Chapter 187: Only Husband
Chapter 187: Only Husband
Xiang Ling listened to the soft sound of wind blowing outside in the courtyard. It had been an entire hour, and she was still not able to fall asleep. Shifting her attention away from the outside, she listened to the slow and steady breathing of the man sleeping behind her - the real reason that had kept her awake even though it was almost midnight.
Very slowly, she turned within his arms to face him while trying her best to not wake him up. She couldn’t help but want to have a close look at his face for a moment as it had been months since she got a proper look at him.
He still looked just as ethereal as ever. She found one of her hands making their way toward his face and her index finger started tracing his face. She started from his eyebrows before moving to his eyelashes and nose. Her finger finally found its way down to his lips and she found herself yearning for a taste.
Dragging her attention away from his lips, she let her finger trace his chin before moving south. As it made its way down his throat and finally collarbone, she realized that his face was probably less tempting than his body.
However, her finger refused to leave his body as it was busy tracing lines on his smooth skin. As seconds passed, she felt her throat becoming dry while her mind was busy thinking the unimaginable. It was now that she realized just how much she liked him, and probably his friend as well.
"How long are you going to do that?"
The question alarmed Xiang Ling who immediately snatched her hand away while letting out a sharp gasp. "Y-you... when did you wake up?" She asked while staring at his still closed eyes.
"I never slept." He replied while pulling her closer and tightening his hold around her waist.
Xiang Ling was surprised by his answer because she really thought he was asleep. The two of them remained silent for a while before she finally asked, "What have you both doing these days? I rarely see you in the manor or at the construction site."
Ever since they started keeping their distance from her, they stopped visiting the construction site as well. She only saw them at the Inn barely two-three times and even then they stayed away from her. Despite not being obvious about it, their actions of keeping their distance from her had been making her feel heart ache.
"Just focusing on our work," replied Dao Ming as he refused to elaborate further.
Xiang Ling knew that these two were in the Mortal Realm for a certain reason but they never confided their secrets in her.
"Why are you here? I thought you wanted to stay away from me." She was unable to help herself. The sourness she felt because of these two men’s actions, made her want to kick Dao Ming out of her room immediately. It felt like these two were playing around with her because whether they would talk to her or not depended solely on their moods and needs. But what about her?
"Sssh... Little Star. Let’s just sleep. Stop thinking about anything else and just sleep."
His attempts at deflecting her questions only made her anger rise.
"Get out."
She finally forced Dao Ming to open his eyes. The man stared at her in confusion for a moment before he asked, "What happened?"
"I said get out." Xiang Ling repeated as she pulled away from the man’s warm embrace and moved to a sitting position.
"Are you angry?" Dao Ming asked as he followed her and sat up on the bed.
"No." Xiang Ling replied with a little shake of her head. "I’m just trying to protect myself. I can’t let you and Xin Cheng treat me like I’m your source of entertainment. I have been trying my best to be understanding toward you both, but that doesn’t mean I’m ready for you two to trample on my feelings."
It took Dao Ming a moment or two to speak. He took hold of her hands before speaking. "I know that our actions might have made you angry, and you have the right to be angry. But let’s not talk about it now. Alright? Let me accompany you tonight. I can’t possibly leave you alone when I know that something is troubling you."
Even though the sincere look of worry in his eyes melted Xiang Ling’s heart to some level, she was determined to not sacrifice her feelings any further. Pulling herself together, she replied, "You don’t have to worry. There are others who can accompany me tonight."
"Everyone is sleeping at this hour of the night. Whom will you call? Stop being stubborn and go to sleep."
"I can call Zhang Xuan." She didn’t do it on purpose, or at least that was what she believed. But a part of her knew that she mentioned Zhang Xuan on purpose.
If getting a reaction out of Dao Ming was her aim, then she succeeded because as soon as he heard her mentioning Zhang Xuan, his expression hardened.
"Why do you have to call him? He’s not your only husband. You have five more men here who are married to you." His voice was low and deep as he demanded an answer and he did get one, just not what he wanted to hear.
"You are wrong?"
"What?"
"I said YOU ARE WRONG." Xiang Ling repeated the words loud and clear. "The five of you... married Chen Xiang Ling. As for Zhang Xuan, he is married to me. So indeed, he’s my only husband."
Dao Ming was too stunned to speak. He just stared at her in silence while she continued to speak.
"Since you two want to keep your distance from me, I will make things easier for you. Let’s stay away from each other and focus on our matters from now on. I will compensate you and your people for helping me with the Inn’s construction, and after that, we will stay away from each other’s businesses and lives."