Since the start of his sophomore year, Qiu Ye made it a habit to work out twice a week, rain or shine.
He hadn’t built massive muscles, but he had a nice lean frame.
Unfortunately, Bai Yao’s appetite was growing bigger and bigger, and no amount of exercise could keep up with the demand.
At least once a day, sometimes three to five times—who could handle that?
At first it was fine.
Bai Yao was still thin-skinned and had a strong sense of shame.
Now that they were an “old married couple,” she was wild in bed, like a seductress.
Waking up, Qiu Ye’s face was full of the listlessness that followed Sage Mode.
He felt sore all over and sucked in a sharp breath.
“Hiss… It hurts, it hurts.”
He lay in bed for a moment to recover, then turned his head to look at Bai Yao, who was sleeping soundly in the crook of his shoulder.
His left arm had gone completely numb from being pinned.
Carefully lifting Bai Yao’s head and placing it on the pillow, Qiu Ye quietly got up, preparing to head to the library to practice for the civil service exam.
He’d said a couple days ago that he wanted to take the exam, and his action was strong.
He immediately bought all the necessary materials, books, and past exam papers.
No one could handle having a seductress at home who needed to be fed every day.
He spent most of his time at the library.
He had to go to the library.
If he stayed home, the seductress would be swaying in front of him, and he wouldn’t be able to focus on studying.
These days, apart from classes and attendance, he spent most of his time in the library.
“Hm?”
But the noise of Qiu Ye getting up still disturbed Bai Yao.
“Is it nine?” she asked, her voice hoarse.
“Eight.”
“Only eight? Going to the library?”
“Yeah. Want to sleep a little longer?”
Qiu Ye quickly slipped on a T-shirt and shorts, ran his fingers through his hair, put on his slippers, and was ready to go out.
“Wait for me. I’ll come too.”
Bai Yao yawned, propped herself up on her elbows, and sat up.
The blanket covering her slid down, pooling at her waist and hips, revealing the fair, delicate skin of her upper body.
But she didn’t care about Qiu Ye’s gaze at all.
She stretched her chest with a yawn, rubbed her sore eyes, and grabbed her bra and shirt from the nightstand to put on.
After eating and drinking her fill last night, stretching felt great.
Bai Yao felt full of energy, though her body was still a bit sore—Qiu Ye had worked her over pretty hard.
“It hurts.”
“You dare to complain about pain?”
Qiu Ye teased.
“You’ve been getting crazier lately.”
“A bit stressed.”
With only a year left until graduation, seeing others already finding internships and things they wanted to do while she had no clue made her very anxious.
Qiu Ye’s parents were also pushing for marriage…
When neither of them was in a hurry, she didn’t know why Uncle and Aunt were so anxious.
And her mother not only wanted a wedding house but also a bride price, claiming it was all for Bai Yao’s future.
She still didn’t know how to bring it up with Qiu Ye.
After quickly washing up, Bai Yao sat on the edge of the bed, tilted her head to comb her long hair, her calves dangling and swinging back and forth.
Since he was going out with Bai Yao, Qiu Ye also took the time to use facial cleanser and put in some hair gel to look a bit sharper.
“Ready?”
“Yeah.”
Bai Yao put down the comb and stood up.
She couldn’t be bothered to tie her hair, so she just swept it back behind her shoulders.
“Let’s go.”
They’d been renting this room for almost three years.
To be honest, Bai Yao felt that buying an apartment like this in the future would be just fine.
A small room was easy to take care of and keep tidy, and everything within sight was manageable, which gave her a sense of security.
Leaving the rental room, the owner of the breakfast shop downstairs, where they’d eaten for three years, was already familiar with the two of them.
Seeing them pass by, he called out:
“Want some breakfast?”
“Yes!”
Without needing to order, the owner quickly brought out their usual breakfast and casually asked:
“You two are about to graduate, right? When are you planning to get married?”
