The moment these words were spoken, Tao Lengshuang retreated rapidly from Mo Lingxi, fixing him with a highly defensive gaze, as if he were a great villain.
She glanced at a certain spot on Mo Lingxi, then swiftly produced a silver needle. "Could it be... that thing is acting up?"
"If that's the case, rest assured, I have a solution. It'll guarantee a permanent fix, leaving you with no worries whatsoever."
Mo Lingxi, understanding her implication, felt a chill in a certain area, as if a knife were poised there, ready to strike at any moment. "...We are husband and wife."
Should he be shocked by Tao Lengshuang's methods, or surprised by her reaction?
No woman would react like this when encountering such a situation.
Tao Lengshuang produced several packets of powder, a forced smile on her face. "Who says husband and wife must engage in *that*? Besides, we are a couple in name only."
"From our wedding until Xiao Feng was born, how many times did you touch me? And now you're bringing this up? Don't you feel ashamed?"
Mo Lingxi pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling somewhat helpless. "We agreed not to bring up the past."
Tao Lengshuang countered that she wasn't bringing up the past, but rather explaining the nature of their marital relationship, lest his "thing" continue to act up.
Her words struck Mo Lingxi with a dull ache in his chest, a feeling of stifled discomfort.
"Let's reconcile."
"Did we have a conflict?" Tao Lengshuang was a bit confused by Mo Lingxi's meaning. "We are friends, and we have no conflict. What is there to reconcile?"
Mo Lingxi frowned. "I'm talking about our marital relationship."
"!! Is there something wrong with your brain? We agreed to divorce once everything was settled. Now you're talking about improving our marital relationship."
It was simply unbelievable.
"I never said that."
Tao Lengshuang stared at Mo Lingxi, who looked as if he'd never uttered such a thing, her eyes wide with disbelief. "Mo Lingxi, have some dignity!"
"You say you never said that, just because your 'thing' is acting up and you want to use me to vent. You clearly wanted a divorce, and now you're acting like this."
Mo Lingxi took a few steps towards her, his handsome face hardening. "It's not about venting, and it's not that 'thing' acting up. I have no intention of looking down on you."
Tao Lengshuang couldn't help but retreat, threatening him fiercely. "If you take another step, I'll throw this powder."
Mo Lingxi continued to advance, looking directly at her. "There are many misunderstandings between us that need to be clarified."
His words made Tao Lengshuang's mind jump to conclusions, giving her the impression that Mo Lingxi meant exactly what she suspected. "Mo Lingxi, don't push it too far."
"Who says what you say is the final word? That's not how it works."
With that, she flung a handful of powder at him.
To her surprise, Mo Lingxi agilely dodged, appearing directly in front of her and grasping her wrist. "That's not what I meant..."
Before he could finish, a barrage of even more colorful powder flew towards him, making it impossible to dodge.
Tao Lengshuang not only threw powder but also sharply pricked his hand with a needle. As he loosened his grip, she quickly retreated to a safe distance.
"Mo Lingxi, you are truly detestable. I hate this behavior of yours, this insistence that whatever you say goes."
Mo Lingxi's face contorted. His body was wracked with alternating sensations of burning pain, stabbing pain, and then a complex intermingling of all sorts of pain.
How much poison had he been afflicted with?
"Aren't you afraid of becoming a widow?"
Tao Lengshuang's eyes lit up at his words, her tone rising slightly. "You know, I hadn't even considered the path of becoming a widow."
Mo Lingxi choked, feeling as if he couldn't breathe. "Do you wish for my death so badly?"
Tao Lengshuang covered her mouth and coughed lightly, trying her best to appear less than delighted. "You could fake your death, you know. It doesn't have to be real, does it?"
Seeing her eagerness to become a widow, Mo Lingxi lunged forward, pushing her down into the snow. "Tao Lengshuang, you will never be a widow in this lifetime!"
Tao Lengshuang stared at him, bewildered, not understanding how he had managed to tackle her. "Can't you feel the pain?"
"I'm more angry right now," Mo Lingxi glared at her, his rage soaring. "To wish to be a widow right in front of me, you're quite bold."
Tao Lengshuang couldn't fathom why he was so angry. "You should be happy that I have no designs on you."
"...Why should I be happy?"
"You don't have to worry about me clinging to you, or about your reputation being harmed. In the future, you can marry a noble's legitimate daughter and live the life you desire. Shouldn't you be happy about that?"
Mo Lingxi found Tao Lengshuang's reasoning difficult to comprehend, his gaze turning cold. "As I said, I have no intention of divorcing."
Tao Lengshuang struggled a couple of times, finding herself unable to break free, and her expression grew even stranger. "No, Mo Lingxi, we agreed to divorce before."
"That was before," Mo Lingxi stated, his reasoning somewhat shaky but his tone firm. "It doesn't count now."
"...Mo Lingxi, are you alright? Are you alright? Are you alright? If you're fine, please get up. I don't have time to roll around in the snow with you."
"I truly want to..."
Before Mo Lingxi could finish speaking, Tao Lengshuang interrupted him with a raised hand, her expression calm. "Your so-called sincerity is merely a fleeting interest."
"Perhaps it's because my feelings for you are different from other women's, making me interesting to you, which is why you're acting this way.
You don't need to deny it. When the original Tao Lengshuang tried to please you in every way, you only showed disgust and disdain. When did you ever give her a kind look?
"As she spoke, she let out a soft scoff. "Men are all like this. What they can't obtain, what doesn't bend to their will, they will try every means to get."
Mo Lingxi tried to deny it, but Tao Lengshuang pushed him away forcefully.
"Not like this? You men just talk a good game."
Shivering from the cold, her cotton clothes soaked through with snow, Tao Lengshuang hurried back towards home. She was too tired to say anything more to Mo Lingxi.
Mo Lingxi sat in the snow for a long time, still feeling that his feelings for Tao Lengshuang were different, but unable to articulate why.
Unable to figure it out, Mo Lingxi temporarily put the matter aside and headed home.
However, that evening, Tao Lengshuang kicked him out of their room and told him to stay in the main hall, forbidding him from entering.
Mo Lingxi stood at the doorway, hugging his quilt, utterly bewildered as to why he was being kicked out. Everything had been fine before today.
"Daddy."
Xiao Feng peeked out, pulling Mo Lingxi to a corner where they squatted. He whispered, "Did Daddy make Mommy angry again?"
"...I don't think so?"
Hearing his father's uncertain tone, Xiao Feng sighed like a little adult, his brow furrowed. "Daddy, why are you so silly? You haven't even learned a third of Xiao Feng's cleverness."