Maxim looked at his wife's sleeping face, his heart full of contentment and happiness. He gently pulled her into his arms, feeling her warmth and softness. Slowly, he drifted off to sleep.
The next morning, sunlight streamed through the window and fell on their faces. Maxim woke up first. He rubbed his eyes, looked at Yaelle sleeping beside him, and couldn't help but smile.
He tried to get up carefully but accidentally made a noise, waking Yaelle.
Seeing she was awake, Maxim began to play around sweetly. Yaelle blushed all over, feeling shy, but Maxim didn't stop and kept teasing her. They fooled around for a while until it was almost time for class.
Maxim hurried to get dressed and leave. Before leaving, he reminded her to stay one more day. Yaelle didn't feel like getting up yet.
She casually responded a few times to Maxim, then turned over and continued sleeping. Maxim looked at her, smiled helplessly, shook his head, and then left the room.
Yaelle slept all the way until noon, only waking when Attendant Sam came to call her. Attendant Sam gently pushed the door open and said softly, "Miss, it's time for lunch." But there was no response from inside the bed curtains.
Attendant Sam walked to the bedside, just about to call out again, when he suddenly heard a soft moan from the bed. He stepped closer and asked quietly, "Miss, are you awake?" After a moment, a faint, unclear voice came from the bed, "Mm…"
"Miss, are you getting up? Should I ask Attendant Sean to fetch some water?" Attendant Sam asked softly. Yaelle was still a little dazed. She used her hands to support herself and slowly sat up.
Through the gauze, Attendant Sam saw movement and was about to help her up. But when his hand lifted the curtain a bit and caught a glimpse inside, he quickly put it down again. That one glance was enough to leave him stunned for the entire day.
The person on the bed was half leaning on the headboard, eyes still barely open, but her cheeks were already blushing with a post-sleep flush. Her long eyelashes fluttered gently like butterfly wings. The quilt had slipped slightly, revealing her fair, smooth shoulder and a faint curve below.
There were scattered red marks on the exposed skin, like mosquito bites, but Attendant Sam clearly knew those weren't. They were marks left from intimacy. Attendant Sam's face instantly turned red.
He felt like he had seen something he wasn't supposed to see, and his heart started pounding. Even though he used to help dress her when she was little, once she grew up and learned about the difference between men and women, she started doing everything herself. Even though the two of them served her closely, he had never seen this kind of situation.
He couldn't help wanting to take another look, but was afraid of being caught, so he stood silently in place, waiting for her to wake up. He was actually having thoughts he shouldn't have about her, so he pinched himself hard under his sleeve to try to snap out of it. Until the person inside finally sat up fully, still holding the quilt around her.
"Miss, what would you like to eat for lunch?" Seeing her finally moving more, Attendant Sam asked again. A fair and slender arm reached out from the quilt as she lazily said, "No food for now. Ask Attendant Sean to bring water.
Bring a lot. I want to bathe." "Yes." He turned and left with his head down. After bathing, Yaelle finally felt fully awake.
Clearly, too much indulgence does come with side effects. Since she had just gotten up, she didn't have much appetite. She only had a bowl of plain porridge and two small pickles.
After they finished, Maxim took Attendant Sean for a short walk nearby. There wasn't anything interesting, so they returned to the inn.
On the other side, things were different for Maxim. He had been in a great mood all day, a light smile on his face, clearly not the same as usual. Several classmates quickly noticed and teased him, saying, "Brother Maxim, what's making you so happy? You didn't come back to the dorm last night, and today you're glowing with joy. What were you up to? Be honest."
Maxim's lips curved into a smile as he replied softly, "Brother Zhao, Brother Wang, you're overthinking. My wife came to visit, that's all. Nothing special."
If that's considered nothing special, then it must be the highest level of humble bragging. Hearing this, the classmates couldn't help feeling a bit envious. They knew that for one's wife to come all the way to visit, he must hold a respected place in the family.
Their relationship must be deep. What shocked them even more was that Maxim was already married. In this academy, most students weren't even close to marrying yet.
Many were still preparing to pay taxes. Most were focused on studying hard, hoping to pass exams. Then they could eventually find a good match.
But Maxim had already married at a young age and was clearly well-loved. His wife traveled a long way just to see him. That made others both envious and jealous, stirring complicated feelings in their hearts.
For a moment, everyone lost their mood for joking and fell into silence. They began to wonder about their own futures. Could they also have a happy marriage like his?
Maxim felt secretly pleased. He knew others envied his relationship with Yaelle. But he also understood that this kind of happiness didn't appear out of nowhere.
