The study was about thirty square meters in size.

Three of its walls were covered from floor to ceiling with bookshelves, packed tightly with books of every kind imaginable. By rough estimation, there had to be tens of thousands of books in the room.

In the original novel, the matter of the original owner hiding banned books in Father Xie’s study had only been mentioned briefly. There was no description of where the books were hidden, what color they were, or even what size they were.

Finding a few prohibited books among tens of thousands was like searching for a needle in a haystack.

Still, no matter how difficult it was, they had to roll up their sleeves and get to work.

Between one hard night and a happy future, Lin Zhixia knew exactly which option she preferred.

She walked toward the study’s only desk first. If she got lucky and found the books in one of the drawers, there would be no need to search through the endless shelves.

But before she could take more than a few steps, a large hand grabbed her arm.

“Sit down.”

Grinning, Lin Zhixia asked, “Are you worried I’ll get tired?”

Xie Jingheng awkwardly looked away.

“I’m worried you’ll wander around and slow down my search.”

His words sounded harsh, but as he walked away, he was so flustered that he nearly moved his arms and legs in sync.

He perfectly embodied the phrase cold on the outside, warm on the inside.

Lin Zhixia suddenly felt like teasing him.

With a serious expression, she declared,

“If you’re not worried about me getting tired, I’ll be unhappy. And if I’m unhappy, it’ll affect the baby!”

“Ow!”

“My mood is bad, and now the baby’s mood is bad too. It’s kicking my stomach so hard!”

Xie Jingheng instantly froze.

“Stop fooling around,” he scolded in a low voice.

When she noticed he hadn’t turned around, Lin Zhixia became even more dramatic.

“Ow!”

“It hurts so much!”

“Baby, stop kicking Mommy…”

Xie Jingheng repeatedly reminded himself that this was just another one of Lin Zhixia’s tricks and that he shouldn’t pay attention.

Yet under her continuous cries of pain, he couldn’t help turning around.

The moment he did, he met her eyes sparkling with laughter.

Lin Zhixia huffed proudly.

“Hmph. I thought you didn’t care about me.”

“Then why did you turn around?”

Caught off guard, Xie Jingheng clenched his fists and said stiffly,

“Don’t flatter yourself. I’m worried about the baby.”

Lin Zhixia immediately put on a sorrowful expression.

“I’m so hurt. You don’t care about me at all.”

“Ow!”

“The baby knows Daddy hurt Mommy’s feelings. It’s kicking even harder now.”

Xie Jingheng had no intention of indulging her.

But seeing her seemingly pained expression made it impossible not to soften.

With a sigh, he reminded himself that he was only compromising for the baby’s sake.

Absolutely not for her.

And definitely not because he cared.

“I am worried you’ll get tired.”

Satisfied, Lin Zhixia immediately sat down in a chair.

Watching him search so seriously was surprisingly pleasing to the eye.

After sitting for a while, however, she became restless.

Getting up, she moved beside him.

“Let me help you search.”

“No.”

His refusal was immediate.

“I promise I’ll sit down and rest the moment I get tired.”

“Just sitting here doing nothing is so boring.”

As she spoke, she tugged lightly on his sleeve in a coquettish manner.

“No. End of discussion.”

Lin Zhixia wasn’t afraid of his cold expression.

After spending time with him, she had already figured out that he was all bark and no bite.

“But sitting around is really boring. If I get bored, I’ll start overthinking. Then my mood will be affected…”

“And if my mood is bad, the baby’s mood will be bad too…”

“Rest immediately if you get tired. Understood?”

His face remained stern.

Inwardly, he told himself this would be the last compromise.

And it was entirely for the baby.

“Okay~”

Delighted, Lin Zhixia returned to the desk and carefully began searching through it.

She completely failed to notice the gaze lingering on her long after she’d sat down.

He knew she was a woman who couldn’t be trusted.

Yet at that moment, he couldn’t help thinking—

If only she could always be this obedient.

As she searched through the books one by one, Lin Zhixia didn’t hold much hope.

Father Xie used the desk more than any other place in the study. Even a fool wouldn’t hide banned books there.

But—

The original owner truly was an absolute fool.

Staring at the book she’d randomly pulled out—a book filled with politically dangerous and rebellious content—Lin Zhixia wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cry.

Still…

This meant her luck was amazing.

And they wouldn’t be sent to the countryside!

She could finally become a carefree lay about!

Excited, Lin Zhixia hurried over to Xie Jingheng.

“No need to keep searching. I found it!”

“I’m pretty impressive, right?”

She proudly waved the red-covered book in front of him.

Looking at her dazzling smile, Xie Jingheng gave an almost imperceptible nod.

Even though he didn’t verbally respond, Lin Zhixia’s mood remained excellent.

“So, what do we do with it? Burn it?”

“Give it to me. I’ll handle it.”

Xie Jingheng took the book, his eyes filled with confusion and complicated emotions.

When she’d first told him about it, he hadn’t believed a single word.

He’d assumed she was playing another game.

Yet she’d actually found the banned book.

Could it be…

Everything she’d said was true?

Did she really like him?

The possibility made his heart race uncontrollably.

Looking away, he said,

“You should go upstairs and rest.”

“Okay.”

Back in their room, Lin Zhixia found a set of pajamas in the wardrobe and enjoyed a comfortable bath.

Much of her exhaustion melted away.

Her good mood lasted right up until she opened the bedroom door and saw Xie Jingheng sitting on the edge of the bed reading.

He had apparently already showered downstairs.

His damp black hair hung softly over his forehead.

The white shirt he’d worn earlier had been replaced by a military-green short-sleeved shirt and black cotton trousers.

The sleeves stretched tightly over his powerful muscles.

His long, straight legs were crossed casually.

He looked restrained and disciplined, yet somehow carried the attractive aura of a dependable husband.

After admiring him for a moment, Lin Zhixia suddenly realized a serious problem.

Tonight…

They would be sleeping in the same bed.

Although she had already decided to live a proper life with him, wasn’t this progressing a little too quickly?

She wasn’t mentally prepared to sleep beside a man yet.

Just imagining the two of them lying back-to-back on the same bed made her cheeks burn red.

Dragging things out, Lin Zhixia sat at the dressing table and slowly dried her hair.

Her plan was simple:

Wait until Xie Jingheng fell asleep, then quietly climb into bed.

That would be far less embarrassing.

But after waiting forever, she became so sleepy that she could barely keep her eyes open.

Meanwhile, Xie Jingheng remained leaning against the headboard, calmly reading with no sign of going to sleep.

Eventually, she couldn’t hold on any longer.

Her eyelids were practically fighting each other.

No.

Nothing in the world was going to stop her from sleeping.

Rubbing her eyes, she forced herself to stay awake and carefully climbed onto the bed from the foot of it.

But she was so nervous that her foot slipped.

Her center of gravity shifted instantly, and she tumbled toward the hard mattress.

Seeing that her stomach was about to crash heavily against the bed, Lin Zhixia cried out in terror.

“Ah!”