Di Yao lay on her side, watching Wei Xunzhou's sleeping face, her mind racing...
She had left the only lantern in the yard at Ning Shuhe's house. Now, the entire yard was pitch black except for the main hall. Not paying attention, Di Yao stepped into a pothole on the ground and fell, her knee giving way.
She cried out in surprise, sat up, brushed the dust and pebbles off her hands, and stood up.
Di Yao alternated bending and stretching her legs, then did several squats on the spot to make sure her legs were fine. "What bad luck, but at least I'm not injured."
The door to the main hall opened, spilling more light into the yard, but because of the distance, Di Yao's surroundings were still dark.
Di Yao immediately stood up straight and looked up at Wei Xunzhou. He was naturally standing tall, and from her perspective, she couldn't clearly see his expression. Fortunately, her attention was entirely drawn to his tall stature and broad shoulders.
Wei Xunzhou held a lantern in one hand and tugged at his cloak behind him with the other. After recognizing the person in the yard, he descended the steps.
Di Yao trotted towards him, but when she saw him stop, she realized she had lost her composure. She slowed down and stopped two paces away from him.
"Hus—" Di Yao began, but then saw Wei Xunzhou glance at the spot on the fence where the lantern had hung, and he interrupted her with a cold tone.
"Where's the lantern?"
Di Yao swallowed the words she had been about to say. "I gave it to Grandma Ning next door."
If she remembered correctly, there had only been two lanterns in their house. Now, having taken the liberty to give one away, only one remained, which was certainly not as convenient as having two.
After speaking, Di Yao felt a bit guilty, and also noticed a slight pain in her left knee.
She had anticipated that Wei Xunzhou would pry into who Grandma Ning was, ask why she had gone next door in the middle of the night, and then scold her a bit.
But Di Yao was wrong and overthinking. Wei Xunzhou's expression didn't change at all. He simply nodded, shoved the lantern into Di Yao's hand, turned around, and went back inside.
Di Yao had never met someone so taciturn, with almost no expression on their face. She wanted to guess his thoughts but couldn't figure him out at all.
However, she knew that giving away something from the house without discussing it with Wei Xunzhou would put her in the wrong if he really got angry.
She hurried to catch up to him, switching the lantern to her other hand so it could light both of them.
"Husband, be careful. There are some potholes in the yard; don't trip."
Wei Xunzhou slightly turned his head, lowering his eyelashes to glance at the woman beside him. The warm yellow candlelight made Di Yao's skin appear pink and translucent, and even the fine strands of hair around her face were wrapped in a warm glow, dancing with her movements.
They entered the house together. Candles were lit in every corner. Wei Xunzhou took the lantern from Di Yao, blew it out, and placed it on the round table in the middle of the bedroom.
The house had already been swept clean by Wei Xunzhou, with everything arranged neatly. Di Yao exclaimed in admiration, "Wow!" several times in a row.
"The room is so clean and tidy! I didn't expect you to be so good at housework, husband—much better than me!" Di Yao's appreciation for Wei Xunzhou rose several notches, and even the dejection from her visit to Ning Shuhe was mostly gone.
Wei Xunzhou remained indifferent to Di Yao's torrent of praise. He simply walked around the screen, untied his cloak with one hand, and hung it on the rack.
Di Yao glanced at his slender, bony fingers, then looked away. She leaned against the screen and peered towards the bed.
The bed, which had been bare with only a wooden board, now had a full set of bedding and pillows. The mattress was so smooth it had no creases. Delighted, Di Yao sat down heavily, patted the two soft quilts, and lay down in a starfish position.
After a full day of activity, she was indeed tired. If not for Wei Xunzhou's presence, she would have happily fallen asleep like this.
Satisfied, Di Yao closed her eyes and rolled over on the bed, then felt something hard dig into her shoulder.
She reached out and pulled the object out—it turned out to be a pillow placed vertically in the middle of the bed.
At first, Di Yao didn't think much of it, but after a while, she realized something was off.
There were already two pillows at the head of the bed, so including the one in her arms, there were three in total.
Why did Wei Xunzhou put an extra pillow on the bed? And why was it placed vertically right in the middle?
Di Yao glanced at Wei Xunzhou, who was tidying his clothes, and sat up.
Wei Xunzhou was meticulous in his work, and Di Yao didn't think he had simply forgotten to put the pillow away.
"It seems our marriage really doesn't have much feeling," Di Yao thought. She put the pillow back and stood by the screen again.
There was only one bed in the house. Wasn't Wei Xunzhou's intention clear—he didn't want to share the bed with her and was deliberately drawing a boundary?
Di Yao felt much more at ease. Without even needing to test him, she had already figured out the nature of their relationship in life. Now she knew what to pay attention to in their future interactions.
Wei Xunzhou took off his outer robe, leaving only an inner garment, also black.
Di Yao didn't dare comment. Seeing Wei Xunzhou sit on the bed and take off his shoes, she wisely went around the screen to blow out the candles.
The room instantly darkened, leaving only the lamp by the head of the bed.
Di Yao tugged at her skirt, lowered her head, and sat down next to Wei Xunzhou. He was resting with his eyes closed. Neither of them spoke or made any other move.
The more awkward and stagnant the atmosphere became, the more uncomfortable Di Yao felt. She noticed that a carpet had been placed on the floor beside the bed and asked, "There's a carpet in our room? Why didn't I notice it before?"
Wei Xunzhou opened his eyes and turned to look at Di Yao.
"It's late."
Di Yao blinked rapidly. "I know."
Wei Xunzhou glanced towards the inside of the bed again.
Di Yao immediately understood and took off her shoes to get on the bed. "Please blow out the candle, husband."
She was clever and, realizing that Wei Xunzhou didn't like her, didn't act coy. She accepted everything from him without any awkwardness.
She pulled the quilt over herself, wrapping herself tightly, leaving only her head exposed. The vertically placed pillow stood like a barrier, completely separating them, ensuring they wouldn't touch each other.
"At least the bed is big enough," Di Yao thought as she watched Wei Xunzhou blow out the candle and lie down beside her.