Hot, scalding breaths, their lips and tongues becoming numb from kissing.
Xu You was dazed, losing her sense of sight and hearing, her soft hands finding their way to his waist.
Xie Ci paused his movements, pulling back slightly.
As the pressure on Xu You’s body suddenly decreased, her eyes slowly opened. Her black pupils were moist with a cool gleam, like an obedient, gentle cat, asking confusedly: “What’s wrong…”
The sight made him parched, his lower abdomen tightening.
Before she could react, Xie Ci leaned in again, deepening their previous kiss like a fierce storm.
“Xu You…” He called her name as if calling for her soul. He tilted his head to bite her earlobe, then traced kisses back to her lips.
Their tongues intertwined deeply, and with each turn of their deep kisses, his eyelashes would tremble slightly.
She raised her hands to wrap around Xie Ci’s neck. The sound of their kissing and the sweet mingling of their breaths filled her ears. The lingering fragrance in their mouths made her salivate.
Without realizing it, his cool fingers slipped under her sweater, fingertips touching her warm, delicate skin, gradually moving upward over her smooth, creamy skin, searching to undo her bra clasp.
The sudden coolness made Xu You shiver involuntarily, goosebumps rising on her back and arms. Although she was lost in the kiss, she now realized what Xie Ci was doing. Her face suddenly burned red, her pure white ears flushing.
“Don’t… don’t.” Xu You gradually came to her senses, frightened and struggling slightly, trying to escape his restraint.
Fuck.
Xie Ci suddenly got up, cursing under his breath.
He frowned deeply, taking deep breaths and clenching his teeth. He opened the car door beside him and got out to cool down.
The car door was slammed shut with a loud ‘bang’, making Xu You jump in her seat. She blushed as she pulled down her clothes, quickly reaching behind to refasten her bra.
Xie Ci leaned against the car, holding a cigarette between his lips and lighting it. He turned his face away to catch the wind, the bone-chilling cold air hitting his face, but the burning desire in his heart hadn’t subsided one bit, threatening to spread like wildfire.
No… this won’t do. If they continued, he wouldn’t be able to control what he might do.
The thin smoke was blown away, Xie Ci bit down on the cigarette, his pupils dark and bottomless.
The cold night was cloudy with no moon in sight, the air filled with the faint smell of spent fireworks and firecrackers. The weak fire light made his silhouette appear and disappear. After a long time, he hadn’t moved from his position, showing no reaction.
Xu You sat in the car looking out, closing her eyes in frustration and knocking her forehead with the back of her hand. Just thinking about what had just happened made her embarrassed.
She felt anxious and after a while, couldn’t help but text Xie Ci:
[You have a cold, come back quickly, it’s cold outside.]
After a moment, her phone vibrated.
He replied:
—[Are you sure?]
Xu You sent him another message.
…..stop standing in the wind.
After thinking about it, she deleted it character by character.
She was still carefully considering her response when she received another message:
—[Want to do it in the car?]
Xu You: ……
After a while, Xu You hung her head, staring blankly at her knees. Suddenly, the right door was pulled open and cold wind blew in. She turned her head in surprise.
They stared at each other for a long time. He lowered his head, his bangs falling forward.
Xu You: ?
Xie Ci supported himself on the car frame with one hand, wearing a black jacket. He leaned forward, bending slightly, his cool lips touching the corner of her mouth, “Let me hold you for a while.”
Xu You seemed bewitched. When she came to her senses, she was already in his embrace.
The passenger seat was spacious, and since she was small, it wasn’t too cramped, just awkward and embarrassing. She couldn’t sit up straight, and leaning back would make her touch his chest. Xu You sat uncomfortably, with the warm air hitting her face, she turned her head and said very carefully to Xie Ci: “Let me get down… don’t you think I’m heavy?”
Xie Ci propped his head up, holding her wrist with one hand, his voice hoarse: “Don’t move around.”
“…..” Xu You turned her face. Her cheeks were fresh, her skin translucent, with soft fine down visible under the warm yellow light.
His gaze lazily moved upward to meet her eyes. After another moment, Xie Ci suddenly asked: “Do you… know what a hickey is?”
Xu You: …….
Xie Ci’s lips curved up, his pale thin lips looking tempting.
He casually leaned to her ear and asked: “Want me to give you one?”
“—No.”
Before she could finish refusing, his arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her into his embrace. It was clearly premeditated.
Xie Ci pulled down her loose sweater collar, and the moment her snow-white shoulder blade was almost exposed, it was dazzling enough to make one lose their mind.
He sighed softly and pressed his lips against it to suck.
So soft and fragrant and sweet.
Humans are truly creatures of desire and pleasure.
After all the earlier excitement, by late night, Xu You couldn’t stay awake anymore and dozed off in the car, her sleep unstable between dreams and waking. Chen Xiu Yun usually woke up at six, so Xu You had to time it to go up at five thirty.
