Qing Ye had something to do today, so she didn’t call Shi Min and the others to walk together. She rushed home right after school. She needed to discuss shipping arrangements with Du Qi Yan, as she was a bit worried about that old geezer, but she didn’t have extra time. So she wanted to trouble Du Qi Yan to help monitor the information verification and logistics tracking when she had time.
Of course, she didn’t like to trouble others for nothing, so she directly sent Du Qi Yan a red packet, but Du Qi Yan refused to accept it. She said if Qing Ye felt uncomfortable about it, she could teach her how to coordinate outfits another day. She felt that Qing Ye looked good in whatever she wore, and sometimes when she deliberately tried to imitate her, she couldn’t quite pull it off.
Qing Ye sincerely told her that when it comes to clothing style, one shouldn’t copy others. Everyone has different body types and temperaments, and finding a style that suits oneself is what makes one most beautiful.
Seeing Du Qi Yan’s uncomprehending look, Qing Ye promised to help style her after she returned from the winter camp. Du Qi Yan was very excited to hear this.
After finishing her tasks, Qing Ye went upstairs to do practice problems. Around ten o’clock, she went downstairs for water. She had thought Xing Wu hadn’t come home and that she was alone, but when she walked down the stairs, she saw him sitting in the barbershop chair, his long legs casually propped up on another chair while looking at his phone.
Qing Ye’s heart skipped a beat, but she acted nonchalant as she poured a glass of water and stood by the cashier counter looking back at him. Xing Wu still hadn’t moved or looked up.
She took two sips of water without speaking to him. Just as she was about to turn and go upstairs, Xing Wu suddenly took out a letter from his pocket and held it out to her without lifting his eyes: “From Feng Bao.”
Qing Ye turned around puzzled, then walked over to take the letter from Xing Wu. She put her water glass aside and opened the envelope, wondering why Feng Bao would write a letter when he could just message her on WeChat.
When she saw the goosebump-inducing words in the letter, her first thought wasn’t about the content of the love letter itself, but rather that Feng Bao’s Chinese test score shouldn’t have been just under 100 – his word choice and sentence structure had room for improvement. Usually so quiet in class, yet able to fill three whole pages with a love letter – impressive.
She read it carefully through to the end. Xing Wu hadn’t expected her to read it so seriously and raised his eyebrows to give her a rather cold sidelong glance. Qing Ye finally reached the last line “Awaiting your reply.”
She looked up with a bewildered expression. Though her eyes met Xing Wu’s, her mind was wondering what Feng Bao wanted her to reply to.
Sorry, but her science-oriented mind didn’t have so many emotional elements. She quickly extracted that the letter’s main point was expressing Feng Bao’s admiration for her grades and intelligence – so was he asking her permission to join Pang Hu and Shi Min’s group?
She folded the letter in confusion and put it back in the envelope. Just as she turned to go upstairs, an arm suddenly wrapped around her waist. With no warning at all, her body fell backward, directly landing on Xing Wu. He tightened his arm, and Qing Ye ended up sitting on his lap. The sudden closeness made her heartbeat pound in her ears as if countless insects were crawling through her body.
Xing Wu lowered his head, his scorching breath at her ear, his voice devoid of warmth: “Not only playing with me but now playing with pure-hearted boys too?”
Qing Ye looked up in shock: “Who am I playing with?” But when she raised her head, she didn’t expect their faces to be so close, their noses almost touching.
The light in Qing Ye’s eyes flickered uneasily, like a startled rabbit, soft and adorable.
Xing Wu snatched the love letter from her hand and tossed it onto the counter, then lowered his head to press Qing Ye against his chest, lifting her chin to kiss her soft lips.
Her body was trapped in his embrace, and her breath was quickly stolen away by him. When his distinctive scent overwhelmed her, Qing Ye suddenly felt especially wronged and upset, as if all the frustration from their days of cold war exploded in her heart. She bit his tongue hard, and he retaliated by biting her lips. Qing Ye angrily cupped his face and bit back, very hard, until she tasted a faint metallic flavor in her mouth. Only then did she abruptly let go, staring dazedly at where she had bitten through his lip. Blood stained his lips, but he was smiling at her – a smile that was unrestrained, bewitching, deadly, and filled with an irresistible charm that made Qing Ye’s heart tremble.
In an instant, her tears spilled over. If it weren’t for these days of the Cold War, she wouldn’t have known how much she would miss him when she couldn’t see him, wanting to know what he was doing every minute he was gone. When he didn’t come home, she was driven crazy with worry yet refused to back down. She never knew love could be such a torturous thing.
Her wronged expression made Xing Wu’s brows gradually furrow. He raised his hand to hold her in his arms again, pressing his forehead against hers, saying softly: “Are you a dog? Why are you crying after biting me?”