“Soon, soon.”
Bai Yao put on a cold face and responded perfunctorily.
Though the owner knew her well and would often ask some warm questions, she felt they were just acquaintances, and she was a bit put off by his over-familiarity.
Qiu Ye bit into his meat bun, taking nearly half in one mouthful, while still flipping through his book with his other hand.
“Why do you have to go to the library?”
Bai Yao leaned over to look at his book, felt dizzy, and couldn’t understand it.
“That’s because you’re not seriously looking.”
Qiu Ye glanced at Bai Yao instinctively, but suddenly noticed she seemed a little uneasy—her eyes were darting around, and her knees were pressed tightly together.
He’d already noticed over the past few days that Bai Yao had something on her mind, and it wasn’t just about finding a job.
“Spit it out.”
Bai Yao let out a troubled sigh.
Then she felt the breakfast shop wasn’t the right place to talk and swallowed the words she was about to say.
“I’ll tell you when we get back at noon.”
“Look at you, acting all nervous.”
“Get lost!”
Bai Yao elbowed Qiu Ye in annoyance.
“It’s about the bride price. In my area’s custom, the bride price is a few hundred thousand. My mom insists on asking for it, saying the dowry will only be half of that.”
“The main thing is my family doesn’t have money. In other families with money, they’d match it one-to-one.”
When it came to the bride price, back when Bai Yao was still a guy, she asked about marriage and the bride price.
Her mother said the custom was one-to-one—whatever the groom paid, the dowry would match it.
She told him to date a local girl in the future and not to worry.
Now that she was a girl, the story had changed!
“Is that so bad? Your cousin got married a few years ago. Didn’t he pay a million for the bride price?”
“That’s too much.”
After blurting out the words about the bride price, Bai Yao felt regret.
She tensed up nervously, afraid that Qiu Ye would be upset.
Over the years, she’d known that Qiu Ye’s family was just an ordinary working-class household.
She quickly tugged at Qiu Ye’s arm.
“It’s okay. I don’t need it either.”
Before Qiu Ye could respond, Bai Yao took out her phone and opened her banking app.
“I’ve saved a few tens of thousands over these years. I’ll transfer it to you, and you can give it to my mom as the bride price, okay? I figure she’ll give it back to me later anyway.”
This was money Bai Yao had saved by exploiting the system and doing occasional part-time jobs.
“No need. Not necessary!”
Qiu Ye quickly refused and directly snatched Bai Yao’s phone away.
Bai Yao’s mood immediately plummeted.
She slumped onto the table in distress.
This was the only solution she could think of, one that barely balanced both sides, though her mother probably wouldn’t agree to it either.
If that didn’t work, would she have to fall out with her mother?
“It’s not that urgent. We still have a year until graduation. We’ll talk later.”
Qiu Ye rubbed Bai Yao’s head.
“I’ll discuss it with Auntie.”
“Well… Actually, I think money shouldn’t be involved in marriage.”
Bai Yao had been a man for eighteen years, and back then, she’d seen all kinds of news about bride prices.
She thought it was like selling off a daughter.
Now, here she was, turning into the very thing she used to curse.
The most important thing now was work.
When it came to work, Bai Yao sighed even more listlessly.
“I have no idea what job to look for.”
But deep down, she was more terrified of stepping into society, entering a corporate ecosystem she’d never experienced before.
Qiu Ye was helpless about this.
He thought for a moment.
“Something easygoing? You don’t need to earn a lot. Just enough to support yourself.”
“If work makes you unhappy, just quit.”
Bai Yao still had a displeased expression on her face.
Seeing her like this, Qiu Ye quickly downed his soy milk in a few gulps and pulled her up from her chair.
“What are you doing?”
“Going home.”
Bai Yao was startled.
She stumbled as Qiu Ye dragged her toward the rental, looking reluctant.
“I’m not in the mood…”
Qiu Ye almost believed her.