"Kneel down," she commanded again.

Liu Ji instinctively nodded.

Watching her proud posture sitting on the table, his mind was blank, and he didn’t know how to refuse, nor would he.

The bedding in his arms was placed on the ground as padding, he slightly bent his knees, staring straight at her, bent his left knee first, then his right knee, and kneeled straight in front of her.

What he saw was her skirt, unknowingly lifted high, layers of thin material piled on her thighs, revealing a pair of defined, straight, slender calves.

She lowered her eyes to look at him; he had to raise his head high to meet her gaze.

Below her long neck, her two clavicles were delicately symmetrical, her slightly open garment, her broad chest heaved intensely.

"Hold my leg."

Liu Ji’s breath caught in his throat, a thought suddenly flashed through his blurry mind: So that’s how she likes to play!

With his well-defined large hands, he gently held the risen ankle. Her strength was astonishing, yet her ankle was so slender, completely encircled in his palm.

This sense of contrast was enough to make someone excitedly want to do something outrageous to it.

...

"Miss, is the pressure suitable?"

The man cautiously inquired.

The woman hissed, unsatisfied, and snapped, "Did you not eat enough? A bit harder!"

The man had no complaints, "Okay."

But as he lowered his head, his eyes filled with an unspoken resentment.

Qin Yao’s toes tensed, pressing warningly against Liu Ji’s chest, "Focus on the massage, don’t get distracted!"

The force was neither too light nor too heavy, but enough to make him feel breathless. Liu Ji quickly gathered all wandering thoughts, resignedly, with a handsome yet resigned expression, placed her leg on his knee, kneading it.

Qin Yao squinted her eyes, releasing a comfortable sigh, "Not bad, your skills are improving."

Sitting on the table made her bottom sore, so the two moved over to the bedding. After lying for a while, Qin Yao felt cramped and moved to the bed.

No idea how long they’d been at it, Liu Ji felt like he was becoming a pitiless massage machine when a gentle snoring came from the bed.

Not daring to stop his hands, he tilted his head to glance at her.

Isn’t it strange, this merciless woman who tends to twist people’s heads off their necks, looks so innocent and harmless when asleep, makes one grit their teeth in irritation.

The leg in his hand lost all its strength, limp in his palm, and Liu Ji, emboldened by his wickedness, suddenly wanted to take a bite out of that leg!

"Do you want to die?!"

Just as his teeth were about to touch the skin, the person on the bed suddenly opened her eyes.

The murderous glare transformed into a sharp blade against his neck.

Liu Ji stiffened, slowly withdrew, gently lowered her leg, and covered her with a thin quilt, quickly rolled onto the ground, wrapping himself in the bedding.

Qin Yao let out a cold snort, and only then closed her eyes to sleep again.

Having her body completely relaxed, Qin Yao enjoyed a very good sleep.

The intense gaze from the bedside, however, was too scorching, forcing her to open her eyes and wake up early. She reached out to punch him!

The dull thud of a fist meeting flesh was especially clear in the tranquil guest room.

After a bizarre moment of silence, Liu Ji’s wailing filled the room.

Clutching his nose, he rolled on the bedding until the unbearable pain subsided.

A warm stream gushed from his nose, and Liu Ji instinctively wiped it with the back of his hand, then looked at it, "Blood, blood is flowing?"

Soon enough, a scream as if a pig was being slaughtered echoed throughout the entire inn.

Song Yu was the first to arrive. About to knock, the door was opened by Qin Yao.

With a bit of helplessness, she rubbed her forehead and instructed Song Yu, "Go bring a basin of well water, quick."

Song Yu caught a glimpse of his master, painfully curled on the ground, out of the corner of his eye. Seeing as he couldn’t ask, he swiftly went downstairs to fetch the water.

After applying cold water, Liu Ji’s profuse nosebleed finally stopped.

Looking at the basin filled with handkerchiefs used to stop the nosebleed, Qin Yao couldn’t help but feel suspicious. She had only delivered a light punch, yet this normally resilient Liu Ji bled so much, it was unbelievable.

As her probing gaze swept by, someone immediately became evasive, avoiding eye contact with her.

The little person in Liu Ji’s heart was crying; with her provoking him repeatedly, making his blood boil, it’s already impressive that his body wasn’t harmed. What’s so wrong about a bit of nosebleed!

Delayed by Liu Ji’s nosebleed, by the time the couple arrived at the government office, the results of the local examination were already posted.

Below the high wall where the results were posted, some sighed in disappointment, some cheered in excitement, and there were also those who, after years of hard study, finally saw results, crying with snot and tears.

They say the second time’s easier than the first, but this second time, whether influenced by the surrounding candidates’ emotions or not, Qin Yao felt inexplicably nervous.

With her strength, she easily cleared a path for Liu Ji, allowing him to swiftly make it to the board.

Due to his blind self-confidence, he started looking from the top of the list.

The further he looked, the colder Liu Ji’s heart became.

It shouldn’t be like this, he should’ve made the list!

Wait a minute...

While Qin Yao anxiously waited, the silhouette in front suddenly turned around, afraid she wouldn’t notice, jumped high and waved his arms.

"My lady! Come over here quickly!"

Qin Yao suspiciously moved forward and asked, "What is it?"

Liu Ji pointed to the topmost posted paper on the wall, awkwardly saying, "Give me a boost, I can’t see the words clearly."

With a look of disdain, Qin Yao swiftly glanced at the surrounding crowd, noticing no one paid attention to them. She gave Liu Ji a knowing look, suddenly grabbed his waist, and hoisted him up.

The view was significantly elevated, the list right in front of him, and Liu Ji rushed to check and confirm.

"Liu Ji from Liu Family Village, Jinshi Town, Kaiyang County, Zijing Mansion, Level C, twenty-first place... wife: Qin Family, eldest son: Liu Ziwang, second son: Liu Zishu, third son: Liu Ziming, little daughter: Liu Pingling, that’s it!"

"My lady, it’s me, it’s really me! I made it!" Liu Ji shouted in excitement.

Unbeknownst to him, his loud shout immediately attracted all the surrounding people’s attention.

Thus, the people of the Prefecture witnessed a scene shocking enough to be talked about for years.

A tall man, unexpectedly lifted into the air by a slim woman with one hand.

Due to the man’s loud exclamation, everyone looked towards the list simultaneously, oh, it was Liu Ji from Kaiyang County.

Liu Ji looked down at the nonchalant Qin Yao who easily lifted him and then at the stunned faces of the Prefecture’s people, furious and embarrassed, "What are you looking at! Haven’t seen a lady lift her husband before?!"

The Prefecture’s people nodded unanimously, yes, first time seeing it, quite novel.

Liu Ji resisted the urge to hide, patting Qin Yao’s arm, asking her to let him down.

Qin Yao teasingly smiled, lowering him to the ground, then lifting her gaze to the black words on the red list, Level C, twenty-first place, though the last name to make the list for this exam, it was still qualifying.

Her eyes shone like stars, looking at the man beside her, exhaling a long breath.

The first small goal, accomplished.

Liu Ji, amidst the true or false congratulatory words around him, suddenly became curious about Qin Yao’s reaction at this moment.

Turning to look, he met her eyes sparkling like stars, among the multitude, she only saw him.

At that moment, Liu Ji felt his heart being kicked, abruptly tightening, both sore and swollen.

Inexplicably, a strong urge arose to gather all that she loved in the world and present them to her, just to exchange for that exclusive gaze.