Chapter 134: Madam, Why Are You Hiding Didn't You Say You Would Teach Me to Be a Bad Person [Word Count Fulfilled]

The air in the kitchen was somewhat quiet.

An Ling blinked, realizing it a beat too late.

Even though she had refused him before, Shen Linyan's gaze was strange this time.

Why did she feel like a heartless scoundrel?

"Shen Linyan, you..."

She hesitated, swallowing her words.

Hearing this, the man slowly raised his eyes, his dark pupils fixing on her.

"Wife, it's been over a month."

"Huh? Over a month of what?" An Ling was momentarily stunned.

"Every time I want to kiss you, you always reject me."

An Ling: "..." So it really was because of that.

Has it really been that long?

She had been so busy with work lately that she hadn't noticed how fast time had flown by.

An Ling touched her face, a little uncomfortably. "You want a kiss..."

It wasn't actually out of the question.

If she could just control herself, they could share a kiss.

The main issue was that she had just rejected Shen Linyan, and he seemed quite unhappy about it.

Thinking of this, she looked at the man. "Then wait a second."

Turning to pick up a cookie from the table, An Ling walked up to him.

She took a bite, wrapped her arms around his waist, and holding the cookie between her teeth, stood on her tiptoes to lean close to his lips, blinking at him.

"Hubby?"

The girl's voice was muffled, the ending note lifting softly. Her fair, delicate face looked smooth and flawless under the light.

Shen Linyan lowered his eyelashes, the emotions in his eyes dark and indiscernible.

His slender fingers pinched her chin as he slowly lowered his head, his thin lips parting slightly to capture those soft petals.

His warm, wet tongue slipped into her mouth, sweeping away the piece of cookie, and just as he was about to deepen the kiss...

The very next second, the girl immediately turned her head away, speaking rapidly, "That's enough."

It was as if she were just completing a task, without the slightest bit of lingering attachment.

Shen Linyan froze, his pupils dilating in slight shock.

This had never happened before.

It was as if... she truly had no feelings for him anymore.

Recovering himself, his Adam's apple bobbed. He didn't speak, just lowered his eyes to hide his emotions while his thumb wiped away the moisture at the corner of her mouth.

An Ling hugged his waist, coaxing him, "Hubby, we're not kissing because your wound hasn't healed yet. We can do it once you're better."

This excuse again.

But looking at his wife in his arms, Shen Linyan ultimately forced himself to ignore the stirring of unease in his heart. He didn't say anything more, just giving a soft "Mhm."

His wife was just worried about his health.

It couldn't possibly be because the novelty had worn off.

Seeing that she had finally placated him, An Ling breathed a sigh of relief.

She licked her slightly numb lips.

To be honest, it had been so long since she had kissed Shen Linyan that she had almost lost control just now.

But she really didn't want to have to go see Dr. Liang again.

"You've been tired all day. Go take a shower first, and then get some rest early."

Saying this, An Ling turned around to pack up the remaining cookies on the table.

Just then, her phone nearby suddenly lit up.

She glanced over at it.

An Zhou: [We're doomed, An Ling. I just saw the 'good luck charm' Mom prepared. She's going to give it to you tomorrow.]

"..."

An Ling's eyelid twitched, and she swiftly flipped the phone face down.

Feeling that this action was too much of a giveaway, she subconsciously looked at the man.

Only to meet a pair of dark, quiet eyes.

Under the incandescent light, the man's figure was tall and straight. A shadow fell from the bridge of his high nose, his facial features were sharp and distinct, and the corners of his lips were drawn into a tight line.

He stood there quietly meeting her gaze, and she had no idea if he had seen the message.

He probably couldn't see it, right? There was quite a distance between them.

An Ling blinked and smiled at him, putting her phone away as if nothing had happened.

Just as she turned around to head back to the bedroom, the man's deep voice suddenly came from behind her.

"Are you keeping secrets from me now?"

His tone was slow and gentle, making it impossible to discern his emotions.

An Ling's footsteps stiffened slightly. "...No, I'm not."

"You never used to hide from me when reading your messages."

"..."

Gripping her phone, An Ling stayed silent for a few seconds before turning her head.