Later, Xie Ci woke her up.
To avoid disturbing her sleep, the car’s warm yellow interior light was turned off. Outside was still dark, with a crescent moon hanging in the dark blue sky.
After staying in one position for so long, her left leg had gone numb. Xu You opened her eyes groggily, rubbing them, and when she suddenly moved, the muscle pain and numbness made her whimper softly.
Xie Ci glanced at her.
“My leg’s numb…” she said, then hissed again, biting her lip.
Xie Ci laughed, leaning on the steering wheel to look at her, “Want me to massage it?”
“No.” Xu You raised her arm to block his reaching hand, waiting it out herself.
The car was very quiet. He raised his eyebrows slightly and asked: “Can you come out today?”
“…Today?” she hesitated.
Xie Ci made an “mm” sound and said: “Have dinner with my friends.”
After going upstairs, Xu You carefully opened the door. The house was pitch black and quiet, her parents weren’t up yet. She carefully put her keys at the entrance, not daring to turn on the lights, and felt her way to her room in the dark.
Though she had been very sleepy earlier, somehow she couldn’t sleep now. After sitting at the foot of her bed spacing out for a while, letting some time pass, Xu You got up, took some clothes from her wardrobe and went to the bathroom to shower.
When she came out after drying her hair, Chen Xiu Yun was already making breakfast in the kitchen. She looked at Xu You in surprise, “Why are you taking a shower so early in the morning?”
Xu You threw her dirty clothes in the washing machine, looking down as she said: “I woke up sweaty, it was uncomfortable.”
At the dining table, Xu’s father suddenly asked, “By the way, when does Chai start school?”
“In five days.”
“That’s soon.” Chen Xiu Yun calculated, “Have you finished your homework?”
Xu You lowered her head to drink porridge, making an affirmative sound. She ate quickly, cleaned up the dishes, and suddenly said: “Can I go out with classmates today?”
Xu’s father was reading the newspaper, his gaze casually scanning as he asked: “Which classmates?”
“Former classmates from my class.”
“Have you finished the study materials I bought you?”
Xu You just remembered and stayed silent. Xu’s father’s brows furrowed.
Chen Xiu Yun quickly said from the side, “It’s okay, let Chai go out for a day, she’s been doing homework at home these past few days, and she’ll be starting school again in a few days.”
Xu’s father frowned but didn’t speak.
Xu You lowered her head like she had done something wrong, and after a while said: “Then maybe I won’t go…”
Seeing her like this, Xu’s father turned another page of his newspaper, and after a long time finally said, “Come back early.”
Xie Ci’s fever hadn’t gone down, and since he didn’t want to go to the hospital, they found a small clinic instead.
The doctor was an elderly man who examined Xie Ci for a while and said it was just a normal fever and cold, two IV drips would be enough.
A young nurse went to the back room to prepare the medicine, and the elderly doctor took off his reading glasses, looking Xie Ci up and down, “Young man, it’s so cold outside, and you’re wearing so little, no wonder you have a fever.”
“For looks, grandpa,” he smiled mischievously.
The elderly doctor frowned, muttering, “A boy being so particular about appearance…”
Xie Ci: “Had to look good for a date with my girlfriend.”
Xu You had been listening and trying not to laugh, until the doctor turned his disapproving gaze to her. Her smile froze, and she quickly pulled him to sit in a chair nearby.
“Why are you saying random things to others?” She was slightly annoyed.
“What random things?”
“About dates and such…”
“Isn’t it true?”
Xu You’s eyes widened slightly, almost believing him: “You really wore so little just to… look good…?”
Xie Ci watched her expression with amusement, “I’ve been using my good looks to seduce you all along, haven’t you noticed?”
The clinic had the heater on, and a small TV was playing crosstalk comedy.
The young nurse came over to set up Xie Ci’s IV drip and gave him a small hot water bottle to warm his hands. She adjusted the drip rate with her thumb on the roller, and before leaving, instructed Xu You: “Call me when this bottle is almost finished.”
Xie Ci hadn’t slept all night and was now drowsy, resting his head on Xu You’s shoulder to catch up on sleep.
In the end, Xu You’s shoulder went numb, but she still didn’t push him away.
With nothing to do, she took out an unfinished workbook and placed it on her lap, writing with her right hand. She occasionally looked up to check how much medicine was left.
Beside them was a slightly plump middle-aged woman also getting an IV. She was bored and talked to everyone around. When it was Xu You’s turn, she asked in not-quite-standard Mandarin: “Little girl, are you still in school?”
Xu You nodded.
“Studying is so hard, are you in twelfth grade?”
She smiled shyly, “Eleventh grade.”
“Oh my, almost twelfth grade, my daughter is about your age.”
The woman had rather conservative thoughts and gave Xu You a complex look, “At this age, dating really wastes time.”
