Late at night. The bedroom curtains weren’t fully drawn, leaving a thin gap. The moon hung high in the sky, its pure light sneaking through the gap, casting several silvery beams. These soft rays instantly dispersed the darkness in the room. At the foot of the bed, where darkness couldn’t reach, half of the dark gray blanket had fallen to the floor. Two pairs of legs of slightly different shades were intertwined, and the bed creaked from the intense movement.
The room was filled with an indescribable heated atmosphere. After some time, following a muffled groan, everything gradually quieted down. Yan Cheng buried his face in Chen Jinyao’s collarbone, motionless. Soon after, the room returned to stillness.
As consciousness slowly returned, Chen Jinyao felt like her entire body had fallen apart. She had no energy left, her cheeks still flushed. Her unfocused pupils stared at the ceiling above, though it was pitch black and nothing could be seen clearly.
Memories from her blackout came flooding back in fragments, playing back the key moments. The saying that women are more likely to lose control when drunk wasn’t without reason. Alcohol had stripped away her usual calm composure. As Yan Cheng had said, she had smiled at everyone while drunk, grinning like an idiot. But that wasn’t the main issue. The key point was… she was the instigator who led events to this point. In short, she was the one who initiated everything.
The detailed sequence of events… First, everything was normal at Er Guan, they even maintained polite behavior because Shao Chongsi and Chai Yue were there. They stayed in the private room for over an hour. Finally, unable to resist the fatigue from a busy day’s work, Chen Jinyao was both drunk and tired. Yawning, she rested her head on Yan Cheng’s shoulder, half-closing her eyes drowsily, almost crying from exhaustion.
Then, Yan Cheng suggested they should head back, though it was still early before the nightclub closed. He woke her up and said goodbye to Shao Chongsi and the others. They left Er Guan properly through the east entrance. Before leaving, they encountered the club manager. Yan Cheng seemed to remember something after the manager respectfully called him “Boss.” Just as they were about to pass each other, he suddenly called out to him. Looking down at the wine stains remaining on his coat, he frowned and said, “Are you in charge of the part-time staff? Fire anyone who’s clumsy.”
In fact, he had no idea what the employee who bumped into him looked like. He mentioned it casually, mainly to remind the manager to pay attention to issues in staff training and management. While Yan Cheng seemed indifferent about Er Guan, no one cared about it more than him. In a sense, Er Guan was his life’s work.
Chen Jinyao’s car was still parked at Er Guan. Don’t drink and drive – she took Yan Cheng’s car back. It wasn’t exactly late night, but there weren’t many cars on the road at this hour. Yan Cheng must have had racing experience; for the first half of the journey, he floored the accelerator, making the car speed up.
“…” Chen Jinyao’s head was spinning, her heart beating fast.
She pressed her face against the window to cool down. After a while, she said, “Drive slower.”
“Tch, troublesome.” Though he said this, Yan Cheng clearly lifted his foot from the accelerator slightly. “Should take advantage of such good road conditions.”
After a moment of silence, he glanced sideways for a second. “Don’t you find this exciting?”
Chen Jinyao shook her head honestly: “It is exciting – exciting enough to make me want to throw up.”
“…”
Alright, he immediately slowed to a crawl.
For the second half of the journey, the steady speed allowed the sleepy Chen Jinyao to fall asleep successfully. When they arrived home, the black SUV drove into the underground garage. After Yan Cheng parked and turned off the engine, he unfastened his seatbelt and turned to look. He sighed, leaned over to wake her up, calling several times. As the distance grew closer, when Chen Jinyao was finally roused and opened her sleepy eyes, she saw Yan Cheng’s handsome face magnified right in front of her.
“Almost thought I couldn’t wake you up. Now that you’re awake, get out and go sleep inside.”
The deep voice surrounded her ears in surround sound. Chen Jinyao lowered her eyelashes, and the first thing that caught her eye was Yan Cheng’s Adam’s apple bobbing as he spoke.
That’s interesting, she thought.
Then, in the next second, she reached out her sinful hand to tease his Adam’s apple.
When she looked up again, she met Yan Cheng’s gradually darkening eyes.
Compared to his deep gaze, his handsome face clearly attracted her more.
“…” With only millimeters between them, their breaths intermingling, Chen Jinyao’s still-fuzzy mind finally succumbed to alcohol-induced boldness. As they say, desire makes one fearless. After two seconds of eye contact, she slowly extended her arms, grabbed Yan Cheng’s neck, and pulled down hard…
Her original intention was to seal his lips with hers for a long kiss when pulling him down, but perhaps due to wrong technique or force, she ended up pressing his face against her chest. Well, she was wearing a dress today, a thin one at that.
Chen Jinyao: “…”
Yan Cheng: “……”
The memories ended there, with everything indescribable after that put on pause. In short, she had made the first move, and she had been surprisingly passionate.
Chen Jinyao wanted to cry but had no tears.
Just because of a few drinks, all her reserve had gone to the dogs.
…Although, this was bound to happen eventually. It could be considered natural progression.
Scattered kisses fell on Chen Jinyao’s neck. After the intense battle, Yan Cheng was still somewhat excited, even considering this time as just an intermission.
