Some time later, Mei Hua found herself groggily waking up in her own bed. Only this time, the bed was a great deal bigger and a man was sleeping next to her. She glanced behind her shoulder and jolted.

Jin was currently loosely spooning with her, one of his arms under her head and the other lazily draped over her hip. At her movement, he mumbled something unintelligible and scooted closer before falling back asleep looking pleased.

But the important thing was they were both naked. She gulped and felt herself blush when his well-shaped body press itself against her back. A flicker of desire ignited in the pit of her stomach even as she felt embarrassed.

Oh. Gods.

What kind of woman was she?! Why had she spent all those weeks trying to be normal if it was going to end this way?! She should have just given in earlier and jumped Jin!

Madam Changying had been right about everything! Looking at a naked man was dangerous! She’d lost any pretense of being a lady, she was no better than a mountain monkey in heat. She covered her face with her hands and had several minutes of self-loathing.

It didn’t help that even as she was scolding herself, she was highly aware of Jin’s chest touching her back. No matter what her mind said, her body was thoroughly enjoying everything.

She never thought she’d be like this! When she’d lived with humans, she’d found handsome men there too. But she’d never lost control of herself the way she had with Jin.

Admittedly the guys available to her there had been about her height and weaker than her. They also hadn’t been very interested in her, except for when she dressed up and played her pipa lute. Basically, as long as she didn’t talk or run around they’d give her a second glance…

Was that it then? Was it just that Jin was strong, tall, kind, and had taken an interest in her? Was she really that simple minded?!

She felt Jin stir awake at that moment, bringing her back to reality.

“Mei, good morning…” He greeted sweetly and lifted himself up to look down at her face, kissing her cheek, his sleepy blue-golden eyes looking at her tenderly. He then lay back down and snuggled his face into her hair, enjoying her scent.

…was it really so bad if she was simple? She thought to herself.

Jin was by no means a bad man. Yes, he could be jealous and childish, but he was also studious, hard working, and loyal. She’d considered him a friend at least, and if they went further than that, she didn’t lose anything.

Well, they had gone further so it was a bit late for her to be pondering this now, after the fact.

As she was thinking this, Jin had woken up properly and moved his arms so he could wrap them around her middle and press her close to his body. He put his face in the crook of her neck and rubbed his face in it happily.

“I love you Mei.” Came a low voice next to her ear.

The flicker of desire from early turned into a roaring blaze. Her tenuous grasp on her own body began to slip once again and she found that she didn’t care.

She turned around around and began kissing his face and then working her way down. Jin seemed startled at first but then gave a husky chuckle before playing along.

‘Let’s just embrace the consequences!’ Mei Hua thought, perfectly willing to toss reason on the wayside.

—

Jin and Mei Hua went from friends to spouses in a day. This was not as hard to do as it sounds, since they’d already been living together for years. The only real difference was that Jin could now be clingy with impunity and Mei Hua would not only accept such affection but return it with her own clingy behavior.

There was no grand ceremony, there was no acknowledgment to the heavens and, since Mei Hua and Jin had no family, there were no parents to bless their relationship. The only one who knew and cared about the change was Ye.

Ye had made himself scarce the moment things got intense between Jin and his MeiMei. Unlike Empress Xuiying, he’d never been interesting in peeping on humans while they mated. When he came back and saw how close they were, he felt extremely pleased with himself. All his scheming had worked, heh!

“I think you should give a betrothal gift.” Ye suggested to Jin.

Jin was still in an excellent mood from his success and immediately agreed.

“But we don’t have any parents and—” Mei Hua began to explain.

“I’ll be the parent!” Ye raised his little hand and then stared at Jin seriously while pinching his chin dramatically. “Just call me Baba Ye!”

Jin gave him a scandalized look. “There is no way you’re going to be my Baba anything.”

“Ay ay! Then what about an Uncle? Bobo Ye? Eh? Sounds good right?”

“Who’s elder brother are you claiming to be just then exactly? It better not be mine.”

Ye thought for a moment and than snapped his fingers.

“How about Shushu Ye then?!”

“I refuse to be your elder brother and take responsibility for you!”

“I’m MeiMei’s brother then?”

“Ah, wait—”

“Gege Ye then!” He wiggled a little eyebrow at Mei Hua.

Mei Hua couldn’t take it anymore and burst out into laughter until she couldn’t breathe. Seeing she was having such a good time, Jin sulkily stifled his objection.

“No matter who’s brother you end up being,” She finally managed. “Betrothal gifts require being betrothed and that never happened.”

“Tsk.” Gege Ye looked at his MeiMei and sighed dramatically, pretending to sob sadly, “Ay ay, what am I to do with my little sister? She went off and got hitched without telling her dear ol’ big bro. No wedding, no betrothal gifts! Does Meifu expect any dowry? Because if Brother-in-Law does, he should know this little family is much too poor! Took my little sister and then expects a dowry in return! Ah! A tyrant as they all say! What’s this Gege done to deserve such misfortune from the Heavens?”

After hearing this nonsense, Jin’s face cramped while Mei Hua started laughing again.

“Do you want Mei to have a gift or you?” Jin asked in annoyance.

“Of course MeiMei! Why would I want a gift from you?! Pah!” Ye fake spat. “Like I need anything from a knuckle head like you! Disgusting—— Woah, I believe in pacifism—!”

Ye had jumped straight up to avoid Jin’s swiping grab. The man could tolerate a lot from the little fairy, but he drew the line at name calling. Anytime Ye started his stream of insults, Jin immediately went after him.

“Now, now… just because you were born a little slower than the rest is no reason to get upset at me.” Ye said in wide eyed innocence.

“Why you——!” Jin shot up from his seat and began chasing the fairy around the room. Ye gave an evil cackle and hopped energetically to avoid Jin.

Mei Hua watched them, still breathless from her laughter, and thought how glad she was to have come to the mountain. To have met Ye, to have loved Jin. Her life was good and full and she was happy.