He reached out and pinched her, letting out a strange cry. He grabbed her hand and brought his mouth to her neck. The porcelain white skin in the night was so alluring. Chen Yuanxing couldn't resist biting down, but he gently pecked at her with his teeth. Xiao Qiqi felt a tingling sensation spread from her neck throughout her body, and she unconsciously tensed up. Chen Yuanxing wouldn't let her curl up. He used his long legs to forcefully slip under her legs and straighten them, placing them between her thighs. He still smiled mischievously, "Sister, let's talk before we sleep."
"Speak up, but let me go first." Xiao Qiqi's resistance was weak. Her legs were tightly clamped by him, and she felt embarrassed by his exposed body, especially the strange changes in a certain area. Her head was held in his arms with one hand, while his other hand had already moved up her waist and reached into her soft breasts, gently kneading and rubbing them. Xiao Qiqi bit her lip tightly, not daring to let him hear her breathing.
"Chen Yuanxing, you're becoming more and more outrageous. You promised you wouldn't bully me." Xiao Qiqi's physical changes made her very uncomfortable, and her thick nasal voice was almost choked with sobs.
Chen Yuanxing was also suffering. What man could endure such torment every night? He was practically suffering internal injuries from holding back his emotions. He didn't care what kind of life Xiao Qiqi had lived before, what kind of infatuation she had experienced, or whether Xiao Qiqi still had feelings for him now. He only knew that he couldn't live without this woman. He wanted her, he wanted her to smile every day, he wanted to eat her cooking every day, he wanted to hold her soft body as he fell asleep at night, he wanted to cherish her, love her well, and make her happy. "I won't bully you, really."
"Then why do you say you didn't bully me? Your hand..." Xiao Qiqi curled her legs up helplessly, but he held them firmly, awkwardly feeling the increasingly hot change in a certain part of his body. "Let go of me!"
"Promise me one thing, and I'll let you go." Chen Yuanxing breathed into Xiao Qiqi's ear and spoke softly, which sent a shiver down Xiao Qiqi's spine. Overwhelmed with emotion, Xiao Qiqi gritted her teeth and hummed in agreement.
"What are the conditions?" Xiao Qiqi felt her body getting hotter and hotter. Chen Yuanxing had acted recklessly before, but he had never been so persistent as tonight.
Chen Yuanxing pulled Xiao Qiqi's hand down, from his firm abs down, "...If you help me, I'll let you go."
Xiao Qiqi's hands trembled, her fingers clenched tightly, and her voice began to tremble: "Chen... Yuanyuanxing, don't be ridiculous."
Chen Yuanxing slowly pried her fingers apart, still whispering seductively in her ear, "It'll be over soon, really." He forcefully turned her around, pressing her face against his.
"...No." Her refusal was somewhat weak. "Mmm..." She struggled, but he pressed her hand to that place that made her blush and her heart race—a hot, hard erection, the passion palpable even through her cotton underwear. Xiao Qiqi dared not move. He then guided her hand slowly inside her underwear, her fingers touching the real, fiery hardness, sticky and warm. He guided her fingers to gently knead it, slowly breaking down the surging desire.
Xiao Qiqi buried her head tightly in his firm chest, her burning face pressed against his bare skin, breathing softly. Chen Yuanxing slowly released her hand, enjoying the pleasurable sensation from her soft fingertips. Xiao Qiqi haphazardly massaged him, and Chen Yuanxing let out a muffled groan. Xiao Qiqi's hands stopped. "...What's wrong?"
Chen Yuanxing took a breath, reached out and let her fingers come together to hold his desire, and then let her gently push it, "Just move it like this, don't dig your nails in, it will hurt."
"Oh." Xiao Qiqi hummed, burying her face in his chest, but inwardly she cursed, "Why make such a fuss?"
Chen Yuanxing was breathing heavily with a groan, his hand unconsciously reaching down to knead her breasts. Xiao Qiqi's arms grew sore and numb after a while, and she couldn't help but ask, "How much longer until it's over?"
"Almost there." Chen Yuanxing hummed softly, grasping her hand and moving it quickly. "...Sister." He called Xiao Qiqi softly a few times, then pressed down on her hand, thrusting a few times before releasing his desire, which smeared Xiao Qiqi's hand with his own.
