"No way!" Butterfly Rogue roared, grabbing Caleb Miles by the collar and shouting angrily, "How can you be so shameless, using this kind of trick to force Xin'er to consummate with you? Even if you're her so-called husband, you can't push her like this!"
"Waaah, why are you hurting me? It really hurts!" Caleb Miles, confused and distressed by his yanked collar, started crying with a pitiful face.
"I don't agree either!" Ethan Chu chimed in coldly from the side. "This kind of thing should happen naturally, not as some kind of trade! Besides, does that fool even know what 'consummate' means?!"
"Xin'er, don't!" Eli Crane frowned. "I don't want you to do this. For his sake, how could you make such a deal with the queen? If that's the price, I'd rather give up."
Ivy Shen looked at the three men with their dark, sulky faces and could only shake her head helplessly. Earlier, she'd sent Butterfly Rogue out to check if Ethan Chu and Eli Crane were nearby—she knew they'd be frantic if they couldn't find her. Sure enough, not long after, Butterfly Rogue brought them over, saying they'd searched for her outside for ages.
After dinner in this hidden paradise, the others and the queen were inside the cabin drinking tea and chatting, while Ivy led her group outside.
"Ow, ow! It hurts! Beijing, save me..."
"Butterfly Rogue, quit messing around." Ivy Shen shot him a glare.
"No way, I don't agree!" Butterfly Rogue let go of Caleb Miles, then plopped down on the grass in a huff, sulking.
Seeing this, Ivy Shen couldn't help but say, "Why are you guys so mad? What's wrong with me consummating with him? Don't forget, he's my husband—the one who bowed at the wedding with me!"
"But let's be real—you're only doing this because you want to save Eli Crane, aren't you? Otherwise, why'd you always..." Ethan Chu shot Caleb Miles a look. "And look at him now. How are you supposed to, you know, do the deed?"
"The past is the past, okay? Now is now. Anyway, you've all seen how he treats me, right? Even if he's a total dummy at the moment." Ivy Shen glanced at Caleb and let out a sigh, feeling a weird pang of sympathy for him.
"But..." Ethan Chu wanted to argue, but when he met Ivy's eyes, the words just died in his throat.
"Caleb Miles!" Ivy ignored the others and called out to the still-pouting, about-to-cry Caleb.
"Huh? Jay!" The second he heard her, Caleb dashed over and grabbed her hand, looking like a kicked puppy.
Seeing that, Ivy turned to the others and said, "Go on, get some rest. I'm... taking him swimming!" Without another word, she grabbed Caleb's hand and marched off toward the hot spring Queen Yunfen mentioned—there were only two rooms in the cabin and zero soundproofing, so she had no choice but to take him somewhere else.
"Unfair! So unfair! I haven't even gotten a single kiss yet!" Butterfly Rogue jumped up and stomped his feet like a jealous toddler.
"Ivy..." Watching her walk away, Eli Crane felt his heart twist painfully—ugh, why did it hurt so much?
*****
"Strip!" Ivy snapped at Caleb, her mood sour for no apparent reason—she just felt super cranky, okay?
"Why though?" Caleb blinked at her, totally confused. Why did he need to strip?
"What else? We're here to bathe! Or do you think we're just gonna drink the water?" Ivy shot him an epic eye-roll, judging his cluelessness.
"Oh!" Seeing Ivy's icy face, Caleb hurriedly yanked off his shirt, swung his arms, and yelled, "One, two—jump!"
Splash! Caleb dove in, sending a tidal wave right at Ivy.
"Are you nuts? What are you, an Olympic diver now?" Ivy yelled at him, now soaked, totally annoyed.
"Whoa, this feels awesome! Jay, come on in! Woohoo!" Caleb, floating in the warm water, instantly forgot all about the earthquake and just started shouting for Ivy to join him.
Just then, a super familiar flute melody drifted over—the tune was 'Butterfly Love,' the one Ivy used to hum. Her heart squeezed, not because of her deal with the queen, but because she knew Eli Crane must be hurting right now.
