He opened his mouth, and only then did Qiao Ling realize that she had unintentionally placed her hand on the other party’s abdominal muscles.
Her whole body immediately stiffened, her face also instantly flushing red, she retreated a step, “Uh, I—”
What was she doing!!
Bringing someone into the house, then tricking him into the bathroom to change clothes, then blocking the doorway touching the other party’s abdominal muscles.
How was this any different from a female hooligan!
“I didn’t mean to touch you.” She stiffly excused herself, rubbing the back of her neck, lowering her head with her eyes darting around: “It’s just, that, I didn’t stand firm.”
While speaking, she looked at the clothes he was wearing on his body.
When she bought this oversized set online before, because the size she received was much larger than she imagined, she had only worn it once, washed it clean, then pressed it to the bottom of the box.
She didn’t expect that this piece of clothing, once on his body, had absolutely no loose space.
The hoodie could barely be worn, it’s just that the cuffs were short by a section; the pants were wide enough, but the length was completely not enough. She stared at his exposed slender ankle, once again refreshing her understanding of the huge difference in physique between the two.
Chen Kuang lowered his head, glanced at the clothes on his body, misunderstood her meaning: “How much did you pay for these clothes when you bought them? I’ll transfer it to you.”
Qiao Ling hurriedly shook her head and waved her hands, turning sideways to let him pass, “No need, these are clothes I wasn’t wearing anyway.”
“Besides… the size doesn’t fit.”
“You go sit in the living room.”
He nodded, not showing off over such small matters.
The moment he turned his head sideways, Chen Kuang caught a glimpse of her T-shirt clinging tightly to her skin after getting soaked in the rain.
The white T-shirt originally didn’t block color, after getting soaked, it outlined the edge traces of the small clothing inside.
The pink lace edges just like that revealed through the clothing, falling into his line of sight.
With each breath, rising and falling…
Chen Kuang’s Adam’s apple suddenly tightened, he averted his gaze.
His steps toward the living room were a bit more hurried than usual.
…………
Because there was still an outside guest in the house, Qiao Ling quickly took a hot shower, swiftly put on clothes and dried her hair.
She originally thought she washed fast enough, but after checking the time, she was still dawdling inside for forty minutes.
Pushing open the bathroom door, the quiet yet not lonely atmosphere in the house rushed in.
This was a unique kind of air, although quiet, the presence of other people in the house dispersed the cold emptiness, giving a kind of heart-filled feeling.
She gathered her dried hair together, looked toward the living room—her gaze subtly changed.
On that second-hand sofa bed of hers, at this moment, there was a slender tall figure curled up.
He leaned against one side of the sofa bed’s armrest, black hair more obediently laying on his forehead than usual, the whole person completely motionless, his chest and abdomen rising and falling steadily.
Qiao Ling gripped the bathroom door, suddenly not daring to move.
Ah, actually fell asleep?
To be honest, this scene was one she had already imagined in her mind from the beginning.
If Chen Kuang agreed to her cohabitation proposal, then she should be able to see this kind of scene every day.
Qiao Ling was afraid of waking him up, so she lightened her footsteps, using high-leg-raised little cat steps to slowly walk to the living room.
Until she walked up in front of Chen Kuang, seeing this person’s eyelids not even moving a bit, it seemed he was sleeping very deeply.
Qiao Ling slowly squatted down, both hands placed on her knees, unblinkingly staring at Chen Kuang’s sleeping face.
Afraid that even the little breeze from blinking might disturb his sleep.
It felt like she had gotten a kind of illness where as long as she locked eyes on Chen Kuang’s face, she simply couldn’t move her gaze away.
His skin was very white yet not sickly, whether it was skin color or muscle, everywhere one could feel the results of daily exercise.
With eyes closed, those slender eyelashes would fully display their beyond-ordinary quality.
Because he was asleep, the gentle-looking eyes were covered, other sharp features on the face began to take the lead, increasing his aloof and indifferent aura.
