Niley: …
Mier: …
What a "good" son he turned out to be!
"Mier, do you have any conscience left? I'm your mother!"
Hearing this, Mier's mother widened her eyes in shock. She couldn't believe that the obedient son who used to silently take her beatings and scoldings could say something so cruel.
Then she looked at Niley standing beside him. Even though she was afraid, she still bared her teeth and snapped at her angrily, "It's all your fault!"
It hadn't even been a full day, and her once quiet, hardworking son had been turned into someone this heartless!
Niley smiled and looked at Mier with affection. "There's nothing wrong with him being like this."
Seeing his mother so furious, Mier trembled slightly. He wanted to hide, but there was nowhere to go.
Then he heard Niley's soft chuckle beside him. Under the dim light, his cheeks turned red, but the warmth in her voice gave him courage.
He looked up nervously at his mother. Seeing how miserable she looked now, he unconsciously felt relieved.
Her arm was broken, so she couldn't hit him easily anymore. But her mouth still spit venom like always.
Thinking of this, he frowned and clenched his fists to give himself more courage. Then he stepped forward and blocked her gaze, speaking up, "Wife didn't teach me anything bad. Don't blame her for nothing."
He had always been timid around his mother, so speaking up so suddenly was unfamiliar. He turned back to look at Niley and only relaxed when he saw her nodding at him encouragingly.
Now he had a wife who would protect him. Things were different.
He could finally speak confidently, even in front of his mother.
"A good person?"
His mother shouted angrily and pointed a finger at Niley. But she accidentally lifted her injured arm, causing her to cry out in pain. The motion made her arm start swinging wildly again.
She carefully held the injured arm, trying to stay balanced, and shouted through gritted teeth, "She dislocated my arm without blinking, and you're calling her a good person? Are you blind?"
"She's still better than you," Mier replied quietly but firmly.
He turned, and his eyes met Niley's smiling ones. Embarrassed, he quickly looked away, his face burning. Ignoring his mother, he ran back into the yard.
He had clearly told himself not to fall for his wife.
But his heart wouldn't listen.
Once inside, hearing footsteps behind him, he rushed into the room and closed the door, leaning against it while trying to calm his racing heart.
Outside the door, not knowing what was going on, Niley stood confused. "What's wrong?" she asked, knocking.
Men in this matriarchal country might be tasty-looking, but their thoughts were hard to read.
Even Mier seemed to change moods all the time. She didn't quite get him.
Still, as long as he listened, she liked obedient ones.
Hearing the knock, Mier snapped back to reality. When he realized he had locked his wife outside, he gasped in panic.
He patted his burning face, then timidly turned around and opened the door for her.
"Are you okay?" Niley asked.
"Y-yeah," he stammered, unsure what to say.
When she looked like she was about to ask more, he quickly moved aside and said, "Wife, let's eat. It's already dark after all that's happened."
Afraid she'd notice something was off, he turned his face away, hoping the firelight wouldn't reveal his flushed expression.
But just as he spoke, Niley's stomach growled loudly.
That immediately made her forget about Mier's odd behavior.
They both went into the kitchen, brought out the food kept warm in the pot, and sat in silence while eating.
Mier was worried she might ask questions, so he just focused on eating, trying to avoid her gaze.
"You must be starving. Slow down a bit. Eating too much at night isn't good for your stomach," Niley said, seeing him eat like he hadn't had food in days.
In this era, nights had no real entertainment. Eating too much might keep someone up all night.
But Mier was now hers. Wasn't this their wedding night?
With that thought, she remembered what happened during the day. Looking at Mier, still scarfing down food, she smiled meaningfully. "It's good to eat more. So you won't complain about being hungry later tonight."
"I won't. I already ate quite a bit today," Mier mumbled, shoving another bite into his mouth. His cheeks puffed up, making his usually thin face look round and adorable.
Niley smiled but didn't reply. Her eyes dimmed slightly, already planning to feed him more in the future—he looked cuter with some weight on him.
Right after they finished eating and put down the bowls, Mier quickly grabbed them and went to wash up.
Seeing her husband so eager and responsible, Niley couldn't help but smile.
She went straight to the bathroom to prepare the bath.
Mier came back after cleaning the dishes and heard the sound of water running from inside the room. Curious, he looked in and saw Niley dressed in something thin, only two straps on her shoulders.
His face, which had cooled down from the night air, immediately heated up again. His mind flashed back to his father's words about consummating the marriage tonight.
He felt both excited and nervous.
But his father had said every man had to go through this, especially when the woman was his wife.
Still… wasn't it all happening a bit too fast?
When Niley heard him return, she turned to look at him. She was wearing a tank top, exposing a large portion of her chest. As she moved, her curves were fully revealed.
Mier, who had still been hesitating, turned beet red and swallowed hard. His wife's figure was… way too tempting!
"Mier, take a bath first," Niley said as she walked over to the wardrobe to find clothes for him.
Using the wardrobe as cover, she took out a bath towel from her storage, just big enough to cover the essentials, and placed it next to the tub.
Knowing he probably didn't know how to use it, she stepped forward to teach him directly.
She leaned in close, her body pressed against his, and whispered into his ear, "Take off your clothes first, then…"
"Take—take off my clothes?"
Mier was suddenly wrapped in Niley's arms. Feeling the softness behind him, he jumped back like a scared rabbit, clutching his clothes tightly and looking at her in shock.
He looked like a little bunny being bullied.
Niley smiled. "Yes. How else can you take a bath if you don't take off your clothes?"
Mier blinked a few times, then slowly nodded in a daze.
The next second, Niley pinned his hands against the wall with one hand, while the other hand expertly started undoing his clothes.