People change, and their hearts change even more.
There's no need to make someone feel like they've been struck by lightning just because they said, "You have to love me forever."
Besides, she couldn't do it; if she were asked to swear an oath, she would refuse.
Su Ruanruan's lips were soft and sweet.
Mu Bai snapped out of his earlier anxiety, his eyes wide with disbelief.
His breathing gradually became erratic, and his whole body became burning hot.
He murmured, his breath hot, unsure how to respond to Su Ruanruan.
Su Ruanruan tiptoed, hooked her arms around his neck, and gently pecked his cool lips.
Everything seemed to stand still, except for the sound of Mu Bai's pounding heartbeat.
Her fragrance and her aura stirred Mu Bai's heart.
His frozen hands slowly wrapped around Su Ruanruan's slender waist, wanting only to be closer to her, even closer.
He gently sucked the fragrant sweetness from her mouth, tenderly and affectionately, with deep love and reluctance.
Mu Bai's response was both tingling and numbing, like a gentle rain nourishing Su Ruanruan, from her lips to her cheeks, from her cheeks to her collarbone...
After a long while, the two reluctantly parted ways.
Mu Bai seemed to wake from a dream, looking at Su Ruanruan's flushed cheeks.
She lowered her head in a fluster, her face slightly flushed, "I'm...I'm sorry, Ruanruan, I'll go to the side room..."
They fled in a flash and didn't come out for a long time.
Su Ruanruan pulled her clothes closer and pursed her sweet lips.
The taste is absolutely delicious!
She sat down at the desk again, flipping through a book on Mu Bai's desk.
"Jiaojiao, let's get married after I pass the imperial examination!"
Mu Bai's voice came from outside the door.
Su Ruanruan quickly stood up and looked at Mu Bai, whose eyes were filled with tenderness. Her heart skipped a beat. Why did the topic of marriage suddenly come up again?
Although she had some feelings for Mu Bai, it was only some feelings.
Besides, she had never thought about getting married in this life. The tragedy of her parents in her previous life had already cast a shadow over her, and she was too afraid of repeating the same mistakes.
Moreover, in this dynasty where the status of men and women was vastly different, it was common for men to have multiple wives and concubines. It was simply unrealistic for her to demand that her partner be monogamous for life, and she would only be seen as a jealous woman. She would be drowned in gossip.
Although Mu Bai is currently showering her with tenderness and affection, once he embarks on his official career and faces the temptations of the world, who can guarantee that he will truly remain true to his original intentions?
Rather than sharing her husband with someone else later, she'd rather have a purely physical affair without any emotional involvement.
Before she could get her hands on other women, she wanted to taste what Tang Monk's flesh was like.
However, she never expected that this innocent young man would say he wanted to marry her.
Su Ruanruan looked at the gentle, refined, and easy-going young man in front of her.
At such a young age, she had already passed the imperial examination and become a scholar, with a bright future ahead of her. Such a pure and upright person was the sweet first dream of many young girls.
He was also the perfect first love in her heart.
But how many first loves actually last until the end?
If she could have a romantic affair with him, she wouldn't be at a disadvantage.
But getting married is unnecessary.
Su Ruanruan immediately suppressed the smile on her face.
“I am just a peasant girl who sells tofu, and I have a younger brother to support. I am not worthy of you. You are full of talent and will go to the capital to take the imperial examination and enter officialdom in the future. Don’t ruin your future because of me.”
"Ruan Ruan, you know I don't care about these things. I'm not someone who judges people by their appearance, and I don't care about your background."
Su Ruanruan narrowed her eyes slightly. She had never known why Mu Bai, with his qualities, would have so many women admiring him, yet he preferred the original owner of this body.
In her memory, the original owner was timid and cowardly, and was bullied by others. Although she was not entirely useless, she would never have caught Mu Bai's eye.
"I am plain-looking and have such a shameful background, why do you like me?"
Mu Bai spoke without hesitation, "Because you are kind-hearted and approachable. I've seen you deliver tofu to poor families, and even give money out of your own pocket to give steamed buns to beggars..."
"Ruan Ruan, I don't care what you look like, I only love you."
Su Ruanruan was speechless, and then she brought tofu and steamed buns...
These are all things she did. The original owner couldn't even support her younger brother, let alone have the spare money to do these things.
So, the person Mu Bai has always liked has always been her, not the original owner?
Mu Bai is handsome and elegant, gentle and refined, all of which are in line with her aesthetic sense.
But that doesn't mean I'll accept him.
"I don't want to get married, nor have I ever thought about having children with someone else. But I also don't want to be a spinster for the rest of my life..."
Su Ruanruan wrapped her arms around Mu Bai's waist, raised her bright eyes to look at him, and said, "I only want to be your mistress for a while, without getting married or taking any responsibility. Once you get married, I will never bother you again. Are you willing?"
Mu Bai's pupils suddenly contracted, shocked by Su Ruanruan's words, his face burning red and filled with disappointment.
"Ruan Ruan, without proper betrothal gifts and formal marriage arrangements, it violates ethical laws..."
Moreover, having the de facto union of husband and wife, how can we not get married? With you by my side, how could I possibly marry someone else…
"You don't want to?"
Mu Bai shook his head, "It's against etiquette."
Su Ruanruan: ……
Well, it was quite sudden.
She may not plan to get married, but that doesn't mean she'll never eat meat in her life.
This fool is good in every way, except he's too particular about etiquette.
You're an idiot for not eating meat that's practically in your mouth and you don't have to take responsibility for it.
I glanced at the sky and roughly estimated the time.
"It's getting late, I need to hurry back, otherwise it will be too dark."
Mu Bai hurriedly reached out to grab her hand, but Su Ruanruan dodged it.
"Ruanruan, why won't you marry me? What's wrong with me? I'll change..."
A look of sadness flashed in Mu Bai's eyes, which made Su Ruanruan's heart sink.
"No, you're not bad at all. On the contrary, you're too good for me. I'm not good enough for you."
Su Ruanruan's melancholy gaze drifted into the distance, recalling every detail of the original owner's life.
"When I was twelve years old, my father died in an accident while working for someone else, and my mother fell ill and never recovered."
My grandmother thought our eldest son's family was a burden. Not only did she not help us, she also took away all the money the landlord had lost in compensation.
My family's only two acres of poor land were also seized by my second uncle's family.
My younger brother is still small, and my mother needs to take medicine. We've sold everything we could, but we still sometimes run out of food.
Every day I have to do laundry, cook, fetch water, chop firewood, feed chickens and ducks, and do all sorts of rough work.
They also had to go up the mountain to pick wild vegetables, and they could only eat wild vegetables for three meals a day. They were never full or warm enough, and they had no money to buy medicine for their mother.
The original owner knew some simple herbs, and whenever he had free time, he would pick some herbs that his mother could use on the mountain. However, some herbs could only be bought in town with money. His maternal uncle's family wanted to, but they couldn't afford them, and they were even poorer than his mother.
Even if a few teenagers in the village would help her, they themselves were struggling to make ends meet, let alone help someone who was already in poverty.
Mu Bai never imagined that Ruan Ruan's life was even harder than his. He felt a pang of pain in his heart, as if he were being cut by a knife.
"Ruanruan, it's all in the past. I'll take care of you from now on. After we get married, I'll treat you well and take care of you."
Su Ruanruan smiled bitterly; there were some things she found difficult to say.
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