Chen Yuanxing finally released Xiao Qiqi. She climbed out of his arms, her face as red as a shrimp. She rushed to the bathroom to wash her hands, splashing cold water on her flushed face and letting out a few sighs. What was she going to do? He had already filled her entire world; getting rid of him seemed impossible. But did it really have to continue like this? Could she accept him like this? She touched her chest; her heart raced at his teasing, and she was moved by his persistence. But could that closed-off part of her heart open for him? Xiao Qiqi closed her eyes, unable to look at the radiant woman in the mirror. Could desire and emotion truly not be reconciled? If so, and she ultimately couldn't open her heart to love Chen Yuanxing, wouldn't that be irresponsible of her?
The knocking on the door startled Xiao Qiqi awake. "Sister, what's wrong?" Chen Yuanxing's worried voice came from outside the door. "...You're not crying, are you?"
"No, no!" Xiao Qiqi quickly replied, washed her hands again, and opened the door to come out.
Suddenly, Chen Yuanxing lifted her up, and Xiao Qiqi struggled, "Stop it."
"Shh!" Chen Yuanxing chuckled. "I'll carry you back. Don't make a sound, or Zhang Xiaoyi will hear you."
Xiao Qiqi glared at him angrily, but he cheerfully carried her into the house, hooked his leg to close the door, gently placed her on the bed, and carefully covered her with the blanket before crawling in himself.
Xiao Qiqi looked at his muscular skin, which glowed faintly in the dark, and was somewhat alluringly dazzling. She couldn't help but say, "Put on your pajamas."
Chen Yuanxing had already crawled in and hugged Xiao Qiqi. "I won't wear clothes anymore. I love sleeping naked. I've been so uncomfortable being forced to wear clothes to bed these past few days."
"Chen Yuanxing." Xiao Qiqi let Chen Yuanxing hold him in his arms. "Do you like me?"
Although Chen Yuanxing didn't know why she suddenly asked that question, he nodded without hesitation, "I think it can no longer be expressed as 'like,' it's 'love.'"
"Why?"
"Why?" Chen Yuanxing pondered, then chuckled, "Perhaps it's because you're both violent and prone to crying, and I'm afraid of you."
"I always hit you and I cry all the time, why don't you leave me instead of keeping an eye on me?"
"I guess I'm destined to be a masochist." Chen Yuanxing looked into Xiao Qiqi's eyes, which shone like cold stars in the darkness, and couldn't help but gently kiss her forehead. "Qiqi, sometimes there's no reason to love someone. I don't know why I fell in love with you either. By the time I understood, it was already like this, and there's nothing I can do about it."
"But I don't love you, not in the past, not now, and not in the future... I don't know."
“You will fall in love with me in the future, just as I will fall in love with you.” Chen Yuanxing continued to kiss her, from her forehead to her cheeks. “Qiqi, you will fall in love with me.”
Xiao Qiqi pushed his face away, reached out and carefully touched his bright eyes and brows, "What if I can't love you anymore in the future?"
"I will wait for you."
"What if it still doesn't work after waiting a long time?"
A hint of confusion flashed across Chen Yuanxing's face. "As long as Qiqi doesn't drive me away, I'm willing to stay like this for the rest of my life. If... if Qiqi gets tired of me one day or meets someone she loves, just tell me, and I'll leave."
"Yuanxing, why are you so good to me?" Xiao Qiqi kissed Chen Yuanxing's cheek for the first time. "I don't deserve you being so good to me."
"Don't talk about yourself like that." Chen Yuanxing pulled Xiao Qiqi's hand and pressed it to his chest. "It hurts here."
Xiao Qiqi stopped talking, rested her head against his chest, and listened to his strong heartbeat.
For many years, they never brought up the topic of love or not, trying their best to avoid the embarrassment and heartache that would follow revealing the truth.
When Chen Yuanxing woke up the next day, he was incredibly refreshed, while Xiao Qiqi felt a little embarrassed. Seeing him wandering around the room in only his briefs, she shyly looked away. Chen Yuanxing, however, seemed to be deliberately putting on his clothes slowly, one piece at a time. His long, bare legs swayed back and forth in front of Xiao Qiqi's eyes. Xiao Qiqi felt her mind filled with the strange sensations of the previous night, and a blush instantly spread across her face.
