9:30 p.m.
Kang Ting entered the master bedroom, her voice soft: 'The child is asleep.'
Kang Yuedong sat at the desk, his eyes fixed on the computer screen, but his mind was long gone from the documents displayed. He responded: 'Oh, you go take a shower.'
As usual, Kang Ting walked to the wardrobe against the wall to change clothes. She took off her outerwear and bra one by one, putting on thin pajamas. The mirror reflected her profile: thirty-six years old, her breasts not exceptionally full but still perky; her lower belly had a slight soft curve from childbirth, but her waistline was well-maintained. From behind, she looked almost no different from when she got married fourteen years ago.
Kang Yuedong watched all this from the dressing table mirror, suddenly feeling a tightness in his chest.
Fourteen years ago, Kang Ting was still a member of the university’s artistic gymnastics team. Her looks were not at the level of the campus beauty, but her 165 cm height, the temperament left by years of figure training, her soft body, and her cheerful, easygoing personality that kept her smiling all day long made many male classmates look at her twice. Back then, Kang Yuedong pursued her with great effort; marriage, immigration, children — step by step, they came to today.
He had originally been thinking about whether to bring up that matter this weekend, but the instant he saw his wife’s back, a long-lost urge suddenly welled up in him.
About two months, I guess.
After Kang Ting entered the bathroom, Kang Yuedong immediately got up and rummaged through a small box under the wardrobe. He first took out a bundle of long rope, hesitated for a few seconds, then switched to a short rope, along with a standard pair of police-issue leg irons. He stuffed both items under the pillow, then sat back down in front of the computer as if nothing had happened.
In the first seven years of marriage, the two didn't feel any 'itch' in their marriage. They had just arrived in North America a few years prior, their child was still young, and life was tense. Routine sex had long lost its initial novelty, but after Kang Yuedong discovered those bondage websites, things changed. He began experimenting with various ways to tie up his wife before getting to the main act. Although Kang Ting found it somewhat perverse, he was still her husband, and most of the ropes were just tied tightly, not particularly painful. She wasn't skilled at oral sex and didn't like overly intense variations, but she could reluctantly accept bondage. Her husband worked hard outside; it wasn't a big deal for her to cooperate.
“I’m done washing, it’s your turn.”
Kang Ting's voice pulled Kang Yuedong back from his thoughts.
He turned around. His wife had just come out of the bath, wet hair hanging on her fair neck, with a few faint lines at the corners of her eyes, which instead gave her a bit more mature charm. Ten years of immigrant life seemed not to have left too deep a mark on her.
Kang Yuedong stood up and pretended to walk nonchalantly towards the bathroom. Passing by Kang Ting, she was combing her hair while looking in the mirror. He suddenly turned sharply, reached out, and pulled her nightgown completely down.
Before Kang Ting's exclamation could leave her lips, she was already pinned down on the bed.
Kang Yuedong moved with practiced ease. With one hand, he pinned his wife's hands behind her back; with the other, he pulled the short rope from under the pillow and swiftly bound her wrists. Kang Ting's body instinctively struggled a couple of times, then understanding dawned, and she stopped resisting, only turning her head to ask: 'What's gotten into you today?'
Kang Yuedong didn't answer.
After tightening the rope, he took out the shackles, crossed Kang Ting's ankles and locked them together, then folded her legs back, attaching the other end of the shackles to her already bound hands. After doing all this, he picked up his wife and placed her kneeling on the bed.
The shackles' chain was very short. Kang Ting's feet were crossed and cuffed, and the kneeling position prevented her from lifting her knees. She had to try hard to press her bound hands downward to reduce the metal's pull on her wrists. This forced her chest to thrust high and her head to tilt back slightly.
Probably because it had been too long since she had been treated like this, Kang Ting herself sensed a strange thrill, and an unintentional soft moan slipped from her throat.
Kang Yuedong still didn't speak. He just pressed his already hardened part against his wife's raised breasts, holding her shoulders and rubbing back and forth. Her nipples were cool, the sensation distinct.
“Can I use my mouth?” he asked.
Kang Ting didn't particularly like oral sex and had never actually made him climax with her mouth. But perhaps because she was tied too tightly, or maybe due to the long absence of such foreplay, she hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
She lowered her head with difficulty, trying to comply. Before long, she couldn't help but start retching. Kang Yuedong had to stop, thought for a moment, turned to get the key, unlocked the leg irons, carried her to the wardrobe against the wall, and re-fastened the shackle to the metal rod for hanging clothes.
