Chapter 58: Bathing
After such a long period of emptiness, the sudden, tightly sealed fit was already difficult to resist. To make matters worse, a voice from beside her entered her ears. She had thought his voice pleasing three years ago, but at this moment, it was far too agreeable, far too excessive, sending a tingling numbness from the root of her ear all the way down her neck.
She had failed to hold either the beginning or the end. She was acutely aware that this was very bad.
Song Hemei did not dare move a single muscle. She felt incredibly sensitive at this moment.
She could perceive every minute change in him, as if he too had grown onto her body. These subtle, detailed shifts made her bear a double dose of turmoil.
Whether it was because she had been anticipating this for a long time, or because it had been so long since she last experienced it, barely had it begun when she felt herself teetering on the brink of collapse.
Yu Yeqing did not move or urge her on. He simply let her hold him.
Her cheek pressed against his neck, and she could feel his pulse beating there. In her ear was the sound of him swallowing as his Adam's apple bobbed, which involuntarily made her throat follow suit and swallow as well.
After she had calmed down a little, she started moving again, but still could not hold out for long. They were locked together, and Yu Yeqing could easily sense her imminent disintegration.
He reached up and placed a hand on her back, his voice hoarse. "Don't rush."
But when it came down to it, how could her body obey such a command just because she told herself not to rush?
In that instant, her spine arched involuntarily, and her arms around Yu Yeqing's neck tightened abruptly. She held him tightly for a brief moment before it came to an end.
When awareness returned, Song Hemei felt somewhat embarrassed. She did not dare lift her head, only buried her face in the curve of his neck, staying silent.
Yu Yeqing, however, seemed to let out a breath of disbelieving laughter. The chest pressed against hers trembled with it. "To end so soon—your perfunctory attempt at atonement is far too clumsy."
Because they had not yet parted, she could clearly feel that while she had gone soft, he remained utterly the opposite of her.
Her voice was muffled, still carrying a hint of breathlessness as she spoke. "I didn't mean to."
She did not want him to know that she had lost control, so she simply said, "Could it be that your thing is too worn out? Maybe it's broken, and you just haven't noticed?"
After saying this, Song Hemei suddenly recalled an issue that had always been overlooked. Her voice grew heavier as she tested the waters. "In these three years, hasn't any other woman seen fit to remind you of that?"
Yu Yeqing seemed displeased by her question, his tone turning sour. "No."
She thought for a moment, then probed further. "Were they afraid to speak up because of your status? Or were they too thin-skinned, worried it might harm your marital harmony?"
The ones who feared his status were courtesans in brothels; the ones who worried about marital harmony were the wives and concubines inside his own residence.
Having voiced the question, Song Hemei's heart tightened involuntarily. She had been foolish not to have clarified all this before. Now, she began to regret it, because she was acutely aware that if he had been involved with another woman during these three years, she would certainly be unwilling to atone for her wrongs in this way.
Before that familiar feeling of revulsion could rise, Yu Yeqing let out a cold laugh. "How unfortunate. I have never been intimate with another woman in such a way. I'm afraid I've left the Second Miss without an excuse to shirk her responsibility."
Song Hemei breathed a sigh of relief. She leaned against his shoulder, letting some of the tension drain from her body, and let out a soft hiss at his words. "You're being unfair to me. Your thing was just as sluggish back then. Every time, it took ages before it even showed any sign of life."
Yu Yeqing was rendered speechless by her remark. A momentary silence fell between them.
Song Hemei could not spare the thought to wonder what he was thinking, because they still had not separated, and her attention was inevitably drawn to that very obvious presence. The initial, uncontrollable tremors had passed, and after the calm, desire began to stir once more.
She gently patted Yu Yeqing's back, about to suggest they try again. But he spoke first, his words catching her off guard.
"So, that's what you thought all along."
Song Hemei pressed her lips together. Well, not exactly… She wasn't so naive as not to understand that his lasting longer meant something. But then Yu Yeqing continued.
"Could it be that Lord Shao was different from me, leading you to think that way?"
Song Hemei found herself momentarily at a loss for words.
What did he mean by this? Was he trying to compare himself to Shao Wen'ang?
If she said yes, wouldn't that make him proud? Though he was not the type to take pride in such things, this was the third time, counting the day and the night together, that he had brought up that vile man. She was growing annoyed, and so she leaned closer to his ear and said deliberately, "At least he wouldn't be like you, bringing up irrelevant people at a time like this."
She tightened her waist, pressing even closer to his ear. "Shall we continue?"
Yu Yeqing was silent for a moment. Just as she was beginning to wonder if he hadn't heard her, he suddenly lifted her up in his arms.
Song Hemei instinctively wrapped her arms around him, but the motion only locked them together more tightly. Before she could react, he was carrying her slowly towards the bed.
She had never experienced this before—never been carried while in such a state. She felt like a bean placed in a mortar, being ground down and crushed without any rhythm.
In just the few steps it took, her mind had already gone blank. Her lips parted slightly as she gasped for breath.
