Chapter Text
It was a joke.
It was supposed to be a joke.
And yet…
That night had unfolded as any other night did.
Jinshi summoned his wife to his chambers, as usual, thoroughly ravished every inch of her body as usual, and spent his moments basking in the afterglow with her warm body against his… as usual.
A flushed cheek lay against his chest with eyes barely parted. Her breathing, ever so slightly ragged, tickled his moistened skin, and he could not resist the surging desire to tangle his fingers within her dishevelled hair. This action did not go unnoticed, as her eyelids fluttered open, her gaze meeting his.
Even this… was the same as usual.
A completely neutral, yet captivating, face.
But it was moments like this that unearthed deep-rooted insecurities.
It was a long and arduous journey to get to this point, where he could freely hold her in his arms and shroud her in the full weight of his cravings. She never rejected these acts, but she was not terribly excited either. She always purred splendidly whenever they connected, so he was convinced that she experienced the same pleasure as he did. It remained a delight to see her tiny body shiver, struggling to accept all of him, night after night.
And yet…
“Maomao,” Jinshi called the name of his beloved, trailing his palm along her cheeks, nestling his thumb against her lips.
“Yes, Jinshi-sama?” How much longer was she going to refer to him by that name? Still, he did not mind it as much as he thought he would, as it was thanks to that identity that he could meet and fall in love with this stray cat. She nuzzled into his large palm and with clear, direct eyes, “Did you want to go for another round?”
Her expression.
Unflinching.
“Do you really want that?” Jinshi could not hold back, bringing his anxieties to the surface. With how skilfully she slipped through his fingers throughout the years, he had difficulty accepting that their feelings were mutual. Despite having learnt the subtleties of her expression changes, he felt as if, in some small way, he was forcing her into it.
As if one day, his fervour would suffocate her, and she would leave him forever.
“I don’t mind either way,” she replied, unblinking. Jinshi, in turn, blinked excessively.
“Do you enjoy it?”
“I enjoy that I can get a decent amount of the exercise that I normally lack.”
Right.
She was that kind of woman.
Jinshi exhaled deeply, sitting upright. Her body, seemingly as one flesh, was propped up in tandem. His wife remained seated on his lap with those clear eyes locked onto his face.
“I meant, did you have something like, you know, a favourite position,” despite his rising embarrassment over being explicit like this, he had to make clear here. The woman he had pledged his life to, had a knack for avoiding the straight response.
“There’s no such thing.”
Her answer was resolute. Jinshi expected it, but it still stung to hear her say it out loud.
Perhaps it was this feeling that motivated his next words. Perhaps he felt just a modicum of annoyance that she remained completely calm at his question while he was flustered simply to utter it. Perhaps, he wanted her to feel the same level of apprehension and restlessness that he felt. Perhaps… he wanted to disturb her composed countenance and fill her mind with nothing but thoughts of him.
As he couldn’t escape his thoughts of her.
Whatever his reason, Jinshi found his lips curling into a devious smile as he closed the gap between their faces. Leaning into her ear, making sure to add as much honey to his tone as he could, he whispered.
“Then, shall we try them all and find out?”
An obvious joke.
But he couldn’t resist being cheeky. He pulled back, self-satisfaction plastered all over his lips, to gaze at his adorable sweetheart’s reaction.
She was silent, but her pupils darted around restlessly, no longer fixated on his face.
Was it successful?
Maybe too successful.
As her silence continued, he wondered if he was too impudent. Was she now mad at him for suggesting something so deviant? Was she plotting ways to poison him so that he would function similarly to his days as a eunuch? She would not hate him for this… right?
She remained frozen in place, her fidgeting gaze was her only sign of life, and as Jinshi was about to apologize for his unfunny quip…
“Actually, that’s not a bad idea at all.”
“Hueeh?” All the energy Jinshi had mustered up to apologize, found a different outlet in the foolish sound that escaped his lips.
His wife was now smiling. Subtly, but definitely present. Her lips moved rapidly, forming words that were imperceptible to his ears. Her hand rested on her small chin, as it so often did when she was deep in thought. Her eyes gained a sparkle typically only present when facing medicine or something intriguing.
An altogether lovely appearance.
But also, a dangerous one.
His petite lover stood up dramatically, astonishing Jinshi momentarily, before darting from their bed to the nearest table. She began furiously writing something down, all while completely nude.
“Maomao?”
He called out to her, but there was no response.
Instead, with her smile growing wider, she wiggled her hips around in what appeared to be a strange dance. Jinshi could hear eerie laughter emerging, interspersed with faint whispers of, “maybe this,” and, “definitely that,” as her hand glided the brush across the scrap of papers she found.
How frightening.
And arousing.
Jinshi saw no use in asking that tiny, bare-assed beauty to assist with it, so he fell back into the bed, content to simply drift into slumber. Surely, she would return to bed when she completed whatever that was. In the first place, her statement was probably unrelated to his question. She most likely completely forgot about their conversation and was writing a list of rare medicine he should buy as an apology.
After reassuring himself that the strange behaviour was nothing to worry about, Jinshi fell asleep.