"Have you seen enough?" The person with their back to her suddenly turned around, and the wolf's head on the underwear, with an evil smile, pounced on Xiao Qiqi's eyes. "Ah!" Xiao Qiqi jumped into the quilt with a start.
"Hehe..." But then Chen Yuanxing's wicked laughter rang in her ears. The blanket was pulled back. "Get up, sister. Let's go to the supermarket to buy things."
It's the weekend. Xiao Qiqi sighed. No overtime, but she still has to spend the whole day with this guy. She lazily opened her eyes, looked into Chen Yuanxing's bright eyes, and smiled knowingly. Lying still, she said in a coquettish tone, "It's so cold, I don't want to go out."
Chen Yuanxing was stunned. He rarely heard Xiao Qiqi act coquettishly, and even less so had he seen her with such a bright and beautiful smile in the morning. His natural morning physiological reactions were stirred up again, and he couldn't help but burrow deeper into the covers, "Sister..."
Xiao Qiqi had already noticed the changes in his body. She jumped up with a "Yay!" and quickly pushed away his lunging hands. She jumped off the bed and made faces at him from a distance, which made Chen Yuanxing groan while hugging the quilt.
Xiao Qiqi gestured with her hand across her face, "Pervert!"
Chen Yuanxing grinned smugly, yanked back the covers, pointed to his underwear, and said, "The pervert is here." Xiao Qiqi's face flushed red again, and she ran out as if fleeing.
Happy days seemed to have begun. Xiao Qiqi didn't realize that she was smiling more and more often, and her mood was incomparably lighter than it had been a year or so ago. With her work going smoothly, she was already able to take on projects independently and run them successfully. The company's bonuses were linked to performance, and by the end of the year, Xiao Qiqi received a large sum of project commissions, a joy far surpassing the feeling of being unemployed during the Spring Festival last year.
Now, Xiao Qiqi has naturally accepted Chen Yuanxing's presence, occasionally sitting obediently in his lap, listening to his idle chatter, but their relationship refuses to progress further. Perhaps it's a psychological shadow, perhaps a deep-seated resistance, or something else, but no matter how Chen Yuanxing pleads and cajoles, she'll only help him with her hands at most, refusing to budge until the very last step. Chen Yuanxing knows she has some inner conflict, so he patiently and slowly tempts her, even learning different ways to seduce her. When pushed too far, Xiao Qiqi's temper flares up; regardless of the weather, she'll jump out of bed and refuse to sleep. Chen Yuanxing has no choice but to let her be, no longer using every means to force Xiao Qiqi to submit, but he's already plotting something. (The inherent weakness of men)
30. Buying tickets
"Qiqi, are you really going home?" Chen Yuanxing held Xiao Qiqi on his lap and tickled her pink face with his unshaven beard. Xiao Qiqi went online to check train tickets home and pushed his face away. "Don't be silly. I didn't go home for Chinese New Year last year, and my brother is also in the south this year and can't go back. I have to go home for Chinese New Year no matter what."
Chen Yuanxing buried his face in Xiao Qiqi's exposed neck, "Waaah, Qiqi, what am I going to do all by myself?"
Xiao Qiqi turned around, picked up his head, and looked at him carefully. "Let's go home, okay?"
"No!" He shook his head resolutely.
Xiao Qiqi tugged at his stubble, "There are no bad parents in the world. Your parents must be looking forward to your coming home for the New Year. Have you contacted them these past few months?" Chen Yuanxing didn't answer, so Xiao Qiqi tapped his forehead, "Childish! You don't know how worried your parents are about you!"
"Don't worry, they're doing fine." Chen Yuanxing stubbornly insisted. He knew that his parents had called Zhou Zijian to ask about his situation, but he just wouldn't back down. Wouldn't it be too embarrassing to go back and let them do whatever they wanted?
"You've been spoiled by your parents since you were little. Be good, go home for the New Year, and have a nice talk with your parents. They've definitely forgiven you by now. Just apologize, wouldn't that be better?"
"No, no," Chen Yuanxing pleaded. "I want to spend the New Year with you, please don't go back."
"No way!" Xiao Qiqi wrote down the train number. "I'm going to buy a ticket." She jumped off his lap, put on her clothes, and suddenly smiled. It was a red down jacket that Chen Yuanxing had bought for her last winter.