Qing Ye pushed him away hard, trying to get up from his lap, but her waist was firmly held by Xing Wu’s large hands. Unless he let go, she had no way of getting up from him, so she angrily beat his chest, shouting: “Who told you to stay out all night? Getting cocky? Not talking to me is one thing, but not even coming home? Then why are you back now?”
Xing Wu licked his lips, lowering his eyes with a faint smile. His features were handsome and bold – when not smiling, his whole person was full of aggression. Qing Ye had only seen him lower his defenses like this in front of her, smiling freely, like a male demon, making her heart race.
The more he attracted her this way, the more her heart collapsed uncontrollably. She choked back tears and tugged at his collar: “Say something.”
Xing Wu gripped her hand, gently stroking the back of it, lowering his eyes to say: “There was a team competition last night, they were short a person and needed me to fill the AD position. It was past two when we finished, I didn’t want to come back and wake you, so I just slept at Shun Yi.”
Qing Ye turned her face away, her tone angry: “So you couldn’t even send one phone message?”
Xing Wu didn’t speak, just quietly held her in his arms. Qing Ye turned back to look at him. His thick eyelashes concealed the light in his eyes as he said in a deep voice: “You’ve been avoiding me these past few days, I wasn’t sure if you wanted to end this relationship.”
Qing Ye’s pupils suddenly dilated, her voice filled with disbelief: “If I wanted to end it? Could you let me go now?”
Xing Wu raised his eyes, his gaze complex: “No.”
Qing Ye’s tears immediately fell like rain, her voice trembling: “Aren’t you afraid I’m playing with you? The kind who plays around and leaves without taking responsibility?”
“I accept it.”
Those three short words made Qing Ye’s heart feel like it was being violently torn apart, painful to the point she couldn’t breathe. She just stared at Xing Wu, knowing he hadn’t felt any better than her these past few days. She seemed to see him after she left, standing alone in a sunless abyss waiting for her.
Qing Ye’s arms suddenly wrapped around his neck, burying her face in the crook of his neck as she said sadly: “But I can’t bear to.”
Xing Wu gently stroked her back, calling out: “Qing Ye.”
She made a hoarse “mm” sound in his arms.
He said to her: “You boldly walk forward, don’t look back. What Confucius can’t solve, Laozi will help you solve.”
“I’m a bottomless pit.”
He smiled and said: “I have hands and feet, I won’t let you starve.”
The more certain he was, the more sadly Qing Ye curled up: “Then what if… what if I go abroad later and fall for some handsome foreign guy and don’t want you anymore?”
A hint of amusement spilled from Xing Wu’s deep eyes: “Then don’t come back.”
Qing Ye straightened up and gazed at him with tears in her eyes. He was still smiling, his smile showing no flaws as he said to her: “Otherwise, I’ll definitely break that man’s legs, so never come back to let me see.”
Qing Ye bit her lip hard, her body trembling. She hadn’t expected that Xing Wu had already made up his mind, accepting whatever future situations might come. With her one sentence “Will you let me lose?”, he had thrown his all in, even if she truly never returned.
Such a person caused Qing Ye’s heartache. In this world, besides her parents, no one else had been so selfless towards her, regardless of the consequences. She couldn’t let go, she didn’t want to leave him, no matter what!
Qing Ye suddenly kissed Xing Wu’s lips fiercely, not caring that she had bitten through them, just kissing him so intensely and wildly. Xing Wu’s body tensed slightly before quickly taking control.
He had never experienced such a Qing Ye before – passionate and proactive, like a little wildcat showing her claws. He directly picked her up and pressed her against the barbershop’s mirror table. Their position was too suggestive – Qing Ye’s jacket slipped from her shoulders, her tight undershirt hugging her round shoulders and full chest, making Xing Wu’s blood surge.
He felt a deep desire in his heart about to break through his body. He suddenly pulled away from Qing Ye, his black eyes filled with barely controlled madness. Xing Wu paused, fixed Qing Ye’s clothes, straightened up, and coughed: “It’s past eleven, if you want to keep going with me, I might not be able to guarantee what I’ll do.”
Qing Ye showed a soft, sweet smile, raising herself to hook his neck: “What do you want to do? Something as joyful as immortals? After all, seems like besides me who can score full marks in math, physics, and chemistry, there’s no one else here. Have you been eyeing me for a while? Tell me.”
Xing Wu just smiled without speaking, the scattered light in his eyes like an early spring breeze, gentle yet alluring.
Qing Ye jumped down from the barbershop counter, picking up Feng Bao’s love letter as she lifted his arm: “Better now?”
“Mm, doesn’t hurt anymore.”
“Such strong recovery ability?”
“Made of iron.”
Xing Wu glanced at the love letter: “How are you planning to reply to him?”
Qing Ye pretended to be troubled: “Can’t break a pure boy’s heart, right?”
“Looking to die?”
Qing Ye walked to the stairs and turned back to smile at him.