Chapter 30

Not long after buying breakfast, Hong Yan went to Lin Xiaoyu's room to check, but still found no one. She returned to her own room, telling Liu Wendong to eat first while she went to call Xu Yingzhang to join them. However, Liu Wendong grabbed her and said, "I think Xu Yingzhang stayed up late last night, so it's best not to disturb him. Let's save some for him, and he can eat after he's had enough sleep."

Hearing this, Hong Yan couldn't help but be suspicious: "What's wrong with you today? Why do you seem to know everything in advance? You said Lin Xiaoyu was definitely fine and would appear soon. Now you're saying Xu Yingzhang stayed up late and needs more sleep. What's your game? What are you hiding from me?" She stared at Liu Wendong with her beautiful eyes, trying to read his face. But all she saw was his increasingly lecherous smile. She tapped his head with her chopsticks and said, "Why are you smiling so disgustingly, looking like you're asking for a beating?" After saying this, she pondered his words and suddenly understood, her face turning red. Seeing that Liu Wendong still had that lecherous smile, she hit him again with the chopsticks, scolding, "Men are all the same, always thinking about those things. Poor Xiaoyu, just a few days ago she said how sincere and reasonable Xu Yingzhang was. Now, after agreeing to be his girlfriend, she's been tricked into bed."

Hong Yan was angry, and this time she hit him harder. Liu Wendong exaggeratedly cried out, rubbing his head and said with a hint of grievance, "You didn't have to hit so hard. I was just smiling; it's not illegal. Besides, I didn't say anything. It's all in your head, thinking I'm always thinking about those things. I'm so wronged."

Seeing that she had hurt him, Hong Yan quickly put down her chopsticks and used her hand to rub his head, but she didn't let up, saying, "Who told you to smile so lecherously? You're asking for it." After rubbing a few times, she asked gently, "Does it still hurt?"

Liu Wendong wasn't really in pain; he was just pretending. After his injury, Hong Yan was very sensitive to any discomfort he showed, always fearing he might have some aftereffects. So she never questioned whether he was really uncomfortable or just faking it. Liu Wendong took advantage of this, often pretending to be uncomfortable to fool Hong Yan and get some extra affection. Since he couldn't do anything too strenuous with his wound not yet healed, he could only look but not touch the beautiful woman who was at his disposal. Of course, the more he used this trick, the more Hong Yan would eventually realize she was being fooled. But she never said anything, still acting as if she was very concerned about him, allowing him to get some extra affection and small favors. Over time, both of them knew they were playing along, but they both enjoyed it. As they often said, after being married for a long time, they needed to add some spice to their relationship to keep it lively. As Wang Xiaojun said at their golden wedding anniversary fifty years later, they were a model of the most successful couple among the time travelers. What made Hong Yan most proud was that Liu Wendong was the only male time traveler who had only one wife.

However, at this moment, Hong Yan hadn't seen through Liu Wendong's little tricks. As soon as he showed any discomfort, she immediately panicked. After hitting him twice, Liu Wendong said he had a headache, and Hong Yan immediately lost her temper, rubbing his head and asking if he still hurt. Liu Wendong pretended to have a headache while wrapping his arm around Hong Yan's waist and said, "You hit so hard, of course it hurts. But there is a way to make me feel better."

"What way? Tell me quickly," Hong Yan asked urgently, not realizing she had fallen into his trap.

"The way I've told you many times. Kiss me. They say kissing can reduce pain. If you kiss long enough, it won't hurt anymore," Liu Wendong pointed to his face and mouth.

Although she was skeptical of his theory, she remembered reading something similar online or in a magazine, and it seemed reasonable. Moreover, being intimate with her lover was natural. So she didn't hesitate to bring her lips close, and Liu Wendong's trick worked again as expected.

After a while of intimate moments, Hong Yan finally escaped from Liu Wendong's "magic mouth" and "magic hands," straightening her clothes and giving him a shy and seductive look. After catching her breath, she checked her watch and saw it was almost 10:15. She wanted to check if Lin Xiaoyu had returned to her room. Liu Wendong held her back, telling her not to rush and to wait a bit longer, saying they could just have lunch if necessary.

While Hong Yan and Liu Wendong were betting on who would come out first, Xu Shaoguan or Lin Xiaoyu, in Xu Shaoguan's bedroom, Lin Xiaoyu was using all her tricks to get Xu Shaoguan to let her up. The sunlight streaming in indicated it was already late, and Lin Xiaoyu was still shy and didn't want to be seen coming out of Xu Shaoguan's room.

The problem was that Xu Shaoguan had no intention of letting her go. He kept touching her and saying sweet words, trying to get her to stay longer. Lin Xiaoyu, unable to resist, lay back down next to him, poking his forehead with her finger and said, "How can you be so unreasonable? We agreed last night that after a bit of indulgence, I would go back to my room. You agreed at first, but once you got me to bed, you changed your mind. You denied your promise and even hid my clothes so I couldn't get up. It's already broad daylight, and Hong Yan and Old Liu must be up. I'll be embarrassed if they see me."

