Chapter 26: You Haven't Even Taken Your Pants Off Yet

"Giggle... giggle..."

Hearing his younger sister's laughter, Li Xiaohai curiously poked his head out. Seeing how much fun she was having, he couldn't resist getting up and walking over, plopping his bottom right onto his father's stomach.

"I want to play horsey too!"

Li Xiangdong let out a muffled groan. "Li Xiaohai, cough, cough, you could at least give me a warning!"

With Li Xiaohai's weight landing directly on his stomach, the stomach acid surged upward, and a wave of alcoholic fumes made him cough incessantly.

"Are you alright?"

Hearing the commotion from the courtyard, Zhou Yuqin returned inside to find Li Xiangdong clutching his mouth, unable to speak, his face flushed a deep red. She set aside the basin and foot rag she was holding and hurried over to shoo the two children off him.

She caught Li Xiaohai by the bottom and gave him two firm swats. "Look at what you've done to your father! Why are you so mischievous?"

"It was sister too, Mom, you can't just hit me!"

"Hit... tee-hee..." Seeing her brother being scolded and shouting, Li Xiaozhu joined in the excitement.

"Look at what time it is. Both of you, go to sleep immediately." Zhou Yuqin urged the children while patting Li Xiangdong on the back to help him catch his breath.

"Mom... play..."

"Mom, I'm not sleepy. I want to play with my sister."

"Play? Who does what? If you don't listen, I'll spank you both."

Seeing Zhou Yuqin lose her temper, the two children lay down obediently and closed their eyes. Zhou Yuqin checked that Li Xiangdong was doing better, then went over to tuck the small quilt around the children. Seeing her daughter staring at her with wide, round eyes, she tapped the little girl on the head.

"What are you still staring at? Go to sleep, or it's a spanking."

"Giggle... giggle..."

"Let's see who isn't sleeping properly. If you're naughty, I'll give you a shot!" Li Xiangdong, having recovered enough to stop coughing, knew his daughter feared needles, so he spoke up to scare her.

"Mom... hold..."

Hearing the word "shot," Li Xiaozhu shook her head in terror and reached out to be held.

"Don't scare her." Zhou Yuqin climbed onto the kang and lay down, gently patting her daughter. "We're not afraid. You sleep well, and Mom won't give you any shots."

"Mom, I'm hot." Li Xiaohai restlessly kicked the quilt away.

"I know." Zhou Yuqin didn't show any impatience. She got up to grab a cattail-leaf fan, lay back down on her side, propped her head up with one hand, and used the other to gently fan the children. She looked back at Li Xiangdong, who was lying beside her, and said, "Turn off the light."

*Click.*

Li Xiangdong pulled the string tied to the head of the kang, and the room was plunged into darkness. The kang was quite large, so the family of four didn't feel crowded; their son slept against the wall, followed by their daughter, then his wife, and he slept on the outside.

"Mom, I can't sleep."

"Close your eyes, you'll be asleep in a moment."

Li Xiaohai negotiated, "Mom, sing 'Little Swallow' for me. If you sing it, I'll fall asleep. Sister Xiaomei sings it so beautifully."

Seeing that her daughter had also opened her eyes, Zhou Yuqin put down the fan, closed her daughter's eyes with her hand, and began to hum in a low voice: "Little swallow, wearing a floral coat, coming here every spring..."

Li Xiangdong lay on the bed right next to his wife, his nose filled with her scent—a smell both familiar and comforting. Gradually, his eyelids began to grow heavy. Just as he was about to drift off, Zhou Yuqin patted him. He asked groggily, "What?"

Zhou Yuqin turned on her side to look at him. "Don't sleep yet. There's still something you haven't told me."

"What thing?"

"What do you think?"

Li Xiangdong was jolted awake by his wife's question.

"Are you talking about the furniture? The table is old Ming Dynasty rosewood, and the chairs I brought back are part of the same set as our table here. They're all good things, heirlooms."

"Are they really treasures? How much are they worth? Why don't we sell them?" Zhou Yuqin's tone was filled with excitement.

"No, they aren't worth much." Li Xiangdong didn't have the heart to crush her hopes.

"If they aren't worth much, why are you making such a fuss? Why are you so idle all day? You said you wanted to keep them as heirlooms—who wants your junk?" Thinking they were actual treasures, Zhou Yuqin felt her mood plummet when she realized they were just worthless scraps. She irritably slapped Li Xiangdong twice.

"Why are you hitting me? Just because they aren't worth much now doesn't mean they won't be later. Don't worry about it; I'm not that stupid. Would I go to all this trouble if it were just junk?" Li Xiangdong grabbed his wife's hand, stroking it and refusing to let go.

"If you say it's not junk, then keep it. I don't care anymore."

It was pitch black in the room. Even though Zhou Yuqin couldn't see the look in Li Xiangdong's eyes, she heard his quickened breathing. She hurriedly pulled her hand away, turned her back to him, and ignored him.

"What's wrong? Tired? Can't we talk a bit more?" Li Xiangdong turned over and scooted closer.

"What are you doing? I'm tired. Let's talk about it tomorrow."

They already had two children; how could Zhou Yuqin not understand what he was after? But she couldn't show too much eagerness; she still had to maintain a bit of reserve.

Li Xiangdong firmly turned her over and smiled. "What do you think I'm doing?"

"Let me get a contraceptive first."

Just as Zhou Yuqin reached under the bedsheet to grab the contraceptive, she felt Li Xiangdong, who was pressing down on her, tremble violently. She hurriedly turned the light on, staring in surprise at Li Xiangdong, whose pants were still on. "What's wrong with you?"

*Damn it!*

Li Xiangdong cursed under his breath, got up off his wife, and angrily pulled off his boxers, throwing them onto the floor!

Zhou Yuqin couldn't hear what he was muttering, but she wasn't a fool; how could she not understand the situation?

"What's that look for? It's because I drank! Yes, I drank too much tonight!"

Li Xiangdong was mortified. Why did he have to get all worked up for no reason? Now he had made a complete fool of himself in front of his wife!