The Young Widower Who Married for Luck

Young widower × rugged man

Bai Shuimiao was beautiful, but had a hard life. His stepfather feared he'd ruin his own son's chances at a good marriage, so he sold Bai Shuimiao to the Xiao family in the neighboring village to bring their son good fortune.

The Xiao family's eldest son had gone off to war years ago, and there'd been no word from him. He was probably dead.

The old couple couldn't bear the thought of their son being lonely in the afterlife, so they bought him a young man to be his husband.

So Bai Shuimiao became a young widower as soon as he married into the family. At just fifteen or sixteen, he wore a black robe for his husband, pinned a little white flower in his hair, and put on a solemn face to appear grown-up.

Within a few years, the old couple had both died. Bai Shuimiao used his savings to pay for their funerals.

When the second and third sons wanted to divide the family property, he agreed.

As a young widower, he wasn't entitled to much. All he could do was live in a shabby little courtyard. But before even seven days had passed since the old couple's funerals, a tall, muscular man suddenly showed up at his door.

It was the Xiao family's eldest son, the one who'd gone to war.

He wasn't dead. He was alive and well.

Bai Shuimiao looked at the man before him. His shadow could cover two people his size, and Bai Shuimiao was terrified. Still, he mustered his courage and said solemnly, “I... I'm your husband.”

The man stared at him in silence.

*

Xiao Mu enlisted at sixteen. Now twenty-six, he had returned to his hometown to settle down, never expecting to find a delicate young man at home.

The young man was like a tender seedling in a spring field, ready to fall over at the slightest breeze. With a solemn little face, he declared that he was Xiao Mu's husband.

Even as he spoke, his whole body was trembling.

The little white flower in his hair was painfully conspicuous. Xiao Mu reached out and plucked it off, saying gruffly, “Don't wear that flower anymore.”

But it frightened the young man so much that his eyes turned red.

*

The old bed had rotted through after all these years. Xiao Mu worked hard with his head down, and it collapsed.

Bai Shuimiao was young and couldn't take what Xiao Mu was doing to him. His fair legs were already shaking, but he didn't dare beg him to stop. He just endured it in silence.

When it became too much, he let out a quiet whimper.

Xiao Mu had spent ten years in the military camp. He'd never met a young man so sweet and lovable, so obedient and tender.

That soft, gentle voice warmed his heart. He couldn't help holding his little husband's waist and rubbing it tenderly, then lifting his legs to go again.

Bai Shuimiao was terrified, but finally found the courage to say, “Husband, I can't take any more. You're too rough. I can't handle it.”

Xiao Mu had never heard a young man beg him like that before. He only grew harder, gripping Bai Shuimiao's waist to keep him from escaping.

Bai Shuimiao couldn't get away, so he endured it in tears. By the time dawn broke, his belly had started to swell.

1. One-on-one romance, happy ending

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