When her back finally met the bed, Yu Yeqing hovered over her. Through her hazy vision, she could see his dark, deep eyes. She could sense his lean waist suddenly tighten and sink down. The sensation shot from her spine all the way to her neck, causing her to involuntarily frown and clutch the front of his robe.
Her reaction was far too intense. Yu Yeqing didn't continue immediately. He lowered his voice and asked, "Does it hurt?"
Song Hemei took a couple of breaths to steady herself, then gave a slight shake of her head.
Yu Yeqing, however, seemed to have confirmed something. He nodded in agreement. "I thought so. It shouldn't hurt."
She was still dazed, not understanding where this certainty of his came from.
But in the next moment, the sound of trickling water reached her ears. She felt her ears burn instantly, but there was no time to dwell on it.
Yu Yeqing leaned down and kissed her. Their lips met, tongues intertwined.
It only worsened her already ragged breathing. The push and pull of their tongues seemed to echo the rhythm of other movements. Instinctively, she tilted her head back, her arms winding tightly around his neck.
But he did not seem content to stop there. In the midst of the devastating motion, he released her lips and began placing kisses on her neck.
Not there. That truly wouldn't do. That she felt would be the death of her. At least for tonight, it was absolutely out of the question.
Song Hemei could not care less anymore. With the last of her remaining reason, she reached up and pushed at his head. "Don't do that."
But he still seemed intent on proving a point. "I'm certain. You like it."
The moment she heard the word "certain," she felt the fire in her belly burn even hotter. She turned her head away, trying to bury her face in the bedding. "Even if I like it, it's not allowed. I said no, so no."
Yu Yeqing relented from her neck, but instead of moving away, he propped himself up and looked down at her. He watched her dark hair brushing back and forth against the soft bedding. "Has the Second Miss forgotten? You're here to atone to me."
That was true. She hadn't come purely for her own pleasure.
Song Hemei gritted her teeth and echoed his words from earlier that day. "So, does everyone who owes you an apology have to atone in the way they like best?"
Yu Yeqing said nothing, but what followed was an unbearable intensification of the motion.
Everything about her was under his control. This time, "long" was an understatement. But when she once again experienced that buzzing blankness, before she could even steady her breathing, he kissed her again.
They had started at the edge of the bed, but after this round, they had somehow drifted to the inner side. In the midst of the gentle, lingering continuation, her body seemed to be easily stirred up by him once more.
She now truly understood that he had been very restrained and well-behaved three years ago. But when it happened once, twice, and then a third time, she could no longer hold back amid the shaking. She gripped his robe tightly, a hint of irritation creeping in. "Is there no end to this?"
But all she got in return was another kiss. His usually clear eyes were now tinged with a rare shade of lust as he gazed intensely at her. "Is this your way of atoning?"
Utterly exhausted, her body having ridden wave after wave of peaks and troughs, her emotions were no longer so easy to control.
She found her eyes growing a little hot. "Can't the atonement be done gradually? Can't it wait until tomorrow?"
Yu Yeqing still looked at her. Before he spoke, he reached out and brushed away the hair plastered to her damp forehead, his movements carrying a tenderness she could feel. "Alright."
He agreed. Then, gripping her waist, he gave her a swift release.
Song Hemei felt her thoughts blur. The emotions buried deep in her heart seemed to be dragged out by him, laid bare before her, impossible to ignore.
Never before had she been so acutely aware that she had been thinking of him. For three years, she had been thinking of him.
She wanted to see him, to be close to him, to keep him by her side forever. It seemed she truly did have some feelings for him. This affection had originally been suppressed by the anger she felt at his abrupt departure. Now that it had resurfaced, it felt as if it had only grown stronger, stockpiled over those three years.
She wanted to be intimate with him—no longer because of the necessity of release or that secret desire for revenge.
At that final peak, she actively propped herself up and kissed him on the lips.
Yu Yeqing was momentarily stunned by her initiative, which pleased her greatly. After a brief separation, she gave him another light peck before lying back down.
Yu Yeqing's Adam's apple bobbed. "What does this mean?"
A reward for his efforts? In the past, at times like this, she would give him silver. Now, had it been replaced with this?
She had no idea what time it was, but they had finally separated. Song Hemei's mind was foggy as she murmured, "It's evidence. So I won't forget."
Yu Yeqing's brow furrowed slightly. "Forget what?"
Song Hemei closed her eyes. She could no longer hear what he was saying, only a lingering obsession remained. "Haven't bathed yet," she said, her voice very soft. "Let me rest a while. I'll go bathe after I've rested."
Yu Yeqing watched as her head lolled to the side, but she did not continue speaking.
Bathing. What did that have to do with her initiating the kiss just now?
He did not understand her. He wanted to ask further, but her breathing had already become long and steady. She was so quiet, her plain clothes rumpled and hanging loosely on her body. The exposed skin of her neck and arms bore faint reddish marks, as if accusing him of doing something to humiliate her.
Her leg was still hooked over his. He forced himself to look away, reached down, and grasped her ankle, pulling it back into place. He then tugged at her clothes to cover her a little more, which only slightly eased the pang of guilt in his heart.
He paused, then gave her hand a gentle squeeze. "Are you asking me to give you a bath?"
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