Qiao Ling clutched his clothes, her heart feeling like it was being gripped one section at a time, twisted, squeezing out a bitter juice so sour it made her numb.
It was just two thousand li, this “just” was said with so much difficulty, she was almost grinding her teeth to pieces.
The two of them were still in the hot period of love, even a distance of two hundred meters felt too much, let alone two thousand kilometers that felt like being in two different worlds.
Qiao Ling insisted on her view, even though her trembling voice revealed her reluctance everywhere, she still kept repeating: “You go… Chen Kuang… you go with him.”
“I want you to live that kind of life… you shouldn’t sacrifice so much because of me…”
“You go… Didn’t you say, never again to give up your own life…”
“You go…”
Chen Kuang’s chest was blocked so tightly that even breathing hurt. He grabbed her nape, lowered his head, and kissed her hard.
As if he didn’t want to hear her say any more words of forcing herself.
This kiss had less of the usual leisure and lingering, more of using this way to intensely express unwillingness to part and attachment. And the clash of two people’s decisions moving in opposite directions.
Qiao Ling’s hand trembled, the phone still lit up with the flight list fell onto the ground, with a bang that was quickly drowned out by the sticky sound of man and woman passionately kissing.
The second-hand sofa bed couldn’t quite withstand the twisting and turning of two people, the support frame creaking and creaking.
Chen Kuang’s strength was very great, hugging Qiao Ling so tightly she could hardly breathe. Kissing itself required frequent breaths, she was filled in her chest by his fierce rush amidst the suffocating feeling.
His tongue swept recklessly in her mouth, Qiao Ling unable to dodge was hooked by him into entanglement, unable to change breath, because it was too intense even saliva overflowed from the corner of her mouth.
The two of them became messy amidst excitement, reactions rising and falling rapidly.
In the bedding, their body heat steamed, the extreme kiss broke off, Qiao Ling panted, quietly looking at him in the dimness.
Ever since she learned about his experiences, the thing Qiao Ling feared most was other people interfering with him, forcing him.
Even if that other person was herself.
But now, she still couldn’t help saying such words, like pushing him toward the vast world.
“Chen Kuang…” Qiao Ling reached out to stroke his cheek, deer-like eyes filled with emotion, watery to the point of softening a person’s heart, “I hope you go…”
Chen Kuang held her hand that was stroking him, lowered his head and kissed her again.
This time it was a lot gentler, yet still carried some stubbornness.
Qiao Ling knew he had already softened, actively offering her tongue tip for him to suck, tears glistening at the corners of her eyes, doing her best to endure his aggression.
In the intense friction both of them were starting to lose control. She instinctively rubbed against him, Chen Kuang’s condition was even more uncontrollable.
Qiao Ling tilted her head, letting him leave one sticky mark after another on her neck. Being pressed against to the point her face heated, she softly asked: “Do… you want me… to help you…”
Chen Kuang lifted his head from her neck hollow with a burning gaze, his lips pressed against her chin as he spoke: “I’ll go first.”
Her eyelashes trembled, her voice soft and numb: “…Eh?”
“The one Xiaole gave you, is it out of battery?”
His nose tip brushed against her earlobe, his tone light but full of temptation: “To be fair, my hand will lend to you too.”
Qiao Ling’s heart trembled fiercely, under extreme restlessness, finally flushed red, handing all control over to him.
And just before he was about to start helping her relieve, she weakly offered a hint.
“…When you’re outside later, when passing by the convenience store.”
“Buy some of that, keep it at home.”
Chen Kuang immediately understood, a sheet of fire heating up in his eyes.
…………
The next evening, Chen Kuang carried a convenience store bag and entered the bar right on time for work.
Once again, he ran into Xie Lisheng, who hadn’t arrived long ago.
Xie Lisheng sat at the bar counter, holding a glass in an elegant posture, even drinking lemon soda water with the aura of Romanée-Conti.
His gaze followed as Chen Kuang walked in, leisurely asking: “Afraid your brain wasn’t clear enough, gave you a whole night to consider. Have you figured it out now?”
Chen Kuang didn’t even bother looking at him, threw down a sentence: “Order a drink and sit down, soda water doesn’t count.”
Then he put his things in the staff break room, tied on his apron, and only then slowly came back out.
Xie Lisheng gave the server a glance, the server guy immediately bootlickingly reported to Chen Kuang: “Reporting to Brother Kuang! Brother Sheng just now spent on a six-thousand-yuan bottle of Feitian Maotai in the store, payment via Alipay already received!”
Chen Kuang let out a light snort.
Xie Lisheng tapped on the Maotai bottle that had been brought over still covered with a glass dome, asking: “Is six thousand yuan enough to chat with you? Huh? Master Bartender Chen.”
He turned on the tap to wash his hands, “Say it.”
Xie Lisheng lost patience, temper rising: “Me say? I, your damn uncle, how else am I supposed to say it.”
“Are you going or not, give me a clear answer.”
Chen Kuang stared at his hands lathering up foam, face expressionless as he rinsed, answering: “Not going.”
