Mu Wanwan waited for a long time, but Mr. Dragon merely gave a quiet “Mm” and said nothing else.
She could not help feeling disappointed.
Mr. Dragon lowered his eyes and added, “Cold.”
Mu Wanwan immediately brightened again. Carefully adopting a consultative tone, she asked, “Then shall I bring you some clothes?”
Her voice was so soft that the dragon felt as though his ears were about to melt.
He could not say anything at all. Waves of warmth flowed through his heart, every drop clamouring the same thing.
He liked her.
He liked her so, so much.
When she received no response yet again, Mu Wanwan nearly achieved enlightenment from waiting before a certain dragon finally managed to utter a single word.
“All right.”
Feeling helpless, she walked over to the wardrobe and picked up a beautiful, thick, plain-white brocade robe she had spotted in the shop, along with the white fur cloak she had prepared beside it.
They had been expensive.
Together, they had cost her nine low-grade spirit stones. She had not even been willing to buy anything so nice for herself.
Right.
There were also the neatly folded inner trousers…
Mu Wanwan’s cheeks reddened.
The main reason she had asked whether he was cold was because she wanted him to put on some trousers.
With her back facing a certain dragon, Mu Wanwan carefully sandwiched the inner trousers between the two outer garments.
That way, they would not be so obvious… right?
“M-My Lord.”
Mu Wanwan lowered her head slightly, feeling embarrassed.
“I-I’ve placed the clothes here.”
The atmosphere felt unbearably strange. After setting the clothes beside the bed, she swiftly retreated two steps as though her eyebrows had caught fire.
She was embarrassed, but a certain dragon’s heart shattered a little again.
It must be because he was too ugly.
That was why she did not want to speak to him.
“Mm.”
Unlike the bright sunshine that had filled his heart moments earlier, Mr. Dragon now felt as though a light rain had begun falling inside him.
However, when his cold gaze landed on the clothes at the foot of the bed, the insecurity caused by being neglected somehow disappeared just as strangely as it had appeared.
She had never worn clothing this fine herself.
Ever since marrying him, she had done nothing but suffer without receiving anything in return.
His long lashes trembled.
He desperately wanted to pull her into his arms, kiss the tips of her ears, and thank her a thousand—ten thousand—times.
Yet in reality, she already seemed impatient to leave him.
“Mr. Dragon…”
Mu Wanwan instinctively called him Mr. Dragon, then immediately began explaining incoherently.
“Ah, no…”
Mr. Dragon raised his head slightly.
Mu Wanwan saw his beautiful eyes open, confusion flickering within them like tiny stars.
Her face grew increasingly hot. She felt as though she were about to spontaneously combust.
“My Lord, I-I won’t peek. I’m going to prepare dinner.”
The moment the words left her mouth, she realised how strange they sounded.
An awkward smile tugged at her lips, and she froze in place.
A faint chuckle reached her ears.
It vanished so quickly that she wondered whether she had imagined it.
She secretly glanced at Mr. Dragon.
The dragon remained completely expressionless, as though he had not been the one laughing just now.
Mu Wanwan: “…”
She suspected there was something wrong with her nerves and that she needed to go outside to calm down.
Before leaving, she grabbed the fluffy chirp sitting on the table, still mourning the loss of its head tuft, and carried it away with her.
And so, the dragon whose inner weather had just cleared became shrouded in storm clouds once again.
His wife thoughtfully closed the door behind her.
Only then did Mr. Dragon’s face gradually turn red, as though the cold and aloof dragon from moments earlier had never existed.
He sat upright and struggled to reach the clothes at the foot of the bed.
Fortunately, his arms were long. With some effort, he could just reach them.
It was a white fox-fur cloak.
Although it came from an ordinary fox, it was still expensive.
She truly treated him very well.
The corners of Mr. Dragon’s lips rose uncontrollably.
He carefully picked up the white cloak, only to discover the inner trousers hidden inside.
Mr. Dragon: “…”
The dragon was about to cook from embarrassment.
With great difficulty, he took the garment made from the same fabric as his inner robe. Then he slowly removed the pale-blue brocade cloth wrapped around his waist and began figuring out how to dress himself.
For the time being, he possessed almost no spiritual power.
He also needed to conserve the spirit stones. She had earned every single one little by little, and he could not waste them.
His legs were numb, and even the slightest movement caused intense pain.
Cold sweat gradually formed along Mr. Dragon’s forehead, while his lips pressed into a tight line.
She would probably return soon.
He needed to hurry.
Being disabled was already humiliating enough for a dragon. He could not allow her to think that he was incapable of even putting on his own trousers.
—
Meanwhile, Mu Wanwan carried the bewildered, plump chirp and ran all the way to the kitchen.
She casually placed Mengmeng on the stove before finally sighing in relief and calming down.
Her heart was still pounding violently.
Whenever she closed her eyes, the bad dragon’s beautiful eyes drifted through her mind.
She hurriedly opened them again and patted her face.
“Chirp…”
Trembling, Mengmeng struggled to stand on the stove.
It stared at the kitchen knife beside its thin little legs, its large eyes turning wavy with fear once again.
Mengmeng’s pitiful cry brought Mu Wanwan back to her senses.
When she saw where she had placed it, she hurriedly picked up the nearly paralysed chirp and moved it aside, unable to suppress her laughter.
“I’m sorry, Mengmeng. I wasn’t planning to eat you.”
The more she spoke, the more she wanted to laugh.
