Chapter 18: Wedding Night
The room fell into an awkward silence.
After Qing’er and Chuntao finished arranging the last of her belongings, they quietly withdrew, leaving only the two of them behind.
The door closed softly and Wang Gege suddenly felt that the room was much larger or perhaps smaller?
Wang Gege was not entirely sure but what she was sure of was that she was still standing.
Meanwhile, Xie Rong appeared perfectly comfortable. He sat beside the table near the window, leisurely drinking his hot tea as though there was nothing unusual about the situation.
Wang Gege glanced at him, "I heard Master was looking for you earlier..." She gulped after saying those things. After all, she was just talking to ease the awkwardness.
Xie Rong casually nodded, "Hm.."
Wang Gege blinked before continuing, "Did something happen—"
"No."
The answer came so quickly that Wang Gege almost suspected he had prepared it in advance.
The room became quiet once again.
Only when a knock sounded from outside did Wang Gege realize she had been unconsciously holding her breath from the awkwardness.
"Young Master, Young Madam, the bath water is ready." The servant’s voice drifted in through the door.
Wang Gege immediately turned toward the calm Ancient CEO who was still leisurely sipping his tea.
"Bath water?" The question that was supposed to remain in her mind slipped out before she could stop it.
Meanwhile, Xie Rong did not appear surprised in the slightest. He simply continued drinking his tea.
Wang Gege stared at him. The more she looked, the more she felt that this man was capable of shortening her lifespan.
"Young Master Xie." She walked directly toward him.
"I know I was the one who proposed this marriage agreement, but..." She stopped beside the table and pointed at the door.
"Can we discuss every detail properly one more time?"
A brief silence followed.
Xie Rong did not answer but his fingers paused lightly against the teacup, making Wang Gege feel as though she had successfully caught his attention.
Encouraged, she pressed a hand against her chest. "Because I hope things like this won’t suddenly appear and make my heart jump out of my body."
Another brief silence followed. Then she added seriously, "Earlier, it was the tea ceremony. I understand that part."
She raised one finger.
"Then it was moving into your courtyard."
A second finger followed.
"And now there is bath water."
The more she counted, the more wronged she felt.
"I feel like every time we talk, a new thing suddenly appears."
Across from her, Xie Rong finally turned his head toward her.
Although the blindfold concealed most of his expression, Wang Gege had the strange feeling that he was actually listening to her complaints seriously.
The realization only made her feel more aggrieved.
Wang Gege was beginning to suspect that every conversation with Xie Rong came with a hidden clause she had somehow overlooked.
After several moments of silence, Xie Rong finally spoke. "What is making Shen Taotao feel so wronged?"
Wang Gege stared at him as she was genuinely speechless.
"Young Master Xie..." She pointed toward the door, "The servant just announced that the bath water is ready."
"Hm." He nodded.
"You did not think that was important information?" She asked.
Another brief silence followed. But eventually, after a few seconds, Wang Gege noticed the corner of his lips move slightly.
It was not quite a smile. Yet somehow, it felt suspicious.
"What did Shen Taotao think it meant?"
The question immediately caused Wang Gege to choke.
How was she supposed to answer that?
Tell him she had spent the last few moments wondering whether ancient married couples bathed together?
Absolutely not.
Seeing her suddenly fall silent, Xie Rong slowly rose to his feet. His movements were unhurried as he brushed a speck of dust from his sleeve.
"There are two bathing rooms."
The moment she heard the number two from his mouth, her eyes slowly widened in realization.
Before Wang Gege could even open her mouth to defend herself, Xie Rong had already walked toward her.
He stopped beside her. The distance between them suddenly felt much closer than before.
"If Young Madam wishes to use only one bathing room, that can also be arranged." His voice was calm, completely. As though he were discussing something entirely normal.
Meanwhile, Wang Gege’s eyes widened further. She slowly lifted her head to look at him.
The man did not appear embarrassed. He did not appear amused. There was not even the slightest hint of a smile on his face.
"I—I mean... I thought—" She stopped, believing remaining quiet would be better to recover from her embarrassment at this moment.
Xie Rong turned his head slightly. "One more thing."
Wang Gege immediately became alert.
"Although I agreed to this marriage arrangement, I must remind Young Madam that in the eyes of others, we are still husband and wife."
His voice remained calm although it seemed like he stressed the word ’Young Madam’ a bit too much, "As such, I hope Young Madam will be slightly more careful."
Wang Gege blinked. "Careful about what?"
A few seconds of silence followed. Then Xie Rong continued, "About appearing too pleased whenever I am absent."
Wang Gege froze but her eyes blinked hard.
Seeing her reaction, Xie Rong added calmly, "Servants notice more than Young Madam thinks."
Only then did Wang Gege remember her enthusiastic "Yes" from earlier. The memory immediately made her scalp tingle.
Meanwhile, Xie Rong continued walking toward the door.
"Tomorrow morning, we will be paying our respects to Grandmother and Father." He paused briefly, "I trust Young Madam will not look equally pleased if I fail to appear."
With that, he turned to leave.
"Wait."
The word escaped before Wang Gege could stop herself. Without thinking, she reached out and grabbed his sleeve.
The moment her fingers made contact, she froze.
Xie Rong also stopped. His head tilted slightly toward her or more precisely, toward the hand that was currently holding onto his sleeve.
"Oh..." Wang Gege immediately released it, "I apologize for my rudeness, Young Master Xie."
She suddenly felt a little awkward, perhaps because she had acted before thinking.
But taking a deep breath, she decided to stay calm and cleared her throat lightly, "It’s just..."
She started, trying to ask the question that had been bothering her since the moment she moved into this courtyard.
"If we are going to continue pretending in front of everyone..." She hesitated briefly before forcing herself to continue, "Do we need to sleep in the same room as well?"
Silence.
Wang Gege swallowed. Then, as though that question alone was not dangerous enough, she added, "And perhaps..."
Her voice became noticeably smaller, "The same bed?"