Soon after, Ning Yi, having gone out to pour water, came in from the doorway with another towel. He saw Jin'er crouching beside the bed, reaching out in one direction. Upon seeing him enter, she retreated a little, sitting up on the bed with her knees drawn up, hugging them with her arms. A small section of her slender, bare feet peeked out from beneath her white dress. Ning Yi kicked the embroidered shoes she was reaching for towards her, walked to the bedside, placed the towel over her face, held the back of her head with the other hand, and vigorously rubbed her face.

She had been crying her eyes out, and her face looked rather pitiful. After being vigorously rubbed by Ning Yi for a while, her delicate and pretty face emerged, even becoming flushed. Only her puffed-up cheeks silently protested that it hurt a little.

Ning Yi ignored her, went out, and came back in. The girl had rolled to the inner side of the bed, looking at the wall, then at the ceiling. When she saw Ning Yi come in, she had a feeling of self-abandonment in her eyes, and sniffled.

Ning Yi was still thinking about what to say when Jin'er spoke, "I messed up your manuscripts, will it be a problem?"

"Hmm?" Ning Yi turned his head to look at the things on the desk, then shook his head, "It's nothing important, it can be sorted out even if it's messed up."

"But you've been writing these past few days, it must be important..."

"Depends on the concept." Ning Yi smiled, "It's really nothing, although it might be very useful in the future, but..." These things would certainly be very useful in future events, but to him, they could absolutely not be more important than the people around him. This was a bit cheesy to say, and he didn't know how to express it.

Jin'er, however, was obviously able to understand. At this time, she curled up her legs and sat up slightly sideways, "I used to hear that when you're really doing things, the things written on paper are useless..."

"Heh." Ning Yi laughed, "Some things do need to be done first, but if it's really a big structure, and there are some standards to refer to, preliminary planning is still very important."

Speaking of which, although he had forced Jin'er to talk to him with an almost rude attitude, and Jin'er had agreed, he was still a little embarrassed at this moment, unsure of what to talk about. Matters of affection and family were things he wanted to treat sincerely, but with Su Tan'er, there was a marriage in name first, then affection; with Yun Zhu, it was a natural and gradual development; and with Xiao Chan, there was even less need for formal discussion. What could he say to Jin'er at this time? If the two of them were to formally establish a relationship, what should he say? He was a bit embarrassed.

He couldn't possibly talk about future life prospects, or promise to stay with her for a long time after falling in love. That might be reliable in modern times, but it seemed out of place now. And he wasn't sure if that would solve the problem.

Whether it was Yun Zhu's side, or Tan'er and Xiao Chan's side, if he really wanted to keep Jin'er by his side, there wouldn't be too much of a problem on either side. But their lack of obstruction was their right to be understanding, and he couldn't treat it as a matter of course. This was the self-awareness and respect he should have for them. After all, in the world, the kindness that others are willing to give is a kind of favor. Whether it's gratitude or shame, there should be awareness. If the person receiving the favor takes it for granted, or even thinks they can actively reach out, they will always be disliked. If Ning Yi did that, it would be close to shameless.

How to explain this matter, he hadn't even dared to bring it up actively, even with the gentlest Yun Zhu these past few days. Perhaps Yun Zhu was also looking at him and Jin'er's little joke with a kind heart. Jin'er probably felt the same embarrassment. After saying a few words about the manuscripts, Ning Yi finally laughed, "Hey, the thing you said... let's solve it when I come back from Shandong."

It was almost noon, and cicadas were chirping in the distance, and there were also voices. He didn't raise his voice, and before Jin'er could speak, Ning Yi smiled and looked at her again, "Anyway... you don't plan to leave your Yun Zhu sister, do you?"

"I... don't need you to spend money to support me." Ning Yi's second sentence was finally an active acknowledgement of their relationship. Jin'er nodded, and the words that followed had a bit of arrogant嬌氣. Ning Yi smiled. After the room quieted down, the conversation sounded like a family discussing simple matters.