"You can still laugh? I'm so annoyed." Chen Yuanxing rested his chin on the table, looking at Xiao Qiqi's beautiful smiling face. An idea flashed through his mind, his eyes narrowed, and he jumped up. "I heard there's a really long line to buy tickets. You're a woman, how can you squeeze past those burly men? I'll go buy them for you."
Xiao Qiqi turned her head and smiled slightly, "Okay, let's go together."
"Okay." Chen Yuanxing put on his clothes, put his arm around Xiao Qiqi's shoulder, and said, "Baby, let's go!"
"Stop being disgusting!" Xiao Qiqi pushed his hand away, and the two of them laughed and walked towards the ticket booth.
Tickets went on sale at 7 a.m., and they left an hour early. When they arrived at the ticket office, there was already a long queue stretching several times. Xiao Qiqi was stunned. She hadn't gone home for the Spring Festival last year and had only seen exaggerated complaints online about how difficult it was to buy tickets and go home for the New Year, but she hadn't expected it to be this difficult.
Xiao Qiqi looked worried, but Chen Yuanxing was overjoyed. He put his arm around Xiao Qiqi and walked away, saying, "Let's go back, let's go back. No need to queue anymore. Even if we queue, we won't be able to buy any. We're not going home for the New Year, haha."
"I want you to smile." Xiao Qiqi reached out and pinched his smug smiling face. "You're all scruffy and look like a wild man."
"How about a savage companion for the New Year, with free striptease and singing performances?"
"Go away!" Xiao Qiqi pushed him and quickly moved to the very end of the line. "If you're impatient, go back. I'll wait by myself."
Chen Yuanxing had no choice but to listlessly wait in line with Xiao Qiqi, sighing and looking around nervously, his body practically slumped against hers as if he had no bones. Xiao Qiqi, annoyed, pushed his head away: "Can't you be serious for once?"
"I'm serious. Look, there's a beautiful woman over there." He suddenly straightened up, his eyes shining as he stared intently at the first few people in the queue across the street. Xiao Qiqi followed his gaze and indeed saw a tall, stunningly beautiful woman. Her eyes were watery and naturally exuded a kind of charm, while her lips and nose were pure and straight. She had a pure yet alluring look. Xiao Qiqi's heart skipped a beat; this style was quite similar to Xu Chun's. Chen Yuanxing glanced at Xiao Qiqi's strange expression and became even more smug. He released Xiao Qiqi's hand and whispered, "Sister, do you believe me? I hooked up with that beautiful woman before tickets even went on sale."
Xiao Qiqi knew his carefree and irresponsible nature. Suppressing her aversion to the familiar and alluring beauty, she tilted her chin up and looked at him defiantly. Chen Yuanxing understood Xiao Qiqi's meaning, snapped his fingers, and strode away.
Xiao Qiqi ignored him and took out her phone to call Jiang Yilan, asking if Jiang Yilan and Zhao Xi had bought tickets to return to Zhao Xi's hometown. Jiang Yilan responded with a coquettish hum, saying that Zhao Xi had bought plane tickets, so they wouldn't be taking the train. Xiao Qiqi chuckled and scolded her a few times for being bourgeois, then teased her about going to meet her in-laws. Jiang Yilan retorted that she should take Chen Yuanxing home. Xiao Qiqi, already unable to distance herself from Chen Yuanxing, only warned Jiang Yilan not to gossip when she called her mother. The two chatted and laughed for over half an hour, and Xiao Qiqi checked her watch; it was still more than ten minutes to seven. Peeking out to look for Chen Yuanxing, she finally spotted his tall figure, now squeezed next to a glamorous woman, whispering something. The woman had lost her initial aloofness; she looked up at Chen Yuanxing as she spoke, her eyes radiating a captivating allure.
Xiao Qiqi felt inexplicably annoyed and had just cursed "bad guy" when Chen Yuanxing seemed to sense it and looked up, secretly giving her a flirtatious wink. Xiao Qiqi couldn't help but smile. Looking at him from afar, his unshaven face made him look even more mature. His peach blossom eyes, now combined with the stubble, appeared much more composed. Xiao Qiqi stared at him, pouting thoughtfully, unaware that he also had a reserved side.
Soon the line began to move. Xiao Qiqi looked at the ant-like, wriggling line that stretched out like a snake in several circles and couldn't help but sigh. The chances of getting a ticket were almost nil.