It required effort and care from both sides. After school, Maxim rushed back to the inn. As soon as he entered, he saw Yaelle sitting at the dressing table fixing her hair.
She wore a light blue dress, looking stunning. He walked over and gently held her hand. He said, "Yaelle, everyone at the academy praised our relationship today."
"They said you spoil me." Yaelle smiled and teased him. "Oh, since you know I treat you well, then you better listen to me from now on."
"Yes, my dear wife. I will always obey you." Maxim quickly bowed and played along.
"Such a sweet talker." Yaelle laughed and lightly hit him. In return, he clutched his chest and pretended to be in pain. It was so dramatic she couldn't even look.
They laughed and played, then held each other tightly. They let the moment calm them down. They leaned close and enjoyed this peaceful, happy time.
Soon, Attendant Sean knocked on the door and said the food was ready. They fixed their clothes and sat down to eat. By the time they finished the meal, nearly half an hour had passed.
Yaelle had just eaten her fill and wasn't sleepy at all. She had napped earlier. She suggested, "Maxim, take me for a walk near your academy."
"Sure, but only outside. Outsiders aren't allowed inside." Maxim warned her early, in case she tried to go in and got stopped, which might upset her.
The two of them got dressed and left the inn, slowly walking toward the academy. Winter days were short. By now, it was already dark, and the moon was hiding behind the clouds, with only a few stars in the sky.
Yaelle felt a bit scared. After all, it was her first time going out at night since she arrived. Usually, she went straight back to her room before it even got dark.
Yaelle used to be a firm atheist, but ever since she traveled through time, her beliefs had started to waver. Looking at the ancient buildings around her, she couldn't help but think of all the zombie and ghost movies she had seen. Her heart began to feel uneasy.
She unconsciously grabbed onto Maxim's sleeve. Maxim looked over in surprise and saw the fear on her face. Then he immediately understood that she was afraid of the dark.
Maxim quickly held her hand, gently squeezed it, and gave her a reassuring smile. He softly asked, "Yaelle, do you still want to keep going? If you don't want to, we can go back."
Yaelle bit her lip, trying her best not to look scared. She forced herself to sound calm and said, "We're already out, so let's go take a look. I'm not scared."
Even though she said that, her heart was still trembling a little. But she also felt it would be a waste to give up now that they had already come this far. So she decided to keep going.
Maxim sensed her nervousness, so he held her hand even tighter. He wanted to give her more warmth and courage. He smiled and said, "Alright, I'm here with you. Don't be afraid."
The two of them walked forward step by step, hand in hand. Yaelle was still full of fear deep inside. But because Maxim was by her side, she gradually felt calmer.
After more than ten minutes of walking, they finally reached the academy gates. There were two lanterns lit there, making it a little brighter.
Because the weather had gotten colder, there weren't many people around.
Now and then, one or two people passed by in a hurry. After watching for a while, Yaelle didn't find anything interesting. So she pulled Maxim and got ready to go back.
On the way back, it was even darker than before. She couldn't even see her own fingers when she stretched out her hand. Yaelle felt even more afraid.
Maxim said gently, "Don't be scared, I'm here." As he spoke, he naturally pulled her into his arms. "I just wanted to let you feel the academy's atmosphere, but it's too late now."
Yaelle almost curled completely into Maxim's arms. Maxim noticed she didn't push him away at all. Instead, she hugged him tighter, looking sweet and completely reliant on him.
His heart was moved. He swallowed hard and stared at her without blinking.
Yaelle also noticed something wasn't right, though she wasn't sure when it started. Maxim had pulled her tightly into his arms, and his face was getting closer and closer.
Being stared at so intensely in the dark made her dizzy. Thinking about how close they had become over the last two days, she felt her mouth go dry. Her face grew hot, her legs felt weak, and luckily, he was holding her up.
Her eyelashes trembled. She didn't dare look directly into his eyes. His face leaned closer, his warm breath brushing against her skin, making her face feel even hotter.
Yaelle glanced around. Thankfully, no one was nearby. Her eyelashes shook even more.
She didn't know whether she should refuse. They were still outside, after all. But she had to admit, this really was exciting.
Seeing that she didn't reject him, Maxim's heart stirred even more. His breathing became heavier, harder to control. In his eyes, her trembling lashes looked like fluttering butterfly wings.
He couldn't hold back anymore. Slowly, he pressed his lips to hers. Her lips were soft and slightly cool.
Feeling her respond, Maxim deepened the kiss and swiftly took full control.