She put on a look of utmost sincerity.

"I wasn't hiding it. It's not an important message anyway, so why would I hide it from you?"

A "good luck charm" really wasn't a big deal.

It was just that Shen Linyan was very sensitive to the topic of physical intimacy tonight, and his reaction to her touch had been intense.

He had been clinging to her ever since they got back.

If this charm were brought up, who knew what this man would say, and she just so happened to be unable to resist his temptations.

So her first instinct was to not let Shen Linyan see it.

An Ling silently chanted to herself three times: Health comes first.

"Go take a shower. It's getting late. It's the weekend tomorrow, let's go out and have some fun."

The girl's attempt to change the subject was far too obvious, and how could Shen Linyan not hear it? He stood frozen on the spot almost instantly.

An Ling untied her apron as she walked toward the sofa.

Sensing no movement behind her, she stopped and turned around.

Sure enough, the man was still standing where he was.

She narrowed her eyes, watched him for a few seconds, and walked back to him.

"Shen Linyan, are you that curious about that message? Do you want to check my phone? Do you not trust me? Are you worried I'm cheating on you?"

"When you were in a coma in the hospital, I never even looked at your phone."

It wasn't that she was opposed to him checking her phone, she was just surprised that Shen Linyan had suddenly become so sensitive.

In the past, when she chatted with Jiang Mai, she would occasionally hide from Shen Linyan, but he was never curious. Even if he noticed, he wouldn't press the issue; he would just close his eyes, hold her, and go back to sleep.

Hearing this, the man's eyelashes trembled.

A moment later, he took out his own phone, placed it on the table, and voluntarily pushed it toward her.

"You can check my phone."

He said softly, "It's not that I don't trust you, and your messages are indeed your privacy."

An Ling: "..."

She glanced at the phone on the table, then looked back at the man in front of her.

She pushed the phone back to him.

"No need to check. I trust you too."

It wasn't like Shen Linyan would cheat, so what was the point of checking?

Hearing this, the man's body stiffened, and his fingers resting at his sides slowly curled into fists.

An Ling didn't notice his strange reaction; her brain hadn't quite processed the situation yet.

The usual Shen Linyan wasn't like this.

Standing was too tiring, it would be better to go talk on the sofa.

She was just about to reach out and hold his hand.

When a hoarse voice sounded by her ear.

"Has the novelty worn off for you?"

An Ling: ?

What novelty?

She paused, stopping her movements in confusion. "What?"

Shen Linyan raised his eyes. His dark depths were completely still, yet a few fractured glimmers of light floated within them.

"Wife, kissing won't tear my wound open at all. You just... don't want to touch me, right?"

As his voice faded, the living room instantly plunged into silence.

An Ling's expression blanked slightly as she looked at him.

The crystal chandelier overhead shone blindingly bright. Shen Linyan stood there in his sharp suit, his dark hair falling over half of his eyes. His elegant, noble silhouette was bathed in shadow; despite his inherently dignified aura, he inexplicably exuded a fragile sense of loneliness.

The corners of his eyes drooped slightly, and his Adam's apple bobbed gently:

"Did I do something wrong? For over a month now, it seems like you've lost all interest in me."

"Didn't you say... you relied on me? But now, it feels like you don't care about me at all anymore. Is it because the novelty has worn off, or do you just find me boring?"

The man's voice was gentle, but every word sounded as if it had been crushed before being spat out, hanging in the air, aching with bitterness.

From beginning to end, he didn't actually care what that message was.

He just wanted to be closer to An Ling.

He just wanted to prove the intimacy of their relationship.

Meanwhile, on the other side, An Ling was completely dumbfounded.

She had never thought Shen Linyan would think this way.

To be exact, she didn't even know where Shen Linyan had learned the word "freshness."

A husband who didn't even really understand the concept of keeping male models actually knew what "freshness" meant?

Who taught her husband that?

She opened her mouth to say something, but her gaze fell on the table.

After a moment of silence, she picked up the man's phone, grabbed his wrist with her other hand, and walked toward the sofa.

