Chapter 22: A Man’s Pride Takes a Blow

Seeing his movements, Lin Xiuqing immediately understood what he wanted and directly turned her back toward him.

Ye Yaodong wrapped an arm around her waist and whispered by her ear,

“Aqing? Don’t sleep yet. It’s only a little past seven. Still early.”

“What’s early about it? I still have to get up early tomorrow to work. Go to sleep.”

She was his wife. Surely she wouldn’t refuse him just because he wanted to sleep with her?

Ye Yaodong immediately made his move.

Having eaten his food, Lin Xiuqing found herself soft-hearted. She bit her lip, wanting to refuse but somehow unable to.

She should never have drunk that soup earlier!

Ye Yaodong teased her by nibbling her ear for a while before turning her body around and pressing himself over her.

“Y-you hurry up…”

“Got it.”

After a brief rustling and fumbling around, just as things were getting started, Ye Yaodong suddenly frowned deeply, his expression twisting between pleasure and pain.

He cursed inwardly.

Fuck!

“You’re done already?”

Facing his wife’s shocked eyes and incredulous tone, embarrassment immediately climbed onto his face.

“You were the one who told me to hurry up!”

Lin Xiuqing fell silent for a moment.

“Then get off and go lie back in your spot.”

Ye Yaodong felt the need to explain himself.

“I’ve been kind of tired lately. Let me rest a bit, then we’ll go again.”

He hadn’t worked a single day and still dared say he was tired?

She didn’t even want to respond and shoved him aside directly.

Ye Yaodong felt his male pride had been severely wounded!

After more than ten years without doing this, suddenly returning to his younger body and getting overexcited enough to finish instantly was perfectly normal, alright…

While he was still wallowing in the emotional damage from his poor performance, his wife had already tidied herself up, put her undershirt and shorts back on, and gone to lie beside the two boys.

“Why are you sleeping over there? Come sleep here with me.”

“Huh? Over there? It’s been a long time since we slept together.”

“Didn’t you hear me? Come over here.”

“Is it because I performed badly? Weren’t you the one who told me to hurry up?”

Lin Xiuqing felt a headache coming on.

What kind of nonsense was he talking about now?

“Shut up and sleep!”

“I can’t sleep. Come over here. Let’s talk.”

“We can talk tomorrow.”

“You won’t have time tomorrow. You’ll either be watching the kids or weaving fishing nets. Plus we’re going tidal foraging again tomorrow. Come here already…”

As if it were somehow her fault.

Who was the one always disappearing from home all day?

“Come on, come over~”

When she remained silent and ignored him completely, Ye Yaodong had no choice but to crawl over himself.

“What are you doing? Are you annoying on purpose? Isn’t it crowded enough already? Just stay over there and sleep. Why keep moving back and forth?”

She glared at him impatiently.

Seriously, what was wrong with him tonight?

Had he taken the wrong medicine?

Why insist on talking in the middle of the night? What was there to talk about? Couldn’t he just let her rest peacefully for once?

Grinning shamelessly, Ye Yaodong lay on his side and pulled her into his arms.

Breathing in the faint soap scent from her body made him feel unexpectedly calm.

“Aren’t you hot? Isn’t it crowded? It’s the middle of summer and you still insist on sticking together. Fine, you sleep here, I’ll move to the other side.”

“No need. The window’s open, it’s pretty cool. It’s not that hot.”

At this time there were no air conditioners.

Their house didn’t even have a fan.

But the countryside was naturally cool enough at night, and at most people used palm-leaf fans for a breeze.

Lin Xiuqing slapped the hand around her waist, but Ye Yaodong refused to let go.

He even threw one leg over her body to trap her in place so she couldn’t crawl away.

“What’s wrong with you tonight? Are you letting anyone sleep or not?”

“Sleep a little later.”

“You don’t work, but I still have to wake up early tomorrow. Stop bothering me.”

“I’ll work too. Tomorrow I’ll go tidal foraging with you and help watch the kids, alright?”

As if she’d believe that nonsense.

