Zhou Yinghuai breathed heavily, his thin lips parting as he spoke in a low, hoarse voice, “Or is it here?”
Each word chipped away at her sense of shame bit by bit.
Her head was dizzy, her cheeks flushed with a rosy hue, her fair skin tinged with a faint pink. Those captivating peach-blossom eyes of hers were filled with accusation, as if blaming him for presenting her with such a difficult choice.
Cheng Fangqiu swayed as she stood up, her bare feet barely touching the ground before she stumbled and fell onto him. She muttered something under her breath, though it was hard to make out, but it certainly wasn’t anything nice.
Finally, she simply straddled his legs, silent but stubbornly working to undo his belt.
It seemed she had already made her choice.
The veins on Zhou Yinghuai’s neck bulged slightly due to her series of actions, and his Adam’s apple bobbed repeatedly. Yet, he didn’t move, allowing her to clumsily undo his pants.
He lazily leaned back against the sofa, thoroughly enjoying this moment. His long, thick eyelashes fluttered comfortably, but the next second, his eyes snapped open.
At some point, she had slid to the floor, sitting on his pants and shirt. He wasn’t concerned about whether it was dirty or not, but rather, why was she using her mouth to…
Before he could figure it out, she suddenly spat it out and then burst into tears without warning, sobbing uncontrollably, crying as if her heart was breaking.
“It tastes awful, wuwuwu.”
Seeing this, Zhou Yinghuai’s face darkened. He reached out, scooped her up, and held her in his arms. His thumb gently wiped away the tears on her face, but her eyes were like small springs, continuously welling up with more.
“I didn’t let you eat…”
Zhou Yinghuai was momentarily stunned, his mind flashing back to the fleeting yet exquisite sensation from earlier. He froze for a rare moment before quickly changing the subject. “Be good, don’t cry.”
“But I’m uncomfortable,” she said, her eyes red at the corners, swaying her slender waist and rubbing against him, stirring up heat.
Zhou Yinghuai didn’t dare provoke this little ancestor any further. He held her waist, adjusted their position, and obediently worked to ease her discomfort.
The room was still unlit, but the moonlight shone brightly, casting its glow over the two figures entangled in a desperate embrace, creating an overwhelmingly intimate scene.
The sofa had limited space, forcing the two to press as close as possible. She was backed into a corner, her waist so soft it seemed it could bend at any angle. Their noses touched, and he tilted his head to bite her red lips.
Her long, curled eyelashes trembled, and her lips glistened with moisture, slightly swollen from the intensity of the kisses.
She was like the rose outside the window, unable to withstand the assault of the wind, becoming wilted.
Zhou Yinghuai’s calloused fingertips kneaded the pink peaks, making them stand even firmer.
By the time it was over, the sky outside was gradually tinged with the colors of dawn.
Fortunately, he had bought two extra thermoses earlier, so there was hot water available at home. Otherwise, they would have wasted time boiling water.
Although the new sofa had clothes laid over it, it was still left in a complete mess. Zhou Yinghuai merely glanced at it before carrying the woman, who had fallen into a deep sleep, to the bedroom. He carefully cleaned her up and then went back to tidy the sofa and himself.
Some of the stickiness had already dried. Zhou Yinghuai rinsed it off with warm water several times, but throughout the process, his face showed no trace of impatience. Instead, he looked relaxed and content, clearly in a good mood.
After cleaning the sofa, Zhou Yinghuai carried the hot water toward the bathroom. As he passed the mirror, he caught a glimpse of something out of the corner of his eye and suddenly stopped. He raised his hand to touch the deep bite mark on his shoulder. It stung a little, but a faint smile flickered in his eyes.
His mind couldn’t help but recall the scene of a certain bold woman sitting astride him, declaring that she was going to “leave her mark” on him.
Tsk, getting drunk once in a while doesn’t seem so bad after all.
—
“I can’t do it anymore.”
“Be good, just a little more.”
“No!”
Cheng Fangqiu suddenly opened her eyes and frantically looked around. The familiar layout of the bedroom came into view. The curtains were tightly drawn, not letting in a single ray of light, making the room feel dim.
There was no terrifying pink-purple hue, nor was there that man who always knew how to bewitch her.
She let out a sigh of relief and slowly sat up in bed. As soon as she moved, she felt something was off with her body—her head was heavy, her back and waist ached, and a certain place felt sore and swollen…
Cheng Fangqiu regretted everything. While it had felt good in the moment, waking up was nothing but discomfort.
Her cheeks flushed slightly as she rubbed her waist with one hand and her temple with the other. She couldn’t help but mutter angrily, “Jerk!”
Just then, the bedroom door creaked open as someone pushed it from the outside. A certain “jerk” appeared at the doorway. She guiltily shrank into the blankets but then remembered her current “miserable state” and glared at him with righteous indignation.
Zhou Yinghuai was dressed in a neat work outfit today, looking tall, sharp, and refreshed.
The contrast between their states was like night and day.
He had clearly heard her earlier curse. His footsteps paused, and then he raised an eyebrow slightly, walking step by step to the bedside and sitting down beside her. He made a move to pull back the blanket.
“Let me see how much of a jerk I was.”
Cheng Fangqiu hadn’t expected him to be so shameless. She panicked and clutched the blanket, using her other hand to push him away. “Get out! I’m not dressed yet.”
“Alright, I’ll stop joking. I bought some medicine to apply for you.” Seeing her defensive expression, Zhou Yinghuai’s face showed a hint of helpless amusement. He decided not to tease her further and got straight to the point.
