“Gu, Gu Ye… Bu Chan…,” Xiaochans voice was barely a whisper, but the atmosphere was peaceful, and Ning Yi could still hear her clearly. He thought for a moment. Xiao Chan, clutching at the hem of her dress, blushed with embarrassment.

“That… that… brother and sister-in-law… didn't prepare a room for Xiao Chan. They, they…” She bit her lip, stole a glance at Ning Yi, and then took a deep breath. “And… and Miss said, let Xiao Chan serve Gu Ye…”

“Hmm?”

Xiao Chan had spoken quickly at first, but her voice had faded to a whisper again by the end, her face flushed crimson, and her body swaying. Ning Yi smiled slightly, reached out, and took her left hand. Her fingers felt stiff, yet also soft and without strength. In the oil-lamp-lit room, the young girl sat gently on the edge of the bed, looking somewhat at a loss. Ning Yi held her hand, waited for her to calm down a little, and then spoke.

“Xiao Hua… is she willing too?”

Xiao Chan nodded quickly, looked at Ning Yi, and then nodded a few more times. “Gu Ye… is a good person, good to Xiao Chan, good to Miss, so… so… and Xiao Chan was originally going to be a *tongfang yatou* anyway…”

Hearing her answer, Ning Yi smiled after a moment. “A lifetime matter.”

His voice was soft, sounding calm and ordinary. There was no further comment. Xiao Chan sat on the edge of the bed in silence for a while, then looked up at him. “It… it is a lifetime matter…” She said this matter-of-factly, without much hesitation. Ning Yi nodded, then smiled and said, “Then… I'll go close the window first.”

The unfolded window faced the small courtyard. Occasionally, sounds could be heard from outside. Ning Yi walked over there. While looking outside, Xiao Chan sat there with her chest rising and falling. She raised her hand and undid a button on her upper garment. After undoing it, she stopped, lowered her hands, and sat there pretending to be casual. She looked up at Ning Yi again, and then raised her hand to undo the second button. By the time Ning Yi turned around, she had already undone the fourth button.

The small garment was suitable for sleeping, simple and soft, with few buttons. When she undid the fifth button under Ning Yi's gaze, the garment opened, revealing a white *dudou* embroidered with a lotus flower. Xiao Chan lowered her head, pulled at her outer garment, and said softly, “Gu… Gu Ye…” Her voice was pitiful. Ning Yi picked up the oil lamp.

“Would you like to sleep… on the inside?”

Xiao Chan nodded, leaned over, and took off her shoes and socks. When she was about to get into bed, she hesitated and shyly took off her outer garment. For a moment, no one spoke in the room. Xiao Chan, wearing a *dudou* and moon-white silk pants, folded her clothes neatly and placed them on the stool at the foot of the bed. She lowered her head and crawled into the bed, lying on her side on the inside. This position was like turning her bare back to Ning Yi. However, everything was somewhat new to her at the moment, and it took a great deal of courage to do such a thing. Her skin was probably all pink. Then, she turned over, as if lying straight there, her bare little shoulders were drawn in narrowly. Her hands were first placed at her sides, then crossed over her *dudou*, and then… she didn't know where to put them anymore. She turned her head to look at Ning Yi.

Ning Yi had also taken off his robe and gotten into bed. When he turned his head to look over, Xiao Chan's gaze froze, and she quickly looked away, her heart pounding, waiting for Ning Yi to come over and do something to her. Then, Ning Yi leaned over, reached out a hand, and pulled out… a hairpin.

Xiao Chan had washed up earlier, and her wet hair was held up with a wooden hairpin. She had been busy trying to overcome her shyness and take off her clothes, and had fallen asleep like that. Now, Ning Yi loosened her hair, placed the hairpin on the stool at the head of the bed, and extinguished the oil lamp. Then, he also lay down next to her. There was some faint light in the room. Ning Yi seemed to be lying a little stiffly, occasionally moving to the left, occasionally moving to the right, occasionally turning to his side. After a while, even he couldn't help but laugh. Xiao Chan was incredibly shy: “Gu… Gu Ye… doesn't Gu Ye want Xiao Chan…?”

Ning Yi lay there, looking at the mosquito net. “I just thought, you might get pregnant.”

“No, no… Xiao Chan will definitely not have a baby before Miss does. I'll take medicine, taking medicine it will be gone…”

Xiao Chan suddenly became sensitive to this point, propped herself up, and shook her head vigorously. Ning Yi sighed. “That's what I'm worried about… taking medicine is bad for your body, you're only fifteen years old…”

“Almost, almost sixteen…”

“Hmm, taking that kind of medicine too much will cause a lot of trouble later, you’re not allowed to take it.” Ning Yi said, reaching out and pulling her down, embracing her petite body, and then he laughed again, muttering to himself, “A lifetime matter… tonight will be painful, hehe…”

Xiao Chan was probably being held by a man like this for the first time. For her, she was also in a state of near nakedness wearing only the *dudou*. Her body was stiff, her head was buzzing, but thinking in her heart “I am Gu Ye’s, I am Gu Ye’s…” she gradually relaxed, leaning in his arms somewhat puzzled, “But, but… Gu Ye…”

“Ah… let's just chat…”

“Huh?”

“Xiao Chan… do you get along well with your parents, older brother, and sister-in-law?”

“…Actually, I don't know.”

“Heh, how do you mean?”

“Xiao Chan only comes back once every year or two, and after entering the Su family for so long, it's only been a little over ten days in total… but they are Xiao Chan's family after all…”

“Hmm, of course… does Xiao Chan think that they shouldn't have sold you?”

