Open Your Mouth
Chen Luobai stepped back, his right hand still casually in his pocket, watching as the girl in front of him first looked bewildered, then finally seemed to realize what had happened. Her face and ears turned completely red, the blush particularly noticeable even in the dim light.
The corner of his lips curled up: “Call my name again?”
Zhou An Ran was still a bit dazed. Her fingertips twitched, wanting to touch her lips but not daring to. Hearing his words, her reaction was delayed by half a beat.
Why did he want her to call him again?
She had just called his name at his request, and he had kissed her.
Now…
Before she could finish her thought, she heard the young man in front of her say with a smile: “Don’t worry, I won’t kiss you this time.”
An’ran: “…?”
“Not going to call?” Chen Luobai paused, leaning in again, his left hand gently resting on her cheek.
An’ran’s heart fluttered lightly. She felt the pad of his thumb gently brush across her lips, his voice soft and seemingly tinged with amusement.
“Or do you want me to keep kissing you?”
An’ran: “…”
Most of her attention was on his hand gently caressing her cheek. She couldn’t tell if she was embarrassed, annoyed, or wanted to refute his words. Instinctively, she called out to him again: “Chen Luobai!”
Just like before, almost as soon as she finished speaking, Chen Luobai lowered his head to kiss her. The left hand on her cheek moved slightly downward, somewhat forcefully half-cupping her chin.
Unlike before, this time he didn’t immediately pull away after kissing her.
The young man’s lips landed very lightly on hers, pausing for a moment, as if restraining himself to give her time to react, yet also as if he couldn’t suppress his impulse and desire. In an instant, he gently sucked on her lip, kissing her inexpertly a few times.
From the moment he kissed her again, An’ran felt as if something had exploded in her mind. All her reactions were slow, yet her senses were clear.
Sensing his kiss.
Her heart was beating so fast it felt like it would explode. The fingers hanging at her side curled, tightened, then relaxed, finally tightly gripping the zipper of his jacket.
Chen Luobai kissed her lips a few more times, then pulled back slightly, but not completely. His nose touched hers, his ears also a bit red: “Wasn’t there something you wanted to ask me?”
An’ran’s reactions were still slow. Her fingers clutched the corner of his jacket as she answered him after a two-second delay: “How did you know?”
Chen Luobai’s fingertip gently brushed the corner of her mouth: “Don’t you know how many times you’ve been sneaking glances at me all evening, looking like you wanted to say something? Otherwise, I could have held back for a few more days.”
An’ran didn’t quite understand: “Hold back what?”
Chen Luobai’s gaze fell back to her lips, which had taken on a moist sheen from their recent kiss. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he lowered his head to kiss her again.
He kissed her lips a few times, his tongue touching the seam of her lips. Afraid of startling her, he paused, ultimately not pushing further, and pulled back again.
“What do you think?”
An’ran: “…”
Holding back from kissing her?
She gripped the corner of his clothes, too embarrassed to say the answer out loud.
Chen Luobai saw her eyelashes trembling violently. He didn’t push her and returned to the previous topic: “What did you want to ask me?”
An’ran hesitated for a moment, but curiosity won out: “Why do you always like to call me by my full name?”
Chen Luobai hadn’t expected her to ask this question.
He looked down at her for a moment, then suddenly lowered his head to kiss the corner of her eye. He didn’t know how many times he had made her cry secretly in the past.
“Didn’t you say I couldn’t remember your name? I’m punishing myself by calling it thousands, tens of thousands of times, so I’ll never forget it in the future.”
An’ran felt as if someone had gently pinched her heart.
It turned out that not only was “Chen Luobai” Zhou An Ran’s secret concern.
“Zhou An Ran” had also unknowingly become Chen Luobai’s secret concern.
Her fingertips loosened their grip on his clothes, and for the first time, she slowly and actively hugged the young man’s slender waist.
“It’s enough that you remember, you don’t need to call it so many times.”
Chen Luobai hadn’t dared to hug her actively before.
The young woman softly pressed against his chest, and he stiffened slightly.
“I like calling it,” Chen Luobai’s throat tightened, and as if to distract himself, he casually asked, “Why did you suddenly ask this question? Do you not like hearing me call you this way, or do you want to hear me call you something else?”
For some reason, An’ran suddenly remembered Bai Lingyun’s words from earlier in the dorm, “He calls me baby, darling, all sorts of things.” She hurriedly shook her head vigorously.
Seeing her strong reaction, Chen Luobai raised an eyebrow slightly: “So you do want to hear other terms of endearment?”
An’ran: “No, I don’t.”
Chen Luobai: “What do you want to hear?”
An’ran was a bit embarrassed and annoyed: “Really, I don’t.”
Every time she became more shy, Chen Luobai found it harder to resist teasing her more. His fingertip touched the corner of her mouth again as he asked with a suppressed laugh: “If you don’t tell me, I’ll keep kissing you.”
An’ran: “…?”
How could she have ever thought he was good in every way? This person was terrible.
“Looks like you want me to keep kissing you more.”
“Chen Luobai!”
Chen Luobai responded with an “Mm,” hugging her waist and pressing her against the inner door. He lowered his head to kiss her again.
As his lips captured hers once more, An’ran instinctively clutched the back of his jacket tighter, tilting her head back to passively receive the young man’s still inexperienced kisses.
Her heart seemed to be racing again.
Her legs also felt a bit weak.
Yu Bingqin’s singing voice from inside seemed to faintly come through, muffled by the soundproofing materials in the wall, making it completely indistinct.
A moment later, however, a very clear throat-clearing sound came from not far away.