In the past, when interacting with Yun Zhu and Jin'er, although they would occasionally bicker because of Yun Zhu, when it came down to it, the feeling of being with each other was just like the way they were talking now. Ning Yi's thoughts might be complex, but in front of Yun Zhu and Jin'er, he spoke simply and honestly. Therefore, there was no need to guess and guess when interacting with each other.

Ning Yi and Jin'er had been a little embarrassed these past few days, but it was mainly because of other people. Ning Yi didn't know how to explain it to Xiao Chan and Yun Zhu, and Jin'er felt a little embarrassed when facing Yun Zhu. Since Jin'er couldn't solve the problem in her heart, she had to vent her anger on Ning Yi. Of course, she was also a little apprehensive about Ning Yi's answer. But as long as Ning Yi was willing to answer, or was a bit more assertive, like grabbing her over and spanking her today, she wouldn't resist Ning Yi as much in the end.

Even if they wanted to talk before, the rest of the family was at home, and the two of them felt somewhat guilty about it. That's why Jin'er ran away whenever she saw him. Today, everyone was out, and they could truly become more frank in private. Ning Yi sat in the chair, looking at Jin'er sitting on the bed with her legs curled up. After a moment of silence, he felt that his ambiguous expression just now was a bit unkind.

He took a breath and decided to use the method he was more familiar with to confirm it once, "Actually... I'm a little embarrassed, so I said you don't plan to leave Yun Zhu. In fact... I'm very happy to have the three of us together like before."

Eye to eye, Jin'er looked at his slightly serious eyes, a little strange, and then nodded, "Mm."

Ning Yi felt that he hadn't expressed himself very well. He thought for a while and stood up, "I mean... it's not because I'm used to the three of us being together that I'm saying this today... Of course, I didn't say what's going to happen when I come back from Shandong, but things will definitely be figured out by then. As for what you said about liking things, I'm not saying these things because of Yun Zhu. I don't want you to think that today's matter has anything to do with Yun Zhu... Uh, you don't understand, do you?"

Jin'er sat there looking at him, blinking her eyes. After a long while, she slowly shook her head hesitantly, "Mm... no... mm, no... understand." Shaking halfway, her expression became complicated and she nodded, "Understand... mm, understand." She confirmed it and continued to look at Ning Yi. Ning Yi was stunned.

"...Understand?" He was quite surprised, "What I said... shouldn't have been clear... you... really understood?"

"Understand..." Jin'er nodded, her eyes not leaving him. After a moment, her lips moved, "...Maybe."

"..." Ning Yi stood there blinking, not knowing what to say.

What he actually wanted to say was just one sentence: "I like you because I really like you as a person, not because of any other reason to keep you." As a modern person, he felt that this seemed very important to girls. However, it was really a bit cheesy to say it out loud.

On the other hand, he hadn't yet obtained the understanding of Tan'er and Yun Zhu. It would also be a bit bad to tell Jin'er right away that he would marry her into the family as a concubine or something. So he told Jin'er that he would solve the matter after returning from Shandong. Although the problem shouldn't be too big, what the situation would be at that time was ultimately a matter for then.

Ning Yi hoped that Jin'er could understand his intention to make a promise to her. On the other hand, the confession was too cheesy, and he felt frivolous in this state. He simply wanted to clarify the logic, almost wanting to make it a business negotiation. In the end, even he himself didn't quite understand what he had expressed. Fortunately, Jin'er was sitting there looking at him at this time, and didn't laugh. Ning Yi exhaled, sat down again, looked at Jin'er, and smiled self-deprecatingly.

"Then... I'll just take it that you understand?"

"Mm." Jin'er nodded. In fact, she could understand Ning Yi's meaning to some extent, but she just didn't quite understand why Ning Yi was making such a big effort to explain this.

She had lived in a brothel since she was a child. The matters between talented scholars and beautiful women, although they initially involved mutual probing and guessing, you advance and I retreat, once they entered the stage of true confession, the next steps were actually quite simple. Women of this era, once they liked someone, didn't have many opportunities for secondary choices, even the women of brothels were the same. Once they confirmed "I like you and you like me," then taking the person away directly was also done. As long as there was action, there was no need to say it so clearly.