However…
Qiao Ling gradually shifted her gaze downward, fixing it on his lips.
The lip shape, however, was not cold.
Although they were always pressed together, the thickness and color naturally became the most sensual part.
She couldn’t help but lean her body forward, nose tip twitching, like a puppy sniffing.
The scent as well.
First, there wasn’t the cigarette and alcohol smell that stank on those rotten men; second, there wasn’t the “scumbag fragrance” that attracted bees and butterflies. [flirtatious cologne commonly associated with playboys]
It was always clean and fresh, and when just heading out, there would even be a faint shampoo fragrance on his body.
Qiao Ling quietly admired his face, sighing inwardly.
When he slept well, it should be this kind of expression. Being able to sleep like this in a completely unfamiliar place meant he must have been really tired.
From the very first day the two of them met, there had been conflict, but up until now, it seemed like it was always Chen Kuang yielding.
Him being this tired, she really did have some responsibility.
Chen Kuang was half-lying as he slept, posture like a soft big cat, the already not-big-enough hoodie hem lifted up a corner, lower abdomen and waistband exposed.
Above the waistband, that strip with letters on it—the edge of the underwear—came into view.
Her face suddenly burned hot.
Aiya.
Why was she looking at these things on someone.
So that kind of…
Qiao Ling awkwardly dodged left and right, but still couldn’t help secretly glancing again at those abdominal muscles inside that hoodie, then looking down, seeing his navel exposed in the air.
Outside the window, wind and rain intermingled violently; even though the glass windows were tightly sealed, one could still feel that chill within the late-summer downpour.
The navel really shouldn’t be left exposed, she thought.
Sleeping like this would catch cold.
Anyway, since this person was sleeping so soundly, Qiao Ling’s courage expanded. She reached out her hand, wanting to help him pull down his clothes.
But as soon as her right hand grabbed onto his hem, Chen Kuang’s phone inside his pocket suddenly vibrated twice.
Qiao Ling inwardly shouted, bad! She wanted to withdraw her hand, but it was already too late.
The man who had originally been sleeping now slowly opened his eyes in front of her.
Chen Kuang’s gaze upon first waking was a bit cloudy, heavily fixing on her.
A kind of teasing and questioning meaning floated out.
Qiao Ling stared with wide eyes, “…”
Uh.
If I say I just wanted to cover up your navel, would you believe me?
Chen Kuang opened his mouth, his voice carrying a slight huskiness: “This time, again didn’t stand firm?”
Obviously, he didn’t believe she wasn’t doing it on purpose.
He was certain she was just using this as an excuse to take advantage of the situation and touch him randomly.
At this moment, trying to go along with that would only bring about his ridicule. Might as well be a little honest.
Qiao Ling let go of her hand, discouragedly sitting cross-legged on the floor, “No, I saw your clothes weren’t covering you properly, was afraid you’d catch cold.”
“It’s true.”
Chen Kuang glanced at the ill-fitting hoodie on his body, his Adam’s apple moved, and he reached out to pull it properly into place.
A trace of unnaturalness flashed across him. He glanced at her, then suddenly asked: “Have you ever been in a relationship?”
The sudden topic that broke the sense of distance made her heartbeat skip. Qiao Ling blinked, her back tensing up.
“Why are you asking this?”
Chen Kuang quietly looked at her.
These past years, he had encountered many kinds of people, from all sorts of family backgrounds and personalities.
Girls who grew up in relatively good family environments were often more pure and less guarded; if they’d been too well-protected, their lack of awareness about the dark sides of men’s nature would become even more obvious.
So he attributed Qiao Ling’s series of actions entirely to the above kind of experience-based conclusion.
That one question, it was like his kind of verification, even more like a gentle warning.
Chen Kuang supported himself on the sofa and sat up, his voice still carrying a bit of lazy tone: “Pulling on a strange man’s clothes, not afraid something might happen?”
