Time Traveling: the Only Beloved Husband

Shen Xiangyan pushed the door open and saw a small figure sitting upright by the bed, still covered by a red veil. The little person seemed very nervous upon hearing his entry, with a pair of small hands tightly gripping their sleeves. Calling him small was not an exaggeration at all. According to the original owner’s memory, the little husband who had just married into the family was named Xia Rong, and he was only fourteen years old. In the twenty-first century, where Shen Xiangyan previously lived, a fourteen-year-old was still considered a child.

In his previous life, Shen Xiangyan had always been an orphan. After graduating from high school, he had to drop out due to lack of funds and became an apprentice to a master perfumer to learn the art of fragrance. He was intelligent and eager to learn, and within a few years, he had mastered advanced perfuming techniques. By the time he turned thirty, he was quite successful, having opened a perfumery studio that specialized in creating custom perfumes and ointments for the elite. His business had earned a good reputation over the years. Everything had been going well until he encountered a car accident on his way back from a business trip. When he woke up, he had become Shen Xiangyan of the Fengyu Kingdom in this era.

When Shen Xiangyan woke up in this body, he was fortunate enough to have the original owner’s memories. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to adapt to ancient life so quickly. The name of this body was also Shen Xiangyan, coincidentally the same as his own. The Shen family he belonged to was renowned for their perfumery skills for generations. Unfortunately, the family line only had a single heir each generation. By the time it reached his grandfather’s generation, the family’s glory had already faded and they began to decline. Two years ago, the original owner’s father went to the south to purchase spices as usual. On his way back, he unfortunately encountered bandits. Not only did he suffer heavy losses, but he was also seriously injured. He passed away a few days after returning home. The original owner’s mother, heartbroken over her husband’s death, fell ill and passed away at the beginning of this year. The original owner, only seventeen years old, couldn’t bear the successive losses of his loved ones and fell ill himself.

The original owner’s mother had been preoccupied with his marriage before she passed away. She urged him to marry as soon as possible so that she, as his mother, could face the Shen ancestors with pride. After all, the Shen family had always had a single heir in each generation, and she deeply regretted not seeing Shen Xiangyan leave an heir behind.

Initially, Shen Xiangyan’s parents had arranged for him to marry Xia Rong’s elder sister, Xia Ji. However, over the past two years, the Shen family had faced great misfortune, and rumors spread among the neighbors that the Shen family’s young master was gravely ill and bedridden, making him an unsuitable match. By the time Shen Xiangyan managed to handle his mother’s funeral and prepared to fulfill her dying wish by seeking a marriage proposal from the Xia family, the Xia family had already decided against the match. They insisted that the original arrangement was not for their eldest daughter, Xia Ji, but for Xia Rong, a child born to a concubine.

This was the final straw that broke Shen Xiangyan’s spirit. In this world, aside from men and women, there existed a third gender known as “Shuang’er,” who looked like ordinary men but could conceive children. However, their chances of getting pregnant were much lower than women, resulting in a lower social status for Shuang’er. Men in this society rarely married Shuang’er as their primary spouse.

As for the original owner, after returning from the Xia family, he fell gravely ill and never recovered, until Shen Xiangyan woke up in this body half a month ago. Speaking of Shen Xiangyan, he was a genuine lover of men. Whether it was his emotional purism or finickiness, he only wanted to find someone who would genuinely and wholeheartedly spend their life with him. If he couldn’t find such a person, he’d rather stay single. Given that heterosexual relationships often did not have happy endings, and considering the social environment where same-sex relationships were still not fully accepted, finding true love was extremely difficult. Hence, Shen Xiangyan remained a virgin until his death.

As Xia Rong heard the door open, his heart leapt into his throat. Was it his future husband? He wondered if his husband would like him. Nervous, Xia Rong instinctively tightened his grip on his sleeves.

The footsteps stopped a few steps away from him without advancing further. Xia Rong’s heart sank slowly. His husband probably wouldn’t like him. After all, who would want to marry a Shuang’er? He tightened his grip on his sleeves even more. Moreover, the original marriage agreement had been for his elder sister. Growing up, his father, mother, and sister had never liked him. He must not be very likable.

When Shen Xiangyan emerged from his thoughts, he noticed the small figure sitting there, nearly tearing his sleeves apart. Amused, he picked up the ceremonial scale from the table, took a few steps forward, and lifted the red veil. Over the past half month, he had considered many things. Since they were married, as long as their personalities were compatible, he wouldn’t mind taking good care of the other person. It would be ideal if they could develop feelings for each other. With a mental age of thirty, Shen Xiangyan had always been alone and longed for companionship. It seemed that fate had arranged this marriage for him.

