As soon as she finished speaking, she quickly hung up the phone, turned it off, and smiled at Fang Zidu.
"The eldest brother attacked the youngest brother?"
“Stop sponsoring his art exhibition.”
Fang Zidu smiled and said, "Then what should we do? Find another sponsor?"
My brother-in-law doesn't seem like someone who's easy to persuade.
“My uncle’s art exhibition looks quite high-class, but it doesn’t actually make money. He’s also lazy, and even when people are willing to pay for his work, he won’t sell it. Unless he changes his personality and starts making empty promises, this is really hard to resolve.”
“This is the trouble of being controlled,” Fang Zidu said. “Hopefully, we can be more autonomous in the future.”
Xiang Lan didn't speak. She recalled the day Xiang Yuan said he didn't want the child. It felt as if a demon had been planted in her heart, allowing her melancholy to feed and grow, gnawing at her soul. But today, chatting and laughing with Milan, she began to realize that she and Fang Zi were both lucky and happy encounters for each other.
Upon arriving at the hotel, the two got out of the car. She took Fang Zidu's arm and said coquettishly, "I'm hungry."
What would you like to eat?
"I don't know, my mouth has no taste, I want to eat something spicy."
"Let's check in first, then we'll take you to eat qingtuan (a type of glutinous rice dumpling)."
The hotel was very clean, and there was no odor in the room. Xiang Lan took off her bag and rolled onto the bed, reaching out to massage her sore back and thighs.
Fangzi took the contents out of both bags and hung them in the wardrobe. She put the gifts for the elders away separately. Seeing her rubbing her back, she went to the bathroom and wrung out a hot towel.
"Wipe my face for me." Xiang Lan lay there, not wanting to move.
Fangzi knelt on one knee on the bed, carefully wiping her eyes and mouth. When his finger touched her lips, she bit it.
"You—" Fang Zidu looked at her, and she raised an eyebrow at him, licking his fingertip with her tongue.
He used his other hand to remove the towel and placed it on the bedside table, then lay down beside her. "Tired? Weren't we going out to get something to eat?"
She released his fingers, kissed the back of his hand, and said, "I don't want to move."
"Let me massage your back." Fang Zidu's hand slid down, slipped under her clothes, and landed on her waist, kneading it gently. "Is it here?"
“Yes, be gentle—” Xiang Lan’s hands were not idle either, touching his eyebrows and fingertips to brush against his long eyelashes, “Such beautiful eyes.”
"Please don't use 'pretty,' okay?"
"Then what should we use? Beauty?" Xiang Lan leaned forward to kiss his lips, pressing her forehead against his, and said, "Why are your eyes so bright? It's like they've been illuminated—"
"Your eyes are beautiful too." Fang Zidu kissed her lips, and his grip on her lips became even lighter.
She couldn't help but laugh, curling up into a ball. "You're too gentle. It's not pinching, it's touching! It's so ticklish."
Fang Zi indulgently watched her roll around on the bed, then pulled her into his arms and held her still, saying, "Don't wriggle around like that."
Her face flushed. "Okay, use a little force, I won't break."
Her skin was white and delicate, and red marks would appear if she was touched even slightly. He was very careful, afraid of hurting her, but she didn't appreciate it and stayed restlessly in his arms like a soft ball.
Xiang Lan felt uncomfortable through her clothes, so she simply took off her coat, lifted the hem of her thin sweater, and let her pants hang down to reveal her slender, fair waist. She pulled his hand to her side and said, "It's here. Just use this amount of pressure and massage slowly."
"Okay." Fangzi was very obedient. He touched her with a large hand, not too lightly or too heavily, and soon she was as comfortable as a kitten, curled up on the bed and didn't move.
"Is it comfortable?"
"That feels good." Xiang Lan hummed, grabbing his clothes and slipping her hand inside. "I want to touch you too."
"That's inconvenient."
"Then you lean against the headboard, and I'll lean against you."
Fang Zi laughed; he had actually started to get used to and cooperate with her roguish behavior.
"Also, take off your big coat, it's prickly."