“I maintain my original answer—refuse.”
Xie Lisheng’s brows pressed down, questioning: “Because of Qiao Ling? Don’t want long-distance?”
“Correct.” He was firm. “That’s the only reason.”
Xie Lisheng tilted his head in frustration, looking at that bottle of Feitian Maotai on the bar counter, full of anger, even wanting to just smash it in one slap and be done.
He brewed it for a few seconds, but still laughed in anger, pointing at that useless thing on the bar counter, “Hey, Chen Kuang, even Liu Bei only visited Zhuge Liang’s thatched cottage three times.”
“I’ve already come to Binyang a second time just to recruit you.”
“You think I have a better temper than Liu Bei, or that you’re more awesome than Zhuge Liang?”
Chen Kuang propped himself on the bar, suddenly raised the corner of his eye, the more annoyed the other party was, the more pleased he became.
Under his naturally curled black hair, his eyes were bright: “President Xie, there’s no shortage of badass backend developers in all of China, no need to hang yourself on my tree.”
“I’ll live my little life, you make your Fortune Global 500.”
Xie Lisheng was completely speechless, had no more tricks to use.
The two men who appreciated each other faced each other in silence—one quietly drinking, one quietly preparing to clean the bar counter before work.
After a while, Xie Lisheng swallowed a mouthful of liquor, sharply sneering: “Chen Kuang, you really don’t change your damn stubborn nature, do you.”
Chen Kuang pulled the corner of his mouth, neither confirming nor denying.
Xie Lisheng turned his eyes aside, tapping the table as he pointed out how ridiculous he was: “For the sake of others, no matter how good the future is, you say give up and give up, this is already the third time.”
“The first two times you had no choice, I can understand, but what’s this time counted as.”
Chen Kuang grabbed some crushed ice, choosing base liquor, while making drinks he smiled and admitted: “Count it as I have no ambition.”
“You having no ambition is fine.” Xie Lisheng immediately caught the key point, asked him: “Can Qiao Ling’s family allow you to have no ambition?”
“Living like this so casually, are you not planning to marry her?”
Chen Kuang’s movements slowed down.
“Be realistic, even if Qiao Ling doesn’t care about anything, what about her family, can they like a son-in-law with no future? The mundane world won’t tolerate you having no ambition.”
Listening to Xie Lisheng’s forward-thinking words, for the first time he felt he had overlooked many things.
From his parents getting sick to passing away, these years he had been thinking about life’s problems too simply, plus little experience in relationships, now meeting Qiao Ling who in all aspects had such a good personality, as if she had no demands on him at all.
For a time, he was drowning in her goodness, forgetting that if two people wanted to walk together forever, they still had to face many real-world problems.
Having money wasn’t enough, there had to be a continuous source of income, life needed to be positive, there needed to be a decent and with-development-prospect job, and one needed to be able to take good care of Qiao Ling as well as the whole family.
That was what made a perfect husband and son-in-law.
He stood frozen in place, eyes unfocused, shoulders slightly slumped.
Seeing Chen Kuang’s emptied-out, defeated look, Xie Lisheng secretly showed a bit of self-satisfaction, deliberately sighed, then suddenly changed the topic for no reason: “Actually you two don’t have to definitely be long-distance.”
“Just join in Binyang and that’s that.”
Chen Kuang sensed something was wrong, looked toward him, “What do you mean?”
“For the sake of someone you care about, refusing to waver no matter what, in a sense that counts as loyalty too. Having someone like you following along for starting a business, I can feel at ease.”
Xie Lisheng formally told him: “Our company is planning to open a brand branch in Binyang.”
“The last time I came to Binyang, it was to look at commercial buildings.”
“Chen Kuang, once the branch is set up, you’ll be the person in charge.”
“……”
Chen Kuang didn’t speak for a moment, his fist clenched a little, feeling like he’d been played.
“So, you never said anything before because you were waiting to see if me and Qiao Ling would fight over this?”
Xie Lisheng held his wine glass, swirling it, not answering.
After a moment, he raised his eyebrows, leaned forward slowly with a face asking for a beating.
“So, did you fight?”
…………
Today Qiao Ling didn’t wait for Chen Kuang to get off work and come pick her up. After closing the shop, she went home by herself first.
Because last night, the two of them had gotten tangled up in both struggle and passion over the long-distance issue until sweating all over. In the end, after helping each other relieve, washing up again, by the time they went back to sleep it was already five-thirty in the morning. Qiao Ling was numb with sleepiness the whole day.
The hot water from the shower washed over her body, making Qiao Ling once again recall that trembling, shameful feeling from last night.
That secret place, which for over twenty years had only been touched by herself—entrusting such a clean, unseen place to him for the first time—Qiao Ling felt both afraid and embarrassed.
It was the first time she so clearly felt Chen Kuang’s hand: how rough his finger pads were, how warm his body temperature was, how strong his knuckles were…
Yet his strength and rhythm were gentle, like a teacher, pleasing her while also exploring one sensitive area after another together with her.