Jin'er was a bit straightforward, but definitely not a careless person. When Su Wenyu was interested in her, she immediately rejected him without hurting him. Today, she was hugged over by Ning Yi, thrown on the bed, and spanked, and he was at her disposal. The fact that she didn't resist with all her might was already an attitude. In fact, although Jin'er was sulking with Ning Yi from the beginning, she understood in her heart that the problem wasn't with Ning Yi. When Ning Yi acted so strongly, she naturally couldn't hold her anger anymore. Of course, she was still very shy about the things Ning Yi would do to her.

For women of this era, the reasons for liking someone didn't have to be so clear, as long as they didn't like your money. I like your talent, I like your temperament, I like your beauty, even I like the way you are in bed, it was all acceptable. As for reasons like "I like the real you," which are full of Western philosophical reflection and the idea that everyone is a unique individual, Jin'er would understand to some extent, but she might not understand the significance of Ning Yi bringing this matter up separately.

In her opinion, after Ning Yi nodded and said those few words, he had already included several meanings: After returning from Shandong, everyone would stop being conflicted. She and Yun Zhu would be together, whether as his woman or in whatever kind of relationship. Since this relationship existed, the rest would be much more convenient. She wouldn't have to avoid his intimacy with Yun Zhu anymore, and the three of them could live happily together. As for other trivial matters like "my body is his," of course it was unquestionable and there was no need to think about it. He could do whatever he wanted, it was natural and righteous.

After saying these things, the room fell silent again. This rather clumsy confession had just been completed, and the atmosphere was a bit ambiguous. Jin'er waited for a moment, seeing that he didn't say anything more,

she moved to the edge of the bed and began to put on her shoes and socks under his gaze. Ning Yi frowned when he saw her sideways posture, "Does that... still hurt?"

Jin'er lowered her head, her movements paused, and after a moment, she said softly, "Actually... I also know that I've been annoying you these past few days..."

"Uh?"

"...It's not your fault, you've had so many things going on recently, and I've been sulking with you. Just now, when you found out I was pretending to be unconscious, I was embarrassed, so I wanted to run away. I also know it's a bit unreasonable..."

"No matter what, that's always..." Ning Yi shook his head, wanting to apologize. It was originally an awkward thing. If he could apologize naturally like this, it would be a good thing, but Jin'er hadn't finished her sentence.

"Actually, before in the Golden Phoenix Brothel, I knew that some customers also liked to hit people, and some would even tie people up. They usually do it because they have a lot of things going on and feel upset. Liheng, you... like this..." Her voice decreased, and she bit her lip, "...it's not strange..."

"...Ah?" Ning Yi was slightly stunned, "What do you mean I like this... I wasn't just now..."

Jin'er glanced at him, "But... you've had so many things going on recently, maybe you're in a bad mood and want to... hit people..."

Ning Yi's hand stopped in the air. He looked at Jin'er's blushing face. After a moment, he looked at his hand again, recalled it, and had a complicated expression. He touched his chin, "Uh... if that's the case... maybe..."

Speaking of such things, the two of them were also a little embarrassed. Jin'er sat on the edge of the bed, leaning forward and lowering her head, moving her fingers to put on her embroidered shoes. Her drooping hair obscured her face, which was as red as a tomato.

"I, I know a lot about these things in the Golden Phoenix Brothel..." As she lowered her head, the words were as thin as a mosquito's hum. She stood up from the edge of the bed as she spoke, wringing her fingers in front of her, facing away, "Liheng, if you... want to, I'll endure it. Don't hit Yun Zhu sister... and I know a lot of poses... I can... show them to you... I, I'll go now..."

After saying these words, Jin'er left the room. Ning Yi sat there stunned for a long while, with a complicated expression. Then he laughed "haha", he reached out and covered his forehead, as if he had experienced the most interesting thing, and couldn't help laughing.

It was really a... clumsy confession, a veritable masterpiece.

Even after many years, I will remember it...