She placed Mengmeng, whose eyes contained two packets of tears, inside the cage with the spiritual chicks so it could play with them.
Then she began stewing the third-rank spiritual ox bones she had preserved earlier.
While waiting for the soup to boil, Mu Wanwan did not remain idle.
She skilfully took out some seeds and began cultivating them.
As she worked, her thoughts wandered.
Perhaps she had allowed the title of “Mr. Dragon’s bride of good fortune” to restrain her too much.
She should not behave this way.
Judging from Mr. Dragon’s attitude earlier, perhaps he did not even want to acknowledge her as his wife.
What was she being embarrassed about?
That was right.
A trace of bitterness entered her heart.
Mu Wanwan looked at the fragrant ox-bone soup, then began making excuses for the scumbag dragon again.
Perhaps he simply had not figured out how to face her yet.
From her perspective, she had suddenly acquired a husband for no reason.
But the same was true for Mr. Dragon.
He had suddenly gained a wife too—a human wife whose talent was not particularly impressive.
People outside claimed that he was cruel and ruthless. No one had ever seen the dragon smile in public.
Perhaps his attitude towards her earlier already counted as exceptionally good?
Mu Wanwan did not know what to think.
As the ox-bone soup became richer and more fragrant, she suddenly wanted to pour the juice from the Blue Star Grass fruit she had just cultivated into it and serve it to Mr. Dragon.
The flavour would undoubtedly become a little bitter.
If he drank it without changing his expression, then he must be very tolerant of her.
If he refused and even lost his temper, she would no longer need to continue imagining things.
Once this terrible idea appeared, she felt an irresistible urge to try it.
Mu Wanwan first ladled out a small spoonful of soup and tasted it.
The rich, velvety fragrance immediately exploded across her tongue.
It contained a noticeable, though not particularly abundant, amount of spiritual power.
There was none of the unpleasant smell normally associated with ox bones. The accompanying vegetables had not overwhelmed the savoury richness of the broth either.
A single mouthful instantly soothed her stomach, which had gone without meat for a long time.
On such a cold winter’s day, the warm sensation spreading through her body could truly be considered a luxurious pleasure.
By the time Mu Wanwan recovered from the taste, she had already finished the tiny serving.
Forget it.
That plan would ruin perfectly good food.
She could not bear to do it.
Mr. Dragon had been unconscious for so long and had eaten nothing but fruit every day. His life was already bitter enough.
It was rare for their household to enjoy a better meal. She should not waste food.
The thought of facing the dragon again made Mu Wanwan deeply troubled.
She felt as though she was losing her hair from stress.
Carrying the food box with Mengmeng perched on her shoulder, she glanced at the gradually darkening sky and fell into an ambiguous, tangled state of indecision.
The sky…
It seemed to be growing dark.
Night-time…
She reached the door and was just gathering her courage when a loud crash sounded from inside, as though something heavy had fallen.
Forgetting everything else, Mu Wanwan pushed open the door.
At a glance, she saw Mr. Dragon lying awkwardly on the floor after falling from the bed.
One arm supported his body against the ground.
He wore only his inner robe and inner trousers. The white fur cloak and moon-white brocade robe had fallen beside him.
His face was deathly pale, making the curse markings across it appear even clearer.
When he heard her open the door, he instinctively turned his face away.
Mu Wanwan clearly saw blood slowly seeping from his calves.
All her suspicions, embarrassment, and shyness instantly vanished.
She hurriedly placed Mengmeng and the food box on the table, crossed the room in several strides, and knelt halfway beside Mr. Dragon.
She extended a hand towards him.
“My Lord, are you all right?”
A drop of cold sweat slid down Mr. Dragon’s cheek.
He kept his head lowered, unwilling to let her see his face.
In his current weakened state, it had taken him almost an hour just to put on the trousers.
He had wanted to hurry and put on the remaining clothes, but when he heard her footsteps approaching, he panicked and accidentally knocked them onto the floor.
He had tried to pick them up.
Instead, he had fallen awkwardly in front of her.
He must look utterly pathetic.
Improper.
Humiliating for a dragon.
In his wife’s eyes, he must seem weak and helpless.
She was so kind that she certainly would not abandon him.
Yet he had originally wanted to act like a proud, cold, wicked dragon.
Mr. Dragon felt both miserable and embarrassed.
However, when he heard the anxiety in her voice, a tiny, secret sense of satisfaction rose alongside his wounded pride.
The emotions mixed together until he could only maintain a cold expression, uncertain of what to do.
After extending her hand, Mu Wanwan realised that she might have acted too impulsively.
She could understand Mr. Dragon’s silence.
After all, he had once been such a powerful dragon. Being seen in an undignified state by his nominal wife must be extremely painful for him.
But when she looked at the dragon she had cared for all this time, injured and bleeding once again, how could her own heart possibly feel at ease?
“My Lord.”
Mu Wanwan looked painfully at the blood seeping from his legs.
“It’s time to eat. Shall we go over to the table?”
She spoke cautiously, afraid of injuring his pride.
Her palm was soft and warm.
Mr. Dragon slowly blinked.
His heart was filled entirely with the desire to possess her.
He made no attempt to hide his presently hideous face.
Slowly, he turned towards her.
His dark, unfathomable eyes stared directly into Mu Wanwan’s clear gaze.
There was no contempt within it.
No disgust.
No hatred or revulsion.
Not even the slightest shock or fear at his appearance.
It was simply clear and untainted, carrying a trace of an emotion he had never seen before.
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