Cheng Fangqiu eyed him suspiciously up and down. It wasn’t until he magically pulled out a tube of ointment that she finally relaxed her tense body. But she still couldn’t help muttering, “Zhou Yinghuai, you took advantage of me yesterday!”
“I was wrong,” he apologized quickly, stretching out a long arm to pull her, blanket and all, into his embrace. He leaned close to her ear and repeated in a low voice, “Wife, I was wrong.”
His tone was lazy yet magnetic, and the word “wife” carried a scorching warmth that seemed to seep deep into her heart.
“Don’t get so close to me. I’m not falling for this.” Despite her words, she didn’t push him away.
Zhou Yinghuai’s lips curved into a smile. He whispered a few soothing words, and when he saw her relax, he seized the opportunity to say, “The doctor said to apply the ointment on my fingers and then… insert them to apply the medicine.”
“Why did you ask the doctor about that?!” Cheng Fangqiu wanted to crawl into a hole just thinking about it.
“Well, if I’m buying medicine, I have to ask how to use it, right?”
Cheng Fangqiu couldn’t refute that. She could only look up at the ceiling, wishing for some peace and quiet. But then his voice sounded in her ear again, “Qiuqiu, I’ve already washed my hands.”
The implication was clear—he wanted to help her apply it and was prepared to do so.
Cheng Fangqiu instinctively wanted to refuse, but he added, “Can you apply it properly yourself? If you want to do it yourself, I’ll go get you some water.”
Thoughtful and considerate, he handed the choice over to her.
Cheng Fangqiu clenched the blanket tightly. Aside from when she was bathing, she had never touched herself there, let alone inserted anything. She couldn’t imagine the scenario. Rather than doing it herself, it might as well be him—after all, he’d been there plenty of times already.
At this thought, she unconsciously swallowed and then whispered softly, “You do it.”
After saying this, she lifted a corner of the blanket.
The summer blanket was thin, and she used it to cover her upper body, leaving her long legs exposed, slightly bent.
Zhou Yinghuai knelt halfway by the bed, carefully spreading a thick layer of milky-white ointment onto his slender fingers with a serious expression.
Cheng Fangqiu’s cheeks flushed with a hint of redness. Too shy to look at him, she simply turned her head away.
Perhaps sensing her shyness, he remained silent, quietly moving closer to her. With every inch he advanced, the mattress sank a little deeper, and her heart grew more nervous.
The coolness of the ointment paired with his fiery fingers didn’t feel like applying medicine at all—it was more like an indescribable, intimate game.
By the time it was over, Cheng Fangqiu’s head was already buried in the pillow out of sheer embarrassment.
“The food is ready. Shall we eat now?”
“I don’t want to get out of bed,” she mumbled, lifting half her face from the pillow, her voice muffled.
Zhou Yinghuai chuckled softly, then used his clean hand to gently stroke her hair. “Alright,” he said tenderly.
For the past two days, out of consideration for her shyness and their lack of experience, their intimacy had been satisfying but not fully indulgent. Last night, however, was different. Although she had been coquettishly whimpering the entire time, her boldness had reached new heights.
Naturally, it had been more intense and indulgent than ever before.
Seeing her listless state, Zhou Yinghuai felt a pang of guilt and regret for last night’s recklessness. He lowered his eyes slightly, placed the ointment in the bedside drawer, and then got up to leave the bedroom to wash his hands.
While cooking earlier, he had boiled water again, and now it was just the right temperature. After mixing the hot water with cold to make it warm, he grabbed her toiletries and returned to the bedroom to help her freshen up.
Cheng Fangqiu was initially quite embarrassed, but once she got used to it, she let Zhou Yinghuai take over.
Who could resist a handsome man in uniform fussing over her?
Worried that the bedroom might retain a strong smell, he left the door open.
Through the wide-open door, Cheng Fangqiu caught a glimpse of the bright sunlight outside. Suddenly remembering something, her pupils dilated slightly as she asked, “What time is it now?”
Zhou Yinghuai glanced at his watch. “4:13 PM.”
“Ahhh!” Cheng Fangqiu let out a scream. “I promised Qiqi we’d go to the tailor’s shop today.”
Zhou Yinghuai thought it was something serious. Calmly, he scooped up a spoonful of eggs, blew on it to cool it down, and brought it to her lips. Then he explained, “Chang Yan’an came early this morning. He said Comrade Xu got drunk last night too, so they moved the appointment to tomorrow.”
Only then did Cheng Fangqiu remember that both she and Xu Qiqi had drunk quite a bit. She nodded, “That’s good.”
After saying this, she opened her mouth and ate the eggs Zhou Yinghuai fed her. With her mouth full, her words came out a bit muffled, “What about you? When did you go to the hospital?”
“Around noon. I also stopped by the supply and marketing cooperative to buy groceries and made a call at the post office.”
She had been sleeping soundly and hadn’t noticed a thing.
“Oh, right. My parents said they’d like to have a word with you over the phone.”
“Hmm?” Cheng Fangqiu instinctively agreed, but when she processed what he had said, she nearly choked on the eggs. She coughed violently, and Zhou Yinghuai quickly handed her a glass of water.
After gulping down half the glass, she finally caught her breath.
“What?” Cheng Fangqiu’s beautiful eyes widened in shock. Her in-laws wanted to talk to her? So suddenly!
She wasn’t prepared for this—no, she had never prepared for this. She had originally thought it would be a long time before she had to deal with her in-laws, but she had forgotten that even though they lived far away and couldn’t meet in person, there was still the option of phone calls.
Now, suddenly being informed of this news by Zhou Yinghuai, she felt both panicked and nervous.
“My parents won’t eat you, don’t be scared.”