“No, if I hadn't been sold, I don't know what Xiao Chan would be like now… we couldn't make ends meet, and now the Su family is also Xiao Chan's family, Miss is, Juan'er and Xing'er sisters are, and also Gu Ye…”

“Hehehe…”

“Actually, Daddy loves to drink and doesn't do much work. Ever since Xiao Chan could send money back, he hasn't even farmed the land. He likes to drink and brag with people all day long… Mama is quite diligent, but she's reluctant to part with things. When Xiao Chan brings back pastries, she sometimes takes a bite and secretly wraps it up, saying she'll eat it at night. The rest will probably go moldy. Sister-in-law is quite snobbish, but she's good to my older brother. My older brother is always thinking about doing great things in the city. He says that he was very capable to marry the most beautiful girl in the neighboring village…”

“Not as pretty as Xiao Chan.”

“Heehee…”

“It's only natural, your brother could be a clever shop assistant, your sister-in-law can manage the accounts, your mother can be a housekeeper, today in the mourning hall, she was still doing some trivial things, and others listened to her, telling her not to go over and help, which shows that everyone sees her work ethic. If your father were alive, he could probably sit in the hall as a shopkeeper or something, hehe…”

“Gu Ye only says nice things. If there really was such a shop, it would collapse… but Miss sometimes says the same thing, everyone is useful, I think Mama is still amazing…”

“With Xiao Chan around, it won't collapse, knowing what your family is like after only a dozen or so days, Xiao Chan is amazing…”

“Then isn't Gu Ye even more amazing, only having met them once…”

“I’m just following up, scholars are good at making things up…”

“Then my older brother can't be a shop assistant, and my sister-in-law can't manage the accounts either…”

“Heh…”

“Oh, right, Gu Ye, although Xiao Chan was sold at the age of four and doesn't remember things from before, there is a very interesting place…”

“…”

Chatter chatter chatter, in the remote Nan Ting Village, lights were still burning in the mourning hall near the big house. The lights in the other places were already extinguished. The stars were twinkling in the sky, guarding this sleeping land… Ning Yi had a wet dream.

Of course, this was normal.

This night was largely a test for both him and Xiao Chan. For Ning Yi, doing something with a fifteen, almost sixteen-year-old girl, if it was only doing it, it wasn't much to care about, because this process didn't harm her body too much, but in this year, whether a fifteen-year-old girl becomes pregnant and gives birth, or avoids pregnancy with an abortion, it is quite harmful to her body, which is the main reason that made him sigh and feel funny.

Xiao Chan could not have a child before Su Tan'er, the rules of a wealthy family are like this. Therefore, when he mentioned this, Xiao Chan immediately worried and stated that she would definitely not have a baby before Miss. Ning Yi didn't care about this, but others did, and Xiao Chan herself did, then this matter became difficult.

He was not a man without desire, but restraint and reason had already become an extremely powerful part of his personality. Having seen all the prosperity before, having some casual fling was no different for him than pleasuring himself. There was nothing pretentious about the relationship between him and Xiao Chan. After making a decision, he would take responsibility. Fifteen or sixteen years old was not a problem, but on this night, before Su Tan'er, it became a problem.

The two chatted like that and couldn't fall asleep until very late.

Xiao Chan woke up early, opening her eyes when it was still dark.

The two were covered with a thin blanket.

She was held in Ning Yi's chest, her bare back against Ning Yi's chest, Ning Yi's arms wrapped around her from behind, and she was also holding Ning Yi's arm. Her heart was warm.

This night also had a special meaning for her, a feeling of warmth, a feeling of belonging, and of course, also a lot of shyness and anticipation. Unfortunately, Gu Ye was worried that getting pregnant would hurt her body…

After waking up, at first, she was only feeling this warmth. There was something hard behind her, her face flushed slightly, and she couldn't help but think about other things as well.

When the Su family held the wedding, Su Tan'er already had some low status in the family. She could ignore this, she could throw a tantrum and get annoyed, and she could also run away that day, but Xiao Chan couldn't. She, like Juan'er and Xing'er, was actually learning and understanding some things at that time, some annoying, vaguely understood and embarrassing things, that she had to understand as a *tongfang yatou*. Later, she was left behind, the Gu Ye who came to marry had a low status, and Miss didn't seem to have any intention in this regard, so they suppressed these things in their hearts. After all, in the heart of a young maid, even thinking about these things makes her feel shy.

So those things had always been kept in her heart, but later, following Gu Ye, she would occasionally think about them. She knew that in May, Miss had said those words, allowing her to serve Gu Ye, and then she had gotten her face opened, and after being accepted, she often thought about them, until at this moment, these things and thoughts couldn't help but surge up.

Her face and body were sometimes hot and sometimes shy. Feeling the body behind her, Gu Ye also said he was in pain tonight… Also, she had to try Gu Ye before Miss… Uh, that was what that auntie said… Gu Ye isn't feeling well either… but thinking like this will be said to be a shameless woman… don't think about it…

In the darkness, she pursed her lips, curled up her body, and retreated from Ning Yi's arms.

Draping that blanket over herself, she lay on top of Ning Yi, struggling in her heart, biting her lip, sometimes as if she was about to cry…

Anyway, I'm Gu Ye's now…

The night was deep, at a certain moment, the little girl took a light breath, and slowly retreated into the thin blanket, starlight found the vague outline, rustle rustle rustle, stopped for a moment, and then there was another burst of movement, slowly, gently, carefully moving…

The sky had not yet brightened, and the stars blinked again…