"Who taught you about freshness? When we're together normally, when have I ever treated you badly? I even specially made cookies for you today as a surprise."

Sitting on the sofa, An Ling turned her head and saw the man staring straight at her, a lingering trace of blankness still in his eyes.

After their eyes met, she leaned in and gave him a peck on the lips.

"As for that kiss, it was really a subconscious reaction at the time. We hadn't kissed for over a month, and I didn't process it. If you don't believe me, let's kiss again right now."

An Ling was referring to the kiss from when she fed him the cookie.

After all, in her view, that was the only kiss that had an issue; there were absolutely no problems with anything after that.

The two fell silent for a few seconds. The man propped his hand on the sofa, his eyelashes drooping slightly. The lighting outlined the increasingly smooth and distinct contours of his profile as he slowly lowered his head.

The familiar scent of cedar washed over her. The man pecked at her lips little by little, gentle and cautious, like a probe, yet also like a confirmation.

An Ling tilted her head back, letting him kiss her.

After a while, someone cupped her cheeks.

The man opened his mouth and took her lower lip, his tongue gently licking over it. His warm breath brushed against her ear. "Madam."

He tilted his head and kissed her cheek again. "Madam."

The delicate kisses trailed downwards, landing on her snow-white neck.

"Wife, I like you." The man's voice grew deeper, his tone lingering and affectionate.

An Ling wrapped her arms around his neck, not realizing when she had been pulled onto his lap to be kissed.

He buried his face in the side of her neck, his wet and warm kisses unceasing.

Her eyes grew misty, her lower back went soft, and she let out a soft moan.

She knew this would happen.

Now there was no stopping it.

Later, a certain someone was going to complain that she lacked freshness again.

Just as she was thinking this, her earlobe was suddenly bitten lightly, and the man gave it a gentle lick.

"Since Madam doesn't hate it, why won't you let me kiss you? My wound obviously won't tear open. Besides, when Madam kissed me back, you only kissed me for a moment before stopping."

An Ling: "..."

Was she supposed to say she was losing control of herself?

An Ling's breathing was unsteady. She hummed but didn't answer, turning her head to grab Shen Linyan's phone, speaking with a slight pant.

"Alright, stop kissing. Didn't you want me to check up on you? Come on, I'll check."

It was a good way to distract herself.

Shen Linyan's phone was very clean, and the apps were all basic ones, pretty much as An Ling expected.

That was why she said there was nothing to check!

Seeing the photo album, she turned and asked, "Can I look at the album?"

Shen Linyan kissed her cheek. "Of course."

An Ling tapped it open, only to find that there were very few photos inside.

The most recent photo was actually from when Shen Linyan took a picture of the ring to post online.

She was about to exit when her gaze suddenly paused.

In the photos above, she saw two familiar pictures.

One was the photo of her and Shen Linyan's wedding rings from when they first clarified the rumors.

The other... was a screenshot of a memo.

[Guidelines for Shen Linyan to act like a bad guy.]

[First, Shen Linyan must listen to An Ling. If An Ling tells Shen Linyan to refuse, Shen Linyan must refuse. Second, when An Ling scolds someone, Shen Linyan must also scold them; if he doesn't know how, he can just listen, but he cannot play the peacemaker. Third... An Ling]

An Ling was slightly startled.

The man hugged her from behind, resting his chin on her shoulder, and let out a gentle laugh.

"Does Madam still remember this?"

An Ling's eyes grew red. She turned to look at him, her voice muffled, "Why did you save this?"

Shen Linyan caressed the corner of her eye and said with a smile:

"Because someone sent me the picture back then and told me not to forget. Chat logs can get lost, so I had to save it."

His gaze landed on the screen, his fingertip tapping on the fifth rule.

"Does Madam still remember this one?"

[Before the mutual interest relationship between the two parties ends, neither party is allowed to develop feelings for anyone else. Once feelings are developed, the relationship of interest will be immediately terminated.]

Of course An Ling remembered. "You even asked me at the time if I would develop feelings. How could I possibly develop feelings for Lu Jingshen?"

Shen Linyan's eyes curved into a smile. "Actually, what I asked back then was, if I developed feelings for Madam, would that count as a violation? Madam said it would."