Sure enough, only a dozen minutes later, after walking just a few steps, she heard people ahead of her shouting and cursing that all the tickets were sold out! Xiao Qiqi stared wide-eyed in disbelief. "No way, so fast?" she thought. She checked her watch: 7:13. A group of disgruntled people had already surrounded the ticket window, swelling up like cotton candy. Xiao Qiqi watched in horror as the swarm of people gathered, shouting and arguing, not knowing what to do.
Chen Yuanxing finally managed to squeeze out of the crowd, wiped the sweat from his forehead, stuffed one ticket into his pocket, and held up the other, jumping in front of the dazed Xiao Qiqi. Xiao Qiqi was startled, "Where did you run off to?" But her eyes followed the pink ticket, "Wow, a ticket home!" In her excitement, she jumped onto Chen Yuanxing, hugged his neck, and kissed him on the cheek.
Chen Yuanxing was involuntarily pushed back a step by her, and in surprise, he hugged Xiao Qiqi to prevent her from falling. "Baby, don't do it here, let's go home and be intimate."
Xiao Qiqi was overjoyed and hugged his neck tightly, ignoring his glib tongue. "Xingxing, how did you get the tickets?"
"Don't call me Xingxing." Chen Yuanxing was speechless. He had always hated being called "gorilla" since he was a child.
"Chen Yuanxing." Another beautiful face suddenly appeared before him. Chen Yuanxing smirked, "Liu Mei, you got your ticket too, right?"
Xiao Qiqi jumped off Chen Yuanxing's arms and turned around to look behind her. It was the same beautiful woman Chen Yuanxing had been flirting with. She quickly realized Chen Yuanxing's trick and secretly pinched his hand. Chen Yuanxing winced in pain, pinched her back, but a strange smile still lingered on his lips. "Hehe..."
Liu Mei's alluring eyes dimmed noticeably as she held up the ticket in her hand. "Yes, I got it. Are you still going to the bar you mentioned earlier?"
Chen Yuanxing glanced at Xiao Qiqi's expression, which seemed unchanged, but he still said somewhat awkwardly, "Well, it's not convenient today. Let's do it another day. I'll call you another day."
A hint of resentment flashed across Liu Mei's face as she sized up Xiao Qiqi, a disdainful smile playing on her lips: "Your girlfriend?"
Xiao Qiqi was annoyed by her gaze, pinched Chen Yuanxing's palm, and said defiantly, "I'm not going today, and I'm never going again." Then she grabbed Chen Yuanxing and pulled him away, saying fiercely, "Let's go home!"
Chen Yuanxing made a face, turned around and smiled apologetically at Liu Mei, waved, and ran off with Xiao Qiqi, leaving Liu Mei looking furious.
Back home, Xiao Qiqi put away her train ticket and started packing her things for the trip. Chen Yuanxing sat in a chair and looked at her. "You were fine just now, why are you angry again?"
"Where am I angry!" Xiao Qiqi disliked Liu Mei. Looking into her alluring eyes felt like a thorn in her side, just like Xu Chun's eyes!
Chen Yuanxing ran over and hugged her. "Qiqi, you just praised me for getting you a ticket. I was just talking to her and cutting in line. Otherwise, how could I have gotten a ticket?"
Although Xiao Qiqi knew he was right, she still couldn't help but get angry and said sullenly, "I didn't say you were wrong."
Chen Yuanxing pressed his hands on either side of her head, staring intently at her, and smiled, "You're not angry because she's pretty, are you?"
"I'm not!"
"That means he's jealous!" Chen Yuanxing said with a smug grin.
In her anxiety, fearing he might misunderstand, Xiao Qiqi couldn't help but tell the truth, "I just think she looks like Xu Chun."
Chen Yuanxing quickly let go of her hand, and his smile became less natural. Xiao Qiqi was unaware that he already knew about her past entanglement with Xia Xuan and Xu Chun, and she breathed a sigh of relief at how easily she had dismissed his questions.
While Xiao Qiqi was tidying up inside, Chen Yuanxing was relaxing on the sofa outside watching TV with Zhang Xiaoyi. A little while later, Chen Yuanxing ran in and said, "Qiqi, Zhang Xiaoyi said she's not coming to BeiX after the New Year; she wants to cancel the lease."
"That's fine, you can sleep in that room then."