Just as Xu Huaiqian had expected.
Chen Liejiu looked even more stunning in the silk and satin than he had imagined.
His skin was naturally fair, and the silk made it glow even brighter.
Moreover, silk inherently carried a noble and elegant aura. Worn by him, paired with his bold and uninhibited presence, even a single glance from him was filled with haughtiness.
Xu Huaiqian, utterly devoted to his wife, felt an intense desire to be swept away by such a look and taken to bed for some indescribable activities.
Seeing Xu Huaiqian staring at him without blinking, Chen Liejiu smiled and called out: "—A-Qian."
"Hmm?" Only when Chen Liejiu called did Xu Huaiqian snap out of it. His wife was truly beautiful.
He was always good-looking even without dressing up, but now he was downright breathtaking.
"Lift your head a bit."
"Okay." Dazzled, Xu Huaiqian quickly tilted his head up. At that moment, he would have run two laps if asked.
"...Mmm." Then his Adam's apple was enveloped by Chen Liejiu's mouth, and it felt like it was gently nibbled a few times.
"What are you doing?" It was hard to stand steady in that position. Xu Huaiqian had to grip the table and chair behind him for support.
Chen Liejiu wrapped his arm around Xu Huaiqian's waist, his tongue tracing the bite marks on his Adam's apple a few times, and smirked: "Every part of me, inside and out, belongs to you. Why secretly swallow your saliva?"
As if he hadn't noticed—that Adam's apple bobbing up and down, tempting someone to bite.
His little husband had matured, shedding his youthful immaturity. His eyes and brows were now filled with alluring charm, enough to make one's heart flutter with a single glance, let alone now that he was all dressed up.
So noble it felt blasphemous to defile.
But Chen Liejiu was rebellious by nature. The more noble and pure something was, the more he wanted to taint it—especially his little husband, who ticked every box of his desires.
Every night when they touched, watching this celestial being dragged into the mortal world by him, falling like a fallen god and descending together—it was utterly thrilling.
"...Hmm."
Reminded by Chen Liejiu, Xu Huaiqian remembered: This was his wife—his wife! He could do whatever he wanted with him.
Looking down at his smirk, he lifted him by the waist, pressed against his lips, and gently bit them too.
What a wicked wife—even biting his Adam's apple.
This spot couldn't be covered by clothes; everyone would see it when he lifted his head or spoke.
If Chen Liejiu could hear Xu Huaiqian's thoughts, he would proudly smirk. He was a bully, after all—he had to let everyone know his little husband was taken.
But at that moment, with his lips bitten by Xu Huaiqian, Chen Liejiu didn't realize the hidden advantage of biting the Adam's apple. He was completely lost in the tender embrace his little husband offered.
By the time the two finished being affectionate and went out, one had slightly swollen lips, the other a reddish Adam's apple. Anyone could tell what they had been doing in the room.
Wang Wanwan smiled secretly as usual. Chen Xiaomei didn't mind—whenever her eldest and second brothers were home, closing the door always meant shameful activities. She was used to it.
The whole family got ready and officially set off for Changnan. Like a wealthy household traveling, they had three carriages alone, not to mention the ten tall, burly men accompanying them.
"This isn't going for an exam—it's going on a trip!"
Duan Youyan and the others were also going to Changnan for the exam. Changnan was farther than the prefectural city, and none of them had been there before. Only Chen Liejiu had—he was now the president of the Changnan Chamber of Commerce, with great influence and very well-connected in Changnan. They decided to go together with Xu Huaiqian's group for mutual support on the road.
But when they arrived, the first thing they faced was Xu Huaiqian's three carriages lined up, leaving them all stunned.
"My husband dotes on me—is that not allowed?" Among familiar friends, Xu Huaiqian was very open, lifting his chin proudly.
One carriage was for them to ride in, another was for carrying Xu Huaiqian's clothes, accessories, bedding, quilts, various medicines, and food, and the last one was reserved for Xu Huaiqian to sleep in.
The journey was long and bumpy. The younger sisters had grown up, and Xu Huaiqian had also grown taller. It wasn't suitable to sleep in the carriage anymore, so Chen Liejiu prepared a separate one for him, ensuring he had a comfortable place to sleep on the road.
If money could solve it, why suffer—especially his little husband.
The friends were blinded by his proud expression. Pei Wangshu pursed his lips: "Have you forgotten that we can also marry?"
Just wait—after he married and had children, he would also drag his wife or husband in front of Xu Huaiqian every day to show off!
Xu Huaiqian retorted without mercy: "Then go ahead and marry."
Years had passed, and they hadn't made any moves.
"Soon, after the provincial exam results come out, my family will probably arrange a marriage for me." Out of nowhere, Meng Fangxun, who had been silent, suddenly spoke.
"Senior Brother Meng, you have someone in mind?!" Xu Huaiqian and Zhang Bingwen exclaimed in unison.
Even Duan Youyan and Pei Wangshu looked at him with surprise.
He was twenty-two—wasn't discussing marriage normal? Facing their astonished gazes, Meng Fangxun smiled faintly: "...Yes."
"Which family's girl or man, and is she/he beautiful?" Ah, studying together every day, he hadn't noticed Meng Fangxun's budding spring heart. Xu Huaiqian was dying of curiosity, wanting to know what kind of person a top student like Meng Fangxun would like.
