"I’ll listen to my wife."
Since his wife spoke this way, she must have had her reasons. He inexplicably felt that Li Fugui should listen to his wife too.
Having sent Li Fugui off, Yang Ming was in a pretty good mood, as it meant he was finally alone with his wife. It was already very late, and this time, no one was likely to disturb them again.
He went to heat the kang and prepare the water for their nightly washing.
"Honey, heat more water—you should take a bath too."
Xiaoxiao was just considering the possibly sparse living conditions at Yang Ming’s academy, where bathing might not be convenient, and figured he probably just made do with a quick basin wash every day. Now that he was finally home, a good, relaxing bath would be nice.
Upon hearing this, Yang Ming’s eyes widened for a moment. Did his wife mean for him to use her special bath barrel? Since he had last used it, she had never again offered it to him.
A smile curled up at the corners of his mouth as he whispered an agreement, "Okay."
While Yang Ming heated the kang in the outer room, Xiaoxiao sat quietly beside him. He was leaving tomorrow and she wanted to take a few more glances at him. Thus, the two sat in silence.
When Yang Ming got the bath water ready and checked the temperature with his hand, finding it just right, he turned to his wife and said, "Why don’t you soak first?"
Xiaoxiao was momentarily taken aback, not expecting Yang Ming to offer her the bath. She immediately refused, "No thanks, I’ll wash after you leave."
Being with Yang Ming made bathing quite a headache—it always ended with kicking someone out. Now, she didn’t want him to leave; she wanted to look at him a bit longer. It would be just the same if she washed after he had left.
Hearing his wife’s refusal, Yang Ming felt a bit awkward and quickly explained, "I just thought, since you fought with someone today, you might feel sore tomorrow, and a soak would do you good."
Warmed by her husband’s thoughtful words, Xiaoxiao felt a warmth in her heart, "Yeah, I know."
"Then you go in first. I’ll be done soon."
"Okay." Xiaoxiao obediently went inside, listening to the splashing of water outside and wondering if a beauty might emerge from the bath soon.
Her good mood didn’t last long before she felt a pain in her stomach. She stopped waiting for her husband and forgot about the idea of a beauty emerging from the bath. Instead, she crawled into bed, clutching her stomach, which was so painful she broke out in a cold sweat.
She thought that a stomach ache was no illness—perhaps she hadn’t fully relieved herself at the toilet and would feel better after going again.
But her husband was outside bathing, and she felt really embarrassed to interrupt.
After enduring for a while, she decided she needed to sit on the toilet to feel better, so she called out, "Honey, I’m going to the toilet. Don’t worry, I won’t look at you."
Yang Ming was still outside bathing when he heard his wife’s voice. Before he could react, he saw his wife come out, looking rather odd, eyes shut tight and not looking at him, inching her way to the door, then opening it and dashing out like a shot.
"Pfft!" Seeing his wife’s humorous exit, Yang Ming couldn’t help but burst into laughter, something he had never done before.
He thought he was truly bewitched by his wife, imagining her coming back in, her eyes still closed and inching her way inside.
Suddenly, he no longer wanted to finish his bath quickly—he was curious to see her reaction when she returned.
But soon, his mind began to wander. It was so dark outside. What if his wife was afraid, or what if she hadn’t come back because she had fallen into the toilet pit?