But Chen Jinyao was trying to push him away because he was too heavy.
“Your ungrateful behavior breaks my heart,” Yan Cheng pulled up the half-fallen blanket to cover them both, unmoved.
There was rustling under the covers as a slender white arm struggled out, trying to reach the bedside lamp switch. She couldn’t reach it and was instead caught by interlocked fingers.
“…” The alcohol had mostly worn off. Chen Jinyao awkwardly turned her face away, staying silent for two seconds before saying, “More than whether your heart is broken or not, I’m more concerned about taking a shower.”
After their passionate encounter, her body felt unbearably sticky.
Hearing this, Yan Cheng raised his eyebrows, his tone somewhat playfully arrogant: “Sure, but you probably won’t be able to get out of bed.”
Chen Jinyao’s face was expressionless: “Only if you let go of me now.”
“Oh, quite bold, aren’t you? Do you have some misunderstanding about my capabilities?” The man cleared his throat, and after a while, rolled over to one side.
And turned on the light.
The bedside clock showed it was already past three in the morning.
The bedroom was a mess under the light.
“Change the sheets,” Chen Jinyao slowly put on Yan Cheng’s shirt and lifted the covers to get out of bed.
Among everything, the bed was the messiest – wet where it should be wet, wrinkled where it should be wrinkled, and the smell under the covers was particularly strong.
Yan Cheng laughed softly. He must have thought of something amusing, his expression pleased. “You really sacrificed a lot just to make me change the sheets.”
Chen Jinyao, already unsteady on her feet, nearly fell when she heard this.
…Afterwards, Yan Cheng leaned against the headboard and had a post-coital cigarette.
He only took two puffs before putting it out. He got up, took out new sheets from the wardrobe, and did his best to make the bed. Once it was barely satisfactory, he left it at that and bent down to pick up the clothes scattered on the floor.
Picking up the small items brought a hint of embarrassment to his mind.
Yan Cheng maintained his composure, pressed his lips together, and suddenly called out: “Wife.”
“Mm.” A response came from inside, the voice a bit hoarse.
“Shall we go see a movie on Sunday?”
After a moment of silence, Chen Jinyao replied: “Sure.”
This marriage, which at first had no clear definition, could now be simply and clearly labeled as a marriage of fact.
In their daily interactions, subtle feelings had gradually grown, though neither noticed due to habit.
But what they could directly know was that tonight, under the seductive moonlight, would be a sleepless night.
“Watch the Avengers?” Chen Jinyao was using a cat toy to play with Du Ni when she heard this. She turned her face to stare at Yan Cheng for a few seconds, then nodded and said “Okay.”
“Let’s buy tickets for tomorrow afternoon, we can have dinner right after the movie.” After thinking for a moment, he added: “Then we can go to the night market.”
“After the night market, we could go to Huai River,” she bit her lip.
The banks of Huai River were a sacred spot for couples’ dates, also because it was the only place in the entire capital where fireworks were allowed.
Yan Cheng finished a game level and tossed his phone aside, stretching as he continued her thought, asking puzzledly: “Then what about tomorrow morning?”
“Is this considered a date?” Chen Jinyao rubbed her brow and asked him in return.
The man answered without hesitation: “Of course it is.”
When he suggested watching a movie, he had already categorized it as a “date.”
It was actually quite embarrassing – they often preferred staying at home rather than going out. Mainly because Chen Jinyao was a homebody; her work wasn’t like his, so every weekend she just wanted to lie in bed and rest, and he, at least during this period, had completely adapted to and followed her lifestyle.
Thinking of this, Yan Cheng finally realized the key factor, albeit a bit late. His ears turned red, and his right hand unconsciously clenched into a fist against his lips. He gave a fake cough, his eyes wandering. After pondering for a moment, he finally settled down and asked sideways: “Ahem… are you… still in pain?”
“I wasn’t thoughtful enough. If it’s inconvenient, we can go watch another time.”
Chen Jinyao’s eyelashes trembled: “………………”
Then her cheeks quickly heated up.
Yan Cheng answered his own question: “Should be fine with the ointment applied.”
An inexplicable awkwardness descended.
Chen Jinyao was silent for a moment: “Do you have a needle and thread?”
Yan Cheng frowned: “I think so, why?”
Chen Jinyao said with a straight face: “To sew your mouth shut.”
Yan Cheng: “…”
Sunday had good weather, with bright sunshine. The capital’s air was also unusually fresh.
In the morning, Yan Cheng reluctantly followed Chen Jinyao’s suggestions. She said they needed to show proper respect for the word “date” – washing hair, taking a shower, turning the wardrobe upside down to choose clothes, determined to pick out the most beautiful and handsome outfit.
“You women are so troublesome,” Young Master Yan said.
Chen Jinyao frowned, catching the key word: “You women?”
Yan Cheng: “And my mom.”
“…Oh.”
A moment of silence.
Chen Jinyao was applying eyeliner in front of the mirror as she patiently educated her husband: “You should understand that how much effort a woman puts into getting ready for a date depends on how much she values her date.”
“Therefore, you should be happy about this.”
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