"...Hmm," Meng Fangxun thought for a moment and smiled, "a very talented, very lovely girl."
"Talented means she couldn't be from a humble family—no wonder you're waiting until after the provincial exams to propose." Duan Youyan immediately caught the key point and encouraged him using Xu Huaiqian's usual words: "Keep it up!"
"I will!" Meng Fangxun, immersed in love, was now radiant and motivated even without his friends' urging.
"—Ew!" Xu Huaiqian led the teasing—the sour smell of love was getting to him.
"Don't just look at me—what about you?" Even the most proud person would feel uncomfortable under their friends' teasing gazes. Meng Fangxun quickly changed the subject, looking at Duan Youyan: "Have you made any progress with your heat flush research?"
"Some clues," Duan Youyan shook his head, "but it might take two more years to find the direction."
"Why two more years?" Xu Huaiqian was curious. If there were clues, shouldn't they follow them?
"...I." Sheng Yunjin placed a hand on his lower abdomen, his face very red, looking like he didn't know how to explain.
"Brother Yunjin, why is your face so red?" Over the past two years, Sheng Yunjin had interacted with them often and even discussed heat flush matters openly in private without blushing like this. Zhang Bingwen didn't understand.
Xu Huaiqian and the others also looked confused, not sure what was going on with this couple.
"...I." Sheng Yunjin found it hard to speak up. How could he explain this to them?
"Everything's ready, let's set off." Chen Liejiu had checked all the carriages and found no issues. Seeing Xu Huaiqian and his friends still talking, he came over to hurry them along.
Noticing their puzzled looks at Sheng Yunjin, he also glanced over but found nothing unusual. Then his gaze fell on Sheng Yunjin's wrist resting on his abdomen and saw a bright red line appearing in the veins of his fair, slender wrist.
"The fusion meridian of a man is showing." Chen Liejiu exclaimed in surprise, "You're pregnant!"
Once Chen Liejiu pointed it out, Sheng Yunjin, though embarrassed, nodded.
Having been in this world for four or five years, Xu Huaiqian had seen many pregnant men and had become somewhat immune to men bearing children. Hearing that Sheng Yunjin was pregnant, he was even more puzzled: "Why be embarrassed about being pregnant?"
Wasn't it a completely normal thing?
"Because..." Duan Youyan coughed, "this happened while we were experimenting with the heat flush."
"Hmm?" The group got into Xu Huaiqian's carriage to hear Duan Youyan's story—his was the only carriage that could fit all of them at once.
Seeing their curiosity, Duan Youyan had no choice but to explain: "It's a long story, starting from A-Jin's heat flush last year."
A man's heat flush comes once a year. As long as the couple has relations during that period, there are no issues.
But after Sheng Yunjin returned to study medicine last year, he discovered something different about himself: his heat flush showed no physical signs.
The man's line didn't appear, the fusion meridian didn't pulse—aside from bodily warmth, there were almost no other symptoms.
No wonder Duan Youyan had taken his pulse three times back then without detecting the heat flush.
But later, why did needling the Hegu point for reducing fever cause all his heat flush symptoms to appear?
Xu Huaiqian understood: "So you tried the Hegu point again several times?"
Duan Youyan nodded. That acupuncture was his least favorite memory. Even though he and A-Jin had resolved their issues, he didn't want to touch on it again.
But after studying medicine, Sheng Yunjin needled himself!
Chen Liejiu looked curiously at Sheng Yunjin: "What was the result?"
"Heat flush!" Sheng Yunjin bit his lip. "The heat flush reaction came immediately!"
"How?" Heat flush occurs only once a year; it shouldn't happen multiple times a year, and certainly not immediately after a needle.
"It's true," Duan Youyan held Sheng Yunjin closer, worried the carriage ride might jostle him. "After that, we tried several more times, and each time the needle caused a reaction."
Xu Huaiqian was stunned: "That amazing?"
Chen Liejiu recalled his heat flush the year before last, when Xu Huaiqian cooperated with him while panting in his ear: "A-Jiu, you're so warm—I love it." His ears turned red at the memory.
His little husband seemed to really enjoy the heat of his flush period. After a thought, he said to Sheng Yunjin: "Teach me how to needle it sometime?"
That way, instead of waiting for the annual heat flush, he could let his little husband enjoy it every night!
"It's no use!" Sheng Yunjin was amused and exasperated. Something others avoided at all costs—why did Lieju-ge seem so eager?
Chen Liejiu was disappointed: "Why not?"
"I tried it on other men later." Sheng Yunjin shook his head. "Only needling this point works on me."
"So I suspect," Duan Youyan also shared his thoughts, "does every man have a hidden point like the one on my A-Jin? Usually invisible, only stimulated to trigger the heat flush?"
"That's a great direction," Xu Huaiqian wasn't trained in medicine and didn't dare give advice, but said, "The human body has only 720 acupuncture points. Slowly test on people—you'll find it eventually."
"That's what I thought too," Duan Youyan said, a happy smile appearing on his upright face. "But my A-Jin is pregnant now, and I want to focus on taking care of him."
Researching the heat flush was important, but after being constantly envied by Xu Huaiqian and Chen Liejiu, Duan Youyan now understood better—husband and family are important too.