Compared to the previous night's intimate moments, Tang Qiyue almost suffocated and kicked Zhan Zeyi off the bed. Fortunately, he was restrained, finally answering her question in a slightly panting, hoarse voice.
"I thought you were someone who didn't follow the rules!"
It was a serious statement, but the intensity of their earlier kiss had given his voice a deep, resonant quality.
Tang Qiyue instinctively covered his lips, unable to bear hearing him. She had always been secretly drawn to deep, bass voices, and his just now was overwhelmingly stimulating. Her body felt hot, her breath quick.
Zhan Zeyi allowed her to cover his mouth, but his hands were less restrained. Two nights of holding her had made him accustomed to having her in his arms. The faint jasmine scent lingering around her made it intoxicating.
"You're talking nonsense! I'm the most law-abiding!" Tang Qiyue whispered, panting. Her voice, far from intimidating, sounded sweet and heart-fluttering.
Zhan Zeyi, unwilling to compromise, pressed her down directly, the moonlight fueling his rising desire. He pulled the hand away from her mouth.
"Tang Qiyue, I'm your man. Don't you know whether you're law-abiding or not?"
A woman who could marry him in his place, persuade him to make the marriage real, trick her father, protect her brother, and resolve her mother's future troubles—yet she claims she's law-abiding.
Tang Qiyue wasn't without desire. From the moment she fell asleep in Zhan Zeyi's arms, she wanted to push boundaries. Yet he still focused on "rules." Feeling slightly vexed, she wrapped her legs around his waist. In the end, he simply lay with her in his arms, and she wondered if he was truly without feeling.
Lying there, Tang Qiyue felt utterly bewildered. Was she really unattractive? Did he have some serious illness?
She couldn't understand. He had said they wouldn't be a fake couple, yet now…
Feeling stifled, she closed her eyes, adjusted her breathing, and fell asleep without asking further.
After she slept, Zhan Zeyi quietly went to the bathroom. A long time later, he returned, pinching her cheek lightly with his fingers, his eyes burning with irritation. Yet he did nothing else, simply pulling her back into his arms and falling asleep.
Whether Tang Qiyue was sound asleep or pretending, she didn't wake when reveille sounded. Zhan Zeyi didn't wake her either; he changed his underwear, donned his training clothes, and left.
As sunlight streamed through the window, Tang Qiyue woke, removed her earplugs, and stretched before tidying the room. She had placed earplugs in beforehand, effectively blocking out the loud reveille—a small, clever trick for anyone who loved sleep.
After folding the blankets, she washed up and splashed water around to settle the dust before sweeping the floor clean. The ground, still hard earth, would become muddy after rain. She planned to ask Zhan Zeyi to get stones to split into slabs for paving—but there was no rush. She could also gather sand from the beach to create a mud barrier.
Worried about the crabs and octopus she had brought back yesterday, Tang Qiyue checked the kitchen—they were all alive, putting her at ease.
She opened the windows and doors to boil water, then remembered she hadn't collected firewood. Grabbing a machete and rope to go into the woods behind the bamboo grove, she stopped when she saw Zhan Zeyi returning with a lunchbox.
"Don't worry about the firewood; we'll get it after training!"
He handed her the lunchbox, hung his clothes on a bamboo pole, soaked and wiped himself dry, then came in to watch Tang Qiyue eat.
Today's meal: corn porridge, two steamed buns, and a small salted fish. Tang Qiyue ate gracefully while Zhan Zeyi explained the day's schedule.
"I told the uncle someone would bring the food later. If you want to cook, you can do so at home!"
Seeing the crabs Tang Qiyue was raising, he didn't want to embarrass her by sending them to the canteen—it was better for her to manage them herself.
"We don't have vegetables yet. Supplies come every ten days from the island. But if you want, you can grow some. Our yard is large; I'll clear space after training."
He pointed to a western corner of the yard, roughly three-tenths of an acre—perfect for growing vegetables. Tang Qiyue nodded, already planning for long-term living. People needed vegetables for dietary fiber, not just seafood.
"There's also land behind the family compound for crops. Don't worry, I'll manage it. Just know it exists!"
After eating and washing her lunchbox, Zhan Zeyi took it back to his office to work.
"If you're bored, chat with other military wives—but avoid the fishing village area. It's being rectified and will be chaotic."
Tang Qiyue immediately understood the implication. She grabbed his arm:
"Is it because I hit someone yesterday that they came demanding an explanation?"
Who could say for sure?