Yesterday afternoon he’d barely watched them for a moment before sneaking off, and now he still had the nerve to bring up babysitting!

“Where are you touching? Stop messing around!”

Lin Xiuqing grabbed his wandering hand. She knew perfectly well he didn’t just want to cuddle and chat.

“Come on, behave. Don’t wake the kids. If they wake up, you’ll have to spend forever coaxing them back to sleep.”

The moment he said that, she didn’t dare struggle too much anymore.

She’d finally managed to get them asleep. If they woke again, she really would collapse from exhaustion.

So she could only resentfully let him do as he pleased.

Ye Yaodong was extremely satisfied with her helplessness and shamelessly pushed further.

“Let’s switch positions and lie at the other end. Easier to avoid waking the kids.”

She didn’t want to move at all.

When she refused to move, he simply tugged her up himself.

Lin Xiuqing smacked away his hand and glanced at the son tossing around in his sleep. Left with no choice, she glared at Ye Yaodong and half-pushed, half-followed him toward the foot of the bed.

And just like that, he got his way again.

But the creaking bedframe immediately made him irritated.

Creak… creak…

Turning over was one thing.

But during this kind of activity, the rhythmic squeaking sounded especially suspicious…

Lin Xiuqing bit her lip.

“Keep it quieter.”

“I’m already trying…”

This old wooden bedframe was exactly like that.

Move once and it squeaked once—normally tolerable.

But now, with this repetitive rhythm, Ye Yaodong felt like losing his mind.

In the end, things finished hastily yet again…

Damn it!

He needed to earn money and buy a new bed!

If this kept happening long-term, he seriously felt it would affect his capabilities!

“You’ve been dragging it out forever. The kids are going to wake up because of you.”

After he finally finished, Lin Xiuqing couldn’t help muttering a complaint.

“You complained when I was too fast. You complained when the bed squeaked too loudly. Now you’re complaining I took too long. Women are impossible to satisfy.”

Ye Yaodong gave her a teasing squeeze and spoke in a flirtatious tone.

“Move over already. You sleep on this side. I’m sleeping beside the kids.”

“Sleep together with me.”

Held tightly in his arms and unable to escape, Lin Xiuqing was furious enough to explode.

But every time she wanted to scold him, he blocked her with, “Don’t wake the children.”

Filled with unwillingness, she could only sleep beside him in the end.

Meanwhile, Ye Yaodong felt deeply satisfied.

After his wife died in his previous life, he’d finally woken up to reality.

A fifty-year-old man with less than two hundred yuan in his pocket, no ability and no desire to remarry, he’d remained single for over a decade.

Anyway, he’d spent most of his time drifting at sea, only returning to the village during the three-month fishing ban each year.

Without a wife, it hadn’t mattered much.

After all, he was already old.

But now, he felt an indescribable sense of regaining something he’d once lost.

“Aqing… after we split the household, let’s live properly together.”

Lin Xiuqing rolled her eyes.

“So if we don’t split the household, you’re not planning to live properly? Don’t use that as an excuse for being lazy.”

“No, I mean it sincerely.”

She simply closed her eyes, not wanting to continue the topic.

After all these years, she’d long since become thoroughly disappointed.

Whether things became good or bad, this was her life already.

She’d just endure it and continue on.

Seeing she didn’t want to talk anymore, Ye Yaodong didn’t force her.

Time revealed a person’s true heart.

He believed that no matter what, this life could never turn out worse than the previous one.

Gently stroking her cheek, he said softly,

“Sleep.”

After closing his eyes, it felt like he’d barely slept for any time at all before he hazily heard one of the children crying for their mother.

The person in his arms immediately sat up.

Not long afterward, his wife tossed the children’s blanket onto the table by the window, then took away the blanket covering him and spread it over the two boys instead.

“They wet the bed?”

“Mm.”

“That little brat. Tomorrow I’m beating his ass black and blue.”

And just like that, his dream of holding his wife all night until morning shattered on the very first night.

(End of Chapter)