An’ran was still a bit slow to react, but in the next second, Chen Luobai had already pulled away, quickly pressing her head against his shoulder.
A somewhat familiar female voice sounded nearby, sounding like the senior He who had handed her the preserved plum at the KTV during their first gathering.
“What are you doing at the door? There are several empty rooms inside, I guarantee no one will disturb you.”
Her tone was teasing and playful.
An’ran felt her face burning up, and she buried her head even tighter against his shoulder.
Chen Luobai noticed her movement and raised his hand to cover her face. He turned his head and said with a smile, “Senior He, please don’t tease. If you do, she’ll be too embarrassed to pay attention to me later, and I’ll have to coax her.”
“Alright,” Senior He was still as understanding as when they first met, “For An’ran’s sake, I’ll pretend I didn’t see anything today.”
The sound of a door opening was heard.
Yu Bingqin’s singing became clear for a moment, then muffled again.
A few seconds later.
The large hand on the back of An’ran’s neck loosened. Senior He had probably gone inside.
An’ran still didn’t dare to raise her head.
Seeing her like a little ostrich, Chen Luobai couldn’t help but laugh. His fingers pinched her ear, which was red as if it would drip blood: “Do you still want to go in?”
An’ran remained in her ostrich-like state for a few more seconds: “…Let’s go in. We’ve come all this way.”
After being led inside by him, An’ran saw Senior He and another senior surnamed Wu sitting together in a booth.
Hearing them come in, both turned their heads.
Senior Wu’s gaze fell on their clasped hands, and she teased with a smile: “You’ve stolen away our little flower, Chen Luobai. Doesn’t this mean you should treat us?”
An’ran looked up to see Senior He whispering to her: “Don’t worry, I didn’t tell anyone.”
Her face heated up again, and she whispered back: “Thank you.”
“What didn’t you tell?” Senior Wu asked curiously.
Senior He: “This is a little secret between An’ran and me.”
Senior Wu seemed to want to ask more.
At this moment, Chen Luobai interjected: “You want me to treat you? Alright, after I’m done with this round of ball games, I’ll treat you to whatever you want to eat.”
Senior Wu’s attention was drawn back: “You said it yourself, we’ll remember that.”
The rehearsal was still going on on stage.
Having secured a free meal, Senior Wu was satisfied and stopped prying.
An’ran was led by the young man to sit at a nearby table. After sitting down, he still didn’t let go of her hand.
His fingertips played with hers casually, just like in the library.
An’ran couldn’t focus on what was being sung on stage.
It wasn’t until Yu Bingqin and the other four came off stage.
Yu Bingqin stopped in front of them and took a small box from her pocket, tossing it into An’ran’s lap: “A welcome gift.”
An’ran hurriedly caught it, stunned for a moment: “What welcome gift?”
The keyboard player, Senior Zhong Wei, chimed in with a grin: “Of course, it’s a welcome gift from your cousin to her future cousin-in-law.”
An’ran suddenly felt the small box in her hand was a bit hot, and her face was hot too.
Yu Bingqin: “It’s a welcome gift for new members of the club. I forgot to give it to you before.”
An’ran’s face cooled slightly: “Thank you, Senior Yu.”
Yu Bingqin rarely teased her, but she did this time: “You’re still calling me Senior Yu?”
To make matters worse, a certain someone beside her not only didn’t help but seemed to enjoy watching the show, lazily adding: “Yeah, still calling her Senior Yu?”
An’ran: “…?”
Her face heated up again. She definitely couldn’t bring herself to call Yu Bingqin “cousin,” and it didn’t seem appropriate right now either. In the end, she compromised: “Thank you, Sister Qin.”
Chen Luobai still seemed unsatisfied, looking at her with amusement: “Just Sister Qin?”
Yu Bingqin couldn’t stand it anymore: “Stop bullying her.”
“Alright,” Chen Luobai said lazily, turning his head, “Then lend me your keys.”
An’ran: “?”
One of the band’s guitarists immediately started teasing: “Let’s go, us old folks. Let’s leave the place to the young couple.”
Zhong Wei protested: “If you want to call yourself old, don’t include me. I’m forever eighteen.”
“Real eighteen-year-olds call themselves little fairies, not ‘old me’.”
“You’re asking for death.”
The group left the Live House, bickering and joking until their voices were completely shut out by the door.
The vast space fell silent again.
An’ran sat with her head lowered, hearing the person next to her suddenly speak.
“Come here.”
She turned her head to see the young man opening his arms to her.
An’ran bit her lip, stood up, and walked over. As soon as she stood in front of him, he pulled her to sit on his lap.
Chen Luobai raised his hand to cup the back of her neck, gently pressing down, while his other hand loosely encircled her waist. Without a word, he kissed her.
An’ran’s hands, which had been hanging at her sides, somehow seemed to move of their own accord, slowly rising to encircle his neck.
In the extremely quiet space, only the soft sounds of kissing remained for a moment.
After kissing her for a long time, Chen Luobai finally turned his head slightly, suppressing his somewhat chaotic breathing. As if also suppressing some other thoughts, he brushed her hair away from her cheek with his fingers: “Want to go somewhere else to study tomorrow?”
The young woman in his arms was also breathing heavily, and it wasn’t clear if she had heard his question. She didn’t even ask where he wanted to take her, just nodded obediently: “Okay.”
Chen Luobai’s breathing, which he had just managed to control, instantly became chaotic again.
He pressed down slightly on the hand at the back of her neck, his lips touching hers, gently biting her lip and kissing her for a moment. Hearing her soft voice in his ear, he pulled away again, as if he couldn’t hold back anymore, and coaxed her in a low voice.
“Baby, open your mouth.”