He was always like this—no matter how much he hurt inside, he’d never show it. But this song, originally gentle, sounded heartbreakingly sad when he played it.
"Huh? Who's playing the flute? It sounds amazing!" Caleb perked up, listening intently.
"Yeah, he's not just good at the zither—he's crazy good at the flute too." Eli's memory was next-level; Ivy had only hummed the tune once, and he could play it perfectly, with his own twist that made your heart ache.
"I've never heard a song like this before... but wow, it's kinda sad," Caleb said, lips unconsciously pouting as he listened.
"Sad?" Ivy echoed softly.
"Yeah, it makes me wanna cry!" Caleb whined, his lips sticking out even more.
"Eli..." Ivy couldn't help calling out softly. Are you worrying about me, you dummy? We're already married—what's there to worry about? Relax, this isn't just for you, it's also for...
"Don't be sad, Jay. Xuan Xuan likes it when you're happy!" Caleb said with total sincerity.
Ivy glanced at Caleb soaking in the hot spring, and honestly, she couldn't even describe what she was feeling. She didn't dislike him, but love? That seemed too much. Like? Maybe just a little. Maybe it was just... goodwill?
"Jay, come on in! Come on!" Caleb called out, convinced the hot spring would fix everything and cheer her up.
So Ivy shrugged off her outer robe and got ready to climb in—except the second she did, a little golden abacus hidden in her sleeve went flying and plopped right into the hot spring.
Caleb didn't see what it was but immediately yelped, "What just fell in?" Then he ducked his head and reached in to fish it out.
(The chapter isn't over yet ^.^, click next page to keep reading!)
Ivy slipped into the water just as Caleb bent down, still fishing for the mystery object.
Pfft—Caleb spat out a mouthful of hot water, grinning from ear to ear. "Haha, got it!" He lifted his prize, then realized it was his own abacus and lit up like a kid on his birthday. "Whoa, this is my abacus!"
"Yup, that's your golden abacus. Hey, Abacus Guy, you still remember how to use it?" Ivy found a comfy spot to lean against and teased him.
"Abacus Guy?" Caleb blinked, totally lost on the new nickname, but he just giggled and rubbed his abacus. "Hmm... I kinda remember, but it's all fuzzy." He swam over, flopped half out of the pool, propped his chin on one hand, and fiddled with the abacus, not sure how to start.
"Alright, here's a super easy math problem: one duck costs five taels, seven people each get one, a bowl of rich soup is one tael, everyone gets one, plus a fruit platter for three taels—so how much is the bill?" Ivy turned to Caleb and asked, going full elementary school teacher.
The moment Ivy finished, Caleb was like a lightning bolt—his fingers flew over the golden abacus, clicking away so fast even Ivy was impressed.
"Forty-two taels!" Caleb blurted out.
But as soon as he said it, he froze—like a scene flashed through his mind, and he just blanked out.
Ivy, who'd just been proud of him, couldn't help but frown. Yep, still a dummy.
"What's wrong? Did I get it wrong?" Caleb broke the silence, glanced at Ivy, then at his abacus, and tapped out the numbers again. "It's still forty-two taels!"
"Dummy, it's forty-five taels! You're missing the fruit platter!" Ivy helpfully pointed out, shaking her head in disbelief.
"Jay, you're the dummy! If seven people order all that, the shop better throw in the fruit platter for free! If they dare charge us for it, they deserve a beating!" Caleb scoffed, waving his abacus around.
Ivy just stared at him. Then she waved her hand in front of his face. "Schemer Guy, are you... normal again?"
"Huh? Normal how?" Caleb tilted his head at Ivy, looking totally clueless.
Ivy rolled her eyes so hard she nearly saw her brain. Seriously, how could he be this calculating even with amnesia?
But just as Ivy was wondering, Caleb's childish face suddenly twisted into a sly, dangerous grin—a look that totally didn't belong to his current silly self...
*****
PS: My baby has had a fever for a whole day and night, still hasn't come down, and I had to get her an IV. I'm really worried, so updates will be slow for now. Please understand, this rookie mom needs to take care of her kid! Updates will be irregular these days—sorry!