Qiao Ling didn’t understand the deeper meaning in his words. Tilting her head, she countered, “Then you sleeping so soundly in a strange woman’s house, aren’t you afraid something might happen?”
Chen Kuang was caught off guard and choked for a moment, revealing an expression that was a little bit at a loss for words.
Only managed to squeeze out one sentence: “…I’m a man.”
She puffed a laugh, still not realizing the key point, “Then what about me being a woman.”
Qiao Ling mentally filled in a certain ferocious cat meme with claws stretching out to pounce, thinking: Hmph, even if you’re a tall and big man, with that face and that body, if you don’t properly protect yourself, you’ll still get eaten up by women with greedy mouths!
For example… the her in her dream!
“And how was I sleeping so soundly?”
Chen Kuang didn’t admit it, scratching his hair, “Just taking a nap, that’s all.”
She pouted, insisting on this point: “With all that noise I made taking a shower in the bathroom, you still didn’t wake up. If it was really just a nap, I even squatted in front of you, how come you didn’t feel it?”
“Chen Kuang, are you very tired?” Qiao Ling couldn’t help but ask, her gaze filled with concern.
The short yet high-quality sleep made his gaze sharper and more spirited than before.
Even though he knew this was just an ordinary casual greeting from the person in front of him, it still inexplicably struck some stiff, dead spot deep inside his heart.
How long had it been since someone asked him this kind of question?
Chen Kuang wouldn’t admit it with his mouth, but in fact, every nerve in his body was telling him, full and satisfied, just how well he had slept in those brief thirty to forty minutes just now.
Quietness was one factor. On the other hand, maybe it was because of the atmosphere of this ordinary small one-bedroom apartment.
He couldn’t describe it.
It was like there was a “home” kind of smell.
At a glance, everywhere one could see traces of Qiao Ling’s love for life—not exactly tidy, but full of human warmth.
Even experiencing it firsthand, if there was a next time, letting him go back to that convenience store from a few days ago…
He would still refuse Qiao Ling’s proposal.
Because.
Qiao Ling saw he wasn’t speaking, clapped her hands as if confirming her guess, smiling as she said: “See, you really did sleep very well.”
“I already said my home is very suitable for resting. How about reconsidering… once more?”
Chen Kuang’s calm tone was suffused with a kind of mysterious oppressive force: “I’ll use the answer I said just now to answer you again.”
She recalled, “Which sentence?”
While Qiao Ling was still replaying it in her mind, the man who had been leaning against the sofa suddenly pressed down—
Chen Kuang placed his feet back on the floor, legs spreading into an open posture, completely trapping Qiao Ling within the triangular space in front of him.
He lowered his upper body in a flash.
Almost in an instant, the two of them were at a distance where their breaths crashed into each other.
Qiao Ling’s breath caught, her hand bracing against the floor behind her. When she tried to retreat, her back bumped into the edge of the coffee table.
No way to retreat.
Even though Chen Kuang was someone she had good feelings for, even though Chen Kuang and she were already considered familiar, even though she knew Chen Kuang’s character was definitely not low-grade—
But when he pressed down, she was still scared by that coercive feeling exclusive to a strong man.
This was a kind of instinct, like the relationship between rabbits and tigers or leopards on the grassland—an ingrained gender reaction.
Qiao Ling became stiff, her round eyes staring at him.
Chen Kuang just like this easily stepped across the boundary line between man and woman, yet did not go any further to actually bully her.
He stopped at this position, directly meeting the unease swaying in her eyes.
“Qiao Ling, if your older brother didn’t teach you, then I’ll tell you.”
The fresh fragrance on the girl after bathing was too close, all drilling into his ears, nose, mouth, itching him all over, making him feel out of sorts.
“Once you enter society, care less about other people’s life and death.”
Chen Kuang reached out his hand, pinched a strand of her jet-black wet hair hanging beside her ear.
Like a leopard with everything under control lifting up a rabbit’s ear.
“Don’t casually bring men into your home.”
“As long as he wants to, something will happen to you.”
“Just like this.”