Fangzi obediently followed orders, took off his clothes, and leaned against the headboard. Xiang Lan immediately snuggled up to him, put her hands inside his clothes, hugged his waist, and caressed his smooth, firm skin.
There was no noise in the room, except for the occasional hum from Xiang Lan. He slowly moved his hand to her lower abdomen, pushed aside the edge of her underwear, and felt that the skin there was a little cooler than the rest of her skin.
"It's a little cool here." Fang Zi pressed it down. "Can you feel it?"
"Yes, I can feel it."
Are you feeling unwell?
"No."
"It is better for the fetus to develop in a warm environment."
When this topic came up, Xiang Lan fell silent.
Fangzi kissed her on the head and said, "Don't be too nervous."
"I don't."
"Your body is stiff but you're still being stubborn."
"Then you taste how hard my mouth is." Xiang Lan was indeed someone who wouldn't admit defeat; even at this point, she didn't forget to provoke him.
"Okay!" He lowered his head and kissed her cherry blossom-like lips, his tongue exploring them, smacking twice, then releasing them. "So fragrant and soft."
"Is that enough?" Her lips, red with saliva, glanced at him sideways, her hand sliding down his waist to grasp his zipper and slowly pulling it down.
Young people in their early twenties are easily aroused. Even someone as calm and rational as Fang Zidu couldn't help but get excited when he saw those delicate, white fingers resting on his waistband.
"Ah. It's stuck—" Xiang Lan chuckled softly.
Fang Zi pulled his hand away from her lower abdomen and pressed down on the back of her playful hand, saying, "Don't tease me."
Xiang Lan shook her head, her fingertips sliding across the bulge through the fabric. "Teacher Fang, I still need to ask you what 'The Naked Ape' and 'The Third Kind of Ape' are."
His face flushed red; the stimulation was too direct, and he couldn't bear it.
"What is it?" Xiang Lan tilted her head back and licked his chin. "Teach me quickly!"
"It's just two textbooks, one about animals—" Fang Zi took a deep breath, and her hand actually slipped through the gap in the opening.
"Animals what?"
“By comparing the growth, courtship, mating, and parenting of animals with those of humans, we can study human animal behavior.” Fang Zidu spoke haltingly, the stimulation too direct. He stiffened, but still instinctively opened up to make it easier for her to move.
"Then what about 'Where Does Sexual Interest Come From?' What is it about?" Xiang Lan looked at his face with a grin. "I don't understand. Can you demonstrate it for me?"
"I can't hold back anymore." Fang Zi tried his best to calm down, but she didn't give him the chance at all. She slid her thumb across his tip twice and curiously hooked it with her fingernail.
He suddenly bent down, his body trembled, and flipped over swiftly, pinning her beneath him. He grabbed her wrists and held them high above her head. "You can't do this."
“I can.” Xiang Lan blinked and said playfully, “You’re my husband, so I can use your body however I want. Besides, I have animalistic instincts.”
"Xiang Lan, are you jealous?"
“Of course, how can you discuss sex-related things with other women? Although I don’t read many books, I can understand—” Her hand gripped his tightly, slowly sliding and controlling his body.
“No, that’s not it.” Fang Zidu whispered in her ear, “I did it for you, to understand women and sex better, to know the source of your pain.”
"So, did you find it?" She rubbed the tip of his penis, feeling its suppleness.
"Don't do this, I'm afraid I'll hurt you." He tried his best to be patient.
"You won't."
"I will." Fang Zi kissed the tip of her nose, then slipped a hand under her lower abdomen, touching the cool skin. "I've already hurt you here, and it's still growing, making you suffer, and I can't help you at all."
"Zidu, I—" Xiang Lan swallowed hard.
"You're afraid of him, aren't you?"
"I don't know," Xiang Lan said, somewhat flustered. "He might be a little monster that could tear my stomach open."
"Xiang Lan, you're fearless, why would you be afraid of him?" He held her head to his chest with one hand and placed the other on her lower abdomen. "He's just a soft, chubby little dumpling who doesn't know anything yet. You can wait until he comes out, then grab his legs, spank his bottom, and make him cry."