Kang Ting was suspended upside down, her head against the wall, her buttocks raised high. Kang Yuedong tried several times, but due to the height, he kept slipping out.
"Help me put on those purple high heels." The wife hanging by the ropes suddenly said softly.
Kang Yuedong immediately remembered—those were the ones he bought for her during his business trip to Korea. He quickly helped her put them on. The height was just right. Holding his wife's slender waist, he could no longer hold back and began thrusting forcefully.
At first, Kang Ting still gritted her teeth, suppressing her voice. But before long, moans uncontrollably spilled out. Kang Yuedong saw her small fists, bound behind her back, clenching and unclenching, which stimulated him to exert himself even more vigorously. Soon, he reached the finish line.
Neither of them moved right away.
Kang Yuedong undid the ankle cuffs and took his still-bound wife into his arms. Kang Ting also followed his movement, burying her face in his chest. After a while, she looked up and asked, 'What's wrong with you today? It's been a long time since you've been like this.'
“Nothing much, I just want it.”
“You’re amazing today, like you were when we first started.” Kang Ting looked at her husband of fourteen years, a gentle hint of a smile in her eyes.
Kang Yuedong suddenly spoke up: 'I feel like there's no love between us anymore.'
“Huh?”
“Now we’re just like family, I feel like there’s only familial affection left.”
Kang Ting was somewhat puzzled: 'Isn't this good? Didn't everyone go through this? I think it's quite good.'
Kang Yuedong whispered something. Kang Ting was first stunned, then couldn't help but laugh: 'I can't believe you thought of that.'
After laughing, she asked seriously, "So, do you have any good ideas?"
On this matter, Kang Ting had always trusted her husband. She had a naturally submissive temperament and did not want to fuss over such things. Anyway, just do your best to cooperate; after all, what else can a woman do?
Seven years ago, when her husband first started tying her up, she didn’t really understand why he could spend an hour without complaint, tying her up like a rice dumpling. Full restraints, Japanese-style tying… as long as it didn’t hurt too much, she had no objections. Sometimes after being tightly bound, a kind of indescribable pleasure would indeed arise in her body. Every time her husband finished tying her up, he would praise how beautiful she looked; half-believing, half-doubting, she also vaguely felt that the way she looked under the ropes might really be a little different.
She had once indirectly asked her two close friends, Lü Ping and Liu Mei, if their husbands had any peculiarities in bed. They vaguely mentioned words like 'rope,' and she didn't have the nerve to ask further.
But in this recent period, Kang Yuedong himself felt that he seemed to have also become somewhat numb to bondage. No matter how novel the tricks, no matter how beautiful the body, once time passes, the initial stimulation will always fade. That is probably man’s nature.
He untied the rope from his wife’s hands. Kang Ting went to the bathroom to wash up again. Just then, the phone rang.
It was Liu Mei's husband, Liu Peize, calling.
“Bro, did I say no?” Liu Peize asked.
“No, what about you?”
“No, either. I don’t know how to bring it up.”
“Talk to her later.”
"All right."
"Let's just hold our wife and go to sleep first."
After hanging up the phone, Kang Yuedong sat on the edge of the bed, somewhat lost in thought.
A few years earlier, by chance, he noticed faint marks on Liu Mei's wrist from being bound by rope. His heart stirred, and he deliberately asked Liu Peize about it. Liu Peize was quite straightforward, saying that after so many years of marriage, the usual ways had long since become tiresome, and being abroad made it inconvenient to seek thrills the way one could back in China, so he had thought of some other methods to add a bit of spice to married life. He even sent Kang Yuedong the addresses of some bondage websites.
Actually, those websites, Kong Yuedong had already been lurking on for several years. From that day on, he instead felt a little more relaxed in his heart—so everyone was all the same.
Later Liu Peize introduced Zhu Jizhen, and Zhu Jizhen introduced Wang Xiaoming. The four men gradually became a circle that could talk about these things. Several families also got together occasionally, and the wives got along quite well. Among the four, Zhu Jizhen's wife was the prettiest, and Kang Ting had the best temperament. Everyone felt that these four women were already at that age, yet their figures were all still maintained quite well, probably because life overseas was relatively relaxed.
Thinking about these things, Kang Yuedong suddenly felt that tonight's remark about 'only having familial affection left' might have truly hit a nerve.
The water sounds in the bathroom stopped. Kang Ting wiped her hair and came out, and seeing that he was still sitting by the bed, asked: “Why aren't you sleeping yet?”