He lowered his head, his eyes curved and his tone carrying a faint smile.

"Madam, it seems your rules for teaching me how to be a bad guy ended a long time ago."

From his initial interest to later on, he didn't even know when his heart had fallen.

Perhaps the very moment this rule was established, he had already subconsciously fallen for An Ling.

Only then did An Ling realize the truth. Her face flushed slightly, and she muttered softly, "I knew you were playing word games!"

Shen Linyan smiled and nuzzled against her cheek.

"Then Madam can teach me how to be a bad guy all over again. I won't play word games this time. I promise to follow the rules, alright?"

An Ling shot him a few glances before humming softly, "I reluctantly agree."

She took out her own phone, looked down, and opened the memo app.

"Then I have to delete the fifth rule. No, I'm going to revise all the conditions."

"Shen Linyan must unconditionally obey all of An Ling's requests and instructions."

Making such an edit, she couldn't even hold back her own laughter. She turned to look at the man and raised an eyebrow.

"Do you have any objections, Mr. Shen?"

Shen Linyan smiled and shook his head. "None at all, Miss An."

As An Ling was looking down and typing, the man's voice slowly rang in her ear again.

"So what exactly was that very first message? Why won't Madam tell me?"

"..."

An Ling paused her movements and raised her eyes to glance at him.

After a moment of silence, she still dug out that message from An Zhou to show him.

Anyway, even if she didn't say anything, Mom would tell Shen Linyan.

Shen Linyan finished reading the message and didn't speak.

His eyes stared fixedly at her, and only after a moment did he slowly speak up:

"Why hide it? Do you not want to do it with me?"

An Ling: "..."

Did this man have any self-awareness at all?!

"You're still injured."

Hearing this, the man gently kissed the tip of her ear. His voice was very light, deep and sexy, carrying an indescribable allure.

"Actually, I'm fully healed, Madam. Really."

His slender fingers slipped in under the hem of her clothes, his warm palm pressing against the dimples of the woman's lower back, his rough fingertips rubbing in circles.

"Mmh..." An Ling's body trembled. Biting her lip, she almost couldn't hold back. Gripping her phone tightly, the corners of her eyes flushed red. She turned her head and met the man's exquisitely noble face, which looked even more aloof and handsome under the light.

Shen Linyan's eyes curved in a smile as he bit her lip and softly murmured, "Let's try, okay? Madam, there won't be any problems."

An Ling still wanted to struggle up. "I need to revise the rules. We can talk about this later."

The man directly picked her up, startling An Ling so much that she hurriedly hugged his neck. "Shen Linyan, your wound!"

"Madam, I already told you I'm healed."

Shen Linyan's footsteps were steady as he smiled and lowered his voice,

"Besides, aren't we revising the rules? You can ask me while you revise them, my wife."

The door clicked shut, and the soft, intimate sounds of kissing instantly echoed from within.

Late into the night, suppressed pants and muffled groans filled the dimly lit bedroom. Moonlight spilled through the gap in the curtains, illuminating the tangled mess of men's and women's clothing scattered across the floor.

Covered in love bites, An Ling lay on the bed, utterly exhausted. Yet, the man pressed down on her from behind again, pressing kisses along her spine.

Biting her lower lip, she let out a muffled whimper, wanting to weep but having no tears left. "I can't do this anymore..."

It was too much; she really couldn't take any more!

Why did Shen Linyan keep going?! So what if they hadn't done it in a month!

To make matters worse, he kept asking her if the revised rules were good while they were at it. He relentlessly badgered her about when she would start teaching him how to be a bad guy, and whenever she failed to answer, he would thrust harder.

Be a bad guy, my foot!

Propping herself up against the mattress, An Ling's eyes brimmed with tears. Trembling and weeping, she tried to crawl off the bed, only for a large hand to wrap around her ankle and drag her right back.

The familiar, crisp scent of cedarwood enveloped her. The man tilted her chin up, his deep voice laced with amusement as his scorching breath brushed against the tip of her ear.

"What are you running from, my wife? Didn't you say you were going to teach me how to be a bad guy?"