"I've seriously considered the difference between having children and being childless. Both choices can lead to a wonderful life; it just depends on where you focus your attention. Without children, I can dedicate more time to you and my work, and perhaps have a more fulfilling life. So, being childless is also a great option—"
He forcefully pulled her hands away, the velvety friction was intoxicating. He pulled down the thin strap of her panties hanging on her hips, placing his penis inside, and said with a flushed face, "But we have to solve this problem first."
Xiang Lanxin felt a little heavy-hearted. While she was still agonizing over this possibility, he had already begun implementing his plans and arrangements. Subconsciously, she wanted to escape, to stop thinking about it. She kicked off her trouser legs, and with the movement, their warm bodies touched. She hesitated and said, "It shouldn't take three months, right?"
She didn't realize that her question had already revealed her instinctive choice.
"Even if there's only a one in ten thousand chance, we still need to be careful." He lowered his body, took a deep breath, and said, "This is science, so we can only stay outside—"
He smiled; she was such a sweet little thing, tough on the outside but soft on the inside.
Chapter 41
Xiang Lan's first meeting with her mother-in-law was a very awkward scene.
Fang Zi got up early to buy breakfast at a supposedly very famous local shop, specifically the qingtuan (green glutinous rice dumplings) he highly recommended. Xiang Lan, on the other hand, lay in bed sleeping in. She had traveled a long way the day before and had been playful the night before, insisting on being intimate with him twice. In the end, he felt it wasn't appropriate and firmly rejected her advances. At that time, she felt that the little thing in her belly was really in the way, and the time for her to lose her virginity seemed endlessly distant.
She slowly got out of bed, grabbed one of his clothes and put it on, then sauntered to the bathroom to wash her face and brush her teeth. Looking in the mirror, she noticed her skin looked much better than a few days ago, and for a moment, she lost herself in admiring her flawless, fair skin. She turned on the hot water to shower, washed her hair, and dried it with the hairdryer. She ran her fingers through her half-damp hair, turned it off, and heard the door open. She tugged at her loose clothes, looked down at her straight thighs, and saw a tooth mark he had left on the inside of her fair, rosy thighs.
She chuckled, wondering if giving him a steamy surprise so early in the morning would be a pleasant surprise. So she opened the door and went out, calling out, "Zidu, you bit me last night, there are teeth marks—"
However, she couldn't speak, because the middle-aged woman beside Fang Zidu had a similar face to his, but her features were more refined and cold. Upon seeing her, he raised an eyebrow and scrutinized her from head to toe for a few seconds. "Xiang Lan?"
It was a very impolite scene. Why didn't Fangzi inform her mother-in-law in advance that she was also coming?
Fang Zi was also dumbfounded. After buying breakfast, he ran into his mother waiting in the hotel lobby. To avoid an awkward situation, he immediately called and texted Xiang Lan. Who knew?
"I'm sorry, I was too presumptuous," Fang Zidu's mother apologized. "I'll wait for you in the lobby. Come down and find me after you've finished breakfast. But please be quick, I can only wait for an hour."
Xiang Lan didn't have time to say a word, and just stared blankly as her mother-in-law walked out with elegant steps.
"Oh my god—" she patted her chest, "Fang Zidu, why did you bring him up here?"
He was also a little annoyed, and placed the lunchbox on the small square table, saying, "I'm sorry, I'll be more careful next time."
"My image!" Xiang Lan said indignantly, "It's all ruined! What am I going to do? My carefully planned first appearance is completely destroyed."
"My mom doesn't care about these things."
"How could that be? Your mother is dressed very formally, and every strand of her hair shines with an air of discipline. How could she not care?" Although they had only spent a minute together, Xiang Lan could clearly see her mother-in-law's meticulous style of dress.
"She's demanding of herself, but not so much of a deal with others—"
"If I ever trust you again, I'm a pig." Xiang Lan opened the wardrobe, bent down to rummage through her clothes, revealing her beautifully shaped buttocks and thighs. Fang Zi looked away, but couldn't bear to, his gaze lingering on the pearly skin of her thighs, where a bright red tooth mark was faintly visible, adding a touch of eroticism.