As the veil, embroidered with a dragon and phoenix motif, was lifted, Xia Rong’s face was revealed. He had large eyes, long eyelashes, fair skin, and a delicate, clean appearance. However, Shen Xiangyan thought he still looked quite young. Perhaps he would become more attractive as he grew older. Shen Xiangyan felt relieved. He had been concerned about developing feelings but was also worried about not finding his spouse attractive. The saying that men think with their lower half often wasn’t far off; physical attraction and desire were inseparable. If he couldn’t accept his spouse’s appearance, he wouldn’t know what to do. Fortunately, Xia Rong unexpectedly matched his aesthetic preference, especially with his clean and pure demeanor, which made Shen Xiangyan quite fond of him.

Xia Rong felt a bit embarrassed being stared at by his future husband. His husband was really handsome. Shen Xiangyan returned to the table where everything was already prepared for their ceremonial drink. He poured two cups of wine and handed one to Xia Rong.

“After drinking this cup of wedding wine, we will be officially married. Drinking together in the bridal chamber, we will share both joys and hardships as husband and wife.”

Xia Rong accepted the cup of wine, and then they linked arms and drank. After setting down the cups, Shen Xiangyan tied their hair together with a knot and then used scissors to cut the knotted hair. He handed the cut hair to Xia Rong, watching as Xia Rong carefully placed it into a prepared sachet. Only then did he take the plate of pastries he had prepared earlier and handed it to Xia Rong.

“You haven’t eaten anything all day, you must be hungry. I heard the pastries from this shop are quite good. Have a few bites to fill your stomach.”

The pastries were delicately crafted. Xia Rong carefully took a piece from the edge. The pastry melted in his mouth, flavored with sweet osmanthus filling. It was delicious. He had only eaten something like this when he was little, during the Chinese New Year, when his father was still alive. His father would save the pastries for him, not eating any himself. After his father’s death, he never had such tasty pastries again. Thinking about his father, who used to sing gentle songs to lull him to sleep, Xia Rong’s eyes reddened. His husband was so kind, even giving him pastries. His father would be happy if he knew.

Shen Xiangyan didn’t understand why Xia Rong started crying after eating a piece of pastry. Seeing his small face covered in tears made him feel very tender towards him. For once, Shen Xiangyan patiently asked him in a gentle voice what was wrong. Initially, Xia Rong was reluctant to speak, but after some coaxing, he began to speak in broken sentences. Shen Xiangyan, already knowing from the original owner’s memory, understood that Xia Rong was not born to Master Xia’s wife, but to a Shuang’er concubine. The lack of pastries indicated that Xia Rong’s life in the Xia family had been far from good.

Shen Xiangyan gently patted Xia Rong’s back, silently cursing the Xia family for their mistreatment. Little Xia Rong, if they didn’t cherish you, then from now on, I will. Suddenly, he froze—when had he started thinking of Xia Rong as his own? After a moment of self-mockery, he felt at ease. After all, since he was now living in ancient times, who else would the person he married belong to if not him? Deep down, Shen Xiangyan had a possessive nature. In the past, he had never met anyone who could bring out this side of him. Now that he had confirmed Xia Rong as his own, he wouldn’t let anyone else bully him.

After coaxing Xia Rong to eat a few more pastries, Shen Xiangyan noticed that although Xia Rong seemed full, he was still eyeing the pastries. Amused, Shen Xiangyan took the plate away and poured him a cup of water, ensuring he wouldn’t feel too uncomfortable from the dryness after eating the pastries. He wasn’t denying him more pastries, but eating too much at night could cause indigestion, which wasn’t good either.

Xia Rong felt utterly embarrassed, worrying that his husband might think he was eating too much and wouldn’t like him anymore. He shouldn’t have eaten so much. His small hands instinctively tightened around his sleeves again, and his recently dried eyes started to well up with tears once more.

Seeing Xia Rong’s expression, Shen Xiangyan immediately knew what he was thinking. He couldn’t help but explain, “Alright, Rong’er, can I call you that from now on? There will be more pastries tomorrow. Eating too much at once will make you uncomfortable.” With that, he reached out and gently ruffled Xia Rong’s hair. “Okay, now I’ll go fetch some water so we can wash up. It’s very late, and we should get some sleep.”