Kang Yuedong looked up at his wife's face, slightly flushed from the steam, and suddenly felt that some words were already on the tip of his tongue.
But in the end, he only reached out, pulled her onto the bed, and gently held her from behind.
“Nothing. Go to sleep.”
In the darkness, Kang Ting's breathing gradually steadied. Kang Yuedong, however, lay with his eyes open, staring at the ceiling.
The rope is still stored under the pillow. The cold metal sensation of the shackles seems to linger on the fingertips.
He knew that once some thresholds were seen, it was hard to completely pretend they didn’t exist.
And this weekend might just be an opportunity.
Kang Yuedong slept restlessly all night.
Beside him, Kang Ting breathed evenly, occasionally shifting slightly in her sleep. Lying in the dark, his mind kept replaying the conversation from the phone call earlier, and the words he had blurted out: 'only family love remains.' The words were out, impossible to take back. His wife had just smiled at the time, not probing further, but he knew that once some cracks are pointed out, they slowly widen on their own.
The next day was Friday.
In the morning, the two got up as usual, prepared the child's things, and had breakfast. Kang Ting, while packing the child's water bottle, casually asked, 'Any plans for the weekend? Lü Ping sent a message yesterday, wanting to invite our families for a meal together.'
Kang Yuedong paused while slicing bread. 'Which day?'
“Saturday night, then, she said everyone hasn’t gotten together for a long time.”
“...okay.” He agreed, but in his mind he was already making plans.
Liu Peize, Zhu Jizhen, Wang Xiaoming, plus himself, four men. The corresponding four women: Liu Mei, Mrs. Zhu (everyone called her Aya), Wang Xiaoming's wife Chen Qing, and Kang Ting. After several family gatherings, the women got along well, while the men had more and more in common on another level. Bondage, ropes, a little control and the pleasure of being controlled—these secrets that had originally existed only in each person's own bedroom gradually became a tacit topic among the four-person circle.
After breakfast, Kang Yuedong took the child to school and then went to the company. He was absent-minded throughout the day’s work. Twice he picked up his phone, wanting to send a message to Liu Peize, and then put it back down. Not until noon did Liu Peize send a WeChat message first:
“Talk tonight? Or in person?”
Kang Yuedong replied: 'Let's talk when we meet on Saturday. We'll each ask around some more first.'
Liu Peize quickly replied, "Okay."
When I came home in the evening, Kang Ting had already made dinner. At the table she brought up the weekend gathering, speaking very casually: “Aya said she’s recently learned a few new dishes and insists on showing off her skills. Chen Qing also seems to be bringing some dessert she made herself.”
Kang Yuedong 'hmm'-ed, his hand pausing as he picked up food with his chopsticks, ultimately swallowing back the words that had reached the tip of his tongue.
At night, the two of them finished washing up and got into bed. Kang Ting turned on her side to look at him, and suddenly asked, “What you said yesterday... was it serious?”
Kang Yuedong was silent for a few seconds. 'A little. It's not that I don't love you, it's just... it feels like something is missing.'
Kang Ting didn't answer immediately. She reached out and turned off the bedside lamp, letting out a soft sigh in the darkness. 'I know. Actually, I also feel that sometimes when things become too familiar, they lose their excitement. But those things you wanted... the ropes and such, I went along with them, wasn't that enough?'
“Enough.” Kang Yuedong turned around and pulled her into his arms. “Enough. It’s just that men sometimes let their imaginations run wild.”
Kang Ting leaned against his chest, her voice muffled: 'Then don't overthink it. Have a good meal this weekend, don't spoil everyone's mood.'
Kang Yuedong acknowledged, but clearly knew things wouldn't just end there.
On Saturday afternoon, the two families first met at Liu Peize’s house.
The Liu family lived in a townhouse, and the basement had been tidied up very cleanly; they also often played with ropes there themselves. As soon as Kang Ting and Liu Mei came in, they started chatting, from the children's school to recent discount information, and quickly became familiar. Kang Yuedong and Liu Peize took the opportunity to get wine and went into the kitchen.
“Did you say it?” Liu Peize lowered his voice.
“I brought it up a little. She didn’t object, and didn’t ask further.” Kang Yuedong twisted open the wine bottle. “What about you?”
