Then You Need to Like Me a Little More, a Little More

The sun rose in the east, and the morning light was just beginning to break through the darkness.

The sky was still dim when, inside the Mo family courtyard, Ye Shu—who had finally managed to get a good night's sleep—opened his eyes and immediately caught a whiff of something milky.

"What the heck is this?"

He jolted awake and grabbed the culprit, only to find Jiang Mingyue lying sprawled across the blanket, her little foot stuffed right into his mouth. Drool dripped from the corner of her lips, soaking a large patch of the bedding.

Ye Shu: "......"

Seriously, sleep properly, will you?!

Who did you learn this from?

He gently moved Little Mingyue's foot aside, ready to go back for some more shut-eye. The whole acting gig in the Nine Nether Ruins had worn him out, and he needed to catch up on sleep.

But no sooner had he lain back down—

"Hiss~"

Ye Shu jolted with a shudder, his whole body trembling.

It felt like a bolt of electricity ran through him, sending a numbing tingle from the base of his spine straight up to his skull, nearly knocking him out.

Dude, seriously?

He lifted a corner of the blanket.

There, curled up inside the cozy quilt, was a tiny Jiang Xin. Her eyes were half-lidded, like a puppy that had caught a whiff of something delicious. Both her hands grasped Ye Shu's finger as she held it in her mouth, sucking gently with little slurping sounds.

"Mmm~ tasty........."

Jiang Xin chewed slowly while letting out contented sighs, her slender brows curving into crescent moons of delight.

This was supposed to be the Nine Nether Empress?

"This is so weird."

Ye Shu's whole body went stiff as he watched Jiang Xin, still dreaming and searching for candy, clearly treating his hand as a substitute. He wasn't sure whether he should pull his hand back.

Gotta say, it really did feel amazing.

It was completely different from having a kitten or a puppy lick your hand—it was something else entirely... hard to describe, honestly.

This feeling!

Looking at her now, watching the innocence she showed in her sleep, and knowing this little girl was the legendary Nine Nether Empress... Ye Shu felt an unexpected thrill rush through him!

"Strange... weird........."

He muttered under his breath, one hand gently stroking Jiang Xin's soft, delicate cheek, tracing her smooth, petal-soft skin. A strange, inexplicable feeling welled up inside him.

He had to admit—Jiang Xin was hard not to fall for.

Deep down, as a true scoundrel at heart,

Ye Shu knew better than anyone that his nature was hard to change.

He remembered a long, long time ago, back when he was still in Moon City, Qian Jiang had once said that he was like a mirror. When others came forward, he moved forward; when others stepped back, he fell back.

"Tsk... wonder where that guy's off to having fun now."

Ye Shu shook his head.

Just as he was thinking that, the Jiang Xin in his arms stirred. Her little nose twitched, and then she slowly blinked her eyes open.

"Mmm...... slept so well......."

This was definitely the most comfortable sleep she'd ever had!

As expected, she needed this human-sized pillow to rest properly. Worth every mile she'd traveled to get to Xing Imperial City, saving her Silly Hubby under everyone's noses, pulling him out of the ruins, and then rushing back to the Mo family to clean up all the loose ends.

She had done so much for her beloved him~

With that thought, Jiang Xin snuggled up higher, finding a comfortable spot, her eyes never fully opening, radiating pure lazy contentment.

"Hey now, Haji Jiang..."

Ye Shu's mouth twitched.

"I thought you were pretty reluctant before? And you're the mighty Nine Nether Empress—what's this now?"

"Where's your pride? Your dignity?"

"Where's all that empress demeanor of yours?"

He spoke with mock sorrow, his tone dripping with theatrical grief, trying to awaken whatever shred of self-respect Jiang Xin had left.

But clearly, that ship had sailed.

"So what?"

Jiang Xin kept her eyes half-closed, completely unbothered. "Empress demeanor? I threw that all away the day I got cavities from eating too much candy."

With that, she rolled over and lifted her head, pouting playfully. "Got any more medicine? I want some more."

Ye Shu: "........."

Hold on, how could this girl change so fast? Last he remembered, she was a wary, sulky little wife who did her chores with a sour face every day. Who was this clingy creature now?

Hey you I don't recognize you, get off her body right now!

"Here."