Xu Shaoguan, hearing Lin Xiaoyu's complaints, felt no remorse but was rather proud and accomplished. After promising to let her go at 10:00, he continued to do what he liked, leaving Lin Xiaoyu with no choice.

Ten minutes later, Xu Shaoguan, satisfied, finally kept his promise, let Lin Xiaoyu go, and told her where her clothes were hidden. Lin Xiaoyu quickly got dressed, washed up, and was about to leave when she stopped at the door, thinking for a moment and returning to the bedroom. Xu Shaoguan, who was washing his face, saw her return and teased, "Why aren't you leaving? Do you miss me?" Lin Xiaoyu rolled her eyes and told him to hurry up and check if anyone was outside. Xu Shaoguan, though thinking it was unnecessary, still went to check.

Just as Xu Shaoguan was about to open the door, Hong Yan couldn't wait any longer. Ignoring Liu Wendong's protests, she insisted on checking if Lin Xiaoyu had returned to her room. She opened her door and heard Xu Shaoguan's door moving, quickly closing her door and peeking through the crack. Liu Wendong, seeing her sneaky behavior, thought to himself, "Women are naturally gossipy."

Hong Yan, unaware of her husband's thoughts, was focused on whether Lin Xiaoyu would come out of Xu Shaoguan's room. Sure enough, Xu Shaoguan's door opened slightly, and he peeked out. Seeing no one in the courtyard and the door to Liu Wendong's room closed, he withdrew. Soon, Lin Xiaoyu appeared at the door, kissing Xu Shaoguan several times before finally breaking free and rushing to her room. Xu Shaoguan lingered at the door for a while before turning to Liu Wendong and Hong Yan's side. Hong Yan, seeing him coming, quickly ran back to the dining table, pinching Liu Wendong, who was laughing and complaining about his wound, and then hid in the bedroom.

Just as Hong Yan entered the bedroom, Xu Shaoguan was already knocking on the door. Liu Wendong, finally stopping his laughter, stood up to open the door. Xu Shaoguan, surprised by Liu Wendong's grimacing, asked, "Old Liu, what's wrong? Is there a problem with your wound? Should I call Doctor Lin to check?"

This made Liu Wendong, who was barely holding back his laughter, burst out again, his face contorting even more. Xu Shaoguan, finding his behavior too strange, didn't wait for an answer and quickly went to find Lin Xiaoyu.

A short while later, Lin Xiaoyu came with Xu Shaoguan to check Liu Wendong's wound. The check revealed no issues; it was just that other movements had affected his wound. When Lin Xiaoyu asked what he had been doing, Liu Wendong couldn't hold back and revealed that Hong Yan had been peeking. The room immediately turned into chaos. Xu Shaoguan sternly criticized Liu Wendong for allowing his wife to spy on others' privacy and demanded better management to prevent such incidents. Lin Xiaoyu, her face red to her neck, rushed into the bedroom and pounced on the bed, tickling and pinching Hong Yan until she begged for mercy and promised not to reveal the incident.

After the joke, Xu Shaoguan called Lin Xiaoyu to come out for breakfast. But Lin Xiaoyu refused to come out, and Hong Yan eventually brought the breakfast into the bedroom. After a bit of whispering, the shame of being caught in a secret gradually faded. In front of Hong Yan, Lin Xiaoyu returned to her usual little sister state, despite being only a few months younger. After some questioning, she finally admitted, blushing, that she had spent the night in Xu Shaoguan's room. Hong Yan couldn't help but tease her, making her even more uncomfortable.

While the two women were whispering, Xu Shaoguan and Liu Wendong, the two men, sat in the courtyard, drinking tea and chatting. Just as they were chatting happily, someone knocked on the gate. Xu and Liu stopped talking, looked at each other, and became wary. In Liangxiang County, they had few acquaintances, and the only one they had met was the constable Zheng Boming, and that was during the chaos at the temple fair. It was unlikely that Zheng Boming would remember them, let alone come to visit. Besides Zheng Boming, there were only the acrobat who had injured Liu Wendong and his master, Ding Yuchang. Thinking of this, Xu Shaoguan subconsciously reached for his gun, and Liu Wendong called out, "Who is it?"

The shop assistant's voice came from outside: "Daoist Liu, it's me, the shop assistant Sanbao. There's a guest outside who wants to see you."

Xu and Liu became even more wary. Liu Wendong asked, "Which friend wants to see me?"

Sanbao replied, "Daoist Liu, it's a girl from the south who wants to see you."

Xu and Liu were both taken aback. In this unfamiliar county, how could a girl want to see them?