“Liu Mei is more open-minded than I expected. She said... we can talk about it, but only if everyone is willing; no forcing.” Liu Peize poured himself a glass of wine, then filled Kang Yuedong’s as well. “Zhu Jizhen’s side is more enthusiastic. Aya seems to have had some interest in this kind of thing already. Wang Xiaoming is still working on Chen Qing; how far things can go tonight, hard to say.”
Kang Yuedong nodded and didn't ask any more questions.
At six in the evening, Zhu Jizhen and Aya arrived. As soon as Aya came in, she greeted everyone with a smile. The simple cut of the dress she was wearing made her figure look very curvy. Wang Xiaoming and Chen Qing arrived a little later. Chen Qing looked somewhat reserved, but the corners of her mouth would not stop lifting when she smiled.
Dinner was arranged in the basement. The long table was fully set with a lavish spread of dishes. After three rounds of drinks, the conversation gradually relaxed. The women began chatting about recent TV dramas and shopping, while the men responded intermittently. Kang Yuedong sat next to Kang Ting, occasionally serving her food, but his wine glass never stopped.
After the meal, the children were sent upstairs to watch TV. The adults stayed in the basement. Liu Peize somehow produced a few bottles of good wine and dimmed the lights a bit. The atmosphere became ambiguous.
Zhu Jizhen spoke first, his tone half-joking: "We've known each other for quite some years now. The things we usually play... are actually quite similar. Have you ever thought about trying a different way?"
The air was still for a few seconds.
Liu Mei looked at her husband and said nothing. Aya rested her chin in her hand, her eyes brightening slightly. Chen Qing lowered her head and stirred the ice in the cup. Kang Ting sat beside Kang Yuedong, her body slightly tense, but she did not immediately object.
Kang Yuedong put down his wine glass, his voice steady: 'Be more specific.'
Zhu Jizhen also stopped beating around the bush: "It's about each playing with their own partner while everyone else is present. Ropes, blindfolds, all are fine. You can see, but you can't touch others. Let's start with this step, and then see what comes next."
Wang Xiaoming added, "It must be possible to stop at any time. Whoever feels uncomfortable, stop immediately. Absolutely voluntary."
Liu Peize looked at his wife. Liu Mei was silent for a moment, then nodded. "We can try. But let's leave it at that tonight; don't go any further."
Aya smiled and leaned on Zhu Jizhen's shoulder: "I have no objection."
Chen Qing looked up, glanced at Wang Xiaoming, and said very softly, "...I'll listen to you."
Everyone's gaze finally fell on Kang Ting.
Kang Ting didn't answer immediately. She turned to look at Kang Yuedong, her expression complex. Kang Yuedong didn't press her, just gently squeezed her hand.
“...Okay.” Kang Ting finally spoke, her voice not loud, but clear. “But the rules have to be set clearly. You can only watch, you can't touch anyone else. Whoever crosses the line, it ends immediately.”
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Liu Peize stood up, took several rolls of rope, a few blindfolds, and two softer leather cuffs from the cabinet. After the things were placed on the table, the atmosphere suddenly became different.
“Who goes first?” Zhu Jijin asked.
Kang Yuedong glanced at Kang Ting. Kang Ting nodded gently.
Then Kang Yuedong struck first.
He made Kang Ting sit in a chair with a backrest, and skillfully and seriously used ropes to fasten her wrists behind the chairback. Then came the ankles, fixed apart to the chair legs. Kang Ting was wearing the dress she had specially chosen for tonight; after being tied up, the hem of the skirt slid up a little, revealing the skin above her knees. Kang Yuedong then covered her eyes with a blindfold, and finally placed an extremely light kiss on the back of her neck.
“If you feel uncomfortable, say so.” He said in a low voice.
Kang Ting let out an 'Mmm,' her breathing already somewhat ragged.
The other three pairs also began to act.
Liu Peize tied Liu Mei face-to-face to another chair, with the rope passing over her chest, making her breasts look even more prominent. Zhu Jizhen had Aya kneel on a cushion, fixed her hands with leather cuffs, and then connected her ankles to her wrists, making a puppy-like pose. Wang Xiaoming was relatively conservative; he only tied Chen Qing's hands behind her back, covered her eyes with a blindfold, and let her lean in his arms.
For a moment, only the faint sound of ropes rubbing remained in the basement, along with breathing that gradually grew heavier.
Kang Yuedong stood in front of Kang Ting and began to undo his belt. He wasn't in a hurry to enter; instead, he first slid his fingers along the edge of the rope, occasionally touching his wife's exposed collarbone and the skin below. Deprived of sight by the blindfold, Kang Ting's bodily sensations were amplified, and she trembled slightly.
