Bailee noticed Julie staring at him. His ears turned red, and his eyes started to dodge her gaze. But when he realized he couldn't avoid it, he met her eyes directly.
Julie found it funny that he dared to look back at her.
Her eyes flashed with a mischievous look.
Julie stood up, hooked his chin with her finger, and leaned closer. Their faces were so close that she could see the fine hairs on Bailee's skin.
Bailee's face turned completely red. He didn't know what to do. He stared blankly at Julie while nervously tugging at the hem of her clothes.
Julie stared at his lips. They were thin, soft, and pink. She had never kissed a man before — not in the last world, and not in this one.
She never thought kissing was necessary between men and women, and maybe she even disliked it a bit.
At first, she only wanted to tease and scare him for fun.
But now, she suddenly really wanted to know what it tasted like.
Julie was not someone who liked to hold back.
So when she thought about it, she acted.
She lightly kissed him. Their lips touched, but she didn't feel anything special.
Looking into his eyes, she saw a misty look and a red blush on his face. His lips were slightly open, showing the tip of his pink tongue.
That soft, pitiful look made her gaze darken with a bit of desire. She lowered her head again, gently nibbling and rubbing his lips.
After a few minutes, Julie finally pushed him away, still feeling a bit unwilling.
She had to push him away, or else she might drag him into the room and do something more.
Julie returned to her usual cold tone and said, "Eat together. From now on, whatever I eat, you eat. If I find out you're pretending again, this will be the result."
She didn't have the habit of domestic violence. She believed her men should be taught and spoiled properly. Since the three men were given to her, if they behaved well and lived peacefully with her, she would give them a good life.
If words didn't work, she couldn't hit or scold them — if she spoke harshly, they would just cry. So this was her only way.
Otherwise, would she really eat meat while letting them drink wild vegetable soup?
Hopefully, this method would work. If not, she could only teach them more seriously... in bed.
Actually, she hoped things could move slower, giving both sides time to adjust.
Bailee was still dizzy. From the moment Julie kissed him to when it ended, it all felt like a dream.
He never thought Julie would kiss him.
This was the first time. He was so touched that he almost cried, but he held it back.
Julie didn't like them crying.
As the eldest of the family, he was the main husband after marrying in. But the three brothers depended on each other and didn't care too much about titles.
He always felt that, compared to his younger brothers, Julie liked him the least. He was quiet and serious, not good at making her happy.
Among the three, he thought Julie disliked him the most.
So today's kiss surprised him and filled him with a little happiness.
Was Julie happy and satisfied with the kiss?
Haven lowered his head, a bit sad. Julie had kissed Bailee.
He remembered that before, Julie liked him the most, then Lorrie, and disliked Bailee the most because Bailee was dull and quiet.
He didn't expect that after Julie's personality changed, her preferences also changed.
Didn't she used to like him the most?
So... was she satisfied just now?
Haven didn't know why he felt a slight pain and jealousy in his heart.
He knew he shouldn't feel like that.
Lorrie couldn't believe what he saw. This woman... actually bullied Bailee in front of him and Haven?
Lorrie didn't think too much. He just thought their expressions were weird and guessed that woman had thought of another way to torture them.
At first, he wanted to get up and argue with her, but when he saw Julie's half-smiling, half-mocking expression, his heart trembled and he sat back down.
Forget it. Since she woke up, she had been acting strangely anyway.
Besides, Bailee's face was so red.
Julie tore off a chicken leg for herself and put another one into Bailee's bowl. The two chicken wings were given to Haven and Lorrie.
"Eat," she said. If they didn't eat…
Bailee glanced at Julie, then lowered his head and started eating. His eyes shimmered with tears that didn't fall. He had finally waited for this moment.
Haven looked at the chicken leg in Bailee's bowl, then at his own chicken wing. His eyes darkened slightly.
He thanked her softly and started eating too. He couldn't remember how long it had been since he last ate chicken.
Lorrie, being younger, didn't think too much. As soon as he saw the meat, he eagerly started eating, afraid that if he waited, the bad woman would take it away.
Julie ate a chicken leg, two pieces of chicken meat, some rice, and two bowls of soup before she was full.
She was worried that if she left, the men would be too afraid to eat, so she made them finish all the chicken meat and each drink a bowl of soup before she went back to her room to cultivate.
Julie didn't see Bailee staring after her with eyes so soft they looked like they could melt.
If she had seen it, maybe she would have pulled him into a hug and kissed him again.
After all, he tasted better than she expected.
And he was her husband, after all — she had every right.
...
The next morning.
Julie and the three brothers arrived at the village entrance. They paid four copper coins to ride the ox cart into town — one coin each.
Some villagers saw Julie and quickly moved away, afraid of getting involved with her bad luck.
So Julie had lots of space around her, while the other side of the cart was crowded.
She didn't mind. More space meant a more comfortable ride.
As long as no one came to bother her, she pretended not to see them.
After all, the things the original owner had done really happened. There was no point arguing.
She didn't plan to fix her reputation or seek approval from the villagers.
Was it necessary? Were they even worthy?
The original owner hadn't actually done anything truly bad. Most of the rumors were just made-up stories that got worse over time, fueled by so-called "friends" adding lies.
So Julie didn't cause trouble, but if someone messed with her, she would deal with it. She wasn't scared.
After bumping around for over half an hour, they finally reached the town.
Julie didn't look very happy. She didn't want to ride an ox cart ever again — it was slow and painful.
She decided to look around town for a horse or carriage to buy.
Next time, she would ride a horse. No more suffering.
After getting off the cart with the three brothers, she planned to first sell some ginseng and gold bars from her space. Having money on hand would make her feel more secure.