Although it couldn’t compare to the electric one Xiaole gave her in terms of power, in this kind of thing, a lover’s body warmth and caress were the true essence.
She was sent to the clouds by his own hand.
The steamy mist from the hot shower made Qiao Ling feel suffocated; after washing her body clean, she immediately opened the glass door to ease the heat.
Around 1:30, Chen Kuang, who had gotten off work early because there were no customers in the store, arrived home. At this time Qiao Ling was on the sofa sketching drafts while watching a variety show.
During these three hours waiting for him to come home, she had already taken a nap. Now that she’d woken up, she was feeling refreshed. When she saw him come back, she jumped down from the sofa to greet him: “You’re back!”
After the mutual intimate relief from last night, that awkwardness between them over the long-distance issue had already completely disappeared like smoke.
Chen Kuang reached out and pulled her into his arms, sniffed her: “Smells like snail rice noodles. You ordered delivery?”
Qiao Ling stuck out her tongue, acting spoiled against him: “Don’t worry, after I finished eating I already threw all the leftovers downstairs. There’s absolutely no smell at home.”
“Are you hungry? There’s shumai and millet porridge in the fridge.”
“Mm, I’ll eat a little then sleep,” he said.
Chen Kuang put his phone on the dining table, went into the bathroom first to wash his hands and face.
On the way, his phone popped up a spam call. Qiao Ling helped him hang up, and then saw what he’d been browsing before the screen locked.
She glanced over, her expression slightly changing.
When Chen Kuang finished washing his face and drying it off, the moment he opened his eyes he saw Qiao Ling standing at the bathroom door, looking unhappy.
Half a minute ago she was still smiling. What was this now?
Before he could speak, Qiao Ling squeezed in, raised the phone and showed him: “Why are you looking at houses?”
Qiao Ling had been shocked when she saw him browsing listings for high-end apartments in Binyang city center.
Buying a car was one thing—after all, that was a movable asset—but suddenly wanting to buy a house, what was that for?
Hadn’t he just said he was moving to Qinnan to do IT? Buying a house now was basically the same as saying he planned to completely reject that opportunity.
Seeing that she had misunderstood something, Chen Kuang, his face still dotted with water droplets, stepped closer wanting to hug her.
Qiao Ling pouted, turning her head away to dodge, “…You didn’t take what I said last night seriously at all.”
“Don’t tell me you’re buying a house just to be some landlord collecting rent from afar.”
Chen Kuang held back a laugh, forcefully wrapping his arms around her slender waist. No matter how she struggled, he didn’t let go. He softened his tone to the gentlest, coaxing: “Alright, I haven’t even said anything yet, why are you getting angry?”
“Isn’t it obvious, isn’t this just…!” She hadn’t finished complaining when she was kissed by the man again.
This kind of kiss at this moment was practically like pouring oil on the fire. Qiao Ling furrowed her brows, just about to hit him, when she heard the other party say: “I really am not leaving, but, IT work still needs to continue.”
Qiao Ling’s fist, raised halfway, stopped, stunned: “Hm?”
“What, you’re going to join another company to go head-to-head with Xie Lisheng?”
“No.” Chen Kuang held her fist and kissed it, coming clean: “He wants to set up a Binyang branch. This time, the position he offered me is even bigger than the one he mentioned two days ago.”
Qiao Ling’s eyes widened as big as eggs, boldly guessing: “Vice President?”
He didn’t really care, speaking lightly: “Something like that.”
“Ah, that’s great!” She was overjoyed, even for a moment not realizing Xie Lisheng had played the two of them, just focusing on being happy: “No need for long-distance now!”
“But, then why are you buying a house? Isn’t it fine to just live at home?”
Plus there’d be someone to share the rent with her, hum hum, that little calculation absolutely couldn’t be found out by him.
Chen Kuang held her while walking toward the dining room, “Mn… I have another use for that house.”
As they walked to the dining table, Qiao Ling didn’t understand and had to ask clearly: “What are you using it for? You’re really renting it out?”
“Silly.” Chen Kuang lowered his head, couldn’t help but laugh out loud, then pressed on the top of her head and rubbed it as he said: “For marriage use, alright? Understand now?”
“Marri…” Qiao Ling spoke halfway and suddenly understood, instantly blushing, her gaze dodging everywhere.
“You, you plan to…” marry me.
“If I don’t marry you, who else would want me?” Chen Kuang understood the words she didn’t finish, circled her waist and lifted her up in one move, placing her on the dining table.
He leaned in close, nose tip rubbing against hers, voice low and murmuring: “Because of one sentence from you last night, I bought all kinds of flavors, all kinds of materials, one big bag.”
The more Qiao Ling listened, the redder she got, her face was as red as a tomato, both hands clutching the edge of the dining table, exposing her timidity.
While speaking, Chen Kuang rubbed his lips against her lip bead, just not kissing down, teasing her until her breathing gradually quickened before he was satisfied.
“So?”
“Miss Qiao, tonight—do you plan to inspect the goods before marriage or not?”