open eyes.

"Let's keep it simpler." Pei Yuan kissed her earlobe and blew into her ear. "Let me make something I know how to make."

"Okay..." Bao Ning nodded towards Liu Mama's room. "There's a small iron pot in her room. Borrow it and then get some vegetables and meat from the kitchen. If there are dumplings, get some of those too. Don't forget the seasonings. We'll have hotpot with clear soup."

"Just boil the water and put everything in, right?" Pei Yuan understood. "I know. I used to eat like that when I was in the Northern Frontier."

Bao Ning gestured with her fingers, shooing him away. "Enough chatter, go."

Pei Yuan snorted, grabbed her fingertip, and put it in his mouth, biting it playfully. "Let you have your way for a couple of days, and I'll have you eat your words later."

He threw on his coat, hung it over his shoulders, and walked out, slamming the door shut.

Bao Ning wiped Pei Yuan's saliva off Ah Huang and chuckled with her head down, "He's angry, did you see that? He's angry."

Bao Ning pouted. "He deserves it."

Pei Yuan returned after a quarter of an hour, hands full of everything he needed.

Old Mrs. Zhang, who tended the sheep in the kitchen, was exceptionally warm. She handed him a small basket containing a bottle of goat's milk, six or seven seasonal vegetables, and some slices of good lamb.

His face didn't look too good. Bao Ning guessed he must have been questioned in the kitchen, and Pei Yuan hadn't saved face.

Bao Ning sat on the bed, swinging her legs back and forth, watching Pei Yuan organize things.

Old Mrs. Liu's small iron pot was lit with a kerosene stove. It was too dangerous to put it on the table, so Pei Yuan placed it on the ground and moved two small stools aside.

He used a match to light the fire, poured water into the pot, covered it, and looked at Bao Ning. "Are you not coming down yet? Should I wait to invite you?"

Bao Ning asked, "Did you get bowls?"

"...," Pei Yuan muttered lowly, stood up, got dressed, and went outside to get bowls and chopsticks.

When he returned, the water was already boiling. Bao Ning was stirring the vegetables inside, and a rich aroma filled the air. Pei Yuan walked closer and saw that the pot wasn't filled with clear water; it was murky, and he didn't know what Bao Ning had put in it, probably chili powder, as it smelled salty and spicy.

He wasn't that hungry, but smelling the fragrance made him restless.

Ah Huang and the little lamb sat three steps away, peeking over but not daring to come closer. They must have been scolded just now.

Looking at their drooping heads, Pei Yuan inexplicably sighed with relief, feeling a sense of schadenfreude.

The vegetables quickly cooked, shrinking and not looking very appetizing, sticking to the sides of the pot. Pei Yuan moved his chopsticks to try and pick some, but Bao Ning slapped his hand away. "Have you washed your hands?"

"What's with all the fuss?" Pei Yuan frowned. "I'll wash them after eating a bite."

Bao Ning didn't speak, just stared at him.

"Fine, fine, I'll wash them." Pei Yuan put down the chopsticks, washed his hands at the corner basin, and then thought for a moment before fetching a jar of wine from the cabinet.

Bao Ning slurped at the tip of her chopsticks, looking surprised. "When did you hide wine?"

"Hide? I just put it there. You didn't see." Pei Yuan sat down, legs apart, popped open the wine stopper with a 'pop,' poured a bowl for Bao Ning and one for himself.

The aroma of the wine wafted out, filling the entire room with a spicy fragrance. Bao Ning covered her nose. "I'm not drinking."

"Take a sip. You'll definitely like it." Pei Yuan held the bowl, tempting her.

Bao Ning moved back. "I don't want to. If I drink, I'll act crazy, and you know that..."

Pei Yuan suddenly remembered that night, smiled, poured himself a bowl, rested his wrist on his knee, and went to pick vegetables.

The two ate dinner around the small stove, the hotpot steaming, making both of them sweat profusely. Pei Yuan drank two bowls of wine, with more being intercepted by Bao Ning. His alcohol tolerance was actually good, and tonight he had nothing to hide, just a little drink. He was sober.

Bao Ning's cheeks were flushed, and she let out a small burp. Pei Yuan chuckled.

He took another sip of wine, didn't swallow it, held it in his mouth, extinguished the coal stove's fire, then got up and pulled Bao Ning up, wrapping his arm around her waist, leading her towards the bed.

Bao Ning tugged at her clothes, feeling troubled. "We shouldn't have eaten this. It's too sticky, and I won't be comfortable sleeping tonight."

Pei Yuan didn't speak, unable to speak either, his eyes fixed on Bao Ning. He looked down on her, able to see the curve of her chest. His eyes darkened, unable to help but think of the first time he saw her.

In just a few months, Bao Ning's figure had changed a lot. Originally slender, she had gained some flesh, exuding a bit of mature charm now. Unaware, she still acted cute like a child.

Bao Ning finally noticed Pei Yuan's scorching gaze, raised her head in surprise, and asked shyly, covering her chest, "Why are you looking at me like this?"

She remembered something and blushed, covering her mouth, "You shameless rogue!"

Pei Yuan leaned close to her. Bao Ning was about to dodge when Pei Yuan held the back of her head. His lips pressed against hers, and with one hand, he pinched her chin, skillfully making her open her mouth.

A liquid with a spicy aroma rushed in. Bao Ning widened her eyes, continually pounding Pei Yuan's chest. He didn't dodge, determined to pass everything in his mouth to her.

"Is it tasty?" Pei Yuan smiled at her. "I told you, you'd like it for sure."

"You shameless!" Bao Ning was extremely embarrassed, standing there at a loss for words, especially seeing Pei Yuan's smug look, feeling even more speechless.

How could this person be like this, shameless and unashamed, and not even disgusted with her dirty self?

Bao Ning wiped her lips frantically with her sleeve. Pei Yuan leaned over, whispered to her, "Ning Ning, I'm also a vigorous man with some needs that can't be avoided. If you don't let me eat meat, I have to drink some soup, otherwise, won't you be forcing me onto the path of a monk?"

He ambiguously rubbed her forehead with his nose. "What do you say?"

Bao Ning stared blankly, before she could speak, she suddenly heard heavy footsteps outside, followed by Qiu Mingshan's voice.

He knocked on the door urgently. "Yuan'er, Yuan'er, are you asleep? Why did you make such a decision? Why didn't you discuss it with me?"

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