The situation nearby was largely similar.
Liu Peize lowered his head and kissed Liu Mei's neck, his hands roaming over her body bound by ropes. Zhu Jizhen had Aya remain in a kneeling position, while he sat in front of her and spoke in a low voice. Wang Xiaoming held Chen Qing; his movements were gentler than the others', yet still clearly filled with lust.
No one crossed the line to touch someone else's partner. But the act of 'watching' itself was enough to make the air feel scorching.
Kang Yuedong finally undid his pants and pressed against Kang Ting's legs. When he entered, Kang Ting let out a suppressed whimper. The completely fixed position left her unable to avoid it; every thrust was deep and straight. Kang Yuedong held onto the back of the chair, controlling the rhythm, but his eyes involuntarily scanned the other scenes in the room.
Liu Mei was tied to the chair, her body swaying gently back and forth with Liu Peize’s movements, small moans escaping from the corners of her mouth. Aya knelt on the floor; because of her posture, her body was forced slightly forward, long hair hanging down and covering part of her expression. Chen Qing buried her face in Wang Xiaoming’s shoulder socket, her shoulders trembling lightly.
The visual stimulation is far stronger than imagined.
Kang Yuedong felt himself approaching the edge faster than usual. He lowered his head to kiss Kang Ting's lips, quickening his final thrusts. Kang Ting tensed her body beneath him, reaching climax. Immediately after, Kang Yuedong also released.
He did not withdraw immediately, but maintained the embedded position, panting as he untied the blindfold over Kang Ting's eyes. Kang Ting narrowed her eyes to adjust to the light; her cheeks were flushed, and there was a brief moment of confusion in her gaze before it quickly became clear again.
The others also finished one after another.
For a moment, only the sound of heavy breathing remained in the basement. No one spoke. The ropes were untied one by one, the blindfolds were removed, and the leather cuffs made faint metallic clinks. The women straightened their clothes, while the men silently packed up the props.
Until Liu Peize spoke up, his voice a bit hoarse: '...Let's call it a night here.'
No one objected.
By the time the event ended, it was nearly midnight.
Kang Ting sat in the passenger seat without saying a word. Kang Yuedong drove, occasionally glancing at her profile from the corner of his eye. At a red light, he finally asked: 'Regrets?'
Kang Ting shook her head. 'No regrets. It's just... more thrilling than I imagined.'
"Still want it next time?"
Kang Ting remained silent for a long time. As the car neared home, she softly replied: '...We can try again. But the same rules apply.'
Kang Yuedong 'hmm'-ed in acknowledgment, reaching out to cover her hand resting on her knee.
After getting home, the two of them didn’t go to sleep right away. Kang Ting went to shower, while Kang Yuedong sat on the living room sofa, savoring everything that had just happened. The feel of the rope, the expression on his wife’s face when she was restrained, and the scenes of the other three couples unfolding before his eyes all played repeatedly like a movie.
He knew that once some doors were opened, it was hard to completely close them again.
But at this moment, he did not want to stop.
The bathroom door opened. Kang Ting walked out wrapped in a towel, her hair still dripping. She walked up to Kang Yuedong, looked down at him, and suddenly said, 'Your hands were shaking when you tied me up today.'
Kang Yuedong was taken aback, then chuckled softly. 'Is that so?'
“Yes.” Kang Ting reached out and pulled him up. “Back to the room. I want to be tied up by you again. This time... just the two of us.”
Kang Yuedong looked into his wife's eyes; there was fatigue, an afterglow, and a certain light he hadn't seen in a long time.
He nodded and pulled her into his arms.
“Good.”
The bedroom door was gently pulled shut.
The rope was taken out from the drawer again. This time, there were no onlookers, no rules to emphasize. Only fourteen years of marriage, and a more complex desire rekindled tonight.
Kang Yuedong had Kang Ting lie face down on the bed and began tightening the rope in circles from her wrists. Kang Ting didn't ask again, 'What's wrong with you today?' She just quietly cooperated, occasionally taking a light breath as the rope tightened.
When the last knot was completed, Kang Yuedong leaned down and whispered in her ear:
“It’s still early tonight.”
Kang Ting closed her eyes, a slight smile curling at the corners of her mouth.
“Then... don’t stop.”
The night outside the window was still deep.
And the game that belonged to them had just begun to sprout new branches from the phrase 'only family affection remains.'
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