Because he hated marriage, Wen Hao had deliberately avoided anything related to women. Whenever topics of intimacy arose, he would rather stand up and leave than listen for another second.
This was especially true in the war barracks.
Whenever the soldiers gathered during their free time to drink, their conversations would inevitably drift toward women. Just like gossiping village aunties, they would laugh loudly, slap each other on the shoulders, and recount their bedroom experiences without restraint.
Sometimes they even argued over whose wife was more beautiful or who lasted longer in bed.
Absolutely shameless.
Wen Hao had been force-fed such information more times than he cared to remember. Every single time, his face would turn so red he felt like coughing up blood on the spot.
At first, the soldiers found his reactions amusing.
"General, why are your ears red?"
"General, are you shy?"
"General, have you never touched a woman before?"
After being teased enough times, Wen Hao eventually learned to leave the moment conversations shifted in that direction.
The less he knew, the better.
Because of that, he had always believed women were shy about such matters. Even when his senior brother helped women pray for fertility at the temple, they would speak vaguely and indirectly, blushing through the entire conversation.
Yet the girl kneeling before him spoke as casually as if she were discussing what she had eaten for breakfast.
He truly wanted to reprimand her.
How could a young woman speak so shamelessly?
He even stood up and walked toward the curtain, wanting to see what kind of village girl she was, but stopped himself halfway and forced the session to continue.
Calm down.
It was just a patient.
"Have both of you seen a doctor?" he asked, regaining his seriousness.
This was the first thing his senior brother always asked. Most of the time, the problem turned out to be something physical that could be treated with medicine.
"I did once when I was getting married," she replied honestly. "The doctor said everything was okay."
Then it must be the husband.
"What about your husband? Was he checked?"
"Why would he be checked?" she asked, sounding genuinely confused.
Wen Hao frowned.
"Don't you know that in such situations, the husband is often the more likely cause?"
Why did women always blame themselves first?
Back in the capital, noble ladies blamed themselves for failing to bear sons while their husbands visited brothels every night. Even village women seemed the same.
He was beginning to feel frustrated for her sake.
"No way. My husband sleeps really well," she rebutted immediately.
"You—"
Wen Hao became speechless once again.
This woman could truly say anything with a straight face.
"Sometimes a man may appear to perform…" he paused awkwardly, his ears burning once more. He truly hated this topic. Why did he agree to help his senior brother today? "…but still have nothing to give."
Perform?
Does he mean sleeping?
Song Yan usually gave it his all when sleeping. He even snored loudly and hogged the blankets. He didn't seem like someone who lacked energy.
"He sleeps very soundly," she explained seriously. "I'm usually the one waking up throughout the night because he steals the covers."
Sleeping… soundly?
Wen Hao's brows slowly furrowed.
Something felt very wrong here.
"Does he usually… finish quickly and then fall asleep?" he asked carefully.
"Finish what?"
"…The deed."
"Oh." She nodded behind the curtain. "Yes, he sleeps throughout the night."
Silence.
Wen Hao stared blankly at her silhouette.
Either he didn't understand what she was implying…
Or she genuinely understood nothing at all.
The more they spoke, the stranger this became.
He took a slow breath and asked something he never imagined himself asking in his entire life.
"Can you walk me through the process?"
"Well, every week on Wednesday, Thursday, and sometimes Sunday—"
"Get to the point…"
This was the most impatient monk she had ever met.
Weren't monks supposed to embody tranquility, patience and inner peace?
"Well," she began again, "I take a bath, then get into bed with him. We switch off the lights and go to sleep. He usually sleeps very deeply."
Wen Hao stared at the curtain in stunned silence.
A breeze drifted in through the open windows, causing the curtain between them to sway gently.
His expression slowly cracked apart.
"…And at any point after bathing and getting into bed," he asked slowly and deliberately, "does any clothing on either of you… come off?"
"Why would we do that?" she replied immediately. "Men and women are different."
Wen Hao nearly choked on air.
He stared at her silhouette with utter disbelief.
How could someone be this… clueless?
No.
This was beyond clueless.
This was alarming.
Wait.
Perhaps the issue was her age.
Maybe she had been married too young and no one explained things properly.
"How old are you?" he asked carefully.
"Twenty."
Wen Hao closed his eyes.
Not a child.
Just… unbelievably stupid.
No wonder she had been deceived for three whole years.
At this point, even he, someone who actively avoided discussions involving women, understood what was happening.
Her husband had never consummated the marriage.
Not even once.
Yet somehow this girl remained entirely unaware.
Wen Hao suddenly felt a headache coming on.
He pinched the bridge of his nose.
"Young lady," he began slowly, trying his best to sound tactful, "when a husband and wife share intimacy, they do not simply sleep beside each other."
"Then what do they do?" she asked curiously.
Wen Hao froze.
Heat instantly crawled up his neck.
How was he supposed to explain this to a woman?
A monk explaining intimacy to a married woman behind closed doors— if anyone heard this, his reputation would be finished.
Outside, the wind rustled through the bodhi leaves.
Inside, silence stretched painfully.
A Yu waited patiently for his answer.
Meanwhile, Wen Hao was experiencing the greatest crisis of his twenty-five years of life.
Finally, he clenched his teeth and forced the words out.
"Husband and wife must… remove their clothes."
Silence.
Then—
"What?!"
A Yu's horrified voice rang through the room.
Wen Hao immediately regretted everything.