Xu You appeared calm and composed, able to study even in this setting, clearly different from Xie Ci beside her.
After a while, the woman asked again: “How long have you been dating?”
Xu You smiled with pressed lips, didn’t reply, just shook her head.
“Don’t waste your life on these things.”
Xie Ci woke up not long after, saying he was thirsty.
Xu You put her book aside and got up to pour him some warm water.
He had a lazy look like he hadn’t fully woken up, at first showing no reaction, but after a while he couldn’t help but frown and say, “So bitter.”
“What?” She didn’t hear clearly.
“There’s a weird taste in my mouth, so bitter.”
“That’s normal.”
Xu You found a lollipop in her pocket, lowered her head, and patiently unwrapped it and put it in his mouth, “Suck on this.”
With the lollipop in his mouth, he asked unclearly: “Why do you have candy?”
She was quiet for a moment, “Brought it from home.”
“For me?”
“Mm.”
For lunch, Song Yi Fan had booked a private room and sent the address to Xie Ci. It was a place they often went to.
There were many people inside, and when the two of them entered, everyone was stunned for a moment. They looked at each other, then quickly recovered, greeting Xie Ci with laughs.
“Why are there so many people?”
Xie Ci reached out and forcefully pushed Song Yi Fan’s head, “How many people did you invite?”
Song Yi Fan was playing cards, and when his head was pushed, he couldn’t help but cry out “ouch”, looking back guiltily, “I don’t know either… at first I just called a few… who knew.”
Who knew that more and more people would be called, even some tenth graders came. But Song Yi Fan thought, the more people the merrier, so he just let it be.
“What’s wrong? Afraid the crowd will disturb your romance?”
“Fuck off.”
Xie Ci frowned.
He couldn’t say why, but he just didn’t want to bring Xu You out to be seen by those unimportant people from before.
Anyway, whenever others stared at Xu You, he became extremely irritated.
Li Jie Yi didn’t understand, but he couldn’t be bothered to care, yawning: “Ci, help me play a round, I’m about to lose everything.”
Xie Ci had just gotten his IV and wasn’t feeling well, so he directly refused.
“When are we eating?” he asked.
“Later, probably around 5 or 6.”
“I need to sleep for a while.”
Song Yi Fan casually pointed, “There’s a room inside, you can go there.”
Xu You sat beside Fu Xue Li talking. They must have said something funny because she laughed softly.
“Do you like sweets? I just bought some on the way here,” Fu Xue Li pushed over a plate of delicate desserts.
She propped her chin with her hand, saying boredly: “I originally bought them with Xu Xing Chun, but then Song Yi Fan called us for dinner, hahaha stood him up again.”
Xu You asked: “Ah? Is the class monitor okay?”
Fu Xue Li was quite proud, “It’s fine.”
After all, it wasn’t the first or second time.
“Try it quickly, see if it’s good,” she urged Xu You.
“What is this?”
“Mango pancake, have you had it before?”
Xu You shook her head, “No.”
When she took a bite, it was full of cream with a hint of mango fragrance.
Xu You liked sweets, so she could accept it. She used the plastic fork to pick up small pieces and put them in her mouth.
“You You, is Xu Xing Chun still the class monitor in your class?”
“Mm.” Xu You nodded, “The teacher chose him.”
Fu Xue Li understood, “He’s been class monitor since we were little, our middle school teachers really liked him too.”
Just as they were talking, someone pulled her arm.
Xu You turned her head. Xie Ci stood to the side, his face flushed, eyes moist as he looked at her.
Xie Ci looked weary, lowering his eyes and saying lazily, “Come sleep with me.”
?
……
Fu Xue Li said, “Just go by yourself.”
“Come on.” Xie Ci said, not letting go of Xu You’s hand.
“Where?” Xu You was puzzled.
“Next door, there’s a place to sleep.”
“…………”
“Ci, are you a three-year-old? Need someone to accompany you to sleep?” Someone nearby saw this scene and teased.
Xie Ci wasn’t feeling well and didn’t want to say a word more, too lazy to respond to anyone.
Watching him half-drag half-pull Xu You away, Fu Xue Li was speechless.
Does this person need to be so possessive? He’s just like Xu Xing Chun. But dating is also troublesome, there’s no freedom at all…
A girl came over to ask, “Is this Xie Ci’s new girlfriend? How long have they been dating?”
Fu Xue Li lowered her head to play with her phone, honestly saying: “I don’t know when they got together either.”
“Feels like Xie Ci is ready to settle down.”
“Settle down my ass, you think this is a romance novel?” Another person said: “Xie Ci has always liked this type, you know, the female academic type. It was the same with Qiu Qing Qing before, but in the end…”
The words trailed off, stopped by a friend’s pat on the shoulder.
Xu You’s expression remained very calm, as if she hadn’t heard anything. She nodded to them in acknowledgment, picked up her forgotten book, and left.
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