But looking at her glittering, hopeful eyes, Ye Shu had no choice but to reach into the blanket, and a moment later, a pure white pill materialized in his hand. He passed it over.

Poor Ye Shu, completely wrapped around her finger.

"Mmm~"

Seeing what she wanted, Jiang Xin quickly snatched it up and popped it into her mouth with utter satisfaction, her eyes narrowing into a blissful, happy smile.

Oh, the taste! Absolute perfection!

After finishing the candy, she licked her lips and smacked her mouth, savoring the lingering sweetness.

"Happy now?"

Ye Shu gave a helpless sigh. "Be careful, you'll get cavities again."

"Not a chance!"

Jiang Xin shot him a playful glare, then crawled on top of him, staring into his eyes with a reddening face. "Um... um, I want... I want........."

Her face flushed even more, and her voice grew softer and softer.

Ye Shu's heart skipped a beat.

Sure enough, Jiang Xin raised one finger and whispered with barely audible volume: "A kiss..."

"You're serious?"

Ye Shu's eyes went wide.

"Mmm..."

Jiang Xin blushed, looking down shyly.

In all her long life, she had never asked anyone for a kiss. She hadn't even held a man's hand. But after running into him, she somehow ended up sharing a blanket with him. And she'd discovered that sleeping with a man was actually such a pleasant thing. So what would a kiss, like the ones in the romance stories, feel like? She wanted to try it.

Besides, besides—they were husband and wife, weren't they?

With that thought, Jiang Xin suddenly felt emboldened.

She lifted her head and said sweetly, "Um, it's not that I want a kiss—it's for my own sake."

"Let me ask you: are we husband and wife or not?"

"Um... yeah?"

Ye Shu nodded uncertainly. "But wait—ours is fake! We're acting!"

"Exactly! Because it's fake, that's the point!"

Jiang Xin started spinning her story with a perfectly straight face. "We're at the Mo family right now. If we don't sell this act well, isn't that dangerous? If anyone sees through us, we'll die without a burial."

"And here we are, a married couple."

"But we've never shared a room, and we've never even kissed. How are you going to convince anyone we're real?"

"Huh? Wait, seriously?"

Ye Shu nodded instinctively, his expression a blank mix of confusion and reluctant acceptance.

Looking at Jiang Xin, who was putting on such a selfless front for him, he felt like what she was saying made sense, but also made no sense at all.

"Since when did you get so thoughtful?"

Ye Shu gave her a suspicious look.

"Hehe, you know—if you die, I won't have a good time either. That would be way too much trouble." Jiang Xin gave a simple, silly grin.

Then, all of a sudden, she pointed out the window with a shriek.

"Look, there's someone outside watching us! Hurry, hurry! Pretend to kiss me! Or we're done for!"

Ye Shu lifted his gaze and looked out.

Sure enough, on the eaves of a building not far from the window, a black-clad figure in a hooded robe was crouched, staring in their direction through the window.

Ye Shu was stunned.

What the hell, there really is one. Where did this guy crawl out from?

"Hurry, hurry!"

Before he could even react, Jiang Xin had already puckered her lips and squeezed her eyes shut, urging him on: "If we don't kiss now, they'll see through the act!"

"..........."

Ye Shu fell silent for a moment, then slowly spoke.

"What if I told you I'm already a father of two, and I've got a wife, a fiancée, a fling, and a whole mess of tangled relationships I can't cut clean? There's a good chance I won't be yours alone. Would you still want to kiss me?"

"Hmm..."

Jiang Xin opened her eyes, tilted her head, and tapped her chin with one finger: "Then you'll have to love me more—more than anyone else."

"After all, I'm your wife!"

As she said this, she puffed out her cheeks, striking a pose that screamed "I'm claiming this territory."

Hearing that, Ye Shu couldn't help but burst out laughing.

He reached out his right hand, wrapped it around Jiang Xin's waist, and pulled her down beneath him, flashing a cocky grin. "If you want more love, you'll have to prove you've got what it takes!"

"You! Mmm......"

Jiang Xin didn't even get a word out before her mouth was sealed.

"Mmgh mmgh!"

"Mmph—hmmph~"

Jiang Mingyue, lying on the bed, was jolted awake by the commotion. The moment she opened her eyes, she saw this absurd scene.

"Wait—I'm literally still right here!!!"