Cycling

Aina walked out of the theater with her arm linked through Xia Lun's, a faint blush still lingering on her cheeks.

Xia Lun glanced at his fingers. He hadn't used much force, so the redness definitely wasn't from him pinching her.

How fascinating.

Even though the two of them went so wild at night, Aina would still blush at such simple sweet nothings.

It felt just like when they first started dating. Though back then, saying such sweet nothings wouldn't make Aina blush. She would just put on a grumpy little kitten face and shoot him a cold, almost imperceptibly arrogant, scrutinizing glare... But in reality, her little heart must have secretly skipped a few beats, right?

Compared to now, she really had changed so much.

And it was all thanks to him.

A profound sense of accomplishment at having conquered the Demon King welled up in his heart, and Xia Lun let out a silly chuckle.

"Xia Lun, that smile... why does it look so goofy? It's like you were cut from the same cloth as Liyana." Aina furrowed her brows slightly. "Is idiocy really contagious?"

"Of course not." Xia Lun's smile deepened. His arm naturally slid down to the small of her slender waist, pulling her into a warm, secure embrace as he spoke with an intimately suggestive tone. "Look at us. As husband and wife, we're practically inseparable. Plus, with all that intimate, physical contact we have every single night... you haven't caught it yet, have you?"

Aina seemed to genuinely ponder this for a moment before looking up with absolute certainty. "That must be because I'm so smart that I perfectly neutralized the idiot virus."

Xia Lun cupped Aina's face in his hands and gently squished her cheeks. "Saying something like that just makes you sound like a little idiot right now."

"Then you must have infected me." Aina immediately shifted the blame back onto Xia Lun.

"If Liyana gave me the idiot virus, it proves that the idiot virus isn't sexually transmitted... which means it's entirely possible that you also caught the idiot virus from Liyana. It has nothing to do with me." Xia Lun tossed the blame right onto Liyana. "It's all Liyana's fault."

"Mhm, alright then. It's all Liyana's fault." Aina agreed, bringing the topic to a close.

Somewhere far away, completely oblivious, Liyana let out a massive sneeze.

On the spacious streets of the elven city, pedestrians would occasionally hurry past.

The streets here were quite long, and people usually walked with a brisk pace.

Carriages were a rare sight. Instead, they were replaced by a simpler mode of transportation: two perfectly round wheels, one in front of the other, forming a very lightweight contraption. They were fitted with little bells that jingled brightly whenever riders passed one another.

"Those are gadgets made by the dwarves. Somehow, they've become quite popular here among the elves," Aina explained. "Want to give it a try, Xia Lun? I can sit on the back."

"Never mind. If we were in a hurry, it would be far too slow for us," Xia Lun said, shaking his head gently.

They were just taking a stroll, not trying to get anywhere in particular, but simply enjoying each other's company.

"Mhm. Besides, you're so clumsy, Xia Lun, you probably wouldn't be able to learn how to ride one anytime soon anyway," Aina remarked casually.

Clenched. Xia Lun's fists clenched.

Could he tolerate this? Absolutely not.

"Where do they sell them?" Xia Lun glared at Aina fiercely, secretly debating whether he should just find an inn right now and ravish her on the spot.

"Right here." Aina gave a sweet smile. With a swish of her skirt, she grabbed Xia Lun's hand and pulled him into a nearby shop.

A moment later, a swift blur darted down the street.

With Xia Lun's terrifying physical strength and absolute mastery of balance, he could catch a single droplet of water on the tip of his sword and let it roll smoothly down the blade. A mere bicycle was practically nothing to him; he mastered it the instant he got on.

Aina sat on the back seat, her hood down, allowing her long silver hair to dance in the wind behind her.

Up front, Xia Lun was standing on the pedals, driving the two wheels to spin at a blistering speed.

Aina's face flushed slightly as her mind wandered to a certain memory... Xia Lun also liked to stand up and thrust just like this at night.

Despite claiming he didn't want to earlier, it was obvious that Xia Lun was actually quite fascinated by this novel toy. He was hunched over, his back arched in a perfect cycling posture... Sitting behind him, Aina turned her head, only to be greeted by the sight of Xia Lun's rear end bobbing up and down as he pedaled furiously.

Aina puffed out her cheeks like a little squirrel.

Smack—

Aina unceremoniously delivered a firm slap right to his rear.

Oh, how the tables had turned.

"Aina!" Xia Lun flushed slightly and obediently sat his butt back down on the bicycle seat. Only then was Aina satisfied. She wrapped her arms around his waist from behind and rested her cheek affectionately against his back.

The bicycle's speed instantly slowed down to a leisurely pace.

Xia Lun didn't really have any right to complain. After all, he frequently did the exact same thing to her at night.

Aina's skin was incredibly fair; even if Xia Lun barely used any force, he would still leave faint red handprints behind... though they would always fade quickly.

Xia Lun flicked the little bell on the handlebars. It let out a crisp, pleasant chime that felt quite charming.

The sound drew the attention of a few pedestrians. Whenever they saw the couple, they couldn't help but sigh wistfully to themselves: it's great to be young.

Aina called out softly, "Xia Lun."

Xia Lun glanced back. "What's wrong?"

Aina shook her head. "Nothing."

She simply hugged Xia Lun's body a little tighter.

Feeling her warmth pressed snugly against his back, Xia Lun couldn't help but let a soft smile slip.

"Xia Lun."

"Mhm."

Aina gave a soft hmph. "You're getting impatient. You aren't as enthusiastic as before."

Xia Lun hurriedly replied, "I'm not! I'm innocent, my Lady Demon King."

"You definitely are. Before, you answered with 'what's wrong?', but now I only get an 'mhm'." Aina poked Xia Lun in the back.

"So what's wrong?"

"Nothing. I just wanted to call your name."

Xia Lun: ...

After another brief moment of silence.

"Xia Lun."

"What's wrong, Aina? Are you hoping we can find an inn right now and do the things a husband and wife should do? But I feel like it's still daytime. The sun hasn't even set yet, so it's a bit too early for that sort of thing. Even if we draw the curtains to make it pitch black, the nighttime just has a better atmosphere... Not to mention, if we do it now and use up all our stamina, you'll just start making excuses to get out of it when we continue tonight. While I know I can definitely coax you into obediently going a few more rounds with me, it's still a bit of a hassle... Ah, don't get me wrong, I'm not saying you're a hassle. In fact, I actually really enjoy the process of coaxing you..."

Xia Lun rattled off that massive string of words in a single breath, as if the more he spoke, the more it proved how much he cared about Aina.

"The next time you answer me, it had better be with even more words than that," Aina said, lightly thumping him on the back. She knew full well that Xia Lun was doing it on purpose. "Otherwise, I'll assume you're just humoring me."

Xia Lun smacked his lips. He had accidentally dug himself into a hole.

"Xia Lun," Aina's call followed immediately.

"Aina, I love you."

This time, Xia Lun simply offered that one short sentence.

"Me too."