129: generally?

Fortunately, Ye Cheng had a deep understanding of just how shameless this guy could be and was mentally prepared, which allowed her to hold back from bursting into laughter on the spot and maintain her aloof, professional demeanor.

She gave a light hum and raised her chin:

"Next time? We'll see when there's a next time. My man hasn't transferred any money to me yet, so where would I get the money to give you?"

Watching Jiang Ye's indescribable expression, Ye Cheng paused, then leisurely added:

"Take the money. What, you think it's too little? To be honest, the impression you gave me... was just average. This isn't a small amount."

!!!

J-u-s-t A-v-e-r-a-g-e?!

Those two words were like two small knives, 'thud, thud,' instantly piercing Jiang Ye's heart with icy coldness.

Last night, he believed he had performed excellently, giving his all in terms of duration, technical exploration, and emotional investment.

He had also witnessed all of Ye Cheng's reactions—those uncontrolled whimpers, tightly entwined arms, and dazed eyes—none of which could possibly have been faked!

Could that be called 'average'?!

This woman was clearly lying through her teeth! Burning bridges after crossing the river! Killing the donkey after it's done grinding! Damn heartless woman!

Jiang Ye's face instantly darkened, his mind a chaotic mess filled with an endless loop of scrolling text: 'average average average...'

Seeing his gritted teeth and expression of immense grievance, Ye Cheng finally couldn't hold back and burst out laughing with a 'pfft'.

She walked to the bedside, leaned down to give him a light kiss on the lips, and said in a tone like coaxing a child:

"Alright, hubby, don't take it to heart. It's your first time, after all; it's normal to be just average. Once you've saved up enough money and we 'renew the subscription,' you can properly prove yourself then~"

"..."

Staring at the smiling woman before him, Jiang Ye gritted his molars, forcefully swallowing back a bellyful of retorts about 'duration,' 'technique,' and 'frequency.'

In the face of the words 'just average,' any defense seemed feeble. This was practically the ultimate critical hit, transcending physical reality.

He let out a heavy snort and squeezed a few words through clenched teeth: "...Add another 1000 for me!"

Hearing this, Ye Cheng completely lost her composure, her shoulders shaking with laughter. She pulled another thousand yuan from a different pocket and stuffed it into his hand:

"Alright, alright, I'll add it, I'll add it! I was just teasing you! Last night, your performance..."

She deliberately paused, watching Jiang Ye's instantly expectant eyes, suppressing her laughter as she gave a serious evaluation:

"Hmm, well... it was okay."

"..."

Jiang Ye felt like his molars were about to shatter from clenching, but he also fully understood that today's 'revisiting old dreams' was completely off the table. It seemed he'd really have to wait until that 1 million was in place next time.

Irritated, he grabbed the money from the bed, haphazardly stuffed it into his pants pocket, and got up to head to the bathroom to wash up.

Ye Cheng leisurely followed him, leaning against the doorframe to watch him squeeze toothpaste and brush his teeth, casually asking:

"Hey, want me to give you a day off today?"

With a mouthful of foam, Jiang Ye raised an eyebrow at her, giving her a questioning look.

"Go spend time with your second wife."

Ye Cheng said lightly, "I can't hog you for both Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, can I? That would make me seem so unreasonable."

"Oh? So generous?"

"Hmm... I have to go home for a bit later. I go back every year for Christmas."

Jiang Ye spat out the foam, rinsed his mouth, and asked, "Go home? By the way, are you from Shengtian originally? I haven't heard you mention it."

"Sort of."

Ye Cheng picked up a towel and handed it to him. "County."

"County? Why go through all that hassle? Christmas isn't a holiday. Why not wait until New Year's to go back?"

"I have some things to take care of."

Ye Cheng smiled without directly answering, turning to walk back into the room and start packing her backpack.

After finishing his wash-up, Jiang Ye came out and noticed her steps seemed a bit awkward as she packed. Instantly, he felt much more comfortable inside.

Hmm... I'm definitely far from average!

"How about... I go back with you? If it's not convenient for me to go to your home, I can at least drop you off downstairs."

Ye Cheng paused her movements and shook her head. "No need, I'll go back by myself. It's easy to get a taxi. I'll be back tonight."

Jiang Ye frowned, sensing she didn't seem to want to talk much about her family matters. He hesitated but swallowed his follow-up questions:

"Alright, then I'll book you a private car service later. It'll be more comfortable."

Ye Cheng glanced at him, the corner of her mouth curving up. "Tsk, getting some 'real benefits' really makes a difference. Suddenly so much more considerate~"

Jiang Ye rolled his eyes at her, walked to the bedside table, picked up the room phone, and dialed the front desk: "Hello, could you please send a set of clean bed sheets and pillowcases? Thank you."

After hanging up, he walked to the large bed, yanked off the covers, revealing a small, dried, dark red plum blossom stain in the center of the sheet.

"Hey!"

Ye Cheng's face instantly turned crimson, and she whispered in a mix of embarrassment and urgency, "What are you doing?!"

"Taking it, of course! What else?"

Jiang Ye began removing the fitted sheet with righteous confidence. "Something so commemorative, of course we have to take it back, find a frame, and mount it! We can take it out to admire during holidays, reminisce about the hard times and savor the sweet ones!"

Ye Cheng cringed internally, feeling both sweetly touched and mortified. She could only force herself to appear calm, turning her head away to pretend to organize her backpack, muttering, "Pervert... do whatever you want!"

Soon, there was a light knock on the door.

Ye Cheng glanced at Jiang Ye, who was still 'struggling' with the fitted sheet, and went to open the door.

Outside stood a hotel staff member, an older sister in uniform, pushing a housekeeping cart.

"Hello, the bed sheets you requested."

Blushing, Ye Cheng took them and was about to close the door when she heard Jiang Ye call out from behind:

"Cheng Cheng, ask the sister to come in and take a look. Can the stain that seeped into this fitted sheet be washed out? If it can't, we'll go downstairs and pay for it directly later."

Ye Cheng wished she could find a hole to crawl into. Steeling herself, she said to the person outside, "Sister, could you... please come in and take a look?"

The housekeeping sister agreed and pushed the cart into the room.

Jiang Ye had just finished folding the sheet bearing the 'significant commemorative meaning' and was about to stuff it into the LV belt bag. He casually pointed to the faint trace on the bed:

"Sister, look at this..."

Halfway through his sentence, his words abruptly stopped. His eyes widened as he stared at the 'housekeeping sister' standing by the bed, and he blurted out:

"Holy shit! Mom?!"